by Luis Robles
“Maybe it is best if I go by myself… I still feel weak,” Bliss said as she stared at the top of the jagged mountains from the mountain’s edge.
Bliss was not weak. In fact, she had grown many times stronger than her previous self. It was the lack of Pah by her side that made her feel weak and fragile.
“We may not be as strong as you are, but we can be one hell of a distraction,” said one of the two winged Gargoyles that accompanied her.
“Besides, we did not come here not see what we came to see,” the other Gargoyle said.
Without saying another word, Bliss and the two winged Gargoyles flew up and over the jagged mountain peaks. Once they got over the top and approached the center of the jagged mountains, they could not believe their eyes. Two gigantic Gates stood at the center on a flat plateau. Behind the Gates, black fire raged on, and in front of the Gates sat a giant statue with three horns protruding from its head.
As they got closer to the Gates, they were able to see the statue more clearly. Two of the horns protruded from the area where human ears would be, and the third horn seemed to protrude from the top if its head; each of the horns pointed forward. The three-horned statue was sitting with its legs crossed and looking down at the ground, and it was holding giant chains in both hands that seemed to keep the Gates locked. The statue did not move or even seem to notice Bliss and the Gargoyles approaching. However, Bliss could feel the immense power of the statue and the Gates. The power that she felt was unlike anything she had ever felt before; it felt like the complete opposite of how her magic felt. The closer that Bliss and the Gargoyles got to the Gates, the more the power of the three-horned statue grew.
“The amount of power coming from the statue overshadows everything here, including my own,” Bliss whispered to the Gargoyles as they slowed their walk towards the gates.
“It looks lifeless,” one of the Gargoyles said.
“Do you think you can seal it, or send it back to where it came from?” the other Gargoyle asked.
“It is a sentient being, it wants me to think. I can feel it trying to talk to me. I will try to reason with it when we get close enough,” Bliss said.
The closer they got, the more the ground around them trembled, and the black flames behind the Gates grew larger.
“What are you?” Bliss asked once they were near enough to where the three-horned statue would be able to hear her.
In response, the statue raised its head with eyes still closed. Bliss continued walking towards the statue, unafraid. As for the Gargoyles, they were preparing for the worst, with some of their Emorees showing up all over their bodies.
“Answer me, or be gone from this world,” Bliss said as she began to gather powerful magic in her right hand.
The statue opened its eyes fiercely, and within half a second frozen particles of air were hurdling towards Bliss at an incredible speed, giving her time only to move out of the way and cast a barrier in front of the Gargoyles who did not notice the dagger-like frozen wind coming at them.
The barriers collapsed under the sharp frozen wind, wounding the Gargoyles and sending them far back to the edge of the plateau. Bliss escaped the daggers by mere centimeters, causing her to rethink her approach. The statue was every bit as powerful as she felt it to be.
“I should leave and try to seal it from afar,” Bliss thought.
“Foolish being of magic, you have no control over me or anything that these Gates will bring into this world. I am the granter of wishes, the filler of voids, the other half of the magic you now have, the one without a name. You are but a small speck of the light that once was, and without all the light, the world will be covered in shadows,” the three-horned statue said in a deep, reverberating voice.
Gathering all of her magic and facing the statue directly, Bliss extended her arms and then closed them in front of her, holding her palms together firmly.
“Seal, in a cave you will stay,” chanted Bliss as she pressed her palms firmly together.
Hundreds of giant boulders and heavy stones began to rise from the ground, building walls all around the three-horned statue and the Gates.
Enraged, the statue rose to its feet and let go of the giant chains that held him down.
“Your power and that of your sisters and brothers is now mine to keep. You will be like a baby using magic. Hundreds of years will pass before you can do anything to stop the coming apocalypse of this world. By the time you regain your magic, it will be too late,” the three-horned statue said with one hand extended towards Bliss as her last spell continued to seal the gate and the statue.
Bliss flew as fast as she could towards the Gargoyles and grabbed them both, one in each hand, carrying them outside the enclosing cave just before it sealed shut. Bliss felt the statue took a great deal of magic from her, almost all of it. As they reached a safe distance, Bliss landed the two heavily wounded Gargoyles on the ground and then herself. She was breathing heavily and felt extremely drained once again. Her entire body was shaking from the loss of so much magic.
“Heal,” Bliss said without hesitating as she took heavy breaths in and out.
The Gargoyles began to heal instantly. As the Gargoyles healed, a ferocious, oversized four-legged beast appeared and began running towards them from the direction of the newly formed cave that enclosed the Gates.
“Be gone,” Bliss said with her right palm pointing at the dark beast. Instead of the beast being thrown far away by some of the earth-roots and vines, Bliss felt a surge of pain running through her body. She felt her emptiness overpowering her magic. Aware that nothing was happening while Bliss tried to use her magic, the Gargoyles instantly got up and flew towards the dark beast.
The beast was unlike nothing they had ever seen or faced before. It was pure to its intentions, striking the gargoyles without thinking and without remorse. However, after an intense battle that pushed them to the very limits, the Gargoyles finally brought the beast down.
“Creatures had already leaked out from the Gates. This is not good,” Bliss said with her body still in pain as the Gargoyles flew back to her.
In those moments when her body was in pain and so fragile, she understood everything—herself, her role in the world, and the things that will surely come. She had learned the first rule of magic: The magic user with the biggest amount of magic will also carry the biggest burden. For Bliss was the only being on the planet that could fight back the darkness that will ensue. Bliss knew that she would have to find another way of using her magic if she, her brothers, and sisters were to fend off the great darkness that awaited the world. The uphill battle of colossal proportions was about to begin.
To be continued...
Acknowledgments
While it is of great pride that somewhere out there is a book written by Luis Robles, I would have never done it without the support from all those who saw me through with this book from beginning to end, especially those who talked things over, read, wrote, and offered comments. To them, I am eternally grateful.
Specifically, I also thank Sheena Saavedra for her dramatic imports to the story and Yna Shmoog for her time and dedication in editing this great book. Thank you, and I hope to continue working with you in the future.
Equally important, to you my dear readers, for showing interest and giving this book a chance. I hope you will have the same enthusiasm in the next two books of the series. Thank you, and keep the magic alive by sharing and leaving a review to help get this book in the hands of other readers.
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