Riselus angrily smashed a chunk out of a hill.
"What the-" Qassot started.
"Why did we-" Dracoa started to ask.
"Hang on, where did Aavern go?" Cyil asked.
"Did anyone else hear the voice?" Dracoa asked.
"Where's Aavern?" Cyil asked Riselus. Riselus shrugged.
"It said something like 'the trial has begun' or something," Qassot said, "What does that mean?"
"It means that Aavern is being tested," Dracoa said. "Maybe the light gem doesn't need us to defeat the guardian, but instead pass a test."
"Hey! Does anyone know where Aavern went?" Cyil asked, raising his voice.
"Yes, Aavern is probably the only one who had to do the trial, since he was the one who touched the gem," Qassot said. "I wonder if all of us would have to do the trial if we all touched the gem at the same time."
"Are you two deaf?" Cyil asked.
"Be quiet, we're trying to figure something out," Dracoa snapped.
Cyil walked up to Dracoa face and raised his voice to the maximum. "WHERE IS AAVERN?"
Dracoa recoiled sharply. "Are you okay?"
"No! Aavern's not here! We all ended up back at Azor's place, but Aavern's still back at the light gem place!"
"You heard the voice, right? He's undergoing a trial."
"He might need our help!"
"He's Aavern, he'll be fine."
"Can you at least take us back to check on him?"
"Why?"
"What if he doesn't pass the trial? What happens then? He's my brother. I don't want to lose him like this."
Dracoa paused. "If we were all kicked out, that means the trial is only for Aavern."
Cyil glared at Dracoa. Dracoa sighed.
"You can be really stubborn sometimes. Fine. I'll go, but I'm going alone."
"WHY?"
"It doesn't take four creatures to check if one creature is alive or not."
"But-"
"Either this or I don't do it."
"You're so mean," Cyil grumbled. He looked a little less panicked now, though.
"What do we do in the meantime?" Qassot asked.
"Don't do anything rash like challenge Ezarik," Dracoa replied. "We'll tackle that together."
Dracoa opened a portal back to the rock and entered the void. Thinking twice, Dracoa turned around and closed the portal behind her. The orb was still there, pulsating gently. Dracoa slithered up to the orb and inspected it. The gem was safely inside. She couldn't see Aavern either. She sighed and moved to leave. She suddenly snapped around. A movement at the edge of her vision drew her attention. The black thing was back. Sitting, coiled neatly on the other side of the cavern, a shadowy wisp of barely solidified smoke. Staring at her with a cold look even through the strange helmet. She took a deep but shaky breath and looked it straight where its eyes should be.
"Hello again," she said.
The smoke briefly solidified, revealing glowing gold fangs.
-
Dracoa didn't reappear.
"What happened to Dracoa?" Cyil asked Qassot.
"I don't know," Qassot mumbled, "Something must have happened. I can't get into the void anymore."
"What about Aavern?"
"I don't know."
"WHY?"
"Look," Riselus said patiently, "If there's nothing you can do, there's no point in worrying. Do what you can."
"But what can I-" Cyil started, but then stopped. "I see."
"See what?" Qassot asked.
"We can go after Ezarik."
"Didn't Dracoa tell us not to do that?"
"We can at least find his castle, can't we?"
Qassot hesitated. Cyil turned to leave.
"Alright, let's all go," Qassot said.
"No," Cyil said, "I need some time alone. I'll be back later."
Cyil flew away.
"He's quite upset," Riselus growled when Qassot started to follow. "Give him space."
"What do we do in the meantime?" Qassot asked.
"You keep trying to enter the void."
"What about you?"
Riselus paused for a moment. "I'll follow Cyil and make sure he's alright."
"You're surprisingly thoughtful," Qassot commented.
"What do you mean by that?" Riselus snapped.
"Nothing. I'll be here, then."
Riselus didn't respond and walked off.
-
Cyil flew for a bit, letting the heat in his mind cool. He crashed headlong into the leafy tops of a lone tree near the mountains behind Azor's castle. He didn't get himself out. Something about the awkward position, wrapped with leaves and branches, felt nostalgic to him. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes, letting the scene replay in his mind.
The gem had a will of its own and chose Aavern.
Aavern had touched the light gem.
Everyone except Aavern had been transported out.
Dracoa went back in but didn't come back.
Qassot said that she couldn't get into the fourth dimension anymore.
Cyil opened his eyes.
"I guess I overreacted," he muttered. "It must be that Aavern is the only one who can fight the guardian to get the gem, right?"
It was just like when they got the earth gem. The guardians chose someone worthy then. Maybe it was the same for the light gem.
Worry pierced Cyil's normally optimistic mind.
"Can Aavern even win?" he murmured.
All the other guardians had taken the effort of their entire group to defeat.
Cyil shook his head. It was just like Riselus said. If there was nothing he could do, there was no point in worrying. Wasn't that how he lived his life up until now? If he could just calm his shaking will, everything would be fine.
Cyil heard footsteps below the tree.
It was Riselus.
He heard Riselus settle at the foot of the tree.
"Leave me alone," Cyil muttered, then looked down. Riselus was digging a hole. Cyil began to quietly make his way down the branches.
"I guess he doesn't know I'm here," Cyil said. "What's he doing, though?"
Cyil watched as Riselus dug the hole and sat in it. The hole was more shallow than the ones Riselus dug to sleep in. Cyil tilted his head in curiosity.
He heard Riselus sigh and settle down.
"Come down," Riselus commanded.
Cyil fell out of the tree in surprise. He landed on his back next to Riselus.
"Ow."
Riselus looked at Cyil.
"I thought I said I needed some time alone," Cyil said.
"You look like you sorted everything out already."
Cyil didn't know how to respond.
"You're worried about Aavern being able to fight the guardian, right?"
Cyil flinched. "How did you know?"
"I figured that light gem guardian must be similar to the earth gem guardians."
Cyil didn't say anything. This was unlike Riselus. He wasn't normally this talkative.
"You should relax."
"I'm trying."
"There's a reason why I told you not to worry if you can't do anything."
"Isn't it because that's the most logical thing to do?"
"There's that, but there's also something else."
Riselus turned and looked Cyil in the eye.
"Why would a guardian who tests worthiness choose Aavern to fight?"
Cyil paused again. He was right. It didn't make sense.
"Aavern's strength is his mind. He wouldn't have been chosen if the guardian wanted to test strength."
"That's right," Cyil said, "Dracoa would've been chosen if it was that case."
Cyil then paused.
"But what if Aavern was chosen because he was the only one of us who didn't have a gem?"
Riselus sighed.
"Really?"
"Guess not," Cyil said. He took a deep breath and let the cool night air pour into his lungs.
"Thanks."
Riselus climbed out of the hole. Cyil expected him to sigh and walk away.
Instead, Riselus looked at him with a solemn expression.
"You're too young to worry this much."
Riselus then walked away.
-
Qassot was sitting down when they returned, occasionally twitching, with a pained look on her face.
"Something's missing," she muttered.
"We're back," Riselus said.
"It still doesn't work."
Cyil walked up and stood in front of Qassot's face.
"Hey."
Qassot's eyes snapped open.
"Oh, Cyil. Are you feeling better?"
"A bit," Cyil said. "Can you get in?"
Qassot shook her head. "It seems to be blocked by something."
A thought suddenly occurred to Cyil. Dracoa. What happened to Dracoa? She had entered before the fourth dimension was closed, and she wasn't chosen by the guardian. What happened to her?
Cyil began to worry again. He wasn't particularly close to the rather violent wyvern, but she was still a companion. The group didn't feel complete without her.
"Stop that," Riselus said.
Cyil snapped back to reality and gave him a sheepish grin.
"Sorry."
"What do we do now?" Qassot asked.
"You attack Ezarik," Azor said from behind them.
They snapped around. They didn't hear him walk up.
"Why?" Cyil asked.
"Dracoa said not to go after him until she got Aavern," Qassot added.
"You're blocked from the fourth dimension, correct?" Azor continued.
"That's right," Qassot said.
"I think it's because Aavern's being tested by the light gem guardian and doesn't want anyone to interfere," Cyil said.
"In that case, why was Dracoa allowed in?" Azor asked.
"Maybe it was closed late?"
Azor shook his head. "I detected some strange power at work after Dracoa entered."
"What power?" Qassot asked.
"The shadow's power."
A chill ran down Cyil's spine. It was the thing that they saw break out of Ezarik's prison. The experiment that Ezarik made.
"Then-" Qassot got up in a panic.
"Ezarik has commanded the shadow to block off the void. He's after the light gem."
Qassot looked at Cyil.
"You need to attack Ezarik quickly and get him to withdraw the shadow," Azor said. The look on his face was an urgent one, nearing desperation. A flicker of excitement was also hidden deep in his eyes, a spark that belonged to a fighter who had not seen a worthy opponent in years. Cyil had never seen Azor look like this before.
"Let's go now, then," Cyil said.
"No," Azor said. "Go tomorrow morning. You need proper rest before you face him. He is a wizard, after all."
-
Tomorrow was when they would attack Ezarik and end everything. Qassot couldn't sleep. The blank spot in her mind was more noticeable today. She opened her eyes and walked outside. She found a place to lean back against a tree and watch the night sky. Things were clearer now. The missing piece in her mind was itching again. She focused on her gem, using it to form a fluid stream of water from the humid air, and watched it flow around her left claw. The flash of light that transported them back to the island, combined with the surge of power coming from her gem, cleared her mind.
She had hidden her despair well when Dracoa disappeared. Cyil, who seemed to be very good at discerning emotions, seemed not to have noticed. Dracoa had been her first real friend, after all.
Maybe this hole in her heart was from Dracoa's disappearance.
A light flickered in the distance. A soft breeze flitted down from the clouds. She stared up into the night sky.
The stream of water around her morphed into the shape of a wyvern and looked up at Qassot.
"I wonder what this is," she murmured, feeling around the hole in her mind with her thoughts. "Why does something feel missing?"
Small droplets of water began to swirl around her. She was strangely calm, her mind was strangely silent. The only thing that was left was the bright flash that brought them back to Azor's castle. The water wyvern around her arm uncoiled and joined the droplets of water in the air as they quietly spread around the air, shining with the light of the faraway stars and dissipating into nothingness.