by Luis Robles
“Now that we got that out of the way, perhaps you can return quietly to your pond and serve your master,” Gavril said as he shook pieces of crystal off him.
“Out of all beings in this world, why would I serve you?” The scattered water gurgled.
“Because out of all the beings in this world, I’m the only one who knows how to destroy you and cause you pain. You now are alive, and I’m sure you won’t want to give that up. You spent your entire existence wanting to communicate with this world. I’ve given you that ability, and I can also take it away. Let me show you.”
With one hand on the floor, Gavril began to cast a spell. Almost immediately, the pond began to scream in pain.
“Is that enough?” Gavril shouted with his hand still on the floor.
“I’ll serve you,” the water managed.
“Good… that’s all I wanted to hear from someone as wise as you. You will serve many purposes; but for now, all I need you to do is find me that Watcher and the last of the magical beings,” Gavril said as he got up from the floor.
The water slowly gathered itself back together in the pond, where it remained calm and following orders. Meanwhile, when the ruckus in the big room stopped, the workers returned to the room, proceeding with caution. They knew that any subtle movement could upset Gavril and even cost them their lives.
“I want this room back to the way it was immediately,” Gavril said on his way out.
“Yes, master, it shall be done,” Galio said as he motioned to his workers to begin.
“Sir, Sir! The mountain is overflowing with magic!” one of the workers yelled as he ran in the big room.
“Master, if we don’t find a permanent solution for this problem, I don’t doubt that they will be able to escape,” Galio said.
“Their power is even greater than I thought,” Gavril said with a calm demeanor. “Go now, you know what to do. For now, all six of the magical beings are still asleep, only their vast magic is awake. I think I know how to make use of all of it. I will meet you down in the dungeon in a few minutes. Go now!”
“Yes, master! Right way!”
7
The Lives of Many
Bliss and Pah spent a great deal of their lives traveling from village to village, from mountain range to mountain range. Years passed in that way, and they did not see a single sign of Gavril or any of their creatures. But never once did they forget about Gavril or anything that Lili told them. Every chance they got, whether it was before sleep or as the sun rose, Pah helped Bliss hone her magic. But all of their efforts were of little success each time they practiced; Pah had a hard time just trying to keep Bliss’ spirits up. As she got older, her power kept growing and got a lot harder for her to control.
They visited villages with frequency, but never the same village twice. Bliss often reproached this to Pah, as she did not have any friends for this reason. But whenever she brought the subject to light, he would remind her that she was meant for greater good, and that eventually one day she would have friends. Pah tried the best he could to raise Bliss to be a person of quality, although at times it seemed impossible, thanks to Bliss’ stubbornness, the makings of a teenager.
As they passed through a village after a long day of practicing, Bliss and Pah became agitated as their past, which they thought they had left behind, came back to haunt them. They stopped to listen to a conversation two merchants were having.
“Amadelia, too?” one of the merchants asked with a worried face.
“Yes. Amadelia. It’s so near that I think I might leave tonight. If what they say is true, we are all doomed.”
“I did not think they would be this close by. That makes fourteen villages that were attacked, by my count. I guess the rumors are true.”
“They say that if you don’t tell them where the ones whom they are looking for went, they simply kill you.”
“And who are they looking for?”
“Last I heard, they are looking for a girl with purple hair and her dog.”
When Bliss heard the two merchants talk, her heart sank to the floor; tears appeared in her eyes and rolled down her cheeks. Guilt and regret flooded her small and still fragile body. Pah stood quiet as he understood what she was going through. They both knew that surely thousands of lives had been taken away by Gavril in search for them. Bliss’ face quickly changed from sad into determined as she wiped the tears from her face.
“Pah, no more running. No more. Not a single person will get hurt anymore because of us. No more.”
“And what do you want to do?” Pah said, trying to keep calm for her.
“We will wait for them here. That man Gavril wants to find me, but I’m going to give him a reason not to,” Bliss said, livid and full of determination. “No one else will die because of us.”
“Can you send all of these people a message, and tell them to leave town? We cannot put them at risk. But be very careful not to hurt them.”
“I’ll try my best,” Bliss said as she calmed her mind and body. “The rumors about villages being attacked are all true. Your lives are in danger in this village. Grab your most essential belongings and leave. May a safe passage to the next village be with you.”
Villagers and a few Nulians panicked and scrambled after Bliss’ message was sent directly to their heads. Just a few hours later, before dusk, the village was empty and only Pah and Bliss remained.
“What did you say to them? Whatever it was, it sure was effective,” Pah said as he sat in the middle of one of the village’s main paths.
“All I said was that the rumors were true. And I may have triggered a few fear emotions in their head,” Bliss said as she stood next to Pah.
“I did not know you could do that.”
“Me neither, but I figured it was possible. I can feel what they feel in a faint way when I communicated to them,” Bliss said, growing confident in her own abilities.
“Are you sure you want to do this?” Pah asked, looking for any self-doubt in Bliss. Pah knew that if there was any, they would surely fail.
“Yes, I don’t want to run anymore.”
“Make sure you use spells, and by all means don’t worry about what happens to me. Stay relaxed during battle, make sure to breathe. And if you see that we are losing the battle, leave and don’t look back. We cannot afford to give Gavril what he wants,” Pah said as the wind hissed through the empty village.
Bliss kept quiet and began to focus.
After hours of waiting in the desolated village, Bliss sat down and leaned her back on Pah’s right side. Pah remained still and alert with his eyes fixed on the horizon even after the sun set.
“Maybe it was a rumor after all,” Bliss muttered.
Pah stood silent and still for a few seconds before answering Bliss.
“There is movement straight ahead, a branch just moved. It could be a wild animal. But get ready.”
Bliss got up quickly and looked towards the direction Pah was facing. His eyes were special; its pupils contorted in such a way that he could see far away clearly, almost three times as much as the average eye. The movement Pah saw was well over two kilometers away, and the only thing Bliss saw was a pitch-black landscape.
“I guess there’s a reason why they call you a Watcher,” Bliss said as she folded her arms.
“Yeah, that name has a little truth to it among other things.”
Air was no longer blowing throughout the village; Pah could not pick up any new scents. He only smelled the remnants of the former inhabitants. The village was arid, and the night was warmer than usual. The stillness of the empty village began to take an emotional toll on Bliss after nothing seemed to move. She felt nervous for what was to come.
“Compose yourself, you have nothing to fear. If anything, they should fear you,” Pah said, unmoved from his position.
As Bliss tried to get a hold of herself, silence reigned for a few more minutes. Pah rose to his feet, still looking at the horizon. Bliss’ heart palpitated faster
and faster with each silent second that passed. Emotions flooded her body, letting out a slightly visible violet aura.
“Five...twelve...twenty-four... Well over fifty. They are coming from all directions. In a few minutes, we are going to be surrounded,” Pah stated, keeping calm.
Bliss closed her eyes and tried to slow her breathing. She knew that if she was not in full control of her magic, they would surely fail. She stood still with her eyes closed and tried to listen to the Rot get closer to the village.
“Are they slowing down?” Bliss asked with a newly calm voice.
Pah could not help but to smile as he answered her. He knew that Bliss had lost all fear from the Rot and was calmly awaiting their arrival. Soon after, from within the shadows directly in front of Pah, one of the Rot emerged. He seemed to be the leader of the small army, walking differently from the rest. With a better body posture and arrogant stance, the leader of the Rot approached Pah. From twelve meters away, he began to speak as he walked directly towards them in a steady pace.
“Let’s make this easy, shall we? Surrender the girl to us, and we’ll let you leave with your tail between your legs. You are surrounded, and there is no way you can win,” the Rot leader said as he placed his hands on the hilts of his swords.
“You seem to be misunderstanding the point of your immortality,” Pah said as he glared at the arrogant Rot leader.
“Well, what do you mean by that? I almost feel offended, but since I can’t feel a damn thing, I don’t,” the Rot leader said as he got within five meters of them.
Once the Rot leader broke the five-meter line, Pah got into a defensive position. Bliss just stood still with her eyes closed. However, as soon as the Rot leader began to speak again, Bliss slowly extended her right arm towards the direction of the Rot leader.
“Burial,” Bliss murmured.
Suddenly, the ground fissured underneath the Rot leader and swallowed him whole. Bliss made sure to leave his head above the ground so he could witness his army fail. After sensing that her spell went exactly as planned, she finally opened her eyes with confidence. Pah turned and smiled at Bliss, knowing that he would not have to worry about her. When the Rot saw that their leader was no longer visible, they launched an all-out attack.
“I’ll take the north, you take the south,” Pah directed as he began to walk towards the incoming Rot.
“It will all end tonight,” Bliss said as she turned around.
“Misunderstanding is a terrible thing,” Pah snickered as he passed the Rot leader’s head.
“Damn you! Damn you! You will surely fail. There is an army of us and there are only two of you!” the Rot leader yelled.
“Imagine, imagine,” Bliss said to herself as she walked towards the incoming Rot.
Pah ran towards his side of incoming Rot. Without Bliss to worry about, a savage beast was loose, destroying and incinerating each Rot that he came across. He used a combination of attacks against them, from grabbing them with his tail and smashing them against each other to lightning strikes.
“Be my weapon,” Bliss chanted as she pointed her hands towards two of the village’s houses.
With a loud noise, the houses immediately started breaking apart and forming a floating mass of debris behind Bliss. Fed by the mass of debris, three fast gyrating disks formed on her. Two of the disks, each half the size of her arms, were floating parallel a few centimeters away from her hands. The third disk was gyrating parallel to her back and safely away from her. Bliss had become almost a perfect weapon.
After her weapon against the Rot was fully formed, she ran towards the incoming small army. With every swift swing, two or three of them were taken down. If she could see the Rot coming towards her, she would use the disks on her hands to take them down. Each time one of them would try to attack her from the back, the rear disk would take care of it before returning to its position. Remembering everything that Pah taught her about combat, she was a fierce opponent. After a few minutes of battling in close proximity with the Rot, Bliss learned that she could use the disk of debris in a much longer range. She began to let the gyrating disk farther away from her with each attack on the Rot. Soon, a clear perimeter was established around Bliss, as any Rot that dared to break the line would surely be cut in half by one of the three gyrating disks.
On the north side of the village, the Rot were hesitant to confront Pah, as he managed to make each take down more brutal and faster than the last. He, too, was able to form a perimeter around himself.
As the attacks against Pah and Bliss quickly decreased, they began to hear the Rot murmur amongst each other.
“Where are they?”
“We are only losing because they are not here.”
“Our leader had the damn flair, that’s why they are not here.”
“They will be here, and when they get here these two super beings will be screwed,” said various members of the Rot on both sides of the village.
“Pah, can you hear me?” Bliss asked through her mind. “If so nod your head.”
Pah nodded as he defended his side of the battle.
“Do not fret; the ones they speak of are a few minutes away. I can feel their evil presence, and they are very powerful. I feel that you have already faced one of them; he thinks he knows you. I’ll be alright, don’t worry about me,” Bliss said, speaking directly into Pah’s head.
Before they knew it, Bliss and Pah heard two large voices speaking to them from the outer edges of the village.
“So, I finally get to meet the last of the magical beings. You have grown much since the Valley of Serene. You can even use magic now. Amazing!” the lizard said as he approached Bliss, holding his oversized spike club.
“You are the well-known Watcher? You do not look that menacing to me. Maybe the rumors were just rumors. I think my master gave me the wrong information about you,” said the tiger as he approached Pah slowly while crouching.
The tiger was a large saber-toothed feline, half a size larger than Pah. He had large and sharp claws on all fours. His body was strong, rigid, and covered in armor. The armor was his primary line of defense and offense against Pah. The tiger’s tail had a large club-like armor at the tip of it.
Almost simultaneously, the two larger creatures began to attack Pah and Bliss, breaking their perimeter along the way.
Bliss attacked the lizard with the gyrating disks of debris various times as he approached her. However, the gyrating disks did not do anything against the lizard’s dense and heavy club. Debris from the disk just recoiled off the club.
Pah launched a terrifying lightning attack towards the tiger as soon as he broke Pah’s perimeter. With the lightning strike, he managed to wipe out nearly half of the Rot that were standing near the tiger. But as for the tiger, he did not have a single scratch on him. The lightning strike had no effect on him whatsoever. Pah reacted and eliminated the rest of the Rot in the north of village, as he knew that the fight between him and the tiger would not be an easy one. Pah could have taken out the small army of Rot by himself. Yet, he wanted Bliss to grow, to hone her magic, a decision that he began to regret.
“What’s the matter, little girl? Don’t tell me that you are scared of a little lizard?” the lizard said arrogantly as he swung the club at Bliss. “All those people’s lives, lost because of you. It’s no wonder you need a Watcher to protect you.”
When the lizard mentioned ‘people’s lives lost’, Bliss’ face grew angry, and she confronted the lizard directly as she stopped fleeing from the club.
“What a surprise. So you are able to stop my club?” the lizard said as he laughed arrogantly. “Let’s try this again.”
Using the debris from the houses, Bliss was able to block the direct attack from the lizard. Although the club attacks were powerful and heavy, they were not able to pierce Bliss’ barrier. The Rot that surrounded Bliss just watched as the two power giants faced off.
“You will not make fun of the innocent people that have died because
of me, I won’t allow it,” Bliss said with her voice full of sorrow. “You will not move.”
“Oh, yeah? And what’s going to stop me?” the lizard asked, still undermining Bliss’ power.
Hundreds of vines rose rapidly from the ground, binding the lizard and rendering him inert.
“What is this? What are you going to do? Tickle me to death?” the lizard asked, still oblivious to Bliss’ true power.
“Be quiet,” Bliss sneered as one last vine sealed the lizard’s mouth. Bliss extended her two arms to the side of her and said, “A spear, you shall be.”
The entire village began to quake as half of the houses in the village levitated from the floor. With an intense snapping sound, the houses began to break apart in midair. The debris caused by the houses added to the mass floating behind Bliss. Once the last piece of debris from the houses was added to the mass, she also stopped the gyrating disks and added them. The mass that floated behind Bliss was gigantic compared to her.
“I want to see you stop this,” Bliss said as the gigantic mass began to spin.
The only thing that was visible on the lizard now was his eyes, and even then it seemed he was mocking Bliss by rolling them as hard as he could. The nearby Rot began to flee the scene, as their so-called immortality would not mean a single thing if they were obliterated.
Bliss extended her arms towards the sky as she looked directly at the bounded lizard. Seconds later, the gigantic mass elevated towards the sky, disappearing into the night. She looked at the lizard one last time; she closed her eyes, and swung her arms down along with half her body.
Just a few moments later, a shrieking sound reverberated everywhere followed by accelerated debris raining on the lizard. The debris was so much that the lizard and the Rot were almost impossible to see. Even some of the nearby trees were sucked into Bliss’ attack, causing the ground to tremble each time they hit the floor. Her attack on the lizard caused so much destruction that a large cloud of dust formed and engulfed half the village perimeter.