INSIGNIAS: THE REGALIS

The sounds of the crashing waves were louder than earlier. The stormy ocean reflected the charcoal sky. Standing in the middle of a sea of nothingness was terrifying. The cold howling wind surfed with the angry waves. The wind sent shivers on the skins. Despite the darkness, it felt like thousands of eyes were staring, waiting, and urging the person to scream, cry, and beg to escape. It felt like a nightmare turned into reality.

Clyne wasn’t scared of the dark but the darkness made him remember the black hole on the ground. The thought triggered his anger more than fear. He tried not to think about it as he laid on the rough surface of the roof of the main castle. The dry fine-grained material scratched him as he moved to make himself comfortable. He crawled on the surface toward the large hole. A third of the roof had collapsed, giving him a clear view of the enemies inside. He counted twenty enemies around a floating and glowing box. Torches of fire decorated the four wide walls. Clyne moved toward the edge of the roof to spy on the enemies outside the castle. There were more members of the red army standing in rows just outside the door. He closed his eyes tightly and wished Faz and Savvier good luck. He rubbed his shoulders when the strong cold wind blew. By now, his two comrades should be in the basement. He figured Hawkbane told the two about the structure of the old forgotten castle.

“Westeros castle…” he whispered, “The realm in the west.” He deduced that there’s no connection between the red army and Westeros because no one mentioned anything about the other realm.

He looked up toward the direction of the academy. Even with the distance, he still could see flashes of light in the sky. How long will it last? How long will WE last?

He looked down when he heard noises inside the castle. The guards were now comfortably talking to each other. Clyne glanced at his wristwatch. He had to wait for five more minutes. He was nervous. He had never tried controlling the ground of the ocean but he had to try. When the five excruciating minutes passed, he moved near the edge and focused his attention on the two towers on both sides of the gatehouse, which he barely see in the darkness. The castle in the sea was still inside the outside barrier. He tried to connect his body, mind, and heart to the ground holding the castle. Too deep. His hands trembled with the overwhelming power he was releasing. He felt the heavy weight on his whole body. As the cold sweat rolled down his brow, the whole castle shook lightly. The enemies probably felt it because he was slowly losing control of the ground. In a few minutes, they will find me. So he gave his everything. He pushed until the two towers and gatehouse cracked, broke, and slowly collapsed. Clyne was gasping as he watched some of the enemies try to hold on to the falling parts of the castle. He peeked inside the building and saw a half of the guards still on their post. He noticed Faz and Savvier as they emerged from the stairs.

The fight started. Clyne, still breathing heavily, blocked the entrance to stop the other guards from entering. But he knew it’s not enough. He jumped from the roof of 30 feet to punch the enemy trying to hit Faz. Only after he reached the ground when he felt the heat and power emitted by the glowing box. He joined the fight and trying to knock out as many enemies as he can. He wasn’t strong enough to use his power again.

“Grab the box!” he heard Savvier shout. “We can’t win!” We can see that. Eight enemies were inching slower to them. Based on their eyes, they were humans. He turned around and grabbed the box. It was the size of his whole hand. What is this thing and how does it work?

“No time!” Faz said. Clyne flinched when lightning strikes the ground, leaving a crater on the floor. Then he started floating. He panicked at first but he saw that Faz and Savvier were also floating. The enemies reacted and used their elementals too.

“Let’s go!” Savvier instructed. Faz flew through the roof and Clyne and Savvier followed. Clyne didn’t know how but his body just followed Faz. He placed the box in the inside pocket of his jacket. It wasn’t his first time flying with Faz but he never got used to it. Maybe because my elemental is Earth…

They left the castle in the ocean but the enemies followed. The waves rose trying to catch them.

“Clyne!” Savvier, who was behind him, called. “Remove the gems!” Confused, he glanced at him. He couldn’t clearly see his expression but Clyne knew he’s angry. Is he talking about the gems on the sides of the box? He was about to take the box from his pocket when something bright passed near his face. He instinctively touched the side of his face because of the heat. Several fire blasts followed. Faz increased their pace. They were near the beach. The wind painfully hitting his face as they flew.

“Now! Clyne!” He took out the box and looked at the gems. Blue, yellow, green, and red… He was about to touch the yellow one when Faz shouted, making him stop.

“You have to remove them by order!” What? Then unfamiliar voices reached them. It sounded like a frightening chorus.

“Give the Pandora’s Box back!!!” He felt the chills ran on his skin. Pandora’s Box. They reached the beach.

“What’s the order?” Clyne shouted back to Faz. They neared flew above the trees.

“Green-” The moment Faz stopped, he felt his body suddenly getting heavy. He shouted as his body fell toward the ground. I’m falling! I’m falling! Within a few seconds, he painfully hit the ground.

“Ugh” But it wasn’t as painful as he expected. He noticed that his fall slowed down as he neared the ground. Faz… Where is he? He winced as he stood up, the pain on his left side throbbed. He looked around, still holding the glowing box.

“Faz? Savvier?” No answers. I have to look for them. But he stopped himself. The best way to save everyone was to remove the gems to stop the enemies from bringing the dead back to life. He hid among the fallen trees. He sat on the ground and examined the glowing box. The white box felt warm and light on his hand. He wondered if it’s better to destroy it without removing the gems but he had a feeling that he would make the matter worse. Nothing was interesting about the box except for the four gems. How would I know the right order? Come on, Clyne. Think.

He noticed something engraved inside each gem. They looked like cursive letters. As… S…W… B… Do I need to remove them alphabetically? He realized that the maker of the box won’t make it that easy. The four letters could mean anything.

“Maybe the elementals?” he murmured, “W for water, A for air….” He shook his head.

“Maybe they’re names of the makers…” he stopped, “But I don’t know them!” He groaned. When he heard voices near him, he hid the box in his jacket.

If the letters are the initials of the makers, then we’re doom.

Stop it, Clyne. You have to find a way.

He thought of dragging one of the enemies to tell him but it’s risky. When the voices disappeared and he couldn’t sense anyone near him, he took a good look at the box.

“S for South… W for West… B for…” He sighed. No North and East.

“Wait. W for West… Westeros.” The idea hit him. He didn’t know if it’s the right answer but he was curious.

“Arconien, Westeros, Boreas, Austers, Seven Stars, and Orient Pearl.” These are the names of the realms. Before, the seven belongs to one realm. But one by one, they gained independence.

“Austers, Seven Stars, Westeros, Boreas...” If his memory was correct, he knew the order of the four realms. Please be right. Please be right. He removed the blue gem first, followed by green, yellow, and then the red one. The box lost its glow but the gems brightened. Then he heard a deafening chorus of cries around him.

Was I wrong?