Book 2 of the Eternal series

Chapter 22

Riah opened her eyes and realized that she was in the Water Realm of Passing, and surprisingly, the realm was destroyed entirely. Devastated, she looked at Rush, and then she looked out onto the land with tears in her eyes.

“Who did this?” she asked, and Rush looked at her.

“You know the two demons that put you in the Simulation Realm?” she asked, and Riah nodded.

“Well, they found a way into the Realms of Passing and the Spirit Realm, and they have destroyed everything in their path,” Rush explained, and Riah sighed as she looked out onto the realm.

“Bestol and Mertheis. That was their names, right?” Riah asked, and Rush nodded.

“They need to be stopped before they find the gods and destroy us all!” said Rush, and Riah looked at her with determination.

“We are going to stop them,” she said.

Rush shook her head.

“We are afraid that one of you will not have the strength to do what needs to be done.”

“What do you mean?”

“Bestol is Ashta’s brother, and she might not feel the same way about him as we do,” explained Rush, and Riah only nodded.

“Once she sees what her brother has been doing, she will come around,” said Riah, and Rush looked at her seriously.

“Ashta has the power of persuasion, which is as powerful as a vampire’s en canto. If she uses that power against you, you won’t be able to stop her,” said Rush, and Riah gave the goddess a knowing look.

“Ashta would not use her powers against us. We are her family,” stated Riah.

“Well, just in case she does, you, the air, and the earth guardian will be given the gift of en canto-reverse along with the other gifts you shall receive from us,” said Rush, frankly, and she faced Riah.

Gently, she touched Riah’s forehead, and she felt a powerful energy rush through her body.

“Now, my dear, I bestow the gift of lightning on you. Now, I know what you are thinking. Electricity and water don’t mix, but they are called Aqua bolts. They are made of water, but they deliver shocking results,” said Riah, as she smiled and chuckled.

Riah smiled as she caught on to Rush’s play on words.

“Now, you must remember, sometimes we have to push through the hard stuff, even if that means breaking a loved one’s heart,” said the goddess as she took Riah’s hand.

“Now, go.”

Riah looked at her in question, and then a bright light flashed before her eyes. Quickly, she raised her hand to her face to shield her eyes, and then the light faded. Suddenly, Riah looked at Ashta, who was sitting on the grass, and Ashta looked up at her as she grinned. Riah smiled back at her friend, and then she took a seat next to her on the soft bed of grass.

Patiently, Ashta and Riah waited for Roman and Ray to get back from their journey with their Spirit Guardians.

Ray stared in disbelief as he opened his eyes and looked around the demolished Earth Realm of Passing. Sadly, everything in the realm was utterly destroyed. The mechanism that hung from the cliff was now in pieces, and the gears were broken in half. The sight was unnerving.

“The handy work of Bestol and Mertheis,” mentioned Dig, and Ray looked at the dark-haired man in disbelief.

“They destroyed everything, but why?” asked Ray, and Dig looked at him with sad eyes as he sighed a heavy sigh.

“They are looking for the Goddess of Fire, who also happens to be Merthies’s mother,” explained the spirit guardian, and Ray sighed as he only nodded.

“But how do we stop demons that we know nothing about?” he asked, and the man looked at home oddly.

“Haven’t you four found the Guardian Archive room that is hidden beneath the Sanctuary?”

Ray looked at the man for a moment, and then he shook his head as he nervously chuckled.

“No, sir. We are still trying to figure everything out with this guardian stuff,” he said, and Dig put his hands up as he smiled.

“It’s okay, son. When the four of us were guardians, we did not have spirit guardians like you four do, so you have help,” said Dig, and Ray looked at him in surprise.

“What? Why not?”

Conceitedly, the spirit guardian smiled at Ray as he tilted his head to the side.

“Because we were the first ever to become the Elemental Guardians. Along our travels, we gathered as much information as we could on every demon and creature we could find,” he explained, and Ray looked at him in question.

“Why aren’t the archives in the library?” he asked, and Dig chuckled as he put a gentle hand on Ray’s shoulder.

“That type of information would cause panic throughout the land, so we decided to keep it locked away and away from the public eye. Of course, we always made sure the king and queen at the time knew everything, but even they did not have access to our secret room,” explained Dig, and Ray only nodded.

“Thank you.”

The spirit guardian nodded, and then he took a deep breath as he looked at Ray with care.

“Now, down to business. I am bestowing two gifts upon you. One is called the En canto-reverse. The reason for this gift is because Ashta has the power of persuasion, which is as powerful as a vampire’s en canto. I don’t believe that she would use her powers against you or the others, but just in case she does comes bewitched, you three will be protected from her.”

Oddly, Ray studied the man for a moment, and then he chuckled.

“Why would you even worry about Ash using her powers against us? She wouldn’t do that. We are her family,” he said, and the spirit guardian only nodded.

“Yes, you are her family, but so is Bestol. Remember, he has the same blood running through his veins as she does.”

“So, she has to know that he isn’t a good guy after she sees all of the destruction he has done,” said Ray, frankly, and Dig only nodded.

Dig gently reached over and touched Ray’s forehead. He knew that Ray and the others would not believe any of their spirit guardians when it came to Ashta. They knew that she was the only one that could defeat

Bestol and the others had to stand by and watch to see if her true loyalty was to her new family or brother.

“We can only hope. Now, just hold still. This won’t hurt at all,” said the guardian, as his hand lit up with a greenish glow.

At that moment, Ray felt a powerful surge of energy rush through his body, and he closed his eyes. His body felt like a battery that had been dead for days, come to life after it had been charged. He took a deep breath, and then he opened his eyes and looked at his spirit guardian.

“Now, I’ve also bestowed the gift of immortality on you. With this power, you will be able to crawl and breathe underground, and when the time comes, you will know how to use a very special power that now lays dormant in your magic,” said Dig, and Ray looked at him in question.

“What kind of power is that?” he asked, and the guardian looked at him thoughtfully.

Slowly, he leaned into Ray’s ear and whispered in his ear. Ray stared at him with wide eyes when he pulled back, and the guardian only nodded. Happily, Ray grinned at him, and then Dig sighed.

“Now, it is time for you to return to your family,” he said, and then he snapped his fingers.

There was a bright flash of light, and then Ray found himself looking at Ashta and Riah sitting on the grass. They looked up at him and smiled. Riah patted the soft grass next to her without a word, and Ray walked over to them. He sat down next to her, and they patiently waited for Roman to return from his spirit guardian.

“Roman, my dear child,” said Breeze, and Roman looked at the white-haired man.

They were in the Air Realm of Passing, and it was destroyed in a few places. The mechanism was still intact and working correctly, but the floating mountains seemed to have fallen and landed on the ground.

There was also a strange scorch mark on the ground. It looked like the remains of what a portal does when used. Breeze heavily sighed, and then he looked at Roman with care.

“You are going to be facing the hardest decision of your existence. It is not going to be fair, but your love for the Fire Guardian is strong, and that is what counts,” said the spirit guardian.

Roman looked at him with a confused look.

“What do you mean?” he asked, and Breeze looked at him as he sighed.

“If Ashta cannot do what is necessary to save our world, to stop Bestol and Mertheis, then you are going to have to be the one to destroy them,” he said, and Roman looked at him, shocked.

“But if I kill Ash’s brother, she will never forgive me. She just found out that she has a living family member. I can’t take that away from her!” Roman exclaimed, and the white-haired man looked at him with care.

He wouldn’t take that from Ashta. There had to be another way of stopping the two mongrels and putting them back where they belonged. Breeze decided to drop the subject altogether. He knew that the guardians had to face their obstacles on their own and learn for themselves.

“I am going to bestow two gifts on you. One is the gift of courage. It will help you focus on the task at hand and come to you when you need it most. The other one is the En canto-reverse,” said Breeze, and before Roman could say a word, the guardian gently touched his forehead.

Suddenly, Roman felt a powerful surge of energy rush through his body, and he took in a deep breath as he closed his eyes for a moment. He felt the taste of courage on the tip of his tongue, and he felt very confident. He opened his eyes and looked at Breeze with a confused look on his face.

“What is the En canto-reverse for?” he asked.

“It’s just a precaution we are taking. Ashta has a very powerful gift. The gift of persuasion. Just in case she happens to use that power against you, you will be protected from it.”

“But Ash wouldn’t use her powers against me. She loves me,” stated Roman firmly, and Breeze only nodded as he put his hand on Roman’s shoulder.

“Of course she does, but that might be the sole reason she does try and use her powers against you,” he said matter-of-factly, and Roman looked at the man thoughtfully.

“Now, it is time for you to return to your family. They have been waiting for your return,” he said, and then he snapped his fingers.

Quickly, Roman shielded his eyes from the bright flash of light, and then the light faded away. He moved his hand as he blinked a couple of times, and he saw Ashta, Riah, and Ray sitting on the grass. They looked at him and smiled brightly.

“Hey, welcome back,” said Ashta, as she climbed to her feet and ran over to him.

He hugged her tightly and then let go of her as Riah and Ray approached them.

“Well, I know where we can find information on our two demon friends,” said Ray cheerfully, and Roman nodded.

“Good, now, let’s go home. We have much to do if we are going to stop these two,” said Riah, and Ashta looked at her with worry.

“Without harming your brother, of course. Yes, I know,” she said, and Ashta nodded.

Heavily, Roman sighed, and Ashta looked up at him.

“What’s wrong?” she asked, and he looked down at her and smiled.

“Nothing,” he said, and she only nodded.

The four of them joined hands, and with a flash of light, they found themselves back in the sanctuary room. They descended to the ground, and they all looked at each other.

“Now, where is it that we may find this needed information?” asked Roam, and Ray pointed to the ground.

“There is a room called the Guardian Archives below us, and we just have to figure out a way to get down there,” he said as he looked back up at everyone, and Rush sighed.