Burst: -Swords to the Skies- Page 3

  We entered the courtyard and saw a maid. She seemed to be an undead. She said "Love... Rage... Depression... its all in me...", she turned around and faced us. Her eyes were glowing blue. Her faced also looked like it had traces of tears on it. "You two... In love... Why?!!!" she said taking out a ball and chain and throwing it at us.

  "Watch out!" I said dodging the ball, Sora dodged to the other side. The maid seemed to be enraged, I didn't know why.

  I drew out my swords and charged at her. I was dodging the ball while charging towards her. I hit her with both swords knocking her off.

  Sora shot light beams at her and hit her a few times. I came in with "Final Blow" to end it.

  "Sorry... I was jealous... When I saw you two being lovers, I was enraged because I didn't get to be with my love... He died in the Civil War... I'm sorry... I was a bad girl... Bye..." said the maid as she disappears.

  "I kinda feel sorry for her. Who was her love? They must've died in the old Civil War. King Liesbeth's army lost. I never knew that the Ice Temple was near this mansion though" said Sora.

  "Yea, she died unpeacefully. The others did too, I think the souls here are allowed to rest at last. This place seems more peaceful now" I said.

  We decided to go back home. On the way out of the mansion, we saw a painting on the wall. The painting was dusty and had spider webs all over it. It seemed like the maid was in the painting. "Isn't that maid from just now?" asked Sora, "It seems so. This painting is so old. I couldn't imagine how long they stayed here and couldn't rest in peace. They weren't in peace for sure" I said. "This mansion has been here for a long time. It must've been like a century old or something" said Sora, "Meh, let's go home. I'm looking to taste your delightful cooking" I said, "Heehee, let's go!" said Sora.

  Chapter 11: Attacked

  It was night when we arrived near the village, we were exhausted and hungry after the long walk from Snowheart, especially from the cold weather. We were planning to have a peaceful night together.

  When we arrived at the village gate,

  "AhhhAhhh!"

  "Help! Help!"

  "Run!"

  The village was under attack. There were Whisleys attacking the village. Whisleys are humanoid creatures, they have white skin and clothes. They also don't have facial features, it only has its emblem on its face. They don't use any weapons.

  "Let's go!" I said running into the battlefield, "Right!" said Sora running in another direction. We drew out our swords and began to attack.

  I attacked Whisleys left and right and attacked to ones chasing after the villagers. I also used "Light Disc" to shoot at some of them from a further distance.

  I saw Sora, she was spinning around attacking them. She also had light beams firing at some of them. She was surrounded, she was attacking a lot of them at once.

  She was about to get hit from behind by one of them.

  "Sora!!!"

  I shot it with "Light Disc", I came to assist after my area was clear. Sora and I were slashing at every one of them.

  After all of the Whisleys were dead, we were thanked by everyone in the village. "Thank you very much for what you have done. How could we ever repay you?" said Phoss, "No need" I replied, "Yea, we'll be going" said Sora. "K, thank you. Good night" wished Phoss.

  When we entered the house, Sora stopped. She said "Thanks for what you did back there", I came close put my hand on her shoulder and said "I promised that I'll protect you, no matter what". She turned around and said "I admire your dedication. You're an amazing person", "And you're an amazing girl" I said. I came closer and closer until my lips touched her soft lips. It was a moment that I couldn't forget.

  I stopped. "I like that" said Sora. "Well, let's cook something to eat" I said walking towards the kitchen, "Yea! Let's do that!" said Sora. "I'll be helping too" I said.

  I helped Sora out in the kitchen, I wasn't that good at handling things but thanks to Sora, I was getting the hang of it. Dinner was finally served. We were so hungry that we ate everything in no time. We even needed to cook extras!

  After the amazing meal, we finally went to bed for some rest. We were exhausted and extremely tired.

  "Good night, Sora" I wished, "Good night, Cel. Sweet dreams!" wished Sora. "Haha, thank you. You too" I replied.

  We slept very soundly that night. The night was mostly peaceful. It was a good night's sleep.

  Chapter 12: Search

  The next day after breakfast we wanted to know where the entrance to the Sky Province was.

  "I think we should ask Fonzo about the entrance to Sky Province" said Sora, "Yea, let's go and ask him" I replied. We began to walk to Fonzo's house.

  Sora knocked on the door, "Is Fonzo home?" she asked while knocking. "Yes... Come in!" answered Fonzo. We entered the house.

  "Sorry for interrupting. We wanted to ask the whereabouts of the entrance to Sky Province" said Sora.

  Fonzo closed his eyes and chanted. He said:

  "At the peak of Holy Mountain,

  The entrance you seek is in the clouds hidden.

  With the ancients beside you,

  May the light be upon you"

  "I still don't get it" said Sora. I was thinking about what they mean by ancients. "We have to go to the peak of Holy Mountain and have the ancients beside us in order to open the entrance" I said.

  "The ancients that they mean were the original sages of the temples. They are long gone. But you may ask their spirits in the Ancient Ruins for their help" said Fonzo.

  "Where's the Ancient Ruins?" asked Sora, "In the forest near the Great Lake" replied Fonzo. "Thanks for your help, Fonzo" I thanked. We then left the home after giving our farewells.

  "The Great Lake is quite far away, and it would take a while to search for the ruins. And we won't be able to see if we searched tonight. I think its best to camp the night there and search for the ruins tomorrow" suggested Sora.

  "We would have to pack our stuff now if want to arrive before sunset" I said, "Yea, let's go and pack our stuff. I'll pack the food and other requirements" said Sora.

  We went to pack our stuff. We brought a tent, sleeping equipment, food, clothes, some torches etc.

  "Have a safe journey!" said Phoss, "We will. Farewell" said Sora. "Let's go" I said, "Yea!" said Sora. We set off to the Great Lake.

  Chapter 13: Camp

  After a while we finally arrived at the Great Lake. There were a few huts there, mainly fishing huts.

  We decided to set up camp near the forest. I was setting up the tent. Sora said "I wanna go to gather some firewood!", "Are you sure? Do you need me to accompany you!" I asked, "Nah, I'm fine!" replied Sora confidently.

  I finished setting up the tent, I was wondering "Where's Sora?".

  "Cel!"

  I heard someone calling my name from a distance. I looked around searching the source of the sound.

  "Cel!!!"

  I heard it again. I was sure that it was coming from behind that time. I turned and saw Sora running at me. A dark beast was following her, I drew out the Sword of Demise.

  I charged at it and used "Dark Blade" to hit it. The beast got knocked away a bit, it began to charge at me. I did "Spin to Oblivion". "Spin to Oblivion" is a skill that creates a dark tornado. Creatures sucked into the tornado won't be able to see.

  The beast got sucked in. I jumped in and did a "Flying Spin" attack. The beast shattered in pieces that look like broken glass but black in color. The pieces eventually disappeared in black smoke.

  "Thank you. My sword can't even hit that thing. Its useless against it" said Sora. "Really? That's just like the ghosts in that mansion" I commented.

  I thought "Do these 'Dark Beasts' only get hurt if a 'Dark Sword' hits them?". I thought that it was weird that only the Sword of Demise that I took from the witch could damage them.

  "I'll go fishing for a while. I'll be back soon!" I said walking towards a boat rental shop.

  At the shop, I rented a boat, a fishing rod and bought some bait. I ask
ed the owner "Do you know where the Ancient Ruins are?", "From what I know, the ruins are hidden in the forest. People say that there is path leading to it. There are cuts in the trees as the path. Finding those cuts and following it should lead you there" replied the owner. "Thanks" I thanked.

  In the lake, I was fishing. "Cuts in trees... How would we find that?" I wondered.

  "Ploop"

  "Oh, I've got something!"

  I reeled it in.

  "Splash"

  "Got it!"

  I was happy. After catching some fish, I decided to stop and head back to camp.

  "Here's some fish" I said holding the pail of fish. "Oh, cool!" said Sora.

  We had some fish for dinner that night. The taste was as delicious as always. She's an amazing cook.

  After dinner, we went to sleep in the tent. It was quite cold that night. But it was still a peaceful starry night.

  Chapter 14: Ancient

  We woke up the next day, we ate some leftovers from last night's dinner. It was still delicious though. After breakfast, we got ready for the search.

  "Have you got any new information about the ruins?" asked Sora. "Oh, right! The owner of the boat rental place said that we should search for cuts in the trees. Those cuts lead to the ruins" I replied. "How are we suppose to find cuts in the trees" asked Sora, "The path of cuts must lead outside... That means that we should search the outskirts of the forest for it" I said. "Ok, then. Let's start the search" said Sora, "I'll be with you the whole time. I would be helpless if I found a dark creature alone again" Sora added. "Haha, yea" I replied.

  We searched for the cuts along the edges of the forest. We walked quite far from the campsite.

  "There!"

  Sora pointed at the cuts in the trees. We suspected that it should be what the owner talked about. The cuts seemed man-made.

  We followed the path of cuts for a while. The path ended, and in front of our eyes was the ruins.

  We finally found the ruins. "Eureka!" said Sora, "Let's get inside" I suggested, "Ok" Sora agreed.

  We entered the ruins, it was dark inside. We brought torches to light our way through the ruins.

  "Crumble~"

  The floor was shaking. Dust was falling from the ceiling. Suddenly...

  "Ahhh!"

  "Where am I?" I wondered. We were in an underground room. The room was quite big. "I think we fell into a trap" I thought. I looked up and saw an open trapdoor. "Yup" I thought.

  The torches in the room suddenly light up. I saw a fully armored knight sitting on a throne in front of us.

  "Where are we?" asked Sora as she woke up. The knight stood up and pointed at Sora with his sword.

  "Wahh!"

  Sora got blown to the back of the room. A barrier appeared separating me and Sora. "No problem, come at me" I said drawing out my swords.

  The knight and I charged at each other. He tried to hit me but I strafed to the side and hit him in the back. He turned to me and did a horizontal slice, I did a backflip to dodge it and did "Quake" to hit him and knock him off.

  He tried to hit me with a shock wave by hitting the floor but I flew up. I dived and did "Double Swirl" to deal some more damage. He did a spin attack and I dodged it.

  "Go, Cel, Go!"

  Sora cheered for me from the side lines. I was motivated to do well in this fight.

  I flew up, the knight threw his shield at me. I hit it out of the way. I decided to do "Twin Blades" and dived at him.

  "Claang~!!!"

  The knight got knocked away to his throne. I flew towards him and did "Final Blow".

  He bursted into pieces. The barrier between me and Sora was brought down. Sora ran towards me. "That was amazing! Good job!" praised Sora. "Now... Where are the sages?" asked Sora.

  "Young one... You have done well. You passed the test of your strength. You have shown your strength and skill in that fight. Now, what do you want?" said one of the sages as they appeared as spirits.

  "We wanted to go to the Sky Province. We wanted to ask if you can open the entrance for us. This kingdom is in danger now" said Sora.

  "Of course, go to the top of Holy Mountain. We will be waiting for you there. We'll teleport you two out of this forest" said the sages.

  "Thank you" we thanked the sages. We got teleported near our campsite.

  "Let's pack our stuff and head home. We'll go to Holy Mountain tomorrow" I said, "Yup, let's go! I'll cook some real cuisine at home tonight!" said Sora cheerfully. "Yea! Cool!" I replied in happiness.

  We packed up our stuff, took down the tent, clean the place and went back home.

  Back at the village, we were warmly greeted home by the villagers. "Welcome home!" greeted Phoss, "Thanks, we'll be heading to Holy Mountain tomorrow. Wish us luck!" said Sora. "Good luck!!!" wished all of the villagers.

  At home, we cooked dinner. We had an amazing meal. This meal tasted amazing! I was sure that I'll be sound asleep that night.

  "Good night" I wished, "Sweet dreams!" Sora wished. We slept soundly that night. It was a peaceful night. The stars were twinkling bright that night. Everything was so peaceful.

  Chapter 15: Skyward

  That morning, we prepared to go to Holy Mountain. We had breakfast and looked at the map. We also planned the fastest route to the mountain.

  "The mountain doesn't seem that far from here. If we go now, we'll reach by noon" I said, "Then let's go!" said Sora.

  We left the home. "Have a safe trip, you two" said Phoss, "We will!" assured Sora. "Good bye!" added Sora.

  "Bye!"

  We left the village. The villagers were always so warm with us.

  "I see the mountain!" said Sora, "Let's get down to the ground" I said.

  We dived down to the gate of the mountain. It was said that its disrespectful to just land on the Holy Mountain without going through the gate.

  We landed on the ground near the gate. "Let's go" I said walking towards the gate. We approached the gate, step by step.

  Once we were through the gate, the light got dimmer. The fog suddenly came in and covered the mountain. We couldn't see well through the fog. We heard a voice through the fog.

  "Hello, you two. You finally came here. Before you reach the peak, we have a test for you two. You would have to fly through rings and slowly reach the top. Ready?"

  "Yup!"

  "Let the test of flight begin!"

  It was the sages. We had to finish a flight test to reach the top. The fog parted, showing the rings that we needed to fly through. The rings are golden in color and are made of glowing dust.

  "Ready?" I asked, "As ever!" Sora replied. "Here... We... Go!!!" we said together. We flew off.

  We kept going through the rings. The formation got harder the higher we got. We would have to fly through two rings together sometimes.

  We were near the top, there were guardians charging towards us. We drew out our sword for mid air combat. "Hold my hand" I said telling Sora to hold my hand, "K!" she replied. "Ready?" I ask, "I guess so!" she replied. I flung her at the guardians. "Hyaa!" shouted Sora. We sliced through them.

  After some fighting and flying, we got near the top. "That's the end ring!" said Sora, "Let's go!".

  We went through the ring together. It bursted into sparkling confetti sprinkling over us magically. The fog completely parted revealing the amazing view of the world around us.

  " Well done, the two of you. You had great teamwork. The strategy during the fight was good. You passed the test with flying colors!" said the sages.

  "Thank you" said Sora.

  "Now, may the light be upon you. Open! The Gates to the Skies! Open at our command!"

  The clouds parted revealing a gate to the Sky Province. It was like a portal to another world.

  "May your trip be a safe one"

  "Thank you, sages" thanked Sora.

  "Ready to go?" I asked, "Yup! Let's do this!" replied Sora confidently. We nodded our heads and faced the gate. We flew up towards it. We went through it.
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  Chapter 16: Sky

  We went thought the Gate to the Skies. I actually closed my eyes before going through the gate. When I opened them, I saw a grand floating city in the sky. But it seemed abandoned.

  "Wow, this a quite a big city!" I commented, "I know right! Its a shame that this place got abandoned" said Sora. "You know what. I think I'll ask father if he could revive this city" said Sora, "That's a good idea. Well, you know what. I think you'll become a great Queen someday" I said. "Thanks!" Sora thanked.