The Journey (Pentagon Spring Series Book 3)

by Arnav Koppala

  I burst the energy through that one point. The point exploded outward and the whole section of the wall disappeared revealing a passage way inside of it. I was finally getting somewhere. The screen was on the floor beeping. That’s what the screen was for. I picked up the screen on the ground and I stepped into the passageway.

  Instantly, I felt as if a thousand strings that were stuck in my body were pulled simultaneously. This must be the constant pulling and snapping from the maze. The wall shuts behind me and I was stuck in the dark. My fear of darkness was not my priority that I wanted to carry out, but it went away as the hallway illuminated with this blue energy flowing ahead.

  I touched the current of energy and my body was instantly rejuvenated. The current kept going and the screen illuminated to life. It was a complete map to the maze. The map would ensure that there was no way to get stuck in here. There were 11 different dots moving around. There is one already right here near me.

  Just like that, I go around grabbing everyone from around the maze. First Aunt Glalie, then Jack, Alex, Austin, Amelia, Cameron, Mathew, and then finally Uncle Peter. We all tightly fitted into the passage way. We kept going because the screen needed to still take us somewhere. We kept going until we arrived at the center of the maze, the core.

  There was this big blue ball of energy just floating there and thousands, even millions of those strands came right out of it. Who knew that underneath this desolate planet was energy like this. One of those strands flew right by be. The strand was the size of a train tunnel. The blue sphere shrunk, and I winced at this sudden change.

  Cringing, my body waited for something to happen, but seven podiums popped up from the floor around it. We all walk over to our respective positions. It was small just like the imprints but markings nonetheless. Our amulets glowed with intensity as the podiums grinded inside. The machinery was twisting and turning. We had to get ready for something.

  The engraving glowed. We had to begin. A small pedestal rose up from the floor, just right beneath the sphere. We could lean over the edge. Everything was awkward. I see pipes flowing from it to all over the room. The strand dimmed and stopped.

  The crystals within the amulets faded in and out like a heartbeat. The engravings reminded me of something. The whole thing lit up. All our faces lit up with astonishment. It was the Legendary Star of Magic that was in the center of the school. There was an added magic circle that was used and that would have allowed our magic to increase and we could beat Sakuta.

  At the last second, the two doors on the opposite side of the room open and two figures walk into the room. They step into the circle and it was too late to stop now. I look back and feel the blood drain from my face. I was nervous, and anxiety started to take over me. My skin turned ghostly white as I see the maniacal grin on the demons faces as the whole plan went astray.

  They both scream at the same time. Begin and they synchronously corrupt the circle and the energy within it. There was time left we could still change it. We all thrust our amulets into the podium. The Legendary Star of Magic begins to respond to us. The magic circle turns red counteracting the Legendary Star of Magic.

  The two circles mix in and form this purple-like color which at once turns white. The pipes didn’t suck the energy in it gave the energy into. The white liquid disappeared, and the pipes shook as the sphere turned white. This was all going on too fast. The podium sank back into the ground and pedestals rose into the air including the ones that the demons were standing on.

  The sphere expanded engulfing all of us as this familiar tingle rushed into my head. This isn’t just any sphere. My instincts knew something. This is the portal to Kalamine X. If they entered Kalamine X, the universe as we know it, would end. This meant that our greatest fear had begun. I don’t know what was worse experiencing fear or the thought of fear itself. Whatever the case the Universe War has begun.

  The pedestals disappear into thin air as a consequent transformation takes place. There was a thick fog that seemed to permeate in the air making it hard to see. It was abnormal, and the visibility continued to decline making it hard to decipher where anything was. I started to fumble around trying to feel my way. There was no to grab ahold of though.

  It was like a magic trick for sure. One minute they were then. The next minute they were gone. This magic trick was ten times better than what I had seen when it came to the card trick that they do. Oh, let me come back to this present sense of reality.

  Somehow, I had a feeling that I knew what awaited. I just knew that something was about to happen. Boy, I was right. Suddenly, a floor forms right beneath our feet. It was like a sinkhole in a way. It just came out of nowhere. My instincts knew something, but I had no idea that it would be like this. Who would have thought that this would be right before our final quest?

  Just before the battle would begin here came obstacles. Everyone had been through so many challenges and here we all were. Everything that we had undergone had set the stage for where we were now. I had only hoped that all along the way that everyone absorbed what they had went through.

  It is not until you are faced with the unknown that you will actually apply what was learned from previous challenges. This was one of those times. My only growing concern is would every comply and take care of what needed to be taken care of. We would soon see.

  A load, ear-deafening crack resounded in the air, echoing all over the white sphere. It was so loud that it vibrated on the inner ear canal. You know, it was like the sounding alarm of when there was a tornado but louder. The sound grew louder and then faded away. The next time it occurred it got even louder.

  This had to be a sign. What did this mean? We tried to bang on the sphere. That did not help at all. Again, we tried to bang on it but still got the same result. But it was too late. I didn’t expect anything good to come from this but there was something we needed to do.

  Why is it that when you think that you are actually doing something right that it turns out to be wrong? All this time momentum just kept building and the challenges were never going to stop. I really need to stop being so consumed with the thoughts running through me before I lose my focus. I could not afford to lose my way.

  We needed to start the war now. It was time to apply action. We could not delay this or put this off any longer. There was no other time where we could start the war. In fact, I would think as well that if we did start the war now, then we might have a chance to gather some alliance and start the battle. It had to be the right alliance at the right time. Would that have even been beneficial, I thought to myself.

  At first, I thought the battle had just begun but my mind went on a short vacation because it was afraid. Have you ever been so scared that you try to block out what is really going on around you? That is what I was trying to do but even that just made matters worse. The unsettling feeling of fear was rising in me and it was causing me to keep slipping back and forth between the present reality and what I wanted.

  There was more than one battle going on that needed to be conquered. What I was thinking and seeing were opposed to each other. I had to regroup and get back to what mattered the most. It saw what was beyond the sphere and that blew him away. There were two continuums existing around us. I strain my eyes to look beyond the cages of the battle grounds.

  It was treacherous to have to squint to see what lurked ahead. I didn’t see it. I wanted to scream loud, but something would not let me. With every second that passed by, I knew that my eyes didn’t want to witness the horrors beyond the cage, but I do. I wanted to know what really was out there. Where was the sign for this? At least, it would have been a heads up as to what awaited.

  So, I strained even further, and the sphere gave away for a few seconds. I closed my eyes and reopened them slowly. As if it knew that my burning curiosity would not be satisfied unless it saw for itself what happened on the outside. Those few moments felt almost like hours. That is what happens when fear sets in. Everything actually appears more devast
ating than it actually was. Why couldn’t I have been spared the grief that came along with the unknown at least.

  Destruction was everywhere as both sides of the planet were being consumed by two continuums both from the black and white dimension. The whole place was cracked with the remnants of the annihilation, only to become a part of it sooner or later. The white sphere went back online as its sphere returned back. Cutting my eyesight short by 1,000 times.

  I could feel disturbing energy inside of the black dimensions. I could vividly see the minions of Sakuta. It was a scary sight to see. I wanted to close my eyes forever and slip away where I was in my own comfort zone.

  Both dimensions are doing the same things. All the resources are creating cosmic mayhem. It was back and forth swinging like a pendulum. I looked again and saw Atukus. There was even more energy coming from the light dimension. This is not good. The energy levels from both dimensions kept enhancing. There were so many different little mini battles popping up all over the place.

  I turned around and knew that we had to fight them in every different way and that meant that we need to use our abilities. This is what I meant earlier that I hoped everyone would be able to utilize everything that they had went through for now. It was going to take all of us working together collectively for this battle. All of them. Starting now. Battles are won by fighting. Now was the time that we needed to apply pressure and take care of business.

  I ran to center and shoved a timeflower seed into the ground. It was not as easy as how I made it seem. Trying to shove anything into the ground took energy. I shoved with so much power that the dirt popped up and almost got in my eyes. Seeing that the timeflower was in the right soil kept me calm. It grew almost instantaneously as I shouted, “Battle begin.”

  There was no time for the opponents to shake their hands before the game began. This was a true battle. There was no tossing of a coin or anything like that. You never want to allow any idle time because that would create an ambush. I used flame terrain around me because it helped me think better. My thoughts cleared up and I was actually able to concentrate on what all was going on around me. This was the strength that I needed to continue on.

  This first thing that I would need to do would be to plan some tactics. I just wanted whatever I was doing to be beneficial. What should I do first? Oh, I know. This was like army strategies. You know you have to assess and examine things out. If only we had some spies how that would have helped. I called upon Terako. He started to analyze the situation and he told me that that I was in a pretty thick situation. Thanks, Terako. Just hearing the words being in the thick of things did not make me feel good. It put me on edge. How thick was it is what I really wanted to ask.

  I told him right back, way to state the obvious, captain obvious. “We can play this game later. Now let’s provide them tactics. We needed a good battle plan strategy for this. My body became light like all of a sudden. If I could describe it, it was like I was in my body but not really in my body.

  This was a moment where I was there, but I was not there. I was there. I guess, I didn’t really want to be there. I felt this sensation before. Indeed, I had. A prophecy was coming. I was looking forward to the actual fulfillment of the prophecy. I do caution that prophecies are just as dangerous as the battle we were facing. The prophecy would help us to keep our eyes set on fighting to complete what was before us.

  This magic was the only magic that came from the first original Guardian. My intuition knew that it was magic to begin with. What was he doing in my head now? Tactics. I guess, I was glad it was those instead of schemes and plots. I couldn’t sort the flurry of ideas that was pouring into my head, but one strategy seemed to protrude from the others almost as if the other strategies indifference magnified the importance of the one I was looking at.

  Have you ever had that to happen to you before? Let me just stick to the task at hand. On second thought, I just want some reassurance that I was not the only one that had dealt with this before. Sometimes in order to keep going, you just want to know that you are not in the battle by yourself. I know that I am all over the place, but I have every right to be. Again, will these strategies actually accomplish what we were here to do.

  Was this even going to work? It didn’t seem like it would work but it fooled me as the outcome turned out better than I expected. I really need to get my thought pattern to being more optimistic about the outcomes. Now was not the time to be going back and forth between my thoughts. The whole plan didn’t feel right. I should have known there was more to it than this.

  We all had to create a telepathic network. This was going to be interesting. We established neuropathic connection and I spoke immediately. Wait. Did I speak too soon? Yes, I did. Everyone else knew that silence was the key so that I could get my strategy across. It might have been quiet but that is not what was happening in my brain at all. If that was the key, then why was I talking? It seemed simple enough, but it wasn’t.

  The tactic itself was so complex, that even I thought that it might also ruin our chances of defeating them. Like I said earlier, there were so many mini battles going on as we are in the final battle. It was difficult enough to keep strategies and tactics together. Why did it have to be so complex to begin with?

  It seems like the closer we were to victory, the more intense things became. This was normal at the same time daunting. Have you ever wanted something to be over with? I mean, the more I wanted this to end, then here came another thing. Then after that finished, here came something else. I am overwhelmed but I have to remain focused on what is in front of us and not lose resolve.

  My strategy plays out in their heads as Sakuta and Atukas stand there doing nothing. It is like they are mimicking each other. To me it seemed like Sakuta was mocking Atukas. Every single time this happened, Atukas would unleash fiery. I kept glancing back and forth at them just shaking.

  Oh no! So, what is going on is not actually happening. In the blink of an eye, my emotion reaches my friends and we all create a huge barrier between them and us. It was too late for them. They were exhausted and even more overwhelmed than I was. I felt bad but maybe this feeling of anxiety would help us in our efforts to push through. Why did this have to happen like that?

  By the time they could even release their energy. The explosion drained their reserves and obliterated the barrier in front of us. The particles from the eruption had me coughing trying to catch my breath. It was already hard enough to see and now this.

  I was having a serious panic attack. I would cough and then started seeing little specks with my vision. When I did open my eyes, I started coughing even harder. I started to inhale and exhale with my hands behind my head to get myself together. It worked.

  Now! We launch our attack. It just happened that fast. Alex uses the moisture in the air to create a water monster. It starts to launch over to them, but we leave that as a decoy so that Mathew could use his quicksand to sink them in the ground. It worked. Everyone was actively engaged and attentive to what was going on. I was proud of them because they were aware of what needed to be done and just executed.

  Cameron activated his anti-gravity terrain and created an almost impossible environment. And then I use my flame terrain to encircle the quicksand. Then Jack comes in with his light and engulfs the pit in light. Then Alex’s water monsters dissipates into the quicksand. We were all working together. It was all in sync. Everyone was doing their part. This was effective teamwork.

  Even though we were all together, something was out of place. There was pieces missing to all of this. I realized what it was after some time. Everyone was accounted for except Aunt Glalie and Uncle Peter. That is why things felt off. This would explain why it was so hectic.

  Those two were like equalizers and stabilizers that balanced things out. I was just about to yell for them when out of my peripheral they appeared. Were they there the entire time and my vision was just blurred that I did not even notice them. All I knew is they were inspecting an
d checking in on the others and what they were doing.

  This is what always happens to me when my feelings get in the way. I become paranoid. It could have been because I was tired but I didn’t have time for any excuses. It was them alright. At least now, I could get back to where we were without losing hope.

  One thing that struck me was just how grateful I was that they were there with us. They were always known for directing us and guiding us. We needed them. Oh, yeah. Back to the task at hand. I had better get back or there is no telling what else thoughts were going to parade my mind.

  They would struggle to get out. While they were doing that, we could then go over to the forcefield and use it to our advantage. Everything was working out in our favor. This was indeed a plus. I had a vision of how mature we all were over the course of our travels to be able to rely on what each other had to complete this mission.

  We imagine our terrain abilities and the forcefield senses what we want. Did the others pick up on this or was it just me? As Mathew, Alex, Cameron, and I are using our terrains, Jack is welling up his energy.

  Amelia and Austin, together, have now filled their reserves. They were filled to the brim. They created a floating bubble of white and dark liquid. Then once we were finished exporting our terrains into the sphere, I immediately could tell that the sphere was on our side.

  It was a creation of Omnichron. What a creation it was. I sense his residual energy within the forcefield. It was like a magnetic pull of energy however. The bubble with the liquid is now prime for the next step. Everything is coming together. I just want it to stay like this.

  Each one of us blasts the bubble into the sphere and the sides now engulf with the liquid. It was almost like it had merged together somehow. The liquid gets absorbed into the forcefield and the forcefield activates an individual terrain on each and every person.