Undying #Wattys2015

Chapter 33: An Awaited Reunion

It was the strangest feeling pulling my back off the hard bare earthy ground. My leaden heart weighed me down, and gravity grabbed my sides. My entire back felt sore, but my healing abilities were at work. A fall that would have normally killed me had healed mostly by the time I awoke from my unconsciousness. Around my bruised body, rubble surrounded me. The air was thick with gas, and turning my head, I notice exposed lava several meters away. The stench of toxic gases burned inside my nostrils, but I knew it wouldn't kill me. After all, what is lava to a dragon? Once I willed my body to lift itself up, I stretched my back and looked around for the young girl who saved me. The one who split the earth.

Suddenly, a perfect, circular hole split in the side of the mountain, away from the lava, but close to me. Soft light came down on me from the foggy sky outside. The gas escaped into the thick air, and I followed its path. Coming outside, I felt the morning wet air and wished for the sun's light to rip through the cloud cover to illuminate me. I turned back to see the bottom of the lava-filled mountain I had fallen on, and a light caught my eye. Coming back inside, I sifted through the rubble to find the black stone pendant, the one Claira had lost. Reaching for it, I grabbed at its smooth, obsidian surface. It was like onyx-colored glass. I hope you're alright Claira. With my fingers, I clenched the pendant tightly and stuffed it in my pocket. I promise, I'll bring it back to you if it's the last thing I do.

After securing the gift I once gave to Claira, I left the mountain to go outside again. After going several feet away from the mountain, the hole closed up, and next to it was the short haired girl. She walked up to me and examined me. She scoffed, "So you're Aiden?"

I nodded weakly and thanked, "I appreciate you saving me." The cool, wet wind caressed my face.

She sat down, aggravated, "I guess it was all for naught. I honestly thought you could help me..."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

Sighing, she laid back into the ground, toying with the sand with her fingers, "Let's be honest, you aren't strong enough. In fact, you ran right into a trap, so that proves you aren't the brightest. And you'll probably be dead weight."

Disgruntled, I protested, "Hey, I didn't ask to be a Wayward! It was brought upon me. Maybe if I remembered who I was, I wouldn't be so pathetic."

"You don't remember anything?" she questioned, "Then how did you remember the girl you traveled with?"

"I remember bits and pieces sometimes," I muttered, looking away, "And I remember Bane and what he did to me."

"Really?" she demanded, "Then why do you hate him?"

Growling in frustration, I answered, "Because he took away my humanity! He took everything from me..."

"Well, ever thought he did what he thought you couldn't have done yourself? That he was helping you? Because, as I recall, you wanted to become a Wayward. I guess you chickened out at the thought of killing a dragon," she explained. Her explanation was irritating, but her argument bewildered me. I didn't know how to counter it.

After contemplating for several moments, I protested, "You sure he wasn't just helping himself? He needed another Wayward to summon the vortex. We all know he was in search of power."

She laughed, "You are so stupid. Maybe you're too dumb and blind to realize that Bane is looking out for you. That he cares for you. He broke tradition to help you. He didn't have to do that."

"You know, I don't need this," I growled, and I started my way away from her. I walked toward the mountain path I had traveled to reach the Summit.

Kana followed close behind. She yelled, "Wait!"

"Leave me alone!" I yelled back. Why was she so content on feeding me more lies? I am sick and tired of listening to anyone.

Then she pulled my shoulder back, and forcefully, she turned me to see her. She asked, "What do you think you're doing?"

"I'm going to go back to the Summit, and I'm going to find a way to enter the collapsed vortex. I have to rescue Claira," I explained disdainfully. "And you're negativity is weighting me down more than my lead heart."

Kana sighed, "I'm sorry..." then she explained, "I'm not good with speaking to others. I tend to speak my mind." After looking up at the mountain, she continued, "As much as your quest is noble, it's nearly impossible. There is no way to reopen the vortex. Twelve Waywards are needed on the Summit, and the wielders of space and time must summon it."

"I refuse to believe that," I announced, and I pulled my shoulder away from her, heading back to the mountain path.

Kana swiftly walked past me, and she held her hand out to block me. She explained, "But there might be a way."

"What way?" I asked.

Almost immediately, she placed her two fingers into her mouth and blew. Her high pitched whistle rang through the air. After she was finished, I asked, "What was that for?"

Then, a shadow covered us. Turning around, I looked at the sky and saw a large black bird flying overhead. After coming closer, I noticed it was a shadowed eagle. Was this...? It landed on the ground, folding its enormous wings. Black as night. Shiny like ink. It walked over to me, and I saw deep, but healing wounds around its body. Its glossy, orb-like eyes of darkness watched me carefully. Placing its beak against my chest, I caressed its head with my two hands. It recognized me. Even after all this time. Ink.

"Before the vortex, Bane asked me to free this beast and tend to its wounds. He knew you were coming," she said, and she stroked Ink's feathers.

"Bane?" I asked, surprised.

She protested, "He's not evil. His heart may be darkness, but his being is pure. Like this creature. It may be a Shadow Beast, but its dusky eyes can change the darkest of hearts."

"So," I began to ask, as Ink embraced my head with hers, "How can Ink get us to The Other Side?"

"Souls can only get through The Other Side. In case you didn't notice, all the Waywards were transported to The Other Side as light souls. Shadow Beasts, like Bright Beasts, are the fragments of souls that came from the original souls of their partner. For instance, Ink is a soul fragment that came to life. With the help of a simple spell, we can cling onto Ink as lost souls, and she can fly us to The Other Side," said Kana. "And I know just the spell, thanks to Bane."