Paz felt the fear in the air.

  She could not be sure if the other members of this rag-tag group felt it, but the hint of yellow in the clouds made her feel unwelcome. It was like an anxiety-induced wave of tension that was hard to escape.

  They traveled northeast to the Yomitsu Mountain Range. They had about another thirty-minute ride; however, from this distance, it felt longer, as she could see the reddish-orange tops that contrasted with the snow-peaked mountains surrounding it.

  And yet, she could not get past the wave of anxiety.

  This was Paz’s first time visiting the Temple of Retsam. Technically, one was supposed to make a pilgrimage to the Temple; however, because of her clipped wings, she couldn’t do that alone, which was one of the requirements to receive Champion status.

  Yet, her green cloak will always symbolize her talents, but it is a symbol to others as one has not received the blessing of Retsam. And that is very unorthodox for anyone.

  This wasn’t an ordinary mission either. As far as she knew, the ATP was caught off guard by the Sword Master. And even though she was the brightest and the most talented, her clipped wings gave her another status.

  Unworthy.

  She thought about the Empress; her top of the grand royal ascension to the Talon Peak and Grand Bastion. She tried hard not to upset her grandmother, but the recent communique received from the Temple Palace proved apprehensive.

  Yes, her orders were clear as Champion. Find the Sword Master and bring him before the Retsam Elders at the Red Mount before the corrupted Power Swords find him. And it was a simple enough task. She had him convinced. Sorta.

  Until 'he' showed up. The Companion, Carl.

  Sure, it was a possibility, but the stories of the companions were relatively unknown. In all her studies of Wind and Fire magic, not once has the Companion's name been mentioned in the history of why they existed at all.

  Only in some obscure writing did it exist, and when she came face to face with this reality, getting the Sword Master to the Red Mount proved impossible. He was like a magnet of trouble, leading from one awful battle to another, and yet, finally, as they were on their way to the Red Mount, the Sword Master had two Power Swords collected.

  She wondered what the big deal was. Wasn't that the whole purpose of the legendary warrior? To go collecting?

  Yet, the doubts ever creep into her mind. Why is the Sword Master not a Spore-Beast for one? Or why she just couldn't defeat the Great Darkness herself. Of course, she wasn't privy to those answers, yes, she coveted them anyway.

  They soared through a particularly yellowish cloud formation, but her feathers were standing up on end before they hit the wind stream. Inside the clouds, to her left and right, she saw images of Rowen subjugated at a large city bordering the ocean.

  Much like how the Spore-Beast were persecuted, this time the Rowen were the targets, and their city looked overrun by round-ears.

  Anbar.

  The vision changed to deep inside the Rowen Capitol, which, after some striking landmarks, taught her, was Port City. And in the center of the great Rowen Contingent was the Advent Guards Beacon of Light.

  She thought it was a standoffish name, but the vision changed to the Beacon going offline, and finally collapsing in an explosion.

  That beacon was how Rowen kept the Anbar at bay. That kept the Anbar from getting too aggressive with the Northern Territories.

  Her right arm throbbed. When she rubbed it, the images disappeared as they left the clouds. She could have only assumed it was a vision, and once again, the fear crept into the back of her mind.

  What if that vision did become true? Then, what would happen to them?

  She shuddered at the thought, and yet, it was getting harder not to think about it as it continued to whisper in the back of her mind, scratching and itching for a voice.

  The Temple Air Eagles scaled the side of the Red Mount past the snowy cliff sides until the snow turned red, and settled on the metal platform that stuck out like an errant feather.

  "Kev, look, it's like Red Snow," Carl said, hopping off as the red snowflakes covered the area around him.

  "It is a surprise that we haven't ventured this far north before," Kevin replied. "I think most of our original play-through was further south, and it was all hot and sandy."

  "Yet, I do not feel cold," Carl replied. "Like the red snowflakes are hot."

  "Hot flakes," Kevin said.

  She couldn't see the banter that these two had with each other. It wasn't enjoyable, and they talked way too much. The Sword Master did not talk at all, which was part of her whole problem of getting him here initially, now, the mere mention of adventure, and they seem to be all over it.

  Paz wanted to say something about the snow, but she held her reserve.

  It wasn't her place, and it would probably not make sense to either of them anyway.

  "Ok," Dimitri said, gearing up. "Well, Carl, my friend, it has once again been a pleasure to serve."

  "Thanks, Dimitri," he replied. "Hey, wait, how are we supposed to get off the mountain?"

  "Soar?"

  "Alright, whatever. Fly with Purpose, my comrade," Carl said, clasping his palm.

  "Return with glory, Carl. For the Retsam."

  "For the Retsam," he echoed.

  As the Talon Air took off, Kevin snickered. "Soar with Intent..."

  "Be quiet, Kevin," he muttered.

  "If you two are quite done," Paz said, "we need to go inside. We are wasting time."

  As she said that, two round-ear bipeds came out to greet them as they settled in. She had seen them before at the village, traveling with the Primal Champion.

  "So this is the legendary Sword Master," the smaller male said with scraggly brown hair. "He seems taller than what was described by Midge, don't you think, Striker?"

  "Indeed," the taller female he called Striker replied.

  She looked almost impressive for being an Armargosian, but they all look about that size anyway. From what she knew of them, even though they had round ears, they were unkind to their species, but that didn't mean that they would help either.

  "To any extent," Striker continued. "I would like to welcome you to the Temple of Retsam, where the beast-kin honor their savior, Ajinin Retsam."

  That right there startled her. What was this Ajinin? This wasn’t the first time that name came up. In fact, in one of the Sword Master's memories, Ajinin was present in the original journey, yet no records mention Ajinin being there. Maybe if she did that pilgrimage, she would understand. That always kept her one step in the dark, yet she had to pretend that she knew what she was doing.

  “Thank you, Miss Striker. Nice to meet you both,” Kevin replied.

  Striker motioned for everybody to move inside. “Striker is just fine, there, Kevin. We know all about you and what is going on. We are way past formalities at this point. The Primal Champion, Midge, whom you’ve met already, is here, as well as Empress Rydia from the Great Bastion."

  “Wow, what is up with all the bigwigs here?” Kevin replied. “Why all the hoopla?"

  “Hoopla?” Striker asked.

  “He means, what is the big deal?” Carl said.

  “Well, it would be best if they explain it to you, as I am not aware of the traditional customs of the Spore-Beast."

  The Temple did not proceed deep into the mountain. Following several bends and beyond a massive meditation area, they reached the inner sanctum, where an enormous gemstone hovered midair, suspended in a peculiar, unnatural motion.

  Paz has never seen anything so huge. She did not want to act surprised in front of them, as all of this should have been known to her already.

  “A Time Shard,” Carl said, staring at the enormous crystal in awe.

  “What?” Kevin asked.

  “It is a time shard, as every realm has one,” he replied. “I do not know too much about them, my father does."

  Several robed Spore-Eagles ushered them further inside.

  “Carl, does this remind you of monks?” Kevin asked as they guided him in.

  Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  “There are so many similarities; it is like that in all the realms. A lot of the cultures and symbols are actually either mirrored or adopted. This here is no different, I suppose."

  She knew them as the Crystal Bearers, and the name was confusing to her until she saw the giant crystal and understood. The Retsam specifically chose them to live out their lives protecting the Temple.

  On the other side of the crystal room, they walked into an open chamber with a large rocky table that was smooth cut to perfection. Large brown smooth stumps with brown cushions adorned the sides. Along the wall, crystallized glass reflected the light. She saw something similar at that Research Laboratory in Mordecai, though this version doesn't look as metal as that one.

  Primal Champion Midge stood next to one of the stumps. Next to her was the hologram image of FyreJack. She immediately knelt to one knee. She almost failed to do that when she first saw her at the Commons, as she had never seen her before. But now, she knows. The highest respect, only equal to her, is the Empress, with whom she heard they were best friends.

  Best friends of the mightiest ruler of the land. To bestow a title like that is unfathomable. To have a friend whom you always relied on is also not on the cards. All spores do is get in the way of doing things. It was much more convenient to just do things yourself. That was how she got by and became highly proficient in Resonance Arts.

  “Champion, did you not hear me?” Midge said, “You do not bow to me in the Retsam Temple."

  Paz stood petrified. She made a mistake. In front of the Primal Champion. If only she had known the rules of the Temple ahead of time, then that would not have happened. But she was caught unaware, and that was her mistake.

  “Hey,” Carl asked, “You ok? Don’t sweat it, everyone messes up."

  “I am fine, Companion. You do not have to worry about me."

  “Yeah, I see that,” he replied.

  “Anyways,” Midge said, “Please have a seat. We are waiting on Ajinin, and we can explain why you are here."

  “This sounds super secretive, and if it was this important, why wait til now?"

  Paz lowered her head. This was important, and it should have been first. But there were problems. It wasn’t her fault what she wanted to say, but in front of the Primal? She was already in enough trouble.

  “Well, due to the seriousness of the issue, we did summon you earlier,” said an elderly voice coming from behind them.

  A large, burly Rowan walked into the room. He also wore the traditional robes of the Temple, yet he was ordained in silver. Several of his attendants preceded him as he walked in, looking at each individual in the room.

  “Ajinin,” Carl said. “Man, you're getting old."

  “Well, always the observant one, my young pupil. But you have also come up in the years, as in this room, let us remove the mask of self-doubt and show everyone our true age."

  “And, he continues to speak in riddles,” Carl replied.

  He walked over to Kevin and peered at his pointed ears. “Well, as much as I would love to catch up with you two, it would be pointless, as I have been following your movements from the beginning of your arrival.”

  “Of course, you have,” Carl replied. “You wouldn’t have it any other way."

  Paz was lost. She did not know who this ‘Ajinin’ was, or rather, his importance. She knew this place was the Holy Ground of Retsam, but her ignorance to figure out why was making this a very tense conversation to have. She hoped that they wouldn’t call on her, as she would not have any answers.

  “Champion Paz,” Ajinin said, “This is the first of us meeting. And in such an unusual set of circumstances. Do not feel nervous, little one. You have done great work so far."

  She was about to speak when a holographic image of the Empress appeared on one of the stumps.

  “Do not give credit where it isn’t deserved, Master Ajinin, as time is not on our side."

  Her grandmother scolded her, without even scolding her.

  “Well, now, there, Empress Rydia, you as well had your back against the wall at one point in time. Were you not once young and naive when you were her age?"

  “That is neither here nor there, Master Ajinin. Everyone is present, so Midge, I will leave it up to you."

  “Studious as always, squirt,” Midge replied. “It is of no surprise that the Great Darkness, or Malikhil as we like to call it, has decided to make its move due to the fluctuations of the Resonance Ether in the air. However, it gets a bit more complicated than that. FyreJack, can you explain?"

  “I can do you, but you see, this is a lot more technical. Carl will understand it, of course, but to you who live in this realm, that might be a bit more complicated to explain."

  “Well, do your best, my holographic friend,” Ajinin replied.

  “Ok, Mr. Well, here I go,” FyreJack said, “I still do not know why the portal to this realm reopened suddenly, but I can only surmise that the E.S.P.s… sorry for those who are nonacronymical… Elemental Spirit Protectors forced the portal open."

  Carl chimed in. “Wait, so there are ESPs here in Rowen as well?"

  “Correct, brother. They are everywhere.” FyreJack motioned the air, and the glass around the walls displayed tiny bits of light in the world. “Because of what they did, I was able to sync with the Main Library again back on Earth, and now I can fully understand the problem. Oh, by the way, brother, you have another message. I will give it to you later."

  “Um, thanks?” Carl said.

  “Mr. FyreJack,” the Empress said, “Are the ESPs the ones that summoned the SwordMaster and caused the corruption?"

  “In a way…yes. From the data and through the coordination with the other realms, the ESPs here…. I do not have another way of putting it. They fucked up."

  Paz did not understand anything he said. Library? ESPs? Earth? The more she listened, the more useless she felt.

  “The Anbar declaration may have been what spooked the tiny folk,” Whiskers added. “They have a real problem with them, and I do not know why."

  “Oh, Mr. Whiskers,” Carl said. “You have no idea how much they hate humans. From what I gather, the Anbar are human, other than the Rowen elves and Spore-beasts. They have a million reasons why, but I do not want to go into that conversation. Kenny, err, FyreJack, let me get this straight. The ESPs wanted the SwordMaster to cleanse the Anbar threat, so how did they pull Kevin’s soul from Earth if the Realm was locked?"

  “That is still a mystery."

  Rydia lowered her head. “The Gilgamesh Paradox."

  “The what?” Striker asked.

  “I do not know much about it. It comes in dreams. But from what I can surmise from the ordeal, a huge explosion of space-time occurred, and all the Time Crystals in the realms were destroyed, save this one here in Rowen. Something, an entity of sorts, broke through the barrier to this realm. But that’s about it. Do you think they are related?"

  “Hang on there, Queenie, let me ask the Main Library,” FyreJack said and disappeared.

  “Well, while he is investigating, I suppose we need to get to why we summoned the Sword Master here."

  “Right,” Rydia said. “Sword Master Kevin. We need you to undergo a ritual with the Resonance to stabilize your body to prevent another corruption of the Power Swords. You have seen firsthand what this corruption can do. As you find the missing Power Swords, your body will be more attuned to the Resonance."

  “Wait,” Kevin said. “While this is all fine and all, it sounds like you want to put super glue on my soul so it doesn’t become another out-of-body experience, is that what I think you are saying?

  “In a roundabout way, yes,” Whiskers said.

  "Hold up now," Carl replied, raising his voice. "If you keep his soul in this, Kevin, what happens when he goes home? There are two Kevins. One here in Rowen, and one back on Earth. Will the two merge once Kevin crosses over?"

  There was silence around the room. Paz understood that part at least. He wouldn't be able to go back to this Earth Realm.

  "Bud, if this prevents further corruption, then I will go through with it," Kevin said.

  "Yeah, that's you talking. But what about you on the other side? You hold those memories even now. I am not backing down from this. I told your wife that I would get your soul back, and I intend to do just that." Carl's fists clenched at his sides, the Claws of the Retsam glinting slightly.

  “You would risk all that. You have seen what happened last time. We were the cause of all of this."

  “That is not the point,” Carl said. “You have sacrificed enough. Hell, more than enough. If the ESPs are causing all this ruckus, then I will bring ESPs from other realms to set this straight."

  “Thanks, bud, did not know you cared."

  “Shut up, this is serious. We do not have to do this. We have proven that we can get the swords all on our own."

  “I understand,” Kevin replied. “Kevin, on the other hand, did not deserve what had happened to him. We will fix the problem and I will promise you and him that."

  “You said that last time,” Carl replied.

  “Yes, those were different circumstances, and we were kids. We know what we are doing now. We got this."

  FyreJack appeared and smiled. “Such a bonding moment. I am truly touched. Right here."

  “Shut up,” Carl said. “Did you get what you were looking for?"

  “Actually, I did a while ago. Y’all were having a moment, so I didn’t want to distract."

  “FyreJack,” Midge said, “Stop teasing them. What did you find out?"

  “The Library is keeping it in sealed records. So, it does exist that it has happened, otherwise there would be no data to store. However, we can guess that was the initial breach, but everything that happened after the fact was ESP-related, and believe it or not, it is not uncommon for ESPs to take matters into their own hands. I mean, look at the Resonance. ESPs. They do not like humans, so they have no innate abilities to use them. That is not a coincidence we are talking about."

  Striker looked around the room. “With all that said and done, do we know where the other swords are?"

  "Well, yes, and no," Ajinin said. "One is in Port City. Another is with the Anbar, and one more… at the ATP."

  Everyone stared at the Empress. Paz did not know what to think now. Did the Empress have one of the swords and didn't tell anyone? Did she know about it? Of course, she has; she is the Empress.

  "Why is everyone staring? Yes, one of the Power Swords is here at the ATP. The Power Sword of Earth."

  Something in Rydia's hologram flickered—a nearly imperceptible hesitation—before she continued. "It's kept in the eastern wing. No one goes there anymore. Not since..."

  Midge cleared her throat. "We can discuss the particulars later."

  "Well, we know where we are heading next, but I've got to tell you that is cliche as hell," Carl said.

  Kevin smiled. "Right? Not exactly a plot twist."

  Paz wondered how they could be so nonchalant about the whole thing. She figured they would be upset as one of the Power Swords was in easy grasp, and why didn't the Empress tell her about this?

  "Ok, one last subject, Midge said. "The Anbar. Striker, what is their progress?"

  “The last I heard from my Caravans, they were heading to Mordecai to, I assume, set up shop for an aggressive push into the Northern Lands. However, they had suddenly stopped moving and stayed in place near Valdosta. I think something has got them spooked as they haven’t moved from there in days. There is no real advantage there because of Port City, so to stay that close is beyond unusual, even for a congregation as large as they are. They may just turn around and go home."

  “We can only wish,” Striker said.

  Midge nodded. “We must continue to do our part, then, now that we have a moment's breath from them. If one of the Power Swords is with them, then let's wait on that one til last and focus on the other two."

  It was then that Paz's mind went blank. Another vision popped in her head about Rowen City, and the round-ears surrounding the outskirts. The yellowish tint formed all around the area as all the civilians cowered in fear. She saw a large pole-like antenna high in the sky turning yellow and emitting a signal as everyone ran and hid, afraid.

  The view panned out to see a bright yellow object near the outskirts of the Anbar forces. As she peered into that location, she saw the Power Sword glowing yellow in the hands of someone powerful. That person wearing a strange oval-shaped hat pointed it everywhere before stopping and looking up, staring straight at her.

  She blinked, and the vision was gone. They were still conversing amongst themselves, but the one called Ajinin stared as if he knew something was up. His eyes narrowed slightly, and for a moment, Paz felt exposed—as if he had seen the same vision she had. A chill overcame her body, and she quickly looked away.

  He turned and addressed the group. "Well, here I thought things were going to go pretty smoothly. We must start the ritual to prepare the Sword Master to safely contain the Resonance powers. We will begin immediately, as time is on the fence and not on our side."

  “Right,” Kevin said. “I am ready."

  Once the meeting ended, Paz, Carl, and Kevin waited in the grand entrance where the crystal was. A few minutes later, Pizer showed up, but this time he wasn’t wearing his traditional Advent Guard Uniform, but he now looked like one of the attendees of the Crystal.

  "Ah, there you are," Carl said, "I was wondering why you've been so silent recently. I hadn't realized you were completely absent."

  "Pizer?" Kevin said. "You... joining a new order there, pal?"

  "Well, truthfully," Pizer responded.

  Carl shook his head. "Damn, he's beginning to talk like Ajinin now."

  "Indeed," Pizer responded. "The thing is, I have something I need to admit."

  "This should be interesting," Carl said.

  "I serve as one of Ajinin's followers. And I'll be assisting with the ritual."

  "Come again?"

  Pizer gestured toward the ceiling. "My actual name is Andre. I'm a Crystal Bearer. One of the Guardians of the Crystal."