by Jared Stone
“Is that it?” Blake asked, staring at the crystal inside the pedestal. “Is that the key?”
The giant nodded once. “Yes,” he affirmed. “Take it and protect it at all costs. The fate of this realm and countless others now lies in your hands.”
Lucian hesitated for a moment, trying to determine whether or not the giant was now being genuine. Seeing that they all anxiously awaited his move, he then timidly reached out and touched the flaming crystal. The surface actually felt remarkably cool against his fingers and the flame within seemed to reach out desperately toward his touch, as if wishing to be once again reunited with him after a long time apart. Carefully, Lucian picked up the crystal with his fingers between the points and removed it from the pedestal.
“You have now fulfilled your reason for coming to this realm,” the giant said as Lucian continued to examine the key in his grasp. “Where is it you wish to be sent?”
Lucian looked up in confusion. “Sent?” he asked.
“Yes,” affirmed the giant. “We are able to send you to any destination you wish to go. Where is it you feel the key is safest?”
Lucian thought about it for a minute, then turned toward his two companions. “What do you guys think?” he inquired.
“There is no place on campus sufficiently protected,” Schuntz asserted. “Despite any skills we collectively possess, there is no way any of us could guarantee its safety there.”
“Well, what about Panhavant?” Blake suggested. “I mean, isn’t he, like, super powerful or something? He’d probably be able to keep it safe.”
Lucian nodded his head in agreement. Of any place he knew, Panhavant’s tree would definitely be the safest. At least until they could hand the key off to the real Kílánór…, wherever they were.
“Do you truly believe that is the best course of action, Mr. Aarden?” Schuntz asked gruffly. “Though the old master is quite powerful, I am still distrustful of his intentions. One can never be certain to whom his allegiance belongs. I would weigh this decision very carefully, were I you.”
Lucian also had a twinge of doubt arise in him when the professor said this, remembering back to how he had once thought Panhavant had betrayed him following Gus’ death. But, he honestly didn’t know of any other place better suited to store the key, and Panhavant’s actions, though certainly difficult to decipher, still always seemed to be in Lucian’s best interest.
“I know, professor,” Lucian agreed. “But I think it’s at least better than the masked man getting ahold of it. Then, if the Kílánór ever get here, maybe we hand it off to them or something. I’m sure they’ll know what to do with it!”
Schuntz frowned at this. “If you insist, Mr. Aarden,” he stated with great reservation. “It is at least an acceptable stopgap until we are able to determine a more fitting, permanent home for it.”
“Can you send us to Panhavant’s tree?” Lucian asked of the giant who towered over him.
The titan paused, staring at the boy so intently it seemed as if he was reading Lucian’s mind. He then nodded. “Yes,” he affirmed. “I know of this place. I shall send you there now.”
Lifting his hand, he held out his palm facing the three travelers. As he did so, they were enveloped in a pulsating white glow. Lucian felt a warm sensation flooding his body, and he began to feel almost as if he was weightless. He braced himself for whatever might come next.
“And, young one,” the giant added with an almost mournful look on his otherwise stoic face. Lucian looked up toward the gargantuan features. “We implore you to consider us when the time of your decision arrives. We have served our penance and now wish to be liberated from suffering.”
Before Lucian could say anything, he felt a sudden jolt of his body, and everything abruptly went black.
* * *
Saturday, January 24th
The next thing Lucian knew, he was opening his eyes and standing in a snow-covered field. He had the immediate fear that they were still trapped within the frigid Hell Realm they had just tried to leave; but, as his vision adjusted to the sunlight streaming down on him from the blue sky above, he realized that this was thankfully not the case.
“HA!”
Lucian jumped at the sudden introduction of sound. Looking over, he saw Blake standing there with a huge smile on his face.
“We did it, man!” Blake cheered, laying his arm over Lucian’s shoulders and shaking it back and forth in some strange sort of half-hug. “We did it!”
“Yes,” Schuntz’s voice concurred from behind them. “It is quite a relief to finally be standing in this earthly realm once again.”
Lucian couldn’t help but grin as a tremendous wave of calming relief flowed over him. He looked across the field of snow to a leafless tree that stood out prominently against its whitewashed surroundings, then down at the crystal which still burned brightly in his hand.
“Alright, let’s get this to Panhavant,” he said to the others in his party, “before anything happens to it. We can finally make sure it’s safe.”
Schuntz scrunched up his face at this. “You two go on ahead,” he urged, waving the boys on. “I believe I have had enough adventuring for one very long day. I would much prefer to go home and rest for an unreasonably long time.”
Lucian laughed lightly. “Alright, professor,” he said. He stood there awkwardly, feeling like he wanted to hug the man who had helped them so significantly through their trials, or at least give him a handshake. But he remained paralyzed with uncertainty over whether or not such physical contact or displays of affection would be welcomed by the stern professor. In the end, he opted for a simple, “Thanks so much for your help.”
Schuntz nodded. “It would be disingenuous of me to claim that it was entirely devoid of entertainment, Mr. Aarden,” he admitted. “It had been decades since I was presented with the opportunity to partake in such… reckless abandon. A brief respite from the mundane activities of daily life is not wholly without its charms.”
With this, the professor turned around and began walking in the direction of the aboveground transit stop at the edge of the park. “Do try to stay out of further trouble in my absence, gentlemen,” he said with a parting wave over his shoulder.
“Thanks, Professor,” Lucian called out in return.
“Thanks!” Blake added.
Turning back toward the tree, Lucian once again glanced down at the crystal he held in his hand. “Well, let’s go,” he said to Blake.
“Yeah, man,” Blake responded.
The two of them trudged through the snow which blanketed the ground below them. It was clear that they were the first to traverse this expanse since the most recent snowfall, as each step served to destroy the otherwise pristine ocean of sparkling flakes. As they passed over the tiny bridge which spanned the babbling stream running through the center of the park, Lucian saw that, even under bulbous patches of ice, the flowing water refused to be subjugated by the cold. It created a gurgling sound as it rushed by that was both jarring and meditative in its consistency. After crossing over this melodic force of nature, the boys arrived at the base of the tree.
“I hope he shows up soon, man,” Blake said, sticking his hands into his pockets. “I can't wait to….”
“You are here!” Panhavant's voice exclaimed from behind the boy suddenly, causing him to jump in alarm.
“Jeez!” Blake cried out, whipping around to face the tiny man. “Dude! Do you have any idea what we just went through!? You could've at least given me some warning first!”
Panhavant giggled heartily. “All things spring up without expectation!” he asserted playfully.
“Yeah, well, that thing just scared the crap outta me!” Blake responded.
Panhavant laughed again and began waddling over to the base of the tree, planting his long staff into the snow with each step. Lucian and Blake followed him.
“Panhavant,” Lucian said, holding out the crystal in front of him once the sage had stopped at the trunk, “I have
something I wanna give you. I think you're the only one who can keep this safe for us until we can reach the Kílánór to come and get it.”
Panhavant looked at the crystal in the boy’s hand and brought together his big, bushy eyebrows in what seemed like concern. “This does not belong here,” he stated seriously.
Lucian was alarmed by the sage’s reaction. “What do you mean?” he asked.
“I believe he means you should hand it over to me, dear,” Lucian heard a woman say from outside the branches of the tree. Lucian and Blake both whipped around to see who had just spoken. Neither could believe his eyes as he beheld the red headed girl standing in the snow. She wore a smooth leather jacket and skin-tight black pants under leather boots that reached almost to her knees. She stared at the two boys smugly.
“Lilly!?” Lucian barely croaked out. His voice seemed to have suddenly been stolen from him.
“Lilly!? You- You’re alive!?” Blake stuttered beside him.
The girl laughed a hearty, almost cruel laugh. “I do so hate to disappoint you both,” she then said with a grin. “But the girl you once knew as Lilly is still most thoroughly dead.”
Lucian narrowed his eyes in disgust. “Who are you, then!?” he spat.
The girl tossed her bright red hair to the side with a forefinger and locked her green eyes confidently with Lucian’s. “My name is Lilith,” she said. “Such a pleasure to finally make your acquaintance.”
“What the Hell do you want!?” Blake growled angrily. “You better get outta here before we make you regret it!”
“Tsk tsk,” Lilith chided, waving one finger through the air. “Is that any way to talk to a lady? Now you have gone and hurt my feelings.” She proceeded to stick out her lower lip in mock pouting.
“We’re serious!” Lucian insisted.
“No, Lucian,” Lilith then snapped, her harsh and threatening tone shattering her previous composure, “I am serious. Hand over the key, and there is a chance that no one will die here today.” She held out her hand with her palm facing upwards toward the boys. Lucian stuck the crystal behind his back.
“Not a chance!” Blake yelled back, stepping in front of Lucian with his fists raised in defiance.
Lilith lowered her hand and laughed. “You two are fun!” she exclaimed. “I see now why Samael has such a soft spot for you. I suppose I shall have to kill you myself, then!”
With this, Lilith raised both arms into the air. To the sound of her maniacal laughter, a massive orb of purple energy grew between her palms. As Lucian stared in horror at the ever-increasing ball of destruction in her grasp, he felt a hand gently touch his arm. Looking to his side, he saw Panhavant carefully squeezing his way between the two boys to stand in front of them. As soon as he had stepped out from behind them, Lilith threw her hands down toward the group of men.
“HA!” she shrieked, hurling the giant ball of energy with as much force as she was able. Lucian saw it flying at him with remarkable speed, and he held up his arms to shield himself from the blast.
He waited there, bracing for impact at any second. But, after a moment like this, all he saw was purple light shining harmlessly through the gaps between his forearms. Slowly lowering his guard again, he saw Panhavant standing there calmly, inspecting with curiosity the great orb of energy, almost as large as himself, which had come to a complete stop in the air in front of him. Slowly reaching out with his staff, he touched the tip of the wood against the outer wall of the energy sphere. It immediately popped like a bubble, sending purple particles spraying through the air around him. The sage laughed joyously at this, as if he was a child at a fireworks show.
Lilith stood there, stunned. “What games are these that you play, sage!?” she asked with rage. “How do you remain impervious to my power?”
Panhavant simply smiled at her. “There is no power,” he told her softly. “I play with nothing.”
Lilith snarled. “I am one of the first humans ever created,” she insisted. “The most powerful of our kind! You should have no advantage over me!”
“Exactly!” Panhavant exclaimed joyously, as if the girl had finally understood what he had been trying to tell everyone all along.
“Rrrrrrrr,” Lilith growled, still clearly missing the sage’s point. She raised her right hand again above the ground before her. “I shall show you the true extent of my power.”
With this, Lilith closed her eyes and furrowed her brow in deep focus. Her hand lit up with bright purple energy, and the ground around them began to tremble. Lucian searched left and right frantically, trying to determine what was happening, until he saw the earth before them start to crumble away. As big fissures appeared across the ground, a purple light shone from deep within, casting its rays into the sky. As terrifying as this was, it was no match for the shock Lucian felt as the first clawed hand came shooting out of the chasm and dug into the snowy ground.
“Dammit, man!” Blake shouted over the sound of rending earth. “I thought we were done with all this crazy monster stuff!”
Lucian watched as several more arms shot up and clawed their way onto this realm. The heads that emerged behind them were somewhat human in appearance, but gnarled and bumpy with dark green and brown skin tones. Patches of scraggly hair stood out from their heads, and from their lower jaws protruded thick tusks akin to those of warthogs. Their golden eyes blazed brightly from deep within their cavernous eye sockets, and they stared at the three men with an insatiable bloodlust. At least 20 of these creatures crawled up out of the purple portal in total, bringing with them crude spears fashioned out of black, jagged metal. Lucian stood speechless, eyes fixed upon the small army Lilith had summoned.
“Heh,” Lilith chuckled, wearily lowering her arm as if the summoning had taken a significant toll. “What say you of my power now, sage!?”
Panhavant gazed upon the opposing forces with what seemed like sadness. “I am sorry,” he said, shaking his head.
Lilith proudly laughed again. “You shall be sorry!” she announced, rising up into the air until she was floating effortlessly at least 15 feet into the sky. Pointing down at the men beneath the tree, she screamed, “Kill them!”
At her order, the beastly army beneath her reached back with their spears and took aim. Lucian found himself once again bracing for an attack, only this time he had the foresight to generate a ball of qi in his hand and prepare to shoot down any projectiles from the sky. He held his breath as the spears were thrown.
Flying in an arc through the air, the group of spears began their descent upon their targets. Yet, as they fell, Lucian noticed something curious. The tips began to dissolve midair, flaking off in colorful little pieces of white, red, and pink. The shafts continued to break apart in such a way as well, with soft petals forming on the discarded segments. Once the spears had been completely eradicated, what eventually rained down upon Lucian and his companions were not weapons of war at all, but rather thousands of little flower petals which floated down gently in a beautiful twirling dance upon the breeze.
“Hehe!” Panhavant laughed joyously, basking with eyes closed amidst the shower of fragrant petals. He plopped down onto the ground with legs folded, sitting peacefully. The monstrous creatures all stared at them with confused looks, unsure of exactly what to make of what had just happened.
“What!?” Lilith roared from her position far above them. “How is this possible? What great power do you possess, sage, which can do such things!?”
Panhavant opened his eyes as the last of the petals softly came to a rest atop the scraggly mess of hair on his head. “Those who know do not speak of it,” he said calmly. “Those who speak of it do not know.”
Lilith narrowed her eyes. “I can understand why you do not wish to share your secrets with me,” she said spitefully. “But think of the power you could have if you joined us instead of opposing us. With Our Lord as ruler over all things, you could possess anything you desire. You could be a king over this entire realm. Practically a god! Is this
not something you want?”
“Suffering arises from desire,” Panhavant said, shaking his head back and forth as his long earlobes swayed with it.
Lilith began to grow visibly frustrated. “Fine!” she spat. “If you will not willingly join with us, I will have to crush you like all others who stand in my way.”
She then looked down upon the creatures she had summoned. “Slaughter them all!” she commanded with a swipe of her hand through the air. “And burn down that tree! I want nothing left of these pathetic mortals other than smoldering ash!”
On her orders, the monsters unsheathed the black swords they had strapped to their sides. They began marching forward, ruthlessly glaring at the humans they sought to kill. Lucian closed his eyes and once again prepared a ball of qi. Once he had opened them again, he saw Blake beside him with fists raised, ready to fend off their attackers. From the ground below, he heard Panhavant sigh.
Looking down, Lucian witnessed the tiny sage place two fingers of his right hand lightly upon the snowy ground. Instantly, a loud gurgling sound could be heard coming from nearby. Within seconds, Lucian could see the water from the little stream flooding over its banks, completely submerging the stone bridge which crossed it. As it rapidly built up, higher and higher, the monsters all turned in alarm. A massive wall of water now stood behind them, towering over their insignificant forms. Before any could even react, the gigantic wave crashed down upon them, sending them all collapsing to the ground and scattering them across the field. The water made it only so far as to touch the very tip of Lucian’s shoe before it began to retreat again. Flowing down into the rift in the earth that Lilith had created, it carried the small army back with it as the gruesome creatures dug and clawed desperately to escape the undertow. Unable to resist the overwhelming strength of this force of nature, they were all sucked back into the glowing fissure with harsh cries of anguish. After the opposing force had completely disappeared beneath the ground from which they had originally come, the water continued seeping down into the cracks, filling them so completely, it was as if the fissure had never existed at all. The tear in the earth then began to seal itself, like the healing of a wound. Within less than a minute, the monsters were nowhere to be seen, and the field had returned to its flat, snowy state.
