Hi everyone!! SK here.
I can officially say that we're about halfway through the book. I do hope you're all enjoying it so far, I love writing this story :)
Let's begin. Please enjoy everyone!!! ^w^
Ash
"Okay, so we're staying awake until midnight for what purpose exactly?"
I yawn as I ask my question. I'm really worn out from today's tedious work, and I thought that I would need sleep for what's to come tomorrow. Pikachu sits on my shoulder and Greninja stands next to me; both look ready to fall asleep as well. If I'm being completely honest with myself, part of me hopes to see Serena in my dreams. I think I'm beginning to accept our fate, the fate that we can't be together. That doesn't mean I don't care about her, though.
"There's something I need to show you," Layra tells me absently. She stands beside me, ruffling through some books. We are in a tall room filled with what seems like millions of book shelves, presumably a library of some sort. Honestly, the thought of books just makes me want to sleep even more.
"Can't we do it tomorrow?" I whine.
I can tell that Layra wants to slap me when she turns towards me. "No, no we can't! He'll be awake then. He won't want us in here."
She doesn't say his name, so I assume that she's talking about Rin. "Fair point, but what is it exactly?"
"Remember about that last resort I told you about earlier? There's some texts on it in here. Also, since there's an imbalance right now, it's probably best you learn about that too- aha! Here it is." Layra's voice takes on a happier tone as she pulled a book from the shelf and adds it to the large stack that already rests in her hands. "Okay, let's start."
I nod, still a little confused, and go to sit in one of the padded chairs off to the side of the room. There is a table in front of me, so Layra sets the books on there and grabs a chair for herself. She takes one look at me, notices my tired face, and says, "Don't worry. This won't take long."
I sigh with relief. "Oh good, because I'm more tired than a Snorlax right now."
I see Layra smile at my joke but makes no comment. She pulls out the first book on the stack, which has a mahogany colour to it. It is clearly ancient; the cover is worn and there are several torn pages. Despite that, the book seems to be relatively intact.
"This was written by Lita and Zagan themselves," Layra begins. "You know, when they were alive. This one's about the Balance Ritual."
"A whole book dedicated to one spell?" I ask skeptically.
She nods vigorously. "Of course! This is the most powerful spell a regular fairy can do, and its effects can almost be catastrophic to the world."
I blinked. "This sounds... really serious. Wait, what do you mean by regular fairy?"
"Any fairy besides the Queen. And it is," Layra adds slowly. Then, suddenly, her voice grows more grave. "But, Ash, you need to take this very seriously. This ritual causes a lot of devastation, but it has the power to undo the world's destruction."
"Layra, I promise," I say quickly. "I know its a big deal."
"Thank you," she says, her voice returning to its usual caliber. "Here, I'll start explaining; the Balance Ritual has the power to restore the world to its previous state before imbalance... only performed as a last resort... needs a sacrifice... okay, even I admit that this going to be boring," she says, flopping backwards and closing the book. She only read a page, not even...
"So, uh, how am I going to learn it then?" I ask hesitantly.
Instantly, her eyes light up. "Oh, I have an idea! It's not really my specialty, but... I suppose I could show you." Her eyes flash.
For a second I remember the way Heliux taught me some fairy basics on that first day. "How?"
"By bringing to life these pages," she says, summoning her magic. "My Spirit powers can help to recreate the memories surrounding one of the times it was used." She aims it at the book, and it begins to glow with purple embers.
"Close your eyes," she say, and I do it instantly- I'm not taking a chance at getting blinded like I did with Heliux.
"...open them."
When I open my eyes I find that we aren't in the library anymore. We are watching a panicked cluster of fairies fumble through books while the sky flashes and burns above them. The sky is literally flaking apart with what looks like the stars bursting and exploding like colourful fireworks, their ashes raining down on the fairies like confetti.
"The Light Leader is Augustine and the Dark Leader is Clarissa," Layra clarifies.
"It's no good," A fairy says, running up to the scene. "The imbalance has gone too far. The sky is burning... the ground is shaking... there's too much darkness, too much lightness, it's just... it's too much."
There are two fairies standing at the center of the clearing, aiming their magic at the sky; they are clearly trying to repair the damage done. The boy is wearing the Necklace I'd seen on Serena, and the girl is wearing the Necklace Rin has; they must be the Leaders. They stop their fire and look at one another.
"Where is His Majesty!?" shouts Augustine.
A small black-haired fairy runs up to the scene, her two pig-tails bouncing up and down. "I've just returned from the castle, he and his Spirit Soldiers said to do the ritual. He tried to do his best, but it's over."
"I agree, it's gone too far," Clarissa whispers. "It's just like in the texts. We need the last resort, and if the King said so then we must do it. Where are the Ministers?"
"Here," comes a shockingly familiar voice. Walking up to the scene are Heliux and Layra, Heliux being the one who spoke. "We are both here. Gather everyone you desire, because the storm grows greater with every coming second. We need to end this now."
I toss a look at Layra, but her eyes are focused on the visuals in front of us.
"I'll go get everyone," comes past-Layra's voice, and her figure promptly disappears.
"We just join our Necklaces, correct?" Augustine checks with the remaining Minister.
"Yes," is Heliux's simple answer.
"I just can't believe it... we're going to die. All of us." Augustine flashes a look at his Minister. "Well, not all of us."
Heliux flinches. "Er, yes, I'm afraid so."
"Got everyone," past-Layra says, coming back into the scene with a bunch of unrecognizable fairies.
"Okay everyone, we can finally end this. Th... This is my last official command to you all, but please heed it. Lightness, Darkness, form a pillar. Day and Night, form another. Earth Elementals, form a third. As for the last..." he steels a glance at the Ministers. "You know what to do."
All the fairies instantly nod, and quite a few begin to look teary-eyed. The fairies come into pairs, with the exception of one group which has at least five. Maybe the Earth Elementals? Who knows. However, for a group of fairies performing their own execution, they don't seem to be too upset about it.
"What are they doing?" I ask Layra, mesmerized by the visuals in front of me.
"Oh, I'll explain. Each fairy pairs with another, the exception being the Earth Elementals, to summon their specific Element. Usually they don't form a pillar, but Lita and Zagan made it so when specific Elements were summoned together with the ritual words, they will form a pillar like the ones you're about to see. Four pillars are needed to perform the ritual. I'll explain more when the time comes," she says.
The sky is howling, and even though the noise isn't real, my ears start ringing. Layra said there is an imbalance right now... is this what's coming for us?
One by one, giant pillars of swirling colours, light, and darkness are formed, each reaching up to the sky and beyond. The force of the pillars only amplify the wind that's already blowing around. It is a little weird, seeing the force of all the trauma while me and Layra are just sitting here watching. Glancing around, it looks like several fairies are injured. I just want to do something, even though there is nothing I can do. We are just here to watch, nothing else. After all, this already happened; you can't change history.
Three pillars reach up to the sky, and the two Leaders look at them hesitantly. Behind them, Heliux and Layra silently wait, having not created a pillar yet.
"Why weren't you guys doing anything?" I question.
"The four pillars finish the ritual, and the Leaders need to be inside the group of pillars for it to work. We were waiting," she answers simply.
"Well, this is it," the Light Leader says rather sadly to his partner.
"I don't want to die," the Dark Leader whispers timidly, then quickly regains her composure. "But if its our lives or many more, I choose us." She shoots a glance at past-Layra. "Thank you for serving as my Minister. May Gardenia always shine her light on you." She turns to look at another fairy. "And you, my Advisor. I hope to meet you in the stars." Her voice penetrates throughout the clearing. "Everyone here has served honorably. Hopefully the fairies that come after us will not have to resort to these events."
"It was an honour," Heliux says simply to the Light Leader, a slight hint of emotion escaping into his voice. "I am truly sorry things had to end like this."
"Thank you," Augustine replies. "Maybe, I'll be able to finally see my daughter again..." he shakes his head, then looks at his partner. "Are you ready?"
Clarissa nods, her eyes filled with the remnants of stars. "It's destiny."
The two Leaders walk into the pillars, and the Ministers go to their spot to create the fourth and final pillar. It's a little odd, I admit, seeing the two of them together. Since they both are going to live eternally, I'd expected them to be friends at least, but they don't say anything to each other when they come forward. They didn't even look at each other.
I glance at Layra, but she turns away from me. Did something happen?
Heliux and Layra conjure their pillar, and by now the light is almost blinding. I can't see it, but I hear the sound of metal clanking together and-
BOOM.
An enormous blast of magic, the largest I'd ever seen, bursts out from the center of the pillars. It blows everyone back, and the pillars all crumble. I myself am even blinded by the light, and I have to shield my eyes. When it fades Heliux and Layra laying unconscious, and hundreds of discarded Necklaces are strewn across the ground. In the center of it all are the Leaders' Necklaces, still attached together. As soon as that scene shows everything fades to black, and Layra and I return to the library.
"So that's the Balance Ritual," Layra finishes, saying it so casually like she just finished explaining a TV show or something, and not the literal genocide of hundreds of fairies.
"Wait, what happened to all the fairies!?" I demand. "Everyone... everyone dies!?"
"Except me and the other Minister," she answers. "Oh, and the King or Queen of course, as well as their Spirit Soldiers. All of us are then in charge of taking care of everything until the Colony is full again."
"You said Colony, not plural," I pick up. "So, everyone used to live in one colony? Darks and Lights alike?"
"Before the war, there were times of peace. Everyone lived together and no one cared whether you were a Dark or a Light. Then, the war happened..." she shudders. "And we all separated."
"...oh," is the only thing that comes out of my mouth.
"Imbalance is something that happens when either Light or Dark overpowers the other. Right now, with the presence of two Dark Leaders, there is definitely an imbalance. A big imbalance. And that will only continue to grow until Rin dies, you die, or the world dies. The last two, as you can assume, are less preferable," she says, almost jokingly.
"That's an understatement," I mutter back.
"That's why it's so important that we avoid the Ritual at all costs," she says gravely. "But anyway, let's head off to bed. I'm getting- what did you say? More tired than a Snorlax."
She smiles as we exit the library, but all I am filled with is an incoming sense of dread.
That was the end of the chapter. I hope you all enjoyed it!! This was more of a filler chapter, but I hope it was still exciting to read.
Stay tuned for more everyone!! :)