Chapter 6: Behold: Zakuhm!
Again and again, the great hydra hit the barrier, slamming his massive body into the invisible wall, smashing houses, and squashing the living dead beneath his feet.
"You're never going to get out that way," The shadow said with a pompous smirk.
"Vram algbo munthrek! Don't presume to know my reasons for wanting to break free of this prison!" Zakuhm growled, slamming his body into the barrier again. Richie floated over to the speaking shadow with interest.
"And what do you mean? Is there a way to break this accursed barrier?" The shadow laughed as he pulled from the wall and stood with his hands in his pockets.
"There is, but how far are you willing to go to break it?" the shadow asked, pulling aside his black and white mask and running his fingers through the silver hair atop his head. Zakuhm clenched his jaws, thrumming at the barrier.
"I have a score to settle with Saia for putting me in that restrictive statute form. The Shareniens also owe me a blood sacrifice in return for the jewels I allowed them to mine!" Zakuhm roared, spreading his claws and digging to escape under the barrier. The shadow chuckled through his lips as he watched.
"That won't work either, you dolt. The barrier surrounding this town is shaped like a ball. No matter where you go, you would still find the barrier, even if you were to go down into the caves." One of Zakuhm's seven heads snaked up and bared its teeth, glaring at the shadow.
"Then what would you have me do?" Zakuhm thrummed, flames licking at his gums from between his teeth. The shadow grinned darkly before pointing to Richie.
"You've had everything you needed to break free right here."
The Guardians couldn't get out from under the cloud settling in their hearts in the following few days. Evan, Mir, Camila, and Maya all stayed within arm's reach of each other, trying to accept that Utah was gone. But more than that was the sorrow of knowing nothing could've been done to save him from his deep-rooted jealousy. Athena, Eckhart, and Kyrin brought Utah and Phoenix back to Herb Town, where they were laid next to Elde, Heidrin's and Neinheart's son.
The headstone was carved as a young man before Utah became obsessed with power, with Phoenix curled around his feet, looking up to him as a youngling dragon. Camila often knelt at the foot of the grave, silently reminiscing the times she had come to visit him, how she was always so scared of the pigs that he farmed, as well as how she would always feel better when Utah would come and escort her through the pens to his house.
"Utah, you fool," she would whisper before moving on to another memory. Lillianne and Matthew smashed through obstacle courses, training until their blades smoked and their mana had run dry. Jenny and Jack tried to keep their minds busy by joining the hunting parties for food or joining Kyrin and Mark on their night patrol.
Helen opened tome after tome in the library, reading until she fell asleep. Sometimes, she and Olsen sat quietly on a small mountain in the mornings before the fog burned off, trying in vain to calm their mental storm of emotions and self-curses. Why did she go to Ariant instead of helping the others, where she could have saved Utah? Why, why, why? Burr followed her one morning, watching as she peacefully sat cross-legged with her eyes closed.
"Master Helen?" The slightly icy-edged voice made Helen smile, knowing he'd been standing there for the past hour.
"There is no need to be so formal, Burr," She said, sighing and opening her eyes to the horizon.
"I just have a question: your friends defeated Dragonoir, a foe I could not face. So why is everyone acting so depressed?" Helen's eyes fell as a forlorn grin pulled at her lips, explaining to him past events and how Draginoir was Evan's older brother.
"He became Dragonoir after giving in to the darkness his jealousy and hatred created."
"I see. I guess that would put quite a damper on anyone's mood," Burr commented as Helen began walking back to her hut. Burr stayed close behind when she saw Lillianne bolting back to town.
"Lillianne! What is the matter?" Helen called, but the warrior paid no mind, disappearing around the corner within moments.
"We should return ourselves; there could be something-" A wave of enormously powerful magic washed over her, cutting her words short and making her skin pale. With wide eyes, she looked back from where it came and noticed the sunset orange glow over the El Nath Mountains had become a dark blood red. A beam of white light shot into the sky from the center, parting the clouds above. Helen swallowed hard as she watched until Olsen and Auzzy found them staring into the sky.
"Hey! You guys had better return to the village; your gramps said something fishy happened around the Forest of Death. Auzzy, I need you to go to Mu Lung; tell the Empress and the knights to be ready if we need backup." Olsen called, stopping long enough to call out to them and give his instructions. Burr readied to attack until both took off as if they were human bullets. The mage wanted an introduction to the Guardian Ninja at the very least, but matters seemed much more critical than pleasantries, so he held his tongue as they returned to town.
"It seems the Guardians have almost forgotten that you've been using them as pawns in a simple game," Eleanor purred, watching the Black Mage work from over his shoulder. Her master did nothing, holding his hand over the Mithril Crystal contact pad, slowly developing his doll into a life when Dragon entered the room.
"I don't mean to sound overly doubting, but I don't think they have fully forgotten it. If you notice, they've very nearly stopped using their crystal power." Dragon interjected while Eleanor handed the Black Mage a glass of her special mana potion. The Black Mage paused and turned his gaze to Dragon. Whispers arose as he pointed to a small green crystal hanging on a delicate gold chain around the neck of the doll. Eleanor moved closer to better see, recognizing the crystal.
"Isn't that a summoning stone?" she asked. The Black Mage said nothing, continuing to develop the doll's life while whispers filled the room from The Black Mage.
"Forcing them to use the Crystal's Power and thus empowering you, and with a deadline of an eclipse no less; how very ingenious," Dragon said when Eleanor tilted her head and summoned a celestial calendar to check the existence of said eclipse.
"But won't that eventually backfire, Master? The Guardians would figure out what's going on and be able to see beyond that." Eleanor pointed out. The Black Mage only shook his head, pausing his work as hisses surrounded them, almost as if he had a bit of a laugh in his voice until a Chief Oblivion Knight floated into the room.
"Black Mage, your Highness, a student under Eleanor wishes to bring to your attention something that may interest you." The Black Mage turned to the Knight and nodded, waving his hand over the incomplete doll, suspending the work. He then returned to his chair, where Dragon and Eleanor stood on either side while two Oblivion Knights under the chief escorted the young man in, who quickly bowed low to the ground.
"You say you've discovered something that may interest the Master?" Dragon asked. The young man tried not to let his fear show, but he still shuddered in The Black Mage's presence.
"Y-y-yes, I have, sir. I have been researching the Crystals and understand they are essential to you. However, I learned that once the crystals have been fully restored, they will only respond to the one who freed it." The Black Mage leaned to his knees, resting his chin on his thumbs, waiting for the young man to continue.
"According to my research, the Guardians have access to much of their power, but once the fullest extent is realized, the crystal will become a part of them. It was a safety of sorts put there by…" The young man stopped, unsure whether to continue until The Black Mage's whispers finished for him, confirming that Minerva had enacted such a precaution. The Black Mage then questioned why something of this nature would affect his plans since he would extract the crystal's power back into the husks, where they belonged. The young man picked his head up and reached for his journal, flipping through page after page in nervous haste.
"That is true, but when any one of the users has gone through an extreme emotionally traumatic experience, such as the severe wounding or death of a loved one, the power of the crystal could be called back to them, even if the power returns to its husk." The Black Mage nodded his understanding as the young man left, leaving the trio to contemplate this new information.
"Why should something like that be of any concern for you, Master?" Dragon asked as The Black Mage stood, looking over the calibrations for the crystals within the Gauntlet. Eleanor answered for him as she was also aware of the Gauntlet's power.
"Emotions can be a powerful weapon, Dragon, even more dangerous than any spell I could cast. If the power can be called back from the husk to its original wielder, it would make the Oblivion Gauntlet's power unstable and difficult to control." She answered. The Black Mage narrowed his eyes and began his calculations again, the skull mask creaking as he clenched his jaw. Minerva had worked well to ensure the crystal's power wouldn't fall into the wrong hands.
Helen and Burr arrived at their meeting place just as Grendal was about to explain what had been going on in the Forest of Death.
"Oh, Helen! Did you feel it?" Grendal asked as Helen entered the circle. She nodded as she sat when Olsen appeared next to her from checking the borders for any unusual activity at Lady Syl's request.
"I'm sure you will remember the mission that Athena, Eckhart, Mir, and Evan took to investigate some strange happenings in the Forest of Death. My old friend Richie freed Zakuhm, the seven-headed hydra, from Saia's imprisonment. I suppose you should know what you're up against," Grendal sighed, calling up clouds of mana as an illustration medium.
"From the days of the Sharenien Empire, Zakuhm demanded that the people make sacrifices to him, and in return, would allow them to mine the precious gems within the earth. The barrier that Faust and I placed over the Forest of Death to keep the soulless people from spreading to other areas of Ossyria is the only thing keeping Zakuhm from escaping. Somehow, he has managed to find the anchor of the seal and is beginning to break through it. If that happens, there is no telling what horror he will rain down onto Ossyria," Grendal explained as Jenny stood, lacing her fingers and cracking her knuckles.
"Then what are we sitting around here for? We've got a giant hydra to stop." She grinned until Grendal held his hand out and shook his head to stop her.
"The barrier has many layers and won't be broken completely for about two days. In that time, I want you to visit Saia and ask her about Zakuhm. I've heard she has a bit of history with that hydra."
"Why would we do that? There's a massive hydra about to break free, and you want us to gather intel from his old flame?" Jack questioned, motioning with his hand towards El Nath.
"I know it seems pointless, but there are some things that you need to know about what is driving Zakuhm. There still may be a chance to save him from himself; he is dangerously close to forcing himself to become a demon from what Mir has been able to feel. I don't think the dragons here could stand the loss of another of their kind so soon if he becomes one." Helen sighed heavily, thinking back to Mir and how hard the loss of Phoenix had affected her until Jack huffed angrily and shook his head.
"Fine. But we'll have to make it quick; with every moment we waste not doing anything, Zakuhm comes another few moments closer to breaking free." he huffed, crossing his arms before stomping back to his hut to change.
"Is Jack always like that?" Burr asked as he walked with Helen back to her hut.
"Not always. But the Pirate within him is often far stronger," She smiled as she stopped Burr at the threshold of her door before disappearing into the shadows of her hut. Burr sighed: he had wanted to spend some more time with his new master, but the events of the previous few days hadn't given him many chances to learn from her.
"Hey, I heard that you were Helen's apprentice?" came a voice behind him. Burr whirled around and readied a lightning spell, fizzing lightning igniting at the end of his wand.
"Take it easy, we're all friends here." Said another as he relaxed his spell and body once he was sure they weren't enemies.
"And who would you four be?" Burr asked as he tucked his wand under his belt.
"I'm Auzzy, Olsen's Apprentice. This here is Nathan, Matthew's Apprentice. Aeirs is Jack's apprentice and Nate's girlfriend, and Antonia is Jenny's Apprentice." With each introduction, Burr shook their hands, pausing for a moment when he shook Antonia's hand, taking note of her facial features.
"We were all headed to the training grounds and wanted to know if you wanted to come along? We could use another sparring partner." Auzzy explained, turning away slightly as though eager to get going. Burr was about to refuse when Helen's voice cut through his thoughts.
"It will be good for you to go with them, Burr. I often train with the other Guardians to keep my skills sharp and to sharpen theirs. Think of it as training while I am away." Burr smiled and nodded before tearing after the others. Helen watched him disappear over a hill, smiling that she now had an apprentice like the others.
Saia slowly opened her eyes when she felt the seven lives step into the Meditation Grounds, greeting them with a slight hint of sadness in her voice.
"Hello Guardians. What is it that brings you here to me? I usually don't get many visitors," Saia soothed, stretching her neck. Jenny stepped forward, putting her bow over her shoulders as Alden walked up to Saia and sniffed around where she lay at some interesting scent.
"We've come here to ask you about Zakuhm. He's been breaking the barrier surrounding the Forest of Death and wondered if you could give us insight." Saia nodded to Jenny's question, a painful light gleaming in her eyes as she crossed her arms and laid her head on them, looking the Guardians in the eyes.
"In our home world of Oldesta, Zakuhm was a hydra that had lost his way and started a war that nearly destroyed it. Ultimately, Zakuhm was defeated and fled, allowing the dragons to begin rebuilding our world. As in all wars, there are casualties and prisoners. I had the unfortunate fate of being one of the many dragonesses taken prisoner by Zakuhm's forces. Skeleth, one of Zakuhm's generals, took me to his personal bunker. You have come to know him as Horn Tail.
"For years, I searched for a way to escape the hell that he would put me and seven other dragonesses through, using us as personal breeders to help rebuild his army. But I would be taken back to Zakuhm's chambers with each failed attempt. As punishment, he would force himself on me so many times." Saia closed her eyes tightly before staring at her flank, where scars of claw marks could still be seen.
"One particular night, I managed to get Zakuhm drunk enough that he passed out, and Skeleth was out on patrol. That night, I used the World's Passage to escape, a power each dragon is given to use once every 100 years and travel to another dimension. I didn't care where I went, just so long as it was away from Zakuhm." Saia breathed a great sigh, almost as if retelling her tale was still fresh in her mind.
"I came to this world just as Minerva and Corus were putting the finishing touches on it. I was severely injured from Zakuhm's abuse and crash-landed in the Leafre Forest, where Minerva and the Hafrings took care of me. A few years passed, and I was made Guardian of the Minar Forest, even finding a mate who escaped to this world during the war. But my peace wasn't meant to last.
"Towards the middle of Sharen II's rule, my worst fears were realized when Zakuhm and Skeleth came to Ossyria on a conquest. The Sharenians, living in what is now the Forest of Death, yielded to Zakuhm's tyrannical rule, and in exchange, he allowed them to mine the mountains for jewels and precious metals. His self-centered nature spun even further out of control when he demanded that a statue be hewn in the deepest part of the mine where he could watch the miners as they dug.
"But soon, even that wasn't enough, and he began demanding human sacrifices to allow the people to continue to mine. I was sent to defeat Zakuhm at Minerva's request and with my mate's help. For hours, we fought, tearing at each other with ferocious strikes until he miscalculated, allowing me to seal him within the very statue he had demanded the people make for him. Minerva and Corus then made him the guardian of precious and powerful treasures as punishment for his deeds against the Ossyrian people. I believe that he still harbors a grudge against me for sealing him within the statue, but I am still weak from the attack that Phoenix hit me with not long ago. I know that his death would affect me, but my distaste for him would outweigh any pain that might come of it. I want you to see to it that he NEVER leaves that cave," Saia growled as Matthew walked up to her and placed a hand on her muzzle, able to feel the pain and fear she still harbored.
"We'll do what we can. Don't worry, Saia, he won't come near you ever again." Saia appeared as if she would cry in relief but bit her lower lip and held back her tears as the Guardians left.
"Zakuhm, your judgment is near! I may have healed from the wounds you dealt me, but I will never forgive you for what you did to me nor for the fortune you dealt my mate!"
Whispers filled her ears, calling the name Josephine gently as the human-like creation opened her stunning aqua eyes and fixed her attention on The Black Mage. Questioning murmurs hung thick in the air as the girl nodded, observing her gel-filled tank, suspending her athletic form. Her attention snapped back as he spoke of a task: complete her task, and she would be granted a permanent existence. The gel drained from the tank, and Josephine reached up and pulled the breathing mask from her face before bowing. The glass rose, granting her freedom.
"What is it that you would have me do, master?" the girl asked with a calming yet chilling voice. The Black Mage offered his hand, revealing The Mine of the Dead within the small cloud of Aura and six young people walking near it, handing her a towel and a yellow leather jacket, skirt, and knee-high boots. Josephine looked back at him and nodded understanding when reminded of her reward. Once dressed, she was sent on her way with a wave of his hand and wondered what the Guardians would do once a challenge appeared right before their eyes?
Carefully, The Guardians descended the icy mountains from El Nath, hiding in a pile of fallen trees while Alden slunk to the edge of the barrier, confirming that it still stood by reaching out his paw and touching it.
"Alright, at least that's still up. According to Grendal, we have about 35 hours until the barrier breaks, so whatever we do, we must do it in that window." Matthew whispered. Each of them transformed their cloaks into weapon form before passing through the barrier. The town's quiet kept them all on high alert, peaking around every corner, half expecting to see a hoard of undead shuffling toward them. With each building they passed, they would only find mangled corpses, flattened buildings, and giant footprints.
"Where is everyone? Shouldn't at least a few zombies be walking around?" Lillianne asked, walking out into the street. Helen held out her hand to feel for any life but shook her head.
"Zakuhm must have done something with them; let's pick up the pace," Jack commented just as the ground lurched and swayed, urging the six of them to sprint for the entrance of where the mine would be, finding that it recently dug out. Claw marks and scales littered the pathway down into the dark. Helen, Jenny, and Matthew called upon their flame attacks to light their way, carefully climbing over the unstable ground for a long while until they came to deep underground rivers of hot lava.
"Well, at least we don't need torches anymore." Olsen laughed nervously, trying to keep from drawing the attention of the massive Baine Hounds that resided there. Bones and the smell of rotting meat filled the air, telling them that Zakuhm must have used the villagers to put the hounds to sleep once their bellies were full. There were a few tense moments where Alden couldn't help himself and sniffed one of the hound's paws and again when a loose stalagmite fell into the bubbling lava.
"There's the door to Zakuhm's chamber!" Hissed Jenny, the six of them splitting up and hiding against the walls next to the door. Quieting their breathing, they readied their assault. Olsen flicked two shuriken into his hand, holding up his other hand. He listened to the movements inside the chamber, then waved his hand, signaling everyone to rush in.
"ALRIGHT ZAKUHM! Stop… right… there?" Jack utterd in bewilderment. The six looked around the empty chamber, seeing a finely designed crest carved into the stone floor. On the back wall of the chamber were two people suspended in the air as though crucified. Jack instantly recognized one of them as being Richie, but the second young girl he didn't recognize.
"Well, well, well, what do we have here?" came a smooth voice as Zakuhm came down to the floor, winding three of his heads around the Guardians, flipping his tongues as though he were a snake. Jack and Matthew's shoulders felt tight, waiting for the Hydra to strike.
"Why would you six deprive me of what I want more than anything in this world?" one of the heads asked as Zakuhm's body moved around in front of them, the other four heads coiling their necks.
"Because this world is not yours to conquer! You may be a powerful hydra, but you are all alone. Not even Skeleth will come to your aid!" Helen shouted. Zakuhm laughed, sounding like a bad echo as each head laughed out of sync.
"I haven't heard that name in a long time, but it matters not. I won't be imprisoned again! I WILL rule, and there is nothing that YOU CAN DO ABOUT IT!" he roared, two of the heads opening their mouths wide, unleashing a blockade of flames. Olsen ran to the front and held up his glowing cloak as it directed the deadly flames around them. Another pair of Zakuhm's heads took a hissing breath and unleashed their flames, the force further pressing down on Olsen. He struggled to hold up the cloak, the fire becoming too heavy to hold back as the sweltering heat licked around the edges.
The last of Zakuhm's three heads took a breath, fire building at the back of their throats when something grazed their cheeks, blasting the ceiling and glassing the rocks. Olsen almost fell forward when the pressure of the flames was relieved. Lillianne came through the cloud of fire with a whirl of her halberd before tumbling forward and landing a hit on one of the heads, only to have it spark off his scales. Helen held her staff parallel to the ground for a moment, then slammed the butt end on the ground, magic circles exploding around it.
"BE SEALED!" she called as a giant six-sided box appeared around Zakuhm piece by piece, closing around his body and confining him within a smaller space.
"You think this will hold me?" Zakuhm growled, forcing his arms out while trying to lift his heads. Helen tried to hold the seal tighter, but her grip on the spell was slipping. Zakuhm broke free of it with a thunderous roar, throwing Helen to the ground. Jenny ran forward, calling up her powerful Rain of Arrows and firing into the air above him and firing a bright light into the ground from her crossbow.
"CLEAR OUT!" She yelled as she ran back to the group. Matthew held out his hand, making an iron wall shoot from the ground as the ground erupted in a geyser of arrows from below and a hailstorm rained down from above. Zakuhm howled in pain as the arrows pierced his softer underbelly before swinging his claws hard. Matthew turned to call up another wall but couldn't solidify it in time, shattering in hardened flakes of mana and flattening them to the ground. Olsen was the first to recover, followed by Jack, running at Zakuhm hard. Jack ran under Zakuhm and swung up hard, the resulting shockwave lifting Zakuhm into the air.
Zakuhm tried to recover from the hit as Olsen ran up the ridge on his back. He wrapped his hand around the blades of his Double Knife, covering them in potent poison, then disappearing in a streak. A long wound appeared from Zakuhm's chest to his belly, fizzing and boiling as the poison began to take effect. Helen teleported before him, slamming her staff into the ground where a column of fire shot up around her. It enveloped Zakuhm before disappearing to another part of the cave.
Matthew stood at a distance as he pushed mana through his Sawtooth; ice reached its sharp fingers up the blade. Lillianne stayed close to the hydra, butchering his legs and knocking off large patches of scales as she worked her way up his body before launching into the air with a battle step. Bright blue dragon's wings appeared on Matthew's back, propelling him forward, freezing the ground as he moved. Both Lillianne and Matthew swung hard, hitting Zakuhm with enough force to throw him to the wall, and the ice from their attacks began to envelop him, only to melt from the cave's heat.
Helen spun her staff in a whirl of color, forcing her hand out. Ice in the shape of a skull splashed over Zakuhm's body. Jack pulled his pistol, blasting icy air like a cannon at the hydra. Jenny reached for her crossbow, the bolt icing over, and fired, sticking into the skin of Zakuhm's chest.
Before the ice completely encased him, Olsen appeared with his doppelganger, reaching into the pouch on his belt. They both hurled a handful of blood-soaked coins down into the remaining holes in the ice, falling into the cuts on his underbelly. A few seconds after the ice had encased him, the coins glowed and exploded, hurling chunks of ice in every direction. Zakuhm stayed upright for a few moments, silently looking up to the ceiling as smoke rose from his scales.
"Did we get him?" Jenny asked, nocking an arrow until his massive body tilted forward and slammed onto the ground. Matthew unhooked the sections of the Sawtooth and swung hard above the two people hanging in midair. But there was nothing to cut: no chains, ropes, or otherwise.
"Let me," Helen said with a gentle hand on his shoulder, gliding the two people to the ground with a wave of her hands. Behind where the two people had been, a crest of light glowed on the back wall, signaling to Helen that the core of the barrier around the Forest of Death was still safe. Jack went to Richie to check if he was alive, realizing that he was nothing more than a skeleton, and instead went to check on the girl, feeling her weak pulse.
"Come on, we need to get this girl outta here," Jack called as he hoisted her over his shoulder.
"What about Richie?" Lillianne asked, nudging the strange man with the end of her halberd.
"Just leave him," Jack commanded but stopped.
"On second thought, let's get him outta here; if Zakuhm was using him to break the spell..." Zakuhm's giant hand slammed on the ground, breaking the weak floor into stone slabs.
"You aren't going anywhere!" he growled, picking his weight off the ground despite the blood draining from his body in a flood.
"I will break free of this prison and reign supreme!" Fire erupted from his mouths, making Jack run as fast as he could to the room's entrance. Matthew growled as light gathered around his Sawtooth, unleashing a solar scythe and slicing off one of his arms. Zakuhm's deafening roar shook the cave, causing cracks to appear in the walls and floor, widening as Zakuhm thrashed.
"GET HER TO THE SURFACE! I'LL HOLD HIM OFF!" Matthew thundered as his sword glowed with a golden sacred light.
"WHAT ABOUT YOU?!" Lillianne called back. Matthew looked back at her, grabbed her shirt, and pulled her close, kissing her firmly before hurling her after the others.
"It's just you and me now, Zakuhm! HOW DOES A MILLION TONS OF EARTH HIT YOU?!" he thundered as he charged into battle, cutting deeper and deeper into each wound. His head pounded, and his ears rang as Zakuhm howled louder and louder. When the cracks had grown enough, Matthew unleashed one last solar scythe, cutting off his other arm. He aimed the Sawtooth down at the ground with a soothing violet light enveloping the blade.
"I hope this works!" He thought," driving the sword into the ground where the dragon's roar seal appeared. Slowly, a Dragon's head rose from the seal, tensing its neck as each muscle bulged like ropes, turning its head up and roaring with deafening volume. The rocks could no longer hold together., shaking a stalagmite from the ceiling that drove through Zakuhm's body, pinning him to the ground. The floor gave way under the impact, breaking into giant rock slabs as he vanished into a chasm below.
The other five had been teleported away by Helen to the base of the El Nath Mountains, watching the mountain range over the Mine of the Dead collapse in a cloud of dust. The remaining five could hear Zakuhm's echoing roar over the rumble of the earth, its haunting sound making them realize that Matthew was still in the cave. Lillianne stared in the direction of the mountains for a while, waiting to see Matthew's confident stride coming from the cloud of dust. But seconds drug on into minutes, and still Matthew had yet to appear. Lillianne fell to her knees, dropping her halberd to the ground with a loud clang, slamming her fists into the ground over and over again until her knuckles began to bleed.
"Matthew, what am I supposed to do now?" she asked through her tears. Minutes stretched into hours as Grendal, Dances, Athena, Lilin, and Aran came to find them when they hadn't called for pickup. Hours stretched into days as others from Herb Town dug through the rubble to try and find Matthew. Lillianne helped to dig through the rubble until her fingers began to bleed, telling herself over and over again that Matthew was still alive. But as time passed, hope began fading from her heart, making her dig all the more furious. She couldn't accept that he was gone; she wouldn't accept that he was gone.
When the fourth day was coming to a close, Lillianne slumped to the ground in defeat, her hands and fingers caked in scabs and dirt. She forced herself to accept that Matthew was gone and that there was nothing more she could do. Saia came and paid her respects, thanking them all for helping her get some closure on the haunts of her past. Lillianne acknowledged her in a daze, following the others as they returned to Herb Town.
Helen and Jenny tried to comfort her, but Lillianne refused their company and walked back to her hut. Dropping her halberd to the ground, she pulled off her cloak, loosened the strings on her green leather top, and flopped on her cot. With silent tears, she pulled her legs up to keep herself warm against the cool breeze of the bay and the giant hole in her heart.
"I was beginning to wonder when you would get back." Matthew's voice said. Lillianne froze; did she hear his voice? Or was she simply hallucinating? She felt the strong and warm touch on her arm and then felt her cot shift as a weight sat beside her. She dared not look back in fear that his touch would vanish.
"Lilli, what's wrong?" he asked, pulling on her shoulder to face him. Lillianne almost resisted but let herself be rolled over as her eyes adjusted to the light coming in from the door.
"Matthew?" she asked with a shaky voice, sitting up slowly to better see who was there.
"Yes, it's me. What the matter? You looked like you've seen a ghost." Matthew looked into her tear-filled eyes as she reached for him with shaking hands.
"Lilli, you didn't think that I…" Lillianne tackled Matthew to the ground, wrapping her arms around him hard enough to hurt while her relieved wails filled the air. After Lillianne was sure that Matthew was there, she brought him to the others, where he told them that he had found a spare transporting node when they went to Ldibrium in his bag. Just before the cave collapsed on him, he activated the node, which transported him to the Omega Sector watch tower.
"The security division held me for three days in interrogation since Dr. Kim was away on a science mission. I just got back a few hours ago. I would have sent you guys a message if I had a way to do so. Crane was gone, the Tickets were gone because they had taken our students on another mission to Mu Lung to meet the Empress, and Shank's ship was down for repairs." After another few minutes of playful beratement and thankful chuckles, The six of them went to the medical tents where Lilin and Athena were tending to the girl they found, finally waking her. She woke initially with a panic, almost ready to bolt as Athena held her in place and calmed her. After a while, the girl relaxed, saying her name was Josephine, and had escaped from a Black Wings facility. Once she was fully awake and looked over to possible injuries, she told her story with everyone listening eagerly.
"The Black Wings science division is performing experiments on people, splicing together human and animal DNA to produce a stronger soldier."
"That can't be good," Jack said. Josephine nodded and continued.
"As I was escaping, I heard some of the research big-wigs talking about some eclipse that's supposed to happen and that if some people called "The Guardians" gained full control over something called crystal power would be the only threat to them. I didn't hear everything, but that's what I remember." Aran opened his celestial calendar and confirmed that at the end of the year was a Lunar Eclipse. Matthew lowered his brow; something didn't seem right, but he held his tongue until a thought came to mind.
"How did you get caught by Zakuhm in the first place? Everything we know says that The Black Mage's operations are based somewhere in Edelstein." the warrior asked. Josephine sighed hard, propping herself a little better.
"It took me a month to get to the northern shores of El Nath, and another month to get to that village where I was captured." Helen and Jack both looked at Matthew.
"What are you getting at?" Helen thought, narrowing her eyes.
"How did you get past the barrier surrounding the village and the Forest of Death?" Matthew pressed, asking with a bit more hostility in his voice. Josephine felt her face pale slightly, feeling a constricting pressure around her chest.
"Barrier? What barrier?" She asked. Matthew narrowed his eyes but decided not to press the matter any further. As they left the tent, Helen pulled him aside to speak privately.
"What do your senses tell you, Matthew?" she asked, recognizing that he was trying to find out something.
"Your grandfather said nothing gets in or out of that barrier; to get past it, anyone doing so needs a special charm," He answered, holding up the charm he carried when they all went to face Zakuhm.
"Either that, or they must know how to manipulate powerful barriers. So tell me, how did that girl escape a facility and wander into the town with seemingly no magical training?" Matthew continued, holding his arms wide for emphasis.
"Do you think she is part of a trap?" Helen asked, her brow lowering over her eyes.
"I'm not sure yet. Once she's doing better, we can talk more. For now, we'll just keep an eye on her," he said, walking back to the rest. Lillianne waited for him near the tent entrance, grabbing his arm and pulling him close to her as they walked.
"Lilli, it's kinda hard to walk like this," Matthew chuckled.
"Tough. I'm not letting you go for a while," Lillianne smiled as Matthew grinned and walked down the road until the group was swarmed by children begging for them to tell of their adventures while they ventured towards the meal area, meeting up with Evan and Mir.
"Mir, I wanted to ask you about something," Jenny called as she sat an eager child on her knee. Mir nodded as if agreeing to answer while leaning against Evan comfortably, showing some hint of sadness in her eyes and posture.
"How are you dragons connected? I mean, when Phoenix died, you were almost catatonic for a week solid." Mir looked down, saddened having to remember Phoenix's death, and felt saddened by Zakuhm's passing the previous week.
"It is the same with you humans. From what I understand, Minerva and Corus were the first to start life here, and their children married others brought from their home world, and they had children. However, as the generations pass, you humans tend to forget that you are all related to each other on some level or another, even though your connection may be quite far back.
"We dragons come from Oldesta, including the Afrien, King of the Onyx Dragons. Every dragon is taught rigorously about their heritage and taught to revere every dragon as a member of our family, even if we may be of a different bloodline. On top of which, we dragons share something called 'Tonopar Di Halitrad,' translated into your language as 'Bond of Mystery.' It is similar to what humans call a connection between twins: the unexplainable bond they can each feel when something has happened to the other." Helen's interest was piqued as she leaned forward to ask more questions.
"Then why is it that I hear tales of battles and wars between dragons if you share such a deep connection?" Mir shook her head and set her drink down, sitting up.
"It is the same as any family: disputes sometimes escalate into full-blown wars. But every dragon that loses their life in those wars is mourned over. We are not so different from you humans," Mir said with a sad smile, turning her attention back towards El Nath.
"Vdri algbo, sia isthasy di halitrad," She thought, placing a hand over her heart as though physically feeling Zakuhm's absence within the world. Her attention was returned to the conversation when she felt Evan's hand on her shoulder. His hand moved to upper back, smiling down at her as if to say he understood.
The Black Mage pressed the tips of his fingers together as quiet, intrigued whispers filled the air around him. The shadow from the Forest of Death leaned against the wall somewhere in the dark of his throne room.
"Deh, it was nothing. All I needed was to get that dummy Zakuhm to break the first barrier, and I was home free." The Black Mage nodded as he sat down and eyed the shadow, growling murmurs weaving through the air as an image of Edelstein appeared in his hand. The shadow grinned slyly and crossed an arm over his chest, taking a slight bow.
"A spy in Edelstein for the Black Mage? It would be my honor: when do I start?"
Deep within the depths of Aquarious, Carta appeared and stared into her brew. She shook her head when she lost her concentration from a sudden jolt she felt in her chest. She then heard the familiar thrumming coming from the entrance of her cave.
"He's returned. This will be the perfect way to try and warn them. I just hope what I tell them won't sway their decision to protect us all." She thought, holding a hand to her head before her form disappeared. When she opened her eyes, she hung from the chains deep within the stale-smelling cave, feeling as if her chest were being crushed from the inside.
"Just you wait, you overgrown guppy; I won't be here much longer."
