'On the way to the mountain, I looked and admired the hills I've conquered'
-A sad young man.
Chapter 8
The next morning, Hade gently picks flowers from the garden. She picked a rose and let her basket fall. She stared at the flower with such focus and wonder. Her eyes sparkled as she touched the flower with precise care.
Her attention strayed from the flower as she heard a noise coming from the window above. She smiled as she heard her master and Damian playfully argue.
'Of course, swords are better!' Reno yelled.
'Your own hands are infinitely! Better!'
'How can you say that? Even your hands have limits!!'
'It's pointless arguing, neither of us will agree'
'Just show me the technique again and stop whining' Reno told him.
Damian grumbled as he took off his silver crown and left it to float in the air. 'Concentrate all your divine energy on your on your talisman'.
'Then direct that energy to the centre of your crown.
Reno did as he instructed but with less finesse and more difficulty.
A black hole formed enclosed in Damian's crown. Reno struggled to do the same as the black hole barely formed in his black crown.
He let out a frustrated sigh, but he was undeterred by his pitiful attempt and tried again.
'Only about a month until the annual monster comes. I have to be ready' he said to himself.
A tiny hole about the diameter of an apple materialized in his crown. He smiled while wiping the sweat off his face.
'What's that? You actually managed that?' Damian said in a sarcastic tone.
Reno fainted to the floor, exhausted. 'Yeah, but it's still too small'. 'It needs to fill the entire crown right?'.
'Yes, and then you'll be able to become a true riser'
'You still haven't shown me your final form you know. All this talk about making a gate in our crowns and I don't even get to see the results. Where did you even learn all this anyway?'
'There were books in the family library about this type of thing. In the forbidden section'
'I thought your father had a rule about the forbidden section'.
'My father is dead Reno. Killed by the Gaiden as well, now I exist to return the favour'.
'Damian, I've been wondering, when our wishes are fulfilled, what will happen to us?'
'Who knows?'
'Practice your gateing; I have to go to the library'.
Reno got up from the floor 'You still love to leave mid-conversation for a book don't you?'
He searched the room only to see Damian had already left. 'That guy never changes...'
Once again he picked up his crown and started to practice his gateing. Footsteps calmly grew closer from the hallway.
Servants dusting, cleaning and restoring parts of the Castle destroyed during the battle just yesterday. They all worked tirelessly and efficiently. Like clockwork.
'Henry these are the flowers you asked for' Hade told the head steward. 'Good, please put them in the great chamber at the end of the hall'.
The servants all got along just fine. Probably because their master's commanded them too, so they all went about their business without upsetting each other.
Hade walked down the hall with a bouquet of flowers in hand. As she got to the door she could hear a familiar sound of grumbling coming from inside. She peeped inside to see Reno still practising his gateing.
Reno noticed someone watching him, 'You can come in!' he yelled out to whoever was there.
Hade slowly opened the door further and came in. 'Oh Hade it's you' he said placing his crown on the table beside him.
'Are those flowers for me?' he asked. Hade blushed and walked around him, putting the flowers in the vase on the window sill.
'She's acting weird?' he thought 'By now she would be all over me'. Only he understands whatever he meant in that last line...
He tried to grab her shoulder but she shrugged away getting closer to the window. 'Ma-ma-master please wear a shirt!!' she yelled.
'Is that it?' he asked himself briefly. He picked up a tunic he kept on a chair arm earlier. 'Better/' he asked.
'What were you complaining about before I came in?' she asked as she turned to him.
'Oh? That... I was just practising my gateing' He told her as he looked to his crown on the table down heartened by it.
'Master! You said you wouldn't doubt yourself! You promised!!' she yelled reaching the top of her voice.
Reno left his mouth open in shock at Hade's harsh words, he took a moment but he smiled and told her 'It's not that I doubt myself, it's just harder than I expected' to comfort her anger.
She walked around him again, to the table. She picked up his crown and stared at it for a moment. She looked at him and took his hand and placed it on the crown, they stopped for a moment as they realized they held each other's hands, the warmth of Reno's hands made her nervous.
'Try it again, I know you can do it' she assured him. He held his crown again and tried to open a gate, but to no avail.
'You're not thinking about your goals when you do it, you have to focus on something'.
'How do you know that?'
'Eh well um... isn't that the right way to do anything' she said nervously.
Reno took in a deep breath and his crown floated in the air, he held his hand over its opening with immense concentration. A little black dot formed in its centre, growing bit by bit.
It grew until it enveloped the entire crowns inside.
'You see master I knew you-
The black hole grew even bigger overflowing his crown at an astounding rate!! 'Master you have to stop it!!!' Hade cried.
The black hole, like ooze, slithered on the floor seeping into the library below dripping on an apple Damian was eating vaporizing it.
Damian hurried to the great chamber only to see the room filled knee-high with the ooze, 'Reno control it!!' he yelled at him.
His words couldn't reach him, as he was in a trance basically reliving all the low points of his life. His father's death, his suffering by Lenovar's claws, his betrayal by the Gaiden, realizing his life was an illusion. And ultimately his death.
This made his power grow even more uncontrollable the ooze heated and ignited becoming flames. Hade stood on the window sill trying to avoid the raging flames.
'Master!!'
Hade's voice reached him and led him to a newer memory. In his memory, he saw what appeared like an angel, with his head on her laps. The background pure white to symbolize the purity of the memory.
The voice called out to him and said...
'I love you, master!'
His eyes which glowed with power began to calm down. Regaining his consciousness he took control of the flames, restraining them into the diameter of his crown.
They formed a tornado of flames which gradually became to cool. His power now contained in his crown began to glow.
The tension in the air started to fade as they all lowered their guard. Reno smiled at his accomplishment and smirked.
'I'm almost ready!'