Druk and Sounge looked at me eagerly, hoping I would speak up. But I didn't.
In my defense, I was too shocked after the vision. All this time, the DELTAs had been preparing to face the King – the final boss. All of a sudden, when you realize that the time for that battle has arrived you stutter in your speech. After a few minutes to take in the details of the vision, I narrated to Druk and the hermit. "Are you sure you weren't hallucinating?" Druk enquired, looking at my pale face. I shook my head and said, "Even Inferno saw it and then died. All Xorains would have witnessed the resurrection of the King."
Even as I said that, I realized that it meant Amanda who was captured would have also seen it. She would have by now alerted the others about the vision too. Sounge looked at me as if asking what our next step will be. I thought over it for some time and decided that delaying any longer will be madness. I took out my phone from my water-filled bag pack which was miraculously still working. I called up Wade in the Headquarters.
"Blaze? How are things going out there? Are we ready to send our troops?" He asked. I narrated the story of King Jalaar's awakening and suggested it would be best for our army to march to the Abandoned Palace. By the time they would reach, the war will possibly begin. "Alright! We're on it. What have you planned? Are you sneaking into the Palace to find where the DELTAs are held or will you wait for the army to arrive?" Wade asked.
"We are going in, Wade! We may never make it to the Palace during the war considering the mass of the Xorain army. If we need to rescue the others, we need to do it now. I will break the barriers outside the Palace so that our army can enter." I announced. Waiting for a few moments, I said, "This may be the last time we talk, Chief Wade! Hope to see you again."
Wade was silent for a few moments then replied with enthusiasm, "See on the battle-field, Blaze Hunt!" The call ended and I told Druk our next step. I handed over the flowers and asked him to obtain the liquid from Anderclar. Druk sat under a tree and started doing his work, crushing the flower like a medicine. In the meantime, I sat on Sounge and scouted the area near the Palace to check whether the King had arrived. He would take at least an hour to reach but we still kept an eye.
In between Druk asked me to hand him a bowl. Why would I have a bowl during a time like this? I gave him from my bag a small tin which contained our meal. Since there was no food left, I handed him the empty tin. After a few minutes, Druk called out to me. Sounge and I went to him and he presented to me the tin which was now filled with Anderclar liquid – the most powerful liquid.
Excited, I asked, "So? How does this work? What do we do now?" My question seemed to make Druk frown. "I told you that we need to pour it on you blade. Magnum is the only weapon which may be strong enough to use the energy of Anderclar." Druk explained. I unsheathed Magnum and raised the battle-axe in front of the tin. Druk opened it and poured half of the liquid on my battle-axe. It immediately started reacting. Blue flame started surging through Magnum. Luckily, I wasn't burnt to ash.
The battle-axe became heavier under my hand and I used both my hands to hold it which reminded me of the first time I had held it. "It's time!" Druk announced and we started sneaking closer to the barrier of the Palace. Of course I didn't know when I would hit it so, to be on the safe side I held Magnum right in front of me which made me look like a mad man. Monsters came in sight and my heartbeat increased. We weren't caught but the very thought sent shivers down my spine. What would happen if we were spotted in their territory? I also couldn't mess things up now as King Jalaar had awakened. The blade hit an invisible wall and we were certain that the barrier was right in front. As we were now extremely close to the enemy, whispers were all we could afford for not getting caught. "Hit one spot with all your strength, the effect should spread all around. Anderclar's power can spread throughout all the corners of the Palace barrier and break it." Druk whispered. I nodded and got ready for a hard blow.
Sounge and Druk moved out of my hitting range and I charged up Magnum all his power. From inside I heard Magnum speak to me to hit hard. I did. Using all the Zantai power focusing on one single spot, taking the battle-axe as far back as I could syncing with Magnum, I slashed through the barrier. The impact was so intense that even the ground shook. I immediately fell down, exhausted. Monsters were astounded to hear the noise. They brought out their weapons but didn't know where the culprit was. The sound echoed from all directions around them as the whole barrier around the Palace had broken.
For a small moment, just a millisecond, the barrier was visible. It was a translucent red glass-like slim wall. The glass cracked and shattered into many pieces, one even falling right on my eye. I closed my eyes shut in fear but then realized that the particles weren't real just like the invisible barrier. They faded away even before touching the ground.
Druk helped me get back up. The battle-axe looked normal now, meaning that the power of Anderclar had dissipated. It had exhausted all its energy in breaking the wall. I sheathed it back. "You did a great job, kid!" Druk cheered. But there was no time to celebrate. We went back into hiding the next moment. Enemy guards were now patrolling every corner after the strange noise they had heard. It had become difficult to progress even an inch.
But as usual, we were up and ready for the impossible – getting into the Abandoned Palace!