Chapter 51
The giant, reptilian beast of legend, the skriodyr, had returned. Last they met, Luna used her Nocturnal Spell to defeat him. However, he would only remain sleeping as long as she stayed on Atlas. When they stepped through the portal, her energy fell from his eyes, and he fled.
The monster stomped wildly as he approached from behind the army of Imperials. When his enormous body finally emerged into their view, they could see that he had gained an impressive set of full-body armor this time around. The skriodyr stopped just as he reached the back lines of the Imperials. They cheered loudly as if their victory was all but assured. It turned its giant head to look at the cheering soldiers, then turned to look directly at Luna. It repeated the action a couple more times.
Both sides of the war grew confused, and the Imperials stopped cheering. In one swift motion, it whipped its lengthy tail across the battlefield. Countless imperial warriors screamed as they were thrown violently. The skriodyr charged forward in a rampage. It mercilessly crushed their soldiers under its feet. Suddenly, it glanced back at Luna with a strange look on its reptilian face. It almost appeared as though the monster smiled at her.
"Bring it down men!" A ranking official screamed. "It's a traitor! Throw everything you've got at it!" The Imperials blasted successive bolts of nature energy at the skriodyr. It flinched briefly, then responded with its own all-out attack.
The sheer confusion on Solis' face caused Luna to laugh uncontrollably. "Just what have you done to that poor animal?" He asked.
She attempted to stop smiling, "Do not question me, young sir. This turn of events are solely the responsibility of that fellow. I merely informed him that we were his friends and that we would not harm him. He was quite appreciative that I showed mercy. Instead of killing him, I put him to sleep. In contrast, the Alpha always threatened to kill him if he were to fail." She stopped and looked over at the rampaging monster. She smiled, "I suppose he would like to return the favor."
Lux laughed quietly, "I believe you have changed your fortunes, Luna. Very well, with this addition to our forces it is possible to proceed. Let us find the enemy responsible for all this." He turned to charge forward.
Before Lux could leave, he was interrupted by a soft voice, "I will stay behind, My Light. Our new friend will require assisstance."
Supporting Telu's request, Fira added, "These men will need fiery reinforcements as well. Allow us both to remain, Tempestas."
Lux turned to look at them. He nodded slowly, "Very well. Trust in one another. Let us not lose faith in the face of fear." He reached his hand behind Telu's neck and placed his head against hers. "We will never truly separate, My Dewdrop."
With those words, he disappeared. Ignis looked at Fira and nodded strongly. Her eyes flashed with intense flames in response. He smiled and turned to leave as he felt extreme pity for whatever poor soul encountered her in battle.
The group split leaving two in place to war against the masses while the other four raced forward to defeat the leader of this chaos. They shot through the battlefield. Their speed rendered them invisible to the detection capabilities of the soldiers around them. As they moved past the giant reptile, Luna held her hand out grazing its foot. It was the closest she could get to a proper greeting.
It didn't take long for the four of them to reach the mountain portal they recognized from an earlier traumatic fight. None of them held fond memories of this place.
"One of the strongholds our people created," Lux said, "The Alpha resides here committing unspeakable acts. We provided him the opportunity for corruption." He looked at the others. "This will not be our legacy. I give you my word." He turned and led them through the portal.
They were met by the same sight Ignis had been on his first trip through. The temple was in exquisite condition. The damage caused by the eruption of his energy no longer existed. The invisible stone and overlaying gold were as beautiful as the first time Ignis saw the Sky Palace.
"Is this what you saw, Ignis? This is the stronghold?" Lux asked.
"It is. This area seems to be for ceremonial purposes only. The inward parts of this structure are made of visible wood and stone. That is where he will be."
Knowing their direction, they moved deeper into the temple which seemed to rest in the open sky. The journey proved less painful for them this time as Ignis expected. Solis and Lux being together resulted in almost flawless perception so they didn't stumble and hurt themselves as he had. Naturally, he chose to keep quiet about those details of his previous exploration.
In a few moments, they reached the first visible chamber where Fira had been held. Ignis remembered his anger as they walked through it. It took all of his restraint to keep from tearing the place apart once again. There was no sign of any enemies up to this point.
To their surprise, the layout of the massive structure changed dramatically as they ventured deeper. Clearly, this part did not exist in the original designs. It was obvious to them that the Alpha had found this place and built onto it in order to use it for his purposes. They made their way slowly looking out for signs of the enemy. Finally, they reached the very lowest section of the structure which carried an ominous feeling in its bones. All natural light had disappeared leaving only the light of torches hanging on the wall. In addition to the lack of light, there was an eerie quiet in the depths of this building.
As they walked into a large square room, the figure of a small girl came into view. She stood in front of double doors wearing a cloak which covered her entire body. The only part of her remaining visible was her nose and mouth.
The four warriors stopped for a brief moment. "Tempestas," Luna said, "We do not have time to waste here. I will remain to deal with her so that you three might continue." Lux nodded his head in agreement.
At first Solis felt nervous, but then he smiled, "The moon cannot lose in the darkness."
She smiled back at him, "Never, My Sun."
Quickly, she placed her hands on the stone floor causing a wave of darkness to blanket her surroundings. This was her infamous Kingdom of Luna. She placed herself and her adversary into the darkness leaving the others free to continue their quest.
The three warriors walked through the doorway which revealed a long, dark hall made only of stone. The corridor seemingly went on forever with only torchlight to guide the way. As they moved down the hallway, a doorway suddenly appeared in the wall. The three warriors turned to see a dark figure on the other side. Ignis recognized the person and the feeling of their energy.
"This person is waiting for me," he said, "By your leave Tempestas?"
Lux nodded and Ignis walked through the door. The open doorway collapsed into nothingness, and suddenly, Ignis vanished along with his opponent.
A few moments later, Lux and Solis reached the end of the corridor. It had widened giving a sense of grandeur to the massive double doors situated at the very end of the hall. One last person stood in their way. He stood in front of the doors with a smile on his face as he crossed his arms.
Solis removed his large sword from his back, "Let us not break the pattern now. I will see you soon, Tempestas."
Lux smiled, he ignored the man in front of the doors and went to pull them open. Their enemy looked at him from the corner of his eyes and spoke, "The name's Yukann. Remember it. After I'm done with your bodyguard, I'll be the one to kill you." His smile grew even wider.
Lux looked at him, "If you underestimate Solis the Aetheral, you will never battle again." He saw the man narrowly defend a downward strike as he stepped through the doors.
The room Lux found himself in could be considered an architectural marvel. The wall opposite him was almost entirely made of stained glass windows. In the middle of the room stood a man with his back turned to him. He stood on a platform and his arms rested on two short pillars on either side of him. The Alpha.
"It seems those incompetent fools have finally done something right. Here we are, just you and me."