STAGE SEVENTEEN: THE KINGDOM OF CELESTIA
Freyja opened her eyes. Her body hurting all over, nevertheless alive and well. She looked to her sides and found both Alyon and Alaric, still recovering from the dizziness and fatigue brought by the dimension travel. She stood up and looked around. She found herself in a familiar room, the walls and floors look somewhere between glass and marble. Mosaics of illuminating crystals on the walls, draperies intricately embroidered with a familiar pattern— the symbol of the royal Leafen clan. Freyja smiled.
"Freyja, are we here?" Alaric asked, standing up. "Is this really Celestia?" Alyon too, looked around, visibly in awe.
Freyja, followed by Alaric and Alyon, headed out of the room, out to the halls of the palace. As she walked through the gigantic hallway, memories of her younger self running through it came to her. They looked outside of the open windows, windows that looked more like doors because of its size and shape. From where they are, they can see the capital city below, the lush greenery surrounding the floating island. From afar, they could see winged-people, winged beasts, flying around. Floating islands of various sizes and shapes all around, with streams of water flowing from an upper island to another floating island beneath it. Even Alyon who grew up in Phrein, has never seen anything like this before.
"Be careful of the windows, Alaric, Alyon. They're meant to be used as doors too, when you fly around." She explained, afraid that the two might lose focus and fall from the windows with very low railings.
"Lenfiare, where are we? Are we in the palace? Why isn't anyone here?" Alyon asked, now getting nervous.
"We must be in one of the crystal towers holding the core. If so, this place is restricted. Only select celestials can enter this place, if I remember correctly." Freyja thought, cupping her chin. "But I remember, it's was in this tower, where they summoned the portal for my exile.��� Looking at the scenery from the windows, she couldn't help but remember how it looked like, the last time she was there. Back then, its from those windows that she saw the celestial capital engulfed in flames, chaotic, horrifying. A curious thought entered her mind all of a sudden. Now that she's back, will it happen again?
But all of a sudden, they heard footsteps coming towards them. "Someone's coming!" Alaric and Alyon panicked, but Freyja told them to calm down, and stand where they are. "It's okay. We need to reveal ourselves sooner or later anyway." She assured them, as she walked further.
Then, the mysterious person revealed itself.
A fair woman, who appeared to be on her late twenties to early thirties. She had long, pitch black hair and pale grey eyes. She's just a couple of centimeters taller than Freyja, and she's clad in white robes and a purple muffler. On her forehead is a piercing, with a dangling tear-shaped white gem that emanates a powerful concentration of white aura. "It's Aria…" Alaric unknowingly uttered, as he watched her approach with a straight face. She should have seen the three of them by now, yet her unchanging expression made them uneasy. The closer the woman got, the more surprised Freyja became. Her jaw dropped, and her hands started shaking. "L… Lady Reyrah… F… Fiega?" She could barely get the words out of her mouth. Slowly, she walked towards her, reaching for her in great disbelief. "Is that you? M… mother?" She asked, a mix of happiness and fear swirling in her chest.
The woman looked straight at her, still with an unchanging expression, but her fists tightly clenched. It took a while, before the woman could respond herself. "Yes. I am Reyrah Fiega, general to the royal celestial army." She declared. "And you are…"
This time, Freyja could no longer hold it back, she rushed to her, wrapped her arms around her. "It's me, you recognize me, don't you? It's me, Freyja!" She grabbed her shoulders and shook her, looking at her up-close. "It's me, Freyja! You recognize me, right? I'm your daughter!" Freyja struggled to get the words out. She was so happy, but nervous at the same time. Tears at the corner of her eyes as she demanded for an answer. "Please, mother, tell me you recognize me!"
Reyrah looked at her, still unfazed. She raised her hands, Freyja thought she's hug her back. But instead, Reyrah pushed her away. "Freyja Lenfiare Leafen." Reyrah called her, devoid of emotion. "Why are you here? You are not supposed to be here."
Her response shocked Freyja. Freyja took steps back, and almost stumbled down had it not been for Alyon and Alaric behind her. "What do you mean? I'm back. I'm finally back!" Freyja couldn't believe her own mother's ice-cold words. She was completely different from the woman in her memories. Or has she always been like that?
"Freyja Lenfiare Leafen, return to exile. This is not your place!" Reyrah repeated, summoning a long, aura spear in her hands, and pointed it at her. "Hurry! Leave this place at once!" Reyrah ordered, as she charged at her. Just before the spear could hit Freyja, who is paralyzed in shock, a barrier appeared before her, warding off Reyrah's attack and dispelling her spear instantly.
"Reyrah Fiega, how dare you try to harm the Lenfiare!" Afra went out of the medallion in his human form. He stood in front of his master, glaring at the general. Afra sensed a couple more daggers aimed at them, he quickly summoned a barrier, protecting Freyja, Alyon, and Alaric from all directions.
"Get down!" Afra shouted, reinforcing his barrier. Celestial soldiers appeared from all directions, many flew from outside, through the gigantic windows on the halls. There were about ten, then twenty, and then fifty. All to subjugate the Lenfiare. Amos appeared, in his human form but his hands blazing with white fire. Amos burnt those who dared get close, while Freyja summoned Astrid to ward off attacks from other directions. There were just too many of them, and Freyja didn't want to kill any one of them.
Alaric, just in time, froze the floors, surprising the foot soldiers. "Hurry! Let's run!" Alaric pulled Freyja and Alyon, as they slid down the frozen ice he just summoned. The soldiers were momentarily surprised with Alaric's move, but they immediately unfroze their feet and continued pursuing the fugitives. "Alaric! Your ice didn't hold!" Alyon worriedly said, looking back, realizing how fast their pursuers are catching up. "Of course, they won't! They're celestials for crying out loud!" The runemaster frantically replied, struggling to keep on freezing the floors. "I was hoping Freyja would think of a plan!"
"We have to get out of the palace, at least!" Freyja said. She summoned Avice in his beast form, and had Alyon and Alaric get on Avice' back. She then ordered Avice to fly as fast as he could, outside of the palace. They will have more chances of hiding themselves outside the capital.
As expected, Avice was much faster than the royal guards. Freyja held her breath, as they got closer and closer to an exit. "Yes! We'll make it!" Alyon rejoiced.
But, even before they could reach the window, a net of white aura suddenly appeared before them. The momentum didn't let Avice break on time. They were caught in the aura net, and Avice' form vanished upon contact. Freyja, Alyon, and Alaric fell down the ground, once again surrounded by the celestial royal guards. The guards were quick to nab Alaric and Alyon, instantly restraining the two with their strongest aura chains.
Reyrah stepped into the front, facing Freyja. "Freyja Lenfiare, this is my final warning. Return to your exile!" She declared, pointing an aura spear at her daughter.
Freyja glanced at the captured Alaric and Alyon, and glared at her mother, before lifting her hand up to summon Astrid. But, before she could. A familiar voice caught her attention.
"What do you mean return? You will NOT let her get away again, Lady Reyrah."
Freyja looked up, her eyes wide and her body trembling. Alaric and Alyon too, couldn't believe what they were seeing. Descending from the stairs is none other than Kirin, clad in celestial robes, the crest of the Aethelmaer clan on his sleeves. Behind him is an entourage that used to be solely for the Leafen clan. "Hello there, Freyja. I see that you're still alive. I wonder why?" Kirin asked, a sarcastic smirk on his face. Then, he turned his eyes to Alaric and Alyon, looking down on them. "For a human, you're quite sturdy. And here's another phreinian, thrown away by his own kingdom. What a funny bunch you have, Freyja Lenfiare." Kirin's words were ice-cold. Freyja locked eyes with his. She was sure, it was definitely Kirin. "I suggest you don't draw your rune blade." He threatened.
"Urgh! What are you doing!?" Reyrah suddenly shrieked, as Kirin's dark aura coiled around her body, squeezing her tight, before lifting her up in the air, beside him. "The famous Lady Reyrah, beautiful and intelligent, fiercely loyal too. But are you really?" He sneered at her. "This bastard is planning to let her escape. Throw her into prison!" He ordered, before dropping Reyrah from a height.
"Mother!" Freyja shouted, cushioning her fall with her aura, only to be snatched away by the royal guards. "KIRIN! What do you want!?" She shouted, glaring at Kirin, who only looked at her with cold, unfeeling eyes. Alaric and Alyon too, were tightly bound by a thick coil of dark and white aura, making breathing even difficult.
"If you cooperate, I might just let them live." Kirin threatened, heading down to face her eye to eye. Freyja raised her arms in submission, before the guards coiled aura around her, at least five times stronger than what restrains Reyrah, Alaric, and Alyon. "Don't underestimate her. She has the guardians. Tie her up some more!" Kirin ordered.
"What did I ever do to you, Kirin?" She asked, trembling in pain, anger, confusion and frustration. "TELL ME!? WHAT THE HELL DO YOU WANT WITH ME!?"
Kirin chuckled. "Are you really that dumb, Freyja?"
"What?"
"The moment you returned my memories, it was all over for you." For once, Kirin's eyes reflected emotions, of pain, disgust, anger. They were cold and piercing, just like the first time they met in that forest. The remaining doubt in her mind that this man is NOT the Kirin she knew, vanished. He is definitely Kirin. A side of him she never knew existed. "Freyja, you are so stupid to let your human feelings get the better of you. Just like your dumb father, Alfiore Kinju."
"You—" Freyja tried to struggle, but any action she made, ended up in the coils around her mother and her friends tightening. "If you have the balls to fight, fight ME. Leave them out of this." She clenched her teeth.
Kirin lifted her chin with his ice-cold hand. "That's what I love about you, Freyja." The once sweet words turned disgusting in Freyja's ears. She turned her head away.
"Do you want to know?" He asked. "Then, I'll tell you!"
Freyja turned her eyes back to him, eager to know every word behind his venomous glare.
"Just because you hold the power to control the core, the life of all of Celestia, you think you're powerful? Hah! Then you're gravely mistaken, little Freyja."
"Impossible… even YOU shouldn't have the power to… restrain me." Freyja thought, desperately thinking of a plan to get out of Kirin's hold. "You've never succeeded no matter how hard you tried, and you won't succeed now." She smirked at him, making Kirin hold her chin tight once again. She winced from the strength of his grip.
"Have you ever wondered how I was able to kill the almighty Alfiore Kinju? The TRAITOR of Celestia? In case you haven't realized, the other half of the celestial core is in ME. Just like you are." He explained, tightening his grip on her face. "And you have the gall to ask why? When it was the Leafen clan who caused all of my suffering! It was Lifenya Lenfiare Leafen who banished me for something I've never done! I had to suffer those long, years, of torture and isolation!" Kirin trembled as he recalled everything from his childhood. "It was that selfish Kinju Alfiore who did as he pleased, without a regard for the consequences of his actions to his people! And you…" Kirin paused, and looked down. "…it was you, who pushed me to become the monster that I am. Had you not been born, I wouldn't have been forced to cage the core, and chase after you, to some unknown world for a long, long, long time! It was you…" Kirin did not finish. He let her go, turned his back, and ordered his men to lock the Lenfiare up, in the most secure prison.
"Mother, Alaric, Alyon… I swear, I'll come back for you." Her words alerted the guards, even Kirin. "It was nice knowing that, Kirin." She said, before shattering the aura coils that used to restrain her. All were astonished, including Reyrah. The medallion on her chest glowed bright, white aura surged from within her. A pair of white wings sprouted from her back, before she rushed to the window and flew away from the palace. Kirin's emerald eyes followed her. Watching as she disappeared from their sights.
"Lord Leriouge, should we pursue?" The captain of the guards asked. But Kirin sighed and shook his head. "No. Lock them up separately. As long as we have these three, she will return." He ordered, before heading up again, leaving the hostages to the guards. "Kirin! This is not you! Wake up, Kirin! Wake up!" Alaric cried, over and over. But Kirin only took one last glance at his old friend.
"On the contrary Alaric, it because I've woken up." He said, heading back to his quarters, his royal entourage following him.
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