by Arantes
He put down the sword and said, “Just go alright.”
***
Aleister walked into the dungeon and melted the bars with his white flames. There were no guards down there. With his Reawakening he sensed a secret switch on the wall, he flipped it and the electricity was off. He walked up to Albedo. He was going to have to teleport him to get the chains off.
“Dawson, what have they done to you?” said Aleister. “It’s time for us to go.” He grabbed Albedo, but Albedo pulled his hand back from him in defiant. “Dawson, you don’t want to fight me, you’re not ready for me. Even with your memory you could never defeat me, so why try now?”
Albedo started to transforming, Aleister transformed also.
“I kind of guessed this wasn’t going to be easy,” said Aleister.
Aleister teleported behind Albedo and grabbed him, allowing him to teleport Albedo by touching him, then teleported on the bridge. Behind them, on the other side were Angelione and Sonia, and a few Black Knights. Aleister was going to have to be cautious in using his teleportation; the last thing he wanted was for it to disturb his flow of concentration. Albedo released fireballs towards him, but Aleister simply used his white flame to detonate them.
I need to go inside of his mind again, and I must do it fast.
Aleister teleported up in mid-air and said, “Shattered!”
With one word he was back inside of Albedo’s mind. The red water was as elegant as ever. Aleister looked at his sand-watch and after that hurried to the bottom of the water.
The first thing Aleister did when he got to the memory-glasses was to break them into pieces and follow the bubbles. The bubbles led him to the door of consciousness and there that little boy was standing in front of the gate. He walked over to the door and gave the boy a look.
“How do I open this door?” he asked angrily and impatiently.
The boy looked timid as ever. “I don’t know. Not even I have access to this room.”
Aleister walked over to the boy and grabbed him. “Look kid, I told you once and I’ll tell you again, where is the key to this room?!”
The kid looked left and right. “I don’t know, I looked throughout this place and I couldn’t find it.”
“Who are you? And what are you to this place?!”
“I told you, I’m just a fragment of existence, made from memories and Albedo’s feelings.”
“I have been to this place before in the pass, thousands of years ago, so how come I never seen you then?” asked Aleister.
The boy said timidly, “I was always here, you just never noticed me.”
In frustration Aleister threw the kid on the ground. He hated this feeling. Why can’t I enter this room anymore? I used to hold the key, so where is it? Have all those years of sleeping made me forgotten how to navigate through the mind? He looked at his sand-watch and noticed it was about to reach half way. This was futile, without the key then there was no way he could save Albedo. He let out a loud anger. In mid pondering he heard the little boy mumbling something. “What are you mumbling over there?”
The boy said quietly, “Sweets and blossoms.”
“Sweets and blossoms, what is that suppose to mean?”
The boy didn’t answer him; he simply crossed his legs and paced back and forth on the ground. Aleister continued trying to get answers, but the boy simply looked dull and said nothing. He looked at his sand-watch once more and noticed he was running out of time, if he gets back to his body then he will be able to go back inside Albedo’s mind, but it was going to need a little time to recharge. He took of the watch and his body burst into bubbles, sending him back to his own body.
Aleister was coming down towards Albedo now in mid-air. Albedo swung his right fist towards him, but Aleister blocked it with his own fist and moved back in mid-air. He looked back to see Sonia and the others were watching from a safe distance. Now the wind begins to blow at in intensive level, but it didn’t faze Aleister.
“Are you just going to let this power control you, Dawson? How weak have you become!” said Aleister.
Albedo was out of sight as he moved at a velocity only Aleister could follow. Aleister was now on the defense, blocking Albedo’s every move against him.
“You haven’t changed Dawson, still willing to protect those weak humans.”
Albedo let out a loud roar.
“You and Victor are no different from one another, always willing to protect the weak.”
“Why do we have to kill, Aleister, what’s the point of it all?!” asked Albedo surprisingly.
It was as if Aleister had reached him. His transformation was now gone, and Aleister turned his off also.
My voice reached him. Good, maybe he could save him himself.
“It’s because fear controls this world, I told you that a long time ago. Without fear, there would be no order. Death is the path to paradise! So with my power I wreak their lives and sent them there! Fear belongs to us, it’s what makes us who we are!” said Aleister intensely. He walked closer to Albedo and placed his hand on Albedo’s chest.
“No, you’re wrong!” screamed Albedo; his transformation had taken over yet again, ripping his nails through Aleister’s left side, blood dripped on the floor.
***
Sonia and the others watch from a safe distance as Aleister tried to bring Albedo back to them. She waited patiently and saw that his plan had failed.
“Sonia, don’t go he will!” said Dante as she ignored his warning.
She leaped over the huge whole on the bridge to get to the other side and head towards Albedo. She got there to find Aleister dripping blood.
“What do you think you’re doing, girl?” asked Aleister.
“We tried your plan Aleister and it has failed.”
“And exactly what are you going to do to help him, besides getting yourself killed?”
Sonia ignored him and moved closer to Albedo. “You’re not going to hurt me Albedo, I know you. You’re sweet and caring, you don’t hurt people.” She walked closer to him.
Albedo led out a loud roar and went for the kill. Sonia stood there and didn’t flinch as Albedo’s nails were inches away from her, she felt someone grabbing her out of the way.
“Do you have some sort of death sentence girl?” asked Aleister.
“I didn’t know what else to do,” she replied.
Aleister took a deep breath, “I might have another idea of how to bring him back.”
“And what would that be?”
Aleister activated his Reawakening and stared into her eyes and back at an approaching Albedo. With his Reawakening his abilities became stronger as he took Sonia inside of Albedo’s mind.
For a moment everything went black for Sonia, just like being teleported by Aleister. This time it was different as she found herself in an ocean of red water. Sonia struggled to breathe as she was in the water. It wasn’t until a few seconds that Aleister told her you could breathe and talk in this water. This world inside of Albedo’s mind was something that she could never imagine. It was an ocean with weird creatures floating from every distance.
“What is this place?” She asked
“You’re telling me you haven’t figured it out yet?” he responded in a rude tone. “We’re inside of Albedo’s mind, and that watch on your hand indicates how long we’re allowed to stay here.”
Sonia didn’t even want to know what happened if she stays for too long.
“If we stay for too long, we’ll be stuck here for eternity,” explained Aleister. “Now let’s get moving.”
Sonia moved in the water as if it was second nature to her. Somehow this water allowed her to move like the creatures and breathe like them. So this is Albedo’s mind huh. She wondered what her own mind looked like. Was it as fascinated as Albedo’s mind? His mind was filled with wonders and prosperities, weird creatures filling the vast space of emptiness. As she wondered she came to a realization, this ability of Aleister, to go inside of the mind. Was this the
ability that he used to draw fear out of her? It must be. She hated Aleister for everything, but right now she needed him. She followed him to the bottom of the pit; there she saw wonders of memory-glasses, pictures playing all of Albedo’s memories.
“What is this place?” She looked at one of the memory-glasses to see herself with Albedo in some of them.
“We’re in the center of Albedo’s memories. These glasses that you’re looking at are known as a memory-glass.”
Sonia noticed the black ones weren’t playing any pictures. “The black ones, are they memories of Dawson?”
“Smart girl,” Aleister broke one of the glasses and the bubbles rushed out. “We have to go now, we must follow it.”
Sonia didn’t question him as she followed him quickly. After a few minutes she arrived with Aleister at a flying land with a giant gate that was painted deep red. “This place is magnificent.” It was just breathtaking to look at. She wondered how many more artistic scenes Albedo had in his head.
They landed and made their way to the door.
“Now open the door, it’s the reason I brought you with me,” said Aleister demandingly.
Sonia looked at Aleister in bewilderment. “And exactly how am I going to do that? And speaking of which what is this door.”
“This is the door of consciousness, inside is where Albedo’s conscious sleep.” Aleister had a smile on his face. “That day when I tried to kill you, Albedo stopped me from killing you by accessing my own mind the way I accessed his mind. He had somehow figured it out and used it against me. To make a long-story short, somehow I think you hold the key to this room.”
Sonia was startled. “Me?”
“Yes you do,” said a different voice.
Sonia looked over behind Aleister to find a boy who came out of nowhere. “Who are you?”
“He’s not important, useless you can say. Now hurry and open the door,” he said in a demanding tone.
Sonia walked over to the door. She would do anything to help Albedo. She tried to push the door but it would not budge; after a few minutes of trying to open it nothing happen. They were running out of time.
In frustration Aleister walked closer to Sonia. “If you cannot open the door then you are useless to me!”
“I’m trying my best,” She replied calmly. It was good that the little boy was there, because being alone with Aleister intimidated her.
“If you cannot do what I brought you here to do then I’m going to kill you.”
Sonia paused. She tried to feel her Crimson Flame but for some reason her ability was suppress in Albedo’s mind. It wasn’t her fault that she didn’t know where the key to the door of conciseness was. Aleister had taken her inside a place she had never been before, she didn’t even think it was possible until now. She had remembered Calvin telling her about his ability, to see a person’s memories right in front of him, but Aleister’s ability was more magnificent, his ability literally took its wielder inside of its opponents’ mind. The mind was a world of wonders.
“Stop, she may have the key but she doesn’t know how to use it,” The little boy walked closer to Sonia and placed his hand on her heart.
Deep within Sonia she could feel a burning and cold sensation that gushed throughout her body. In her hand a symbol of a key appeared.
Aleister and the boy stepped back.
“What is this?” She feels the key guiding her to the keyhole.
“Don’t let the monster inside take you,” said the little boy quietly.
Monster, what monster? The key symbol on Sonia’s hand lit and she burst into bubbles, the bubbles floated inside of the keyhole and she was gone.
Being inside of Albedo’s consciences was something Sonia couldn’t have prepared for. She was much deeper now and inside was pitch black, and further up Sonia could see a small light. She heard a roar of an animal, she felt a chill but she knew she had to be brave for him. She walked closer to hear someone constantly repeating, “It’s my entire fault.” She walked closer to find Albedo on the floor sitting down, pacing back and forth. His eyes were glowing, nails and fangs were out, ready to kill. “Albedo, it’s me Sonia.”
He looked at her. “Get away from me Sonia, I don’t want to hurt you but I will if you come closer!”
She didn’t heed his warning as she sat down with him. “You can’t hurt me, Albedo, because you care for me, and I care for you.”
“I already hurt you, I nearly killed you.” There were tears around his eyes.
“Oh that, if you intended to kill me I would be dead right now.” she said while smiling.
“C’mon Albedo, let’s go back to where we belong, everybody’s waiting for you.”
“Why can’t you see, I can never go back out there Sonia, this is where I belong now.” He tried to sound content, but the pain was heard in his voice. “I’m a monster now, just like Aleister and the others, the sooner I accept that the better.”
“Now get a hold of yourself already!” shouted Sonia. “Look Albedo, none of us is perfect, but we should not let that stop us from trying to reach perfections! It’s true you and the others created chaos in this world, but look at all the good you did since you lost your memories, why can’t you see that?!” She grabbed his hand so they could leave this place, but Albedo pulled his hand back.
“Sonia I can’t, I can never…get away from me now!”
Sonia could hear that loud roar again; she wondered where it was coming from. She was not fazed as she stared into his glowing eyes or hearing that loud roar.
“You’re going to have to kill me, Albedo, because… I can’t live without you.” Tears gushed out of her eyes. “Jarvis gave up his life so he can see you surpass what you are destined to become!”
Albedo could feel the killer-lust, his hands trembling trying not to kill her. She put her hand on his face and kissed him unexpectedly. His eyes stopped glowing as his Reawakening went away.
“Sonia, I…”
She put her finger on his lips and kissed him again, “Now you know how I feel.”
“Sonia.”
She got up and extended her hand, “Albedo, we must go, I can’t stay here for too long.”
He nodded his head and they made their way to the door.
***
Being back in the real world felt bizarre for Albedo after he was trapped inside of his own mind for so long. Waking up from a nightmare and back to reality needed a few seconds to get use to. Albedo looked to the other side to see Aleister and Sonia. He felt weak. Sonia quickly rushed over to him and hugged him as if she hadn’t seen him in years. He looked ahead to see a hole in the bridge and wondered if he had done it. On the other side, Angelione, Dante and Axil were approaching.
“You’re back,” she said with a smile.
He nodded and smiled back, a smile she had not seen for days. A smile she loved to see, it was her smile.
The King and the others came as well.
“Albedo, are you doing better?” asked Dante, not knowing what to say.
He smiled at them and said, “Much better.” All he could think about was how soft and sweet Sonia’s lips were.
“How sweet!” said Aleister in a sarcastic tone.
They looked over to see Aleister.
“You would still love him even though you know what he is. A King of Awakening in love with a naïve girl, if only the others could see this,” said Aleister. “Can you feel it Dawson, slowly our full power is returning to us?”
Albedo stepped forward towards him, “My name is Albedo, not Dawson!” He now hated being called Dawson; it was now a name that reminded him of Aleister.
“It’s time for us to go, Dawson, soon our brethren will awaken,” said Aleister.
“No!” said Albedo, “This place is my home, Dawson is gone and he’s not coming back.” He had a look of hatred upon his face.
Aleister was not pleased with his answer. Albedo and the others surrounded Aleister along side with the King and the Black Knights. Str
ong as Aleister was he knew there was no chance of him fighting a High King along with Albedo and his gang.
“You truly think you can kill me?! If an army of a thousand couldn’t, what chance do you weak mortals have against me?!” said Aleister.
The King had his black-light around his hand. Angelione with his sword, Sonia and Albedo with their Crimson Flames, Dante and Axil ready also.
“No,” said Albedo smilingly, “For today let’s end this fight.”
Aleister started to laugh. “Do you truly think you’re in any position to give me mercy? How ludicrous, what do you suppose will happen when the others awaken?! Let me tell you something you might not know Dawson, out of all five of us, I am the third strongest. The two above me are even more ruthless than I am; they will not show your friends mercy like I have been consistently.”
The thought of someone even more powerful than Aleister rung widely in Angelione’s mind, how strong are they?
“When that time comes, my friends and I will fight together,” said Albedo.
“Just remember one thing,” Aleister had that evil smile on his face once more as he extended his right hand towards Albedo. “A King will never reach a God!” Aleister’s body slowly turned to ashes. Then he was gone.
Axil walked up closer to Albedo, “Welcome back.”
Albedo looked content. “It’s good to be back.”
The king walked towards him with a discontent look upon his face. “Can you ever forgive me?”
Albedo had already forgiven his King.
Chapter 35
Clear mind
Albedo was now back home with his parents; resting from the horror he’d gone through. A week had passed since he last saw Aleister. His mother was content he was home now; she had long worried for his safety. Albedo wanted to be alone for a while, away from fighting. He hated being away from his beloved Sonia, but he needed to clear his mind. The death of Jarvis was harder on him than any of the others. The King had told him not to blame himself for the incident. Jarvis made the choice to die, to save Albedo. He was having a difficult time getting over his death. He decided it was time to go see Jarvis’ wife. She opened the door, he had his head bowed, a gesture of seeking forgiveness. She invited him in and made him sweet lemonade. Inside Viper was there; Albedo had never meet Viper before but had heard of him from Sonia. He was the head of the Black Knights Division. Sonia had told him about the Black Knights before he left the castle.