Eternal Fantasies 3: Twisted Fates

Chapter 18: Reinhart's Fiery Resolve

“Okay.”, Artesia happily said as she and Wilma put aprons on and went to the kitchen on her room. “You boys stay quietly here okay? And no fighting allowed, or I swear I will make your bodies full of bullet holes.”

“We will. Thanks a lot Artesia and Wilma.”, smiled Arthur as he sat on the sofa with Reinhart.

After the two girls entered the kitchen, Reinhart immediately spoke, “Arthur… about what happened yesterday. I want to say sorry.”

“Don’t apologize for it.”,replied Arthur with cold shoulders. “Try to prove it with actions from now on.”

Reinhart didn’t reply anymore and they awkwardly sit there for several minutes.

“So the Crystals of Truth… they really bring out the evil in the beholder’s heart, doesn’t it?”, Arhur broke the silence.

“Yeah. Ever since I got hold of  that thing, I felt a great amount of power. As a warrior thirsting for victory, I took it without hesitating, not knowing that the stone also stores a great amount of evil inside that plagues on its victim. Anyway, I need to report this phenomenon to Heaven as we all didn’t expect that the stones are carriers of dark magic.”

“Wait, Reinhart. I want to ask something.”

“What is it? I will answer everything if it’s the least I could do to repent to my sins. I am so ashamed of what I did afterwards. I am sure that my parents are so disappointed in me, the people will surely resent me, and my sister would probably lose trust on me.”

“You idiot. Why are you so negative? Come on man. Artesia already told you to let go of everything that happened in the past and always remember that there are still people loving you, especially your family. Anyway, what I want to ask is how could you go to Heaven? That is the place where our parents are, right?”

Reinhart were silent for a while then answered, “It’s impossible for the two of you to get there the usual way unless you had already set foot there once. As for me and Wilma’s case, we are born at Heaven in the first place. The usual way of getting there is just by teleporting. Easy as that. But for your case, doing that is just simply impossible as teleportation magic requires tremendous and accurate concentration using your mind to visualize the exact place you are going to. Otherwise, you might be stuck in a dimension that you will never expect. It will be a dangerous gamble, so NEVER try it.”

“I see.”, replied Arthur sadly. “You said you will visit Heaven to report about the incident about the Crystals of Truth. Am I right?”

“Yeah. Until I get back here, you two will stay here on the mansion. The officials at heaven that includes your parents will decide the action we all must take regarding your quest of gathering all stones in order to complete the missing pieces of the Blessed Stone, which is more like sounding fishy right now. As of this moment, I am sure that your mother is beating the hell out of the Oracle to explain the reason why she hadn’t told any of us that the stones hold dark powers.”

Arthur listened intently on every word that Reinhart said for someone who has more wisdom than him regarding Heavenly matters. “Reinhart, I just have one more question for you. Back when we first met, you said something that unless I am unable to beat you, we wont be able to face what is ahead of us. What do you mean by that?”

“That’s right. Believe it or not, our powers are so WEAK compared to the monsters in hell and the divine warriors of heaven like our ancestors and much more to the Gods. There is this group of villains who almost killed a woman strong enough to beat the two of us without even using her hands. Her name is Angelina, your Aunt.”

“Man. Just what are those villains are you talking about?”

“They are the homunculi.”, answered Reinhart very seriously. “Also known as the manifestations of the Seven Cardinal Sins that was bounded and sealed along with the God of Discord, Chaos, in the depths of Tartarus for a millennium of years. The reason how could they escape Tartarus and roam the Earth are still great mystery for all of us. Luckily, they are biding their time to achieve their goals. And for what we all knew according to Mistress Angelina, the Death Goddess of the Underworld who teleported days ago at the Council Meeting Hall of Heaven, brutally half-killed by the homunculus, stated that they are all coming for the Blessed Siblings who are destined to gather all the Crystals of Truth in order to bring Eternal Salvation for all. Those homunculi are very strong, Arthur. I will be frank with you right now. Even if our powers can now bring destruction to the entire world, they wont even suffice to kill one of them. Miss Angelina said that she had tried every means but she failed to stop them.”