Before True Light: The Awakening 2nd Edition

Even though the sun was beginning to climb into the sky, the frigid harshness of the icy terrain did not mellow. After a day of travelling from their landing on the beach, the small rescue squad had set up camp on the edge of an expanse that disappeared on the horizon into white nothingness. It had snowed overnight, so any potential dangers were cloaked beneath a smooth white layer. The trek to Kandal would be long and full of uncertainty; but at least they were in Burmeka and had, so far, escaped any unwanted attention from their fight with the serpent.

  “It’s so cold – I can’t feel my toes!” Izanami whined.

  “Well, be thankful that you have boots that go high enough to keep most of the snow out,” replied Zane.

  “It still doesn’t help my toes, Zane!” Izanami yelled back. General Kyros laughed. He seemed to be entertained by Izanami and Zane’s bantering.

  “Sir, why did we have to bring two kids with us? I just don’t see how two kids will be of much use to us in the rescue,” said one of the men.

  “As you know, these aren’t two ordinary kids – they are Red Mages. Did you not witness what the girl did to the serpent? You have nothing to worry about. If anything, it is us who should be worried about how much use we will be!” General Kyros laughed.

  The General’s laugh was interrupted by a sliding noise and a muffled shriek. He turned around and saw Zane trying to dig Izanami out of the snow, as the two continued to banter back and forth.

  “How did you manage to get yourself into this predicament?” teased Zane.

  “Oh, just shut up and help me up!” demanded Izanami.

  “Yes, ma’am,” Zane said, trying hard not to laugh.

  “Well, when Amyntas can’t help me, then your guardian duties kick in… and I don’t see Amyntas anywhere!” said Izanami.

  “Just hold on, you’re almost out,” said Zane. After a few more strokes of shovelling snow, Izanami was able to pull free.

  Izanami brushed herself off then looked ahead past the group. “Hey, what’s that?!” she exclaimed as she ran ahead of everyone.

  “Yeah, you’re welcome!” Zane shouted to Izanami.

  Izanami had spotted movement, something wiggling about in a pile of snow. Izanami began brushing the snow around the spot, as the others ran towards her.

  “Izanami, be careful, you do not know what that is. It could be dangerous!” warned General Kyros. As Izanami uncovered more of the object, two small furry legs appeared suddenly, squirming in the snow.

  Izanami shrieked.

  “WHAT!?” everyone else shouted.

  “It’s so...cute!” Izanami exclaimed as she held up the creature. Wiggling its small snout and nose, the creature sneezed in the cold. Izanami held the creature in her arms close to her body to protect it from the cold. “Can we keep it!?” said Izanami.

  “Izanami, we are on a rescue mission, remember? We don’t have time to adopt that thing and haul it with us. We don’t even know what it is,” said Zane.

  “But we rescued it from freezing to death! Please, Zane…,” begged Izanami.

  The creature opened its big purple eyes and looked up at Izanami. “Thank you for saving me! My first time in the human world and I get buried in this nasty material!” said the creature, as it looked around curiously.

  “It…it can speak?” stammered one of the men, in shock.

  “ZANE! I’ve been waiting so long to meet you!” the creature said with much excitement.

  “Uh…how do you know who I am?” asked Zane.

  “Well, Zane… I’m your Beast Guardian,” said the creature.

  Now Zane was in shock, while the others looked on in confusion. After a long moment of silence, Zane managed to say, “My Beast Guardian… no offense, but aren’t you a bit small to be a Beast Guardian?”

  “I know my stature is small, but I am bound by fate to protect you,” said the creature in a small voice. The three of Kyros’s men laughed at the remark.

  “Hey, don’t you laugh at him! He may be tiny now, but I’m sure he’s going to grow…? Even the smallest creatures may have hidden powers!” Izanami defended.

  The three men, clearly not understanding what was going on, became silent. The creature jumped down from Izanami’s arms. As it walked across the snow towards Zane, it appeared no taller than about a foot and a half. Its tail trailed behind, about two and a half feet long. He stopped at Zane’s feet and looked up at him, but did not say anything.

  “Well, shall we go? We need to reach Kandal by dusk,” said General Kyros. Everyone nodded and continued on.

  After several more hours of marching through the snow, the flat icy tundra gradually transformed into a rugged, rocky range. They were nearing Kandal and, although they were in the midst of an enemy, they could not help being in awe of the majestic snow-topped mountains in the distance. The city, itself, was nestled in a valley surrounded by these heaven-reaching mountains. They searched to find an opening beyond the peak they were climbing. Suddenly, they levelled off and were perched on a ledge overlooking their destination. All the streets were lit by glass lanterns and they could see lights flickering within the homes.

  “Burmeka is quite technologically stunted in comparison to Crescere. They still practically live in the dark ages. However, in recent decades they have been advancing their military and weaponry at the expense of societal progress. It’s barbaric, if you ask me. It would serve them better to advance the well-being of their people in a constructive way, not waste their resources on war-mongering,” ranted General Kyros.

  “That big building on the top of the hill – it looks like an official structure, where the younger Mages may be held captive?” Izanami guessed.

  “A very astute observation on your part, Izanami. Yes, that is the Palace of Kandal where the King of Burmeka, himself, resides,” said General Kyros.

  “So, it’s going to be heavily guarded if the king is there,” said Zane.

  “Yes, but don’t worry, we’ll get past those Burmekian scum,” replied General Kyros.

  “Are all the people of Burmeka really that evil? I can’t understand how that could be,” Izanami insisted.

  “There’s centuries of tension between our two nations. The kingdom of Burmeka dates back to ancient times, and even then they were causing trouble…,” explained General Kyros.

  “Well, let’s just focus on what we need to do and we can discuss history later,” Zane interrupted.

  “Yes, you are quite right, young Mage. Is everyone ready?” said General Kyros.

  According to the map that General Kyros’s scouts obtained, there were a few possible means by which to infiltrate the palace. Izanami and Zane would enter the city and make their way to a specific vendor's shop. At this location, there was a mark on the map indicating an entrance to the main sewers, which eventually connected to the palace. Another entrance was marked behind the palace, on the outskirts of the city, through a cave. This is where Kyros and his men would enter. If one of the parties encountered trouble, or could not get into the castle, they relied on the hope that the other party would. They parted on separate paths, and each group made their way carefully to their appointed destinations.

  When Izanami and Zane entered the city of Kandal, the streets were completely empty. All the windows were closed, but light from candles tried to penetrate to the outside through hazy glass panes. The streets were lined with glass lanterns on black posts. Snow started to fall from the purple-coloured clouds. Everything seemed rather peaceful around Izanami and Zane. This, however, aroused their suspicion, for it seemed too quiet for the central city of a kingdom.

  “The building marked on the map should be close by. But I wonder where all the people are? This city is quite dead,” said Izanami.

  “Yeah, it’s strange,” replied Zane.

  Izanami and Zane stopped suddenly. They heard the crumpling of snow just ahead. Zane hurriedly pulled Izanami into the dark alley that led off to the side from where they had stopped. Two soldiers walked around the street corner. They app
eared to be on patrol, but seemed to be leisurely in their manner while doing so. They were speaking to each other, but neither Izanami nor Zane could understand their conversation. The language seemed to have some similarities to the ancient language of the Red Mages, but the dialect was rougher sounding.

  They remained hidden in the dark alley until they were sure that the men were well out of range, and then quickly proceeded towards their destination. They stopped in front of a ramshackle building, and began sweeping the ground in front of it with their feet. They uncovered a solid metal plate beneath the snow. Once Zane opened the manhole, a ghastly, foul smell erupted from the sewers.

  “Do we have to?” Izanami whimpered.

  “Yeah… we have to, and make sure to put the lid back on to cover our tracks,” replied Zane as he began climbing down into the sewer.

  The smell of the sewer only intensified once underground. To make the smell bearable, Izanami and Zane had to hold their noses shut.

  “Zane, I can’t see anything! It’s too dark down here,” said Izanami.

  “Could you make some fire, Izanami?” replied Zane. Izanami nodded, drew her sword, and within a matter of seconds her blade was blazing with flames.

  “AHHH!” screamed Izanami. She then shot a ball of flame at Zane’s foot.

  “What was that for!? You almost hit me!” shouted Zane.

  “There was a rat!” said Izanami. Zane grabbed her wrist and doubled their walking pace. They came to a fork in the path. “So, which way do we go now? The General didn’t say anything for directions,” said Izanami.

  “Well, I assume we go left because there are pipes on the roof, but on the right there aren’t any. I’d presume that a palace would have plumbing, so our best bet is to follow the pipes,” explained Zane.

  “Yeah, makes sense,” said Izanami.

  They turned and continued down the left path. It seemed to go on for a long distance, and Izanami began wondering if they had made the wrong decision in choosing their path. Finally, a short distance ahead of them, was a faint light that seemed to emanate from the top of the tunnel wall. While walking towards what they hoped was the exit, a sudden growling noise echoed from behind them. Spinning around, they saw two yellow eyes glowing in the darkness. The growling became louder, and soon the light from Izanami’s fire illuminated a bloodthirsty beast, low to the ground, with sharp fangs and spikes on both the front and hind legs.

  They slowly stepped backwards towards the exit, the creature following them and continuously growling. Drool poured down the sides of its mouth. “I think it’s hungry,” Zane said nervously.

  The beast pounced and Izanami blasted a fireball from the flames of her blade. This pushed the animal back somewhat, but it did not seem too intimidated by the attack. Its growling intensified as it bolted towards Izanami and Zane. “Izanami, get out of here! I’ll handle this,” said Zane. Izanami shook her head. “Just go! I’ll be fine, go save the Mages!”

  Zane drew his sword, and sparks of electricity shocked the beast. The sparks stunned the beast a little. This gave Zane enough time to throw his bag at Izanami, and ordered her again to run towards the exit.

  Climbing up the ladder, Izanami pushed the lid open, but hesitated to leave Zane behind. Zane’s beast guardian popped its head out of the bag, “Go, Izanami! Zane must keep you safe, no matter what. He can handle that oversized spiky mutt!” Once out of the sewers, Izanami slammed the lid shut. The floor around her shook and Zane’s beast guardian, who had wiggled out of the bag, fell over. Powerful growls echoed and penetrated up through the heavy lid. Zane’s beast guardian looked up at Izanami, “Maybe I should go help him?”

  “Don’t be crazy, that oversized dog will eat you in one bite!” exclaimed Izanami. Zane’s beast guardian put its head down in shame. “Aw, don’t be sad. In time, you will be able to help Zane.”

  The area that Izanami was standing on began to shake, and then lifted upward. Izanami let out a cry. “Izanami, what are you doing on the lid? I’m trying to get out!” yelled Zane. Izanami stepped off the lid so Zane could get out of the sewer. He was still holding his sword, and Izanami saw that the blade was covered in blood.

  “You didn’t kill the poor thing, did you?” said Izanami.

  Zane looked at her for a moment in puzzlement, “Are you serious? That thing tried to kill us and eat us, and you’re worried if I killed it!”

  “Okay, okay, sorry. Are you hurt?” said Izanami.

  “No,” replied Zane.

  “Izanami, Zane, it’s good to see the two of you made it…Oh dear, that smell…!” said General Kyros.

  Izanami smelled her clothes and spoke guiltily, “It’s not that bad, is it? But what do you expect, you sent us through a sewer!”

  “Yes, I did, but we cannot exactly have the two of you wandering around like that. The smell will give us away,” said General Kyros.

  “Well, what do you propose we do?” questioned Zane.

  General Kyros looked around the empty room they were in. Now that Izanami finally looked around, she realized they were in some sort of large, empty storage area. “Come with me,” said General Kyros. They stopped at a part of the room where one of the exits was and the General carefully peered around the corner to check that the area outside of it was clear. Using hand signals, he ordered his three men to keep guard at all the other entrances into the room. Once the men were in place, General Kyros led Izanami and Zane to a large fireplace that was recently used.

  Izanami understood what the general was thinking. She took off her heavy overcoat and began rubbing charcoal on her cloak and clothing. This helped to neutralize the smell, but it didn’t completely mask it. She then covered her outer coat in charcoal. Zane did the same. Without the heavy coats, their mobility and swiftness improved. Returning to the room where they had emerged from the sewer, they handed their coats to one of the three men to put in his pack.

  “Alright, let’s do this. The sooner we can leave, the better,” said Izanami.

  “Agreed,” said General Kyros. Everyone huddled into a group, and the General continued to speak in a low voice, “Alright, right now we are in the base level. Not much activity here so we don’t have to worry about guards too much. Our best bet is to head to the dungeon, which is below this level. Is everyone ready?” Everyone nodded.

  Zane’s beast guardian returned inside the bag on Zane’s back. The party made their way through several rooms and hallways before they found a staircase. It was almost completely dark, so everyone descended carefully. Izanami was in front of everyone when she suddenly stopped. She turned around with her finger on her lips to signal everyone to stay quiet. A murmur of mumbled voices could be heard echoing from down below.

  “The preparations are complete. What do you think Lord Xenon is about to do?” a voice said.

  “That is not for us to worry about, or question,” replied another voice.

  “That doesn’t sound good; we better hurry,” whispered Izanami to the others. Once the voices were gone, everyone continued down the stairs cautiously.

  The dungeon had several corridors, so the party split up. Izanami and General Kyros paired up and ventured down into the darkest corridor. Izanami could hear footsteps and then saw a dimly lit torch moving in the distance. She quickly lowered herself onto her stomach to blend into the darkness. General Kyros followed her lead.

  Crawling on her stomach so that her black cloak would hide her, Izanami made her way to a nook in the wall and squatted. Pouring something into her hand from a pouch that was in her cloak, she waited for the person to come closer to her. From where General Kyros was, he could not tell what Izanami was about to do.

  Izanami stood up and stepped in front of what appeared to be a guard. She blew on a powder that she held in her fist, and the guard instantly fell to the floor. “Well, are you going to help me move him?” Izanami whispered to the General.

  “Is he dead?” General Kyros asked, stunned.

  “No, not dead, just goin
g to be napping for a long time,” Izanami said. General Kyros helped Izanami move the unconscious guard into the nook.

  Together they carefully ventured further down the shadowy corridor. A sinister laugh echoed back and forth between the walls of the corridor and pierced their ears. It sounded like the cry of a madman. They looked at each other in dismay.

  Then they heard a collection of whimpers, and the sound of children crying. These sounds were instantly interrupted with a thunderous, “Shut up!” from Lord Xenon. The children abruptly ceased their crying, likely shocked into fear by the order.

  Izanami irrationally rushed towards the source of the echoes. Before she exposed herself at the end of the corridor entering the main area of the dungeon, General Kyros grabbed her by her cloak, pulling her back. “Damnit, Izanami! You have to think before rushing into things. You can’t let your emotions influence your judgement!” General Kyros harshly reproved her.

  Realizing what she had almost done, Izanami lowered her head and whispered, “I’m sorry…”

  “There’s no need to be sorry. You just need to be more disciplined; you have a lot of potential for greatness… but now is not the time to talk of such things,” said General Kyros. Izanami nodded in agreement.

  “Your Royal Highness, soon your ultimate weapon will be complete. I now have all the ingredients,” Lord Xenon deviously laughed.

  “What does he mean by ‘ingredients for an ultimate weapon’? And the King is here?!” whispered Izanami.

  “Luckily for us, he is speaking in the standard dialect, not that weird one that the commoners use around here,” replied General Kyros.

  “Xenon, you have done all too well. When can I expect it to be ready?” inquired the King of Burmeka.

  “Such kind words, my King. Do not worry. Very soon you will be the most powerful ruler this world will have ever seen,” replied Lord Xenon.

  “I will leave you, then, to finish your preparations,” said the King, as he left the dungeon.

  “Oh, Mages… please do come out and join me. I know you are there! Come and enjoy the show!” exclaimed Lord Xenon, once the King was out of earshot.

  Everyone was in separate corridors, no guards behind them, and concealed in the darkness. There was no possible way that Lord Xenon would know that they were there! Boldly, Izanami walked out into the open. Her hood was up and her hair covered most of her face. She stepped down to the lower level of the large room, where Lord Xenon was. She had her sword in one hand, the blade trailing and scraping against the stone floor.

  “Oh my, don’t you look intimidating!” laughed Lord Xenon. Izanami kept walking towards him, with a cold look frozen on the part of her face that was exposed. Zane stepped out into the open as well, but from the other side of the dungeon room. Lord Xenon pulled out the black pendant that they had first seen in the village. Zane instantly stopped, but Izanami kept walking. “Well, aren’t you brave!” exclaimed Lord Xenon.

  “Well, aren’t you a sadistic, evil fiend!” replied Izanami in a bitter tone.

  “Oh, now-now, that’s not very nice,” said Lord Xenon. Izanami came closer to Lord Xenon. He held up the black pendant and she stopped. “What are you going to do, Mage? It’s futile to attack me as long as I have this. How about you join me, and we will have unspeakable power?”

  “I’d rather die,” said Izanami.

  “Well, we could arrange that, but it would be such a waste of talent. What did you plan to do? Waltz in here and save the children, and walk out of here a hero?” replied Lord Xenon.

  “Shut up!” cried Izanami

  “This is growing weary!” yelled Lord Xenon. The pendant glowed and a dark navy blue wave struck Izanami, sending her flying into a wall.

  Zane ran towards Lord Xenon from behind, with a small dagger in his hand, and forced it into Xenon’s shoulder. Using Zane’s momentum, Xenon flipped Zane over his shoulder and Zane hit the floor hard. Now on his back on the floor, Zane was completely vulnerable to a fatal blow.

  Meanwhile, in the background, General Kyros and his men were moving into a strategic attack position. With their heavy artillery now assembled from their packs, the General’s men waited for further orders.

  Stunned from his brutal crash to the floor, Zane was unable to move. His beast guardian nudged himself from out of the bag. “You get away from Zane!” it yelled at Lord Xenon.

  “What is this pipsqueak? Don’t make me laugh! What do you think you could possibly do?!” Lord Xenon asked mockingly.

  “Umm… well…,” before Zane’s beast guardian could finish, a wave exploded from the pendant and sent it hurtling into the wall near Izanami. The blast was so forceful that Zane’s beast guardian was completely immobilized. Izanami was starting to regain consciousness. Her vision was blurred and she was unable to move. Not only was the impact on the wall painful, but it felt like the wave was still draining her very life source.

  From a distance, the three men still awaited orders for a course of action. At the moment, it was too dangerous to fire at Lord Xenon since Zane was too close.

  Lord Xenon stepped on Zane as he walked towards Izanami and Zane’s beast guardian. “Well, this is no fun. You Mages barely fight back,” said Lord Xenon. Now he was far enough from either Izanami or Zane. General Kyros signalled the order to launch the projectiles, and his men rushed out into the cavern.

  Raising up his hand that held the pendant, Xenon sent a wave force at the projectiles coming at him from three separate directions, and they instantly disintegrated. Then, with a wave of the same hand, he sent a dark navy blue wave to strike one of the men. The impact of his body against the wall killed him instantly. Xenon then clenched his other hand into a fist and watched as blood spurted out from one of the other of Kyros’s men; he fell to the floor… dead. The last man began to fire rapidly and sporadically, not caring about friendly fire, so that he might save his own life.

  Smoke surrounded Lord Xenon. It looked like he had sustained several direct hits. The man sighed in relief. As the smoke cleared, a dark navy blue circular veil appeared. Lord Xenon was unscathed. He let out a malicious laugh. The stunned man was immediately vaporized by the wave released from the pendant. Less than a minute had passed, and all three men had been cruelly killed. General Kyros could only stand silently, in shock and horror.

  Zane slowly reached into his cloak and, once he had what he needed, he concealed it and began to crawl along the ground towards Lord Xenon. At the moment, Lord Xenon’s attention had been returned to Izanami and the beast guardian. Gathering the last of his strength, Zane pulled his arm back and then plunged a small knife into the back of Lord Xenon’s calf. Lord Xenon cried out in pain, “You damn Mages are just like cockroaches, no matter how many times I try to kill you, you just won’t die!” He then pulled out the knife and kicked Zane in the jaw, causing blood to gush from his mouth. While Xenon had his back turned, Zane’s beast guardian disappeared.

  “Izanami, get up,” said a voice in her mind.

  “I… I can’t,” she replied.

  “You must!” the voice answered.

  “Amyntas… please help me…,” whimpered Izanami.

  “I’m sorry, Izanami. I cannot help you,” Amyntas said. Slowly, she reached over and grabbed her sword and shakily stood up. She staggered slightly, but started walking towards Lord Xenon. All of her Red Mage abilities may have been rendered useless right now, but she could still physically cut him down with her blade.

  Turning around, Lord Xenon said, “Izanami, I want to show you something.” Confused by hearing her name spoken by this man, she stopped and looked at him. Walking towards the back of the room, Lord Xenon pushed a button. The sound of gears turning echoed throughout the room. The roof opened up and a metal cage holding the younger Mages was lowered into the room.

  The little boy that Izanami had sat next to on the day that she created her first Red Mage Warrior reaction cried out, “Save us, Izanami, please!” She gave the boy a comforting smile and nodded to hi
m.

  “Let them go, Xenon!” demanded Izanami.

  “Well, you aren’t exactly in a negotiating position, are you?” replied Lord Xenon.

  “What good does it do to have them caged up like that?” Izanami challenged.

  “I need them… just wait and see, Izanami,” Lord Xenon answered menacingly.

  “I won’t let you harm them!” cried Izanami. She charged towards Lord Xenon. A wave from the pendant pushed her back, but she charged again. Again, a more powerful wave forced her back and onto her knees.

  “Izanami, I don’t want to kill you. You are such a beautiful, talented Mage. Think of what we could accomplish together?” said Lord Xenon.

  That very thought disgusted Izanami. In a fit of rage, she got up and charged towards Lord Xenon once again. Another wave struck her body but, somehow, she held her ground. She could feel its evil power coursing through her body. She was in so much pain that it felt like her chest was being pushed in. Every breath was a struggle of pure agony. However, Izanami started to push back the wave from the pendant using her blade. The blade’s crystals began to glow crimson red.

  Lord Xenon was astonished that she was pushing the wave back and coming closer to him, so he released more power. The wave transformed into a sphere and swallowed Izanami. That much dark energy would have been enough to kill anyone with the tremendous mental and physical strain that it put on the body.

  As Izanami struggled within the sphere, and was beginning to be pushed back once more, the crimson glow from her blade’s crystals began to whiten and intensify, and a sudden blinding light exploded around her. A shockwave exploded out in all directions. Lord Xenon was forced to the floor. Shock was expressed on his face, but then he quietly began to laugh. Soon, the laugher escalated into a cry of a deranged madman. “Bravo, Izanami, bravo! Things are getting very interesting! Very interesting, indeed! Now, my dear, the climax of our show is nearing. Sit back, relax, and enjoy!”

  Lord Xenon stood up and walked towards Zane, “Tsk, tsk, Mage… bad idea bringing something so important with you. It’s a pity that the old man you call ‘Grand Elder’ trusted a mere child with this! What a fool!” Lord Xenon rapidly turned around to face the severely exhausted Izanami. A dark purple haze blasted from his hand. This purple haze wrapped itself around Izanami, leaving her immobilized. “Can’t be too careful around this one!” Xenon laughed.

  Xenon spun around once more towards Zane, stepped on his back and grabbed the Emerald Tablet from his bag. The children began screaming for Izanami and Zane to get up. It was as if they could sense what was going to happen if Lord Xenon had the Tablet, or perhaps he had intentionally told them beforehand. “Such a pity that you Mages don’t know the true power that was sealed many millenia ago within this Tablet but, luckily for me… I know how to break the seal.” Once again, Xenon trailed off into an escalating, malevolent laugh.

  The floor suddenly began to rumble, and it split open beneath the caged children. Eerily rising to the surface was a type of large vessel. Within the vessel were swirls of dark clouds, and the occasional purple spark.

  “Want to know what this is? Well, I’ll tell you… It is pure, dark energy concentrated into a physical form. Just watch, Mages… watch as a new era of history unfolds!” exclaimed Xenon. Looking directly at Izanami, he continued to speak, “Look, Izanami – look at the faces you failed to save. The Warrior of Light of old has finally awakened, but she has failed… BAHAHAHA!”

  Izanami began to squirm in a fit of rage. She could not break free of the restraining force. Fighting against it exhausted her more, so she stopped and calmed herself, closing her eyes. After a moment, it appeared that she had submitted to defeat. But, without warning, a flash of bright white light burst from the restraining field. With her very life source nearly drained to the brink of death, she mustered her last ounce of strength and ran towards the cage and the vessel. It seemed like she was moving in slow motion… before she could reach the younger Mages, she watched in horror as the cage floor opened and the children fell into the dark energy.

  The shrieks of the children pierced Izanami’s ears, as well as her very soul. The sound was unbearable. It was a sound that one would make when one would rather face death than continue to endure the pain. Falling to her knees, Izanami stared at the vessel in horror. As the children writhed in agony within the purple haze, their eyes began to bleed. Their skin wrinkled and dried to dust; for some, their flesh instantly rotted off. One child looked directly at Izanami. She no longer looked like a child, but an abomination. She appeared to be reaching out to Izanami. Still on her knees, and now in tears, Izanami reached out her hand. The small, grotesque form let out a deafening screech, and then exploded into the air. A dark, ghoulish spirit shot up from the bloody remains and formed a sphere which hung above the vessel. Izanami could not tear her gaze away, as this process continued for each of the children.

  Izanami wanted to die…she could not do anything to help them. Even if she had gotten them out of the vessel, she was sure there was no way to reverse what was happening to them. And even if there were, she did not have the knowledge to do so.

  Lord Xenon was reading from the Emerald Tablet. He could actually read the ancient characters, to Izanami and Zane’s surprise. It was the last section that he was reading from. With every word flowing from his lips, a spine-chilling sensation filled the area and increased in intensity. Izanami began to feel cold, then dizziness overcame her and her vision began to darken. Before she knew what was happening, she found herself falling over. Someone, or something, seemed to catch her before she hit the hard floor. The last thing she saw was a flash and an intense, red form that appeared as a bolt of lightning.

  Chapter 18