Noboru, the Black Star Knight, sat quietly as he listened to the old Sage speak, his mind racing with visions of the realms he had learned about. The Sage watched Noboru closely, noticing the subtle signs of enlightenment on his face.
"The Void Queen. From what I have heard from the Disciples Of Darkness High Priest Kuro Kage, she doesn't seem evil. She only wants to be free from and not be alone anymore," Noboru said.
"Yes, but that doesn't change the fact that she will destroy the world. She has the power and the will, and nothing can stop her," the Sage said.
"I will find a way," Noboru vowed. "I can't in good faith kill her. I will find a way," he repeated.
"Noboru, it is a noble thing you seek to do, but you are not from this world, and there are consequences if you interfere. There are forces beyond your comprehension, and I fear the price for such ignorance may be too steep," the Sage warned.
"It doesn't matter. I will find a way," Noboru declared.
The Sage sighed and shook his head. "Noboru, the world is a vast and mysterious place. I wish you luck on your journey, but please remember that there are some things that are beyond even a Black Star Knight like you."
Noboru nodded and stood up.
"Thank you for the information and the book," he said.
"You are welcome, and by the way, the book will update itself when you are ready. Although I will still meet you if I need to tell you something directly," the Sage said.
Noboru nodded and vanished, reappearing outside the chamber. "Hmm, no golden light yet. It seems the story hasn't progressed yet or Sky and Layla are still dealing with the Disciples Of Darkness," he muttered, walking into the night.
At the same time, Sky and his companions had arrived at the temple, the source of the wind energy. The temple was a huge circular structure, with four spires rising into the sky, one for each element. At the center was a massive statue of a man holding a sword.
"Great Grandfather," Layla said.
"Who?" Yumeko and Sky both asked.
"He was the first Wind God. He fought in the first Elemental War, where the four Elemental Kingdoms, Ignarok, Aquora, Terravale, and our home Aeritha, fought each other to show which element was superior," Layla explained.
"Wow. What happened to the others? What happened to the war?" Sky asked.
"A peace treaty was signed, and the Kingdoms remain to this day, although the peace hangs by a thread," Layla answered.
"But why did the first elemental war start in the first place?" Yumeko asked.
"To be honest, the exact details were lost. All we know is that the first Wind God, Arthur Skyward, was the one who brought the peace. He did it with a legendary sword called Excalibur," Layla explained.
"Wait, the first Wind God is a relative of yours?" Yumeko said, shocked.
"Yes, and he is my great-grandfather," Layla boasted.
"That is cool. But I wonder what the Disciples of Darkness are doing," Yumeko said.
"Let's go inside the temple," Layla suggested.
"Good idea," Yumeko agreed.
"Hey, guys, I can't believe you didn't invite me to the party," a voice said as the three turned and saw a man dressed in similar attire to Kuro Kage. "Tell me what happened to Kuro-Sama. He went there to deal with you, and you pathetic kids could never take him, especially when he had a shard of the void. The Void Crystal made from solidified Void Energy by our prayers to the Void Queen Yami, goddess, and our future ruler," the man said as he unsheathed a sword hilt without a blade. The man started doing prayers, and a void energy blade formed where the blade was meant to be.
"So tell me what did you do to my master? Tell me or die," the man said before he puffed in some air and yelled, "Intruders, we've got some fresh sentinels."
"Damn it, we are surrounded," Sky said.
"How did they know?" Yumeko asked.
"What are you after?" Layla yelled. "How dare you come here and defile the temple made to honor my great-grandfather."
"Hahahaha, you naive little girl!" the man exclaimed, his voice echoing with scorn. "The first Wind God was just as foolish. We, the Disciples of Darkness, have ambitions far beyond mere temples or raw energy. We seek something far more grandiose." As he spoke, thirty other priests materialized, their presence ominous. "This sword, the legendary Excalibur, is not just a weapon; it's one of the Relics. With its power, we can harness the Wind Aura Energy of this world. And when combined with the other Founding Elemental Gods' Relics, wielded by our brethren, we can manipulate the elemental Aura Energies to create a cataclysmic clash. This collision of forces will give rise to a singularity. A singularity that, once devoured by the void, will... Well, it will free our beloved Queen."
"You idiots," Yumeko said. "The power of the relics can't be harnessed, not even by the four founding elemental kings."
"Quiet, saint. Your words mean nothing here. We have no intention of simply harnessing the power of the relics. Instead, we shall unleash their full, unbridled might upon the world. By utilizing a powerful, ancient technique, we can focus the relics' energies on a single point, amplifying them. This will create a singularity, and once that's consumed, as we said, the void queen, the epitome of beauty, our goddess will be free, and with her, the void and darkness will consume all the realms," the man said.
"Not while I'm around," Layla said.
"And not while I am alive. I will stop you," Yumeko yelled.
"So my mother died and was killed by those beasts all because you wanted the relics. You monsters, I will stop you," Sky said quietly.
"Sky, you have to stay calm," Yumeko urged.
"Stay calm? My mother, everyone I ever loved and cared about died, and you say stay calm. How can I stay calm?" Sky yelled, fueled by rage. Sky's voice thundered through the air, each word laced with the raw pain of loss. "You... you monsters! You took her from me – my mother – all for those cursed relics!" His anguish echoed through the crumbling tower, as a tempest of wind began to swirl violently around him, mirroring his inner rage.
Yumeko's eyes widened in disbelief. "What in the world... His power is... it's unimaginable!"
Layla reached out, her voice a desperate plea amidst the chaos. "Sky, please, you must calm down. This rage... it will consume you!"
But Sky was beyond reach, his grief morphing into a wild, unbridled wrath. "Calm down? My mother's blood is on their hands!" he roared. The very foundations
of the tower trembled, as if shuddering at his fury.
"You don't understand, Layla! You can't possibly fathom the pain of losing everything, of being born into a powerless family only to be born with Aura energy! Too see your parent's be treated like shit" His voice broke the air, as the winds around him turned tumultuous, tearing at the stone and mortar.
Yumeko's voice, tinged with fear, barely cut through the howling gale. "Sky, please..."
The tower groaned, its structure straining and cracking under the immense force of Sky's unleashed energy. The wind, now a frenzy of destructive power, coalesced into a colossal dragon, its form a manifestation of Sky's rage and despair.
"Damn it," Yumeko cursed under her breath, realizing the gravity of the situation.
"This is catastrophic," Layla murmured, her words almost lost to the roaring wind, as they watched the wind dragon soar, an awe-inspiring yet terrifying testament to Sky's uncontrolled power.
The air crackled with palpable, electric tension as the disciple of darkness screamed, 'This power... Quick, kill him before it's too late!' His command was a desperate cry in the face of Sky's unleashed fury. The disciples, clad in their dark robes, surged forward like a tide of doom.
As they charged, Yumeko's voice, laced with worry and fear, pierced through the chaos. 'Sky, you need to calm down!' But her words were lost in the storm of his rage. Sky moved with a speed that blurred the lines of reality, dashing into the first priest. His movement was a flash of lightning, slicing the priest in half with a precision that was both terrifying and awe-inspiring. The air was filled with a symphony of clashing metal and cries of battle as the other priests followed suit, their attacks relentless but futile against Sky's overwhelming power.
'Die, all of you! Our goddess, the Void Queen, blesses us!' one of the disciples bellowed, his voice resonating with fanatical devotion. As he invoked the name of their deity, he and his fellow priests drew forth hiltless swords, holding them aloft. With a chorus of dark prayers, blades of pure void energy materialized, humming with a sinister energy that seemed to warp the very air around them.
Sky, however, was undeterred. With a mere gesture, he summoned a gargantuan tornado. It was a furious, spiraling vortex of destruction that engulfed the four priests. Their screams were silenced as the life was violently sapped from their bodies, their figures disappearing within the swirling chaos of the tempest.
'You monster! How can a mortal possess such power?' the leader of the priests yelled, his voice a mixture of fear and awe.
'I will kill all of you for what you've done!' Sky's reply was a thunderous roar, the winds around him coalescing into a turbulent shield of fury. He advanced towards the remaining priests, each step a declaration of his unyielding resolve.
'I will not allow you to take another step!' another priest shouted, rushing towards Sky with his void blade raised high. The air crackled with the clash of their energies, but it was Sky who prevailed. With a swift, brutal motion, he knocked the void blade away and delivered a crushing blow to the priest's gut. The impact was so forceful it sent the priest reeling back, coughing up blood, before collapsing into unconsciousness.
'Anyone else want to die?' Sky's challenge hung in the air, a gauntlet thrown down before the terrified priests. They hesitated, fear evident in their eyes.
Sky's aura flared even brighter, his voice booming with a vengeful wrath. 'You think after killing my mother, you can escape justice? You will all pay!' The wind dragon at his command, once a majestic blue, now turned a fearsome orangeish-red. 'Wind Aura Technique: Corrupted Dragon Roar!' he declared, and the dragon let loose a deafening, cataclysmic roar. The red wind aura it emitted was like a scythe cutting through everything in its path, even the void energy barrier conjured by the desperate priests.
'Impossible,' Layla gasped, witnessing the impossible.
'That red wind... it should have been erased by the void energy, yet it ripped right through it,' Yumeko said, her voice a mix of awe and horror.
'What kind of power is this?' one of the priests stammered, his voice trembling with fear.
'I don't know, but we need to run!' another priest exclaimed, the terror clear in his voice.
But Sky was relentless. 'No, you are not going anywhere. You won't escape this time. Wind Dragon Slash!' With a thunderous cry, a giant arm made of red wind materialized from the dragon, slashing through the air with devastating force. The remaining priests were hit with such might that they could feel their very beings being torn apart at the molecular level.
'You monster... We will free the goddess... The Disciples of Darkness will always return,' the last priest yelled defiantly, even as his body disintegrated into nothingness.
Sky stood amidst the carnage, his breathing heavy, his eyes burning with a mixture of triumph and sorrow. 'Yumeko... Layla...' he whispered, his voice trailing off as the overwhelming power began to wane, and the wind dragon vanished into thin air.
'Yumeko, is that you? I did it. I beat them,' he said, his voice barely audible as he stumbled, on the verge of collapse. But before he could fall, Yumeko caught him, cradling him against her massive breasts.