by A.L. Svartz
Chapter Eleven
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Only one hour remained before The Dark Sun would vanish. Umbra continued to look down at his watch. Every two seconds he would look at it, knowing that time only altered slightly. He raced down the city streets, barley anyone roaming around.
"I'm not going to make it in time," he kept whispering. He struggled to keep his breath as he had been constantly running all day. "I'm not gonna make it." Umbra stopped in the middle of the street. "I'm not gonna make it in time." He realized that he had been defeated. Vog is probably feeding the necklace to The Prophecy Destroyer. "That's it. I've lost."
Umbra walked out of the middle of the street as a few cars were trying to get by. He went up on the sidewalk, facing a brick wall of a building. Lying his head against it, he pounded his fist until it started leaving scratches. "Nothing ever works in my favor," Umbra said. "I should have known this wouldn't last long." Rain started to fall in the city now. "I have nothing now. My family is gone. My possessions are lost. And most importantly, I've let down uncle. I promised I would keep the necklace safe, and now, like everything else of mine, it's gone." A few tears started to roll down his face. His normal tone quieted down to a whisper. "Uncle. If you can hear me. I'm sorry. I'm terribly sorry. I never meant to let you down. I didn't know something like this was going to happen when I got the necklace."
"But the necklace is not gone Umbra," a familiar voice to Umbra said.
Umbra lifted his head off of the brick wall. He spun himself around, looking to see who was speaking to him. No one was around.
"Vog, is that you!" Umbra angrily yelled out. He clenched both of his fists. Snapping his head in all directions, Umbra was waiting for him to appear out.
"No Umbra, it's me," the familiar voice said. "You don't recognize my voice?"
Umbra still couldn't figure out who it was. The voice did sound familiar to him. He was still thinking it was Vog, performing some trick on him. "I'm not that foolish Vog! Show yourself!"
"It's me Umbra," the voice called out. "Your uncle."
His eyes widened. Umbra then recognized that it was his uncle's voice he was hearings. "Uncle!" Umbra said.
A faint blue mist was floating in front of Umbra. Even though the world was still in black and white because of The a Dark Sun, the blue color the mist had was visible. The sparkling mist started to swirl, slowly morphing into a ghostly figure. Umbra stood there in both amazement and shock. He couldn't believe that his uncle was standing right in front of him. He thought he'd never get to speak with him again.
"Uncle?" Umbra said. "Is that really you?" He reached out his hand to try to touch the transparent figure, but his hand passed right through him.
"Hello Umbra," his uncle said. His uncle reached out to him. Umbra felt the small amount of pressure that his uncle gave to his chest.
"Uncle," Umbra started. "I've failed you. The necklace. It's gone." He took a long pause. "The Shadows have ended. And I'm at fault."
His uncle didn't say anything. Umbra looked down, afraid to see his despaired expression. He knew his uncle was disappointed in him, and Umbra didn't blame him.
A small amount of pressure could be felt on Umbra's shoulder. He slowly looked up to see his uncle's hand comforting him. "You have made me proud Umbra. And you will make me even more proud. The necklace is not gone. The Shadows still live. You still have time."
"How do you know?" Umbra wondered.
"Even though I've been gone Umbra, I've still kept my eye on you. And I've also kept my eye on the necklace. Vog still has it and is back at old town. Since The Dark Sun is still out, The Prophecy Destroyer cannot be summoned when the necklace has a new owner. If you obtain the necklace and put it back on before The Dark Sun vanishes, then The Prophecy Destroyer will not be released from the chamber. But if you don't, Vog will sacrifice himself and the necklace to The Prophecy Destroyer, ending the Shadows completely. You can still make it."
"I don't have that much time uncle," Umbra said. "Every second I waste, I can't take. By the time I reach old town, The Dark Sun will be gone, and so will the necklace. It's no use. The damage will already be done."
"There is one way though Umbra," his uncle explained. "Since being a previous Shadow Keeper, and not being destroyed by The Prophecy Destroyer himself, I have been granted powers that can only help the current Shadow Keeper. And since The Dark Sun is still out, and the necklace hasn't read Vog's shadow, you are still the current Shadow Keeper Umbra. I can help you, but I cannot fight your battle for you. You will have to face Vog on your own. I will only get you to old town. Do you understand?"
Umbra nodded his head, alerting his uncle that he accepted the conditions. "I'm ready to face him uncle," Umbra said in a dark tone. "I'm tired of running. It's time I'd face Vog and end this. Send me to old town uncle. I don't have time to waste."
His uncle backed up a little, waving his arms around at Umbra. The strange blue mist that morphed into Umbra's uncle started swirling around him. He watched as the blue, sparkly mist quickly picked up speed around Umbra. Throwing his hair around and rippling waves in his clothes, Umbra slightly started lifting off of the ground.
"Whaa?" Umbra said as he lifted to greater heights. He was completely amazed.
"Good luck Umbra," his uncle yelled up to his nephew. The swirling of the blue mist cut out his voice a little.
Umbra cupped his hands around his mouth. "What if I don't stop him uncle? What if Vog wins? What if I fail you?"
"You've already made me proud Umbra. I trust you. You've beaten The Prophecy Destroyer. So you can defeat Vog."
Umbra gave a little wave to his uncle before going. The blue mist attached itself on to Umbra. As it covered him completely, he started to turn transparent and ghostly, just like his uncle. Before completely vanishing, Umbra's uncle up gave one final wave to his nephew.
As the uncle was now alone, he mumbled something under his breath. "I've never meant any of this to happen to you. If I would've known, I would've destroyed the necklace myself."