#THE_RED_CRYSTER
©Sir Zach
EPISODE 69
“The healer who gave these charms to me was obsessed with the art of deception. He believed that the best protection is deceiving your enemy,” told Keelan. “Don’t you agree, young master Christopher?”
Keelan was in a prison cell beneath the castle walls, sitting up in front of Amanda and Christopher. They paid him a visit to understand the accessories he previously owned. Now, Christopher and Amanda were the new owners.
This was their bargain; his life for the knowledge.
“Yes, deception is a very powerful force,” said Christopher.
Holding all five charms; two were pins, the other two were bracelets and the other one was an amulet, Keelan said, “All these have the power of transformation, but the amulet is the most capable.”
“For the transformation to last longer, you can use all five of them.”
Keelan taught the two masters how to use the charms. Apparently, to be the true owner and forever be the masters of the said charms, they needed to give it a drop of their blood. Commanding it, however, was a different story. It was a series of chants that they had to know by heart.
Christopher and Amanda agreed, they would give one charm to Theo and Ca-ssy. Christopher would hold on to two pins while Amanda would own the amulet.
Both the masters practiced on each charm, shifting themselves into different forms before proceeding to the amulet that held the power of hypnosis.
Hypnosis didn’t easily work on the masters of the earth, but they determined it may be a good weapon that Christopher decided to keep it for himself.
It took an entire day to grasp the use of their new powers and while Amanda and Christopher saw no need to use it; they opted to keep it with them… just in case.
Keelan had other charms, but he said they were meant only for good luck. Only six among the many blings that used to hang around his body apparently had supernatural powers.
In the days that followed, all the masters of the earth decided to switch training grounds in the barren lands of Pelagy. This was because they feared for Khalid’s return.
The masters needed a safer hiding place for when they can regularly convene and train.
Fortunately, the appearance of monsters and horrors on earth had lessened. It was right after the metallic monster’s defeat that the masters noticed how powerful opponents had no longer resurfaced.
At present, only natural disasters kept the masters busy, especially Christopher, Taara, and Brody.
Right outside of Aeros, Brody created a walled box, similar to an arena, covering acres of land for their training grounds. Primarily, they began practicing on combining the power of their crystals.
Wind and fire could create poisonous ga-sses and produce a bigger flame. The masters discovered this the ha-rd way, barely able to breathe and end up blowing up the walls created by Brody. Thank goodness the master of the earth could easily reconstruct the same walls.
Wind and water could create strong ice. The masters have already tested this against the metallic monster, but Taara and Christopher further practice the full capacity of combining their crystals.
Water and fire could create steam, mist and bring up water to a boiling point.
Wind and earth enhanced the speed and power of Brody.
Apparently, the combination of the green and yellow crystal could further enhance Trisha’s ability to control the hearts and memories of the others. It was as if Abasi’s ability to jump between spaces could extend the coverage of Trisha’s powers.
It became almost a daily routine for the masters to meet up right outside of Aeros. They were amazed at the extent of their strengths when their powers were combined.
At the same time, Abasi practiced skipping throu-ghtime. He knew there was still a need to know the future. He did not want his coming children and grandchildren to have a tragic fate.
It was at one peak of Aeros that he lingered there alone while the rest of the masters battle it out in the boxed practice grounds.
Abasi isolated himself, creating his own shield to silence his surroundings. He focused his energy on creating a gate to the future.
For the past days, he had been trying. He was able to achieve going a year to the future, but it wasn’t enough. He needed to be in the same future as Khalid.
“Thirty-five years from now,” he told himself. “Bring me thirty-five years from now.”
Abasi felt the surrounding energy was changing. From behind him, a swirling light was seemingly eating him. It was just the same way as he was traveling to another world; the pressure against his body was uncomfortable.
The last time he traveled a year to the future, he was in the void for twenty minutes, but strangely, the pressure against his body only lasted for ten minutes.
He woke up right at the same spot in Aeros.
Just when he a-ssumed he had not skipped time, he heard a loud blast to his left. When he looked at the sky, a huge cloud of smoke rose from outside the borders of Aeros.
“What is this? Why do I feel a very powerful force?” He asked himself with his brows drawn together.
Abasi decided to observe what caused the explosion. He jumped between spaces and found himself descending from the sky. He determined that he was in the future, but for how long, he couldn’t fully establish as of yet.
From above, he saw all six masters of the earth fighting a supreme being covered in black skin. Seeing all six of the masters confirmed that he had brou-ght himself to the future.
Base on what he saw, the borders of Aeros were attacked. Nearly half of the nation had been wiped out into ruins!
‘They must have brou-ght the fight outside the nation,’ he thought to himself. It was exactly what Trisha would have ordered.
Abasi couldn’t tell who the supreme being was, but as he got closer and closer, he saw the being holding up six crystals of the earth. He gritted his teeth and a-ssumed it was Khalid.
“No!” He screamed. ‘So Khalid would find us in Pelagy, regardless.
He thought by hiding in Pelagy, they would wind up unsuspected. He thought Khalid would continue to seek Amanda only on the earth, but seeing this future, he realized he was wrong.
He came closer, jumping to another space while trying to avoid being seen.
After finding a good spot in the air, he confirmed it was, in fact, Khalid. He had now turned himself into a more potent being.
“Give me the sword now!” Ordered Khalid. “I will spare the people of this planet. I have no care for the past! I only want the sword!”
“No! We will never let you have the sword!” Responded Amanda. The rest of the masters echoed the same.
Since Abasi was not in his present time, he could barely make out what the masters of the earth were thinking or planning. To link himself to the masters was too risky, and it proved to be draining. Just one look into his own mind, made Abasi fell to the ground, meters, and meters away from the fight.
He was exhausted. He thought, ‘This means Khalid also takes a lot of energy just locating us and trying to get throu-ghour thoughts.’
Still, he was able to get a glimpse.
In that future, the masters of the earth were planning to distract Khalid so Amanda could have an opening. He stayed long enough to see his co-masters suffer damages to their bodies, but the succeeding turn of events utterly gave him the chills.
Brody lost his life in this battle, and so did Christopher. The master of water became furious after Brody’s fall that he also attacked with his all, and it cost him his life.
The accu-mulated strength that Khalid had gained was just too much for all of them to defeat.
Abasi wanted badly to interfere, but this was still the future. He told himself, “I can still change the future.”
He returned to his present time, reappearing at the peak of Aeros. Abasi was pan-ting. He lay himself against the rocky soils of the mountain and internalized everything. He said, “No. This cannot happen. I shall not let this happen!”
“There you are, Abasi. I’ve been looking all over for you.” He turned to find Amanda. She was engulfed in her flames, flying in phoenix form.
“Let’s go back. Master Theo prepared a feast for all of us,” said Amanda.
Before Abasi could react, he felt a pang in his chest. Amanda just recently found Christopher. Should Christopher die in the near future, he would not forgive himself.
If any of the masters die, he could only blame himself for he knew the future.
“What’s wrong with you, Abasi? Why are you all pale like you have seen a ghost?” Amanda asked again.
Abasi got up and took a de-ep breath.. He said, “Amanda, I need to tell you something.”
WATCHOUT FOR EPISODE 70