The Beast and His Tamer

Chapter 57: Skylak

The last door opened to the tunnel that he had gone through, after what seemed like ages. Through all the troubles that he had gone through, he had much time to think in that dark cave that he had been traveling in. When you were in caves, time was nonexistent. For he couldn't see any light, whether it be by the moon or the sun. It was like an endless dream as he walked and fought through more and more beasts.

He snapped them all out of it thankfully. The last few took all the luck that he could have to get them to think for themselves again. That was how Sebastian knew that he was close. For the evil magic was almost tangible in that area.

"So, you finally came?" a voice spoke to him as soon as the cool air met him. The wind warned him to turn back, pulling his long braid back into the cave. "I shouldn't be surprised that someone like you would be fooled so easily. And here I had you pinned as the smartest of your family."

"This has nothing to do with smarts," Sebastian said, his back straight as he looked out to the rocky terrain that was the small island that the tunnel had led him to. "Show yourself, Skylak!"

He knew that the rock glowing could have easily meant a trap. It seemed too simple to find him this time. Sebastian had a feeling that this was exactly what the wizard wanted. But he was ready for that challenge. For every Tamer has a day in which they go through their most difficult challenge of their lives. Sometimes it was something destined for them to deal with from the moment they were born.

Now that Sebastian had time to think while he was wandering through the underground of the very forest that he had fallen in love with, he realized that this was his destiny. This was why he was given a second chance by the very spirit of the forest that the wizard had tried to overtake. This was the man that he was meant to take care of from the moment that he first saw him in the Amazon Forest, when he was but a boy. Why else was he the only one who could avoid those attacks of his? Why else did even the Amazon Forest wish to protect him, when she let everyone else fall to their own destiny?

"Follow your heart," that beautiful voice had told him when he was younger. "The heart is the greatest asset you could have. For your heart will lead you to what is your destiny, and prepare you for the battle in which you must have. Whether you make it out alive or not is up to the choices in which you make along the way."

Whether he made it out alive or not...Sebastian didn't know the answer to that at the moment. All he knew was that he needed to be here right at this moment. For the sake of not only himself, but the forest for which this man had been draining power from, and the lives of his very family that had been trying to capture him for ages.

"I had a feeling that you and I would meet again, Sebastian," the voice was enough to send a chill down his spine, he remembered it all too well from when he was just a boy. Just as he spoke, the man appeared on the opposite side of the island, a large crack of earth between them. "Don't think I forgot the boy who got away from my grasp before. I was looking to make an example out of you back then, too. Pity I didn't when I had a chance."

Sebastian didn't let those words get to him. He let his bag fall off his shoulders, his violin and bow in hand. He remembered all the horror stories that he had heard about this man. They terrified him, especially knowing that he had almost been victim to them. And Uncle Glastian told him the worst, looking guilty that he had dragged a boy into that mess. His wound had taken ages to heal. Sebastian still remembered the nights when he would wake up to his uncle bellowing in agony.

He stared at those red eyes. They weren't human, like the first time he had seen them. It seemed as though he had gained a lot of power during the time that they had been apart. His eyes now resembled a cat's, with a black slit for a pupil that went from the top to the bottom of his eyes. That, along with that Cheshire smile was enough for even the lion-hearted to cower in fear. The wizard wore blood red robes that bellowed in the wind, clinging to the red fog that hung to his entire being.