Zodiac Awakening

by Drew Smith

  “Neutral City was created by us, Councillor Brunius, and the council shouldn’t have the right to change things. As owners, I grant Penelope the city, and all cities will give twenty-five percent of all money collected to Penelope. She will decide how to use it to benefit Neutral City. Do you agree?” Lumus suggested. Brunius was taken aback for a moment.

  “I will have to talk to the rest of the council, but I do agree to your terms. It is fair that Neutral City see some of the money for its own growth. I will send word to the rest of the council immediately.” He agreed. He bowed politely then made his way to Capaz palace. Penelope was silent with a surprised look on her face.

  “Penelope, do you agree to all of this? I’m sorry I didn’t give you more of a warning, but it just kind of came to me.” Lumus apologized. Penelope smiled, her eyes shining.

  “Thank you Lumus. Thank you so much! I will do everything I possibly can to make Neutral City a welcoming place for everyone. But what should I do? I mean where do I start?” She said with panic creeping into her voice. Lumus and Orson looked at each other. Orson took a step toward Penelope.

  “First, you should talk to Captain Nex. He has been building for us since the beginning. He would be able to help you build what you need to make the city prosperous. We are going to have to add some more shops to Neutral City too.” Orson explained. Penelope turned to look at her sign from her shop.

  “More shops? I will need to find someone to run my general store and someone for the inn too. I will need to have a deli, or food stands? Maybe a blacksmith, and a tavern too.” Penelope began to rant to herself.

  “You got it Penelope. We will leave Neutral City in your hands.” Orson gave Penelope a pat on the back then made his way into her shop.

  “Lumus, why wouldn’t you and your friends run the city? Am I really the one you want to do this?” Penelope asked. Lumus smiled.

  “I have a few reasons. With Lears still out there, I don’t know if I could run a city, and I was a farmer once upon a time. Something like this doesn’t suit my expertise. The other thing is that Neutral City was built for the people. Who better to run it than the people? I am happy that everyone will have a better life because of Neutral City, and they will need a leader among them to guide them. I won’t always be there for them, so I leave that to you.” Lumus walked past her into her shop.

  (“A shop owner to a town leader. I don’t even know how to take this in.”) Penelope sat down and against her shop to cry tears of joy.

  Lumus found Orson waiting for him at the bottom of the ladder to the tunnels. He stood with his arms crossed staring down the tunnels toward Neutral City.

  “Well you made her day Lumus. I’m surprised you gave her control over the entire city.” He said.

  “We don’t have time to run cities. Neutral City was meant to help the people. Now they can use the tools we gave them to help themselves.” Lumus added. Orson laughed.

  “Give someone a fish, feed them for a day. Teach them to fish, feed them for life right?” Orson said.

  “Yes exactly.” He added.

  “That really is kind of you, Lumus.” He pointed out.

  “We have bigger things to deal with. We need to find a cure for Doxas, and protect the sprout in Dornet region. More importantly we need to talk about Scarlette” Lumus explained.

  “Let us meet with the others. I would like to know what happened to Scarlette as I’m sure everyone else does too.” Orson said as he adjusted his sword in its sheath.

  “No, Orson I mean you and I need to talk before we confront the others.” Lumus interrupted. Orson paused.

  “Is she…dead?” Orson said with a whisper.

  “You know as well as I do that Scarlette died in the caves of Aster Mountains when I was born. Her time with us was borrowed, and she was never meant to have come back at all. We should be thankful for the time we did have with her. I know I am, and I would have never met Scarlette if she had stayed in the realm of the dead. I didn’t realize it until I came to meet you and our friends that Scarlette has guided me through everything. I owe her everything.” He said sadly. Lumus leaned on the cave wall out of the reach of the torches light.

  “What are you saying Lumus?” Orson said as he turned his full attention to him.

  “Scarlette’s time ran out. During our fight with the Zodiac… She started to become a goddess, and she was beautiful Orson. She became the goddess of the west side of the galaxy. West Zin passed away during our fight, and Scarlette had no choice but to leave. She isn’t dead, but she won’t be coming back to us either. It was all pre-arranged, even before I met her on Dystopia.” He said softly. He tilted his head down, and went silent. Orson put an arm up to catch himself from falling. He began to cry, but tried to hold it in.

  “No… Scarlette. She is gone? Why? How come she didn’t tell us anything? How could she just leave? If she became a goddess, then why couldn’t she come back to us? She is a goddess after all…” He cried out. He broke down, causing him to fall to the ground in tears. He called out her name, then stood to his feet in rage. He drew his sword and began slashing at the wall with all his strength. Lumus continued to lean against the tunnel wall, and waited while Orson let it all out.

  “It’s not fair, she was my responsibility. I should have known… I could have protected her if only she…” He dropped his sword, and fell to his knees once again.

  “Orson, she isn’t gone forever. I have seen some things… I can’t go into detail just yet, but someone sent me to a faraway place, and there I learned that everything will work out. That is how I was able to stay so calm through all of this. Though I am of course sad, and very angry with the way things worked out, but remember that everything will be okay.” Lumus explained. He took a step toward Orson. Lumus walked a bit closer into the light to reveal a smile, but his white hair had become brown, and his eyes weren’t glowing.

  “Lumus?” Orson stood up with a panic.

  “I have learned how to revert back to this human form, but my point is that everything can become what it once was. You just have to find a way.” Lumus stood as he once did as a human when he was on Dystopia, living with Orson’s familiar Rozell.

  “How is this possible?” Orson’s surprise caused him to walk closer to Lumus to gaze upon his face.

  “I can’t say where, but with this ability I can blend into the mix of people to go unseen. Plus while in this form I store Star energy, so when I become me again I can fight with far more power. Scarlette will come back to us, time will help us find a way. Don’t worry Orson.” Lumus powered up once again. His light lit up the caves. Orson was inspired to see Lumus transform like the first time they met all over again.

  “Let’s get to Neutral City Orson, and please don’t let the others know I told you first. I just wanted you to know so that you and I could help the others through this.” Orson nodded with a revived sense of clarity. They started to walk down the tunnels together.

  Dyne, Frostear, Zephry, Zynx, and Zelkem stood in a semi-circle near the entrance to Capaz tunnels. As soon as Lumus emerged from the doorway they all looked up at him. Orson left his side, and joined the others.

  “Okay, I understand. You all are worried about Scarlette. I’m not sure exactly how to explain her situation.” Lumus admitted.

  “Just tell us what happened to her. Where is she? Is she okay?” Zephry said in a fit of rage with a stomp of her foot.

  “Okay, here goes: Scarlette was slowly turning into a goddess to take over for the West Zin. She is in the realm of the dead, and she is fine. As Orson suspected, she did in fact die the day I came into this world. She waited in the realm of the dead for almost ten years. When I was about ten years old she appeared in Dystopia, and we grew up together. She and I met once in a while during the ten years I spent in Dystopia. I learned very little about her, but she knew who I was the whole time. I didn’t find out until I came to Twilight that she was really there to watch over me. A little while ago here on Twilight, she showe
d me an hourglass that was given to her by the West Zin. It was a timer that counted down her time left until she had to return to the realm of the dead. She was slowly becoming a goddess the whole time she was in Dystopia and while she was travelling with us.” Lumus explained.

  “That explains why she always seemed to recover so quickly from her injuries, like the time she fought Ged. She should have been out for days, but she was fine within a few hours. At the time I didn’t really notice. Now it all makes sense.” Zelkem blurted out. Orson took a deep breath then turned away from the others.

  “Is she coming back Lumus?” Zephry asked with fear in her eyes. Lumus hesitated to answer.

  “No… She will remain in the realm of the dead as the goddess of our side of the galaxy. She says to always do your best, and to always watch over each other.” He added.

  “What does that mean? She told you that before she left?” Frostear asked with confusion.

  “She is talking to me as we speak. This is how I know so much. I only knew some of the things she is telling me. Some of this is new to me too.” Everyone gasped. Orson turned back to him with a surprised look in his eyes...

  “You are speaking to her now? Tell her we will find a way to bring her back!” Orson yelled out.

  “I can’t, Orson. She is talking to me but I can’t speak back. I was able to speak to her last time, but I think it was because she was still tied to Twilight. The more she speaks the quieter she becomes. Soon I won’t be able to hear her at all.” Lumus closed his eyes to focus.

  Zephry ran over to him, and grabbed his wrists. She fell to her knees with tears in her eyes.

  “Then tell us what she is saying! Please!” Lumus tried to smile when he looked down at her, but he couldn’t.

  “She wants everyone to work together. She says we are stronger when we are together. ‘Don’t give up’ she says… The path of fate has brought us all together, and together will not only change Twilight, but the universe.” He repeated Scarlette’s words in his head. Zephry’s grip tightened on Lumus. His eyes widened like he had just realized something.

  “What else Lumus? What else!?” Lumus turned his head away from everyone.

  “I can’t hear her anymore.” He whispered. He shook Zephry off of him and turned back to the tunnels leading to Capaz. He walked to the doorway then stopped for a moment. His head turned as if he was about to say something, but he didn’t. He continued to walk back to Capaz alone, leaving everyone behind.

  Chapter Thirty Three- Serpentarius

  Lumus made his way outside Neutral City tunnels into Capaz. He passed the people in the streets as they called out his name with excitement. He ignored everyone though. He was so deep in thought that he couldn’t care less about their compliments. He walked until he got to the North Gates overlooking Dornet Region. He paused for a moment, and thought about what he wanted to do until he remembered Brinx. He ventured into Dornet region past the North Capaz Bridge, but was shocked to see the sprout was now a six foot tree.

  (“No tree I have ever seen has grown this fast. It seems Brinx will be okay after all.”) He thought as he rested his hand on the trees bark and closed his eyes.

  (“I can feel Brinx’ life force. It is good to have you back Brinx, but I have to say things are a mess right now. We have lost Scarlette and you. Orson’s friend was petrified by the Zodiacs too. I’m not sure what our next move is, but I have a feeling things will work out. Everyone is completely exhausted and lost. Especially me. They wouldn’t admit it, but I can tell from looking at them that the battles with the Zodiacs have left them drained physically, and the losses we took drained them mentally. Maybe we should all just take a break for a while. It would be best for them I think.”) He thought to himself as he opened his eyes... He felt like his head was shaking from the inside.

  “Ah what is this feeling?” He cried out.

  “You have just felt the power of something far more powerful than you have ever faced.” A voice said from behind the tree.

  “Who’s there!?” Lumus began to emit a faint light around his body with his fists clenched.

  Lears came walking from the other side of the tree.

  “So that power I felt during the fights was that girl after all, and this tree is that plant creature that you dragged back from Dystopia. Interesting…” Lears smiled, but he wasn’t looking at Lumus. His focus was on the tree.

  “Why are you here, Lears? (How did I not sense his energy so close to me?)” Lears walked cautiously to Lumus’ side.

  “It is simple. That headache you are having is some power that I haven’t felt in some time now.” Lears described.

  “Lears, all of the twelve Zodiacs have been defeated. Whatever this power is it can’t be them right?” Lumus asked.

  “Are you so sure? Have you not heard the legend of the thirteenth Zodiac?” Lears said. Lumus powered down to give him a chance to answer.

  “Okay Lears, I’ll bite. What is the legend of the thirteenth Zodiac?” He asked. Lears didn’t do his sinister laugh as he usually did. Instead he was serious, and stared off into the distance as he thought how he wanted to answer.

  “Ophiuchus… The hidden Zodiac of the snake. The legend says that it is hidden because of the other twelve Zodiacs. Serpentarius…, or Ophiuchus, however you perceive it, is the strongest of the twelve. It is said that it stays hidden because it can only be taken down by the twelve Zodiacs if they were to combine their power against it.” Lears explained.

  “How do you know all of this?” Lumus asked.

  “I read, Lumus. Am I not allowed hobbies?” He replied. Lumus smiled.

  “You said you felt this power before?” Lumus asked.

  “Yes. When I was still young, I felt it above me. It felt like it flew through the clouds so fast that I didn’t really know what had happened, but then I felt it again a few years later. I saw it the second time though… It was like a surge of energy in the shape of a snake going through the clouds. I would imagine a normal person wouldn’t be able to have felt it, or even see it, but I did. Its power was incredible. So much so that I was even trembling.” Lears said while clenching his fists. Lumus turned his attention to the clouds above.

  “Look, as much as it pisses me off to work with you. We will need to combine our strength to fight this thing.” Lears finally whispered.

  “If it just passed by last time, why would it come down now?” Lumus asked.

  “Were you not listening to me at all? It only feared the twelve Zodiacs. Without them here anymore it will no longer have anything to fear.” Lears yelled out.

  “I suppose you are right. Then we just let it come to us?” Lumus asked.

  “Exactly. We will have to draw it to us. If I’m right then it is drawn to star energy just like the other Zodiacs. All we have to do is generate enough power to lure it to us.” Lears pointed out as he watched the skies.

  “Agreed.” Lumus added.

  “Let’s head to a more open area first, we can go north of Aquoise. The plains there are open enough for us to fight this thing, but remember that after this we are enemies again. I won’t hesitate to kill you, Lumus.” Lears reminded him.

  “I’m glad we are going to be working together. It’s too bad I don’t trust you at all though. I was hoping while working with you and your followers that we could live peacefully afterwards.” Lumus said with a grin.

  “You are living in a dream, Lumus. I have every intention of killing you after this, but we both know that even at our max, this won’t be an easy fight.” Lears quickly replied.

  “How do we know this thing wants to fight? Maybe it just wants to live a peaceful life. All the stories you told me are just stories of legend.” Lumus added. Lears laughed even more than normal.

  “Concentrate on the power Serpentarius emits. It has more evil within it than I do, and I’m pretty evil… In any case, this thing has the desire to destroy, and anger built up over centuries based on the legends I have read. I would imagine this thing is re
ady to show its true colors.” Lears explained.

  Lumus pondered the idea for a moment. He couldn’t help but to feel like this creature is misunderstood, or maybe it just wanted to live its life, and he still hasn’t explained why he left the others in Neutral City the way he did. He felt like he had to talk to them. He knew he was being selfish, but the news of Serpentarius bothered him too much. He knew this could be his only opportunity to stop it before it attacked.

  (“Maybe I should tell the others about the god of time, Zero, and how he took me to another planet… I felt like I was gone for weeks, but time only passed a few minutes here… I saw Orson in the distance, but then he was in front of me with his hand on my shoulder. I still have questions about Damen and Rel… Will they be okay? Zero told me I wasn’t supposed to tell the others about their world, or what I did there… Maybe I should focus on Serpentarius for now… This creature was created from the energy dispersed over time by the other Zodiacs; if the books that I have read are true… I feel like we are the same. Created by something else with no mentor or path shown to us. We are the same where neither I nor Serpentarius know what we are supposed to do. It has been alone all this time, and I think Lears is right. Serpentarius didn’t understand why the other Zodiacs stopped it from coming to the surface. I don’t know if I can bring myself to fight this creature.”) Lumus thought to himself while Lears stared into the clouds.

  “We have no choice but to leave now, Lumus. If this creature lands it will go for star energy just as the other Zodiacs did during our fights with them. My Lords have told me information from their battles, and they explained that these things are drawn to star energy. I believe that Serpentarius will go for something worth devouring.” Lears explained. Lumus walked a few steps toward Aquoise.

  “What do you mean?” He asked.

  “Think about it, you fool. Why do you think it would risk its life by exposing itself like that?” Lears yelled frantically. Lumus turned his head to him.