6 The Countdown's Begun

Aster sat froze in his chair. He couldn't just believe it. The legend was true..... Each of the incidents were solids proofs of what the doctor had said. Aster could feel Sienna's and Eren's eyes looking fixedly at him. He turned around to look at them. Their glances showed fear and nervousness.

"The sword get its powers from a stone. Actually called 'The Imperial Stone'. A person who touches the stone unlocks a channel between his soul and the stone and can gain control over the almighty sword." Hogman continued seriously.

"Has someone ever unlocked this passage?" Someone from the crowd stood up and asked.

"No my dear boy! No one has even seen the stone. It doesn't exist. That's why it's a legend."

"What if such a stone do exist?" A student asked.

"If it does exist, it is said that only a person with a pure heart, strong mind and innocent soul can possess its powers. Others cannot. They might reach the stone, but can never possess it."

"Has anyone went In search of that stone?" Someone asked again.

"Oh! People have wasted years searching for that stone. But they ended up gaining nothing."

"How does the stone look like?"

"It is said that, the stone is red in colour. But no one knows for sure." Hogman replied.

" But one thing children, if a person finds the stone and unlocks its powers, that person will gain more abilities than anyone else on the planet. He can travel between dimensions, teleport himself from one place to another and can use all the elements of nature for an attack. But kids, I will advice you not to go in search of the stone."

Sienna, Eren and Aster listened carefully to what Hogman was speaking. Their eyes widening with every word he spoke. Unknowingly, they stood up and walked out of the hall.

" What if, the doctor was just repeating a legend?" Eren asked still confused.

"Don't believe the doctor then. What about me? Don't you believe me?" Aster asked nervously.

Sienna was silent. Completely silent. She was thinking about the things Hogman and Aster had told. She was feeling dizzy. She couldn't believe that there were people in another dimension, planning to wage an attack on earth, and they almost the only ones who know it, excluding the doctor.

"On which day, did the doctor say, the mages were planning to attack?" Sienna asked Aster.

"On New Year." Aster replied.

"Do you both realize that this New Year is just 1 hour away?" Sienna asked them with plain fear reflecting in for eyes.

That's when they had thought of it. Until then, Eren and Aster were busy fighting over the existence of the sword and the mages. But now, they know, they had no time. Whether the mages existed or not, they know something and it would be a negligence if they did not act. Now, it was upto them. It was their duty to save the world. Their only duty. Their faces showed that they had decided. They had decided to fight. To protect their planet. Eren and Sienna were strong. But Aster... Eventhough, he had the support of the sword, they didn't know to what extent he could use it. And without the sword, he was completely weak.

"There's nothing we can do." Eren said showing frustration on his face.

"We can call up the authorities. They will help." Sienna said to calm him down.

"Authorities!" Aster exclaimed with a sudden distaste and hatred in his voice. " Authorities! You think, they are gonna believe us? You're mistaken Sienna, they won't. Yesterday I and Eren called each and everyone we could. We tried for one whole hour and they called us mad. We are crazy, they said, aren't we? Creating a hoax! That's exactly what they said. They won't believe us. You can drop that idea."

Aster was furious when he told that. He was frustrated. He didn't know what to do.

Sienna was thunderstruck hearing Aster speak like this. She had never seen him so furious before. "Why didn't you tell me about calling the authorities, earlier?" She asked not expecting a reply.

The other two remained silent. They didn't know what to say. All of them were lost in thought. They were thinking, not of the mages, but of their friendship. Their childhood. All the days which they were together, since the day, the three of them first met. There hadn't been one thing, they hadn't told eachother. They never had any secrets. When did they start hiding things?

They looked up to the sky. A beautiful scene. The night sky. The full moon glowed a brilliant white, showering its rays upon earth. It was a starry night. Hundreds and thousands of stars filled the sky. In the midst of the apparent confusion, the sky soothed them down. They smiled unknowingly. They thought of the days which they had played hide and seek at night at their secret treehouse near the mountains, that was a long time ago. They used to gaze the stars and count them after their games. They smiled again. Suddenly, their hearts felt heavy. They had lost their innocence now. They had started hiding things. Neither of them wanted to, but it just happened.

Now, they didn't want to loose what they have now. They wanted to save the world. Save the world from a forthcoming danger. They wandered in the dark, not knowing where to go. Their smiles had given way to concern now. They didn't want that to happen. They did not want their world to be captured by some mages from another dimension. Their world was their's, only their's... They had entered a trance.

They had not wandered a lot from the auditorium, they heard loud music playing. The beats were on. The New Year countdown had begun. They had to do something, fast.

They ran back towards the auditorium, pushing past a lot of people who came on their way. They entered the hall, panting. The hall was already high on music. The students were dancing their night out. Even, Senna and Aster had no time to dance. Their eyes began their search. They searched for Hogman. He was powerful enough to help them. They searched for their teachers too. But they were nowhere to be seen. They might have left to bid farewell to Hogman. They couldn't let that happen. They had to meet him. Talk to him. Talk to their teachers. Tell them.

They came out of the auditorium once again. They rushed to the back of the auditorium. The backdoor was not well -lightened. It was dark. They slowly opened the door, which was luckily not locked, and entered in a very dark room. The store room! They guessed. Sometime people just get silly. They could have used a simple charm and lighted the way, but they forgot about it completely. They struggled through the darkness, trying not to stumble over the things kept there. They saw a light infront of them. The door! They understood immediately, as they know that the door of the store room had a small portion of frozen glass. They walked towards it, trying not to fall down.

Sienna's leg suddenly got tangled in a loop of yarn and fell on Aster. Aster was close to a shelf, and he fell onto the cupboard. The shelf turned over and all its contents fell on the floor with a crackling noise. Aster and Sienna let out groans. Eren got furious. He wanted to say something but they heard footsteps and the door opened, they saw a long shadow. More people came in and the light was turned on.

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SOME HOURS AGO..... IN DEPCOD (Other dimension)

"Nooo..." A woman shouts as she is being taken to the palace as a prisoner.

"It's good for you, if you keep quiet miss." A person with a spear and an armour replied. He and his soldiers were moving through the forest with with their prisoner. the prisoner was a woman, a strong woman, who was earlier their friend. He knew her well. She was cunning and would escape at the first chance. If she did, his master wouldn't spare him. They moved, clearing the vines and thorns on their way.

"I beg you Denver, let me go. Don't take me to that place again. Please." The woman begged.

"Miss, you have to come. You betrayed your master. You deserve punishment." He said.

"It's the master who deserve punishment for what he does." She shouted. She tried to shake off the handcuffs. It didn't budge.

Denver knew that his master was cruel, but he couldn't respond. His master was strong. No, strongest. And they were all weaklings compared to him. He considered the prisoner foolish. She can never even scratch him.

"You are a coward, Denver! You know what's right and what's wrong! You area coward who never acts. " She shouted.

Denver's blood boiled at this. Who was she to say that?

"Better you keep that bloody mouth of yours shut. Or else you will know what Iam."

The woman found that there was no escape. She kept quiet.

They walked to the palace. They entered its gates. Those gates were familiar to her. She had walked past the same gates several times before. But not as a prisoner. They entered the courtroom. The very same courtroom in which she used to judge the people. But now, he was to be judged for crimes which she did not believe were crimes.

There in his fabulous golden throne was the master. She saw him. He was smiling at her. He stood up from his throne as she was brought closer to him.

"Kneel" He said.

She looked straight into his eyes. Eyes filled with hatred and agony. She did not obey him.

"Kneel, I said!" He roared and pointed to the floor beneath him.

She refused again. He was not used to being disobeyed by his prisoners. He lifted his ugly armoured fingers and caressed her cheeks. She tried to move back but was suddenly stopped from doing so by his long arm. He had caught her by the neck and lifted her off the floor.

"I don't like girls who disobey me." He said.

She tried beating her legs and struggling. But he made the hold tighter. He chocked her. She couldn't breathe. Her face had gone pale. Her eyes popped out. She thought that she was about to die.

'He is going to kill me.' She thought.

But something stopped him from doing so. Was that love? She couldn't say. He threw her to the floor. She fell on the floor with force and started coughing.

"Tania! You betrayed us. I forgive you. Now, you will do what I say. Or else you will die." He said looking at her furiously.

She was still coughing. But she heard him clearly.

"You will open the door for us tonight. " He said.

"If you try to runaway, there won't be another forgiving." He said.

Tania lay on the floor still pale. She won't do that. She didn't want to. She didn't want them to attack earth. But she have no choice now.

'Aster, you have to face them. I'm helpless.' She thought.