CHAPTER 172: THE PROPHECY (ALETHA: PART 29)

Reawakening from a long slumber, Aletha’s eyelids parted, revealing the same ceiling she saw two days ago.

The memory of that dream continued to unfurl in Aletha’s mind, capturing every moment. Cold amethyst eyes, a rising mountain, and an illusive dragon flashed in her vision.

"Zargon..." She mumbled.

Aletha felt her entire body sore from the ruthless training. Her arms, legs, head, all of it felt a painful pressure. This combined with the reveal of the mysterious king, caused her to panic.

"Alaunus. Prophecy...." She muttered,

As she felt a warmth pressing against her, she slowly held her forehead and arose from the bed, collapsing in a moment before staggering once more.

Aletha’s eyes scanned the room, seeing no one but herself. She stretched her arms upward and stretched her legs downward, feeling a bone crack from the training. The haunting dream continued to unfurl in Aletha’s mind.

Cyan lightning, shifting plates of rock, and dragons. These elements of chaos shadowed in the back of her mind. As she heard the birds chirp a heavenly song, Aletha figured in her head

(What did I see? Who is Zargon? Who is Alaunus? Was that the past?)

A dozen questions flew about her. She could barely grasp the situation that night. After successfully getting up from her bed, she noticed something strange in the mirror. Her gray iris trembled in shock. She couldn’t stop shaking. The house trembled in rapid movements, similar to an earthquake.

She couldn’t help control this tremor. It was as if fear had completely enveloped her.

Noticing the absence of Alai and Ubel, Aletha rushed outside.

The sun, a molten orb earlier in the morning, was now veiled by a thick, bruised sky, the vibrant blue replaced by a creeping, ominous grey.

Aletha’s face paled in horror as she saw a gigantic funnel of clouds extending downwards to a forest in the distance. Her eyes then caught a group standing in front of Alai and Ubel. Not only a group, but a familiar face as well.

A young woman with sulky dark hair and pale green skin approached the group. Aletha’s eyes broadened in size, screaming as the tornado grew closer.

"Emine!"

Following her was none other than the mint-haired girl, Pridia and a familiar face carrying a scarf, his brown hair swaying..

"Phthonus? What are you guys doing here?" Aletha asked, breathless from the training she endured.

"We are here because we need help." Phthonis inquired as his face turned to the brutal winds. "I heard that you are going to participate in the Linuxinian Footrace. Not only that, but I noticed the tornado is coming straight here."

As her hair, Emine’s, Alai’s, Ubel’s, and a crew of fives and Phthonus’ hair blew violently, they all turned toward the vortex of destruction, seeing it dominate the wilderness.

"I appreciate the help." Ubel said as he equipped his claws. "But I require no assistance.

"Same here." Alai said as she clenched a stone blade.

"You suckers know how to get into trouble." Pridia said as she snapped her fingers, her smile beaming. " I’m not afraid of the simple wind."

Appreciating the confidence, Phthonus and Pridia shook their heads and equipped their weapons, preparing for attack.

Loud growls reverberated from the swirling vortex, hinting that it was anything but a tornado..

Aletha’s face paled in horror as she saw the magical energy encircling the funnel of wind , violently wrapping around it. Trees were torn apart, patches of grass ripped in moments, and their hearts quickened with each movement.

"Alai, what are you doing? Why are you grabbing your sword?" Aletha asked with a trembling voice.

"Didn’t you hear the growls?!" Alai replied. "That isn’t just a tornado!"

"-just a tornado?" Suddenly, the moment her gaze fastened on the upside down funnel, a recollection dawned on her: The incident that happened in Linuxinia city; the same tornado covered in magical energy, It has now come here. She then asked, "The same one?"

Ubel and Phthonus shook their heads.

They answered in unison.

"Yes."

Sounds of roars suddenly echoed across the landscape, with screeches sounding like monsters shilling their ears.

Silhouettes of goopy beasts arose from the walls of wind, terrifying all of them.

"W-What are they?" Aletha asked as she was put into a corner, defenseless.

"The Ending’s Monsters!" After Alai yelled, she quickly ran to a room filled with weapons and tossed a wooden sword to Aletha. She said as everyone’s stances rooted into the dirt. "Take this! I should have taught you how to fight with a weapon but I was too late."

Phthonus squinted at her and mumbled.

"You’re training Aletha?"

Alai shook her unsure mask off and smiled vibrantly, muttering.

"We’ll talk about it later. Now is the time to fight."

. . .

The silence that had reigned over the plain was shattered, replaced by the cacophony of the rising wind, the groaning of the earth, and the chilling whispers of the impending storm.

A confident smirk played on her lips. Alai quickly jolted upward and slew a couple beasts, puncturing through their goopy bodies in a flash.

Her movements, quick and swift, encouraged the others to attack as well. Phthonus casted an orange light that melted the beast’s skin off, Pridia unleashed her hyperbaric scent and destruction towards a four legged black and purple creature, and the crew all exchanged blows to the wave of creatures, fighting in their own rite.

"Just a few more. Aletha, remember your training."

As she held onto the hilt of her blade, Aletha slammed her eyes shut, recollecting the memories of her training; How she lifted her weights and how she built muscle. How she ran and climbed. It burned but it paid off. Now, Aletha wasn’t the same girl anymore. In little less than two days, she had succeeded.

Even Emine, Pridia, and Phthonus recognized her efforts. And so it managed to push them to fight, saying.

The sky took on a sickly green hue and the clouds swirled into a malevolent vortex. Ubel managed to use his claws in combat; Each one of his nails shredding the goopy surface of the creatures.

Aletha managed to get a hit on one of the monsters before Pridia unleashed her "cartwheel of action". In moments her footsteps turned into searing green flames, burning the monster’s skin.

From within the vortex, even more grotesque, goopy monsters emerged. Their forms were fluid and shifting, their colours an unsettling mix of black and sickly purple, their textures repulsive and strangely viscous. They moved with a horrifying fluidity.

"There’s too many of them!"

"No."

The air itself screamed as the monstrous funnel cloud ripped through the landscape, and the onslaught of the monsters came in waves, each more terrifying than the rest.

Then, from the very bottom, humanoid creatures corrupted in pink luminance chanted out callings.

"Hear ye the words of truth. The ultimate plans of the Owners of this world shall be impeded."

Aletha’s wooden sword became a blur of motions, slicing and dividing the monsters whole. Her history of wielding a sword flickered in her movements. .

(I can do this. I have to do this.) Aletha thought.

Then her gaze adjusted her focus on Alai, who was fending off the creatures. She could hear the inner chaos surrounding her, gripping in one foul swoop. As she came and fought, Aletha felt an uneasy feeling of pressure on her stomach as she witnessed the battlefield.

The Ending’s initial assault was overtaken. Arising from the ground, a wave of slimy tentacles, razor-sharp legs, unsettling gurgling sounds and a magical tornado came into being.

Alai’s silver sword flashed as she cleaved through the monsters’ gelatinous flesh. She had nearly deflected a slimy tentacle aimed at Aletha.

"There ya go." She said as she unsheathed her sword from the chest of a tantalizing being. "Just a few more."

Emine shook her head, speechless at the attack. She had never truly grasped her powers as she was almost rendered powerless. So instead of fighting in the frontlines, she stood and cowered in the back, defending herself and the crew from the impending storm.

The fight was a chaotic ballet of steel and goop, a desperate struggle for survival amidst the swirling fury of the tornado.

Despite their coordinated efforts, they were overwhelmed. The sheer number of monsters, combined with the unpredictable nature of the tornado, was proving too much. They were battered and bruised, their breath ragged, their bodies aching from the relentless struggle. It was clear they couldn’t win this fight in the open. They needed a plan, a way to survive the onslaught.

"ALETHA!" Alai screamed, "Watch out!"

The ground buckled beneath their feet, amd the tremor escalated into a full-blown earthquake. It wasn’t just wind; it was a physical manifestation of raw, untamed power, a living, breathing entity intent on destruction.

"It’s... almost over." Alai muttered, her arms powerless, "The Ending can’t get us from here."

From the tornado, a sonic assault pressed against their eardrums, threatening to burst them. The wind whipped around them and chanting of the humanoid creatures escaped their jaws.

"Hear ye the words of Ending. Ash and dust shall return and the Owners shall have no control."

Magical powers from all directions scattered as Phthonus, Emine, Ubel. And Aletha. Alai quickly collected a red luminance then summoned exploding blossoms, spanning over the training grounds and Alai’s house.

But then, as they were surrounded, Aletha fearfully spoke as recollections of the dream flew into her vision.

"Linuxinia." She muttered, "Alaunus..."

. . .

The moment she uttered those two names, before the tornado could rip the house into shreds, suddenly, the tornado and the monsters swiftly retreated back into the wilderness, vanishing into the thick patch of fog.

The storm left before it came.

Alai, Ubel, Phthonus, Aletha, Emine, and the crew couldn’t believe it.

The vortex retreated into the horizon,leaving nothing but silence in its wake.

"We... We did it?" Alai questioned as the sky grew clearer, dropping her blade in exhaustion.

"No... there’s more." Phthonus said as he approached a cyan luminance floating in the sky. "It’s..."

Left amongst the tornado’s tracks was a giant floating ancient writing plastered in pink and cyan luminance. Following it, streams of green luminance tried to pull it down before..

"Allow me to handle this." Pridia added as she kicked the roots off the text. "This... "

All of them except Aletha fell into shock and disapproval, especially Alai. Her crimson eyes broadened at the reflection of the ancient text plastered into the air.

As the people’s concerned faces shroud in a cyan glow, Aletha squinted her grey eyes at the text and read it aloud.

("The Owners shall make their endeavored return to this world and...")

"It’s..." Alai fell to her knees, reading it aloud. "...the prophecy."

Above the text was a symbol of a tear and a giant circle, followed with the last text of the message.

("...shall wipe the tears of this world dry.")

. ..

After each one of them read the prophecy, it vanished into nothingness and shattered into a million pieces.

Their hands quickly dropped to the ground, their energy depleted quickly. The peaceful silence returned, followed by the chirping of birds, and sounds of morning doves.

The emerald sky returned to baby blue, trees reformed in exaggerated amounts, and puffy clouds stretched across the breeze-bathed plains after the tornado and "prophecy" departed.

It was as if the storm had never hit them in the first place.

. . .

Afterward, Alai fixed the wreckage around her house and sorted out her swords in the weapon room. Ubel retreated his claws and Aletha gave her her wooden sword.

She then rested on a couch, with Ubel, Phthonus and Pridia, all recollecting about the prophecy.

"The Owners? Who are the Owners?" Phthonus asked them as he fixed his scarf.

"I don’t know. I have never seen anything like it." Emine said with wide eyes. "But I probably think it’s important. Aletha, what have you said to scare them?"

As Aletha felt her limbs tear and reform from inside out, she briefly stated.

"Alaunus," Aletha whispered as the silhouette of a dragon appeared in her gaze. "Who is Alaunus?"

Ubel, having caught Aletha in a daze, stepped forward and brushed the dust off the sofa. He plucked a stand of his silver hair, took a deep breath and began to articulate the recent events.

"Aletha," He said, "When and where did you hear that name?"

Aletha sneered at Ubel, scratching her head, replying begrudgingly.

"Alaunus?"

"Yes, that name." Phthonus replied while clicking his tongue. "When and where did you hear it?"

Aletha tilted her head confusingly

"Umm, I heard it... in a dream."

"Dream?" Ubel uttered back. "What dream? How do you know about her?"

After Ubel and Phthonus had asked Aletha what her dreams were, she began to carefully articulate all the events that had happened in her dreams to Ubel.

Starting from the barrage of fire arrows, to the magical being protecting citizens, to the lightning bolts and angels, to the war heads and weapons. Aletha recollected it all and shared it not only to Ubel and Phthonus but Alai and Pridia too.

Hearing this, Alai gazed at the bruised body of Aletha, staring at her in concern. Slowly she rubbed her knees and grabbed a cold beverage.

After she placed the steamy drink toward her, Alai sat down with Ubel and discussed.

"What are you two talking about? Sorry I was finishing cleaning the place. Luckily for me though, nothing got harmed. Just a few trees and hills."

Phthonus commented with an exasperated voice. "Aletha... tell her what we saw. Tell her about your dream"

"We saw a prophecy." She muttered beneath her query breath. "And Alaunus."

"Alaunus?!"

. . .

Alai stepped back at the sound of the name. She shook her head in disbelief.

"You’re t...talking about Alaunus?" Alai expressed with a fearful gulp. "T...The mighty dragon that wrote a thousand prophecies around the world and nearly ended the planet?"

Aletha intervened on the discussion, asking...

"Wait, you KNOW about Alaunus?"

"Of course I do!" Alai replied while scratching her head. "Alanus was an ancient dragon predating the beginning of this world. She was the one who chose to guide humanity during the War of the Wish, and several eras back."

Alai shook her head, grieving at the thought of that mighty dragon.

"Alaunus..." The ruby-haired girl added with a serious tone," It was because of her strength that humanity began to flourish under the might of her prophecies."

"So what you’re saying is that prophecy..." Emine stopped at her words.

"There can only be one explanation." Pridia grunted as she struggled to clench her skirt. "The writing that WE saw scared those monsters."