EPISODE 11; WHAT GIFT TO BRING THEE

It was morning in the Kirisawa residence. I woke up feeling very excited.

"Today is my nineteenth birthday! Yeah man!" I cheered myself, got down from my bed and ran to the bathroom.

In less than a minute, I had finished bathing but I was so excited that I didn‟t towel myself properly so when I dressed and headed downstairs, I pretty much looked like a drowned German shepherd. Ayumi and Ai stared with me with mouths wide open and sarcastic expressions on their faces.

"What‟s wrong? I don‟t like the looks on your faces?" I said angrily.

Ayumi walked to me and held my hand, then she rubbed my hand in my hair and showed it to me. My hand was soapy.

"Heh heh! I guess this isn‟t one of my cool looks eh?" I said nervously and ran up the stairs.

"Ayu, don‟t tell him that we know about his birthday" Ai whispered to Ayumi.

"Sssshhhh! If you keep saying it he‟ll find out!" Ayumi whispered sharply.

At that moment, Mr Kirisawa entered the house.

So have you girls come up with any plan to surprise Zan?" he asked.

"Sshh! Don‟t say it so freely Dad!" Ayumi scolded her father. "I‟ll try to find out what Zan wants for a birthday present without letting him know that we are aware of his birthday" Ayumi volunteered.

Meanwhile, I was washing my hair clean of the soap. After I could feel no more soap, I towelled my hair and walked out of the bathroom.

"Nineteen years from now was when I was born and cast into the human world. How can I tell Ayumi that today is my birthday without making it sound like I‟m expecting something from her?" I wondered.

"Right now, I‟m wishing I were as confident and mischievous as Dad. That would have made things much easier" I thought.

"You are as confident and mischievous as I am" I imagined the Nightmare King saying with a mischievous smile and without realizing it, I burst into uncontrollable laughter.

"If only Dad were not as bad as I hear he is, I‟d have a chance to be reunited with my real family" I said sadly and opened the door that led out of my room.

I was surprised to see Ayumi standing at the other side.

"AAAAHHHH! Hey! Don‟t scare me like that Ayu!" I screamed as I attempted to catch my breath.

"Can we talk?" Ayumi asked robotically.

"Fine, but don‟t make this a habit!" I yelled.

She smirked and we walked down the stairs. Soon, we were in the field outside. Ayumi didn‟t say a word and I was waiting patiently. In fact, it looked as though she had her head in the clouds.

"Earth to Ayu!" I called.

"Huh?" she seemed startled by my sudden call.

"I thought you said you wanted to tell me something but you‟ve been silent for about ten minutes straight. Spill it!" I demanded. "W-Well…a-actually…I w-wanted to ask you a question" Ayumi stammered.

"A question?" I asked her.

"Y-Yes, it‟s actually a hypothetical question" Ayumi said nervously.

"Hypothetical question? Okay, ask your hypothetical question" I said with a raised eyebrow.

"Okay, so hypothetically speaking, what would you prefer for your birthday…I mean if your birthday were today, would you prefer a party or a small get-together and what gift would you like, a new videogame or a laptop…" Ayumi was saying when I interrupted her.

"And you are hypothetically asking?" I asked.

Ayumi nodded with a nervous look on her face.

"I hope he does not discover my motive for asking" she thought.

"Well hypothetically answering your hypothetical question, anything would be fine with me but…what I really want…I‟m not sure you can give it to me because what I would want more than anything on my birthday is for all the people I love to share that day with me including Wanye and…my parents…especially…my mother" I said.

"You‟re not happy here are you?" Ayumi asked me.

She looked very upset.

"Hey! What do you mean?! I‟ve never been happier in my life! What I meant was, if it was possible for me to be happier than I am with you, that would be the only thing that could possibly make me happier so don‟t get upset. Hey, if you cry, I‟ll cry too and you know I cry like a sissy" I tried to cheer Ayumi up and it worked.

She burst into laughter.

"You‟re a good person Zan, I really mean it" she said as she walked away.

I watched her till she entered the house.

So what gift does he want?" Ai asked.

"He wants his parents" Ayumi answered.

"But that‟s impossible. His father is the Nightmare King and his mother died giving birth to him" Mr Kirisawa said.

"Maybe we can‟t bring his real parents but I‟m sure a picture of his parents would cheer him up. After all, he‟s never seen their faces before" Ayumi suggested.

"And how do you propose we do that? The only person who can provide us with something like that is the Nightmare King and we can‟t exactly waltz in there and say „Hi there Nightmare King. We‟d like a family picture‟ now can we?" Ai said sarcastically.

"What Ayumi is suggesting sounds crazy but there is an iota of truth in what she is suggesting. So far, the Nightmare King hasn‟t posed a lethal threat to Zan. It could be because he actually cares for his son" Mr Kirisawa said thoughtfully.

"So what do you plan to do Ayu?" Ai asked worriedly.

"What else?! I‟m going to pay the Nightmare King a little visit" Ayumi said confidently.

In fact, she had a mischievous grin on her face.

"If that‟s your plan, I‟m not going to stop you. However, I will warn you. The Nightmare King is well aware that you are a possible threat to his plans and to Zan plus you will become an easy target once you‟re in his realm so be careful" Mr Kirisawa warned Ayumi.

"Are you going alone?" Ai asked worriedly.

"Yeah, but don‟t worry, I‟m more capable today than I was during the Battle Of Black Water Bridge" Ayumi said.

"You‟ve never done such a thing before so why are you risking so much for Zan?" Ai asked Ayumi. That‟s because…I‟m the one who stole his life" Ayumi said sadly.

"What do you mean by that?" Ai asked.

"The one who killed Zan‟s grandfather was me. I know I can‟t make up for something like that but…the best I can do now is to make sure that Zan is happy" Ayumi confessed.

Ai looked surprised at first and then she frowned.

"Don‟t tell me all your actions so far have been governed by guilt and pity" Ai said angrily.

"I do feel guilty but I really do care for Zan" Ayumi said.

"I‟m glad to hear that" Ai said with a smile.

"But I can‟t leave with Zan around. I need him out of the house for at least half a day because he won‟t agree with what I‟m about to do" Ayumi said.

"Don‟t worry about that, I‟ll take him out for a while, maybe to the barber‟s first for a haircut" Mr Kirisawa said.

"That‟s good. I‟ll get Victoria and Face to help with decorations and maybe we‟ll think of some presents for Zan. We‟ll also invite some of the new Dream Knights and your classmates" Ai suggested.

"Great" Ayumi said with a sigh of relief.

**** **** ***** **** ****

I sat on the grass staring at the clouds and watching them change shapes. I even tried to imagine my dad, mom and Wanye in the clouds but I couldn‟t picture the faces of my parents. I‟m sure you smartasses are thinking now that I‟m supposed to remember my mom since I saw her in episode 3-Missing Me but lemme ask you something, do you have any memories of when you were in your mother‟s womb? That‟s how it was. I couldn‟t remember that experience now so you could say I had no memories of my parents. I do remember my dad‟s sinister face though because I saw him in Ai‟s nightmare in episode 2 however my dad‟s face is always covered in shadow so I‟ve never seen anything past those glowing sinister red eyes.

As I sat there thinking of what to do, Mr Kirisawa came to me.

"Good morning Zan" he greeted.

"Good morning sir" I responded politely.

"Go and change into something suitable. I think it‟s about time we have a men only outing, don‟t you think?" he said.

"Okay" I said as I walked inside to change.

I met Ayumi and Ai busily talking but I ignored them and went up the stairs to change. Moments later, Mr Kirisawa and I left the house in a sports car.

No sooner had we left than Ayumi summoned her sigils and accessed the Mirror Gate‟s through and through function. Soon, she was at the border between the Realms of Dreams and Nightmares.

"Great. It‟s a pity I‟ll have to travel on foot though" she said as she ventured into the Realm Of Nightmares.

No sooner had she crossed the border than six Wolfbanes crossed her path.

"Get out of my way!" Ayumi ordered.

"You‟ll have to get past us to reach the Nightmare King!" the leader of the Wolfbanes growled, and then, they charged to attack Ayumi.

"With pleasure!" Ayumi roared as she charged on them, dodging their attacks with cat-like agility and slashing through them with her sigil. Soon, she had defeated all six of them.

"She‟s too strong" the leader of the Wolfbanes muttered in pain as he collapsed to the ground and disappeared.

Ayumi ventured even further than any Dream Knight had in the last nineteen years. To reach the Nightmare King‟s domain, she would have to cross the seven borders of hopelessness ruled by none other than the evil soul of earth which was Despair. Soon, Ayumi reached the first border, The Forest Of Confusion. It was a forest covered in darkness. All the trees within it were dead and dry and very pale as though not a single form of benevolent life thrived within it. She sighed and walked into the forest. The further she ventured into the forest, the darker it became but if darkness was the only problem, it would have been easier to bear since Ayumi‟s flame sigil generated light but the other problem was that the forest was becoming foggier and foggier and soon, the entrance could no longer be seen. It was at that moment that another problem surfaced. A very loud howling sound could be heard and soon, growls and barks followed and I‟m telling you, you definitely don‟t wanna know what manner of creatures were pursuing Ayumi. Ayumi knew what they were so she began to run as fast as she could through the forest, relying on her spiritual awareness to get through. Soon, she realized that the creatures had surrounded her. These creatures were not your average Wolfbanes, they were known as Bloodhounds. These creatures were overgrown wolves. They had the ability to smell fear by detecting the rate of heartbeats a person had per second and once they found your fear….it‟s hasta la vista baby!

**** **** **** **** ****

Meanwhile, in the Kirisawa residence…

"WHAAAAT?!" HOW COULD YOU LET AYUMI VENTURE INTO NIGHTMARE TERRITORY ALL ALONE!" Face scolded Ai.

I don‟t agree with Face on a lot of things but this is certainly crazy!" Victoria agreed.

"I know. I called you guys here to help with decorations and invitations but on second thought, I think it would be better for you to help Ayumi. I‟m sure Zan will appreciate it" Ai pleaded.

"You don‟t have to say it twice, right Vikki?" Face asked.

"Let‟s do this! I VICTORIA ARTHUR!"

"I BONIFACE KENYAH!"

"DO SUMMON THEE IN MY TIME OF NEED SIGILS OF…WIND!"

"EARTH!" Face and Victoria summoned their sigils simultaneously.

"Now let‟s access the Mirror Gates‟ through and through locator function"Face said.

"Let‟s do this!" Victoria declared.

"You‟ve said that twice now and it‟s beginning to sound like a terrible cliché" Face teased.

Victoria ignored him.

"As faithful Knights of the Dream King, we call to thee Eternal Mirror Gate.

Let us through into thine Kingdom Of Dreams and take us directly to Ayumi Kirisawa, fellow Guardian of the Dream World!" Face and Victoria chanted and in the next instant, they were carried away by a bright flash of light.

**** **** **** **** ****

By that time, Ayumi had defeated the Bloodhounds and made it past the Forest Of Confusion.

"That forest distorts the sense of sight. I was only able to make it out by depending on my other senses" she said as she walked further on.

Soon, she reached the second border.

"The River Of Blood" she muttered as she stared at the wide expanse of water she would have to cross.

The skies in Nightmare territory were bloody red. When the rays of the infernal looking sun shone over the river, it glistened like blood. As Ayumi stood watching the river, she noticed a boat approaching slowly, eerily. The boatman seemed to be shrouded in garments that appeared to be neither material nor immaterial. They were dark in colour and covered his entire body. Everywhere the boat passed over the waters, the waters turned stale and misty until the boat passed over. Soon, the boatman stood at the shore, stretching out his hand to demand his transportation fare. His hands had no flesh at all, it was all bones.

"Don‟t tell me that this border is the Dream equivalent of the River Styx! I have no coins on me!" Ayumi exclaimed in horror.

"Then…I‟ll take your soul" the boatman said with a dry, sinister voice as he reached out and grabbed Ayumi by her neck and lifted her off the ground.

Ayumi felt her strength draining quickly from her body and her sigils began to lose form. At that moment, Face and Victoria appeared.

"Let her go boatman! I‟ve got all the coins you‟ll ever need!" Face said as he threw six coins into the boat.

The boatman dropped Ayumi who was struggling to breathe.

"Face! Victoria! What are you doing here?!" Ayumi asked sternly.

"So much for a simple „thank you‟" Face said as he stepped into the boat.

Victoria followed, and then Ayumi. When Ayumi stepped into the boat, the boatman touched her shoulder and her energy returned.

"But how did you know we‟ll need coins?" Victoria asked Face.

"The evil souls are the Dream equivalent of demons and titans we know in mythology so I figured they‟d create something like this" Face said.

"You‟re very resourceful every once in a while" Victoria teased.

**** **** **** **** ****

Meanwhile, Mr Kirisawa had taken me to the barber‟s shop.

"So what sort of haircut would you like Zan?" he asked me.

"I think I‟d like a Mohawk, or maybe a pompadour or a galax" I said with a mischievous grin on my face.

(Note: Galax is Lower East Dream City slang for a pointed Mohawk).

"I hope you are being sarcastic Zan" Mr Kirisawa said seriously.

"Of course, Wanye would never forgive me, even in the afterlife if I ever had a haircut like that" I laughed. "Just a simple haircut with trimmed edges will cut it."

"You heard the kid" Mr Kirisawa said.

The barber wrapped the cloth around my neck and pegged it. Then he began to cut my hair. When he cut the first line, I laughed at my reflection.

**** **** **** **** ****

By that time, Ayumi and the others had crossed the River Of Blood. Now they were in a valley.

"So which valley is this wise guy?" Victoria asked Face.

"I don‟t know" Face said but then, he suddenly tripped and fell down.

"Ouch! What the heck tripped me?!" he roared as he stared at his feet and what he saw was not a stone. It was a skull! Empty eye-sockets, nostrils and all!

"AAAAHHHH!!! L-L-L-Look at that!" Face screamed as he pointed at the skull.

Ayumi and Victoria looked at the skull, then they looked around. As it turned out, the entire valley was littered with bones.

"AIIIIIEEEE! WETIN KIND THING BE THIS!" Face screamed.

"What did he just say?" Ayumi asked.

"It‟s West African slang for „what the heck is this?‟ Victoria explained.

"Could this be the Valley Of Dry Bones from the Bible?" Ayumi asked.

"N-N-Nuh-uh! I think I know what Valley this is" Face shivered uncontrollably.

"What‟s wrong Face?" Ayumi asked.

"A-Ayumi, V-Victoria, you are familiar with the voyages of Sinbad right?" Face asked.

"Yeah" Ayumi said.

"You remember on one of his voyages, he got stuck in a certain valley and he had to hide to avoid being eaten by giant serpents? I think th-this is the Dream equivalent of that valley!" Face stammered uncontrollably.

"DON‟T TELL ME YOU‟RE SERIOUS!" Ayumi exclaimed in horror.

"DON‟T JOKE LIKE THAT FACE!" Victoria roared.

Suddenly, they heard slithering sounds coupled with loud hisses.

"If I‟m joking…DOES THAT SOUND LIKE A HARRY POTTER MOVIE TO YOU?!" Face screamed.

The three companions turned slowly and beheld a horror in the form of nine giant serpents! All of them were cobras!

"WETIN KIND THING BE THIS?!" the three companions screamed together.

"What do we do now Ayumi?" Victoria stammered.

"Do I need to tell you?! We are Dream Knights. Let‟s do this with style!" Ayumi ordered and in less than a second, three sigils were out.

"Now, no matter what happens, avoid the fangs!" Ayumi cautioned.

"Let‟s do this!" Victoria declared.

"That‟s getting really old Vikki!" Face roared angrily.

"Shut up or I‟ll use you for target practice!" Victoria threatened.

The first snake charged to attack. Victoria aimed at its chest and fired a shot but her shot missed and the snakes became angry.

"None of you will leave here alive!" the leader of the snakes roared and struck at Victoria but Face charged in and smashed its fangs with his Tomahawk.

"You‟ll pay for this, filthy humans!" the leader of the snakes hissed and lashed out with its tail but Ayumi sliced off its tail and somersaulted over it stabbing its head in the process. The serpent writhed and threw Ayumi off, then it fell down and died.

"DO YOU WANT TO DIE?! YOU KILLED OUR LEADER!" the other snakes hissed.

"Don‟t make me laugh! The one who will die…is you! FLAME SIGILS OF

THE KIRISAWA CLAN! GIVE ME THE POWER OF THE BURNING

FLAMES OF COURAGE! I AYUMI KIRISAWA! HEIRESS AND TRUE

SUCCESSOR TO THE BURNING FLAME DO SUMMON

THEE…PYROGEYSERS TWIN SCIMITARS OF FURY!!!" Ayumi

roared as her sigils transformed into their active form. A crimson headband appeared around her forehead and her sigils expanded and split into Twin Scimitars.

"Amazing!" Face and Victoria exclaimed in awe.

Ayumi charged on the serpents, dodging their strikes and reducing their numbers with as few strikes as possible. She was much swifter, stronger and agile in her active form so the snakes were quickly being overwhelmed by her power. However, more serpents rushed out to replace the lost ones till eventually, there were about ten different species of poisonous mythological serpents.

"Whoever the architect of this realm border is, he sure knows his mythology" Face commented.

"What do we do now?! They keep increasing in number!" Victoria complained.

A few moments later, a terrible shriek could be heard. So loud was it that the three combatants had to cover their ears. The snakes quickly slithered into hiding.

"Why are they retreating?" Victoria asked.

"That! It‟s the Roc! It‟s the most feared foe of these serpents!" Face exclaimed as he pointed towards the sky.

A huge bird resembling an eagle spotted them and swooped down to carry them off. It snatched them in its massive claws which were at least the size of bird cages.

"Why is it helping us?" Victoria asked.

"It‟s not helping us. It‟s probably going to feed us to its chicks!" Face said.

"No, I‟m going to eat you all by myself, tearing you limb from limb until you‟re all digested" the bird said.

"You‟re a really bad natured bird!" Face scolded it.

"Are you feeling desperate now? Can you now feel the sting of despair?" the bird asked.

"Face, how did Sinbad escape the Roc?" Victoria whispered.

Face had a funny expression on his face.

"Heheh! That‟s the problem, what I read was only an excerpt so I don‟t know! Damn High School!" Face roared.

"WHAAAT?! YOU KNOW ALL THE DANGERS BUT HAVE NO IDEA HOW TO ESCAPE FROM EVEN A SINGLE ONE?! TALK ABOUT A USELESS BOOKWORM!" Victoria yelled.

"Give me a break, I did help out with the boatman after all" Face defended himself.

"You dare to talk about escape plans right in my presence?! I‟ve never seen such a foolhardy handful of children" the Roc said.

"Well, if we‟re going to be eaten, why don‟t we just enjoy the breeze, after all, we get to choose what flavours we will be" Face said.

"Don‟t get smart-mouthed here Face or so help me God I‟ll slap you into next week!" Victoria yelled.

"You are a lively bunch. Fine then, I‟ve decided, I will give you a chance to save yourselves. Answer these three riddles correctly. If you do, I‟ll take you across the other borders however, fail and you will wish I had cutlery!" the Roc threatened.

"Fine, ask whatever you want" Face said indifferently.

"You only get one chance to answer each riddle" the Roc cautioned.

Face reached into his pocket and pulled out a PSP.

"Well, if I‟m dying, let me at least get as far as I can in Kingdom Hearts II" Face said as he began to play but Victoria snatched the PSP, slammed it into his face thus shattering the screen and tossed it away.

"NOOOO!!! Goodbye, my most precious memories" Face shed tears. Then he glared at Victoria! "YOU OWE ME MY MEMORIES FOR THAT YOU DUMB GIRL! DON‟T YOU KNOW BETTER THAN TO TOUCH A BOY‟S VIDEOGAMES?! THAT‟S LIKE SATAN DANCING ON THE ALTAR AT MASS! IT‟S SACRILEGE!" Face screamed.

"Be serious! Our lives are in danger!" Victoria screamed.

"An exact carbon copy of Zan in terms of foolery, this is going to be a hassle" Ayumi sighed.

"Ask your questions but if I get them right, Victoria, you will pay me back with compound interest!" Face declared.

"Fine, first of all, there were two brothers, very inseparable were they. When they are thrown, one proceeds first and blesses the earth, the other sings and terrifies it yet though one leaves first, they are never separate. Who are these…" the Roc was asking when Face interrupted.

"Thunder and Lightning!" Face declared.

"You didn‟t even listen to the whole riddle dumbass!" Victoria yelled.

"Let him be, he is right" the Roc said.

Victoria and Ayumi were shocked.

"Next, I was born in light, yet through external forces, I became divided like a mirror. Part of me was real, part was an illusion yet to the people who wield me, the illusion is more real than the real" the Roc asked.

"A woman‟s heart…eh I mean a human‟s heart!" Face said.

The Roc glared at him. "You are correct" it said.

"Seriously?!" Victoria exclaimed in awe.

"Third riddle…What am I thinking right now?!" the Roc asked.

"WHAAAT?! HOW IS HE SUPPOSED TO ANSWER SOMETHING

LIKE THAT?!" Victoria and Ayumi roared in anger.

"That‟s easy…" Face said.

"Really?" the Roc asked.

"Right now, you are confused. You cannot understand why we would risk so much for something so little because you know what it is we want to do. You are also thinking, even if we get all your riddles right, the next challenge will overwhelm us but let me tell you this…that is just how far we would go to protect our bonds! No matter how small the results may be, if the effort we put into it is great enough, things will definitely turn towards our favour because that is what hope is like, it is something small, so small it‟s size cannot be compared to adversity but it‟s power is strong enough to part darkness itself. What you are thinking right now is in fact the question to what we are thinking. You want to know what we are thinking!" Face declared.

"Hmm, you are an interesting brat. It‟s almost as though you don‟t fear death. No, it‟s not that you don‟t fear death, you see what is beyond it. In that case, Despair can never possess you. Brace yourselves young ones, for I am taking you past all the borders to the border of this life itself, where you will encounter the father of hopelessness…DESPAIR!" the Roc declared as it increased its speed.

"Brace yourself Victoria, for what I will ask for in return, will give you nightmares beyond your wildest imaginings. I will take you to the very border of the Nightmare Realm…to the King Of All Nightmares!" Face said in an eerie voice. At that moment, lightning flashed across the sky and Victoria couldn‟t help screaming. After that, I tell you, Face didn‟t just see beyond death, he saw the very pits of hell!

**** **** **** **** ****

Meanwhile, Ai had invited some classmates of mine as well as Dream Knights. They helped her with the decorations. She was still however concerned for Ayumi, Face and Victoria. I on the other hand was done with my haircut. I was busily shopping for Christmas clothes with Mr Kirisawa. I found out that Mr Kirisawa was actually a cool guy and why was that? Because he loved RPGs of course!

**** **** **** **** ****

After crossing the remaining borders consisting of a mountain, a desert and a crevasse, we finally arrived at the final border. It was a great wall that ran endlessly on both sides.

"Looks like it‟s the Dream equivalent of the Great Wall Of China" Face said.

"No, this wall is completely different. The Wall Of China in your world symbolizes hope and protection. This wall is a symbol of despair and entrapment. Once you get through the gate, there is no turning back You will only be able to proceed after Despair is defeated and I‟ll tell you personally that Despair is not so easily defeated by human weapons. When fighting him, you must rely on your true emotions or you will fail. I cannot proceed any further. Farewell and…goodluck" the Roc said as it flew away.

Ayumi, Face and Victoria stood before the massive gate.

"Before we go, you must all be careful, especially you Face" Ayumi warned.

"Why me?" Face asked.

"Cowardice who was trapped by the stone of fire possessed me, a Flame

Knight, Enslavement who was trapped by the stone of wind possessed Victoria so I don‟t need to tell you who is more likely to be possessed by the evil soul of earth" Ayumi explained.

"Fine, I‟ll be careful" Face said as he pushed the gate open with all his strength and I tell you, he was physically the strongest among us all, a perk that came from being a wielder of earth.

When the gate opened, they stepped into a whole different dimension. They were now in a room that looked like a Temple. In many ways, it resembled Enslavement‟s Temple except for the fact that, the walls were the colour of earth and huge statues lined either side of the main passageway. Ayumi, Face and Victoria proceeded cautiously till they arrived at an altar, on which there was a giant throne. On the throne sat a giant statue of a massive warrior wielding a giant battle axe.

"Do you think that statue is Despair?" Victoria asked.

"I think so" Face said.

"By the way Face, how did you know the answers to all the Roc‟s questions?" Victoria asked.

"I don‟t look like it but I‟m a novelist. My family is a line of deep thinkers and I read a lot of stuff, from mythology, to cosmology, angelology, demonology, philosophy and of course theology" Face said.

Ayumi and Victoria were amazed. In fact, Victoria had a look of admiration on her face for a few seconds till she noticed how much she was admiring Face.

"Now back to this statue, it definitely has to be Despair. It is the only statue on the altar and on top of that, it‟s seated on a throne like some kind of god" Ayumi said.

As they were speaking, the statue opened up its mouth and spat a mud ball towards Face.

"Face look out!" Ayumi warned but it was too late.

The mud splashed all over him. However, a strong light from Face‟s body evaporated the mud.

"Your spirit is strong Boniface Kenyah! Apparently, I cannot possess you but now…you will know Despair by facing my brute strength!" the statue roared as it stood up.

There was a terrible earthquake. The statue was massive.

"Are you feeling desperate?" it said as it took a wild swing with its axe.

Ayumi, Face and Victoria dived out of the way. Its axe hit the ground with such terrible force that great cracks spread all over the Temple and a terrible earthquake even greater than the first rocked the foundations of the Temple.

The three Dream Knights fell to the ground as a result of the impact.

"How are we supposed to face something like this?!" Victoria exclaimed in fear.

Face just stared at Despair with a look of anger and determination on his face. The time had finally come to confront the enemy of his element!