Evee Iris flashed and vanished before his eyes. When he opened his eyes he found himself in the realm of light again, surrounded by the Lumnos. In front of Eckxio sat Siddhartha on his cloud, still sitting in a lotus position. Eckxio looked around and the angelic beings smiled at him. Next to Siddhartha was Uvaris.
He felt different now. Sweat still drenched his brow as if the battle within himself had been real. His body felt lighter and his mind more at ease. He cleared his throat and noticed that it no longer hurt. His heart felt lighter and every inch of himself felt fresh and restored.
"How are you feeling?" Siddhartha asked him with all three eyes open.
"I feel, new," he answered, vaguely.
"Good, but it does not end there," Siddhartha added. "The journey to self discovery is endless. Become friends with your darkness and it will never conquer you. True strength starts within. Now, Eckxio, please stand up from your cloud."
Eckxio stood up and the cloud he had been sitting on floated away. Siddhartha stood up but his feet did not touch the ground. He hovered like the Lumnos. The angelic being removed the winged pendant that hung from his neck. Siddhartha slowly placed the necklace over Eckxio's head and, when it hung from the Elf's neck, he felt a shock up and down his spine.
"The Angel Valiarmos is now yours," Siddhartha said.
Eckxio had no idea that he had been staring at the Valiarmos the whole time. He already felt the spirit within the pendant and the divine maju radiating from it.
"This maju, it is much stronger than the Tharos spirit," he said.
"Go ahead and try to call forth the sword Hadraniel; reach for the endless skies," Siddhartha instructed.
The Lumnos hovered away from Eckxio and he took a step forward. He raised his left hand skyward with palm wide open and shouted, "Hadraniel!" The Valiarmos summoned a sword to his hand with a blinding flash. He now held a crystal sword. The blade was as clear as glass, shone like diamonds, was two feet in length and the guard was a sculpted wing. It was heavier than the Tharos sword but he had the strength to handle it.
"This is the sword, Hadraniel," he said. "I wonder what the armor looks like."
Willow
Her eyes were closed for a long time. It felt as if she had been sleeping for days and, when she opened them, everything was blurry. The green stars, green clouds and glitter that rained from above were all blurred. Although she was alone and lost, unable to feel her body, she was happy. Happy to feel him in her heart. "I can't remember his name!"
There was warmth in her heart for this one person she could not recall. It was a blissful feeling and her heart pounded every time she thought of him, yet she could not recall his name. When she dreamed of him with her eyes closed, she could only see his back with his long black raven hair billowing. She remembered his silver armor and the white sword he carried. Being in his presence made her feel safe, like gathering around a campfire.
When her vision became clear, something began to rain on her.
Leaves.
Falling leaves, yet there were no trees in this nothingness. This empty realm. Along with the glitter, leaves fell ever so slowly. They were not only green but also orange and yellow. "These are the color of autumn," she whispered. "He showed them to me. The first time I ever saw the autumn season and the snow of winter. The first time I felt the cold chilly winds from the north. You were there with me."
The memories began to flow once again. She remembered when she first laid eyes on him in the Spirituah forest. A mercenary sent by the queen to deliver a message to the Elves. Their swords collided and their eyes met. She had never seen someone so powerful and fearless. A part of her wanted him to conquer her entirely. To her surprise, he was an exiled Elf and had returned to try to protect the Elves from the queen's wrath. She journeyed with him and began to fall for him. He was short yet strong and, although he was not a mage, he always outsmarted her. Most haunting of all were his scars. Willow knew he was hurting and she wanted to help him, to heal him and get closer. When she looked in his eyes, she saw hidden pain and, strangely enough, she wanted to be a part of it.
When the queen betrayed him they ran to the forest together. The queen manipulated the Elves and the Greamos into a war. Willow and her new beloved had managed to stop the war and prevented the two species from destroying each other. Their unity shattered ignorance. The lone forest girl raised by an insect humanoid and the exiled Elf brought two races together.
"What is your name? I can't remember," she whispered.
The memories continued to flow. She would spent the next five years with her beloved in bliss and joy before the...
"No, don't stop." She begged for the memories to continue. "What happened to our joy? What happened to our home?"
It came to her as a whisper, or rather...the hissing of a snake-like language.
"The Specters."
That name sent anger flowing through her and she was now able to feel her arms. She whispered it again, "Specters." Everything was paradise before they came. She was to wed her beloved as part of a ceremony that united two races. Then that masked stranger appeared and stole the...the... "What was it called?"
"The Emerald Cosmo Jewel," the voice of Terramus echoed.
"It's you again," she said.
"The Emerald Cosmo Jewel is a godly remnant that is guarded by the Greamos," Terramus said. "The very jewel that blessed you with the purest maju."
"What happened to it?" she asked.
The white masked stranger had stolen the Emerald Cosmo Jewel from the Greamos and now they were at risk of extinction. She had joined forces with an old friend to defeat the Specters and end their evil plans. They had also destroyed the home of her beloved. He had fought by her side and, in the end, tried to protect her from the masked fiends.
"They tried to steal my soul and he tried to save me," she remembered. "But what is his name? Please god Terramus, tell me his name."
"The one you seek with your heart, his name will come and you shall soon be free," Terramus answered. "Allow your heart to feel your earthly attachments. Feel this one person. The link you hath made with this Elf is strong and will aid the restoration of your life. Your soul will return to your body."
"My earthly attachments," she whispered.
Willow thought of her home. The tree house she had built with him and the child that was on the way. Her belly had not started to swell with the child but she knew and was afraid to tell him. She was afraid of how he would react. She was afraid that he would run away, unable to take on the responsibility. Willow was aware of his inner shadows, but she loved him dearly.
"You were my moon and the light of my stars. How could I ever forget your name, Eckxio." She finally remembered. "We will see each other again. I promise."
Caim
Standing on the third level of Kazenolumos, Caim saw them rising from the Kumo Sora Mountains below. There were thousands of them, like roaches multiplying quickly. They soared towards his city. Batwings thudding, shrieks and screeches echoing. Caim stared down at them with his eye of the hawk. He zoomed his vision in and saw the fiends flying and at their lead was Ember and the three other Specters. There were fiends of all sizes. From large gargoyle-like creatures to small lizards licking their chops and some of them even carried large ones the size of elephants. It was an army of fiends, but he was not afraid. He feared no fiend or mortal.
"Let's see if they can get through the barrier of the city," he said and crossed his arms.
The swarm of fiends rose above the clouds. Fiends with long bodies coiled and some were breathing fire like dragons. Their screeches were so terrifying that an average human would have been driven insane from the sound. In the horizon they covered the light of the sun with their shades of black and grey as if night was approaching. They were still a dozen miles away from the sky city but coming fast.
"Just try to break through my barrier," he whispered.
"They have arrived," Nehushine said, coming from Caim's left with Tortor
i and Tweng surfing on clouds. He stopped next to Caim and gazed at the horror that approached. "How did they find us? The barrier of the city should be able to prevent any mage from detecting our maju up here."
"Don't you remember," Caim responded without taking his eyes off the horizon. "The Specter named Jairo invaded us ten years ago. He remembered our location and we never bothered to move the city. Honestly, after he had lost his magic, I didn't think we would ever see him again. Now he returns with an army of fiends. I should have killed him when I had the chance."
"No time for remorse, we have to fight. I must sound the alarm," Nehushine announced. "Tortori! Tweng! We must sound the alarm and warn everyone in the city. War is coming. Prepare yourselves for combat, we don't have much time."
The three Effeelions flew back to the city to warn their people. Caim remained staring at the fiends as they approached and with his eye of the hawk vision, he could see Ember and Hertha with those staffs they had used on him. He remembered how Hertha made him bleed after hammering his head with it.
"Caim!" Auron called. The Amaranth flew wingless with his Golden Sun armor, wielding his spear and shield. Auron paused at a distance from the demigod gazing at the army of fiends. "A terrible sight and a wonderful day to die. Shadows covering our skies. I had a feeling this would happen."
"Is that so?" Caim asked looking over his shoulder, his white hair streaming.
"The Specters must know our maju very well, why wouldn't they be able to find us," Auron answered. "I just wish I could have relaxed for a bit longer, you know. I was enjoying the Effeelion library on the second level."
"You don't sound like a man that was raised by Akielas," Caim commented.
"Perhaps you didn't know him long enough," Auron replied. "Akielas was not always this worrisome and panicky old man you see today. He was once full of joy and, when he walked into a room, his presence would uplift you. Ever since we started fighting the Specters, he has become this regretful and depressed man that I have never seen before. Hopefully, once this is over, you will see the real Akielas."
Caim chuckled after hearing Auron. The Akielas that he knew was very much how he once was when he had been human.
"What is so funny?" Auron queried, his armor glinting with the sunlight.
"Akielas reminds me of myself," he answered and smiled. "To be human and to feel. Thinking about it now, it was not so bad."
"Looks like you have as much remorse as he does," Auron stated. "No wonder you two get along so well."
The alarm sounded, echoing from the third level of the city. The alarm was the shriek of an eagle. It echoed countless times before Caim saw Effeelions forming a phalanx out of the second level of the city. The council of seven flew around Kazenolumos rapidly, diving like eagles. Even though Caim was the guardian of the city, they still prepared for battle. They wore tunics with pauldrons shaped like hawk wings. The only weapons they carried were bladed staffs and bows with quivers full of arrows.
"Here I thought they were not allowed to kill," Auron commented as he stared down at the phalanx of Effeelions.
"You cannot kill something that is already dead," Caim said.
The Specters began to attack the barrier of the city. Caim saw how they struggled using beams of maju with the staffs that held the cosmo jewels.
"Only Akielas and a few other souls know how to enter the city without breaking the barrier," the demigod stated and smiled.
"So are we just going to stay and wait till they give up?" Auron asked.
"We won't attack unless they break the barrier," Caim replied. "If there is any chance of avoiding this fight, then we will take it, even if it means waiting for them to give up. We must follow the creed of the Effeelions. They dislike fighting and prefer for their enemy to surrender than to attack at first sight."
"Not really my style but I can cope," Auron said unpleasantly. "I trust you know what you are doing."
"You are too kind, Auron," Caim said sarcastically and Auron laughed.
Caim zoomed in again with his eye of the hawk. He saw Ember striking the barrier with her staff and casting fire spells on it. She even used a blast of cosmo on the barrier and failed. "Keep trying Ember," Caim mocked.
"She is growing tired already," Auron said. "Maybe she will give up and go home.
Auron's laugh subsided when a cracking sound echoed. Ember and Hertha combined their staffs and launched an even more powerful blast on the barrier. Caim saw two spheres of red and green falling on the barrier. The two mages pressed and pressed their power until the shattering sound of broken glass echoed in the sky. Immediately fiends spilled within the bubble of the sky city like ink inside a glass of water.
"So it begins," Caim whispered. He took a deep breath and released purple rays from his eyes, destroying hundreds of fiends at once. "Wait here," he told Auron before he flew towards the enemy.
Caim assembled cosmo energy in the palm of his hands as he flew. Fiends surrounded him like wolves stalking their prey. He released a large blast of cosmo, like a thousand fists merged into one. Fiends turned to ashes as they tumbled from the sky. He had already destroyed almost half the army of fiends. He noticed their kaminyte armor falling as the fiends vanished. "The Specters think that they have some kind of advantage with their armored pets. Kaminyte does not scare me."
Ember dashed through the air towards him. They both released beams, one red and one purple, colliding in the air and pushing against each other. Fiends flew past Caim and headed towards the city.
"Like the goddess Arkana said, 'your sky city will fall to the deepest darkest floors of the ocean'," Ember called out.
"You follow a false demigod," Caim replied and pressed more cosmo energy. "You are walking into your own doom."
Caim's blast pushed through Ember and she spun away, dodging the attack. He chopped at the air and Ember dove, dodging the slicing wind. Caim spun his hand clockwise and quickly caught Ember in an aero sphere. He brought her up, but she managed to escape by spreading the maju of her crimson jewel at the top of her staff.
"As long as I wield this staff, you can't kill me," Ember said.
"We shall see," Caim replied.
He snapped his fingers and wind orbited him, aiding him in becoming invisible. The wind swirled around Ember and she pushed him away, creating a red shield of burning fire maju. She spun around and swung the top of her staff at his head. He flew backward and, placing a hand to his forehead, he drew it back to find blood on his fingertips. What type of metal is that staff made of? He wondered. I can sense kaminyte maju from it. It weakens me and lowers my cosmo. Whatever it is, I must stay away. Ember holds the remnant of a god, making her a match to me.
"Are you afraid now, demigod?" Ember said and snickered. "You should be. I will spill your blood and make the skies holy. I consider it an honor."
"You know nothing of honor," he replied.
Caim looked back at Kazenolumos. He heard screams of young Effeelions and the city collapsing from within. Gusts of wind pushed debris out of the city as well as fiends clad in kaminyte. They were definitely stronger than the last time Caim saw them. Ember had designed the fiends to resist and endure more damage. It pained Caim to hear the shrieks and cries of the people as they were killed by fiends. Ember dashed to attack but he pushed her away with a powerful palm thrust of high winds. He rapidly flew toward the city but Hertha blocked his way, shooting a green blast from her staff. For a moment he struggled against it but then he smacked it away, directing it upwards.
"Remember me?" Hertha said in a cocky tone.
Suddenly, fiends began to swarm towards him. They multiplied. Gargoyles split in two and regenerated their lost limbs. Black vultures with twisted bills and boils on their heads coughed spawns. Giant bats with fangs like swords melted, split into four smaller bats and flew on. Dark lizards with long bodies divided into two. They continued to multiply rapidly like rats and insects, infesting the skies of Kazenolumos. Half of the fiends that Caim had destroyed now retu
rned. Thousands more appeared as he watched them.
"There is no end to them," he said. "They don't obey the word of the dragon of darkness but of the Specters. I shall destroy them along with their masters."
Caim brought his arms and legs together to form a ball. He manipulated the wind currents into himself as if he were absorbing the air like the air dragon god taking a deep breath. His body began to shine in multiple shades of purple, then a violet sphere covered his entire body. They tried to strike his defense but the sphere released lightning and prevented them from attacking. They fought against his defense using the staffs. Finally, Caim threw his arms and legs wide and let out a roar along with an explosion of his cosmo. His sphere expanded, deflecting all attacks from the Specters and destroying every fiend in its way. Once again he managed to destroy thousands of them in one blast, and pieces of kaminyte fell from the sky.
"Do you really think you can defeat me mortal?" Caim said, his eyes glowing and wide sleeves filled with air. "Dressing up your fiends in kaminyte won't give you any sort of advantage. Why don't you just surrender the cosmo jewels, unless you want to die as well."
Ember and Hertha floated at a distance from him. Ember laughed and spun her staff which was glowing red from the Crimson Cosmo Jewel.
"We made you bleed twice. What makes you think that we will surrender?" Ember said.
"Then go ahead, I dare you. Do it again. Make me bleed," he taunted.
Purple steam rose from his body and stars began to appear. A cluster of stars like a constellation started spinning around him. "These stars form the Dragon Lion constellation," he said. "The zodiac sign of destruction." The stars then turned red and yellow. They drifted towards Ember and Hertha and the two Specters swerved to avoid the stars. "You can't run forever, masked fiends."
He watched as Ember evaded multiple stars. She dove into the clouds and rose again. Two stars collided and exploded, creating a globe of cosmo energy dozens of miles away from Kazenolumos.
Spirit of Mages (Rift of Chaos Book 2) Page 29
