Endless Rain

They had just ran out on Hana and the others who were hiding in the Chi Village. Hitori had asked all the council members and the Pearl of the Ocean and her own Ruby of the Dragon to leave the village with Hana and a few guards, because the Sendo was on their way to fight. When they arrived in the Chi village the only thing she saw were the bodies of the people of her tribe. The scene faded, but the images remained. Her mother, Jishuku, had appeared before her to ask her to bring the tribe back to life. Pyro explained that if she completed that task she'd finally be the official owner of the Ruby of the Dragon.

“Yes?” Pyro answered, his appearance transparent.

“Are you sure there's a way for me to bring back my people?” she asked, “I mean... they're dead, they died a long time ago. Is it really possible to raise the dead?”

“You'll see,” Pyro smiled.

Moyasu looked back up. “I've been wondering. If my tribe wasn't killed what other assignment would you have given me?”

“Eh?” Pyro asked, “Well, that would completely depend on the circumstances, but there's always a quest to think of, I'm sure.”

“I wonder,” Moyasu dreamed, “what would've happened if the Sendo hadn't slaughtered my tribe...”

In another time...

The bright red light of the Ruby of the Dragon fell on Moyasu's face.

“You must be Moyasu,” a voice asked, echoing through the cave she had entered. Disobeying her mother and the guards she sought out the lost Hikari Crystal that was supposedly located in the highest mountain in The Valley of Endless Rain. Rarely were the stories of the Hikari Crystals taken seriously, but after the rumors from the Mikomi and Sendo Tribes she just had to dare and check it out herself and therefore she had left unannounced and had started her two day climb of the mountain and found a cave, which she entered. It is said that from there you could see the tips of the mountains surrounding the Valley. It was true, but the dark clouds concealed virtually everything making it impossible to look past the edges of the Valley.

“Yes, that's me!” Moyasu answered, unsure where the voice came from. The red Crystal was sitting in a glass vase on top of an altar, impossible to reach.

“Ha, I am sorry, I didn't really need to ask, but I wanted you to know I know who you are.”

Moyasu blinked. “Well, how did you know?” She looked around. Her own voice echoed from every direction as well. The whole mountain seemed like a maze.

“You are the one to find the Ruby of the Dragon. You have been all along. One of the Gods foretold it,” the calm voice said.

Only now it occurred to Moyasu that the voice was that of a child. “Who are you?!”

“I... am Pyro Phoenixtruth. If you complete the task I have for you, I might even let you call me Pyro.”

“What task?”

“Do you know why this Crystal is called... Ruby of the Dragon?”

A sudden roar made Moyasu shiver in her boots. While her sweat wet her palms, she immediately drew the sword she had 'borrowed' from her dear younger brother Koudo – with every intention of bringing it back of course – which he used for his training at the village. Of course the roar came from all directions. She looked round her back and to the left and right, but there was no trace of anything that could've made a sound.

“Pyro Phoenixtruth!” she called out, “What the hell was that sound?”

There was no answer, except another roar, this time followed by a thud. And another one. And another. Footsteps.

Moyasu's eyes swiftly scanned the cave she was in again. Then in her peripheral vision she saw something resembling a claw. She turned, but it was gone. Another roar filled the cave. The once cold cave now felt very warm.

Was the cave turning hotter all of a sudden? Or is this what fear feels like? Moyasu thought. She hadn't really ever been in a combat situation, she was an explorer after all, not a warrior. Her skills with the bow could've come in handy if only she had actually brought her bow. Luckily she at least knew how to handle Koudo's sword, even though she only took it for emergencies. Well, this'd probably qualify as one.

She saw the claw once more and turned to face it, but it was gone as fast as it had appeared. Then there was another roar and this time Moyasu knew exactly where the roar was coming from and looked behind her. Her eyes fell on two gigantic paws that were probably it's feet. She could see a tail. As her startled gaze panned upwards the full picture of the beast began to form. The whole creature was red and yellow, but it might be because of the still intensifying glow of the Ruby. Her gaze went even farther upwards until she saw the gigantic beak of the terrifying creature. She couldn't believe it. A dragon. It was impossible; no one had ever really seen a dragon. There had been stories of course, but she always thought that's all they were – stories. But standing face to face with something she believed had been untrue for almost all her life made her think twice.

She was frozen in her boots and shivering all over. Her grip on her sword started to loosen. The giant neck bent over and the head came swerving down slowly. The yellow and black eyes gazing directly at Moyasu's. She could detect no white in its eye.

Then her sword clattered on the ground and Moyasu regained her composure. She dove left and while rolling grabbed her sword, jumped and impaled one of it's paws. It was a perfect blow, but the sword never gave resistance. It just melted through until it touched the ground.

“Wha-what?!” Moyasu gasped.

The neck twisted and the enormous beak opened letting loose the foul smell of death. Once more Moyasu tried to roll left, but one of the smaller paws struck her in her side probably breaking a rib or two. She crashed sideways into the mountain wall and dropped on the floor in pain. Her lip had burst and blood trickled down her chin. Apparently fighting a pretty strong point of hers after all, she though, but it wasn't enough. If only at least Koudo was there to help her. Her younger brother may be outmatched by Moyasu's capability with a bow, but at least his fighting abilities completely surpassed hers.

“This... This is magic!!” Moyasu screamed.

The voice laughed. “Of course it is! You were looking for the magical Hikari Crystals, weren't you? And this dragon seems kind of out of this world don't you think? The clues are right in front of you.”

“The clues?!” Moyasu asked, but then she saw the dragon had disappeared.

“Yes, you should have already been able to guess the truth by now.”

“This is impossible!” the Chi girl exclaimed in horror as she saw that the red and yellow beast was now at the other end of the cave. It heaved it's head and when it spun back with a snap it's mouth released a ball of flames.

Moyasu ducked behind a rock, but still felt the amazing heat. It burned her fingers. She dropped her sword and cried in agony. “Aaah! It hurts so much! I can't even pick up my sword anymore! Pyro, you have to help me!” she screamed begging on her knees.

“But it's so easy to defeat him! And I'd prefer you call me PhoenixTruth instead.”

“I don't know how! It shouldn't be possible! Dragons don't exist, but here it is exactly as it was told to me in those fairy tale books.”

“Then why can't you hurt it?” Pyro Phoenixtruth asked.

“I don't know!!!” Moyasu screamed and with her best hand she grabbed her sword and threw it at the dragon. The sword passed through the dragon, disappearing through its skin and then reappearing behind the dragon's head only to smash against the wall.

“There is no way I can beat this impossible creature,” Moyasu cried, “No way!”

“You're so close, Moyasu, so close!” the voice said in anticipation, “You can't beat it because...”

“Are you deaf?! Because it's an impos-” At that moment she froze. “Because it doesn't exist? You told me that I could've guessed the truth by now... That's it, isn't it? The truth is that dragon's don't exist!”

A flash of white light blinded Moyasu and her hands instinctively went to her face to shield her eyes. Then she realized they weren't burnt anymore. In fact she couldn't feel any pain at all. And to her surprise she found Koudo's sword lying next to her.

She looked back toward the place where the dragon was before light, but it had vanished. Instead a young boy with red hair was floating in front of her, holding the vase with the Crystal.

“Very good Moyasu, you've completed your task,” Pyro said and with a whimsical gesture handed her the vase.

Moyasu offered her hands but they passed through the vase directly to touch the Ruby. The vase sank through her wrists and mysteriously vanished before her eyes.

“So... now you can call me Pyro if you like,” the guardian said and smiled.

Gently Lana caressed two of the Hikari Crystals she possessed. The Pearl of the Ocean she had stolen in a brutal battle with Hitori. Apparently she had found out how to use the powers of the Pearl and seize control over the water around them. Unfortunately for her she failed to realize that mortal beings cannot kill a God. The Emerald of the Earth, the first Crystal she had collected, was even easier. When she was imprisoned in the dungeons of Mikomi village, under the power of Typhoon Gryffinstrength, she used her power of persuasion to get one of the council idiots, Kino, to take the Crystal and free her from her chains.

The Mikomi still had two Crystals, the Light of the Soul and the Diamond of the Angel. The Light of the Soul was earned through unknown circumstances by a mere boy named Zesshou. The Diamond was recovered by the former Lady of the Sendo Tribe, Mariko, or Kyen Koh as she was apparently called when she was Mistress, from the eye of a hurricane. It was no wonder Lana didn't recognize her own daughter. Mariko had been secretly in love with Layou, an evil God. Without Afrain's, her father, knowing they had conceived a child. Layou was imprisoned under the Valley of Endless Rain and when Afrain found out, Mariko, the child was abandoned in the Valley.

Now Lana has been looking for the Hikari Crystals to free her lover from the bowels of the world. She knew exactly where it was that he was locked up. Deep under Hiyou Lake there was an enormous cavern and in that cavern stands a monument, a Cathedral, built in memoriam of the people of the Land of Dead Fairies, built by Afrain in less than a few seconds. It was on there, on top of that Cathedral that she had to bring the five Crystals together.

“Mistress,” Tebok said when he burst into the room, “We have good news!”

Lana snapped up from her fascination with the two Crystals. “Yes, what is it?”

“The final Crystal,” Tebok said, trying to contain his enthusiasm, but failing, “We've confirmed that a girl from the Chi Tribe has successfully retrieved it from the mountains.”

“Excellent,” Lana whispered, “I want you to go there with Alika, kill that girl and take the Crystal.”

“Don't you think that'd be a bit graphic for Alika?” Tebok said concerned, “We might want to keep from traumatizing her.”

Lana cocked her head. “You're not developing feelings for her are you, Tebok?”

“No, of course not, my Lady,” Tebok answered, not flinching, “I was merely concerned that if we traumatized her, she might not be willing to cooperate any longer.” Tebok didn't have feelings for the innocent girl, whose touch wouldn't taint the Crystals, but he didn't want to lose her as asset.

“Of course, just shroud her vision again, like you did before, and she'll be fine,” Lana said. Tebok was ready to leave as Lana began speaking again. “Something else... how'd the negotiations go?”

Tebok stopped in his tracks, turned back and smirked. “Let's just say my infiltration of their tribe was... a very good idea indeed, Mistress.”

At that he turned back and left the room.

“Slave!” Lana called out when Tebok was gone.

A scrawny woman peeked around the corridor and shuffled in. “Y-yes, your ladyship?” she stammered. Her ribs were showing and her arms felt frail. She hadn't eaten in almost a week and had seen almost no sunlight in her time in captivity.

“I want you to clean my shoes.”

“Yes, my lady.”

“And Aiko... Don't ruin them with water, like you did last time. Or I will kill you!”

Home break

“Hey, mom!” Moyasu said when coming home again. It had been three days since she got the Ruby. She carried it as a necklace around her neck. It had stopped glowing, but Pyro Phoenixtruth was still following pretty much her every move in his ghostly state. She had never told anyone about Pyro, except for Koudo and Youji, her 6-year old brother, but he wouldn't understand anyway. His vocabulary had improved over the last two years, but unfortunately he was still behind on all the other kids.

“Hey, you don't seem to be in a very good mood today,” Jishuku noted.

“I'm in my room, mom!” Moyasu said and strolled straight past her. Not the whole tribe had believed Moyasu when she came home. Most of the council was skeptical at the discovery of the Ruby of the Dragon, but at least a handful of people, including her parents, Jishuku and Teinei, had believed her. Unfortunately Pyro had no desire of showing himself to anyone except for Moyasu.

“So, let me get this straight, Pyro...” Moyasu started, “You don't need to be with me when I go... do my things, you know... It's something people do privately.” After three days, Moyasu was still feeling uncomfortable with Pyro's continued presence.

“I know, but have you forgotten? I'm all knowing!” Pyro answered.

“Yes, well that's part of the problem. Because you know everything already... that means you've sorta already seen... me... you know.”

“I think I know what you mean, and yeah I have.”

“Agh! I knew it! You're nothing but a pervert!”

“I just don't get you, getting so flustered about something like this! What's so special about it anyway?” Pyro wondered, “Everyone does it, I see it every day!”

“See!” Moyasu pointed at the Guardian, “That's exactly what I mean! You're a pervert!”

“Seriously, I think it's weird, it's just your bod-” Pyro tensed up, “Oh, now would be a good time to inform you that apparently there are people infiltrating this village. They're right here at the house right now!”

“What?!” Moyasu exclaimed and looked around.

Suddenly a young man jumped through the window behind her, followed by another young man, and a girl, probably in her 20s.

“Is this the place?” Nagata asked the other two. Nagata was the first man to jump in.

“Yes, according to what we've heard this is Teinei's house,” Zesshou said, “His daughter was the one with the Crystal around her neck.”

“Oh no, look!” Hitori said, “The girl's already seen us!”

Without a second thought Moyasu ran back towards the living room. “Mom! Get out of here! There are Sendo warriors!!”

“Hey, I didn't say that!” Pyro said in disgust floating behind her.

Hitori ran up to her. “No, you misunderstand! We're Mikomi!”

Nagata grabbed Moyasu by the arm. “We're here for the Crystal.”

“What?” Moyasu asked trying to tug her arm free.

“The Ruby of the Dragon! You must give it to us!” Nagata ordered.

“Don't be so rough, Nagata,” Hitori said, “We have other means to our disposal. Zesshou.”

Moyasu turned to the second boy and saw him grabbing something from his pocket. She couldn't believe it, but it seemed like he held a small sun in his hands, it wasn't very big, but it was emitting almost the same intensity of light.

Then she saw the entire room being engulfed by the light. Only the boy remained.

“Moyasu, I know your scared, but you have to give us your Crystal,” Zesshou said calmly, his demeanor serious, “You see, we're collecting all five, because we need them to save everyone in this valley, but most importantly to save one of our gods, Mikomi.”

Moyasu couldn't move and couldn't blink. It was like she was frozen, but everything the boy said felt like the truth. Maybe it was, maybe it wasn't, but she couldn't help but feel that it must be the truth. The truth... she should ask Pyro when she got the chance.

“I'll explain. She was cursed by Lana, the current Empress of the Sendo Tribe, to trade her immortal life for Lana's mortal life. However in the process their lives became fused. In other words, whenever Lana or Mikomi dies, the other dies too. They pretty much feel the same things... well, we're not sure of that, but in any case, Mikomi is dieing. We need those Crystals or she will die, and we can't let that happen. However, neither can Lana herself, so she's looking for the Crystals as well. In fact, she could be here any sec-”

Then the white walls broke down in an explosion of glass, the illusion roughly interrupted, when Zesshou was swung against a wall. Moyasu lost her balance, but regained it by using her left knee and hands to brace her for the impact of falling. The Light of the Soul bounced through the air in the other direction, rolling away from Zesshou's body.

“Zesshou!!!” Hitori cried out.

Zesshou tumbled down and smashed into a small table.

From the walls a figure emerged. He was long and stern and his hair black as the night.

“Tebok!” Nagata gasped, “That was too fast!” He took his sword from his holster with one hand, the other still clutching Moyasu's wrist, and aimed it at the Sendo Lord.

“Give me the Ruby!” Tebok commanded with his thundering voice.

Moyasu panicked, got away from Nagata's grip, grabbed a cooking pot and threw it to Tebok's head. The pot passed through Tebok's head as if it were made of air and landed on the ground clattering hard.

“Pyro, is this another one of your tricks?!!” Moyasu screamed.

Pyro's face flashed before her eyes. “No, it's his ability! He is with the Sendo!”

Moyasu turned away from the scene and ran inside the living room, but then she stopped. She saw her mother on the ground. Her eyes were blank, and her pose disturbingly wrong. A long spear had punctured her chest and created a red ocean of death. Her face was almost completely covered and were it not for the clothes she wore Moyasu might not even have recognized her. At the far end corner was the opening to the next room. A small hand that could only belong to one person lay motionless next to the door frame, the rest of his body covered by the wall.

Her mind stopped and she fell on her knees. Nothing made sense anymore, her head was spinning. Information coming in too fast or too slowly. The room was now spinning too. The outer edges of her vision darkened and she lost her balance and fell. Before her vision winked out she saw Koudo sitting in the far right corner clutching a pillow with a terrified look in his eyes she had never seen before.

“Oh my god!” Hitori exclaimed when she saw Jishuku's body.

Tebok rushed through her and reached with his hand through Moyasu's head and neck to grab the necklace, making sure not to touch the Crystal itself. Then he got the spear from Jishuku's body and swung it around so the wooden stick smashed into the incoming Nagata, who somersaulted into the chairs.

When the noise of breaking wood and groans had lessened Tebok began to speak. “You're Hitori, right?” Tebok said while staring at the Mikomi girl, “You've become quite famous now that you're married to the Master of your tribe. I think it'd be easy to collect the final Hikari Crystal if I just take you with me.” Tebok slowly approached Hitori walking through Moyasu and her mother's body, showing no respect.

Hitori froze, there was no way to go. Nowhere he couldn't follow.

Tebok's firm hand grabbed Hitori's head and he lifted her up. “Should I just take your skull out? Or should I keep you for trading? Such a hard choice, don't you think?”

“Don't you dare touch her!!” Zesshou screamed as he soared through the air with his sword ready to kill anyone who dared lay a finger on Hitori. His jump was angled exactly so that he could behead Tebok with one swipe. Tebok used his ability and Zesshou passed through him. Tebok also lost his hold to Hitori's head and she dropped to the floor. Zesshou was prepared and flung around again hoping to surprise Tebok, but instead he leaped at Zesshou and grabbed the hand that was holding his sword. No, he wasn't. He was grabbing the sword through his hands.

“What?! Are you doing?!!!” Zesshou exclaimed. His hold on the sword was strong, but it was Tebok controlling his movements. Tebok and him were buried in a desperate struggle. Unfortunately Tebok's strength surpassed Zesshou's and the sword slowly moved towards Zesshou's chest.

“Nooo!” Hitori cried out, “Don't! You'll kill him! Zesshou!!” She tried to get up, but the pain in her throat was too strong. She had trouble breathing.

“No...” Nagata moaned just before he fell unconscious.

“It seems that your time has come, little boy,” Tebok smirked and with that he used his second hand to press Zesshou against the sword. Its sharp blade passed through his organs, becoming increasingly hot. His vision blurred and his mouth filled with blood.

“Noooo!! Noooooo!!” Hitori screamed, her mouth becoming dryer and dryer.

But Tebok hadn't finished yet. He kept on pressing. Zesshou was making sounds he knew he could never have before. In fact, he knew very little at this point. His mind was racing, going through every memory he had. His birth, his capture by the Sendo, how he met Siren, Hitori...

The holster of the sword now pressed firmly against his reddened shirt, but still Tebok kept on pushing until the sword had completely passed through the poor boy's body.

He felt himself dropping onto the floor, his legs flailing. The world around him seemed to be spinning, memories fading in and out of his head.

Hitori crawled with incredible speed and saw Zesshou struggling to breath. Hitori could see the floor through the hole in his chest just before it filled up with blood. The scene was horrific and Hitori couldn't help but take a second to take it all in. Even though she knew she had to act, every fiber in her body told her to move away. To run. To get to safety.

Tebok shrugged and walked away. “I'll be back for you in a moment,” he said casually, “I need to get a friend.”

Hitori broke her frozen state and grabbed Zesshou's hand. “Zesshou! Zesshou, speak to me!!” she cried, tears running down her cheeks.

“Hit- or-i...” Zesshou managed. Then he reached into his pocket for the final time in his life. He reached out his hand to Hitori and showed her what was inside. It was the wedding ring he would've given Siren if the whole wedding itself hadn't been a test.

“I... lov- you...” Zesshou uttered and then he felt everything go numb. His hands, his feet, his torso, his head, his heart. Everything was engulfed by the darkness. Then he felt... nothing.

“Master!” Kino anxiously said, “Nagata has returned from the Chi Tribe!”

The Master's eyes widened. “Only Nagata?!” He sat in his throne, but while the curtains of the hall were drawn, his face was obscured by the shadows.

“Yes! But... he doesn't want to reveal what happened to us. Only to you.”

“Oh no...” the Master of the Mikomi Tribe felt his heart grow heavy. Something had happened to Hitori. “Bring me to him! Now!” The Master rose to his feet, the light shining on his young and wise face. He was Shuhan, Master of the Mikomi Tribe.

“And then I asked Alika to get the two Crystals, with her vision shrouded of course, captured Hitori, and here I am!” Tebok beamed.

Lana sighed. “I'd repress your enthusiasm if I were you, Tebok. We still need that one Crystal. With only four we still can't save Layou from his prison.”

“Look at it this way, Empress, with Hitori in our power we can exchange her for the final Crystal,” Tebok smiled, “And remember! Hitori is the owner of the Pearl of the Ocean. Without her they can't use its powers!”

Lana stood up. “Yes, and of course we still have our defenses. You for example. I want you and a few of your men to go exchange Hitori for the Crystal, and if it fails... you know what to do.”

“Dear Zesshou...” Shuhan said. He wore his neatest robes, as did everyone else at the small gathering covered with a small roof of leaves and branches, almost like a house without walls.

Everyone was quiet. They had lost their youngest soldier, one of the bravest men of the Tribe.

Hana was crying silently. Kino held her hand, which Hana squeezed whenever she dared to glance at the wooden casket. Even Mariko, who had never got to actually know him, had choked up at the emotion of loss displayed by the group. The only real sound, apart from the drizzling rain, came from Siren. When she heard the news the shock was so great she couldn't cry, until now. The water came like waterfalls from her eyes. Ty, Gaia and Mermaid stood around her, Mermaid holding her hand and Gaia had her arm around her.

Shuhan continued. “Killed in combat... maybe he died as it should be... as a warrior, but I feel that it was not his time. If there was a choice, I would've died in his place.”

A lot of the soldiers present nodded understanding.

“Unfortunately, we don't have a lot of time for grief...” Shuhan hardened. “There are things we need to do. I've asked our warriors to come up with a plan to get Hitori and the Crystals back. No doubt they'll be here any day like last time. I'm afraid though that the plans of our warriors will not be enough, so I ask Mariko to call for Baku's help. You said that if you called his name he'd come, right?”

Mariko nodded.

“Well, then. Make sure it happens. As for the Guardians... I want you to think of something too. Work with Baku once he returns. Serenity... if you don't feel up to it, no one will blame you.”

Siren stood up. “On the contrary,” she said out loud, “I will help get Hitori back for you.” Her voice started to tremble. “And for Zesshou...”

Shuhan looked her in the eyes, then turned to see the casket being buried. According to Nagata Zesshou had said that he loved Hitori... I hope she's not taking it badly, he thought.

Hitori sat in the dark dungeons of Sendo Village. She looked ahead completely dazed, thinking only of that one moment. She looked at the ring again. Such a beautiful diamond. She knew Zesshou had always kept the other one on ever since the wedding. Now she had one, and the other was still around his finger. She tried the ring on. A perfect fit.

He must've been living like this for ages, she though, I had no idea. I'm sorry, Zesshou. I'm so sorry. She put her hands on her head and felt the ring touch her brow. Tears flowed down from her cheeks. Completely forgetting her situation, her being imprisoned, the Hikari Crystals, the mission to save Mikomi, everything. Only two people remained in her mind... Shuhan and Zesshou.

“Baku!!” Mariko called out at the top of her lungs, standing on a small boulder.

“Why so loud?” Hana asked.

Mariko turned around. “Well... I have no idea if I should yell... or if I could just say his name. I really don't know, he never actually told me,” She answered honestly.

“You don't have to yell so loud!” Out of nowhere Baku had appeared in front of her, rubbing his ears, as if he had been standing there for ages. Mariko lost her balance, but before she could fall she was caught by Baku. “Well, I'm here now. What is it you wanted me for?” he said with a stunning grin.

Asylum

“Hold it there, you two,” Wevlum said, guarding the gate.

“Please, please let us through,” the girl said, trying to push her way through.

“What's the meaning of this?” Wevli asked.

“These two Chi kids want to enter our village,” Wevlum explained.

“Well, I'm sorry for being Chi!” the boy growled, “But you can't just stop us because of our heritage.”

“Actually, we can,” Wevles said as he entered the scene, “The Chi haven't exactly been friendly with us. They tried to buy our Hikari Crystals and when they failed they tried to steal them!”

“None of that was proven,” the girl insisted, “Alright... Then we ask asylum!”

“I don't care if you- Wait, what?”

“We ask asylum!” the boy repeated.

“I am Moyasu,” the girl said.

“And I'm Koudo and we want to enter your tribe,” the boy said.

Wevli scratched the back of his head. “We'll see what Shuhan has to say about this!”

“I can't think of anything meaningful we can do,” Baku said, continuing the meeting between him and the Guardians, or rather... four of the five Guardians; one was still somewhere out there. “I can of course appear in their village with my ability, but I have no idea where exactly the best place would be. Besides, I can't just transport in, get the Crystals, and transport out, I need some time to recuperate.”

“And without our Crystals our powers are pretty limited,” Ty added. “I mean, the only Crystal we have is the Pearl of the Ocean, but the only person who can use it is Hitori.”

“That brings up something else,” Baku said glumly, trying not to look at Siren, “Without Zesshou... we can't use the Light of the Soul's powers. In fact... when I made my predictions centuries ago... I had not predicted Lana's actions, cause I never knew she's stand in my way, but now that she has... Now that Zesshou is dead... well, I have no idea what that means exactly, but it could very well mean that we can't win this thing anymore...”

“You can't be serious!” Urania exclaimed.

“You mean that it was all for nothing?” Ty asked without thinking.

Siren looked up in horror. “Zesshou dieing... it was for nothing? He died for nothing?” she asked trembling.

“Good going, Ty!” Mermaid snapped, “No, it means that Zesshou is just that important to everyone.”

“I can't claim to know everything,” Baku said honestly. “I thought I did when I predicted all this, but apart from Lana there is more...”

“More?” Urania asked.

“That Tebok guy. And he's not alone, there are other things that somehow don't make any sense. It's all so long ago that I know the details exactly, but I know for sure that I would've remembered someone who can walk through walls. I've also been thinking. What if it's because his ability that I had no idea he'd be involved in any of this?”

“What do you mean?” Ty inquired.

“Well... my predictions involve everything that happened inside the Valley, because for such a small area that's relatively easy. But if Tebok can walk through walls... that could mean he came from outside the valley...” Tebok said darkly.

“We have a Chi boy and girl, called Moyasu and Koudo, asking for asylum, Master Shuhan,” Wevlum announced and guided the visitors in.

“Master Shuhan, I saw some of your soldiers fight that Sendo commander!” Moyasu burst out, “I saw one of your warriors use that Hikari Crystal. I want you to know I'm the one who found the one that commander stole! The one you were looking for!”

Wevlum looked at her, his eyes wide, his chin almost reaching the floor. “Tha-tha- if you had said that I would've let you in sooner!”

“See, I told you!” a voice called out from nowhere. A small boy appeared between Koudo and Moyasu, and Shuhan. “I am Pyro Phoenixtruth, the guardian of the Ruby of the Dragon. I am here with Moyasu, the fifth light carrier, to help Baku and the other guardians with your plans to free Hitori and get back some if not all of the Hikari Crystals.”

Koudo blinked at first, but immediately realized that this was the boy Moyasu had been talking about, finally showing himself.

“How... how did you know all that?” Shuhan asked flabbergasted.

“Hehe,” Pyro smiled, “I happen to know everything, to a certain extent.”

“Shuhan asked me to take care of you two,” Hana began, trying to break the ice. It's always hard starting new friendships.

“I know, nice to meet you,” Moyasu said a bit reluctantly. She looked around.

Koudo mimicked her behavior. “It doesn't look really different from our village over here... I wonder why I was expecting that it would...”

“I don't know, if you think about it, apart from maybe the colors and the Tribe symbols our villages might even look similar to Sendo village,” Hana said, agreeing with herself that she had made a good start. She knew from Nagata that Moyasu's mother had been murdered before her eyes, so before the topic could switch to the ruthless Sendo she tried something else. “So you're ready to live here?”

“Live here?” Moyasu and Koudo asked simultaniously.

“Oh yes, we asked asylum... It was actually just a way to get in, I guess...” Moyasu explained, “but I'm not sure if I want to return to my own village.”

“Because of your mother and little brother?” Hana asked out of curiosity before she could really think it over.

“Yes... I think so...” Moyasu turned away from Hana, facing the ground, “Whenever I set foot back into our house, I couldn't stand being there without her... I felt so empty.” After Tebok had left with the little girl and the Mikomi woman, they had learned was called Hitori, the villagers seemed to take pity on her. They had cried for days, but with their father out in the wilderness on a hunting expedition all the attention the villagers gave them drove them crazy. Not being able to return home they decided it'd be best to make sure their little brother and mother hadn't died for nothing.

“I think I can understand...” Hana said and looked up. “One year ago when Shuhan set out to find the pChi because we needed their help against the Sendo Tribe, my brother was there too. When they contacted your tribe and they granted our request for help there was an enormous battle near the Mikomi Tribe, but only those soldiers that came with Shuhan were on the front line. Shuhan barely survived that day, but my brother died at the hands of Taoru. After that Shuhan took his revenge and killed him. Even now I still don't want to go near the place where it happened...”

“Oh, I'm sorry...”

“That's okay, it was already a year ago. I still mourn him, but I can't keep living in the past forever.”

“I don't think I can ever forget what happened to my mother and brother...” Moyasu sighed.

Koudo nodded. He was still the younger brother and followed her older sister's movements.

“Oh, don't get me wrong. You won't ever forget!” Hana hurriedly continued, “No, not at all. You'll come to live with it and accept it. Trust me, you will some day...”

“Alright, Master Shuhan,” Pyro started, “This is what we've worked out so far. Baku has no idea how to safely use his ability to appear somewhere in the Sendo Tribe so he can steal the Hikari Crystals and save Hitori. Fortunately I know everything that's going on at the moment and with my help Baku can find a place to transport in safely without being noticed.”

“Right, and when we get there we have to stay low,” Baku continued, “In fact, we're gonna stay very low. Even though it's risky, I'm going to use the Pearl of the Ocean to transport into Sendo Village's pond and wait there till the night. With Mermaid Aquateam's help I should be okay. And we'll take a few soldiers to defeat the night-shift soldiers who are guarding the Crystals.”

“I'm going,” Shuhan said, his mind made up.

“What?!” Hana asked in incredulity.

“You haven't said anything about saving Hitori yet, so I'll go with you to do that.”

Pyro piped up. “Master Shuhan, wait. Hitori is already on her way here. Tebok has taken her and they'll reach the village before the evening. Besides we're already packed, there's only so much room in the pond.”

Shuhan sat down again. “So what do you suggest we do when Tebok shows up?”

“For now?” Pyro asked and looked at the group grimly, “Tebok is too strong for anyone here to handle... I say stall, as long as you can.”

“Wait, you said you were taking the Pearl of the Ocean, right?!” Hana asked suddenly, “So that means that when Tebok gets here, we won't have anything to trade Hitori with. Can't you transport in at night? Then nobody will notice you!”

“You're forgetting, Hana...” Baku explained, “I need to recuperate almost half a day. Even when we go now, which we will after this meeting is over, I won't even have had enough time to recuperate to travel farther than Hiyou Lake, but at least not very nearby here.”

“No, Baku,” Shuhan said shaking his head, “You're putting the lives of everyone in this village at risk, not to mention Hitori's life.”

“I wasn't done. There is more to the plan,” Baku said, “You need to evacuate the entire village. When Tebok arrives he'll be more than happy to take over Mikomi village. I'm not completely sure what'll happen to Hitori, but chances are they'll keep her around so they can use her to trade in case they find you after all. When it's night and Tebok's asleep, then is the time to save Hitori.”

“I'm not sure if we can make that!” Wevlum said concerned, “If we want to evacuate the village, we need to start now!”

“You know what that means,” Baku said and turned to Shuhan, “You have to make a decision now.”

“Let me get this straight... We bring back the Hikari Crystals, save Hitori, with some risk... and lose Mikomi village?” Shuhan summed up.

“You have to remember, Shuhan. We'd be having all five Hikari Crystals, we could save everyone.” Baku said.

“Okay, you've convinced me,” Shuhan said, “Mikomi village would be a small price to pay if it means saving everybody, including Hitori and Mikomi.”

“That leaves me with one final request,” Baku said, “I want someone to go and get Mikomi and bring her to me or Shuhan so we can bring her back. The faster she gets there, the better.”

“I would like to volunteer for that mission,” Mariko said. The room fell silent. “I know I haven't been the most loyal of people, having been a Sendo commander in the past, but my mother, Lana, did that to Mikomi, a great God. Not to mention she's planning all our assassinations and bringing back Layou. I have to do this. I owe it to Mikomi and the rest of the Valley.”

“I didn't know you were so ashamed of her actions,” Hana said.

“It's not my fault, but I want to undo the damage that my mother has done. Please let me do this, Master Shuhan,” Mariko pleaded.

“Okay, you may go,” Shuhan said, “People, we're running out of time, we have to get this going!”

And with that everyone went out and started on their individual tasks assigned to them.

Walking Water

“...and now our great Empress will finally free us from the Valley,” a woman said to another woman. Both were sitting on the porch in front of one of their houses conversing. “She announced that salvation is near and that only the Mikomi Tribe is in our way! Hey, is something wrong?”

“No... no, I just thought I saw something in the pond,” the other woman said, “But it was probably just a fish or something.”

A few meters below the surface of the pond was breathable air, two fairies, a god and a triplet.

“Transporting the water away at the same time was a very good idea, Mermaid,” Baku said, “I'm impressed.”

“Let's just hope nobody on the other side got wet,” Wevlum smiled.

“Nope, no one get wet, Wevlum,” Pyro informed them.

The shine of the Pearl wore off and Baku put it in his pocket.

“So far so good,” Baku sighed, “But I'm still not completely sure how long I can harness the power of the Pearl. It's now set for Hitori, not me... It might not be very reliable.”

“I've made a small opening in the bubble to the surface so we can get some air through. Nobody should be able to notice it,” Mermaid mentioned.

“Alright, so... now we wait,” Wevles said.

Pyro looked up surprised. “I'm not so sure! Lana is saddling up for something! She's leaving the village. With the four Crystals!”

“Yes, it is. She's heading for... I think she's heading for Hiyou Lake, so far Lana hasn't said anything except that she's going away with the Hikari Crystals,” Pyro continued.

Baku growled. “This is bad! If she gets away...”

“Pyro! Is there anyone looking at the pond at the moment?” Wevles asked.

“Two women who are chatting are the only ones nearby, why?” Pyro said.

“What do you say if we take this pond for a little stroll?”

“Come on, wake up, Nagata.” Kino stood by his bed in the sickroom as Nagata was fast asleep. “Hey, you lazy bum, get up! We're evacuating the village!!”

“Wha-what?!!” Nagata said half asleep, “We're going what?”

“Yes, exactly, now get your walking stick out and get a move on!” Kino said while shoving the stick in Nagata's stomach.

“Ah, watch out, you're opening his wounds!” one of the nurses said.

“Time is of the essence, woman!” Kino exclaimed raising his own walking stick into the air, “Time is of the essence!”

“Did you hear something?” one of the women asked the other.

The other woman looked around. “I don't know... I'm not sure. I thought I heard water...”

Then the water in the pond started to bulge up like a balloon.

“What in Afrain's name?!!”

The water formed an enormous ball and left its boundaries. Quickly and swiftly it slid through the streets. It happened so fast that it hardly seemed real.

“Did... that pond just... run away?”

Inside the enormous bubble surrounded with water Baku and the triplets were running like crazy to keep up with the water.

“I can't say I love the idea, but damn was it a good one!” Baku gasped. Even though he was a God he would still be tired of things like running, he would just be able to recuperate faster than humans.

“Let's hope we can keep up with it until we reach the gates!” Wevli yelled.

“Get ready to take a left turn!” Pyro cried over the sound of the water, waiting for the exact right moment. “NOW!”

“I think I would've liked this idea more if it didn't involve running and not being able to see where we're going!” Wevlum complained.

“Right, that's the last one!” Hana said as she lead the last civilian out of the gates to Mikomi village.

“Let's see if everyone's accounted for,” Shuhan said then turned to the crowd. “Is anybody missing anyone?!”

“Yes,” Nagata said darkly, “We are missing someone.”

“Who's that?”

“Master Tebok, you have a guest,” one of Tebok's warriors said as he let an old man into his tent. They were waiting there for this man to show up, because Tebok knew the Mikomi would have some sort of plan to free Hitori and keep the Crystal up their sleeve.

“So, tell me, what are they up to,” Tebok asked as the man sat down.

“I think you should go back to Sendo village,” Mr. Kanshi said.

“Hey, little girl...” Hitori said. She was looking at a small girl that was staring at her from quite a distance, peering at her from behind a Sendo tent. Hitori, still trapped in a cage was recovering little by little from Zesshou's confession of love. A friendly sight was just what she needed. “Come closer, what are you doing here?” she asked with her friendliest voice.

“No! No! No!” the little girl suddenly seemed to freak out.

“Wha-what's going on?” Hitori said startled.

“Bad witch! Bad witch!! Don't talk to me!” the little girl closed her eyes tight and put her hands on her ears, “You killed my mommy and daddy! You witch!!” Then she turned around and fled.

Hitori dropped on her back and stared into nothingness as she began to wonder if Sendo children thought about her the same way Mikomi children thought about Lana.

As the blob of water continued to run through the village in the direction of the gates Sendo warriors sprang into action. The archers drew their bows and shot at the running mass of water. One of the soldiers moved in front of it and drew his sword. When the water came directly for him he dove in sword first, and was immediately thrust into the air over the water mass and crashed into a shopkeepers stand, splintering it into a million pieces.

“Damn, I can't keep this up, I'm losing the power over the Pearl!” Baku yelled, “Are we almost there yet?!”

“Yes we are!” Pyro said, “Just a few more meters!”

As the bubble approached a handful of Sendo warriors tried in one last ditch of effort to close the gates before the bubble could exit the village.

“The bubble is losing cohesion! It's slipping! It's slipping!!”

“They've closed the gates!!!”

In one huge explosion of water the bubble burst through the gates, destroying it, and threw Baku, Wevli, Wevles, Wevlum, Pyro and Mermaid into the bushes just outside the village.

“Everyone, run!!” Baku screamed.

“W-wait...” Mikomi stopped walking.

“What is it?” Mariko asked her. She had been supporting her for a while now. It was hard work, but she could manage.

“We have to go... to Hiyou La-” Mikomi's sentence was caught off by a sudden uncontrollable cough.

Mariko stopped and put Mikomi down. “Why? Why should we go to Hiyou Lake?”

“Lana... she's there. With four of the Hikari Crystals. I've got to stop her!” Mikomi stood up and walked in the direction of Hiyou Lake on her own strength.

Mariko asked herself how Mikomi could know of Lana's whereabouts but then remembered her being connected with Lana because of the curse she put on her. “You can't!” she protested, “It's too dangerous for you!”

Mikomi stopped and looked back. “You're telling me about dangerous? I had been in countless situations that were dangerous even before you were even born. I don't know if Baku knows that Lana is going to the Cathedral, but I've got to stop her and there's nothing you can say that will stop me!”

Moyasu watched from the trees as the Sendo encampment packed up and were ready to leave again. She, Hana and Shuhan had stayed behind to track down the Sendo. Koudo wanted to stay too, but Moyasu managed to convince him that it was her Crystal they needed back, and that it was safest if Koudo didn't interfer. He had agreed reluctantly and Kino had promised to watch over him. When the last warrior had joined the group Moyasu silently crept down to two Mikomi citizens, Hana and Shuhan, with disturbing news. “Hana, they're not going in the direction of Mikomi village!” she said.

“What? But what about Hitori?”

“I saw her alive in a cage, she seems to be okay... But what do we do now?”

“We have no choice,” Shuhan said, “We have to follow them there and free Hitori!”

“There you go, Nagata,” Kino said putting a wet cold cloth on his forehead.

“Has his fever gone down yet?” the nurse asked.

Kino shook his head.

Nagata was sleeping peacefully in a big, open Mikomi tent. Kino peered over to his right to check on Koudo, who was stil sleeping as well, and then turned away to look up towards the sky.

“A storm's coming...” Kino whispered while he stroked his mustache and beard, “I have a bad feeling about this.”

He glanced at Nagata again. Some of his wounds had made him very sick. Kino had seen these kinds of illnesses before. Most of the people he saw with this illness hadn't lived long.

“Finally.”

Empress Lana stood at the base of the enormous lake. It had filled up considerably during the ages, however the island in the center was still clearly visible, if not smaller than it was before. She readjusted the bag which contained the four Hikari Crystals on her shoulders. She spread her arms, her right arm only a little to keep the bag from falling, and looked up. Her feet left the ground and she floated up and then forward over the water to the island with the cave.

The Final Crystal

“Are you sure those idiots can infiltrate our village unnoticed?” Tebok asked while riding a black horse alongside Mr. Shikai's.

“Yes, I'm sure of it. They're inside the pond. If we hurry we can get there in time to kill them and take the final Hikari Crystal,” Mr. Shikai answered, “If we have all five, we can finally free Lord Layou! Can you imagine our reward? He will rule once again!!”

“Unless we get there too late and they've collected the Crystals themselves!” Tebok growled somberly.

“Uh sir?” A scrawny soldier dressed in Sendo garbs approached the army on a strong looking horse.

“Who are you?” Tebok asked.

“I'm Dicero, sir. Empress Lana sent me to find you so I could inform you that she's going to Hiyou Lake. She said you'd understand.”

Mr. Shikai smirked. “That must mean she figured out the Mikomi were going to attack her while the army was gone.”

“Oh, something else,” Dicero whispered shivering.

Tebok couldn't figure out if it was from the cold or his nerves. “Well come on, spill it!”

“Our... pond ran away...”

“Sorry, what?!”

“They're changing direction again!” Hana whispered to Shuhan from inside the bushes.

Shuhan stood up looking at the moving army. “They're going to the lake...”

“There! I saw her!” Mermaid said, and pointed to the island in the lake. “She went inside my cave!”

Baku glanced at Pyro, who nodded, and then focused on the island again. “She's heading for the Cathedral. We have to stop her!”

“We have a problem, though,” Wevlum said, “We need to get over this lake first.”

“We can use the Pearl of the Ocean for that,” Mermaid pointed out.

“We have one more pressing problem, actually,” Baku said grimly, “Think about it. The five Hikari Crystals are in extremely close proximity now, and we're dangerously close to Layou's prison...”

“We have to leave the Pearl at the entrance,” Wevles said, “and that means someone has to stay behind.”

“I'm not leaving that thing behind, I'll stay,” Mermaid said firmly.

“I'll stay too,” Wevli offered, “Last time I went into that cave I was teased by a small girl,” and with that he winked at Mermaid who in her turn giggled.

“Then it's settled! Let's go!”

Lana was standing in front of the Cathedral gazing up towards it's spires.

“Those fools will have no choice but to come here. And down here, I'm at the advantage. They want to leave this valley so badly, I doubt they'd leave for Mikomi to die before they try and take the Crystals. I'll just have Mr. Shikai and Tebok capture that final Crystal and then... then my love... we shall be re-united!”

“Can you see who it is over there?” Tebok asked.

“Wait... wait a second. Yes, it's one of those triplets, and someone else I can't make out...” Mr. Shikai said, “So it's either Wevli, Wevles or Wevlum...”

“Well, what are you waiting for?!”

“I have to know someone's face and someone's name before I can use my ability on them! That's what I'm waiting for!”

Tebok rolled his eyes. “You know all three of their faces right?”

“Of course... I could just kill all three of them...”

They were already halfway down the cave when it happened. “AAAH!!!” Wevlum said, collapsing on the floor grabbing his head, “My head!! It's going to explode!”

Wevles raced back and kneeled next to him. “Wevlum! Hang on!”

“Oh my god!” Pyro said, “It has to be Ruulo! He's the only God with that ability! Oh no! That Mr. Shikai! He must be him! No wonder I couldn't sense him at all!”

“But Ruulo isn't in the Valley!” Baku screamed over Wevlum's cries.

“Well, apparently he found a way in, cause else there's no way he could've known about Wevlum!”

“Kg... AAH! NOOO!!” Now Wevles fell down to the ground.

Wevlum's pain had suddenly gone, but he was still dizzy from the shock. He reached over to Wevles, but couldn't keep his balance and toppled over.

“They're going by them one by one!” Baku said, “Next is... oh no! The Crystal!”

Wevles loosened his grip on his forehead. “Ah... it's okay... I'm back...” he said dazed. He closed his eyes and sighed, smearing the blood from his nose.

“Wevli, what's wrong?!” Mermaid cried.

Wevli's hands grasped for his head, but the pain didn't go away. Then Mermaid saw the veins on Wevli's forehead beginning to burst.

“Oh my god, Wevli!! Wevli!!! Hang on!!” Helplessly Mermaid hugged the young man. “It's going to be okay! It's going to be okay!”

“Can you see what's happening?” Hana asked.

“Well, a little. Someone on the island is having a seizure or something, I don't know,” Moyasu said, “I can't really see. But apparently Tebok and some other guy are not flinching.”

“What other guy?” Shuhan asked and climbed up the tree to meet up with Moyasu. “Oh god... That's Mr. Shikai!! They must've captured him!”

“How are we going to get there, from here?” Mr. Shikai asked.

“We're going to draw them out using the plan,” Tebok said. Then he put his hands to his mouth and started to yell his commands. “You there! On the island!! We have Hitori in custody and we can kill Wevli whenever we want!” One of the soldiers had taken Hitori from her cage and had put her next to Tebok on the ground in chains. Tebok continued, “Give us the Pearl of the Ocean, and their lives will be spared!!” Then he turned to Dicero. “Bring me Alika!”

Mermaid couldn't believe her ears.

“No... don't-AAAH!” Wevli tried to say. His forehead had burst open in several places and Mermaid used a cloth to make it stop bleeding, but it wasn't having a lot of effect. He had already become hoarse from the screaming and not much of his voice was able to come out.

Mermaid's eyes started to tear up. “I... I can't take this anymore... I've lost too many good friends... I can't lose Hitori now... she's the owner of the Pearl, I have to protect her...”

“You can't... you can't...”

“SHUT UP, Wevli!!” Mermaid snapped, “I just can't watch you die! I can't!!” Then she dropped Wevli into the sand and raced for the Crystal. She took it under her arm, turned the water solid again and floated at high speed to the shore. “Stop doing this to Wevli, I'll give you that damned Crystal!! Just stop what you're doing!!”

“Oh snap!” Shuhan exclaimed, “It's Mermaid! And she has the Pearl! We can't let them have that!” He pushed Moyasu aside and jumped out with his sword drawn.

“Shuhan!!” Hana yelled without thinking.

“Wevli! What happened to you?!” Baku said as he jumped out from the cave, “Wevli! Where's Mermaid?” but Wevli didn't even blink.

Wevles and Wevlum raced to Wevli's side. Both fell completely silent when they realized that Wevli's heart had stopped beating.

Pyro floated past him. “There! She's handing the Crystal over to Tebok! And Shuhan, Hana and Moyasu are here too!”

Tebok snapped his head back at the sound of the Mikomi Lord's name and drew his sword, however Shuhan had managed to duck below his vision and before Tebok could focus in on Shuhan again he had slit the ropes that bound Hitori's hands together.

“Why you!” Tebok growled and reached out his hand to literally tear Shuhan's tongue out, but as he did so an arrow soared through the skin between his thumb and index finger. Tebok screamed in pain. He hadn't began becoming translucent and therefore had been solid when the arrow hit. He turned back his head to see the origin of the strike and saw Moyasu sitting on her left knee lowering her bow to see if she hit.

“I won't ever forgive what you did to my mother and my little brother,” Moyasu screamed, “I HATE YOU!!!”

Shuhan put her arm under Hitori's shoulder to keep her on her feet. He could see that she had been weakened whilst in captivity. He saw his wife looking at him with her ever-grateful and beautiful eyes, but was not distracted from the whereabouts of the rest of his friends. He had seen move swiftly past the Sendo guards and seen her take the Pearl of the Ocean from Mermaid by snatching it out her hands.

“Hitori! Heads up!” she yelled and threw the Pearl in her direction, but not before grabbing the temples of her head. Mr. Shikai had just finished catching up on the scene and was focusing on Hana's face and name.

Hitori cathed the Pearl, but was unsure of her next action. Then she turned to Shuhan and he immediately told her what to do.

“Use it to summon the water in the lake!!” he yelled over the storm of Sendo warriors that finally picked up on the fight. Hitori focused intently on Shuhan's face and nodded. At that exact moment the movements of the warriors, of Shuhan, Hitori and everyone around them slowed down and the colors of the night were replaced by sepia tones. The dark tones of the night were transformed to a lighter mist.

“A time stop...” Baku stammered. Then it hit him. “Father!! Father stop this, you'll kill yourself!!” He had realized his father was creating a time stop because of the close proximity of the five Crystals in enemy hands. He knew full well that it was a good decision on behalf of Afrain, but it could cost him his life if he wasn't careful. Baku ran over the frozen water, leaving the waves broken in his wake and stopped in front of Mr. Shikai and Mermaid Aquateam.

“Mariko? Are you okay?” Mikomi asked when Mariko froze in time. “Oh no, a time stop! Something terrible must've happened. I knew it!”

Without glancing back at Mariko she continued on, stepping up the pace, leaving the frozen Mariko behind. She had to be there on time. She knew what was going to happen if she didn't stop it. She ran as fast as her ancient legs could carry her.

Baku's mother, Kyrlian, appeared before him. To her side was the short Hermi. It had been so long ago, he had almost forgot what she looked like. Her face was even prettier than he remembered, but he immediately shrugged of the thought. “Mother, we could've handled things!” Baku started.

“Lana, has four of the Crystals and the fifth one is almost in their hands. You have almost failed us, Baku!” his mother protested, “Hermi, take the Pearl and take it somewhere far away from here.”

“Give it to me,” Baku said, “And I'll transport it away. That's a lot safer.”

“Fine,” Kyrlian agreed, “Hermi, give it to him.”

Suddenly the sky flashed bright orange and the sound of rumbling thunder could be heard.

“Afrain!” Kyrlian called out into the sky, “Hang on! We'll be done in a second!” She turned back to Hermi and pointed at the Pearl. The sepia colors began to diminish and the mist began to vanish. “Afrain's power is weakening, it seems that he's going to end the time stop early.” The movements of the people around them started to continue, increasing speed extremely slow.

Hermi walked over to Hitori. Beneath his brown sloppy shoes the grass cracked and small fissures appeared in the grass. During a time stop every object stopped in motion was extremely fragile, and might break even at the slightest touch. Hermi plucked the Crystal from Hitori's hands without breaking her fragile body. Then he showed it proudly to the Godess he served and smiled.

Some of the frozen, and becoming steadily unfrozen, people around them took a minute to blink at their surroundings.

“There we go,” Hermi announced.

“You!!” A trembling voice called out.

Hermi froze in his tracks and slowly looked behind him only to see a leg driving into his forehead sending him backwards, past Shuhan and Hitori's frozen bodies, pummeling down into the underbrush of the edge of the forest, which shattered into a million pieces. For a minute he was so disoriented he didn't know if he was standing or not, but when he realized he had dropped the Pearl he looked around agitated. He found it in the hand of Lana who was marching towards him.

“Hermi! Get back here! Then we can go!” Kyrlian screamed.

“I will kill you, Hermi. I will kill you for betraying Layou's and my love!” Lana fumed. She must've realized it was a time stop and immediately raced up to the surface.

Baku grabbed Kyrlian's hand and transported directly behind Hermi. “Go!” he commanded his mother.

Kyrlian understood and clenched onto Hermi's shoulder. Then Lana hit him again and before Kyrlian could react she had returned to The Clouds Before the Sun without him.

“No!!” Baku yelled and leaped at Lana who instantly kicked him over her head. Baku landed on his back rolling and breaking through a couple of rocks on the ground. The rage in him subdued the pain and he leaped at her again. This time she caught his hands, dropping the Crystal to the ground, and pushed him back. The frozen figures had begun looking surprised at the weird effect and their movements sped up some more. Baku punched and hit her jaw. She let go and wiped her lip. Her blood was smeared on the palm of her hand.

“You, impotent... I'll make sure that you people will never get the Hikari Crystals ever!” she screamed and she thrust her elbow backwards – hitting Hitori's body. As everyone's speed had almost returned and the time stop was almost over Hitori's eyes widened just before her face and the rest of her body splintered into a million shards of glass before Shuhan's eyes.

Hitori had nodded and just at that moment things started turning weird. He felt his mind not being able to catch up with everything that happened. The world had turned a weird sepia and there were flashes of people passing him by. It took only a short amount of time before Shuhan started to feel his mind speeding up back to its normal speed and he continued to look at Hitori, but then, in an instant, she exploded into a million pieces.

No.

No, his mind told him. That's not what happened. That's impossible. She must've dived away. It must've been an illusion. It can't have happened, he tried to convince him. The smile he had worn on his face that was meant for Hitori had faded away. He wanted to look down, to look if she was there, but his body wouldn't move. His gaze wouldn't turn away. Was he still frozen like he had just been? He could see other people move freely about. What had happened? Then he finally managed to blink. And then he collapsed, his eyes wide open.

His love.

His Hitori.

Was dead.

To Be Continued...

In order of release date:

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Forgotten Abyss Trilogy

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