The Temple of Sound

At Hexside, Gus was sitting in the hall as he had his head buried in his arms when Luz and Cruz walked up to him.

"Hey, Gus. You okay?" Luz asked in concern

"I-I messed up bad, you guys," Gus said as he looked up. "Willow just needed help with this pixie problem, right? So I thought, oh, that I'll lure them away with an illusion. But then..."

"That angered the pixies, and they attacked Willow. We heard."

"We just checked up on her in the infirmary. I dropped off some medicine while we were there," Cruz said

"I moved up two grades. What's the point of being good at this if I can't do anything good with it?" Gus lamented

"It was an honest mistake. Besides, Willow's tough as nails. I'm sure you'll both be feeling better tomorrow," Luz reassured him

"She's right, and besides there's a lot of good you can do with your talents. You just have to find the right approach on how to do it. Like I did when I first started out with chemistry," Cruz said as he smiled at Gus.

Gus smiled back at his friends knowing that they were right. The next day would bring a fresh start and he'd be feeling better.

The next day Gus wasn't feeling better as he let out a groan. As Gus was lying on the floor of his room, his crystal ball caws and beeps as a prerecorded message of King starts to play.

"I'm not reading this," King complained

"Come on, King. Please?" Gus pleaded to him

"Ugh, fine." King cleared his throat before he began to read from a script. "Is that a six-footed pig or a floating appendage? Why, no! It's Gus the Illusion Master. Please leave a message." Gus jumped out next to King while wearing a cape for dramatic flare.

A video message of Willow starts to play on his crystal ball. "Hey, Gus," Willow said as Gus turns to look at the message. "Thanks for sending me all those 'Get well soon' illusions but, uh..."

Three tiny illusions of Gus jump on her shoulders and head.

"Willow! How are you feeling? Do you have a fever?" One illusion asked as he check her forehead

"Willow, you want me to sing for you?" Another asked as he started to do vocal exercises

"Willow, is this helping?" The third asked from the top of her head

"Can you please take them back?" Willow asked as the video cut off

Gus groaned as traced a spell circle, summoning his three illusions.

"Where Willow?"

"Why are we here?"

"Did we do bad?"

Instead of answering them, Gus simply blew the illusions away as the magic was dissipated. Gus suddenly heard a knock on his door. When he opened it he saw Luz and Cruz standing there, with Luz pumping her arms.

"Gustopther! Gusteban! Augustabeth!" Luz leaned on the door frame. "Any of those working for you?"

"You need my library card to visit Amity, don't you?" Gus asked already knowing why she was there

Luz laughed nervously knowing that she'd been caught. "I haven't been doing a good job of hiding that, huh?"

Gus shook his head confirming her suspicion

"You were trying to hide it?" Cruz asked

"Well, I was also hoping to do a little bit of... research! Come on!" Luz said as she dragged Gus away towards the library.

"So, Eda's mom told us that we're not the first humans to have lived in Bonesborough," Luz explained as the three walked through the town towards the library.

"If that's the true, there might be some info on how they got here in the library!"

"She also told us that they just disappeared. There's a good chance that they also managed to make a portal and go back home," Cruz added in.

"Yeah, okay. Looking through old newspapers is about all I'm good for anyway," Gus said sadly as the twins stopped walking as Luz stood in front of Gus.

"Spill it, Gustonimo. Are you okay?"

"I-I've just been thinking. What if it's time for me to explore different kinds of magic?" Gus said as he looked down from the bridge they'd stopped at.

"We're all for trying new things, but what's wrong with illusions?" Luz asked

"Yeah, your illusions have helped out so much already. And I don't think I've ever seen anyone as good at them as you are," Cruz said trying to reassure him.

"Illusions are just so... you know-"

A large Slitherbeast roared as animal control tried and failed to subdue it. Down in the street where the Slitherbeast was running down, Braxus was playing with his balloon when he noticed the Slitherbeast.

As the Slitherbeast continued to charge, two boys wearing a different school uniform jumped in front of Braxus.

The dark skinned witch created a small abomination causing the Slitherbeast to slip. The demon boy student created a net of vines, slingshotting the Slitherbeast back into the air.

When the Slitherbeast landed on the ground, a girl leaped over it before slamming a fist onto the ground and trapping the Slitherbeast in a stone dome.

"Good work, guys!"

"Yeah!"

"Alright!"

Gus gasped in amazement as the crowd all around them cheered.

Warden Wrath picked up Braxus in worry. "Son, are you okay?"

"Yes, Daddy. Thank you, mysterious heroes!" Braxus said as he and Wrath left

"Stay safe out there," the girl said as Gus appeared in front of the three

"Wow! Just wow! Plants. Abomination. Construction. You guys took down that Slitherbeast like it was nothing."

"Nah, it wasn't that easy," the girl said bashfully

"Yeah, looked like you had a real hard time out there," the dark skinned witch said as he pushed the girls shoulder playfully

"You're Glandus students, right? I go to Hexside. Name's Gus."

"Nice to meet ya," the girl said "This is Angmar. Gavin." She pointed towards her friends.

"Hey!" Gavin said as he pointed finger guns at Gus

"And I'm-"

"Briaaa!" Mattholomule ran in as he stopped in front of the group while catching his breath.

"I would've helped, but like, there was this other baby in danger. You probably couldn't see."

"Mattholomule?" Gus raised a brow, surprised to see him hanging around Glandus students.

"Augustus? Back off, twerp! This operation is Glandus kids only."

"Hey, Matty, it's all cool. Did you get the map?" Bria asked in excitement

"Yes! And I only had to endure 35 noogies from my older brother."

"Nice work!" Bria said as she took the map from him and opened it.

"Well, uh, I can see you guys are busy, so-"

"Wait!" Bria stopped him as he was about to walk away. "Have you ever heard of the Galderstones?" She flipped the map to show Gus the path leading to the stones.

"They're powerful relics. Many witches and demons have sought them," Gavin said

"But they've all returned empty-handed, haunted by its guardian. Until us!" Angmar said confidently

"We heard some coven scouts talking about them, but it'll be rough going. You said you are a Hexside student, right? We could use the extra strength."

"That sounds awesome, but I can't. I promised a couple of friends I'd help them with something today," Gus said as Luz suddenly turned visible with a gasp in between the five startling them.

"Whoa!" They all yelled in surprise

"Gus, you ran away so fast, but I didn't wanna interrupt so... I think you should go," Luz said as she caught her breath

"Well, he can't. Gus is just an illusionist. He'll only hold us back," Mattholomule argued

"What do you know?" Cruz asked as he caught up to them before handing Luz a bottle of water. "Here, drink this. And as for you." Cruz pointed at Mattholomule startling him.

"Gus is a much better witch than you think he is. His magic has helped us out on more than one occasion."

"Yeah, Gus here is a regular super witch."

"Luz!" Gus said with an embarrassed blush as he dragged the siblings to the side. "I see what you're doing and it's really sweet, but I don't actually know any spells besides illusions."

"No problem," Luz said as she handed Gus a bundle of glyphs. "Come on, man. You know I'm all about proving jerks wrong."

"It's always fun doing that. And here, these might help you out too," Cruz said as he gave Gus a handful of glyph combos.

"I'd help you out more but we need to find that information. Combing through information is my specialty."

"Thanks, you two I appreciate it," Gus said as he turned back to the group. "Alright, I'm in. Where do we find these Galderstones?"

"We're journeying to... the Looking Glass Ruins in the Forearm Forest!" Bria said happily as she and the group began to head out of town.

"You sure we shouldn't have gone with him just in case?" Luz asked

"This information is too important Luz. We need at least one of us to get it. And besides, Gus can handle it just fine."

Luz looked at Gus' retreating form before smiling. "You're right, let's go find that information."

"Let's just hope you don't get too distracted with Amity," Cruz said with a snicker as Luz blushed.

"I'm gonna hit you," Luz said with a grumble as she followed after her brother.

In the library, Luz and Cruz sat at one the desks as Cruz had a pile of books next to him while Luz was searching for anything using the crystal ball.

"Mysterious vendor floods market with dangerous human goods," Luz read as they both knew who that was. "Oh, Eda."

"I swear she's incorrigible," Cruz said rolling his eyes while smiling.

"Human resident donated personal diary to library. Yes! This must be it!"

"Let's go look for it!" Cruz said as they stood up from desk.

Just as they were about to look for Amity to help them out, Cruz noticed Skara focusing on a book about temples.

"Skara?" Cruz called out, gaining the board's attention.

"Oh, Cruz, Luz! Hey, what are you guys doing here?" Skara asked as she joined the twins

"We're just looking for some info that Eda's mom told us about," Cruz explained. "This might help us to make a portal back to the human realm."

"Wait, seriously?! That's amazing. Then that way you can finally see how your mom is doing."

"Exactly," Luz said. "We have to find a way back to be able to explain everything to her. Especially about Cruz's new look."

"Yeah, this is going to be a tough one to explain to her. What were you looking for, Skara?"

"Oh, me? I was looking for information on the Temple of Sound."

"What's that?" Cruz asked

"It's a temple that my grandpa told me about. It's a story that's been in my family for generations. The Temple of Sound is a temple that ancient bards used to go to for their most important rituals. But the last time anyone ever went into it was back in the savage ages."

"Whoa, that sounds so cool," Luz said

"Yeah, she's right. I'd love to be able to learn about it," Cruz said as Skara brightened up

"Well luckily for you, I just so happened to have a map for the temple back at my house. I'm planning to go to the temple. Do you think you want to come with me?"

Cruz was surprised by her offer, figuring the temple was something that would be more of a private thing for her.

"I'd love to," Cruz said before he frowned. "But, I have to help Luz find this information."

"Don't worry about me, hermano. I can find the information with Amity."

"Are you sure?"

"Of course I'm sure. You're not the only one of us that can do research when it comes to topics we like. And besides, puedes tener tiempo a solas con tu bruja favorita. (You can have alone time with your favorite witch)" Luz said with a smirk as Cruz blushed.

"Luz, I swear to Titan, you're not funny," Cruz said with a small hiss as Luz laughed.

"I'll see you back at home, Cruz!" Luz said as she went to look for Amity.

"What did she say?" Skara asked curiously

"Oh! Uh... don't worry about it. Just my sister being herself," Cruz said as he fought back a blush. "So, should we go get this map and head to the temple?"

"Yeah, let's go!" Skara said as she led Cruz out of the library

As Cruz and Skara neared Skara's house, they noticed two people standing outside of it. The first person they noticed was Shaun, Skara's dad.

The second person they noticed was a surprise to both of them.

"Boscha? What are you doing here?" Skara asked as the two turned to look at them.

"Oh, Skara. Welcome back," Shaun said. "I thought you'd take longer at the library.

"I was just grabbing the book about temples, dad. It wasn't going to take too long. And besides, Cruz said he was going to help me out," Skara said as Cruz waved at Shaun.

"Nice to see you again. It sounded interesting and besides, I'm always willing to help Skara out."

"Nice to see you too, Cruz. Are you really willing to help Skara with the temple? It's going to be rather dangerous."

"It's me you're talking to. Most days here are dangerous for me," Cruz said with a chuckle.

"Excuse me!" Boscha said gaining their attentions. "I'm still here, in case you forgot."

"Why are you here Boscha? What were you arguing about with my dad?"

"I was asking for the map for the Temple of Sound. I need something from there," Boscha said confusing the group.

"What could you need from a temple for bards?" Cruz asked as Boscha grumbled under her breath not wanting to answer.

Skara frowned at her since Boscha was expecting that she'd be allowed to go even if she didn't want to answer a simple question.

"Boscha, I'm not going to let you come with us if you won't answer the question. What do you need from the Temple of Sound?"

Boscha grumbled again before letting out a frustrated sigh. "Fine! I need to find some crimson song flowers."

Skara looked at her in surprise. "But why those flowers? You can find just about any other ingredient."

"What's so surprising about those flowers?" Cruz asked

"Crimson song flowers are one of the rarest flowers that can be used in potions. They can make any potion more potent, and its effects will be extended."

"And the book I found told me that the only place they grow is in the Temple of Sound," Boscha explained.

"That's why I need to go to the Temple of Sound. It's the only way I can get my hands on those flowers."

"But why do you need them?" Skara asked as Boscha looked away from them.

"It's just... it's private alright? Can we just leave it at that, please?"

Skara looked at Boscha in surprise. She'd never know her to be this meek about anything. Boscha had always been the type of person to be confident in everything she did, to make sure that no one ever looked down on her.

"What do you think?" Skara whispered to Cruz

"This temple is something that has to do with your family right? Then it's your decision. I'm just here to help out, and besides, I've never seen her like this before. Seems like it really is thatimportant for her."

Skara looked back at Boscha before nodding. "Alright, Boscha. If it's that important to you, then you can come with us to the temple."

"Thank you, Skara," Boscha said with a smile

"Dad, can we have the map now?"

"Here you go," Shaun said as he pulled out a map and handed it to Skara. As Skara opened the map, she showed it to Cruz.

"So the temple is on the right shoulder? It looks like it's near the head of the Titan."

"Yeah, it's pretty close to where a person's ear would be. How are we getting there? An airship would take a day and a half to get there," Skara said

"What's the rush? It's not like we have anything else to do," Boscha said

"You might not, but I still have to pick my sister up from the library. And besides as soon as I get back home, I have to start to try and work on a portal back to the human realm."

"In that case we should hurry and go. You've got the map memorized, right?" Skara asked

"Yup, I'll be able to get us there no problem," Cruz said as he took out his staff. "I've made some modifications to my staff. It should definitely be fast enough to get us there in no time. Just hold on tight and don't bite your tongue."

Cruz, Skara, and Boscha all hopped on his staff as it started to lift them in the air.

"Stay safe out there, you three. The temple might be in a recorded location, but whatever is inside isn't," Shaun said as they rose up into the air higher and higher.

"We will, dad! We'll be back in no time!" Skara called out

"Alright, you two. Here. We. Go!" The staff shot off with the three in a breakneck blitz creating a small sonic boom as they headed towards the Temple of Sound.

After flying what felt like hours, the three could see the head of the Titan getting bigger and bigger. Realizing that they were getting close, Cruz began to slow the staff down to a normal speed.

"Well, I can definitely say that the modifications on the staff were a success," Cruz said as he looked back. "You two alright back there?"

Skara nodded, her eyes wide with excitement. "We're good, Cruz! I didn't think that any staff could be this fast!"

"Speak for yourself, I almost bit my tongue," Boscha complained.

"Still, I have to admit, it did get us here a lot faster than any airship could."

Cruz grinned when he heard this. "According to the map, the temple should be around here." The three got off as Skara led them through a couple of trees.

"I think you landed us right next to it," Skara said as she parted the tree's leaves.

In front of them, stood a large crimson and gold temple. The temple's walls looked to be fading in color with some words and symbols carved into the side. Music symbols could be seen surrounding an arch way that acted as a door.

"Wow... it's beautiful," Skara said in amazement

"Yeah... but something about it feels familiar," Cruz said as the other two turned to look at him. Cruz simply shook his head.

"Never mind, we should get in there and find what we came for."

"He's right, I want to find those flowers as soon as possible. And we have to get what you came for Skara," Boscha said as Skara nodded to the two.

"Then let's get in there and find what we came for," Skara said as the three entered past the archway.

Inside of the temple, the three looked around and saw multiple pillars shattered as they were scattered along the ground. The walls were covered in murals of bards playing music with the notes surrounding them.

"Whoa... this place is huge," Cruz said as he looked around.

"It really is. My grandpa told me about it, but it's way different from actually seeing it in person," Skara said as she touched one of the murals.

"We need to split up to cover more ground," Boscha suggested. "We'll need to if we want to find what we came for. This room is huge after all." The three split up as they began to look around the room.

As Cruz walked up towards a mural, he saw that the bards depicted on it looked as if they were singing and playing their music while a group of small demons were dancing. It looked like a small gathering or party.

"Something about those demons look familiar. I've seen images like these before," Cruz said as he touched a mural of the small demon dancing.

Before Cruz could examine the mural more, he heard Boscha call out.

"I found them!" Boscha said as Cruz and Skara joined her. The three looked and saw a large bed of red flowers with a gold center. A breeze made the flower bed sway, causing them to look like a small kindling of fire.

"I can't believe they're actually here!" Boscha said as she was about to approach them.

"Hold on," Cruz said as he grabbed her by the shoulder. Boscha turned to look at him with a glare.

"What is it?! These are exactly what I came for! Let me guess, you want to steal these away from me too. Don't you?!" Boscha yelled at him with a glare

Cruz and Skara looked at her with confusion, not knowing where this outburst had come from.

"Boscha... what are you talking about?" Skara asked

"Just forget it," Boscha said with a huff as she turned away.

Cruz turned back to look at the flowers. "I was going to say that these are fake. It's only an illusion that we're looking at right now."

"How can you tell?" Skara asked

"For one, there's no wind in here. So how are they swaying like that?" Skara and Boscha looked at him as they realized that he was right.

"But then who set up the illusion?" Skara asked

"It's pretty simple," Cruz said as he aimed his marble launcher towards the flowers.

When he shot the marble, it went through the flowers as they flickered before they poofed away into blue smoke.

Sitting in the center of where the flowers were, a large green cat demon with white stripes along its back and vines growing from its legs around the size of a Tiger was sitting while growling at them.

"What is that thing?" Boscha asked

"It's a Bloom Cat. I read about these demons," Cruz explained. "They usually hide themselves and use their tails to create illusions to lure in prey."

"So what do we do?" Skara asked. "Do you think that this thing is gonna attack us?"

"Not at all, just watch." Cruz aimed his marble shooter at the Bloom Cat before electricity began to crackle on the barrel.

Cruz shot the electrified marble at the demon startling it as it ran off. "There we go. Bloom Cats are actually pretty skittish. Just a good scare gets them to run off and find a new hunting ground. Especially if someone saw through their illusion."

"Great. So now we can keep looking for the flowers," Boscha said

"I think we're good on that part," Cruz said as he walked up to a slab of stone that was behind where the Bloom Cat was sitting. "They'll create illusions of anything that's around them."

Cruz grabbed the slab before pulling on it towards the front. The slab landed with a large thud kicking up dust into the air.

The three coughed as the dust settled. "Oh great, thanks for all the dirt!" Boscha said

"Look at that, I was right," Cruz said with a smile as the three looked at a bed of Crimson song flowers.

"Are those... real?" Skara asked wearily

"Yep!" Cruz said happily. "It's a good thing we found that Bloom Cat. It led us right to the flowers."

"Then let's grab some quick, before something else shows up trying to kill us," Boscha said as she knelt down towards the flowers.

"We're lucky that we found these out here and not in a deeper part of the temple," Cruz said as Boscha placed multiple flowers in a bag she summoned.

"I only found a door to get to the inner part of the temple but I couldn't find a way in," Skara said

"Then we'd better find a way in," Boscha said surprising the two.

"Oh don't give me those looks. You helped me find what I wanted, so I'll help you find what you wanted. It's not like I want to owe you anything. Especially you." Boscha pointed a finger at Cruz who shrugged.

Cruz gave her a nonchalant smile. "Fair enough. But first, what was with what you said earlier."

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

"You said that I was going to steal something else from you. What did you mean by that?"

"...It doesn't matter," Boscha said as she looked away.

"It matters a lot if you yelled about it like that," Cruz pointed out.

"Boscha... what's the matter?" Skara asked

After a pause Boscha answered.

"Everything's changed recently. I used to know exactly what everyone was going to do and who was interacting with who. But ever since you showed up." Boscha pointed towards Cruz.

"Everyone isn't acting the same anymore. Amity and Skara don't ever hang out with the rest of the group anymore and just hang out with you and your friends."

"Boscha..." Skara reached out for her as she turned away

"The reason I don't hang out with you anymore doesn't have anything to do with Cruz. I didn't want to keep just doing everything you said. It was less like we were friends and more like I was just someone you ordered around."

"I wanted to branch out and find my own way, my own identity, and my own friends. Cruz and the others helped me with that. I didn't like how you treated them. That's the reason I can't say we can stay friends. I've known you since we were kids, so I know that you can be a better person."

Boscha's gaze softened, her shoulders slumping slightly. "You might have a point. Maybe I've been too harsh on everyone," Boscha conceded, her eyes reflecting a hint of remorse.

"Let's go see if we can't open up that door for the temple." Boscha stood up as she wiped away forming tears.

As the three walked up to the door. They saw that it was covered in moss from not being opened for so long.

"Do you think someone would be mad if we melted the door down?" Boscha asked

"Boscha!" Skara said turning to her. "Obviously my dad and grandpa would get mad about it."

"Hey, I was just wondering."

"There might be something on the door that we missed," Cruz said as she looked at the door closely.

"I looked at that door already," Skara said. "I didn't see anything that could open it."

"Maybe there was something behind the moss that you might've missed," Cruz said as he walked up to the door.

As Cruz brushed against the door, it began to glow before opening up.

"What happened?" Skara asked

"No idea. As soon as I touched it, the door just opened up. It's weird, it reminds me of another door me and my sister found before."

"Wow, that's amazing!" Skara said before she noticed a glow around Cruz's neck.

"Hey, why's your neck glowing?"

"Huh?" Cruz looked down and saw a slight glow before reaching down and pulling out a gold necklace.

The necklace was shaped like a sun with glass in the center. Behind the glass, it was glowing in a blue hue.

"That's weird, I wonder why it's doing that too," Cruz said as he held it up

"What even is that?" Boscha asked

"It's a necklace I made. It's holding a liquid that I found. I couldn't really use it for much so I decided to just keep it around like a decoration."

"Maybe the necklace was the key to opening the door!" Skara said excitedly

"It might've been. Let's go inside and see if we can't find what you're looking for," Cruz said as the three headed inside.

Once the three were inside, the door closed shut behind them, startling them.

"Oh great! Don't tell me we're trapped in here now," Boscha said angrily

"I doubt it. I'm sure I could open the door back up again," Cruz said as he held up his necklace as it was still glowing.

Suddenly, the three heard a melodic humming filled the air, echoing through the vast chamber.

The sound seemed to resonate with the necklace, causing it to pulsate with light.

"What's it doing now?" Skara asked

"Honestly I have no clue. I've tested this liquid out a few times but it's never gotten a reaction like this before."

"We can feel it," a voice said from all around them.

"He has arrived."

"It's the one."

"The one who has the blood of our King flowing through their veins."

The three looked around as they tried to see where the voices were coming from but didn't see anyone.

"Who are you?!" Cruz yelled as they all looked around

"Maybe we imagined it?" Skara asked

"I really wish that was true," Cruz said as he felt a chill in the air.

"We have been waiting for a new King to make their way here," a voice said as a purple ghost covered in bandages rose up from in front of them.

"An oracle spirit?" Boscha wondered

"But that doesn't make any sense. No one should know how to get into this chamber," Skara said as the spirit approached Cruz

"Who are you? Did someone summon you?" Cruz asked

"No one summoned us," the spirit said as two more spirits rose up from the ground.

"We are the spirits tasked with guarding this temple and guiding the King along with their soother in the ritual."

"The King? What King?" Skara asked

"The one who inherits the blood of the King along with any others of their species." The spirits all approached Cruz as the light on his necklace continued to pulse almost like a heart beat.

"The proof that you are a child of the King is around your neck, along with the blood flowing through your veins."

Cruz looked down at the necklace thinking about what the liquid could be.

"What kind of ritual is this?"

"It's a simple ritual," one spirit said

"It's a ritual for the King to advance."

"The young blood must awaken. Your blood is unique, a mixture of two species. One from here and another from far away," the third spirit said

"That explains his appearance and lack of development."

"His blood must be accelerated."

"His trial must be completed. You must hand the proof around your neck to your soother. They will help to complete the ritual using the harp."

"A harp?" Cruz wondered as he turned to look at Skara. "Is that what you came to look for?"

"It is," Skara said with a nod. "My dad and grandpa said we'll find the Harp of Ages in here. It's been in my family's possession for ages. But it was always left in the temple when they didn't use it. I guess that's why they left it here, for a ritual like this."

"I get the part of Skara being the one to use the harp, but what kind of species is called a King? There's never been one other than Belos before," Boscha said as the spirits all floated around the room.

"Our King's species is ancient. From the time before the witches walked and spoke. Before magic evolved to come from within."

"Well that was a round about way of telling us nothing," Boscha said with a huff.

"The ritual must commence," the spirit said as all three floated towards a pedestal at the center of the room.

A harp sat on the pedestal. It sparkled with the light reflecting on its golden handle.

"There it is!" Skara said. "The Harp of Ages!"

"So we just have to use it for the ritual and that's it? We'll be able to take it with us after that?" Cruz questioned

"Normally, the harp would remain here. However, we can feel the blood of our King has reached only one other. And they are too young to be in this temple at the moment."

"You on the other hand, have the blood of our King and are able to use the magic of this land along with his voice."

"His voice?" Cruz wondered

"It is now time to begin, soother you must play the harp while the would-be King will be in trial," a spirit said as they handed Skara the harp.

"And what about me?" Boscha asked. "I'm not a bard, so do I just watch?"

"Every show must have an audience." A red bubble formed around Boscha and Skara before it floated them towards the pedestal.

"What the heck?! I could've just stayed out of the way!"

"How's the sound going to work if I'm in here!"

"Let them go!" Cruz demanded as he activated his gauntlets

"The trial will now begin," the lead spirit said as the other two spirits grabbed onto him.

"What are you-"

The lead spirit placed its hands on Cruz's head as it began to sink its fingers into his temples

"Cruz!" Skara cried out as his eyes began to glow blue before he slumped over

"Now we will begin!" Skara and Boscha heard a rumbling coming from the wall in the temple. As they turned, they saw that the wall had began to lift open like a door before a large statue stepped out.

The statue stood around ten feet tall covered in moss. Its head was a crescent shaped head similar to Jean-Luc. The main difference between the two was that this golem looked like it was built for demolition.

"What is that thing?" Boscha asked

"The trial," the spirit said. "While the soother is playing the notes, the would-be King shall be fighting the golem in order to grow in power. His main goal will be to survive and destroy the golem."

"Begin the trial!" All three spirits said as the golem began to move forward

"Cruz you need to move!" Skara yelled as the golem began to get closer

"Skara, look above!" Boscha said as she pointed towards the roof of the temple.

Skara looked up and saw that multiple music notes littered the roof in a pattern that looked like a music sheet.

"It's a grand staff! It's a song! The song for the trail!" Skara lifted the harp as she took a deep breath. She then strummed the harp as the room seemed to light up all around them.

As the music began to fill the room, Cruz looked up to the golem with a growl before charging at it.

Cruz jumped up on its arm as the golem punched downward towards him. As the golem tried to shake him off, Cruz punched its arm multiple times, setting off multiple explosions forcing it down to the ground as he landed back on the ground.

"Something's wrong," Boscha said

"You're right, he's not acting like himself. It's almost like he's acting like an animal instead," Skara said

"The would-be King is acting on instinct at the moment. Until the ritual is complete, he will continue to fight as more and more of his instincts are brought up," the spirit said as Cruz growled at the golem as it stood back up.

Cruz lowered himself into a fighting stance, eyes fixed on the golem with an intense glare. As Skara continued to play the harp, the glow in Cruz's eyes began to grow brighter as his hands began to glow as well.

"The blood of the King has begun to flow more through out his body! If the notes are not all played he will lose himself to the blood and become nothing more than a beast!" The spirit warned

"What are you talking about?" Skara asked

"The notes are to remind him of himself and to anchor his mind and soul back to the realm. That is why only someone very close to his heart can act as the soother."

"But how do we know that I'm close to his heart at all?"

"The fact that he responded to the first note is the proof," said another spirit

"You are the one person in this room whose existence is important to the would-be King," responded the last spirit

Skara looked down at Cruz as he continued to fight against the golem as the spirit's words sank in.

"I'm someone... important to him?" As Skara thought back to the times they've had together since meeting, she felt her cheeks start to heat up.

"Hey! Ghouliet! Focus on the music! If you don't I'm pretty sure that he's gonna get killed by that thing!" Boscha said, snapping Skara out of her thoughts.

"You're right, sorry." As Skara continued to play the harp, Cruz growled at the golem as he felt a burning sensation rising up in his throat.

Cruz let out a roar as a sonic ring of blue escaped his mouth knocking the golem into a wall shattering it, and knocking the golem's head off.

"The voice of the King! He has inherited it in all of its glory!" The lead spirit said as the other two cheered.

As Skara played the last note, the echo of Cruz's roar resonated through the chamber, reverberating with power and ferocity. Skara felt a surge of pride mixed with concern for Cruz's wellbeing.

"Is... he going to be okay?" Skara asked the lead spirit as it turned to look at her.

"The song has been played and the King has defeated his opponent. The ritual is now complete."

Skara looked down as Cruz began to walk towards them before suddenly collapsing onto the floor.

"Cruz!" Skara yelled out. "Let us out of here!"

The spirits began to circle the bubbles as they popped releasing the two girls. Skara and Boscha ran towards Cruz as Skara turned him over as she held him in her arms.

"Cruz, are you okay? " Skara asked, her voice trembling with concern as she looked at his exhausted face.

Cruz's eyes began to open slowly as he looked up at her with their usual gold and silver coloring.

"That... was horrible. But I could hear the song the whole time. Your music is always so beautiful to listen to," Cruz said as he looked up at Skara with a smile.

Skara looked at him with a smile as he began to sit up.

"I'm just glad that you're okay." The three looked back at the spirits as Cruz stood up completely

"So are we done here?" Cruz asked them. "Can we take the harp now?"

"You may take the harp as you desire. We shall await the day another would-be King shall appear before us."

They watched as the spirits all sank into the floor, returning to their resting place.

"And we still have no idea what species they were talking about," Boscha said in exasperation.

"We might find out someday," Cruz said. "But for now, I'm exhausted. I just wanna go home and sleep the next twenty-four hours away."

"I hear you," Skara said as she grabbed the harp. "I know that my dad and grandpa are going to be happy that I got this back."

"And my moms are going to be glad I managed to get a lot of Crimson song flowers," Boscha said as the three began to head out of the temple.

As the three walked out of the temple, they saw that it was getting very late.

"We're gonna have to book it if we wanna get home before it gets too late," Cruz said as he took out his staff.

"Oh, great. Another crazy ride on that thing," Boscha lamented before she heard a familiar voice calling to her.

"Boscha!" The three looked up and saw a woman with pink hair and three eyes flying towards them riding a rabbit shaped Palisman.

"Mom?" Boscha asked as the woman landed. "What are you doing here?"

"I heard from Shaun that you came to the temple to find Crimson song flowers for us. I just wanted to help you out since this area is so dangerous."

"How did you even get here? It takes a day and a half on an air ship!"

"Oh, that. I was actually in an area rather close to here. And besides, Flippers here is rather fast when she wants to be," Mrs. Vandran said as she scratched the rabbit Palisman's head before turning to Skara and Cruz.

"It's nice to see you again, Skara. And I don't believe we've met. I'm Roxana Vandran, Boscha's mother."

"Oh, I'm Cruz Noceda. A classmate of Boscha."

"Oh yes, I've heard of you. You're the human who showed an immense amount of potential for potion making. If you're looking for work after Hexside, my company would gladly take on someone with your talents."

"Mom!" Boscha said as she tried to push her mom away from Cruz.

Cruz chuckled at her. "I appreciate the offer, but I'd rather not make any kind of commitment to a company just yet."

"A shame, but if you ever change your mind, our doors will be open to you. Now then dear, let's get you home. Your mama is quite worried about you. You know how she can get," Roxana said as she and Boscha got on the Palisman.

"Then I'll see you two at school then. And Cruz," Boscha said as Cruz looked at her. "Thank you for your help."

Skara and Cruz watched as Boscha and her mother flew off towards her home.

"You think Boscha will change?" Cruz asked

"I think so. She's not a bad person at heart, she just doesn't always make the right decisions."

"Then let's get you back home. I've gotta pick Luz up from the library," Cruz said as he and Skara got on the staff.

"Hold on tight!"

Skara wrapped her arms around Cruz waist tightly as the staff shot off creating a larger sonic boom than before.

The two arrived back at Skara's house just as the sun was starting to go down.

"Thanks for coming with me, Cruz," Skara said as she got off the staff.

"No problem, Skara. I actually had a lot of fun today."

"Even when you got possessed?" Skara said as she looked at him sadly

"Okay, maybe not that. But the rest of it was worth it."

"What did it feel like?" Skara asked with worry

Cruz looked down as he began to remember the trial. "Honestly, it felt like my body was drowning," Cruz said with a frown before his face softened with a smile.

"Then I heard your music, and everything just felt so... clear. It might sound corny, but your music is always something that just makes me feel so happy and calm. It's the most beautiful sound ever."

Cruz looked back up and saw that Skara had a large blush on her face. Cruz processed how much he'd said before blushing and mirroring her face. She smiled shyly and said, "Well, I'm glad it could help."

"Then I'll see you at school then," Cruz said as he began to turn away.

"Oh wait! One more thing," Skara said as Cruz turned to look at her

"What is it?" Cruz asked as he felt Skara kiss his cheek.

He looked at her as he felt his face heat up even more than before as he saw that she was blushing just as much as he was.

"I'll see you at school. Bye!" Skara said as she ran back into her house leaving Cruz stumped and short circuited

"I think my brain just broke," Cruz said to himself as he heard someone chuckling.

Cruz quickly turned to see Shaun walking back to the house trying to hold in a laugh.

"Honestly, Skara reminds me so much of her mother these days. I hope you'll take good care of my daughter, Cruz."

"Oh... uh... well... I-I can just promise to try my best?" Cruz said unsure on how to respond

Shaun laughed as he put a hand on Cruz's shoulder.

"That's all I can ask for. Now tell me, how did the temple go?"

"Oh, right. It went great! We managed to get the Harp of Ages from it. Skara has it with her."

"That's good. It's just a shame we won't be able to keep it," Shaun said as he looked down sadly.

"Wait, what?" Cruz asked in surprise. "Why not?"

"You know how my business deal in making instruments for the bard coven, right?"

"Yeah, Skara mentioned it to me. But I still don't get it?"

"Up until about two months ago, my business had close ties to Blight Industries. We had no more reason to keep doing business with them since their Abomaton project was getting closer to completion. So we decided to end our deals with them."

Cruz nodded seeing why he'd want to cut ties with them.

"But recently, Blight Industries has been getting much more aggressive in taking over other companies and forcing them to be part of their own company. Most revenues going to Blight Industries."

"My company, along with the Vandran company have been getting attacked by Odalia. Both of our companies have been looking for ways to boost our revenues and get any backing we can get."

"That explains why Boscha wanted the Crimson song flowers," Cruz said as he began to get angry.

"Exactly, the Crimson song flowers will help the Vandran company get the potion's coven as a backer. We already have the bard coven as our backer, but after my father retires... we'll have less of a stance with them."

"So the Harp?"

"We're planning to sell it to the Emperor's Coven," Shaun said with a frown. "My father already agreed, now we just have to break the news to Skara."

Cruz began to think as he tried to come up with a solution on how he could help them out when he realized something.

"How long ago did Blight Industries start to target your company and the Vandran company?"

"It was about a week ago. Why do you ask?"

"Of course she did," Cruz said angrily as he realized why Blight Industry had started to act that way.

"Don't sell the harp. Let me try and do something. I'll make sure that Blight Industry backs off from your company and the Vandran's."

"If you could do that, then it would be wonderful. But I'm not sure how much you could do. Odalia is a very dangerous person to go up against," Shaun warned

"Trust me, so am I," Cruz said as he got back on his staff and flew off towards his target.

At Blight Industries, Odalia was directing her Abomatons and some of her employees in the same room where they had the Abomaton presentation.

"Will you all hurry up? We have to get ready for the next showcase," Odalia said in exasperation as her employees finished their work.

"That will suffice for today. You can go home now." The employees all quickly shuffled out of the room as Odalia inspected the showroom.

"Oh for Titan's sake, I told them already that this shade of lilac was not the right one. Honestly, I simply can't stand when people don't listen to simple instructions."

"I completely agree," Cruz said as Odalia turned around.

She saw that Cruz was floating above the ground on his staff while looking down at her with a smile.

"Oh great, it's you," Odalia said in annoyance. "If you're here to see Alador, then I'm afraid you've come at the wrong time. He's far too busy to waste his time on anything else you have to talk about."

"I figured he would be. But I'm actually here to talk to you Odalia," Cruz said as Odalia looked at him in confusion

"About what?"

"It's related to your business and about the amount of snails you'll be making. It's going to be a drastic change."

"I'm listening."

"Great! Now listen closely, because I'm only going to say this once," Cruz said with a smile before he suddenly looked down at her with anger in his eyes.

"You are going to leave the Crane and Vandran companies alone from now on. Any plans you have to attack them and try and absorb their companies will end. Immediately."

Odalia scoffed as she turned away before looking at a clip board. "I was wondering what you were planning to tell me. But it's nothing more than a waste of my time."

As Odalia began to walk away, a bolt of lighting hit the ground in front of her. She quickly turned to look at Cruz in anger when she saw that his eyes held nothing but disgust and contempt as they glowed in a low hue.

"Odalia. Do you take me for a fool? Your company began to move against those two around a week ago. Around the same time that your Abomaton was shown off and my sister and I messed with you."

Cruz landed on ground as he got off his staff before walking closer to her. Odalia took a step back in caution as Cruz continued to walk towards her.

"I know that this is nothing more than you trying to get back at my sister and me. Specifically you're trying to get back at me. Alador and I made a deal. You would never interfere with me, my friends, or my sister ever again. Did you think that deal didn't extend to Skara?"

"The deal has nothing to do with the Crane or Vandran companies," Odalia argued

"Doesn't it? I may not have mentioned their families but it was implied. The fact those two families can defend themselves from you is due to their influence and ingenuity. But if you'd gone after any of my other friend's families or even my own. This conversation would be completely different."

"So I'm only going to say this one more time, Odalia. Back. Off."

"And if I don't," Odalia said as she began to reach for the remote that controlled the Abomaton still in the room.

"You're probably thinking that I'm like my sister. She's kind and tries to get along with everyone. It's something I admire about her. She even tried to reason with you," Cruz said as he let out a sigh.

"But I'm not like Luz. I can see that talking to you won't get the point across. So here's a little warning. If you don't stop, then I'll drag your name, and your name alone, through so much mud and grime, that no one on the Boiling Isles or the entire Demon Realm will ever want to be associated with you again."

"Doing that to me will end up hurting Amity and the rest of my family. I really doubt you'd want that."

"Oh, trust me, Odalia. I'll make sure that only your name is dragged through the mud. Everyone else will be safe."

"That's not possible. Someone like you isn't capable of something like that!"

Cruz looked at her as his eyes began to glow again with a scowl forming on his face.

"If you keep trying to mess with me and those I care about, you'll find out exactly what I'm capable of."

"Final warning, Odalia. Don't. Cross me."

Odalia felt a shiver run down her spine as the air felt like it had dropped in temperature. She quickly pressed the button on the remote as the Abomaton stood at attention as it began to walk towards Cruz.

"You should remember that adults will always have a back up plan," Odalia gloated as she took a few steps back from Cruz.

Cruz simply sighed at Odalia's attempt to scare him. Cruz snapped his fingers as Jean-Luc broke through the roof of the warehouse and landed in front of him, surprising Odalia.

"What is that thing?"

"Jean-Luc. Destroy the Abomaton," Cruz said pointing at it.

Jean-Luc quickly rushed at the Abomaton as he changed one of his hands into an axe slicing the Abomaton's legs as it tried to grab Jean-Luc.

Before the Abomaton could reform its legs, Jean-Luc circled around it and changed his hand into a large hammer and smashed down on its head rendering the Abomaton useless.

"No, no, no, no! How is that possible?!"

"Jean-Luc is simply made much better than the Abomaton. I should know, I helped make that thing," Cruz said with a smirk before he turned to leave.

"I think I've made my point clear here. I expect you to do like I said, Odalia. Don't make me come back and have another talk with you."

Cruz flew off on his staff as Jean-Luc followed after him, leaving a fuming Odalia on the warehouse floor.

As Cruz began to fly away from the warehouse, he ordered Jean-Luc to head back to the Owl House as he headed towards the library.

As he was passing by the Blight manor, he spotted Luz sitting in front of the manor's doors.

"What happened to you?" Cruz asked as he landed in front of a dazed and blushing Luz.

"Oh, hey Cruz," Luz said still feeling slightly dazed

"Did something good happen?"

Luz quickly blushed as a certain recent memory resurfaced. "Well, Amity might've maybe sorta... kissed me... on the cheek."

Cruz looked at her with wide eyes before a grin spread on his face.

"Alright, hermana! That great for you!" Cruz said as he ruffled her hair

"So does that mean you're finaly gonna ask Amity out?" Cruz asked he hopped back on his staff

"I'm not sure honestly," Luz said with worry as she climbed on Cruz's staff

"What's there to think about? You like her and she kissed you. Seems pretty obvious to me that she'll say yes," Cruz encouraged as they began to fly away from Blight manor.

"I mean I guess. But it's going to have to be something amazing when I do!" Luz said as she began to think about how she would do it.

"Guess today is going pretty great for both of us," Cruz said. "I'm guessing you got the notes we were looking for?"

"Right here!" Luz said as she held up a mouse

"Please tell me that mouse can talk," Cruz said with worry

"Even better, it can show us the notes like if it were a movie!"

"...You know what, I'll take that over anything else. We got the notes, I helped Skara find the harp and we both got a kiss from the people we like," Cruz said happily before he realized what he'd said.

He heard Luz gasp as all other thoughts in her head stopped for a moment.

"Oh, no."

"You've gotta tell me everything!"

"Not now!" Cruz said in exasperation

"Either now or when we get back to the Owl House!"

"Either way you're going to spill it back at the Owl House!" Cruz said knowing exactly what was waiting back home

"True. But still! Details!" Luz said happily

"Oh fine! But only if you tell me what happened too," Cruz said

"Deal!"

"Alright, so when we got to her house..." Cruz began to say as he started to recount what happened at the Temple of Sound.