Burning Star

Eric found it hard to contain his feelings. He was happy, and he wanted to show it to the world. However, there was something even more pressing that demanded his attention. Despite how filled with joy he was, he couldn’t ignore the fact that they were about to face a grave danger. Not even the thought of his sweet and beautiful Amelia could hinder that—although it didn’t exactly ruin his mood either.

He smirked. When this was all over, he would take her in his arms and never let go. That seemed to be a reasonable plan. At least for the time being.

‘What’s the plan, mate?’ he thought to Joshua.

‘Well. Once you’ve climbed down from your pink cloud, we’d have to set up a trap.’ Joshua faded away for a moment. ‘Vega has offered herself of as bait.’

Eric didn’t have to ask what Joshua thought of that. He’d rather die than let Vega sacrifice herself again, and Eric was with him on that one. Although, the rational part of him had to admit that he didn’t have any other alternative. Not to forget the fact that once Vega set her mind on something, there was no getting out of it.

He sighed. The mental link he had with Joshua, usually revealed his feelings to Joshua, but right now, it was the other way around. Eric was useless, though. He couldn’t help his friend through his heartache, and he couldn’t help Vega either. It was their business, and while he did want to help them make up, there simply wasn’t any way to do it right now.

Amelia’s hand touched his own. “Are you okay?” she asked. He looked up at her, squeezing her hand while noticing her eyes showing concern.

As he continued to walk, he nodded. “Yeah, I’m fine…” He sent her a weak smile. “Just trying to come up with a plan to lure out Errai.”

Amelia laughed. “And how’s that going?” she asked.

He shrugged. “So far, all we have is Vega using herself as bait.”

“That’s not a good plan,” Amelia said with a frown. “Isn’t there anything else?”

I wish there was, he though. Eric shook his head. “It doesn’t seem like it.”

Amelia started to bite her lip, and he noticed a small crinkle on her forehead. A strange urge to kiss it came over him, and he forced his eyes to focus on the ground.

“Eric?” she said.

“Yeah?”

“I think…” she said before trailing off.

Eric stopped. “What is it?”

“I might have an idea,” she said.

“Yeah?” He widened his eyes in surprise. “Well… what is it?”

“I could try to manifest him,” she suggested before averting her eyes to their intertwined hands.

“What?” He frowned. He didn’t understand what she was getting at.

“You know,” she answered, “like I did with Vega.”

Eric hadn’t even stopped to consider how Vega managed to come back, and even in his wildest dreams, he wouldn’t have considered Amelia to be the cause. “You manifested Vega?”

She nodded. “I can remember Errai’s looks,” she said. “As long as he hasn’t changed appearances, I should be able to manifest him.”

“Can you do it from afar?” he asked. If he could secure her safety, it might actually be worth a shot.

She shook her head. “No. He would appear right in front of me.”

“That’s a horrible idea,” he said and dismissed her idea. “I’m not placing you in potential danger.”

She stopped and pulled her hand from his grip. “It wouldn’t be you that placed me there. I’m suggesting it, and with the help of you, Vega and Joshua, it might actually work.”

Eric couldn’t believe what she was saying. While he agreed that the idea was valid if it had involved anybody else, then he wouldn’t risk Amelia’s life for it. Errai already wanted to steal her powers by killing her.

“No,” he said with finality in his voice. “We’ll have to come up with something else.”

She huffed, and then she turned walking in the opposite direction. “Amelia,” he called after her, but she didn’t listen. He sighed.

Girls… They’re going to be the end of me, he thought.

‘Ditto,’ Joshua’s voice interfered. ‘What is going on with you two?’

‘She wants to manifest Errai straight in front of her,’ Eric explained. ‘While it’s a excellent plan, in theory, there’ll be no possible way of foreseeing whom he’ll attack. If he decides to go for her, she has no way of protecting herself, and we don’t have the means to stop him until it’s too late.’

‘Can you explain me what it is with girls, and their natural desire to sacrifice themselves?’ Joshua asked.

‘I wish I could, but I guess they just like the adrenaline rush.’ Eric shrugged.

‘Well. It’s annoying. Fetch Amelia and we’ll meet up to talk about our plans. We actually shouldn’t split up when he’s so near.’

Eric didn’t have to reply. Instead, he glanced around the small arrangements of trees. Where’d she go? Panic filled him, making beads of sweat roll down his forehead. His hands were moist, and he tried to listen for any signs of her.

She couldn’t have gone that far, that wasn’t possible. He readied himself, his palm gripping the handle of his sword. He didn’t know how it’d gotten to him, but he’d grabbed it as soon as he woke up from his talk with Solem.

A sense of dread replaced his panic when he realized what she might be doing. She wouldn’t have gone ahead with her plan when he’d dismissed it. Would she?

Eric groaned. That’s exactly what she would have done. Silly girl. She was going to get herself, and possible the others killed.

‘I need help!’ he thought to Joshua. ’I think Amelia might be trying to take on Errai on her own.’

Thousands of thoughts run through his mind, and he couldn’t discern whether Joshua answered or not. It wasn’t fundamental right now. All that mattered was Amelia.

He couldn’t be too late.

“Crap,”he cursed.

It was always the same, and it was his own fault for not realizing. As Amelia had been growing up, she’d been determined to do everything her way. If he told her a bedtime story she didn’t want to hear, she started telling a story while ignoring him.

If he’d asked her to make sure to eat her vegetables, she’d do her best to avoid them simply in spite.

And, if he asked her not to manifest a dangerous Black Hole, she’d do everything she could to disobey.

She was going to be the death of him—that much he knew. When it would happen was what brought him agony. He ran in the direction she’d disappeared, stumbling over roots, the long branches scratching his face as he rushed past them.

Please be okay, he pleaded. Please, don’t do it.

They might have had a chance if they’d all been with her, but if she were attempting to do it alone, it would be her death. Of course, in retrospect, that was probably what he should have told her in the first place.

The air changed, and he could hear the shouts of Vega and Joshua nearby. Following his nose, he caught the scent of flames. A strange light occurred a few feet away from him, coming from the other side of a bush. He neared slowly, a draft of wind rustling his hair. A shiver ran down his spine, and he prayed that it would be a Black Hole making that odd light.

He broke free from the forest, and then he glanced around, finding Amelia sitting on the ground. His jaw dropped as he saw the silver flames enveloping her, but she simply sent him a smile. “Hi,” she said. “Do you like my shield?”

Struggling to find something to say, he saw Joshua and Vega rush breaking through a bush together. They panted and looked between them while also trying to form some words.

“You don’t have to stare at me,” Amelia said. “It’s just something I dabbled with.”

“Does it hurt?” Vega asked.

“Not at all.” Amelia grinned. “But it would hurt a Black Hole.”

Eric didn’t like the direction where this was heading, and he tried to protest against it, but his mouth wouldn’t work. He was too mesmerized by the silver flames to care. They were so beautiful.

“So,” Amelia said. “Anyone wants to try out my idea?”

Eric looked helplessly while Vega listened and urged on Amelia’s idea. He wanted to stop them, but he couldn’t. There was no way to stop these two.

“So,” Vega said. “Our plan is this. Amelia manifests Errai, and right as she’s about to finish I prick my finger, causing the blood to confuse him and divert his attention from Amelia. Eric and Joshua, you’ll be ready with a sword while Amelia crawls to safety, and we’ll take over.” She smiled. “Any questions?”

Everybody shook their head, and Eric walked to his position. He glanced towards Amelia, making sure not to let her out of his sight. She crouched on the ground, readying herself. He saw her take few quick breaths before she raised her hand, slowly.

Amelia looked towards the sky, and Eric’s eyes followed. After his trip to see Solem, he hadn’t noticed how dark it’d gotten. The stars twinkled above them, and as Eric diverted his attention back to Amelia, he realized she was praying.

It had never occurred to him that she might be scared. Should he call off everything? It might be too risky. He knew that the odds were in their favor, they were four against one. But the potential loss of just one of them made his heart ache.

Her hand started to move. As her fingers danced in the air, Eric noticed her focus. She was biting her bottom lip and crunching her nose in concentration.

Eric held his breath, watching as the outline took form in front of her. The rational part of his brain told him that it wasn’t real, but it still sent chills down his spine to see Errai’s face.

‘You ready?’ Joshua asked in his mind.

Eric sighed. ‘As ready as I’ll ever be. It is close now, act fast.’

As he tried to control his breathing, he grabbed his sword, quietly pulling it from the scabbard, and then he sneaked closer. He had to be prepared to strike as fast as humanly possible for this to work. Amelia was too exposed in her position. Eric looked around, noticing Joshua and Vega sneaking closer, as well.

The moment where Errai manifested, he screamed. It was a horrifying sound, and Eric saw the man glance around while trying to figure out what had happened. Errai’s eyes finally settled on Amelia, and he raised a hand to strike.

“Look out!” Eric shouted, causing Errai to turn around. A ball of light passed by Errai’s head, it would have hit him, but he dodged it somehow.

“Amelia, run!” Eric decided to follow his own advice, and with an almost inhuman speed, he dashed forth with his sword raised, ready to strike.

Joshua mimicked his movements from the other side, and in a moment of relief, Eric actually believed they had a chance.

A sharp beam hit Errai’s arm, and the creature cried out in pain. Desperate, Errai raised his hands, and his legs started to change form. Where there were once two human legs, a bottom of countless tentacles appeared.

Eric cursed.

He hadn’t anticipated them doing this. Errai had more powers than he’d let on, and all of Eric’s previous relief disappeared in an instant, replaced with fear.

The black tentacles were long, and they lashed out at Amelia. At first strike, the silver flames turned off, and Amelia widened her eyes.

Eric watched as Amelia leaped to her feet and ran. One of Errai’s tentacles followed, sliding around her legs and causing her to fall over. Screaming, Eric charged towards the blackness and sliced through it with his sword.

Another one of his tentacles joined in, and Eric tried to zig-zag out of its way. For some reason it worked, and he prayed to Solem that Amelia was okay. He didn’t have any opportunity to slow down and check, though.

Joshua and Vega were fighting the best on their own, and Eric knew he had to join in soon. He forced her legs faster, and pushed on to get closer to the creature. He dodged under one of the tentacles and rolled over the ground, before rising again to continue his quest. Errai needed to be killed.

He raised his sword once more. This beautiful star blessed sword of his. So light that it seemed as an extension of his arm, as long as he had that, there was still hope.

Eric jerked to his left, realizing he was close enough to Errai now to fight. Joshua and Vega formed a half circle around Errai, and Eric closed the gap. There was no way to run now.

They took turns at striking, and Eric focused on the darned tentacles. Every time he managed to cut one off, a new seemed to replace it. The grass beneath was scorched from behind in contact with the Black Hole, and Eric spat on the ground in disgust. This creature was only fit for destruction.

He needed to end this. The image of a hurt Amelia haunted his retinas, and he growled while gripping the hilt of his sword tighter. A tentacle slashed out and hit his head, causing him to scream out. For a moment, he couldn’t see anything as the whole world spun around him.

Once he could focus again, he blinked a couple of times, making sure that his eyes were moist enough to withstand the pressure of the cold wind around him.

He still couldn’t see Errai completely, but he heard the whoosh of another tentacle trying to finish him off. Acting on instinct, he dropped to the ground, avoiding the collision with one of its deadly blows.

He almost dropped his sword.

“Eric! Look out!” Vega yelled as another tentacle aimed straight for him. He jumped to his left, barely dodging it.

“That’s enough,” he muttered. With determination, he decided to end this.

Eric rushed forward, aiming for the killing blow. They were three people against Errai—they could do this. He raised his sword, crying out as the tentacles slashed at his skin, but he didn’t falter. One last strike. That was all he needed.

Vega kept shooting lights directly at the dark form while Joshua hit him from the other side. Errai was surrounded, and there was nothing he could do to stop any of them. All of the tentacles were busy trying to help Errai survive the various blows.

Agony filled him as his eyes travelled over Amelia’s still body. He hoped she was okay, but for now, she didn’t move an inch. Eric jumped to the side, dodging a lethal blow that would have spiked through him. Errai was making them work for it—that much was clear.

“Aim for his limbs,” he yelled to their others. “We need to focus on one thing to take down his defenses.”

‘I’m going for the heart,’ he thought to Joshua. ‘Or whatever it is he has in that general area.’

‘Do it!’ Joshua replied. ‘End this now.’

Eric calculated the distance, and readied himself to use his sword as a spear. If he threw it correctly, there’d be no more fighting. With a few quick breaths, he rolled forward and aimed for Errai’s chest. The Black Hole screamed in pain and against he disappeared in his silver mist before re-appearing in the form of Amelia.

Her eyes stared back at him, and she opened her mouth to talk. “Why are you hurting me?” she asked. “Please stop.”

“It’s a trap, don’t fall for it,” Vega yelled. “Finish it.”

Time slowed for Eric, and he struggled to breathe. One of the tentacles had wrapped itself around his throat. Amelia disappeared and Errai was back, a menacing laughter filling the air. “I will kill him if you continue,” he said.

Eric tried to signal that he didn’t care, but he couldn’t move nor speak. The pressure on his neck was too much, and he could almost feel his airways shut down. As his consciousness started to give in, he could see dark spots appearing before his eyes. Eric couldn’t focus nor see anything. He didn’t have his sword, and there was no way to fight of the tentacle. Vega and Joshua stopped attacking, and Eric tried to spot Amelia’s body. The dark spots teased his vision, and he couldn’t focus on anything.

A scream slashed through the air, and he saw something silver flash in the corner of his eyes. Shortly after, he could breathe again. He panted for air, and saw Amelia’s fingers sweeping through the air. He didn’t get to question what she was doing before he saw Vega’s body burst with silver flames. At first, she panicked, trying to get her hair away from the fire, but he saw that it didn’t hurt her.

A few seconds after, Joshua had fire erupting from his arms, as well. Eric saw them share a look and then they advanced on Errai once more. This time they would have to finish it off. They didn’t use weapons, simply punched and kicked wherever they could reach, the silver flames burning at Errai who screamed in pain.

Errai didn’t stand a chance, and as black smoke rose from the spots they touched, Eric could see hatred and despair in Errai’s eyes. With his hands behind him, Eric moved back to where Amelia was resting. She was panting heavily, and he took her in his arms while keeping an eye on the fight. “Good job,” he whispered to her and squeezed her tightly.

Joshua grabbed the man by the throat and squeezed hard while Vega worked to get her light up. A beam of pure starlight streamed from her hands, exterminating Errai from this earth.

Vega sunk to her knees, alongside Joshua who was panting hard. Eric couldn’t find a way to voice his relief. They’d done it—they’d finally defeated Errai. After so many years of tracking him, and trying to save the world from his evil schemes; they’d finally managed to get rid of him.

Everybody was too shocked to move, and Eric didn’t blame any of his friends. He needed a moment to catch his breath, as well. And the shaking Amelia in his arms demanded his attention at first.

“Are you okay?” he asked.

She nodded, and then she started to laugh. It started as a small giggle but grew to a full-blown expression of glee. It was contagious, and Eric couldn’t stop himself from laughing along. Soon after, Vega and Joshua’s gleeful laughter joined, and they all rose to share a humongous hug. It was finally over.