"All right, what exactly should we do? Touch the Krystal and then what? What should we focus on, our powers?"
The four stood around the Krystal, waiting for Kirazil's instructions.
"It's not that simple, you fool. Do you think the ancient mages got extra powerful directly from that? No, you touch the Krystal, close your eyes and just wait, the Krystal will do the rest. Once you receive its signal, no one can help you. You are completely on your own. Then the game for power begins, if you fail you won't be able to open your eyes anymore."
The four hesitated and discussed with each other, each of them had one goal: survival, at least to protect others. Be it friends, family, loved ones or other valued people, each of them had at least one reason.
"If we go through with this we will probably die before Leo invades the kingdom. So why don't we just leave?"
"And then what are you going to do Luke? Just let him defeat you and watch what he does? You've seen what he's capable of, this time he'll most likely want to kill us."
"I won't let him do that, we will defeat him. We have to defeat him. I have a lot of questions for him, if we stick together maybe we can break him out of his hypnosis."
"Wake the hell up Marah! He's not under any hypnosis, it's simply Leo ruthlessly slaughtering people! I will not mercy him, my goal is to get rid of him!"
"Blade is right Marah. His eyes were cold and dead, as if he's been used to all this for a long time. And it's not like he's doing it for fun. He has reason enough to start a feud against the king and the kingdom. You heard it from Soran, what he went through. The king had tortured him, always sending him on more missions. Even when he accomplished the impossible, he was betrayed and killed. He was without magic but now he has an incredible power flowing through him, as if he had been set free. If it really happened that way, I would hardly be any different if I had another chance in this world."
Adrian had brought up an important point. How would the others have behaved if they were reborn? Would they have forgotten their revenge and accepted their deaths after all they had done and served for their murderers? But although it was in the back of their minds, they did not want to accept this point, there was no time for that. After this discussion, they came to an agreement and began the ritual.
The old druidess and the raven on her shoulder watched anxiously. So far it was only written in the scriptures, it was a centuries-old ritual. Gekorat watched skeptically while talking to Kirazil.
"You didn't tell them everything about this man, why not? Even if they succeed the battle is still one-sided. If he has the power you told them about, then no soul stands a chance."
"It is impossible for him to use the full power. Even if he is not from this world, it is impossible for him to fight with that power 100 percent. Only the ancient beings are able to do that. They have created it in such a way that only they can reach its full potential. That's why it was only passed on to a certain extent."
"Even if everything you just told is true, this may fail against him. Even you don't know how much power they can draw. So why don't we just hide and stop all this?"
"How much longer Gekorat, how long are we going to live here like this? I don't feel like it anymore, now an opportunity has finally presented itself. I won't miss it, even if everything goes wrong at least I tried."
"I shall not understand your beings, for my people safety comes first. That is why we have survived for centuries. And that's why I'm sure there are still some of us around today."
The old woman and her partner never came to a common point but neither wanted to leave the other alone.
By now, everyone had put their hands on the Krystal and closed their eyes. Blade, who was usually so skeptical and annoying had the most determination. He waited for the signal and went over his targets once again. Next to him he heard loud noises, when he opened his eyes he saw his friends lying on the ground with their eyes closed. Panicked, he grabbed them one by one and tried to wake them up. When he turned around to ask the woman, he suddenly found himself in his home. When he looked front again the bodies had disappeared and he was sitting alone on the floor.
"What are you doing, big brother? Did you hurt yourself?"
Blade looked into the little girl's eyes full of confusion and panic. It was his sister standing in front of him. He walked over to her and hugged her.
"Hey, stop that. I can hardly breathe. Hey, can you hear me?"
Blade blanked out her voice and embraced her with complete relief. Suddenly he got a bite on his arm, the pain waking him from his trance.
"That's what you get now, I won't apologize, it's your own fault!"
"Oh come on Mia, can't your big brother even hug you anymore?"
"I'm already grown up, the other kids in my class would laugh at me looking at that. So just stop it and help me with my homework instead. I barely understand anything in math class, all the formulas are just confusing. What do you need them for later anyway?"
Blade could still hardly believe what was happening. But before he could think about it, his sister grabbed him by his sweater and dragged him to the table. It wasn't the first time this had happened. Blade was something of a tutor to her. He enjoyed the time he spent with his sister. As the years went by, she spent less time with her brother and rather went to her friends after school. Blade knew this was normal and he had to get used to it. He wasn't obsessed with his sister, it was much more that he wanted to protect her. He wanted her to see him as her most trusted person because he knew what was ahead for the two of them.
"Hey, what's going on? Don't you understand anything about it yourself? Then I'd better ask my friends, I'm sure they can help me too."
"Wait Mia, I'll help you. I was just lost in thought, come sit down and I'll teach you math."
The girl looked skeptically at her brother and sat down on the chair. She showed her brother the problems and together they solved the calculations. He gave her several examples to check, which she solved correctly after a moment's thought. Blade wondered how her lessons were going exactly when she actually understood everything after a short period of study. Was it because she was fooling around with her friends and not listening? Or was it perhaps that it allowed her to spend more time with her brother?
Blade didn't want to worry too much about that for this moment but about the other things that happened to him. However, he could barely remember how exactly he got here. Over the next few hours, he lost more and more memories about his friends, how they were doing, and how exactly he got there. When he looked at the date it was a week before he disappeared. Would he soon be pulled back into the other world again?
After a few hours his sister came home on time, she was like her brother who also kept the rules. She took off her jacket and went to her room, her brother watched her and prepared dinner. He knew that their parents would be home very late again. He took over the household in their absence. While their father and mother lived carefree, he took charge of the house in addition to his clubs and hobbies. As he was cooking, his sister came in, opened a cupboard and set out the plates and cutlery. Blade grinned when he saw her so willing and helpful.
Time passed and there was still no sign of the parents. Slightly annoyed, he gave his sister the food, and the two talked about their day. As they were clearing the table they heard the door lock click. The door opened and a fairly young couple entered the house.
"Where were you until late, if I'm right your work is long over, is it not?"
"Watch how you talk Blade, we have some spare time hobbies too. Our work colleagues invited us to dinner, we couldn't just say no."
"Hello Mia my darling, how was your day, did your brother annoy you?"
Instead of answering her mother, she went to her brother and hid behind him.
"Oh Mia, how long is this going to go on? We've already apologized, at some point it's enough."
Her mother reached for her daughter but Blade refused her hand.
"Let it go, she'll talk to you again when she feels it's right. She's already grown up but you can hardly be aware of that."
"Blade, don't speak in that tone. It's our fault that we forgot her birthday yet she shouldn't retreat like that."
The young man didn't understand these people. They became parents at a very young age and still acted as if they hardly had to bear any responsibility.
"I will speak freely, I carry more responsibility than you ever did. Her birthday is not even a week ago and you expect everything to be fine? You neither congratulated her nor came home that day. You will never understand how it feels to be a child. It was the same last year so you better keep your words to yourselves.
Before a discussion could break out, the two left the room. Blade came into Mia's room to talk to her. Although she was already 12 years old, her emotions often got the better of her. She had hardly any good memories of her parents and often started to cry like she did that night. Blade could only watch her life being ruined but he had a plan.
"Hey Mia, don't be upset. Even if they don't protect you and treasure you your brother is always there for you. You can trust me, I will always be on your side, okay?"
After reassuring her he went to the kitchen, his parents hadn't done any dishes so he was responsible for them again. To him they were more of a child than his sister. He wanted to get out of the house as soon as possible along with his sister. He didn't want to ask their aunt for shelter. She lived outside the big cities in a rural area where there were few schools or activities. Therefore, Blade did everything in his power to earn money. A month ago, he left the basketball club to take another part-time job. He couldn't see his parents' face anymore, he was determined to find his own little apartment and run away with his sister. But for now, he had no choice but to submit to the world. Every single day he thought about running away with Mia. Blade knew that if she grew up in this household, she would be no different than her mother. There was no way he was going to let them handle her. He still had friends at school, but lately they were keeping their distance from him. For them Blade had become unreachable, he rejected every offer and his manner became rougher, more serious and eventually angrier with time. Days passed and he could remember less and less of his past in the other world. At school there was no trace of his 4 new friends, as if they had never existed. Tomorrow was the day he would disappear, leaving his sister alone. Even though he had little memory, he knew that tomorrow would be a crucial day. Like every morning, he woke Mia and ate breakfast with her. Her parents were out of the house as usual, but by now Mia had gotten used to it. Blade began to blame himself for having to watch powerlessly as Mia's life was ruined. Suddenly, she pulled on his arm and looked him straight in the eye. Blade had his sister in mind, but he saw that it wasn't really Mia in her body. In a soft soothing voice she spoke to the young man.
"Don't worry Blade, soon everything will be fine. We will have a better life than you have ever imagined. I will be there for you as you are there for me. Together we can change our destiny. But the time has not yet come. Until then, I will take care of myself, I will not let my big brother down. Let's just both do our best, have faith in your little sister, Blade."
"How are you going to take care of yourself without help and support? Who's going to help you but me?"
"Don't worry about that, when we meet again I'll show you my way. Right now you just have to wait."
With those words, Mia got up, picked up her backpack and walked to school. Blade sat frozen in his chair. Aside from her appearance, there was something else strange. Mia barely called her big brother by his name for no important reason. This was just the beginning of a crazy day. At school, he noticed 3 new students he had never seen before. They felt familiar but when he tried to talk to them they looked at him like a stranger. He got a big headache and felt dizzy. He had the school send him home, once he got there he became very nervous. He had no memory of anything prior to the week as if everything had been erased. A few hours passed and it was the end of school for Mia's class. He waited for her but Mia did not come back. Blade decided to look for her alone, calling all possible contacts, but no one had any idea where Mia was. Her friends only told Blade that she wanted to go home alone that day. They too became worried at Blade's panicked expression. For hours he searched the city but there was no sign of Mia. His parents weren't answering their phones, and their workplace was three towns away. Full of panic and fear, he had no choice but to hope for her arrival at home.
Suddenly the doorbell rang, Blade rushed to the door and saw Mia standing next to a young man. He took Mia tightly in his arms but she made a displeased impression. With his blood red eyes and brown hair the boy stood in front of the door and looked at the siblings. With an evil smile he glanced at Blade's face. He froze as the young man spoke.
"Your sister was quite lost today. She was lucky, she almost ended up in the wrong part of town. The whole way she told me something about going her own way, that she wanted to take care of you. But how can a little girl take care of others let alone change their destiny? It's not that simple Blade, your life won't change that easily. There is nothing SHE can do about it, so good luck in your attempt to stop me. It won't change my triumph in the slightest."
Suddenly Blade could hardly breathe, when he looked down his body he saw that a black sword was stuck in his chest. When he looked up again the young man had armor on, his eyes lit up and he turned around while speaking a few last words.
"Name's Leo by the way, but you've known that for some time now, haven't you? It's time to wake up human, your buddies are waiting for you. I have the feeling that you will entertain me well. Don't disappoint me, humans."
All the memories rushed into his head and he felt dizzy. He passed out and fell to the ground. In the next moment Blade started to hear voices coming closer and closer.
"-lade Blade, wake up! Your path still goes on. You can't die here like this!"
He wrenched his eyes open, his three comrades looking at him worried. He wanted to keep his memories of the dream to himself, so he didn't tell them anything.
"Like, I'm going to die here you dummies. Well, am I super strong yet, or do I still have to do something like that?"
"You survived the ritual, now we just have to learn to use the power. Take a good look at yourself, you have these marks too."
Blade saw that there were white symbols on his arms that disappeared under his skin after a short time. He also felt like new inside, his body felt so light and he felt like a new man. While they were examining their bodies for the signs, the druidess spoke to them.
"It has been five days, but at last something incredible has happened here. Fortunately, you escaped death, but that was only the first step. The signs you see are the signs of the Goddess of Light. Just as your former friend has black signs, there also exists a counterpart. When these forces meet, they will most likely cancel each other out. Without these powers, Leo will have problems defeating you in battle. But do not rely on my judgment, it has been centuries since such a fight took place. Use this power wisely, if not you will eventually be devoured by it. You will lose your body and your lost soul will wander through the world. Next, you will try to transfer the power into your weapons and merge it with the various magics. This is called a magic fusion. Just as you can amplify and synchronize magic, you can fuse it. However, this only works with a magic of the highest level. Since you carry the power of the Goddess within you, it is possible for you to perform a fusion. You will notice when you are successful. Focus on the white light that flows through your blood and body and shape it according to your will. That is all I can tell you, my knowledge ends here. Get busy if you want to return quickly.
"What about Grae, how is his training coming along?"
"Hmm, I don't know. I only know about magic methods. I haven't studied the scriptures to enhance normal fighting. I just passed on the written words. Anyway, he'll be fine so ask fewer questions and get to work!"
Without much talk, they began to follow the instructions. Kirazil left the hall with Gekorat and went to her room to study the other writings.
"Now what exactly did they experience in the ritual? Where did the signs come from?"
"You never stop asking questions.
"That's why I'm here."
"You're lucky that I like that about you. In the scriptures it says that the ritual uses many different methods. Each of them has passed a test, what exactly the test was is different for each individual being. What they all have in common is that they forget and recover memories. If they come from another world then it is even more complicated. Perhaps when they arrived in this world, they slowly forgot their old memories. In the ritual they forget their last memories but find the old ones from before they got here. Now their lives have certainly turned upside down. I don't plan to ask them for any details, that's not my business. Now they carry a part of the power of the goddess, she is not very enthusiastic about this spontaneous venture. After all, we stole a part of her power without her permission. It seems that they are really chosen if they came back in one piece. It says here that the goddess often seeks victims to feed on. Those who get caught up in her will never see this realm again. For what others have taken months and years they are back in this world after not even 5 days.
"After all, they are chosen ones, there is a reason why they are called that."
"No, it is not that simple. They also possess other markings that no one has ever documented, which is hardly possible. With so many light signs on their bodies, normally a person should already be surrendered to the goddess. Here it is described in the same way, but they are still in perfect sanity. The goddess has something big planned for them.
"Then what exactly happened to Blade? He was trapped in the ritual for 2 days longer than the others. Is he now an emissary of the Goddess?"
"No, he still looks too normal for that. In the books, a complete transformation of the body is mentioned, but this is not the case with him. He should have been gone by now."
"What exactly are you getting at?"
"He didn't return on his own. He got help from someone or something. And that something has the ability to erase the Goddess' ways. That's why she may have given up so much of her power without taking over their bodies and let them complete the ritual. If that's really the case then we're probably closer to a new era than I thought."
"A new age? The phrase was last used thousands of years ago. You know its impossible to happen now. The seal was made for eternity. The beings made a pact, only through that pact have we all been able to survive."
"In the worst case, this seal will soon be shattered. If that is indeed the case, then we can only pray that the chosen ones succeed. It is written: If the radiant light shines again, then the dark shadow will exist again."
"You don't mean THE shadow, do you?"
" I do. You know the old sayings: If the shadows summon the darkness then the Emperor of Chaos will reign once more."