Witch of the Gate (Part I): Empyrean Crystal Soul

Sadness and despair. Fear and terror. Bitterness and disappointment. These are the emotions that flood the dreams of that child. My whole body is trembling as I “see” her dreams. Dark and painful memories are creating strong and painful nightmares.

My heart is in pain as I feel a fracture of this despair and terror. My soul is trembling as it connects with this darkness, which is stronger than the dark element.

It is heartbreaking. I open my eyes as I can’t stand anymore pain. My tears are running unconsciously. Now, I can understand.

That child has suffered a lot. She may not have lived a war but she had lived a hell. We want to give her a heavy weight but she has already unbearable weights on her shoulders.

She desires some warmth and some freedom but we want to throw her into battles and more despair. And the worst of all is that she may meet more discrimination and hate, opening widely her already bleeding wounds.

The darkness in her soul and the darkness that she will witness here may drive her to unexpected and wrong paths. The oracle mentioned a powerful savior however, who is going to save this savior?

-“My Queen, what happened to you?” My husband says as she gets inside our chamber and notices my wet and sad eyes.

I hug him tightly. I can feel his warmth as he carries the warmth of spring itself. My heart is in turmoil and I have to share with him my worries. I explain what I “saw” in this child’s dreams.

He remained silent for a while. I know that he worries about Etheria. He even blames himself for not being strong enough to face the dangers. I know that he doesn’t like to depend on a child to save his world.

Children must be protected and not be exposed to danger. He even yelled at her but he must have been in turmoil too. After all, our savior is a seventeen years old child.

Now that he knows what that child has suffered, his agony must be bigger. However, the fate of two worlds is on her shoulders and nothing can change that. The only thing we can do is to help however we can.

I can finally taste something tastier. Even if there are only fruits and nuts on our table, they are really sweet. I had to taste something like this for a month. There is no meat in our meal but I don’t care.

My companions and I are served with a delicious meal after a good sleep in soft beds. We also took a bath with clear and warm water. Our bodies managed to relax and rest for a while.

However, we had a serious conversation with the royal couple. After our delicious meal, we started with the plans.

-“Before Mrs. Matilda injury, we were planning to have the Black Dragon Mephistor to explain to us the oracle as it is quite vague. To do this, we have to give him a very good gift, so we planned to go to the Dark Swamp and ask from the Dwarves something appropriate.” Tarragon explains and I must admit that I was surprised as grandmother was making some plans for me.

-“It might take a lot of time to restore Etheria. Matilda will not last so long. It would be better to first take her Soul back.” Queen Celeste suggests.

-“If we do that, we will alarm the Demons and our mission will be harder.” Gina meddles in.

-“From your explanation yesterday, I think that the Soul will be used for the creation of monsters. The description of the demon you fought corresponds with the description of the leader of the Tower of Sins, Alector. He is the one in charge of creating monsters.” King Vernon mentions.

-“So, you are saying that we can attack the Tower of Sins, without alarming the main forces of Demons.” Tarragon concludes.

-“It is a dangerous and deadly mission. The Tower of Sins is located at the northeast in the heart of Volcano of Doom. Except of the hot and destructive lava, there are legions of Ork and Troll soldiers guarding the Tower. There are may be some Shadows, too.” The King warns us.

-“You can’t forget the horrible monsters.” Queen also reminds us.

-“It will be a really dangerous adventure but the only way to save your grandmother.” King Vernon says.

-“So we need a very thorough plan, if we want to survive.” Gina sighs.

-“It would be best if you could take the form of Ork soldiers. With that way you can go close enough to the Tower.”

-“I know of the metamorphosis potion but there two ingredients that doesn’t exist on Earth, so I couldn’t create the potion.” I say.

-“What are they?” Queen Celeste asks.

-“One is the shell of a larva having eating from a field of Sweet Oroli. The second is the scales of a Bone-Reforming Chameleon.” I say. I was really curious about these two ingredients when I read the list.

-“You can find the scales from the Serpent Clan of Beastmen tribe. About the shell of the larva, you must go to the High Elves.” She answers.

I look at Tarragon and Gina. They are calm so I can feel reassured that we can find these two ingredients easily.

-“Even if you can get inside the Tower as Ork soldiers you may not have access to the laboratory. A battle may be unavoidable and then your exit will be harder.” King Vernon warns us.

We took into account all of their warnings.

-“If you don’t have an objection, we would like to give you assistance.” Queen Celeste says and the next moment a little female fairy, a Pixie flies into the room.

She is in the size of a little Barbie doll of my world. She has blonde hair and purple eyes. She wears a purplish dress. Her wings are almost transparent.

She lands on the table and looks at us with a proud look.

-“This is my daughter, Princess Cielo.” Queen Celeste says and we are surprised.

-“If I am not wrong, Princess Cielo is the Crown Princess and the future Queen of Fairies. Is it possible to endanger such an existence?” Tarragon says with awe.

-“Cielo is indeed the Crown Princess but she is also one of the most powerful Pixies. She will be of great help.” Queen Celeste insists.

The Pixie nods with pride and confidence. Then she flies towards me and sits on my left shoulder.

-“Nice to meet you, Cielo.” I say and the fairy nods.

-“Nice to meet you, Miss Daphne.” I hear her voice inside my head surprised.

-“Pixies communicate spiritually. When they mature enough, they can take this human-likeform and speak physically.” Queen informs me. Then, Queen Celeste is also a Pixie. She just has a more convenient form.

Now with one more companion we can set off to a very dangerous and unforgettable adventure. It is a mission for saving grandmother, the previous Witch of the Gate.

I would be lying if I said that I am not scared. In a matter of fact, I am terrified. I can’t believe yet what is happening and where I am. All these look like a dream but it isn’t.

Everything is real and scary as it is the beginning of a very long and risky journey.