Chaos Ascendant
Chapter 11
The SunStone pulsed once with a faint yellow glow as the Cepheid Knight caught the Cleric. Pressing the gem into the Cleric’s hand, Luna watched the light as it began fading from Sylphiel’s eyes and the SunStone. Had they been wrong?
“Luna…” Gourry said, pointing to the dark tendril of Shabranigdo’s power that was approaching. He drew his sword, but what good was a non-magical sword against the Dark Lord’s power? He desperately needed the Sword of Light, but that was long gone.
Luna stared at Sylphiel as she lay in her arms. She could see the color fading from the other’s face, the life-force draining away into the nothingness that was the end. The Cleric was dying. They’d been wrong. The SunStone wasn’t responding to the girl. Instead of Ascending, the Cleric would die.
The words were a whisper, but they were enough to shock Luna into action. The violet-haired woman reached out and took the wand from Sylphiel’s belt, pulling the Cleric’s almost lifeless hand from the hilt of the Blessed Blade and wrapping the pale fingers around the wand.
Only then did Luna spare a glance to the Shade who had spoken to remind her, and when she did, she gasped in recognition. “Anya…? But why?”
Shadowy lips curled and the shade whispered again, words that both chilled and reassured Luna. “There never was an Anya, Luna. I’m an extension of Kira, and she needs our help. Now say the words, and get that girl on her feet. There’s no more time.”
Luna nodded as the shadow vanished, turning back to see the color returning to Sylphiel’s face, the SunStone pulsing with each feeble beat of the Cleric’s heart. She began to whisper the ancient words, and watched the pulse become stronger with each word, until the SunStone’s light began to burn away the darkness around them, a fiery force turning silver, and Sylphiel sat up with a gasp.
The SunStone shattered, spilling the silvery light out over the trio, and Luna felt the presence of Cepheid even more than she had ever felt it. The Seal held the majority of Cepheid’s powers back, but Luna knew that the Protector would come. Sylphiel’s wand was glowing brightly, the Cleric calling to her the forces necessary to become the Protector. Not even the Knight of Shabranigdo could stop it now.
But she wasn’t prepared for the magic to turn and wash over herself and the blonde swordsman. Something else clicked in her mind as another fragment of Cephied awoke.
A percussive force of magic shook the area, and Lina looked up in surprise. The Holy Tree was glittering again, this time as a result of the silver figure that stood at the base of the tree. Clad in silver and violet, the figure was both familiar and not. Gone was the gentle uncertainty that had always enshrouded Sylphiel, in its place a fierceness of power that reflected Holy Light off of everything.
At the figure’s side stood the Cepheid Knight and a blonde man clad in the armor of a Holy Warrior of Cepheid. Except, the warrior was none other than Gourry Gabriev. Lina shook her head slowly, amazed at the subtle changes in both the Cleric and the blonde swordsman. The change in her sister was nothing new, nothing that she hadn’t already seen. And while she’d thought she’d seen it all, the next thing that happened completely floored her.
High above, a Golden Dragon and a Black Dragon were approached, flying wing to wing with a glimmering dragon that she recognized as Aqua. The Dragons were united. They landed near the Protector, shifting to become Milgazia, Aurin, and Aqua as the other dragons began to circle overhead.
“Miss Lina… I think we’re in trouble…” Amelia whimpered, pointing to the swirling mists around the Knight of Shabranigdo. Zelgadis reinforced his magical presence and defenses while Lina took stock of the situation. Things were rapidly growing out of hand, and the Knight of Shabranigdo was calling to her aid the forces of the Mazoku. Which meant, before long, Xellos and Elena would be involved… and it was approaching the point of a critical disaster. Lina could sense the balance swinging wildly, and she knew that something would have to be done soon… something that would affect the balance of everything.
She had to do it before it became a reprise of the Wars.
Two figures solidified beside the Knight of Shabranigdo, two figures that Lina had not wanted to see, but had known would come. Xellos was cold, obviously in full Mazoku form, but Elena looked at Lina with an almost desperate expression. Her brother was in the air above them… and she did not wish to fight against him. The feeling was very clear to Lina. She nodded very faintly to Elena, and the golden bracers at her wrists flared brilliantly. The golden armor flowed like liquid over the redheaded sorceress, burning away the pink and gold fabric, but to Lina, it was nothing more than a soft caress of a companion’s hand.
The radiant power buffeted at Zelgadis and Amelia, but the shaman threw a shield around them, noticing the difference in the magical feel. Shields based on Cepheid wouldn’t hold for long.
A shadow flickered into solidity near Luna, and the Cepheid Knight nodded to it. “You’re right. She’ll fix it. I believe in her. She’s the only one who can stop this before it starts.”
The shining armor cascaded down Lina’s form, and Amelia found herself wondering. Before now, when she had seen the armor form, it hadn’t felt remotely as powerful. With all her might, she prayed that Lina would still be Lina when all of this was over.
Everyone stood at bay, the tension building, each side waiting for the other to strike… with the golden sorceress and the two hapless shamans in the middle. Zelgadis grabbed Amelia by the wrist and took to the air without warning, hoping that he could get them both out of the way of the initial impact that was bound to come.
Somewhere, in the back of her mind, Lina was aware that Zelgadis had grabbed Amelia. And that alone was enough to give her the clearance she needed. Golden power shot out around her, flickering like flames as the final transformation took hold, and she reached out to awaken the other within. Only this time, unlike when she had taken everyone to the Sea of Chaos, she embraced the other, merging, becoming. It felt as if she’d found a missing part of herself, as if she’d finally accepted something that she’d been denying.
Crimson eyes blinked, and for a moment, the Four Worlds stopped.
I should tell them… no. I started
this alone, and I will finish it alone. There's no need to involve them. This
is all because of my actions… not theirs.
Crimson eyes closed again and the Worlds began to spin again.
L-Sama help me, I love them all…
Golden eyes opened.
The golden sphere of energy that was around Lina lifted her into the air, and Zelgadis and Amelia shielded their eyes as they looked towards the brilliant sphere that rose into the air, scattering the dragons.
“Mister Zelgadis… you don't think…?” Amelia whispered, an unnamable fear gripping her heart with cold fingers.
The chimera's voice was solemn when he replied. He couldn't see much beyond that brilliant sphere, let alone the woman who was within it. "I don't know, Amelia. I certainly hope not."
One by one, everyone looked to the sphere, each side watching to see what it would do. And as everyone watched, the sphere of gold exploded into innumerable tiny shimmers.
And suddenly, there was nothing.