#THE_RED_CRYSTER
©Sir Zach
EPISODE 91
“Wake up, Trish. It’s time for our practice today,” said Abasi, waking up his beloved.
Struggling to get up, Trisha answered, “I can’t wait for Khalid to meet this end. We could finally get some rest.”
“Hmmmm… Not sure if that is the best resolution, but I hope we are ready for his arrival,” responded Abasi. “Let’s get ready.”
The master of time and space and that of the heart prepared to leave for Aeros, but they failed to notice a living force waiting for them outside their home, eager to find out their new place of gathering.
Naturally, Khalid had returned to the cave in Brazil, but have not seen the current masters of the earth convening for that past few days.
Recalling how the masters had once created several layers of shield to keep secret their conversation, he understood they may have relocated to another venue for their usual meeting.
It was unfortunate that the crystals were not giving him any information about the past, but base on what Hades had told him, it was most likely that the past changed. That was the only explaination for the appearance of the master of water.
In the past that he knew of, the master of water was never found. Thus, there was no knowledge about Christopher altogether.
This was Khalid’s and Hades’ only chance to find all the masters. To learn about the master of water and know his whereabouts.
Connecting the dots, he concluded that the boy he overheard Abasi and Trisha talk about belonged to the master of water and fire. The one who held the sword.
It made sense to Khalid. Amanda may have pa-ssed on the sword to her son. Still, he had many questions in his head. For the future that he saw, it was a boy who killed him.
So will the sword be pa-ssed on again and again? How is it that the current master of fire already has a child? These were one of the few queries that bothered him completely. Again, he did not have the answer to his seeks, since Amanda, in the past that he knew, abandoned her duties as the master of fire.
Things have changed, and he recognized it.
Using the power of the win, Khalid turned himself invisible, prying into the homes of the two masters.
He noticed how Abasi and Taara seemed to have felt his presence, but no matter, they could only suspect. His powers now were far too great!
“Did you feel that?” Trisha asked, looking back from their living room.
“Yes, a strange chill,” responded Abasi with a frown on his face.
He walked over to the kitchen area of their home and found an open window. He announced, “The kitchen window is open!”
“Must be your relatives!” Suggested Trisha before shrugging. Since they lived in a compound with all of Abasi’s relatives, it was very common for his nephews to climb into their home.
Returning to Trisha’s side, Abasi said, “Hmmm. Perhaps. Let’s go.”
Trisha nodded, then Abasi spoke in his head, “Taara, Brody? Are you ready?”
“We are ready”, the two other masters responded, waiting form their own home. Throu-ghthe connection they have with their crystals, Abasi brou-ght them to a wormhole simultaneously.
It had been accustomed for them to jump into various places before heading to Aeros. It was their way of protecting Aeros from being found out. They a-ssumed that time; they were once again successful of not being followed.
From one swirling void to another, Taara, the master of the wind, noticed how the air was rather strong and it followed them wherever they went.
The second they reappeared outside the borders of Aeros, Taara looked back at the wormhole, utterly uneasy. Her head tilted, sensing something else was there. With a gulp, she said, “Did – did you feel anything else come with us?”
Worried that Taara may be right, Brody, the master of the earth, ordered his crystal to create a small sandstorm around them. Should there be a figure, not visible to their eye, the dirt could determine its frame.
Within five hundred meters, dust circled the masters, trying to establish any presence of another life, but sands found nothing. Brody concentrated with all his might, but he rested sands back to the soils and concluded, “Maybe it was just the wind.”
Trisha, on the other hand, closed her eyes and revealed the crystal in her palm. She tried to feel the beating hearts around her. She also could feel nothing other than the hearts of those who are already in Aeros and that of the masters. She opened her eyes and said, “Maybe we are overthinking things.”
“Maybe… maybe not,” said Abasi. “We all know that our enemy had gained powers. We don’t know exactly the length of Khalid’s strength now. Regardless, let us keep watch.”
From the base of one ridge, facing the practice grounds of the masters, Khalid found himself a good hiding place.
He had earlier noticed how Taara felt his wind and it was expected of the white crystal master. Khalid was quick to drift himself to hiding while bringing up a force field around him, using all the crystals inside his body. Not even Trisha could detect his heart.
Khalid watched as the master of water and fire came about, flying from a distance and joining the party. He concluded that this must be the place of Christopher’s home.
Only after lingering for a few minutes, did Khalid say to the soul occupying his body, “This is it. It can only be his world. It only makes sense that the master of water is not from earth since he could thru-st out wings.”
Looking around, he tried to a-ssess the world he was in. Khalid dug his hand into the soil and got a feel of its life. He looked up to say, “This is Pelagy.”
From his head, Hades spoke, “Let us return to our time and world. We must bring back here all my evil souls. We need all the help we can get.”
“Yes. I agree,” said Khalid while returning his gaze at the masters.
Brody had created a wall around them, and it was clear to Khalid that they were training their strengths.
Just before they decided to leave, he saw a young boy flying in the direction of the masters along with other flying creatures of the land.
His eyes narrowed before it wide-ned. His heart suddenly raced and sweat easily formed on his forehead. He gulped, realizing the same boy whom he saw in his future was in his line of sight.
Stuttering, Khalid said, “No! How could this be? It’s – it’s him!” He pointed at the boy in horror and told, “It’s the boy who killed me in the future!”
“Nonsense! Isn’t it that you said it will happen in your time? The future?” Hades asked him in his head.
“I – I don’t know how! I don’t understand it myself! But that boy looks younger, though. I am uncertain, but it clearly looks like him!” Said Khalid while peeking in between two boulders of rocks.
“Maybe you are wrong! How long as it been since you saw that future? It has been more than two years ago!” Suggested Hades.
Khalid was equally conflicted, but either way. He could not take the chance! “I must kill him now – ”
“Wait! Khalid, think of this properly! Let us return first and get my soldiers! Let’s come back at dawn in full force and attack before the sunrise!” Said Hades.
Khalid clenched his hand into a fist, looking at the young boy. He gritted his teeth and said, “I will not die! Not after all that I have been throu-gh.”
For now, Khalid admitted to Hades’ advice. It was not the time to strike, not without bringing the soldiers who can create a good distraction for them, but he swore to return, surprising the masters with the powers he had accu-mulated over the years.
At dawn the following day, Agatha returned to Aeros. She meant to arrive late last night, but she felt too tired to travel after a day’s work on the moon. She crossed to a wormhole she had created, making her entrance in from above the sky.
She drifted with her staff and took seconds to circle above the castle of Aeros. She was about to fly down in full strength when she felt chills down her spine. She perceived the strange vapor from afar. It reeked of death and evil.
“What – what is this?” She asked, raising her shoulders from the same goosebumps that alarmed her senses.
She meant to find the source of her chills, but her instincts told her not to. Her intuitions told her the evil was far too great for her own to face.
With her heart racing, she went straight to the castle with every intention to wake her son. To her surprise, Christopher was not asleep. In fact, Orion was with them in the family’s sitting area along with all masters of the earth.
“Grandma? Did you feel it too?” Orion asked, seeing the fearful expression of Agatha.
“Yes, Orion.” Agatha walked closer to her grandchild and hug-ged him outright. She took a de-ep breath and said, “I feel this is the day we have been expecting…. our enemy has come.”
____
From outside the borders of Aeros, luminous beings came out from a swirling void. They came in different forms, creatures having died from different worlds, and lived as evil souls in hell.
Some were in the frame of a man while others were mutated forms from other worlds. Most of them carry blades of their own, those that they brou-ght with them upon their deaths.
Their eyes glowed in yellow. Their translucent skin reflected veins crawling up to their bodies. Their movements were fluid, their pan-ting evidently expressed how they craved to possess another living body.
Having lived in hell for decades, the miasma could only crave evil and death! These souls suffered for so long in hell that they want nothing more but to take it out on innocent lives!
Hades was one of those who lived in hell the longest. His eyes had turned red from watching the endless fires of hell. Among them, he had the greatest hatred devouring every part of his soul.
He came out of Khalid’s body to stand before his soldiers and said, “My army of souls, listing to me. I suspect, one of the powerful beings living behind those walls holds the soul slayer! And we cannot have that!” Hades’ eyes scanned each and every one of his angry souls before adding, “Find the person! Find it and invade his body!”
“Of course, you can kill anyone as you go along the way,” declared Hades before giving out an evil laugh.
He pointed at the entrance of Aeros and said, “Go! Go and spread evil in this land!”
A hundred of the evil souls slowly made their way in the direction of the borders, their grins were sinister and their eyes were thrilled to follow throu-ghon Hades’ command.
However, just as they were to walk into the narrow pa-ssage, fronting Aero’s entrance, fire arose, creating another gate to the nation!
Dismay instantly became painted in the faces of the souls, for they have lived with fire for many years in hell!
It did not take long for the master of fire to appear before them, lighting the skies.
Amanda’s body glowed in her flames, her fire spreading across, reaching two meters stretch from her own body, and her bird wings spread widely, extending the flare of her power.
“Ugghhhh!” With a loud scream, Amanda thru-st balls of fire in the path of the evil souls, making them further step back, this included Hades.
“You stay where you are! Whatever you are!” Ordered Amanda.
Fronting the border, Abasi reappeared with the rest of the masters of the earth, while Christopher and Orion came up from behind the master of fire, drifting in the dark skies.
“So it is you, after all, Hades,” said Abasi, seeing the first master of the earth head the army of evil souls. “You must have been responsible for Khalid all along too!”
He looked up to Christopher above him and confirmed, “Chris, this looks like souls from hell, just like Hades.”
From their heads, Christopher and Abasi told the rest of the maters that the translucent creatures they were seeing were from the dead. Evil souls that seemed to have escaped hell.
“I thought only Hades escaped from hell?” Asked Trisha, speaking throu-ghtheir heads.
“We don’t know, but one thing is for sure, these souls are from hell. You can tell by the way they smell and by the aura they manifest,” revealed Abasi.
Christopher warned his son of the same, asking him to constantly stay behind him. He said, “Remember, Orion, you can only attack when we tell you to.”
“Okay, father,” said Orion while tightening his eyes on the escapees of hell and that of Khalid.
Looking past the translucent forms, Trisha yelled at the future master, “Khalid! How could you? You were entrusted to protect the earth, not to wreak havoc!”
“Trust me! I have heard of that speech so many times, but now, it does not affect me in any way,” Khalid revealed finding his way next to Hades.
With only twenty meters of distance from each group, the forces of evil and good stood face to face. Each party ready to attack!
From behind the protective walls of Aeros, Christopher’s army was equally ready with arms, hiding behind the stone fortress. Kyle and Ca-ssy led their troops.
“There is no need for bloodshed here. For you live in our past. We don’t care about our past, you see,” told Hades. “We only want… The Venusian Sword… and… the soul slayer.”
“We don’t know what you are talking about, Hades!” Christopher tried to hide the truth, for he was truly not prepared to use the soul slayer blade.
His words made Hades express another ominous laugh. He laughed so loud that his soldiers laughed with him. He hailed down the mockery of his soldiers before he said, “If you say so, master of water. But what we are certain is that the master of fire or her son holds the Venusian Sword!” Told Khalid, looking up in the direction of Amanda and Orion. “Give it here!”
“We will not give you the only weapon that can kill you, Khalid! What do you think we are? Stupid!” Told Abasi. The rest of the masters echoed the same, especially Amanda.
This prompted Khalid to transform himself into the same form as Amanda, using the red crystal in his body. He flew up at the same level as the master of water and fire, including Orion, and said, “Give me the sword and you might just live!”
WATCHOUT FOR EPISODE 92