Arion hiccuped.
He hoped something could teleport him back home.
It was his first time being frightened and he found it strange.
However, Arion knew he shouldn't let go of the golden opportunity.
He hollered inwardly, "I can't die here. If I die, all the beings i care about would suffer as a result. I would fail to save them! None of them would be able to come back to life!"
He raised his eyes to the Zeraphar guardian who at the moment, had already conjured a luminous sphere swirling with red hue.
Arion gritted his teeth on seeing that. His expression grew fierce....
He clenched his fist, "I should better escape. But I don't feel frustrated at all. I can survive this; heaven is on my side as I am here for a good cause."
The sphere swirled more, and Arion exploded,
"You are not a guardian but a ruthless killer. You take the lives of innocent people without reason. Do you call this guarding? The treasures here can save thousands of lives and bring happiness to millions. Yet, you selfishly hoard them, wasting their potential for eternity!"
His words were filled with emotion, but the guardian was determined to end his life as he had always did.
In a flash, the red sphere traveled toward Arion. His leg got stuck where he stood, and he exclaimed, "You deserve eternal exile!"
The sphere struck him, tossing him until he landed on the damp floor, gasping for breath.
Arion's intention was to bring others back to life, but he failed and passed away.
As his eyes closed slowly, he said slowly, "I think I am dieing for real this time around." He assumed that the guardian possessed the power of the entire magical forest, limiting the dragon's immortality he had.
Then, in Stephen's house, Stephen's blood spurted from his mouth, and Liora rushed to his side.
Stephen sensed that something was amiss with Arion, as his magical stone connection had lost its essence, disrupting his meditation.
Liora wiped the blood from Stephen's mouth with a handkerchief and asked urgently, "What happened? What's wrong?"
Stephen's voice trembled. "It seems the young man has met his end just like others that ventured into Zeraphar. His heart has stopped beating."
Lysander's eyes widened as he finally discovered the answer he had sought for days.
He had been thinking ever since he read Liora and Master Chen's minds, contemplating the meteoritic sign he saw on a child ten thousand years ago, the same sign appearing on the day a new mountain god was chosen, and when he glimpsed a mountain in Arion's mind.
He realized he was one step closer to unraveling Arion's true identity.
Lysander sprang from his bed and headed straight for Arion's room, determined to find the last piece of evidence to unveil this enigmatic man's identity. He kicked the door open, and three guards immediately appeared behind him.
"Is this room occupied by just one person?" Lysander inquired of the guards.
One of them, keeping his head down, responded, "Yes, my lord."
With that confirmation, Lysander rushed into the room and noticed Arion's clothing on the bed.
Since Arion had come into contact with the cloth before, it should reveal the sign of reincarnation.
He muttered to himself, "There's always a black light associated with the reincarnated, and the sign I saw thousands of years ago must appear as well!"
In a flash, he directed his magic at the cloth.
The fabric began to quiver slightly, and Lysander anxiously awaited the appearance of the signs.
As a minute passed with no sign, he began to doubt his assumptions. Perhaps he had been mistaken all along.
Just as he was about to close the door in frustration, the guards already retreating, a sudden light flashed before his eyes.
He stopped and looked back inside, only to find Arion's cloth emitting a black light along with the significant sign—the mark of the one destined to bring peace to the world.
It was the meteoritic sign!
"No way it is him! How come he is....the child?!" Lysander wondered in panic. "If really he is the one, fate has brought us together again for retribution. He won't let go of me for he is Master Jang's son, the royal astronomer!"
Stephen shook his head, unable to reach Arion's mind anymore. A tear fell from Liora's eyes when she realized that saving Arion was now impossible.
Her heart ached, and she felt a sharp pain from head to toe. She wept, shaking her head in disbelief. "No! There must be another way. He can't die!"
She wept harder, her face soaked with tears, clutching Stephen's hand tightly, pleading with him to do something to save Arion. "Please! Please, don't let this happen to him! Remember what you said about him and why he's in that place—please." She continued weeping, kneeling beside him.
The wind blew fiercely, carrying dust with it. The sun cast its harsh rays on the dry, desolate sand in a place devoid of life.
Suddenly, a man and a woman dressed in expensive silks appeared, both wearing wide smiles and radiating cheerfulness. They beckoned to someone ahead, urging them to join.
"Come, son! We can be happy here forever!" they exclaimed, signaling for the person to hurry.
"Come with us, my boy. Living alone must have been too harsh on you."
Suddenly, Arion drew a deep breath and heard voices echoing in his ears. He was bewildered, unsure of where he was.
"Come on!" The voices echoed again, and Arion rose from the floor, only to find himself facing two people he had never seen before.
He recoiled in surprise, his eyes fixed on them. How had he ended up in this place? What was even more bewildering was that the sun, which should have been scorching in the desert, was very warm and appealing.
These people appeared genuinely happy, piquing his curiosity.
"Who... are you people? Where is this?" He asked gently.
"This place was designed just for the three of us, and here, we will be eternally happy, son. It's what you've missed!" the man said, leaving Arion dumbfounded. He couldn't fathom what the man meant.
Why was he calling him "son"? Urged by the couple, he hesitantly extended his hand to theirs.
"Come, come, son. Our little Jang has grown up so healthy."
Unbidden tears welled up in Arion's eyes. He stammered, "Is that you? Mom, dad?"
"Yes, son. You must have missed us greatly," the woman said. "Come on, your sorrow ends today!" She beamed.
Tears streamed down Arion's face, and he began to weep and sob uncontrollably. Never before had anything moved him to tears like this moment, his first sight of his parents. He stood there, torn between running into their embrace and enjoying the warmth of parental love for the first time.
"Just hold my hand and come with us, Erik," his mother urged him.
Arion released the hug with them and looked straight into their eyes.
"So, my name is Erik? Jang Erik?" Overwhelmed with emotion, Arion asked.
He then heard a persuasive voice from behind and glanced back, meeting the sight of Master Chen.
"They are illusions! You won't return to life again if you hold their hands! Don't let your emotions control you; allow your spirit to guide you. This space is a spirit domain. Come back!"
Arion looked at his parents once more, struggling to believe that they were mere illusions. Why wouldn't he want to reunite with his parents? They seemed so real; they had to be real!
"Come on, Erik!" his mom said.
"You wouldn't want to lose us again, would you?" his father added.
"The Zeraphar guardian had found out your only weakness is these people, and he is using it against you! They are just illusions created by your mind, and that's what would trap you in this spirit domain if you hold their hands. Everything they tell you is true except that you'd be together forever! Don't fall into this trap, Arion! Come back!" Master Chen urged him.
Torn between his parents and Master Chen's warning, Arion sobbed. Just then, he saw Stephen with Master Chen.
A hint of tears fell from Arion's eyes and he shouted to Master Chen,
"If I choose to stay, I will be together with my parents, at least? I can catch up with all I have missed? I can get to know them more and hear them tell me tales?!"
"Don't you hear what I said?! They aren't real! Make up your mind and you won't be led astray!" Master Chen urged.
"Come on. Don't forget your promise to heal my wound. Hurry back home!" Stephen pleaded as he appeared and turned to dust afterwards.
And then, Arion saw Liora as well.
"Stupid stable worker! We need you, come back home!"
"Don't listen to them, Erik. We are your parents," his mom and dad said.
Determined to ascertain who was real, Arion posed a question. "I will go with you if you answer this question. What is my favorite snack?"
"You loved to have rice buns, son. You used to cry when you couldn't have them," his mom said.
Arion smirked. "No, my favorite snack is raspberry cookies. You're not my parents but mere illusions of them. The decision is clear."
He walked toward Master Chen and the others.
Just at the moment, he felt as if he was failing through a sea of flouresecent lights, although he wasn't able to get a clear view of it.
Arion opened his eyes back in the dark room he had been in earlier. He stood up, seeing the guardian still present.
Arion stormed up,
"I can accept everything from you damn ass, but I won't forgive you if you insult my family again!"
The man's deep sigh filled the room and unexpectedly, he smiled. "Others who perished in Zeraphar also faced that test. Unbelievably, you are the first person to make it out alive."
"What... what are you talking about?"
"The most painful memory of a person is extracted and used to create a spiritual domain where they confront their inner demons. Yours was also taken upon your collapse. If someone is pure of heart, they can leave the domain. You are the first to pass and will be the first to ever make it out of Zeraphar alive," said the guardian.
"Zeraphar used to be a vibrant garden, filled with life. I lived here with my family, along with a thousand other families. Everyone was happy and lively until the day people of Golangane invaded, seeking the great treasures and magical plants it contained. The order came from the emperor himself, instructing us to be silenced secretly so that other realms remained unaware."
"What?! The High emperor?" Arion was shocked. "But how is that possible? The emperor seems like a kind-hearted man."
"Yes, it was him," the man confirmed. "His real intention was to use the treasures and plants to increase his realm's strength . He sent a man, who led armies here and killed everyone."
"A man? What was he like?" Arion inquired with desperation, needing to hear the name.
"...Chen Corwin!"
The name left Arion completely astonished. It brought back memories of the day Master Chen had mentioned that name was his real name.
"Master Chen? How could it be?"
"I used my last power to rise and sacrificed myself for my friends. My power was used to block the armies from accessing the treasures' location, which is the barrier you encountered. They couldn't get the treasures but managed to take the plants. I struggled to regain my strength after all that, but I couldn't stay alive. I became a half-dead slumbering guardian. That's why I've sworn to protect this place and thwart any attempt to access the treasures until the day I find someone pure of heart."
"That person will inherit my immense power, equal to the combined powers of all the treasures. That person is you, Arion! You will guard Zeraphar, not as a half-dead like me, but as a living guardian."
Arion mumbled, "You sure have gone through my mind deeply, knowing my name now."
He contemplated the idea of regaining his power and returning to his former glory. He decided to make a demand in exchange for taking on such a tremendous responsibility.
Initially, he had three people to save. But Arion thought he shouldn't worry about Stephen's condition, since he now possessed a power significant to that of all the treasures.
"If you want me to accept your offer, I have two demands to make. First, you must resurrect my parents. Can you do that?"
"Although the treasure called Horn of Glory has ability to bring back the dead, it's made inferior by people who have died a long time ago. I am sorry."
Arion felt disheartened but anyways, he made his second demand, which was to bring his dragon back to life.
Without uttering a word, the man nodded, and his magical stone ejected from his stomach. It swiftly moved into Arion, causing him to pause for a moment. Then he felt a surge of power—a divine torrent of magic in his stomach. He marveled at the newfound power, surpassing even what he had possessed before.
"Just summon it whenever you wish; your dragon has been resurrected," the man stated before fading away. But before his disappearance, he extracted a promise from Arion.
"Promise me you will guard this place diligently."
"I promise to dedicate my life to protect it. I will guard it wholeheartedly. I promise."
The man faded away like burnt paper, and suddenly, Arion found himself back outside at the treasure location.
He attempted to test whether the place recognized him as the new master, approaching the barrier. To his surprise, the barrier opened even before he reached it. He now possessed divine power.
"Rowan!" he summoned, and the dragon glided to his side. "Let's leave this place!"
"Yes, young warlock!"
He mounted the dragon, and they journeyed high in the air.
"From now on, call me Jang Erik! That's what I was named in my past life," he grinned and beamed, relishing the warmth as they soared through the air.
"Yes, Master Erik," Rowan acknowledged.
"It's so nice to have you back, Rowan."
"The feeling is mutual, master."
Arion smiled as his hands danced in between the cloud.
"I have been wondering for long, if you could smile. Or at least, smirk when you are angry."
"Nay, dragons don't have ability to do that. But I can make a noise that destroys everything in one mile. Should I?"
Arion shouted,
"No, don't do that. The Zeraphar guardian would be disappointed to have trusted a short-lived guy."
"Oh, I nearly forgot, there's no other guardian else than me."