Legends of Lumia: Illuminate 6

Amy was still sobbing about all that food and her clothes on the other side of the shield; Kayla was desperately banging on the shield to get her new swimsuit back so nobody could see it. They both eventually got tired and started to eat some bread and drink some tea. While Amy sipped on her tea, she started to remember her home. She wanted to go back home, with her sister, back to her mama and papa. She turns to Kayla, but as soon as she did she notices she was, again, by the shield. When Kayla turned around and faced to Amy, she had recovered the food and clothes on the other side of the shield. Amy was in total shock and shakingly asks "H-h-how did you g-get those?". Kayla looks at her a little puzzled "what are you talking about?" she asks Amy, but this only makes Amy furious "WHAT DO YOU MEAN WHAT AM I TALKING ABOUT!!? HOW did you GET those things from the other side of the SHIELD!!? And where is that swimsuit you were bellowing about just a few minutes ago?" asks Amy suspiciously, Kayla now showing a bit of concern "dear sister, you must be tired, here, I'll prepare your sleeping bag" said Kayla while smiling, while she had her new swimsuit tied behind her back on her belt.

Inside the castle, on the large round room filled with the pictures of prophecy, Leena and Etherin stare at each other. Leena was starting to get impatient. "Why won't you attack!?" she yelled. Etherin stood there, looked her in the eyes and responded "I do not needlessly attack loved ones". "Then allow me..." said Leena, while raising the dark hammer "...to HELP you with that", then she swung the dark hammer, making it grow twice it's size right before reaching Etherin, but Etherin was able to block the attack, only to be sent flying back against the picture of Dark Leena. Impacting the wall with his back, his sword flew out of his hands. He coughed a little, then jumped up just in time before Leena's light sword would cut him in half. He started to run around the room, closing the circle around Leena, getting closer to her, but before he could do anything, she slams the hammer hard on the ground, sending a dark shock wave that knocks him out, and before he could recover, she is able to land her sword on his chest, giving him a deep wound. "Leena" he yelled, hoping to make her stop, but she immediately slammed the floor again with her hammer. This time, Etherin bounced off the ground just in time using his arms, then he lands next to his sword, which he picks up and immediately blocks Leena's light blade. As they locked their swords, Etherin got a good look at Leena, her inner aura turning blood red, her eyes were filed with hatred and grief; "Leena, you don't want to do this. If you want, I can get you out of here, somehow, I can erase these memories. It will be like I never existed to you!" As Etherin said these words, his heart felt as if thousand of knives were picking at it, toying around in there, but his mind was made up, as Leena was suffering too much, all because he brought her into this. He though to himself that if he'd only left her home that morning, maybe she would be living her life, away from all that pain, all that darkness, but it was too late for that. By the time Etherin leaves his mind, Leena had raised her dark hammer and swung it with such force that he was sent flying against the picture depicting Leena's slavery. The impact destroyed the picture, burying Etherin under the rubble. Leena slowly walks to where Etherin was buried, she calls off her hammer, making her sword of light longer, more bright. She grabbed the magical blade with both her hands, lifted it up, ready to strike, kill Etherin and begin her reign of terror. She looked into his tear filled eyes as he weakly said "I am sorry for causing you so much pain." She closed her eyes, and stabbed the sword hard, then released it, making it vanish in thin air. Etherin opened his eyes and realized she had stabbed the floor right next to him, then she dropped hard on her knees. "Leena", yelled Etherin out of worry, for he could not see her, but he could hear her sobbing. "Of all the people, the beings..." sobbed Leena "of everything that could have happened, why? Why did I have to meet you!?" Etherin's heart began to calm down, and instead of fear, he now felt something different. It was the same heavy feeling when Leena left him back in Kelin-Tao; that same heavy sorrow as he walked alone to Lumia, when he though he would never see her again. He slowly removes the rubble from him as she continues to sob and speak "I do not want to forget you, I do not want to forget anything that has happened." As Etherin got up, she open her eyes, he hair was back to that wavy golden brown color with the blond highlights he remembered, and her eyes were back to that angelic blue color. "But I do not want to be a slave either... I beg of you, please kill me" she said starting to cry again. Etherin stopped removing the rubble from on top of him, instead he said "if I did that, then I do not think I could live on". Leena looked at him, her eyes filled with tears "but if you don't I might have to, and I will not be a slave, I rather be dead." Etherin looked around, trying to find the words to say, but then he look above him, his eyes fill with light, his frown turns to a big smile and very happily says to her "how about choice number three?" Leena opens her eyes and lifts her sight. Etherin points her upwards with his eyes, and above him she sees a picture where both Etherin and herself were holding hands, pushing back hatred, darkness, and demons, with just their light, then Etherin continues to speak "Leena. I do not understand exactly what this is... this feeling I have whenever I am with you. But I do know, that being apart kills me. Seeing you sad makes me sad as well. The thought of losing you makes my heart feel heavy and... Is this...? Is this what they call falling in love?" Leena's eyes started to fill up with love and hope once more. This picture above them showed a new destiny. "I love you, Leena", and with those words, Leena's inner aura started turning lilac; her body got stiff, she could not move, she could not speak. To her it felt as though colossal amounts of energies were entering her body at the same time. Etherin started screaming her name, getting up and pushing the last of the rubble from him by just standing up, and hugged her, calling out of her, asking if she was well, and she was able to hug him back, now her inner aura shining white with gold sparks. As soon as she hugged back, all their wounds healed, and as if being filtered, Etherin's light shone brighter still.

When it was all over, they both looked at each other and started laughing "that's what I wanted to hear from you. Since that night when you saved me, I knew I had to be with you. But you were treating me like just a friend and then I thought you were just using me from the start. I felt like such a fool." "Guess I'm pretty dense, huh?" said Etherin chuckling, but Leena just shook her head "don't worry about it anymore." They got up from the ground and looked into each others eyes, got their faces closed, closing their eyes, but just before they could kiss, a loud howling startled them. It was Xato. Etherin's face turns serious "seems Xato found whomever is causing all this trouble for us." Holding Leena's hand he looks into her eyes, but before he even opened his mouth,s he said "Oh no, I am NOT leaving you two alone fighting great evils. We are going to fight it together, and together we will win." Etherin then exhales then says "how is it that you girls know what I am going to say? I mean, I didn't even get the chance". Leena giggles as she pulls him to where the howling was coming from. As they left the room, the new picture they found behind that horrible picture of Leena being a slave started to shine on it's own, disintegrating the rubble of the old picture.

As Leena and Etherin followed the howling, they passed a few rooms, all big in size, some had a few small monsters that they took care off quickly, but before they continued on, they heard heavy footsteps heading their way. Leena was going to hid, but Etherin told her that the footsteps were familiar, then Xato comes running into the room. The moment he spots Leena, he runs to her, his ears lowered down with a saddened expression in his face "Leena, I am so sorry, please forgive me. I just... I don't understand why I felt such darkness from inside you before, please forgive me" Xato kneels before her, then bows down begging for Leena's forgiveness, revealing his back, all burnt by powerful magic. Leena gasps and opens her eyes wide. Etherin asks him who did that, but before he could explain, Leena's inner light started shining again as she healed the wolf-man and even fixing his armored shirt. When Xato looks up and sees her, he gasps loudly, a tear falls from his right eye and once again he bows down saying "My... My goddess. It's you, Goddess of Lumia, the one who blessed Lumia with her light. I am not worthy!" Etherin and Leena look at each other quite puzzled then Leena asks "goddess? I'm not a goddess..." then Etherin rather annoyed said "look, Xato, she forgives you, and I forgive you too, but I think you are taking things far too long now". Xato gets up and grabs Etherin by his shirt "Ehterin, she is the goddess reborn. Goddess Epheria!" Thering looks puzzled and quite annoyed as well. Xato slams the palm of his hand on his face "for being the son of Jacob, you know NOTHING of Lumia. Let me explain..." suddenly Xato was wearing a college graduate cap and a long white jacket and held a stick and points it at a green board with white drawings on it "Goddess Epheria was the goddess that blessed these lands that we now know as Lumia. I was also Epheria who created the dome and cloaking magic around Lumia to protect it. The only known traid of her to this day is that whenever she used her powers, she would shine two auras: One being the size of Lumia's protective dome, and the second one a fiery white light with sparks of gold that would fly about whenever she used her powers." Etherin looked a Leena quite puzzled once more, but all she did was smile and wave at him. "You're liking this, aren't you?" said Etherin in a jokingly tone. Xato, now wearing his regular attire again, got close and said "it was prophesied that she would return to Lumia one day, but that was long before the second mayor took over. For all we know, Etherin, she could be."

"ENOUGH", yelled Etherin. "Xato, what happened, who burned you like that?" Xato's eyes filled with fear saying "Etherin... it's Zak. He's back". Etherin's face turned pale, as if he had just seen a ghost "you mean... Zak...? The same Zak that almost drained the light from all living creatures...? the same Zak that tricked uncle Merkob to thinking he was evil?" said Etherin in disbelief. Leena did not understand much, except that they were in trouble, "guys! Who is Zak?" Xato replied to her with fear still clinging to his face "Zak is a very terrible dekmoniac that learned the ability to siphon light from others, killing them, making himself stronger. He had entered when Lynn, Etherin's mother, opened a portal the let into Lumia countless of terrible demons. We was reborn the second Jacob had slain him countless years ago, and now I am sure he is going to try and continue his worldly domination attempts. If we cannot stop him now, this entire universe will turn into nothing." Etherin got in front of Xato "Xato, Leena, there is a great chance we will die here, and now, however... if you want to go now, I will not stop you." Xato and Leena looked at each other and laughed hard. Leena grabs Etherin's shoulder, who looked rather ashamed for asking that, then she says "I did NOT find my life partner now, just to let him go die on his own" then she smiles at him. Xato places his hand on Etherin's other shoulder and says "for too long we have been best for friends. There is no chance in hell I will leave you to die, when there is something I can do to help you survive." And with that, Etherin thanks them, and on they go, toward the third floor where a great evil awaits them.

Outside in the courtyard, Amy and Kayla were fast asleep, when something that looked like a read blob appears from under the grass. It slowly and quietly got closer to the two sleeping girls. When it got close enough to Amy, it rose and quietly tried to consume her, but Amy had already sprinted off her sleeping bag "TOO SLOW, PAL!!!" she yelled, waking up Kayla, whom springs off her sleeping bag as soon as she sees the red goo. Amy gets her two short swords ready, and Kayla prepares a green light on her hands. The red goo grows in size, making him three times the size of the girls, then it took the form of the statues on the castle stairs. "Amy" said Kayla trembling, but Amy would only keep her sights on the red glob as it turned it's hand into a scythe, then it launches at them with great speeds.

To Be Continued

FEB. 27 2009
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