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Lloyd stepped first into the frigid snow, sloshing with his small shoes and pushing him under. Snow seeped into his shoes like oil and made it all the more uncomfortable. He wished he had snowshoes, or even a tennis racket or two. The blizzard didn’t help, for it struck his eyes and blurred his eyesight like raining sleet. His clothes had obviously not dried yet, and the blizzard merely added to the wet fiber. The water had leaked through and numbed every limb in his body, to the point where he could no longer feel a thing. Lloyd might as well have ran stark naked through the North Pole. All in all, he was completely miserable. He stole a look at Erik and Roy, both walking through the snow with minor difficulty, looking perfectly fine. What was this, Lloyd muttered, a field of flowers they were walking through?
“You guys are crazy…brr…”
“Huh? What’s the matter? Got cold feet?” Erik asked.
“You don’t know the half of it…” Lloyd complained.
“Stop talking and start walking. We don’t have all day here. Any of us could drop dead in this weather, and Lloyd isn’t exactly in tip-top shape,” Roy scolded.
Lloyd locked his hands together around his stomach, trying to stay as warm as possible. He lost footing on a mound of snow, but achingly held his ground. His eyes felt more tired and ever, and he could barely see in front of him. Was Erik there, or was that Roy, he wondered. He took another step, then another, but ended up closing his eyes and passed out flat on the snowfall.
Erik tried to resuscitate his fallen friend, but to no avail, “Lloyd! Dammit, Lloyd, you couldn’t have picked the worse place to sleep on us.”
Erik heaved Lloyd over his shoulders and painstakingly took a few steps, but the pressure of both of them just dug them deeper into the ground and forced Erik to work harder.
“Man…Lloyd…Urgh…Someone needs to lay off the fat…”
“Need help?” Roy asked, taking hold of Lloyd’s body as well.
They walked together quietly for a period of time, but it was no use. All they saw was blackness ahead of them, and white all around them. The blizzard never let up, a relentless storm that drove them to the brink of desperation. An hour must have passed, still not finding any form of shelter, which could have been a cave, house, even a hole in the ground. Roy had given up on any hope of survival when he noticed something move ahead of them.
“Hey! Erik! What is that?”
They inched closer, expectations raised and ready to rejoice. It could’ve been Reeve for all they cared, anything was better than this humiliating way of death. The unknown figure was moving faster, though, and getting steadily further away.
“Please! Wait! We beg you!” Erik pleaded.
The figure stopped, for whatever reason. It didn’t matter, because Roy and Erik were trudging through snow for their lives.
“Thank you, whoever you are, for stopping.” Erik panted and carelessly dropped the motionless Lloyd to the ground.
But Erik and Roy were stunned when a polar bear turned its face around at them, startled. With it were two baby cubs, hiding behind their mother.
“RRRRAAAWRR!” the bear snarled, tackling Roy and knocking him out cold.
“Roy!”
But the bear bore its fangs and forced Erik to back away. He drew out his sword, a feeble stick of metal compared to the sharp, ebony claws of a bear. In fact, would it even cut through its thick coat of fur? Countless thoughts shot through his brain, but only one made sense and rang clear: Charge, or die.
“AHHHHHHH!” Erik screamed in a last ditch attempt at survival.
The bear struck Erik’s sword and sent it spinning toward the snow, and away from reach. Erik backed away, helpless without Roy’s incantations. He would’ve surrendered to his foe by now, but of course, it had to be an inhumane bear ready to devour his flesh into little shreds of meat and tissue. Go figure.
But with an amazing stroke of luck, a steel arrow was shot from the shadow of a mountain and pierced the polar bear’s fur, dying it red and causing the bear to cry out in pain. Another flew out, then another, a storm of arrows raining down on the poor mammal. It wallowed in sorrow and flopped into the snow.
Erik looked around, incredulous. But he couldn’t find his friendly assailant. No sooner had he turned his head behind him when someone grabbed his head and promptly knocked him out. Erik crumpled to the ground, along with Lloyd and Roy. The silent human picked them up, and carried them elsewhere…
***
Lloyd awoke with aches and sores in his whole body. To his surprise, he was lying down in a small straw bed, surrounded by Erik and Roy. Someone had put on a fur coat for him, and he definitely appreciated it now, after his unexpected blackout. Erik was snoring barbarically, which was most likely the cause of Lloyd’s awakening. Roy’s chest expanded and retracted, sleeping as deeply as a baby.
Lloyd stood up easily, noticing that other than a bunch of sore bruises, he was perfectly fine, never better. The cold he’d gotten had dissipated without a trade. Lloyd tip-toed to the door, and pulled it ajar. The fearsome blizzard flew in and pelted his face. Lloyd, without hesitation, slammed the door shut.
“Awake, I see. Welcome to Blizzandria.”
Lloyd spun around in surprise to find a very unique man, to say the least. He had brown, messy hair that reached below his shoulder, and a white fur overall with colorful lining, probably taken from a polar bear. Strapped behind his back was a brown bow and arrow, handcrafted with careful appraisal. The strangest feature of the man was that he wore a strange beast-like mask that shrouded his whole face. The mask had a scruffy white face, a black mouth, and maroon eyeholes. Lloyd had never seen anything like it before.
“What…exactly are you wearing?”
“It’s proper etiquette to ask for one’s name before conversing, you know.”
“Lloyd Llewelyn.”
“Waka Aerowitz. Pleased to meet you,” Waka bowed.
“Now, this mask is a depiction of a yeti. Recently, this village has been plagued with an endless blizzard, as opposed to a serene blue sky. The blizzard has been going on for one month, and I’m afraid we’ll freeze if we don’t take action,” Waka said in a matter-of-fact tone.
“There have been strange animal sightings at our mountain, Creston. In fact, people have been vanishing whenever they climb the mountain. I was on my way to Mt. Creston when I spotted a polar bear attacking you three. What were you fine gentlemen doing all the way out in the middle of nowhere, hmmm? It is a rare sight indeed to find travelers in such a desolate island.”
“We come from a land far far away, and we ended up losing our way. Thank you for saving us, sir.”
“Ah, then you must be from the other side of Erath. We’ve heard tales, but only the immense earthquake and ensuing avalanche made us believe in it. Well, I believe I must be off, for I still have not explored Mt. Creston. I shall bid you adieu,” Waka made to leave.
“Daddy?”
A small girl emerged from an alcove in the shack, looking around for her parent. She was about 4 feet tall, and her blonde hair blossomed in a shiny goldenrod. Lloyd would have hated to have that beautiful hair ruined by mother nature outside. Thick boots lengthened her small feet, with many jackets protecting her skin from the merciless cold. Her innocent eyes were brighter than even her hair though, a pure light blue. There were freckles dotted on her face, and the freckles seemed to multiply due to the worry placed on her father.
“Yes, Flora? Don’t worry about me, I’m just checking up on Mt. Creston. I’ll be back in a jiffy,” Waka said with confidence.
“But daddy! You know a lot of people haven’t come back from there! I don’t want to lose you too…”
Waka scratched his head, a conundrum sprouting out, “Look, it’ll be fine. I can bring these three fellows. Don’t they look strong? One of them even has a sword! That’s nothing compared to my bow and arrow!”
“Well…fine,” Flora pouted.
“Then it’s settled! Lloyd, wake up your friends and let’s get going.”
“Uh...sure…”
He rattled Roy and Erik ‘till they woke, and explained the strange situation to them. They didn’t necessarily go against Waka’s idea, so it looks like they were going to be back in the snow soon. They all put on some snowshoes Waka left for them beforehand, and stepped outside to meet Waka, leaning on his porch.
“Are you guys ready? Oh, by the by, this village is…special. You’ll understand when you see,” Waka stated cryptically.
They strolled by slowly, wary because of Waka’s words. They saw a lady walk into her home, then through the window they saw her snap her fingers and light up a hearth with a fire that seemingly came from nowhere.
“Am I dreaming?” Erik blinked his eyes rapidly.
“Interesting. Magicians, I assume?” Roy took a guess.
“Ah, correct. We’re a tribe of a dying bloodline, and recent events only hamper us.”
“What happened to the other tribes?” Erik asked, perturbed.
“Magician blood does not mix well, and we end up bearing inept children. Quite unfortunate.”
Lloyd’s snowshoes sunk easily into the snow, no longer was there snow stuffed into his cotton socks. For that, he was thankful. Waka must have given him medicine in his sleep to quell his cold. But to be cured in one day was preposterous, no matter what sickness.
“Waka, how did you cure me?” Lloyd wanted to know.
“Ah, you’re lucky. My daughter can cure just about anyone with her restoration magic.”
So there were different branches of magic, Lloyd thought. From Roy’s enhancement to Flora’s healing to Reeve’s undead…After seeing it with his own eyes, Lloyd didn’t dare question its genuineness.
They stopped at a sign, supposedly an intersection. The actual road was coated in countless feet of snow, showing no signs of an actual trail or fork. The cracked and chipped sign had two arrows pointing different directions. The left read “Mt. Creston”, while the other was an illegible mess. Lloyd could scarcely make out a capital S. Waka ignored the sign and walked west, or was that east? After waking up in Blizzandria, Lloyd had lost all sense of direction.
Roy was the one who mustered enough bravery to ask Waka, “Waka, where does that sign point to?”
Waka didn’t look back, “……Sentaro, a deserted village in rubble since ancient times. They were killed for breaking the magician’s code. My great great grandfather, chief of Blizzandria at the time, struck the outcasts down as justice.”
“They used alchemy, didn’t they?”
Waka spun around, “How do you know that? Alchemy hasn’t been heard of in centuries.”
“There are still some who can use it,” Roy replied.
Waka scoffed at the idea, and perished the thought. Instead, he pointed to a dark, looming shadow that blocked everything in front of them.
“Looks like we’re at our next destination,” Erik declared.
Chapter 9
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Lloyd didn’t really feel a great chance of scenery, but he could definitely tell a rapid incline when he felt it. Walking up a mountain reminded him of a never-ending staircase. Already he could feel the weight adding on his legs. Moreover, he came to the realization that even Waka had no clue where they were going. This was basically a wild goose chase without the goose. By the time this was over, he’d never want to be in the snow again.
“Are we there yet?” Erik whined.
“Where’s there?” Waka feigned ignorance.
“Don’t tell me…”
“Relax, we’re bound to find something at the top of the mountain.”
“What are we even looking for!? Finding something here is like trying to search for a needle in a haystack! Hell, it’s five times worse!”
Lloyd concurred with that statement. All they saw was whiteness, and it continued and stretched forever. Every now and then there was a tree placed off to the side, alone by itself. At least there was a visible path this time that encircled the mountain in a large coil.
“Have some patience,” Roy said with a tinge of annoyance beneath his words.
While Erik and Waka bickered, Lloyd heard a distant howl from above. He motioned for quiet, and they stopped their argument in bemusement.
“BRAWW!” a distant cry could be heard above them.
“See? We will find something up there,” Waka said with a smile on his face.
“It won’t necessarily be something good…” Erik sighed.
They must’ve reached the halfway point of the mountain, for there was a picket sign that said “5 miles” onward. The trek beyond was uneventful, in spite of Erik’s continuous whining. Finally, near the top, they reached a small cave. It was dark and Lloyd could hear the trickling of water deep in.
“This wasn’t here before…” Waka muttered.
“Maybe it was dug up?” Lloyd guessed.
“I suppose that’s possible.”
Roy walked in as a scout, curious but cautious at the same time. For a moment he disappeared into the darkness. Then he reappeared with some news.
“Someone has been living here. Let’s check it out.”
The rest of them ambled into the recess in the mountain, wondering who could possibly live inside a mountain. The darkness dissolved when they turned the corner, for there were dim lights brightening up the interior. They were stunned when they saw a bunch of bloody carcasses scattered about the rocky ground. Most were unidentifiable and looked like they were killed a while ago. The bodies had rotted and a few bugs were circling around it, grateful for the little food they can obtain in the severe cold.
“Urgh…” Erik looked like he was about to puke.
“Isaac! This is terrible…” Waka put his hands to his head in disbelief.
“Who’s Isaac?” Lloyd questioned.
“Our village chief…But he’s the strongest ice magician in our whole tribe! It isn’t possible…”
“BWARRR!” something yelled, and the ground shook in repetitive tremors.
Everyone’s heart skipped e beat as a giant yeti stepped into the cave behind their backs. No one had noticed it enter, and now everybody was frozen in fright. Lloyd never knew that yetis were real. But this one was gigantic, barely fitting into the small cave itself. Its white fur poured down its body like stalactites, and the feet were huge and seemed like they could stomp a hole through a human. The yeti also had a grizzly beard around its entire mouth.
“Those eyes…” Roy said quietly.
Indeed, the yeti had the same dead eyes that Lloyd and Erik were all too familiar with. Reeve must’ve been controlling this beast somehow. Waka was confused at Roy’s declaration, and looked at Lloyd for clarification.
“It’s nothing, don’t worry about it.”
The yeti harumph’d at them, aggravated that it was being ignored. It snorted loudly, then charged straight at Waka.
“Whoa!” Waka dove out of the way, scratching his knees with the icy ground. Waka, his legs now glued to the earth, couldn’t get up. The yeti stomped over to him, a great looming silhouette above him. It lifted its large fists in the air, ready to crack Waka in half like an egg.
Roy burst out in incantation, “Tuitionem nostri vincula, si-“
“Mors expectet draconis mea ventus!“
Waka held his hands side by side, and a wave of fire rippled out, flying and making a direct impact with the yeti’s chest.
“GUAHH!” the yeti throbbed with pain, gray fur charred into a dark brown.
Waka then clicked his fingers together in a sort of finale, “Inimica destruent pulvere ardentis inferno!“
An inferno exploded with a fiery plume where the yeti stood.
“GUAHHH! GUAH, GUAHH!” the yeti screeched, but its words were blocked out by the sizzling columns of flames. Sooner or later, all that remained was a black pile of soot.
The rest of us stayed silent, awed with Waka’s spell. Lloyd still couldn’t believe his eyes. Roy’s abilities seemed like child’s play compared to Waka’s stunning display. Erik’s mouth was agape, unable to recognize the yeti anymore. Meanwhile, Waka struggled and finally escaped from the ground’s clutches. He went deeper in the cave, expecting to find more corpses that were once his acquaintances and friends.
Roy brought them back down to Erath, “Let’s go. There’s something deeper in here, if Reeve had a yeti to welcome us.”
They travelled in side, the lights growing dimmer by the second. When all was darkness, Waka ignited his hands and used them as a gimmicky torch.
“Hey, look! There’s light up ahead!” Erik hollered.
But Erik’s assumption was incorrect, for it was not light at all. Stuck in a medium-sized block of ice was a spherical blue orb shining with some mystical form of radiance. It practically hurt Lloyd’s eyes just looking at it. On the other side was none other than Reeve, trying to crack open the ice with his morphed claws.
“Reeve! Stop right there!” Lloyd demanded.
Reeve continued picking at the ice, “Hello. How are you doing today? Did the yeti treat you well?”
Waka snickered, “Yup, just fine. It’s burnt to a crisp now. Who are you again?”
“Oh, I’m Reeve Llewelyn. Nice to meet’cha.”
“Oh, Lloyd, you have a brother?”
Lloyd growled, “Nothing of the sort.”
Roy charged at Reeve, because everyone else was idling by as Reeve was dragging time, no doubt with an ulterior motive. Whatever it was, Roy definitely knew it had to do with that little orb he was digging out.
Roy was about to punch Reeve when Reeve suddenly shot his claw forward, grabbing Roy’s arm and forcing it to a standstill.
Reeve looked up, “Now, now. Don’t be so feisty…”
He stared a little longer at Roy, transfixed on something. He scrunched up his eyebrows in confusion, and then smiled a great big grin.
Reeve burst out in maniacal laughter, “Ahahaha! I didn’t notice! You’re a replica, just like me! Hahaha, that’s rich.”
Roy looked back at him with apathy, “So what?”
“I didn’t think Luke would make another dead ringer. Guess the man never learns, does he…?”
*CLINK* *CLINK* the orb was only an inch away from Reeve’s grasp.
“What do you mean he never learns?” Lloyd asked, interested.
“Well, I might as well enlighten you now. You see, alchemy is, in essence, taboo. By using alchemy, you are defying god’s will. Luke knew that, yet he still pursued a lost cause. Your father was the one that tore the world, not me,” Reeve declared.
“That’s a lie!
“Nope, it’s the truth, kid.”
Reeve cackled, “Then he made another replica, thinking nothing would happen this time! Ha, what a riot. Humans are crazy.”
Reeve finally broke through the obstructing ice, and pried out the cobalt orb. The orb, now in Reeve’s hands, emitted an absolutely brilliant glimmer, brighter than the sun itself. Roy covered his eyes, but tried using his other hand to grab it. But Roy was hit with a swift punch to the gut, falling to his knees. Reeve scoffed, expecting a little more opposition from his “little brother”.
Waka ran around the ice, “Roy! Mors expectet draconis mea ventus!”
Reeve nonchalantly fumbled in his pocket for something as a fireball was shot at him. He must’ve found what he was looking for, but Lloyd couldn’t tell what it was. Then Lloyd recognized it as another orb, this one colored dark red. Reeve stood his ground, raising the orb in front of the fireball. The fireball hit the orb, obviously, but instead of frying Reeve, it was being sucked in by the orb, until all you could see inside the orb was a harmless ember.
Erik ran and tried to follow up with Reeve’s attack, whereas Lloyd couldn’t decide what to do without Roy’s assistance.
“Eat this, Reeve!” Erik swung his Holybrand downward.
Reeve tossed his red orb into the air, and quickly dug in his pockets for something else. Lloyd could already tell he had a third orb up his sleeve, or in this case, down his pocket.
Reeve stopped the sword with his shabby quarterstaff, but raised his hand that held yet another orb at Lloyd’s sword and shouted an incantation.
“Et perfluctuat transfigere fulmine Deus!”
A bolt of lightning shot out of the 3rd orb, painted golden, struck the Holybrand, which then conducted and electrified Erik.
“GRAH!!!” Erik exclaimed in unimaginable pain.
Reeve, satisfied, caught the red orb in the air and placed it back in his pocket, chuckling as Erik’s expense.
Lloyd stood there, still as a statue. He couldn’t move, not after seeing his friends defeated so easily. Reeve would clearly kill him right on the spot if he chose to act.
“Aw, is someone a little afraid of me?” Reeve had instantaneously teleported in front of Lloyd, and he yelped in surprise.
“What’s the matter, cat got your tongue?” Reeve said in a mocking voice.
Lloyd grew more and more bitter by the second, locking his teeth in place. Without thinking, he threw a punch at Reeve, but Reeve slashed him on the left arm with his claws, almost in a graceful dance. Lloyd clasped his arm as it stung horribly with sharp indentations stretched across it.
“Tsk, tsk. Looks like replicas will always surpass the original. However feeble your counterpart may be, at least he gave some fight. You’re not even worth looking at, coward.”
“Although, I must say, my research has finally come to fruition. These orbs of alchemy allow full control of fire, lightning, and ice, and they influence nature itself. However, fire and lightning were on Rukefellth and Alcatran, inaccessible to me, and this little orb took more than a few years to discover,” Reeve twirled the blue orb in circles.
“But it was only a matter of time until the two halves of Erath became whole, and now I’m basically invincible! Patience sure pays off!” Reeve laughed uncontrollably.
“Now, with the world at my bidding, I believe it’s time to checkmate. At Scourge Sanctuary, I will eclipse Erath in infinite darkness. I welcome you children to come and stop me, although I could kill you all with one hand behind my back. Ianuae Magicae ad Sentaro!”
In a flash, Reeve disappeared into a portal below him, just as before. Reeve also took all the light with him, and it was completely dark again in the cave. Lloyd’s arm still stung and Lloyd felt his arm go numb all over.
Waka ignited his hands and rushed over to Lloyd as the only uninjured, “Hey, guys! Quick, we have to get Lloyd to my daughter! This deep of a wound can’t be cured with just medicine!”
Erik looked down at the ground, strands of hair scorched from lightning, “Why did you just stand there, Lloyd…?”
Lloyd didn’t answer. He couldn’t, for his cowardice had put him to shame. He looked away from Erik in humiliation, until Waka hoisted him over his shoulder. Lloyd winced in pain, because his arm came into contact with Waka’s clothing.
“Whoops, sorry. Bear with it, for now. It’ll all be better in a jiffy.”
Roy brushed past Waka, unconcerned with Lloyd’s wound and saying only one thing, “You’re a dumbass.”
The silence that ensued after struck Lloyd the most. Silence is the time for reflection, after all. He promised himself that he would protect his friends, time and time again, but look where that got him. Without Roy, he was nothing, was what he was thinking only a short while ago. But that was the furthest thing from the truth, and Lloyd knew it. Why, then…
“Phew, we’re almost outside. I was a bit tired being a walking light bulb.” Waka said merrily.
Erik stopped in his tracks, “Hey, wait a minute. The blizzard’s stopped!”
The endless blizzard that had been happening for such a long time seemed to have stopped completely. The depressing forecast had finally cleared up, leaving only the shrill sound of wind blowing. Lloyd thought it was strange, though, for it was actually day before they had climbed Mt. Creston. However, right now, the sky was blacker than night itself
“There’s a solar eclipse…” Roy stated, practically reading Lloyd’s mind.
Lloyd looked up, and saw that there really was a solar eclipse. In place of the sun was a black and ill-omened circle. At the rim were specks of red, and there were still white rays of light from the obstructed sun. Nothing else was in the sky, so Lloyd couldn’t figure out how he could’ve missed a black ball of evil high in the sky. Lloyd had never seen a solar eclipse before, so this was definitely a once in-a-lifetime chance.
Waka dropped Lloyd down gently and marveled at the eclipse, “It’s too bad a solar eclipse only lasts a few minutes. Well, why don’t we get your wound patched up, Lloyd?”
“Are we there yet?” Erik whined.
“Where’s there?” Waka feigned ignorance.
“Don’t tell me…”
“Relax, we’re bound to find something at the top of the mountain.”
“What are we even looking for!? Finding something here is like trying to search for a needle in a haystack! Hell, it’s five times worse!”
Lloyd concurred with that statement. All they saw was whiteness, and it continued and stretched forever. Every now and then there was a tree placed off to the side, alone by itself. At least there was a visible path this time that encircled the mountain in a large coil.
“Have some patience,” Roy said with a tinge of annoyance beneath his words.
While Erik and Waka bickered, Lloyd heard a distant howl from above. He motioned for quiet, and they stopped their argument in bemusement.
“BRAWW!” a distant cry could be heard above them.
“See? We will find something up there,” Waka said with a smile on his face.
“It won’t necessarily be something good…” Erik sighed.
They must’ve reached the halfway point of the mountain, for there was a picket sign that said “5 miles” onward. The trek beyond was uneventful, in spite of Erik’s continuous whining. Finally, near the top, they reached a small cave. It was dark and Lloyd could hear the trickling of water deep in.
“This wasn’t here before…” Waka muttered.
“Maybe it was dug up?” Lloyd guessed.
“I suppose that’s possible.”
Roy walked in as a scout, curious but cautious at the same time. For a moment he disappeared into the darkness. Then he reappeared with some news.
“Someone has been living here. Let’s check it out.”
The rest of them ambled into the recess in the mountain, wondering who could possibly live inside a mountain. The darkness dissolved when they turned the corner, for there were dim lights brightening up the interior. They were stunned when they saw a bunch of bloody carcasses scattered about the rocky ground. Most were unidentifiable and looked like they were killed a while ago. The bodies had rotted and a few bugs were circling around it, grateful for the little food they can obtain in the severe cold.
“Urgh…” Erik looked like he was about to puke.
“Isaac! This is terrible…” Waka put his hands to his head in disbelief.
“Who’s Isaac?” Lloyd questioned.
“Our village chief…But he’s the strongest ice magician in our whole tribe! It isn’t possible…”
“BWARRR!” something yelled, and the ground shook in repetitive tremors.
Everyone’s heart skipped e beat as a giant yeti stepped into the cave behind their backs. No one had noticed it enter, and now everybody was frozen in fright. Lloyd never knew that yetis were real. But this one was gigantic, barely fitting into the small cave itself. Its white fur poured down its body like stalactites, and the feet were huge and seemed like they could stomp a hole through a human. The yeti also had a grizzly beard around its entire mouth.
“Those eyes…” Roy said quietly.
Indeed, the yeti had the same dead eyes that Lloyd and Erik were all too familiar with. Reeve must’ve been controlling this beast somehow. Waka was confused at Roy’s declaration, and looked at Lloyd for clarification.
“It’s nothing, don’t worry about it.”
The yeti harumph’d at them, aggravated that it was being ignored. It snorted loudly, then charged straight at Waka.
“Whoa!” Waka dove out of the way, scratching his knees with the icy ground. Waka, his legs now glued to the earth, couldn’t get up. The yeti stomped over to him, a great looming silhouette above him. It lifted its large fists in the air, ready to crack Waka in half like an egg.
Roy burst out in incantation, “Tuitionem nostri vincula, si-“
“Mors expectet draconis mea ventus!“
Waka held his hands side by side, and a wave of fire rippled out, flying and making a direct impact with the yeti’s chest.
“GUAHH!” the yeti throbbed with pain, gray fur charred into a dark brown.
Waka then clicked his fingers together in a sort of finale, “Inimica destruent pulvere ardentis inferno!“
An inferno exploded with a fiery plume where the yeti stood.
“GUAHHH! GUAH, GUAHH!” the yeti screeched, but its words were blocked out by the sizzling columns of flames. Sooner or later, all that remained was a black pile of soot.
The rest of us stayed silent, awed with Waka’s spell. Lloyd still couldn’t believe his eyes. Roy’s abilities seemed like child’s play compared to Waka’s stunning display. Erik’s mouth was agape, unable to recognize the yeti anymore. Meanwhile, Waka struggled and finally escaped from the ground’s clutches. He went deeper in the cave, expecting to find more corpses that were once his acquaintances and friends.
Roy brought them back down to Erath, “Let’s go. There’s something deeper in here, if Reeve had a yeti to welcome us.”
They travelled in side, the lights growing dimmer by the second. When all was darkness, Waka ignited his hands and used them as a gimmicky torch.
“Hey, look! There’s light up ahead!” Erik hollered.
But Erik’s assumption was incorrect, for it was not light at all. Stuck in a medium-sized block of ice was a spherical blue orb shining with some mystical form of radiance. It practically hurt Lloyd’s eyes just looking at it. On the other side was none other than Reeve, trying to crack open the ice with his morphed claws.
“Reeve! Stop right there!” Lloyd demanded.
Reeve continued picking at the ice, “Hello. How are you doing today? Did the yeti treat you well?”
Waka snickered, “Yup, just fine. It’s burnt to a crisp now. Who are you again?”
“Oh, I’m Reeve Llewelyn. Nice to meet’cha.”
“Oh, Lloyd, you have a brother?”
Lloyd growled, “Nothing of the sort.”
Roy charged at Reeve, because everyone else was idling by as Reeve was dragging time, no doubt with an ulterior motive. Whatever it was, Roy definitely knew it had to do with that little orb he was digging out.
Roy was about to punch Reeve when Reeve suddenly shot his claw forward, grabbing Roy’s arm and forcing it to a standstill.
Reeve looked up, “Now, now. Don’t be so feisty…”
He stared a little longer at Roy, transfixed on something. He scrunched up his eyebrows in confusion, and then smiled a great big grin.
Reeve burst out in maniacal laughter, “Ahahaha! I didn’t notice! You’re a replica, just like me! Hahaha, that’s rich.”
Roy looked back at him with apathy, “So what?”
“I didn’t think Luke would make another dead ringer. Guess the man never learns, does he…?”
*CLINK* *CLINK* the orb was only an inch away from Reeve’s grasp.
“What do you mean he never learns?” Lloyd asked, interested.
“Well, I might as well enlighten you now. You see, alchemy is, in essence, taboo. By using alchemy, you are defying god’s will. Luke knew that, yet he still pursued a lost cause. Your father was the one that tore the world, not me,” Reeve declared.
“That’s a lie!
“Nope, it’s the truth, kid.”
Reeve cackled, “Then he made another replica, thinking nothing would happen this time! Ha, what a riot. Humans are crazy.”
Reeve finally broke through the obstructing ice, and pried out the cobalt orb. The orb, now in Reeve’s hands, emitted an absolutely brilliant glimmer, brighter than the sun itself. Roy covered his eyes, but tried using his other hand to grab it. But Roy was hit with a swift punch to the gut, falling to his knees. Reeve scoffed, expecting a little more opposition from his “little brother”.
Waka ran around the ice, “Roy! Mors expectet draconis mea ventus!”
Reeve nonchalantly fumbled in his pocket for something as a fireball was shot at him. He must’ve found what he was looking for, but Lloyd couldn’t tell what it was. Then Lloyd recognized it as another orb, this one colored dark red. Reeve stood his ground, raising the orb in front of the fireball. The fireball hit the orb, obviously, but instead of frying Reeve, it was being sucked in by the orb, until all you could see inside the orb was a harmless ember.
Erik ran and tried to follow up with Reeve’s attack, whereas Lloyd couldn’t decide what to do without Roy’s assistance.
“Eat this, Reeve!” Erik swung his Holybrand downward.
Reeve tossed his red orb into the air, and quickly dug in his pockets for something else. Lloyd could already tell he had a third orb up his sleeve, or in this case, down his pocket.
Reeve stopped the sword with his shabby quarterstaff, but raised his hand that held yet another orb at Lloyd’s sword and shouted an incantation.
“Et perfluctuat transfigere fulmine Deus!”
A bolt of lightning shot out of the 3rd orb, painted golden, struck the Holybrand, which then conducted and electrified Erik.
“GRAH!!!” Erik exclaimed in unimaginable pain.
Reeve, satisfied, caught the red orb in the air and placed it back in his pocket, chuckling as Erik’s expense.
Lloyd stood there, still as a statue. He couldn’t move, not after seeing his friends defeated so easily. Reeve would clearly kill him right on the spot if he chose to act.
“Aw, is someone a little afraid of me?” Reeve had instantaneously teleported in front of Lloyd, and he yelped in surprise.
“What’s the matter, cat got your tongue?” Reeve said in a mocking voice.
Lloyd grew more and more bitter by the second, locking his teeth in place. Without thinking, he threw a punch at Reeve, but Reeve slashed him on the left arm with his claws, almost in a graceful dance. Lloyd clasped his arm as it stung horribly with sharp indentations stretched across it.
“Tsk, tsk. Looks like replicas will always surpass the original. However feeble your counterpart may be, at least he gave some fight. You’re not even worth looking at, coward.”
“Although, I must say, my research has finally come to fruition. These orbs of alchemy allow full control of fire, lightning, and ice, and they influence nature itself. However, fire and lightning were on Rukefellth and Alcatran, inaccessible to me, and this little orb took more than a few years to discover,” Reeve twirled the blue orb in circles.
“But it was only a matter of time until the two halves of Erath became whole, and now I’m basically invincible! Patience sure pays off!” Reeve laughed uncontrollably.
“Now, with the world at my bidding, I believe it’s time to checkmate. At Scourge Sanctuary, I will eclipse Erath in infinite darkness. I welcome you children to come and stop me, although I could kill you all with one hand behind my back. Ianuae Magicae ad Sentaro!”
In a flash, Reeve disappeared into a portal below him, just as before. Reeve also took all the light with him, and it was completely dark again in the cave. Lloyd’s arm still stung and Lloyd felt his arm go numb all over.
Waka ignited his hands and rushed over to Lloyd as the only uninjured, “Hey, guys! Quick, we have to get Lloyd to my daughter! This deep of a wound can’t be cured with just medicine!”
Erik looked down at the ground, strands of hair scorched from lightning, “Why did you just stand there, Lloyd…?”
Lloyd didn’t answer. He couldn’t, for his cowardice had put him to shame. He looked away from Erik in humiliation, until Waka hoisted him over his shoulder. Lloyd winced in pain, because his arm came into contact with Waka’s clothing.
“Whoops, sorry. Bear with it, for now. It’ll all be better in a jiffy.”
Roy brushed past Waka, unconcerned with Lloyd’s wound and saying only one thing, “You’re a dumbass.”
The silence that ensued after struck Lloyd the most. Silence is the time for reflection, after all. He promised himself that he would protect his friends, time and time again, but look where that got him. Without Roy, he was nothing, was what he was thinking only a short while ago. But that was the furthest thing from the truth, and Lloyd knew it. Why, then…
“Phew, we’re almost outside. I was a bit tired being a walking light bulb.” Waka said merrily.
Erik stopped in his tracks, “Hey, wait a minute. The blizzard’s stopped!”
The endless blizzard that had been happening for such a long time seemed to have stopped completely. The depressing forecast had finally cleared up, leaving only the shrill sound of wind blowing. Lloyd thought it was strange, though, for it was actually day before they had climbed Mt. Creston. However, right now, the sky was blacker than night itself
“There’s a solar eclipse…” Roy stated, practically reading Lloyd’s mind.
Lloyd looked up, and saw that there really was a solar eclipse. In place of the sun was a black and ill-omened circle. At the rim were specks of red, and there were still white rays of light from the obstructed sun. Nothing else was in the sky, so Lloyd couldn’t figure out how he could’ve missed a black ball of evil high in the sky. Lloyd had never seen a solar eclipse before, so this was definitely a once in-a-lifetime chance.
Waka dropped Lloyd down gently and marveled at the eclipse, “It’s too bad a solar eclipse only lasts a few minutes. Well, why don’t we get your wound patched up, Lloyd?”
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