by Troy Dukart
We had gathered the fourteen separate human emotions, and now had the power to summon Guardian to stop Bethlaham. The glyph shattered beneath our feet and to my left glowed a bright light off in the distance. We rushed over to investigate.
At the light's origin we found Bethlaham standing in-front of a ghostly titanic figure. It must have been one-hundred feet high. It had no real shape, it was just a giant mass. We could see a huge, dragon-like face near where Bethlaham was standing. He was muttering a mantra and slowly, the gargantuan creature became less and less translucent and more and more opaque. It was like he was bringing this thing back from the grave. The God Blade was sticking out of the creature's forehead and seemed to be powering it back to life.
“Bethlaham!!!” we said together.
He spun around and looked at us with malice. He smirked, “Impressive, for humans. Even with your weapons stripped, you press on. I admire your will, though it matters not. The time for the Awakening is close, but Nian still needs a bit more time to recover. Maybe some spilt blood will help open His senses.”
I remembered what had happened before when I didn't have my sword back in Crotona. I knew it would be there for me when I really needed it. We all looked at each other and raised our right arms up in the air. The God Blade began to shake. After a few moments it broke free and came spinning back into my hand as it flew past Bethlaham. He smiled, “Let me show you what it is to face a god.”
We all rushed at him, but Bethlaham jumped in the air and came down on top of us. The blast-wave shot us all back, so we kicked on our auras to help even the fight. Rousseau rushed at Bethlaham, shooting laser shots out of his gun before taking a swing at the alien. Bethlaham deflected the lasers with a Slate shield he manifested from the ground, which covered him like a barricade. Rousseau jumped up to come at him, but Bethlaham smacked him away with his long, powerful arm. Roya extended her blade and took a massive horizontal swing toward the towering alien, but Bethlaham vanished through the floor.
He reappeared as he shot up from the floor right in front of Roya and grabbed her by the neck and began choking her. Shortening up her blade quickly, Roya attempted to take a slash at his face, but he grabbed her other arm and strengthened his choke. I ran up and jumped on his back, thrusting my sword into his shoulder. Bethlaham didn't even flinch as he turned to look at me. With his long reach he grabbed my arm and slammed me on the ground before tossing me deftly high into the air. Zon wrapped Bethlehem's leg with his Kusarigama and brought him to his knee before teleporting over to cut his head off. Bethlaham ducked and avoided Zon's swipe and punched him in the chest, sending him flying away.
Roya was still in Bethlehem's grasp as he looked up to see me gliding back down with the help of the Tongwa. He pulled his arm back and tossed the near unconscious Roya at me like a Brave-Ball. I didn't try to avoid the hit as I knew she'd be in serious trouble if I didn't catch her, so she collided with me.
We flew even higher in the air and before I knew it we were hit by what seemed like a ton of bricks. Bethlaham had summoned a block of Slate to crash on top of us. It was a giant blue cube, and slammed us back down to the invisible floor before shattering on top of us. After taking a moment to recover, I noticed a sharp pain in my left arm. When I looked over I notice it had been snapped in two, as it took the brunt of the fall I tried to absorb for Roya and myself. “Awwww shit!” I shouted in pain.
Bethlaham began walking toward us calmly and created a giant hammer to finish us off with. Roya was still waking up and I only had one arm. We heard something rolling across the smooth flooring. It stopped and Bethlaham looked down between his feet to see a grenade Rousseau had rolled over. Not having any time to react, the grenade exploded and blinded me temporarily. I had rolled over on top of Roya to guard her against the shrapnel, but we didn't get hit by any. When my sight returned, only tatters of Bethlehem's clothing fluttered through the air. Rousseau rushed over to us to help us up and noticed my arm, “Oh bugger mate, you're gonna have to go on injured-reserve!”
“Ha, not until we win the game!” I joked back, “There's no way a final boss goes down that easily.”
As I said so, we were hit by the swing of Bethlehem's giant hammer and were tossed in front of Nian. As we laid in pain, Bethlaham raised his hammer high in the air but he looked paralyzed. A flurry of Zon's shuriken's had hit him in the back. Zon jumped down from above and began slashing him all over his body. He kept teleporting all around the alien and slashing him viciously. Zon then stepped away from and stood with his hand on his sheath. We could see light pouring through where Zon had cut him.
Slowly, Zon pushed his sword back into his sheath. He tapped his sword and wherever the sword had struck began to explode. Bethlehem's body moved back and forth and his eyes went white as Zon's attack took its toll. After the final explosion, Bethlaham fell to the floor, motionless.
“Hey you wanker!” Rousseau said to Zon, “Why didn't you start with that move there mate!?”
Zon turned around slowly and said, “Appear weak when you are strong, appear strong when you are weak. That is how you win battles.”
Zon walked over to us to help us. As I reached out to grab his hand, a spike impaled Zon through his forehead. Zon stood there, shaking as we looked on in horror. The spike retracted and a glowing dot shined on Zon's forehead. The dot exploded and Zon fell to the floor. He looked lifeless.
“Zon!!!” Roya cried as she covered her mouth.
Without skipping a beat, Bethlaham grabbed us with his telekinetic power and dropped us in front of Nian. Floating spikes formed out of the air and began twirling around us, like sharks circling their prey. Bethlaham limped a tad as he stepped forward but shrugged it off, “THIS IS WHAT HAPPENS TO THOSE WHO DEFY A GOD!”
Hundreds of blades formed and were about to cascade down on us. I stood up, holding my arm and looked up toward the myriad of shining crystal. Roya held Zon in her hands and Rousseau knelt down next to them ready to shoot down the blades.
“Just know Bethlaham, that you will never break the human spirit!” I said as I looked up at him.
“I will drown them in the scarlet blood of their children if they refuse to bow down to me. With Nian, I will take control and bring back glory to The Ancient Ones. The Venerate Order has been denied,” Bethlaham said coldly.
With a swipe of his arm, the blades shot forward. I held my hand out as they rained down. A warming sensation permeated around my body and a flash of light drowned out my vision. When I opened my eyes, we were encased in a bubble-shield of rainbow colors. Knelling down in front of us stood a figure around 15 feet high. They had long wavy hair that went all the way down to their feet that was changed colors. White Angel wings sprouted out of their back and they wore beautiful blue metallic armor that was unlike any kind I'd ever seen before. They carried a shield that floated in front of their left arm. Their skin was pure white and they looked incredibly chivalrous. The helmet they wore had a tuff of horse hair sticking out that also changed color.
The figure got to their feet and turned around. It looked like a man. When I looked into his eyes, I noticed that his retina's also changed color, like his hair. I couldn't help but think of the many times when we should have died on the battlefield, like the time in Dhenfen'Ce, or more recently in Shinjo when a bright warming light brought us to safety.
“It was you… You were the one who saved us so many times before…” I concluded.
“Yes Strafe, I have been watching you all. You all have good hearts, and I knew by putting my faith in you that you would make it here to help me calm my brother, Nian,” the being told us.
“Guardian?” Roya asked, to which he nodded.
“Yes, I am tasked with protecting Eternia for all of time. I was imprisoned here by the Ancient Ones. Despite what they think, they did not create the universe, The Father did. I did what I could so you could bring back my weapon,” Guardian explained as he pointed to the God Blade.
We stood there in complete admira
tion. Bethlaham floated in front of our bubble, “Hmm, it is an honor my grace. These humans tried hard, but could not stop me. You belong by my side, ruling your subjects and keeping order on this maddening planet.”
Roya stood up as she laid Zon's head down on the floor and leaned on my shoulder as she stepped forward. She looked straight into Bethlehem's eyes and said, “The one thing you do not possess Bethlaham, is the ability to see into other's hearts. You see, you will never know what it means to love. That is the ultimate power.”
Bethlaham shook his head, “You have sealed your fate. Judgment against heretics will be made an example for all to recognize and I will no longer be imprisoned like a dog in this place!”
Bethlaham pointed at Nian and shot a beam of energy into its many sets of eyes. Nian let out a gargantuan roar as it slowly became opaque. Bethlaham was absorbed inside the hulking beast as it came back to life. Guardian looked over his shoulder,
“I will deal with my brother. Stay inside this bastion I have created, it will protect you. Do you give me permission to use the God Blade?”
I nodded. The God Blade floated over to Guardian. The sword shined bright and transformed into a crystal cannon.
“Wicked,” Rousseau marveled.
“I will need your help in this fight. I am only as strong as your belief in me. Stay confident in the choices you have made to get here. That is all,” Guardian explained to us.
There were huge chains around Nian that were shattering as the creature began to move. It began to open the portal we came through to get into the real world, but Guardian closed it tight. Nian turned toward Guardian and let out a violent screech we had to cover our ears to protect against.
The screech turned into a glyph in front of Nian's colossal mouth, which fired a huge beam of energy toward Guardian. Guardian teleported far out of the way and charged up his weapon. When the charge was full, he shot Nian in one of its eyes. The eye blew up and Nian flew straight toward Guardian at full speed.
Guardian jumped high up and got on top of the beast's head. Guardian began firing huge blasts into the creature but was flung away by a tentacle that sprouted from its back. Nian summoned hundreds of Slates to battle against Guardian as it went back to try to open the portal. As a horde, they charged toward Guardian but it was to no avail. He jumped high again into the air and pointed the cannon downward. He fired at the Slates and blasted them into shards.
“What I wouldn't have given to have this guy in Dhenfen'Ce!” I joked.
Guardian fell to the floor and looked back up at Nian. After firing a few shots into the creature, Nian retaliated by shooting laser beams down that Guardian had to absorb with his shield. Nian flipped its large tail at Guardian and sent a shockwave down at him. Guardian tried to teleport out of the way but couldn't avoid the blast. He was sent flying so far we couldn't even see him anymore.
Nian's new portal was getting bigger and bigger and it was almost enough to stick its head through. Nian began to push its way out but we saw a slash cut straight through the middle of the beast. Nian stopped and let out a cry in pain and fell down to the floor. The creature began to roll around and was coming toward us.
“Will this bubble hold us?” Rousseau said hesitantly.
“Remember Rousseau, we just have to belief,” Roya assuaged though heavy breathing.
We held each other's hands and sat in a circle. Zon was alive but unconscious; we still took a hold of his hand for strength. As the lumbering beast rolled toward us, the bubble-shield began to flicker and spark from the pressure the creature brought down on it. Nian's body rolled on top of us and the shield started to flutter and shake. It looked as though it was going to dissipate but Guardian shot Nian off of us. “YEEEAAAHHH!!!” we all cheered.
Guardian floated above the creature. Nian snapped up and bit onto Guardian with its large mouth. It chewed on Guardian for a while before swallowing him whole. Nian then floated back up and began re-opening the portal to the outside world.
“Damn! Did you see that bloke eat Guardian!? That's just not right,” Rousseau said.
“Don't you remember, 'Appear weak when you are strong,' ” Zon muttered out as he woke back up.
“You tough bastard!” I cheered.
“Guardian is only as strong as our belief in him. Let us make sure we make him invincible,” Zon told us.
We held our hands high and closed our eyes. In my mind, I thought of everyone whom I was fighting for. I felt stronger than ever and the pain in my arm even went away. At that moment, we saw a bulge in Nian's stomach area. It kept stretching and stretching until finally it popped and Guardian flew out. He looked down at us and waved his shield. He then turned his attention back toward Nian and began another assault. Guardian began flying straight through the creature over and over again, causing massive damage.
Guardian flew through the creature one last time and Nian let out a scream as it fell to the floor.
“Did he do it?” I wondered.
Guardian floated down to us and knelt inside the bubble-shield. “You made that look easy mate!” Rousseau cheered.
“This world may consist of good and evil but righteousness shall forever prevail. That is why the world has survived since the day it was born. I was created by The Father. He never puts you in situations you can't handle,” Guardian told us.
“The Father huh? What about the Ancient Ones?” Zon said as he pushed himself up.
“Not all Venerates had the same hearts as this one. The Venerates that arrived here first looked after this planet like it was their own. Unfortunately, greed is not only experienced here on Eternia. The Venerates were victim of coup d'état by the Ancient Ones group. They knew they could not win Eternia while I was alive, so they banded together to create this beast, Nian. It was a holy battle, with 100 of Ancient Ones against the Venerates and myself. Unfortunately, the Venerates were all wiped out. I would not let them prevail. I prevented the Ancient Ones from destroying Eternia by banishing them to a place beyond space and time, but in order to lure them inside, I needed to seal myself in as well. We all battled until it was only Bethlaham and myself left, but The Father told me to grant him mercy, in order for him to repent for his clan's sins. My only regret is not being able to protect you,” Guardian illustrated.
“Guardian…You have done a great service. We will always be thanking you,” Roya assuaged.
She grabbed her back and fell to the floor. We rushed to pick her up and turn her over. Just then, we heard the portal being opened again; Nian wasn't dead. Guardian rushed out to fight the beast but was slapped down by its tail again. Guardian smashed through the invisible floor and was trapped beneath it. He dropped his weapon. As we watched in horror as the portal grew, we could see Eternia. Nian opened its mouth and formed another giant glyph to fire down on the planet.
“Damnit! We have to do something!!!” I panicked.
“There's not much we can do mate! That thing will kill you in a heartbeat!” Rousseau said, “We need to help Guardian!”
“There is no time, we have to move, now!” Zon commanded.
“Shit!” I yelled.
We retreated from the safety of the bubble-shield and ran toward the portal. I carried Roya in my arms.
“Hey, down here you sonnuva bitch!” I taunted.
I put Roya down and held my palm up towards one of its eyes. I fired a blast of energy and hit Nian's eye, which made it cringe. Zon fired a volley of arrows at the creature but they simply bounced off. Rousseau threw the Shatterang at its head but shattered itself upon impact. There wasn't much else we could do but we did manage to get Nian's attention. With a shake of its body, it zapped us with an electricity field that hurt like hell. My Space-suit absorbed some of the shock but a few parts on it were smoking as we laid in pain. “Serenity! There has to be a way!!!” Rousseau pleaded.
To our pleasure we heard a crack, like some glass had been shattered; it was Guardian. He had managed to punch his arm through the barrier. Like a breach in
a fuselage, a huge vacuum was created in the dimension and it tried to suck everything down through the hole, including us. I went to grab Roya, but she was nowhere to be found. When I turned around I saw her limping toward us with Guardian's weapon, which she had shrank to a usable size. I couldn't believe the heart this woman possessed.
Gusting like a hurricane, the vacuum was pulling on us hard. We could tell it was tough on Guardian to pull the beast down, as Nian began shaking violently and screeching as loud as it could. Roya motioned for us to move toward the portal, so we did. A voice echoed in my head, it was Guardian,
“My friends, this is the end of the road for me. It seems as though Humanity will always be full of turmoil and pain but it will be able to look after itself after all, as I have personally seen the bravery of kind and beautiful-hearted warriors such as yourselves. You walk as the Father intended. I cannot hold Nian back for very long; you will need to escape while you can. Roya will take care of the rest, as she requested. Please always continue to grow and bring change, for one day you can truly create a paradise where war is erased from the dictionary.”
We were stunned by his words. Such a good being was sacrificing himself to save those who hadn't even known he had existed. Roya stood looking toward Nian and held the Cannon with both hands.
“Let's move!” Zon said to us.
“Right, let's get outta here!” Rousseau agreed.
We all took steps toward the portal, but Roya stood her ground. I turned around, “Roya, what are you doing!? We need to leave!”
“Dear Strafe, I'm afraid this is the end of my journey,” she said through the roaring wind, “Nian cannot be allowed to reach Eternia.”
“Roya, you'll be trapped here if you stay!” I pleaded.
“Ever since that day my Falco died, I haven't really felt alive. He helped to save my soul and it is my only dream now, to pass on to Ren, to see him again. My family died when the islands crashed as well. Even through all of this, my people can still have a future. Please, this is my choice,” Roya explained.
