THE DRAGON AND THE PHOENIX

by Shoraz

  Then, as she looked at the Dragon and the Phoenix as they came closer and closer towards a clash of cosmic proportions she saw Max raise the diamond sword of Vylkrie above his head.

  Then as Max raised the sword, and the Phoenix continued at a blistering speed towards the Blue Dragon, Max and the Blue Dragon made eye contact. And suddenly Max, who was unable to fight the impulse of what came next, began to thrust the sword in a downward motion towards the head of the Phoenix as Sarah and the others on the ground below looked on in horror of what they were witnessing.

  As the sword made its way down towards the head of the Phoenix it burst through her fiery skin of gold, silver and blue; and as Max screamed in pain and tried to fight the urge of what he was doing, the Phoenix still continued on her torrid path towards the Blue Dragon in hopes of putting an end to his life of evil and greed, and saving Zerros and the universes from his rule and sovereignty which would be unlike anything that anyone had ever experienced.

  As the Phoenix endured the pain, she wondered what was happening as Max continued thrusting the diamond sword into her head as she shrieked in pain and agony, but she knew that she had to continue on as the mighty Blue Dragon was only a short distance away from her.

  Meanwhile, as Max continued thrusting the sword of Vylkrie into the head of the Phoenix, his mind flashed back to the Pacific Ocean back on earth as memories of his pact with Zarax, which was done out of his love for Ava, and also for his hidden and secretive lust for power, flashed through his mind.

  CHAPTER THIRTY–FIVE

  Flashback: Ava being dragged into the Pacific Ocean, and Max making his pact with Zarax back on earth

  As Ava’s body was raised above the waters of the Pacific Ocean by an unknown force, Max helplessly looked on as Ava was then suspended in mid–air for a few seconds. And as she screamed the words, “Help me Max!” she was pulled underwater and dragged to the depths of the ocean, and as Max briefly froze for a few seconds, he was jolted back to reality by Ava’s scream for help and Max bravely followed Ava’s body as it continued to be pulled further and further underwater.

  And then as her body stopped moving, he valiantly swam towards it, without any concern for his own life, and as he grabbed her hand and tried to pull her back up to the surface of the ocean, something unseen appeared to be holding her back and as Max continued pulling at her she wouldn’t as much as budge as her body floated in the water.

  Then, as Max felt his body craving oxygen, he knew that he didn’t have much time or strength left, but needless to say, he knew that he would try to save Ava even if it meant certain death. And it was at that point that the entity that had dragged Ava down to the depths of the Pacific Ocean revealed itself to Max. And as Max saw what appeared to be an apparition of Jonah, he was in a state of shock and disbelief, and that was when Jonah said to him, “Do you wish to save her Max? Do you wish to save Ava?”

  “Yes,” Max nodded.

  “Then take her and go,” the apparition of Jonah then said to him.

  Then as Max pulled Ava by her arm, the apparition of Jonah then said, “But know that if you go now, you will never know the feeling of true power,” at which point Max turned back and looked at the apparition of Jonah. And as he did so, the apparition of Jonah began morphing into an apparition of the mighty Blue Dragon, and as it did so, Max could feel his lungs filling up with air, and it was as if he could now breathe underwater.

  “This is true power Max, controlling and being in control of your own universe; giving air to whom you wish and taking it away without any purpose or reason,” and as the Blue Dragon said those words he took away the air from Max’s lungs and Max began to gasp for air.

  Then, as he let go of Ava’s hands, the salty water of the Pacific Ocean came rushing into his lungs, and then as Max felt his life slipping away, the apparition of the Blue Dragon made everything stop, and slowly but surely, the air that Max’s body so craved was now back in his lungs, and he could breathe again. It was at that point Max realized the power that he was being offered and said to the Blue Dragon, “How can I have this power you speak of? Show me more.”

  “I will show you what powers await you Max,” the Blue Dragon said, and with those words, the apparition of the Blue Dragon showed Max the powers that awaited him.

  Then as Max felt himself flying through his very own universe and creating life and death, as well as creating planets and stars, and having power over everything in his universe; he was overwhelmed by what he saw and felt, at which point he said to the Blue Dragon, “I want this power, I want what I just saw and felt, but I want to share it with her, and I want her to be with me forever,” as he pointed to Ava.

  “Very well Max, I will give you what you wish, but you must do two things for me. Firstly, when and if the chance arises; you must kill the entity known as the Phoenix of Zerros,” at which point the Blue Dragon showed Max what the Phoenix looked like.

  Upon seeing the Phoenix of Zerros, Max asked, “How must I kill this entity known as the Phoenix of Zerros?”

  “You will know when the time comes Max, you will know what to do,” the apparition of the Blue Dragon replied, “Do you agree to do this?” the Blue Dragon continued saying.

  “Yes I promise to do this,” Max said, as he thought about the powers that would soon be his along with his everlasting life with Ava by his side.

  “The second thing you must do Max, is chant a spell together with me, at which point I will release you back to the surface of the ocean. But know that once you have chanted the spell and the time comes when you have the chance to kill the Phoenix, you will not be able to change your mind no matter how much you try,” the Blue Dragon said to Max.

  “I am ready to chant the spell,” Max said as he continued thinking of his life with Ava full of powers beyond his wildest imagination.

  “Then repeat the words that I say Max and this will forever bond us until your promise to me is fulfilled,” the apparition of the Blue Dragon said as Max nodded his head in agreement at which point the apparition of the Blue Dragon began chanting the spell and Max followed him word for word and repeated it all.

  “Zo vozis meam quasam, xalawum zo itib, sizut veti egolas faxiam oman viz xaeterzitis veti qoteztaxiz, veti zeditus yeet opez eti impeziuz ina zunixerqu ihiz.”

  Then, as Max uttered the last word of the spell, the apparition of the Blue Dragon disappeared, and the trance that Max was in no longer had a hold of him. And as he saw Ava, he grabbed her by the arm and began swimming towards the surface of the ocean with her, and as he made it to the surface, he pulled her up with him onto a large piece of debris that was floating in the water and waited for help to come their way.

  Then as the minutes turned into hours and Ava still lay in a state of unconsciousness, and the waves and debris battered them both, Max did everything he could to keep Ava alive – which included shielding her from the debris that was battering them – even at the cost of almost irreparable damage to his body.

  And then finally, to his delight and joy, he saw the light of what seemed like a boat, and as Max did his best to hold onto Ava he waved and shouted, “Help us, please help us,” and as Max continued shouting the words over and over a light was finally shone in their direction and a voice shouted, “We see you, and we are coming to help you, we mean you no harm, we are superhumans.”

  The end of the flashback of Ava being dragged into the Pacific Ocean, and Max making his pact with Zarax back on earth

  CHAPTER THIRTY–SIX

  Back in Zerros as the battle raged on and as Max continued to plunge the diamond sword into the head of the Phoenix, she continued shrieking in pain and Max was ready to reap the rewards of his deceitful pact with the Blue Dragon back on earth.

  Then, as the Dragon and the Phoenix came ever so close to each other, Max pulled the sword out of the head of the Phoenix and prepared himself to again thrust it further and deeper back into the head of the Phoenix as the Blue Dragon braced for its inevitable collision with
its arch enemy from eons past. And then in the last instant, just seconds before the Dragon and the Phoenix collided, the Blue Dragon swooped upwards and lunged at Max before he could plunge the diamond sword deeper into the head of the Phoenix one last time, which would have surely caused almost irreparable damage to her, and could have even possibly almost killed the majestic bird of Zerros.

  Then, as the Blue Dragon grabbed Max with his deadly and powerful jaws, it collided with the Phoenix as Max tried to defend himself by thrusting the sword into the face of Zarax as the Dragon tried to kill him with his powerful jaws. Then from the ground below, everyone looked on as both majestic creatures – the Dragon and the Phoenix – came crashing down to the ground of Zerros below.

  As the Phoenix crashed down to the ground she was in great pain from the wound caused by Max, and similarly for the Blue Dragon as he crashed and hit the ground he released his grip on Max as he was in pain as well from the damage inflicted by Max using the diamond sword of Vylkrie.

  Then, as everyone saw what had happened and the battle continued on the ground below between the diamond army and the army of Zerros, the Phoenix saw her chance to end the life of the Blue Dragon and as she tried to fly she was unable to as her powers were dwindling due to the wound caused by Max using the fallen diamond sword of Vylkrie.

  Then, out of the corner of her eye, to her surprise, she saw Max running towards the diamond sword as it lay on the ground and as he picked it up he was running straight for her with the sword of Vylkrie in his hand, and it was at that moment that she realized that the powers of the Phoenix were slowly dwindling.

  But even with the dwindling powers, she knew that she could have killed Max in an instant, but she had no urge or desire to kill the boy who she loved dearly, and who, only moments ago had tried to kill her for a reward unlike anything.

  Then suddenly, the wounded Phoenix slowly began to morph into Ava, partially because her powers were slowly diminishing, and also in the hopes that Max would realize who she was, and that in some way or another he would realize that he truly loved her and would not want to harm her any further.

  Then, as the Phoenix morphed into Ava, Max was only mere meters away from her, and as he raised the sword to strike her and looked at the face of his beloved Ava – the love of his life, and the girl that he sold his soul for in order to have an everlasting life with – he was jolted back to reality and to the memories of his time with her back on earth.

  Then, as the memories of his love for her went through his mind, he stopped and fell to his knees in disgust and revulsion at the realization of what he had just done and the realization that Ava and the mighty Phoenix were one and the same.

  As the damage and the wounds of the Phoenix showed on Ava, and the blood ran down her face, and as Max looked at the girl he so loved, the girl who he sold his soul for so that they could live an eternal and everlasting life of power and control of their own universe, he raised the diamond sword – which only moments ago he used to inflict severe damage upon the gold, silver and blue Phoenix – and said, “I’m sorry Ava, I’ve failed you, please forgive me, I will always love you,” as he plunged the sword into his stomach as Ava looked on and screamed in horror, shock and sadness.

  Then, without a chance to grasp what had just occurred, Ava heard a roar so loud that it almost deafened her, and as she turned back it was none other than the Blue Dragon who had staggered to his feet and was slowly making his way towards her.

  As she saw Zarax coming towards her, she also began to make her way towards him knowing fully well that there was no way that she could defeat him in her current state. And as the blood flowed from the wound on her head, she limped and hobbled her way to certain death at the hands of the soul that once inhabited the body of her brother – Jonah.

  As Ava made her way closer and closer to the Blue Dragon and the battle continued between the diamond army and the army of Zerros, the diamond army continued decimating the army of Zerros, and as Zarax realized that Ava was heading towards him, he was prepared for anything.

  And then suddenly, two sorcerers left the battle and transported themselves to where Ava and the Blue Dragon were, and as Razen saw that he knew that he had to do something to help his partner in crime – the Blue Dragon, and also transported himself to where Ava and the Blue Dragon were located near the outskirts of the portals to the universes.

  Then, as the entire diamond army and the four dragons sensed the fear from the mind of Zarax, and as the sorcerers and Ava made their way towards him, two of the four dragons began making their way towards Zarax in order to protect their powerful leader, while the other two dragons and the diamond army continued their fight against the army of Zerros.

  As the two dragons shrieked and roared, they flew at blistering speeds towards their master – Zarax – ready to kill Ava and the sorcerers, which in essence would kill the Phoenix and give Zarax the Blue Dragon, and Razen the evil sorcerer, the power to rule Zerros and everything in existence, for all of eternity.

  Then, as Ava limped and hobbled towards the Blue Dragon and Razen, she stood in defiance as she waited for Zarax to make his move. And then, as the majestic beast lunged towards her, she fell to the floor, and then as Zarax saw that he began to shoot shards of fire and ice towards her, but Mikaelos used his magical powers and protected Ava from the death that awaited her.

  As Razen saw that, he used his magical powers and fired upon Mikaelos, but somehow Ava – in her state of pain and agony – put a shield around Mikaelos, and as Astaria saw that she conjured up some magic and fired it towards Razen and he shielded himself as the epic battle between Ava, Zarax, Razen, Mikaelos, and Astaria continued on, as the happiness of everything in existence hung by the thinnest of threads over the powerful river of evil, ready to be washed away and drowned for all of eternity.

  CHAPTER THIRTY–SEVEN

  As the battle raged on, two of the four dragons were now within striking distance, and as they made their way down towards Ava, from deep within the furthest reaches of her mind, she attempted to take control of the two dragons as they were headed on a collision course directly towards her. Then suddenly, as the two dragons were about to collide with her, they magically stopped right in front of Ava as they majestically hovered only mere inches away from her.

  Then, as Razen saw that he screamed for Zarax to attack Ava and as he did so the Blue Dragon dove towards her, ready to end her life and as he did so, he remembered his dream within his dream, which somehow triggered the memories of his past life, and he instantly recognized Ava.

  Then, for the briefest of moments, it was as if Jonah’s soul had infiltrated the mind of the Blue Dragon and Jonah knew what he had to do and said to Ava, “Ava, it’s me Jonah,” as Razen looked on in utter disbelief of what he was witnessing, as his creation – Zarax the Blue Dragon – who he created from pure evil, was now on the cusp of realizing the love that he had for his sister – Ava the Phoenix – in his past life.

  Then as the diamond army and the other two dragons felt the force of Ava within the mind of their leader – Zarax – and felt her infiltrating his every thought they all began to run and fly towards their master knowing fully well that somehow their very existence depended on him.

  “Jonah, it can’t be you,” Ava said.

  “It’s me Ava, I’ve come to Zerros to save you and to save the fate of everything,” he said to her.

  “Thank God Jonah, they’re coming, and we have to kill them all,” Ava said pointing to the diamond army and the four dragons.

  “No Ava they will not die until the Blue Dragon is dead, you have to kill me,” Jonah said as he controlled the Blue Dragon to lay its head on the floor beside Ava, and as he tried to do so, the evil within the mind of the Blue Dragon somehow took back control of its mind away from Jonah and tried to lunge at Ava in hopes of snatching her within his powerful jaws.

  But Jonah, in an epic battle of mind versus mind, did everything in his power and somehow took back control of th
e Blue Dragons mind as the diamond army and the two dragons continued on their path towards Ava and the sorcerers who were busy keeping Razen at bay as he desperately tried to fight his way to Ava in hopes of killing her and ending her attempts to take control of the mind of Zarax.

  Then as Jonah took back control of Zarax, he said to Ava, “You have to kill me now Ava, it’s the only way to save Zerros. And it’s the only way for good and happiness to spread throughout the universes,” and he then used his magnificent powers to reinforce the shield that he had already put around him and Ava as he knew that the diamond army and the four dragons would stop at nothing to kill the Phoenix.

  “I can’t Jonah, I can’t kill you,” Ava said.

  “You have to do it Ava, the happiness of everything and everyone depends on you,” Jonah said.

  “No Jonah, please. There has to be another way,” Ava said as she sobbed.

  Jonah then looked towards Ava, and as she looked into his eyes, she knew deep inside that there was no other way and Jonah then shouted, “There is no other way Ava. I can’t hold the Blue Dragon back any longer Ava, he and his minions are evil, and his mind is too powerful for me to hold back any longer.”

  “I can’t do it Jonah, I don’t have the strength to do it,” Ava said.

  “You have to do it Ava. You have the strength inside you; I know you do. You are more powerful and wise than you can ever imagine Ava,” Jonah said.

  “Imagine it Ava, no more evil, no more greed, no more pain, no more illness, no more hate, no more wrath, no more suffering and no more of anything that takes away from the beauty of what life was meant to be. Imagine a world of eternal happiness with those that we love.” Jonah continued saying in hopes of making Ava’s decision to kill him easier on her.