Ch8-5: Within the Crystal Chamber
“Move! Move! Move! Move!” Edge grated between hisses of heated breath. With the frequency that the word burst from his lips, it seemed to be his favorite thing to say during battle.
Aside from “Pwned J00!” Or something like that.
It had occurred to Ben once or twice that he should inform the Ninja King that none of them needed to be encouraged to run. Not with a swarm of Daear flooding the inner chambers of the Fabulian fort and a threat high on the Crystal that lay within.
A clang of steel erupted from the rear, accented by sharp commands and grunts. Cecil and Edge had taken up the back positions, cutting down whatever got too close. Remembering that normal weapons did very little to the creatures until after their shields were diffused, every now and then a shout for magic would ring through the halls. And Ben would quickly turn around, blasting off a plume of flame as the two warriors pressed hard against the walls.
So rudimentary… but it’s been working so far.
In his mind, Ben could feel the pressure all zoning in on the central throne room of Fabul. The chamber of the Crystal lay just within. The path ahead had been clear of enemies so far, much to the credit of King Yang and his men. But their race had been a bloody one, disaster just a hair’s-breadth away. All it would take was one slip up and the Daear would overrun them.
I can’t imagine what would happen if they reach the Crystal of Wind and destroy it… right here in the middle of this castle!
“Take a LEFT here, Golbez!!” Edge shouted above the din of battle as they rushed into a crossing in the halls. “Move! Move! MOVE!!”
Ben rolled his eyes, breath rasping dry in his throat as he hooked a left. Disgruntlement dropped off as he found himself in a much shorter hall than he had expected. The heavy doors of the Fabulian throne room rose suddenly in front of his nose. He was forced to skid to a stop to avoid collision, catching the door handle tight in one fist.
“Quick! Inside! Move! Move! Mo—“
“Edge! I think Golbez knows he’s supposed to open the door,” Cecil interrupted, a flash of sword slicing the air in front of him.
The Ninja fell silent with a huff and took out his frustration on the Daear closest to him. A shriek rang in the hall as the creature pulled back a stump of an arm, thick brown fluid oozing from the wound.
Ben pressed his shoulder into the door as the handle turned reluctantly. It took a good deal of strength before it finally groaned and gave ground. Once it began to swing, momentum helped to carry it until there was enough room for him to squeeze through.
“Cecil!” the Half-Lunar twisted to look at his brother. “It’s open! Come on!”
The Paladin didn’t look over his shoulder. “Keep going!”
“Without you?”
“We’re going to hold the doors. Yang and his men will be here to reinforce us soon!”
“What? Cecil… no!” Ben protested hoarsely. “I’m not leaving you here to fight by yourself!”
“We can handle it!” Edge spat to one side, a crimson flame of his own leaping from his open palm.
“You have to make sure that the Crystal is protected,” Cecil intoned, digging his heel into the stone for another blow. “And if Incrytan appears, you have to be there to take it! We can hold this ground. Don’t worry!”
Ben gave a dubious look, a sinking sensation in the pit of his stomach. But Cecil was the King and the warrior of strategy… so to argue would just waste time and energy.
Besides, he’s right about Incrytan. People said the thief could get in and out of places unseen…
Though it made sense, he still didn’t like the idea of breaking up the group. In that fleeting moment of concern, Ben realized that something within him was more worried about his companions’ welfare than he was about regaining Incrytan. Though he was only allowed a moment to ponder the development before Cecil shot him a demanding look.
More irony? Cecil the Paladin King sending Golbez the ex-Dark Lord to protect the Crystal.
With a deep breath, the Master Wizard swung about on his feet, slipping through the small opening in the doorway. Throwing his shoulder to the heavy wood, the door rumbled backwards, shutting tight with a thud. When Ben turned around, he found the throne room behind him – dim and empty. At the far end of the room he could see the doorway that led into the Crystal chamber.
It’s just the desperation of battle. He wouldn’t be doing this if he had other options.
Ben shook his head to clear it of the thoughts that were clouding his judgment. No matter what his brother’s reasons, he would do what he was asked to do. And perhaps in doing so he might prove to the Paladin his good intentions.
The door to the chamber opened with surprising ease. The Half Lunar had expected a lock that would need coaxing open, or at least a guard or two. But there was nothing. Nothing but the soft glow from deeper within the chamber that assured him of the Crystal’s standing presence.
Good. I’m not too late!
His footsteps echoed and rebounded from the shiny tile as he stepped into the room. Though Crystals tend to shed their light silently, something about the silence left him with the sense of chills splaying over his skin. He just couldn’t pin-point why.
The Fabulian Crystal of Air…
Ben craned his head back to inspect the Crystal where it hovered above its decorative pillar. A soft haze flowed back and forth over its surface, giving the imagination the idea of a gentle breeze flowing over a green meadow on a sunny day.
One of Father’s Crystals…
Drawn towards the light, almost mesmerized, the Half Lunar’s hand reached upwards on pure impulse. Despite the fact that he had been crafting a Crystal of his own, it had been a very long time since he had seen one of his father’s Earth-Crystals. And one of the few times he had seen one and known the true meaning of what he saw.
Father… forgive me. Your work is being destroyed now… all that you tried to establish on this world for the good of the humans is destroyed with it. And it’s my fault.
The Crystal said nothing. The soft light simply reflected from the depths of his green eyes. His fingers stretched further, the energy drawn towards his hands, as if somehow the Crystal recognized Ben’s relation to its maker. As the Crystal-light washed over his body, it was both frightening and exhilarating.
“It must be completed, you know,” a strangely familiar voice tickled the back of his memory.
Ben spun around in surprise. It wasn’t often that people could sneak up on him. But he had been so engrossed in the Crystal that his senses had completely shut down to alerting him of the fact someone else was there.
The sure twisted grin of glittering white teeth shown under the wild, two-toned hair. A blotch of eyepatch covered one eye while the other burned in a cold malicious light, focused upon the Half Lunar. The shadows parted as his dark figure strode out into the Crystal chamber, the light reflecting sharply from the metal plates along his jaw.
“O.M.E.G.A…” Ben mumbled under his breath. His hand strayed back to clutch the grip of Onyx with a deepening frown.
“Ah, so you remember me this time, Benjamin? Good,” his smirk widened as he shook out the double bladed battle staff in one hand.
“If you’ve come for the Crystal, you’re not going to get it,” the Half Lunar ground his heel into the shiny tile.
“Crystal? I have no interest in the Crystal,” his laugh was low and chilling, tinged with madness. “I came for you, Golbez. You fooled me the first time. But I don’t plan on letting you walk away from me again.”
Ben started to stammer a reply only to find himself forced to draw Onyx.
O.M.E.G.A.’s black battle staff whistled a high warning through the air. The blade swept only inches from Ben’s startled face as he made a lucky duck back. One moment slower and the Master Wizard would have worn a matching eyepatch to the staff’s wielder.
No words. No thought. Just a driven impulse of insanity behind a burning eye. O.M.E.G.A. came after him, relentless. A slave to the pounding urge within his demented mind. Ben could feel the grips of darkness as O.M.E.G.A. used his mind powers to follow up where his blade could not reach.
But this time, the Half Lunar was ready for him. This time, he knew he was up against a mind mage of high caliber. One that would do anything to spill his blood. Go to any lengths to complete the objective burned into his essence.
I’ll have to kill him to get him to stop… there’s no talking to this guy!
The light of the Crystal pulsed momentarily, as if in warning. The sound of the air ripping. A blast of violent lightning drove through the distance between them, catching along the flat of Onyx’s blade. Ben gave a shout, nearly dropping the weapon as the energy charged through the metal into his body. A sweeping motion broke it free from O.M.E.G.A.’s electrical arc, the momentum twisting back towards the plated face.
The Athrylith ducked, the twisted smile reflecting from the surface of his own blade as it whistled, striking at the opening that the Master Wizard had just created. Ben choked, stumbling back as he felt the jolt of cold metal sliding into his side. Sticky wetness began to spread dark across the front of his tunic.
“So sloppy,” O.M.E.G.A. jeered. “I thought you were trained better than that.”
The Half Lunar gave a groan as the blade withdrew with a twist. It returned again, merely an instant later, stabbing again. This time it fell short, ringing against the edge of Onyx.
The pounding within Ben’s mind was relentless. Only a few times before had he felt such hate. Such desire to destroy. And he knew the source of O.M.E.G.A.’s drive could only be from one thing.
He feels like something from Zot… Like something that Zeromus made.
Ben choked down the shiver of dread that ran through him. For in this creature, he could see an echo of himself, as he used to be. The Dark Lord. Tainted by the Hatred and driven by a control far beyond his ability to fight. As he struggled to throw up every mind block that he had, Ben couldn’t help but wonder who the Athrylith might have once been… and if there was anything left of him from that time before.
Another upward swing caught the Half Lunar unaware, sending him sprawling back towards the Crystal pedestal. He caught himself, though his grip was slipping, his hands wet with his own blood. Breathing was growing more difficult and Ben knew that he was slowing down in battle.
Crystal…!
In desperation, he reached back and touched the surface of the stone.
I am the son of KluYa… Please. Please remember me!
A keening sound erupted from the center of the chamber. A sound more than sound – a rippling pulse that rang through the very spirit. Light sprang forth, outlining Ben’s palm, and streaming out from between his fingers until it grew blinding, crackling in waves of luminous green and white. His eyes clamped shut as the flash reflected a hundredfold, leaping from the reflective walls of the chamber.
O.M.E.G.A. gave a shout, throwing one arm up protectively over his head. The single eye blinded, for a moment he was nothing more than a dotted outline in the brilliance. It was moment enough to turn the tide.
Drawing his hand away from the Crystal, Ben discovered that the energy moved with him. Responding in a way that the Crystal never did before. He could feel the connection to the Crystal — to the very elements of the Earth itself. And for a trembling moment, he became part of it all… his heart crushed by the weight of the great burden that the Blue Planet had borne for many long decades.
Another shout from O.M.E.G.A. shook him from his stupor. With no time left to boggle on the matter, the Master Wizard threw his palm outwards. Pushing himself to his feet, Ben unleashed the stream of Crystal magic towards the wild silhouette crouching just a few feet away. O.M.E.G.A. reeled back, cast through the air from the vicious impact, slamming against the wall on the other side of the chamber.
The Half Lunar stared, eyes wide, at the dark crumpled form of the Athrylith. Then he turned to give a glance over his shoulder at where the Crystal stood, now shedding its light silently.
Thank you…
“Haaa….” a rasping breath echoed from the opposite side of the room.
What?
Twisting with a start, Ben could see the smoking dark figure of O.M.E.G.A. rising. The flame behind the green eye burned even brighter than before. And more demented. A trace of energy, green-turning purple crackled and traced the lines of his cheek plates. Under the cuff of his jacket, Ben could see a line of Lunar runes also giving off a sickly light.
That… only made him… stronger..? How?
Gripping the haft of Onyx tighter, the Half Lunar began to back away. A trail of dark red followed him, dripping across the glowing tiles.
“You… haa… have a lot to learn… boy…” O.M.E.G.A.’s head lifted with a deranged half laugh. His hand lifted, too, fingers splayed outwards as the air began to condense, energy crackling around his form. “This has been fun… but it’s about time to call it a day. Don’t you think?”
The room seemed to spin, the edges of his sight blurring as he fought to keep his mind focused on the enemy in front of him. Struggling, Ben pressed his own palms up in a defensive position. He didn’t know how much energy he would be able to turn… not in the condition he was in. But anything else that he would throw at O.M.E.G.A. only seemed to empower him all the more.
The spell’s release raged across the room, a tremendous blast of lightning with the razor’s edge of the Athrylith’s vengeful mind magery. Flinching back, Ben dug his heel into the crevice of the tiles and braced himself for the blow.
But instead of feeling the sting of the flare ripping through his body, he heard a voice. A voice that was familiar. A voice that spoke his name.
“Golbez! I’m here!”
Daring to crack one eye open, Ben felt his breath rush out of his lungs in shock. There before him, between himself and O.M.E.G.A., was his Crystal. Incrytan. It floated there with a brilliance that he had never seen before – absorbing the energy of the Athrylith’s spell. Protecting him.
And the voice. It had a face… a face so familiar that it hurt. She was there, hands folded around Incrytan, green eyes focused on him in horror and concern. All within that moment, it came together. And he realized exactly what he was seeing.
“…Joran..?”