by Ryan Johnson
Then he flapped his wings once and weakly soared into the sky. He felt his torn uniform was a heavy weight to carry and ripped it from his body. His naked body soared into the air and he weakly flapped his wings to make it back to the rock carrying Marina, Flavius, Sora, Freyya, Alfhild, Ganymede, and Halvdan. He went through the barrier and landed on his knees and hands touching the ground bending over.
“Valverno!” shouted Marina, running and kneeling beside him. She placed a hand over his back as she heard him breathing hard for air. His skin felt cold like an ice old winter storm. “What’s wrong? Are you okay?”
“I just… save all the mortals from harm. If Lusìvar still win, he is mistaken.” Valverno weakly got up to his feet with Marina helping him. “There will still be a Mortal Realm if I can…”
His ears suddenly picked up screams of four kids: Arron, Nerio, Naìra, and Andrei. He turned his head and dashed to the closest edge where he heard their screams. He saw then atop a rock with no barrier.
“Arron, Nerio, Naìra, and Andrei! They are in trouble!” Valverno pointed to where the two twins were in trouble hanging atop a rock.
“My siblings!” shouted Flavius.
“Don’t worry, we’ll get to them!” shouted Ganymede.
“No!” shouted Valverno, widening his wings. He stopped the two people from jumping from the boulder. “I’ll save them!”
“But you’re cold as ice. Surely there can be—” But Marina’s words meant nothing, Valverno dashed away.
“Valverno, No!”
Marina tried to grab hold of him, Valverno leaped off the rock and drifted toward the rock Arron, Nerio, Naìra, and Andrei were trapped on. No barrier was protecting them and all around was flying rocks and hundreds of drifting tornados spiraling throughout the sky. He growled loudly as he bravely stormed through every rock he dodged without flapping his wings and drifted through the high winds to reach the floating rock.
And soon enough, he landed atop the rock.
His landing caused the four kids to look at him, horrified.
“Come to me, you four!” he said, showing himself to his four foster siblings. “I’ll fly you all to safety!”
They were hesitant, but Naìra was the first to nod and walked to him. However, a rock collided by Valverno’s body and sent him flying away.
“Brother Valverno!” exclaimed Naìra. They saw him disappear into the horizon of the army of rocks. What felt was just a second felt more of hours after they saw Valverno go from standing with them and smashed away into the area of flying rocks spinning everywhere.
But Valverno soared back through the army of rocks and grabbed hold of the four kids with his arms and his tail. His body felt much weakened from the rock that smashed against him. He soared back to the rock carrying Flavius and the group.
On his way, he encountered many rocks soaring in his way and nearly smashed into him. He barely evaded the rocks big enough to crush him into oblivion and the four kids he had with him. Valverno felt weakened when he gave up much of his power to save all the mortals and made them float on rocks with barriers. His flight was rather but suspenseful as many rocks were flying in his way.
But with a jerk of his wings, a solar windy power erupted from the high winds of surrounding tornados and made him shot toward the ledges of the rock carrying his wife and the others.
He saw Flavius, Marina, Sora and the Pangaeans standing by the barrier’s wall, and Valverno weakly landed by the edges of the barrier’s wall and close to the rock’s edges. He could have landed more inland, but his flight power was dying and crippling by the second Valverno needed to land before could fall.
His tail release Nero and Arron when their feet were on the ground. Then he would release Naìra and Andrei from his arms and he would be the last to stand. The four kids would move inward to the barrier’s central part and join the others standing in the middle.
“They are now saved,” he said to the group. “Now I just need to—”
But before he could climb up to join the others, a giant rock ten times bigger smashed and collided against Valverno’s rock.
This sent a giant smashing force that destroyed much of the rock’s wall below the barrier and caused Valverno to fall back, and Naìra with him. She stood far from the cliff, but the force was powerful enough that the barrier to become distorted and a powerful wind gush blew through the barrier’s distortion at Valverno and Naìra.
The force was powerful enough to make all the people lose their sense of standing on their feet, but they were the lucky ones. Both Valverno and Naìra were both tossed out by the mysterious wind attack, and both disappeared through an army of sandy tornados blowing all around the rock.
“No!” shouted Flavius.
“Valverno!” shouted Marina.
“Naìra!” shouted Andrei, seeing her twin sister fall with Valverno and into many tornado blowing that surrounded the rock carrying the group Valverno saved.
The rock heaved in many different directions. And throughout the surroundings, many floating rocks with barriers protecting people neared the rock carrying Flavius, his siblings, Marina, and the few Pangaeans.
They stared in many areas where Valverno and Naìra. Many dark brown tornados and black rocks with blue barriers were seen all around the rock carrying Flavius, Sora, Marina, Freyya, Alfhild, Ganymede, Nero, Arron, and Andrei. The group search with great anxiety, and Andrei searched for her twin sister and the foster hybrid brother she deeply grew found of.
“Come on, don’t give up on me!” whispered Andrei, in a frightened tone.
Then from the nearest tornado, Valverno leaped and landed on the rock on the lowest angle with an arm and legs latching onto the rock, and his wings covered his front. The membranes of his wings were torn, and his body was bruised with many cuts. He landed on the rock in a massive leap it sent an impact that quaked the rock.
Then his folded wings unfolded to reveal his left arm holding Naìra in his arms. He had saved Naìra once again, and he climbed with his body terribly wounded.
Andrei saw Valverno carrying Naìra in one arm climbing her way. “Look!” she called to the others searching the other cliffs. “Over here!”
The others heard Andrei’s voice and dashed over to see Valverno climbing their way. They saw he was covered in blood and endlessly using his wings and legs to push himself upward on the steep wall of rock. They could tell he had broken bones, and he was fighting the pain to prevent him from stopping. Valverno’s face was glittered with extreme pain that didn’t matter to him; he only cared about getting his foster sister to safety.
In a matter of nervous minutes, Valverno made it close to the cliffs, but he felt he had no more strength to move any more upward. He was just feet away from the cliffs, and he saw Marina and Flavius reaching out their hands to Valverno and Naìra.
“Grab my hand, sister!” shouted Flavius, as he reach as far as he could to reach his sister’s and maybe Valverno’s hand.
Valverno lifted Naìra toward Flavius reached, but he suddenly felt a winter cold wind blowing behind him
“What do you think you are going?” shouted Lusìvar’s voice. Lusìvar’s ghost form appeared as a black cloud and many whippy lines of the cloud flashed against the rock, and all pierced Valverno’s body, which he made in a loud growl.
“Valverno!” everyone cried.
“Oh, no!” Marina gasped, as she watched helplessly Valverno get pierced through his body and the part of his chest that held his half-heart still beating.
With his body completely immobilized, Valverno used all his draconic strength to heave Naìra to the hands of Flavius’s and heaved her quickly up.
“You think you could have beaten me? You’re nothing compared to me but a failed science experiment. I have the strength of all the Demons and Devils of hell!”
Valverno roared loudly as he turned his full
from the rock to face the ghost of Lusìvar and directly into his eyes. “And I, a failed science experiment smaller than a flea, am a bigger mortal with the power, of all the gods!” And he gave a loud growl and a burst of light burst from his scales and his eyes glow pure white.
He heaved his hands into the rock and pulled out the Crystal Sword from within. He pointed the pointy tip of the sword directly at the floating black cloud. It shot a powerful beam directly at Lusìvar’s Spirit, and it started to dwindle and fade from existence; Valverno unleashed the full power of his half-divinity.
“How is this possible? You don’t have any more power! You’re supposed to be dead! I just stabbed your heart, and it has stopped beating!”
“Not until you have met you enteral death! Your Enteral Oblivion! And down with the successor of the Devil King who will no longer have a son!”
“No, you can’t! The Devil King is your father!”
“Demon Prince Vaeludar’s father, but not Demigod Valverno!” Then he opened his mouth and exhaled a giant fiery breathe of a blue flame. His fire-breathe and the power of the Crystal Sword combined into one force beam and struck against all of Lusìvar’s black cloud; Valverno was killing the ghost of Lusìvar.
“No. No. NO! Noooooooo!” Lusìvar’s voice shrieked loudly as all the power of Light and Shadow combined into one form and blasted the black cloud (and his Spirit) from existence.
In a matter of seconds of shooting from the Crystal Sword and fire from his mouth, Valverno killed Lusìvar’s ghost (and his physical form) for all eternity.
However, the last gushes of the black cloud sent out a thundering lightning bolt and zapped the Crystal Sword being held in the hybrid’s hands.
This caused a great explosion that melted the rock Valverno attached his wings to and sent him away from the rock and falling down below.
“VALVERNO!” Marina screamed as she watched Valverno fall from the rock, watching him disappear to the smoke below engulfing the surface ground.
Then suddenly seeing a bright light spread throughout the smoke and fading after seconds of lighting, with last light of the sun disappearing in the west and ending its bitter dusk and bringing up a starry night with three bright blue moons to light the bitter darkness that lied below.
THE HYBRID’S DUSK
From the horizon of the strange terrain, the rocks lifted in the air floated back down. The power of gravity pulled all the floating rocks back toward the ground at a steady paste, thus recreating the Mortal Realm and the two islands as they were if they never changed. The fog that was gosling the surface ground was gone in a matter of minutes and made a straight clearing for all mortals eyes to see under the moony, starry night. Fainted light from the three moons floating overhead revealed the dark land filled with plants and dead evil creatures lying on the ground.
Everything went back to the same sight as they were first seen before Lusìvar attempted to destroy the Mortal Realm, but Valverno were nowhere to be seen among the resurrected landscapes. There was just silence from a weak, dense fog of dust and ash rising from the ground that was solid and dry like a rock.
Every floating rock with mortals inside bubble barriers drifted back to the ground and a snap sound was each. All the rocks snapped back onto the surface and saw everything the same as it was before if the land had never exploded. In doing so, all of the Mortal Realm was saved from an exploding fate.
The rock carrying Marina, Naìra, Andrei, Nerio, Arron, Flavius, Ganymede, Halvdan, Freyya, and Alfhild landed near the southern outskirts of the city. At first, like the land, the city was destroyed, but ended up being saved from destruction. This would mean no one would have to build a home.
Then Marina quickly walked on the flat ground and made sure it wasn’t sinkable like quicksand. After a sensational feeling she felt from her heart of feeling save, she dashed off, thinking Valverno was somewhere in the city.
“Where are you going, Marina?” asked Sora.
“To find that idiot husband of mine. I know he is alive. I can feel it, and he is somewhere in that city. Don’t stop me!”
“If that be the case,” said Ganymede. He lifted up his staff to the sky and shouted with his voice talking through it. “What are you Pangaeans waiting for? Find the godforsaken demigod!”
Then thousands of running feet trampled the ground. The sounds of tens of thousands of feet stampeded in random directions.
“Don’t worry, Marina the Siren,” said Ganymede, placing a hand on her shoulder. “We’ll find him. My stepson. By marrying you, I have gained another daughter, and he is going to have three kids of his own. My first grandchildren. I can imagine how they can turn out. I could be giving them horseback rides”
“If he is alive and not dead,” said Halvdan.
“HALVDAN!” shouted Ganymede, Freyya, and Alfhild.
“What? I’m just saying. He could be alive or he could be dead like all these evil creatures we have killed. They all lost their lives while the humans and the good creatures barley lost a thousand, and we Pangaeans lost less than a dozen. I’m saying people live and die just the same.”
“And I refuse to believe he is dead,” said Marina. “He is alive and I know it. He endured many situations and managed to survive them, and even a shot of a spear that impaled his heart.”
“A heart that’s been cut in half to bring you back from the dead!” stated Halvdan.
“And still managed to survive,” said Marina.
“Whatever if he survived this fall remains to be seen,” interrupted Sora, by walking between Marina and Halvdan. “We need to find him and be sure he is alive.”
“Let’s go then and I’ll not be waiting.” Marina turned and dashed as fast as she could. Her legs made her run with great anxiety, feeling a terrible pressure to see her husband again. The Shadow King was finally dead, and they both could be together again, if he was still alive. He has to be, thought Marina. I know he is alive. I just know it. He needs to watch over our three kids if he wants to raise them terribly. And I won’t be raising them along, not on my own or with anybody else; he needs to be there with me to raise our three seeds.
As she ran into the city, she placed a hand over her belly. The stab wound was still there on her belly, but she felt three hearts beating inside of her. She smiled to see the seeds within her were smiling to be alive, thanks to their dad for giving half his heart for them and her.
She was joined by Sora, and both girls had a different concept of love for Valverno. The sister and the wife of Valverno ran faster than the others, eager to see the hybrid for his hard work and giving up much of his power to save the lives of all mortals and killing the Titan trying to destroy the Mortal Realm
“Since we’ll close by, let’s go searching at my old house. It is where we grew up and maybe likely where he could be resting. After all, he did say he wanted to bring that house up for you and him to raise your kids.”
“Good idea, sister,” replied Marina. “Let’s take a visit to your place.”
“But try to keep up!” said Sora. She leaned forward and ran faster than the Siren running next to her. In seconds, Sora trailed ahead of her sister-in-law and zoomed away of Marina.
“No fair, Sora. Being a White Knight of Charity doesn’t mean you give a charity of love for yourself.”
Marina ran through the city streets and followed Sora, who was leaving behind a trail of glowing footprints for the Siren to follow. Marina followed the footprints knowing where the feet will lead: to the old Valverno and Sora lived in as children. Marina thought it would be unusual to have a second house, considering Valverno did build a cottage house toward the northwestern part of Shimabellia. But having did sound like a cool idea.
After several minutes of running nonstop through the city’s alleys, Marina slowed her speed as she felt something strange surging in her ears. Many Pangaeans ran passed her while others ran
next to her. Ganymede, Halvdan, Freyya, and Alfhild ran with her.
Behind them, Flavius ran as well with his four younger siblings and Eliana was with them. Flavius found her with Galvin standing by the corner of a short towered building. Apparently, Galvin did participate in the battle and was transported into the city during its destruction halted by Valverno.
Then, from around a corner, Marina heard a roar and thought it might be Valverno. She stopped and looked down a dark alleyway and she heard the roar. It grew louder and louder, but it sounded like a lion than a Dragon.
“Valverno?” cried out Marina.
A Manticore came running from the alley and stopped as many eyes stared at the beast. It gave a warning growl to them all.
Marina quickly drew out a magic arrow from the silver bow and aimed it at the lion. She readied to shot her arrow at the Manticore, which ended up running away. The Manticore quickly retreated from Marina’s arrow and charged toward Sora who appeared to be standing still and not looking seeing the Manticore coming her way.
“Sora, look out!” Marina cried out.
But Sora only stood, just as the Manticore dash passed the White Knight of Charity and disappeared through nearby buildings. Sora stood like a statue, and Marina saw Sora dropping to her knees to a kneeling position.
Confused, Marina dashed to Sora to see what making Sora kneeling still. She gazed upon a ruined building that seemly had been demolished. “Sora,” she whispered. “What is it?”
Sora didn’t move at first. It was about thirty seconds before Sora turned to see Marina, with tears dripping from red gushing eyes, horrified red eyes. “Oh… Marina. I’m… sorry. My house was rebuilt not long only yesterday, but now it is a ruin again. Valverno, he—” Sora’s eyes dripped a rain of tears. “My brother… he…”