Chapter 25: Dawn and Dusk

*Souta*

Tael touched down near Cherry Blossom Hill. Thankfully, it was a commercial street, and given the hour, no one was around.

"This is where you will start looking for the stones," Tael said, turning toward us.

"Aren't they within our brains?" Sehun asked, tilting his head.

"Yes, but you need to open your third eye to see them."

"What's a third eye?" I asked.

Ava and Purpura narrowed their eyes at me while Sehun just laughed. Was it that stupid of a question?

Our angelic guide sighed. "Just look into the sky."

I did as he said and was greeted by a view of the night sky. It was pretty!

Sehun gasped. "That's odd. My head feels funny."

I touched my head. It did feel tingly. Why was that?

I looked down and saw a stone the size of an adult male's fist in the middle of the street. Was it there before? How had I missed it?

Kneeling, I tried to pick it up, but it was far heavier than its size would make one think. Was this some special stone only the true king could lift?

"Hey, Sehun, check this out. I think you should try lift-" I gasped. Sehun was gone. The street, buildings, and so were Purpura and Ava. Instead, I was standing on top of a mountain with orange, red, violet, yellow, and blue clouds flowing around it. The sight was breathtaking.

I turned to look at Tael. "Where are we? What did you do to my friends?" I snapped.

Tael crossed his arms. "They're fine. They're busy doing their own thing. As for where, this is the world of the gods."

"Gods?"

He nodded. "The gods created this place as their adobe."

"The gods?"

Tael smiled slightly. "Taken aback, aren't you? Goes to show that despite your incredible power, you're still a mortal."

I felt my heart skip a beat. I've never interacted with any of them. Sehun, Sayuri, and Ava were the religious ones.

"Do you know any of them?"

He smiled. "What kind of question is that? Of course I do! They made me after all."

I sighed. Right. Stupid question. "Uh, so who made you?"

He pointed to the sky. "The God of Dawn."

I gasped. "The God of Dawn?"

He nodded. "That's right. He's the one who created this part of the celestial adobe."

I scratched my head. "I've never heard of him."

He sighed. "You really don't recall meeting him? He made it sound like a reunion was on hand."

I tapped my head. I'd gone to some temples with my parents, but I would usually stay in the back. Over time, I stopped joining them. "I don't remember meeting any gods. If I did, it was probably early on." Wait, I did dream of a couple of them. In those strange dreams with the girl that looked like Purpura.

"Perhaps he appeared before you and you didn't know."

I frowned. "Why would he hide himself?"

"Maybe the time simply wasn't right. Usually my liege and his kin do things subtly. Preferring to let their creations do their own thing. But if the gods reveal themselves to anyone, it will certainly be one of their chosen. Which you appear to be."

I chuckled. "Am I really that special?"

"Yes, you are. You're the one who will shape the conflict to come."

"And how do I do that?"

"You have to polish your stone's powers."

I narrowed my eyes at him. Didn't know that angels did puns.

"Polish my powers?" I asked.

"Yes, you have to polish them until they shine like the sun."

"How do I do that?"

"By facing the dark side of the universe."

I groaned. "What does that mean?"

He pointed to the mountain. "There's a cave on the other side of the peak. Go inside and you'll find something within it."

I took a deep breath. "Okay."

We started climbing the mountain. Well, I did as my angelic companion flew there. It was steep and treacherous, but I managed to make it to the top. Ha. Guess all of those trips I took to the mountains paid off after all.

On the way there, I saw a few togin bats flying around. They were tiny creatures compared to the ones in the forest at home. They were also much smaller than those found on the moon, their place of origin. Or at least that's what dad said. Hmm, had he ever been to the moon before? Or was he just going off of old legends like Mom?

When we reached the top, I peered into the cave. It was surprisingly not no winding like the ones at home. If anything, it was tiny as far as horizontal distance went. But, it made up for it with its height. At the end laid a giant rock formation.

"Neat!" I climbed to the top and noticed a hole in the wall. I slid through it and found myself in another world.

It was dark, but I could see a faint light coming from the opening. I stepped forward and found myself in a massive room. In the middle was a giant glowing crystal. A small figure stood next to it.

"Welcome," said the figure.

I gasped. It was a man dressed in a long white robe. His face was covered by clouds.

"Hello," I said.

"Who are you?" he asked.

"My name is Souta. Who are you?"

"I am the Guardian of the Dawn."

"Guardian of the Dawn? Isn't that the same as the God of Dawn?"

He nodded. "Yes, it is."

"What are you doing here?"

"I am here to test you."

"Test me?"

"Yes, you see, I have been watching over you since the beginning. And now, I want to see if you are worthy of becoming the Hero."

"What do you mean?"

"You must defeat the Dark Lord."

I blinked. "Dark Lord?" Was this an rpg or something?

"Yes, he's the monster that is devouring the heavens."

I gulped. "Devouring the heavens? How? Why? Wait, what's his weakness?"

He laughed. "You really are hyper and curious child, aren't you?"

I pouted. "Just answer."

He sighed. "You weren't like this when we met before. But guess that's the result of rebirth, huh?"

Rebirth? So, I met him in my past life?

"To be frank, there are more than one of the Dark Lord's kind. In the future, more shall come, but for the time being he is our biggest threat."

That didn't sound good at all! What would we do if a whole army of them came?

"He hasn't arrived yet, but he and his minions are gnawing away at the barrier that separates this world from his own. As for his weakness, he doesn't have one beyond intense light, but even that isn't much of one given he feeds off of it."

He ate the thing he was weak against? That was like an electric type Capsumon with levitate!

"But, if one uses a lot of light, it should destroy his body and perhaps even overload his core."

Core? He sounded like that one alien Capsumon. The Capsumon of the sky destroyed its body but it came back years later.

"Then why is he destroying the heavens?"

"Because he is greedy. He wants to absorb all the light."

"Doesn't he know he can't do that?"

"He doesn't care. He is consumed with greed and lust for power."

"Then what's his name?"

"His name is Nefertari."

I gasped. "Nefertari? That's the name of the monster from the prophecy of the Ethereal Stones!"

"Yes, it is."

"What should we do?"

He pointed to a crystal. "You must destroy the crystal within him. It is the source of his power."

I tilted my head. Wait, the guy destroying the heavens drew his power from a stone too?

"How? The old texts say that only those with the Ethereal Stones can defeat him."

He shook his head. "That's true, but that's why you need to grow stronger, to rival the prophesized Ethereal Stones. That way you can overwhelm him with the power of your stone."

"The power of my stone?"

"Yes. Your void powers. As you currently are, you can probably not even erase his skin."

"How can I strengthen my void powers?"

"Remember what I taught you earlier?" the angel asked.

I nodded. "Yeah, you told me to polish our stones so they shine like the sun."

"Good. Now, do that to defeat the Dark Lord."

I sighed. "Yeah, but that was pretty vague to begin with."

"For now, just show me what you can do." He jumped off the rock he was sitting on and rushed at me, punching me in the gut.

That hurt! Badly!

The man sighed. "Stand up!"

I groaned as I stood up. "That hurt!"

He glared at me. "It's time you toughened up, or the world as you know it will come to an end!"

I rubbed my stomach. "Sorry."

"Your apology isn't good enough. Words are meaningless without action to back them up."

"I understand."

"No, you don't."

"I do."

"Don't try to fool me."

"I won't. But, please, give me a chance to prove myself."

He paused and looked at me. Then he nodded. "Very well. Here's your chance to show me what you can do."

I took a deep breath and rushed at him. My power would likely do nothing against a deity, but I had no other tools. I closed my eyes and focused on tapping into my cerebral stone. As soon as I did, I felt its power flowing through me. I used it to punch him in the face.

He smiled as he blocked my punch. "Did you feel that?"

I nodded.

"Good. Now, do it again."

I punched him again, but this time I threw a kick at his stomach. He stumbled backward but otherwise seemed unfazed.

"Again," he said.

"Yes sir," I said.

I kicked him once more, this time pushing him further back.

"One last time," he said.

"Yes sir."

I lunged at him, but he grabbed my leg. "Stop!"

"But-"

"Not like that! You're only using brute force now. Use your mind! Think of the power of your stone. Imagine yourself shining brighter than the sun."

I nodded. "Okay."

He released my leg. I stepped back and closed my eyes. I imagined myself shining brighter than the sun. I opened my eyes and was greeted by a blinding light. I was blinded, and I couldn't see anything. I felt myself hit something hard, and I realized I'd bumped into the crystal. I let out a gasp and looked around me.

The room was filled with a bright light. The walls were painted white, and there were pillars holding up the ceiling. There was also a large glowing crystal in the center. The floor was made of marble. I looked around me and saw that the light was coming from my own glow. I wasn't sure how it happened, but I knew I had done it.

"Well done," said the Guardian of the Dawn.

"Thank you," I said.

"Now, go ahead and destroy it."

I nodded. "Yes sir."

I walked toward the crystal and placed my hand on it. The moment I touched it, I felt a wave of energy flow through me. The crystal dissolved into the void.

"Good. Keep that feeling in mind, Souta. Keep working on getting stronger. Both physically, mentally, and spiritually."

I gasped as he dissolved into light.

When I opened my eyes, I found myself on the street near cherry blossom hill. Ava, Sehun, and Purpura were on the ground, resting. Were they undergoing the same kind of trial that I had.

I rubbed my head. Had I even ascended into heaven or was that all a dream? It felt so real, though. But my body was here all of this time. So it had to be a dream, right? But if it was a dream, wouldn't that mean I was actually in the Realm of Dreams and not the true heaven of our world?

I scratched my head. Or did the gods reside in the Realm of Dreams? I knew some did. Well, according to legends anyway.

Ava coughed as she woke up. "Are you okay?" she asked, glancing up at me.

I smiled. "Yeah, I think so. But shouldn't you be more concerned about yourself?

She nodded. "That was quite an experience."

I laughed. "I know. Anyway, you should rest for a while."

She nodded.

The two of us walked over and sat down on a pair of stomps.

Ava patted her pocket and pulled out a piece of paper.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm writing down what the Goddess of Dusk told me before I forget. She gave me a training regimen. I'll give you a copy later."

I chuckled. "Wow. Seems the diety you met was a lot more helpful! Mine kept speaking funny."

She glanced at me. "Who did you meet?"

"The God of Dawn."

She scratched her head with her pen. "God of Dawn. That's a relatively obscure one." She smiled. "Maybe it means you'll have good fortune or be as irrelevant as he is."

Hopefully the former. He certainly made it sound like I was important at least.

She laughed. "Don't look all worried. I know neither of you is irrelevant. The goddess of dusk even put in a good word for you."

I smiled. "Really?"

She nodded.

I turned away. My smile gradually turned into a frown. I liked the thought of being special, but why did they think so highly of me? I wasn't anyone incredible beyond my powers. And even then, it wasn't like I was the only one with them. My parents had them too. Likely more polished than mine.

"That reminds me. I have a gift for you," Ava said, digging into her bag again.

She handed me a necklace. It was made of gold and had a beautiful flower carved on it. It was very pretty. I slipped it over my head. It fit perfectly.

"Where did you get this?" I asked.

"I've had it on me for a long time now. I was told to give it to the 'hero'." She furrowed her brow. "Though, I don't think you or any of us are the destined heroes."

I curled my hand around the necklace and nodded. "Think you're right. None of us are." At least, not me.

I glanced at the starry sky once again. 'Although, Heroes aren't born heroes, they become heroes.'