THE DRAGON AND THE PHOENIX

by Shoraz

  Jonah then pointed to one of the reflections and as he did so Ava began to focus on it and as she reached deep within her mind and soul she began saying a spell and praying to the One True Creator and as she did so Jonah went into a trance and then one by one, each of the reflections began to disappear until only the final reflection remained.

  Then as Ava continued saying her spell, Jonah and the reflection of himself moved closer to each other and were standing face to face and then a small ray of light, no thicker than a strand of hair, came out of one of Jonah’s eyes and went into the reflection in the mirror, and then in less than a second, both Jonah and the reflection of himself fell to the floor.

  Meanwhile, in that same second, Razen chanted his spell of evil and summoned Jonah and as Jonah looked at Ava, she ran towards him and hugged him and told him that she loved him very much, as his reflection, which now had a piece of Jonah’s soul within it waited on what to do next. Then, as Ava hugged the body of her beloved brother she said to him, “Thank you Jonah, I love you so much and I’ll do everything I can to save you from Razen’s evil grasp.”

  And then as she said those words, Jonah became fixated to the sound of Razen’s voice and went into a trance–like state and came out from his hiding spot from the house of mirrors and made his way towards his master – Razen.

  Then as Ava saw him do that, she continued playing her game of trickery on Razen and she shouted, “No Jonah, stay with me,” but Jonah didn’t listen to her just as she knew he would and he said to Razen, “Please mister, don’t hurt us. I’ll come with you. Just leave my sister alone,” at which point Razen nodded his head and smiled at Jonah and handed him the balloon and said to him, “Very good my little dragon, very good,” and began walking back with him towards the haunted house which was the doorway back to Zerros.

  Jonah then asked Razen for a candy apple and as Razen gave it to him, he took a bite of it and offered the rest of it to Ava who took it.

  Then as Razen and Jonah continued walking, Jonah morphed into Zarax and fired shards of fire and ice into the amusement park and they both watched as it burned and they then disappeared in the portal on their way back to Zerros.

  And then as the flames of fire and ice engulfed Ava, she ran back to the house of mirrors and looked at the reflection of Jonah in the mirror and it said to her, “Help me please, I don’t want to die like this.”

  Ava then looked at the reflection of Jonah and said to it, “I’m sorry Jonah, you have to stay here, this is the only way we can defeat him. When I leave this place it will be as if it doesn’t exist and only you will be alive within this part of his mind, and when the time comes only you can make him see that happiness and love will always win over greed and evil,” as Ava held out the candy apple that Jonah gave to her and she then gave it to his reflection in the mirror.

  “How will I know Ava? How will I know what to do?” the reflection of Jonah asked her.

  “Never stop believing in happiness for everything in existence and you will find a way brother, I love you, and thank you for believing in me,” Ava said as she looked at the reflection of Jonah and then closed her eyes, and as she opened them she was back in the church along with Dean, Luanne, John, Razen and Jonah and she knew that she had done all that she could, and the rest of it was now left to the hands of destiny.

  The end of the flashback in the amusement park of fire

  Then, with her mind and body exhausted and badly damaged from the unreal and incredible journey that she had just been through, she mumbled to herself, “Thank you Jonah, I couldn’t have done it without you,” as she pondered upon the fact that even though evil and hate was all that Zarax knew, in the end, the power of the love which Jonah had for her shone through and ultimately defeated the evil and the hate that Razen had created and embodied within Zarax.

  Then, as she lay on the ground, exhausted from everything that she had been through, Sarah ran towards her, and she sat beside Ava and raised her head and held it upon her, and she said to Ava, “You did it, you did it my amazing Ava,” as tears rolled down her face from the joy and sadness of the situation.

  “Sarah, I killed him. I killed my brother,” Ava said to her as she profusely sobbed.

  “You did what you had to do Ava, and you saved Zerros and the universes from an eternity of despair, misery, and hopelessness,” Sarah said.

  “But I killed him Sarah, how can I go on knowing that I did that to my brother?” Ava asked in her state of weakness and pain.

  “Jonah would have wanted that Ava, I believe that with everything in me,” Sarah replied as she remembered the first time that she met Jonah and Ava back at the Denver Collective Church of Worship, and the feeling that she had about Jonah, which at the end of everything ended up being true, as Jonah was one of the main reasons that Ava defeated and killed the mighty Zarax.

  Then, as Ava looked at Sarah, flashbacks of everything that had happened back on earth, and on Zerros went through her mind, and she then fainted from exhaustion and fatigue due to everything that she had been through on earth as well as on Zerros, and her mind, energy, and soul were now in a place somewhere between life and death.

  As Sarah held Ava the rest of the sorcerers came running towards them in hopes of helping her, and as they tended to her, she was in and out of consciousness as her soul and energy desperately tried to meld with her mind and body and bring the life of the Phoenix back into Ava once more. And although the task at hand was not an easy one, the sorcerers were determined to help the true ruler of Zerros through this great ordeal so that she may fulfill her destiny in bringing hope and joy to the great Realm of Zerros along with the plethora of universes and life forms under its control.

  As the sorcerers feverishly worked to help the Phoenix, they conjured up magic as old as time itself, and as they chanted mythical and legendary spells full of power they were at times close to losing Ava.

  But to their credit, they called upon magic that hadn’t been used nor seen nor heard in eons. And then finally after some time had passed, the magic of the sorcerers had finally broken through and Ava finally had enough strength to open her eyes, although the damage that she sustained in the battle against Zarax, as well as the damage inflicted upon her by Max, had taken a terrible and almost irrecoverable toll on her physically, emotionally and spiritually; and even though she was still alive, it was only by the thinnest of threads.

  Meanwhile, back on the now quiet battlefield, as the clash had finally ended, the harsh reality of the battle became apparent, and the wounded and dead bodies were scattered across the land to the dismay of the side of good. And as they looked at the bodies, some of the other sorcerers that were not tending to the Phoenix, as well as what remained of the royal guards and sentinels of the army of Zerros did their best and looked after the massive amount of wounded friends and fellow soldiers of the army of Zerros after their decimation at the hands of the diamond army. Then as they scrambled and did everything in their power to help their comrades, they assisted them, and those that were destined to live did so, while those whose souls were ordained to move onto what lies beyond left the Realm of Zerros and ventured into the unknown and hopefully greener pastures of life after death.

  And then, as those that survived the war, which included Manaka, Yokelis, Alkazar, and others were busy tending to the wounded, their minds were focused on helping those in need, and little did they realize that evil was still lurking amongst them. And then, in the distance, a loud strike of lightning and thunder caught the attention of everyone, and they all looked on in horror as it was none other than the evil one – Razen – who had somehow managed to escape the battle once he realized that the Blue Dragon and his minions would not survive the fight.

  Somehow during the fight between Zarax and Ava, as Razen lay on the ground in a wounded state after Mikaelos had injured him, he lay motionless on the ground in hopes that none of the sorcerers would pay attention to him. And his plan worked as he saw that the sorcerers were dis
tracted and were busy trying to help Ava after her fight with Zarax, and they were also busy trying to help the army of Zerros recover after their decimation at the hands of the now gone diamond army and the four dragons.

  Then as Razen lay motionless on the ground, he looked towards the portals and it was then that a thought of pure evil went through his mind and Razen quietly chanted a spell and was instantly transported to the portals to the universes where he looked towards Ava and the sorcerers, and he arrogantly and boldly shouted, “We could have ruled the universes together, all of us. Our creations would not stand a chance against our powers, and they would have been our slaves for all of eternity.”

  “We do rule the universes Razen, but we do it with love and compassion, not with hate and greed. And these beings that dwell within the universes; they are our creations, and they are not meant to be our slaves,” Astaria replied to him.

  “The only thing greater than your love for our creations is my hatred towards them. They will pay dearly for what you have all done to me and for what you have all done to Zarax,” Razen then shouted, as he looked at the sorcerers and an almost lifeless Ava.

  “No Razen, please, the inhabitants of the universes and the universes themselves have done nothing to you,” Ava silently said, “I will give you anything Razen, I will even give you a new universe to call your own,” Ava continued saying with what little strength she had left.

  “Why would I want one universe when I have every universe in existence right in front of me? Do you not know that I have the powers to travel from universe to universe O great Phoenix? My time as a prisoner to Venetia was well spent,” Razen mockingly said to her.

  “No Razen, please show mercy on them,” Astaria shouted.

  “No, they will forever perish, and their arrogance and their greed will ultimately be their undoing. If you want to save them, come and get me,” Razen shouted as his diabolical and demonic thoughts of him being the supreme ruler of the Realm of Creation went through his mind.

  Then, as Mikaelos stood up and brushed off the damage from Razen’s spell, he and Astaria realized that Razen was about to enter the portals to the universes and they quickly made their way towards it in order to stop Razen from entering it.

  And just as they arrived, Razen devilishly grinned at them and then looked at a withered Ava and said to her, “Your creations will suffer forever,” and then as Mikaelos and Astaria ran towards him and fired their magical powers at him in hopes of ending his life, and stopping his reign of terror that was about to begin, Razen saved one of his most evil and lethal spells for last, and spitefully looked at the central control room of Zerros which monitored the universes within the Realm of Creation and he fired his sorcery towards it and as his evil magic came into contact with the central control room it set off a chain reaction of explosions that destroyed it.

  As everyone looked on in disbelief of what Razen just did, and as the central control room burned to ashes, Mikaelos and Astaria and some of the other sorcerers rushed to do what they could in order to save the central control room of the universes, but it was not to be as Razen’s potent wizardry of evil was too powerful and simply annihilated the central control room.

  Then, as Ava looked on in disbelief of what she was seeing, she was in utter ruin and sadness as she was unable to do anything to help her friends and she lay on the ground of Zerros as Sarah held her closely and also looked on in sheer shock of what she was witnessing. Then, as the sorcerers realized that there was nothing more they could do to save the central control room, they fired their magic upon Razen in hopes of killing him and as Razen saw the deadly bolts of magic heading his way, he quickly entered the portal and was whisked away to an unknown universe ready to rule the universe itself, as well as all of its inhabitants, and cause havoc, destruction and utter chaos along the way.

  As Razen entered the portal and wormed his way through it to the unknown universe, he quickly wondered if he should have destroyed the portals to the universes itself, but that thought was swiftly vanquished from his mind due to his pride, greed, and arrogance as he knew that the portal could not be destroyed as it was his only way back to the Realm of Zerros. And in Razen’s mind he knew that he didn’t only want control of the Realm of Creation, but he also wanted to rule and control the Realm of Zerros as well, and he wanted to have everyone in Zerros – including the sorcerers and the Phoenix – to one day all bow in obedience and submission to him. And for that reason, he spared the portals and did not destroy it as it was his only way back to the Realm of Zerros if he ever wanted to one day return back to the mystical and enchanted realm in hopes of ruling it.

  As Razen’s body continued to speedily worm through the portals, Mikaelos and Astaria ran towards the portals to the universes as well, and were then joined by the rest of the sorcerers, and they went in and out of numerous universes, worming through them faster than the speed of light in hopes of finding the evil sorcerer – Razen, while Ava lay on the ground of Zerros in a weakened and nearly lifeless state as Sarah held her.

  Then, as the sorcerers continued their desperate search for Razen, they quickly realized that their efforts were futile and that Razen was long gone to an unknown universe that was among the countless other universes in existence within the Realm of Creation, and the sorcerers, as well as Ava, knew that it would take an epic and monumental effort to find him and put a stop to his evil, greed, and hate before he unleashed his evil upon everything within the Realm of Creation.

  And then, as the realization that their efforts of finding Razen were wasted and done in vain, they all returned back to the portals in Zerros, and the sorcerers looked at each other not knowing which universe Razen had gone to, and the feelings of failure and disappointment coursed throughout them as thoughts of Razen’s escape to an unknown universe went through their minds.

  As the sorcerers returned back to Zerros; Mikaelos ordered some of the sorcerers to continue their search for Razen, and as the band of sorcerers continued their search for him; Astaria and Mikaelos walked towards their almost lifeless ruler – Ava – and Astaria said to her, “We were unable to find Razen, I am truly sorry my ruler,” as tears of sadness flowed from her eyes.

  As Ava heard Astaria’s words, the utter disappointment and sadness of Razen’s escape coursed through her weakened and withered body, at which point Ava’s mind, as well as the minds of the sorcerers, sank into further despair as thoughts of Razen’s evil and hate spreading like a plague throughout the universes consumed their every thought.

  “We have to find him and destroy him before it’s too late,” Ava quietly said to Mikaelos and Astaria as everyone looked on.

  “You do not have enough strength Ava, you are very weak, and Razen will surely destroy you if you were to battle him. We must take you to the edges of the Ocean of Eternity, and you must rest so that the strength and powers of the Phoenix hopefully returns within you. In the meantime we will continue our search for Razen until you return from the Ocean of Eternity,” Mikaelos said.

  As Ava heard Mikaelos’ words, she tried with all her strength to get up and walk to the portals and as she stood up and began walking, everyone looked at her as she limped and hobbled her way to the portals in hopes of saving the inhabitants within the Realm of Creation from the wrath of Razen. Then as Ava continued walking, no one made a move or said a word and as she inched ever so close to the portals, her steps became slower and slower and she then collapsed from exhaustion and also from the damage of her wounds. As Ava fell to the ground, Sarah, Mikaelos, and Astaria ran towards her and Astaria said to her, “You don’t have the strength my majesty, you cannot defeat him in your state of weakness. You must go to the Ocean of Eternity.”

  As Ava listened to Astaria’s words, she was in denial that the mighty Phoenix could be in such a state of weakness, but for some reason, as she looked up at Sarah’s face she saw a glimmer of hope in the most hopeless of situations and she said, “So be it, I will go to the Ocean of Eternity as I am of
no use to you in my current state, but before I go, we must put those that died in this battle out to the ocean,” as Sarah and Astaria looked at her in a somewhat panicked state, unsure of what to do next in the search for the elusive and demented Razen.

  She then looked towards Mikaelos and Astaria, and as they walked up to her, she told them what needed to be done to Zerros and the universes during her time within the Ocean of Eternity.

  And with that; Ava, the sorcerers, and the people of Zerros began their trek to the Ocean of Eternity to say goodbye to their dead friends who died in the battle of Zerros, including Zrakil and John, and as Sarah and Astaria held up Ava, she said a somber goodbye to her eternal friend – John, and she was now ready to go into the Ocean of Eternity in the hopes of restoring the powers of the mighty gold, silver and blue Phoenix of Zerros.

  Then, after they said goodbye to the dead and as they stood at the edge of the Ocean of Eternity, a withered, weakened and almost lifeless Ava said to them, “I will hopefully one day return to you stronger than I am now, I am sorry to do this to you all, but I need my strength and power if I am to properly rule over Zerros. While I am in my state of restoration, Mikaelos and Astaria will rule over Zerros and the universes,” and with that, Ava was transported by the sorcerers to the Ocean of Eternity to begin her deep state of rest.

  As the sorcerers reached the edge of the Ocean of Eternity, Ava fell into a state of unconsciousness and near lifelessness and as she lay in the hands of Mikaelos, Astaria, and Qabreal she was slowly and carefully lowered into the Ocean of Eternity as the sorcerers said their final goodbyes to their magical and mystical friend.

  Then as the tears streamed down Astaria’s face, she quietly said, “O Creator, please protect her and make her return to us stronger than before.”