THE DRAGON AND THE PHOENIX

by Shoraz

Sarah, Stryker, and Roma then awoke, and the sorcerers greeted them to their bewilderment and astonishment as Sarah looked around for Ava but she was nowhere to be seen and as she tried to ask the sorcerers where Ava was the words were unable to come forth from her mouth. Then, as Usain, Roma, Sarah, Stryker, and Max looked on, and the sorcerers continued their enchanted workings on John, he finally awoke.

  As he awoke he gasped for air and he then slowly began to breathe, and as he looked around, he felt that he was finally home after what seemed like an eternity. And now he was back in a place that was very familiar to him, a place that he knew very well and a place where he and the Phoenix once lived.

  “I feel like I know this place,” John said.

  “No John, this place is unlike anything we’ve ever seen,” Stryker said to him.

  “Have you lost your memories my friend,” Zurial said, referring to John, and then with a wave of her hand John’s eyes became fixated on a set of images that Zurial willed to creation, and as the images hovered right in front of John’s face the memories of everything came rushing back to him and a smile came over his face and then, as if another soul and mind entered his body and to the surprise of Usain, Roma, Sarah, Stryker, and Max, he surprisingly asked the sorcerers, “Where is the Phoenix?”

  “She is in the other room with Zrakil,” Mikaelos answered.

  “We must hurry, the Blue Dragon will be released soon,” John said.

  “How do you know this John?” Sarah asked.

  “I once lived in this realm Sarah – I once lived in Zerros. I have also seen the unseen, and the Great War of Zerros will soon be upon us,” John said.

  As everyone looked on, Sarah was at a loss and asked John, “John, how is this possible?” and John then began his story of how he and the Phoenix made their beyond miraculous journey back to Zerros against almost insurmountable odds, and as Sarah listened to him she was about to be blown away by what John was about to say.

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  As Sarah looked at John, she was in shock to learn that he once lived in Zerros and he then looked back at her and said, “True love will always find a way back to each other Sarah,” and he then began his story.

  Story of how John and the Phoenix made their way back to Zerros

  John then continued saying, “Right now I’m not that different from you Sarah – we are both humans, and the only reason that we are alive in this Realm of Zerros is through the magical powers that the sorcerers have bestowed upon us. But many eons ago I was not that different from the beings that stand before you. I once lived in the Realm of Zerros, and I saw the mighty Blue Dragon, and his minions, kill our beloved Phoenix as well as the sorcerers that tried to help her. They thought that they had killed us all but little did they know that the powers of good will always find a way to prevail in the darkest of times and even against the most evil of creatures.

  After the battle with the Blue Dragon and his minions, and after the Blue Dragon killed my friend the Phoenix and she lay dead and floated in the celestial wastelands of Dezzanor, life was somehow breathed back into me and as I saw the one being who could withstand the powers of Zerros as well as the powers of the Realm of Creation, I knew with everything in me and with everything I believed in that this was not how it was supposed to end for her. And as my life returned to me and with whatever strength I had left I destroyed the portal from Dezzanor to Zerros in fear that the Blue Dragon and his minions would return to Dezzanor to destroy the lifeless body of my ruler – the Phoenix.

  As I destroyed the portal, I remembered the teachings of my teacher – Razen – and I ever so carefully called upon ancient enchantments in hopes that the soul and energy of the Phoenix would return to her. Then, after what seemed like an eternity and beyond, something miraculous happened and the soul of the Phoenix returned to her body. And as she once again became alive, something inside me knew that I had to follow her in hopes that she and I would one day return to Zerros to rightfully reclaim the throne that was savagely taken away from her.

  As time passed and as we became one with our creations within Dezzanor and beyond; we lived, and we died, and then lived again and died again many, many times, and as we were reborn over and over again, our souls traveled from life form to life form, and hopped from universe to universe, and we both became creations within the Realm of Creation. However, somehow I knew that this was not the end and something deep inside me kept me going, and I knew in my mind that the Phoenix would somehow know when she had reached the life form that would bring her back to Zerros, and I knew and believed that the pact I made would always keep me close to the Phoenix, and watching over her until she once again returned to the Realm of Zerros.

  And now as the Phoenix rises in the room next to me I know that I made the right decision and her time has now come where she will take revenge upon those that killed her many, many eons ago,” John said as his story ended.

  The end of John’s story

  As John’s story ended, Sarah and the others were in utter shock and disbelief and were unable to fathom the possibility of what John had just told them. As they tried to grasp the magnitude of what he just said and tried to put it into perspective they were perplexed at how something so miraculously extraordinary was taking place right in front of their eyes.

  But the fact that John was sitting beside them and Ava – the Phoenix – was in the room next to them was all the proof that they needed to know that his story was as real as anything that they had ever been told.

  “When will we be able to see her?” Sarah asked, referring to Ava.

  “Zrakil will let us know,” Mikaelos said.

  Sarah then looked at John and asked, “Who did you make your pact with John?”

  “I made my pact with the Greatest Being of all and the One True Creator of everything in existence,” John replied with a smile on his face, and with that everyone sat and waited for the life of the Phoenix to be breathed back into her as her marvelous and almost improbable return to Zerros was almost complete.

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  Meanwhile, back on the outskirts of the Grand Castle, a lone sentinel walked amongst the crowd of Zerrosians in a trance–like state and mumbled a few unrecognizable words over and over again. As the sentinel continued walking a large crowd of Zerrosians gathered around him and followed him as he made his way into the Grand Castle.

  As he made his way, he was stopped by two royal guards who began questioning him, and as they did so, the lone sentinel still mumbled the same unrecognizable words over and over again. Then as the robot–like sentinel kept repeating the same words over and over again one of the royal guards managed to recognize the words “Ruler” and “Zerros” and they instantly took the sentinel to their leader – Alkazar.

  As they brought the sentinel inside of the Grand Castle he stood in front of Alkazar, and Alkazar said to him, “I cannot understand you,” but the lone sentinel still kept repeating the same set of almost unrecognizable words over and over and then Alkazar asked, “What do you want?”

  To which the sentinel slowly replied, “Take me to the ruler of Zerros.”

  Surprised at the strange request from the abnormal sentinel Alkazar became concerned and called a battalion of royal guards out in case of an attack on Venetia.

  Alkazar then asked the lone sentinel, “Why do you want to see the ruler of Zerros?”

  “I have a message to give to her from the sorcerers of Zerros,” the crazed sentinel answered, at which point Alkazar became both worried and infuriated and quickly motioned towards two royal guards to hold the sentinel down. And as they did so, the two royal guards both vanished into thin air and the rest of the royal guards, including Alkazar, backed away from the strange sentinel, at which point the sentinel then again began repeating the words, “Take me to the ruler of Zerros.”

  “What message do you have for Venetia?” Alkazar shouted to the sentinel, as he and the rest of the battalion of royal guards readied their weapons.

 
; “Speak now or we will kill you,” Alkazar shouted.

  “You have no power to kill me,” the sentinel boldly stated as he blindly stared at the dozens of royal guards who waited on Alkazar’s word to attack the unusual sentinel.

  “And why is that?” Alkazar asked.

  “Because I am already dead,” the sentinel replied as everyone looked on in shock, at which point the sentinel again began repeating the words, “Take me to the ruler of Zerros,” and began walking towards the throne of Zerros where Venetia sat.

  As he began to make his way towards the throne, the royal guards, which numbered in the dozens, drew their weapons and began to attack the sentinel and as he fought them back he expertly slayed a few of them, and as the other royal guards continued to attack him it was as if the strikes of their swords had no effect on him whatsoever.

  At that point he looked back at the rest of the royal guards and said, “I mean no harm to your ruler, and I only come with a message for her,” and then he brazenly made his way towards the throne as Alkazar and the others ran towards Venetia in order to protect her from the crazy and unpredictable sentinel.

  As the sentinel made his way through the doors, he continued walking towards the throne and then he abruptly stopped.

  “I have a message for the ruler of Zerros,” he then shouted.

  “I am the ruler of Zerros, what message do you have for me?” Venetia angrily said to him.

  As the sentinel prepared to answer her, he looked above the throne towards the statue of the Blue Dragon and the imprint of the letter ‘V’ and then said, “The Phoenix has returned to Zerros, and she is hiding deep within the forest. Unleash the Blue Dragon upon her,” and as he said those words, he fell to the ground and disappeared into thin air as Venetia, Yram, Leonis, Alkazar, and Zalde looked at each other in confusion, bewilderment and total loss as to what they had just witnessed.

  “Alkazar, prepare the royal guards and sentinels and send some of them into the forest of Zerros. If the Phoenix is here we must find and destroy her, keep the rest of the royal guards and sentinels outside of the gates of the Grand Castle and tell them that the time has come for them to defend their ruler,” Venetia commanded. And with that, Alkazar headed off to gather the troops of the army of Zerros so that they may fulfill their duty of protecting the ruler of Zerros, and also to bravely trek into the forest of Zerros in search of the mighty Phoenix.

  As Alkazar headed off to gather the army of Zerros, Venetia and Yram left the grand hall and headed to the depths of the Grand Castle where none other than the tortured and condemned sorcerer – Razen – was being held against his will by the evil ruler of Zerros.

  As they entered the dark and confined room where Razen was being held captive they looked towards him, and in fear the chained, shackled and tormented sorcerer scrambled to the corner of the room and fearfully said, “Who goes there?”

  “It is I – Venetia, along with Yram,” Venetia answered.

  “How may I help you my master,” Razen asked.

  “A crazed sentinel came to me with word that the Phoenix has returned to Zerros,” Venetia said.

  “She has finally returned to save us,” Razen said to Venetia.

  “You will release the Blue Dragon at my command Razen, or I will destroy the Realm of Creation. This I promise you,” Venetia boldly said to him as Yram looked on.

  “I will never release the Blue Dragon for you Venetia, your time as the ruler of Zerros will soon come to an end and the golden Phoenix will again roam the skies of Zerros,” Razen said to her.

  As Venetia heard those words she nodded at the royal guard and he pulled at the chains that held Razen captive since he was first imprisoned by the evil Venetia, and as he did so Razen was dragged from the corner of the room towards the feet of Venetia and she said to him, “I have kept you alive for only one reason, and that is to release the Blue Dragon upon my command. You made a promise to me a long, long time ago that when the time came you would do this and now the time has come for you to fulfill your promise to me. Don’t forget our pact Razen; or I will destroy the Realm of Creation if you do not release the Blue Dragon.”

  And with that, Venetia ordered the royal guards to unshackle Razen but to still keep his hands bound and enclosed and to also keep his eyes covered as well in order to prevent him from using his magic on her as she waited for word from the royal guards and sentinels to see if the words of the mad sentinel was indeed true and to see if the Phoenix had truly returned to Zerros in hopes of reclaiming the throne that, many eons ago, once belonged to her.

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  As Ava awoke she was in a place beyond anything that she could have ever imagined and as she looked around she saw a figure standing on the other side of the room and with her eyes blurred and only able to see a silhouette of the figure that stood not too far away from her she screamed out, “Galiac, is that you?”

  As Zrakil heard Ava’s voice, she ran towards her in eagerness and joy and said to her, “My child, finally you are awake,” and as Zrakil said those words she was excited and happy to see that Ava was alive and awake after her taming of the Phoenix and using her ancient enchantments to help the Phoenix and Ava finally become one.

  As Ava heard the voice, she instantly knew that it was not Galiac and said, “You’re not Galiac are you?”

  “No my precious Ava, my name is Zrakil, and I am so glad to see you again,” Zrakil replied to Ava.

  “I feel as if I know you,” Ava said to Zrakil.

  “Yes my child, in a way, we do know each other,” Zrakil answered.

  “Where am I?” Ava asked.

  “You are back home Ava; you have finally returned to Zerros,” Zrakil replied.

  Upon hearing that, Ava was in shock and wondered if she was in a dream or not. As Zrakil saw her face, she felt Ava’s emotion and sat down beside her and held her closely in a very comforting and reassuring manner.

  “How do you feel my child?” Zrakil asked.

  “I feel fine, but why am I here in Zerros and not on earth? Where are my friends?” Ava nervously asked as she felt unsure whether Zrakil could be trusted or not.

  “Ava, the universe has been destroyed, and with it, the earth was demolished as well,” Zrakil answered.

  “Impossible! How can that be? What happened to everyone on earth?” Ava asked in response to Zrakil’s unfathomable words.

  “There were only seven survivors from the universe known as the Xerrolux Ava, they were all from the planet of earth, and you are one of them. Everyone and everything else in the universe perished. I know that those words are hard for you to believe but I only speak the truth to you O friend of Galiac,” Zrakil said.

  “How…how is it possible that the universe was destroyed? Who would do that and why would they do such an evil thing?” Ava asked.

  “I will answer all of your questions in due course Ava, but know that your friends are safe and are being looked after by friends of Galiac,” Zrakil replied.

  “Can I see my friends? I need to see who made it with me here,” Ava asked.

  “You will soon see your friends my child, but first we have much work to do,” Zrakil answered.

  “Where is Galiac?” Ava asked as he was the only Zerrosian that she knew of.

  “Galiac is no longer in Zerros my child, his mission is complete, and he has passed onto what lies beyond,” Zrakil replied.

  Surprised at the news that Galiac was dead, Ava felt lost and unsure of what to do next given that the only Zerrosian that she knew in any shape or form was Galiac, with the exception of Zrakil, who Ava may, or may not, have remembered from the magic that Zrakil used to merge the Phoenix into her mind.

  “He can’t be dead, he can’t be,” Ava said to Zrakil in a confused state.

  “Yes Ava, Galiac is dead, but I am here for you so take your time until you feel comfortable, I can only imagine what is going through your mind seeing all of this for the first time in what seems like an eternity,” Zrakil said to
her.

  “I feel lost, and I have no idea what I am doing here,” Ava said.

  “Don’t feel lost Ava, you are home. You were lost on earth and lost in the Xerrolux, but now there is no need to feel lost as you have returned back to where you truly belong,” Zrakil said.

  Upon hearing Zrakil’s words, Ava was convinced that she was dreaming and tried her best to wake herself up and as Zrakil sensed what was happening she said, “This is no dream Ava, and you cannot wake yourself from it. I know that the Phoenix burns within you and I am here to help you become one with it.”

  As Ava listened to Zrakil’s words she was at first hesitant to believe what Zrakil was telling her but then she thought back to her experiences on earth, and she knew that her feelings of something bigger than the reality of earth and life were indeed true.

  As she thought back to her father – Dean, her mother – Luanne, her brother – Jonah, and her friends that died on earth, she wondered where their souls were and hoped that they were safe and happy. She then remembered Jonah giving his life for her and Krishna who she only knew for a brief amount of time also helping her survive the raging waters of the Pacific Ocean after their submarine was destroyed by the knights under the commands of the betasapiens.

  She then recollected her memories of Zeus and Bismarck and the rest of the thirteen kamikazes, and she remembered the silver knights of Russia who she resurrected back to life at the base of the silver knights in Lake Baikal. She also remembered the mythical beast she created, and she remembered the thin blue spear that was thrusted into her chest by her own creation, and as she looked for the scars of her wound, to her surprise, it was gone as if it had never even existed.

  As Ava walked around the room, she looked out of the window at the lush forest that surrounded her and as she looked up to the sky above her, her mind flashed back to eons ago to when she freely roamed the skies of Zerros as the mighty golden Phoenix.