Zeera’s roar suddenly petered out and it stood in the centre of town, stunned. Its furiously glowing eyes returned to normal and, instead, its entire body glowed an orangey-brown. The epic Minakai shined brightly, its light spreading throughout the entire town and to the countryside beyond. Before the eyes of everyone gathered in the town square, it started to shrink.

Everyone stood in awe as the mighty Zeera, the corrupted tower guardian that had torn Hazelton apart, was reduced to the size and shape of a watermelon. The glow faded and, left in Zeera’s place, was an egg. It was stone-grey and patterned purple and blue, resembling Zeera’s spikes and segmented underbelly.

Aurin flew back down to the ground and climbed off of Skrow’s back with Budescent. “You both did great,” said Aurin, patting Skrow and Budescent’s heads before walking over to the egg. “You’re not going to trouble anyone ever again. I’m going to make sure of that.”

He picked up Zeera’s egg, amazed to have witnessed the power of the Roche Fruit for himself. It was finally over and Zeera had been contained, but there was still the threat of the Minakai spawning outside the tower; now it was made worse by the fact that most of the Minakai in town were no longer in a fit state to battle.

“Aurin!” called Luna, running towards him and throwing her arms around him. “You did it! I can’t believe it.”

“That was a good move,” said Kyle, clapping Aurin’s shoulder. “You may have just saved the town.”

“We’re not done yet,” said Aurin, clutching Zeera’s egg tightly and then looking towards the eleven Zodiac Squad elites gathered. “We need to seal the tower.”

Aurin walked towards them, all of whom looked defeated except for Taurus who still stood firm. Even Leo, who never failed to maintain a veneer of arrogance couldn’t bring himself to make eye contact with Aurin. They were all too ashamed at the death and destruction they had unleashed.

“I need your help,” said Aurin to Taurus. “You’re the only one who can make this end.”

“I miscalculated,” said Taurus, nodding. “The fight against the Minakai was contained and controlled, as I had intended, but this Zeera…well, thank you for stopping it.”

“I don’t want your thanks, Boren, I want your help to reseal the tower.”

“Things are now back on course,” said Taurus, waving his hand dismissively. “The tower remains open.”

“No!” roared Aurin. “You have no idea what else may come through the portal. What if the tower needs another guardian and summons one? What if it too ends up corrupted and mutated like this Zeera? How about an Arusom that spreads its toxins through the air and poisons everyone? What if we can’t put it away and another appears? Not only will Hazelton be overwhelmed, but the entire of Bretonia will be brought to its knees. Beyond that…who knows?”

Taurus stared at Aurin silently. After a few seconds, he moved his mouth to speak, but could only sigh. “Yes,” he said firmly. “Yes, there are no guarantees. I will agree to a temporary truce until I have had time to reassess.”

“You’ll reseal the tower barrier?”

“If I can,” said Taurus, turning to his comrades. “Leo. Sagittarius. We have work to do. The three of us will go to the top of the tower and restore the barrier.”

“Yes, Master Taurus,” said Leo.

“Yes, sir,” said Sagittarius.

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

“No,” said Aurin. “I’m going with you. I’m going to make sure that you stick to your word.”

“Very well,” said Taurus.

“Can all three of you enter the tower?” asked Luna.

“There is no need to worry about the rules of the tower,” said Taurus. “We use Mindadam’s portals to enter from above. With no barrier in place to keep us out, we can do as we please.”

“Then I’m coming too.”

“No,” said Aurin, turning to look at Luna. “It’s too dangerous. If things go badly, everyone else needs to be ready so that things don’t get out of control again.”

“Yes…I understand,” said Luna.

“What are we waiting for?” asked Klaus.

“Nothing,” said Conrad. “The quicker we deal with this, the better.”

“Right,” said Gardner. “I’ve still got two Minakai left. Post me outside the tower.”

Luna walked over to Virgo who was sitting behind Aurin’s Leonite, holding Hannah. She was still breathing, much to Luna’s relief, but she was unconscious and her arm looked to be broken.

“Are you alright, Mr Williams?” Luna asked Virgo.

“Yes,” said Virgo. “I feel like an utter fool, but knowing that my Hannah is safe is enough for now. I should never have drafted her into this…not after what happened to her mother. I thought we were prepared, but I never saw something like this coming…”

“She’s strong,” said Luna, putting her hand on Virgo’s shoulder. “Take care of her and we’ll make things right.”

“Yes…I’m sorry. I’m sorry for everything.”

“Luna,” called Kyle. “We don’t want to waste any more time.”

“Right,” said Luna, turning her back on Virgo and Hannah.

The tamers marched through the ruined streets of Hazelton where the snow had once again started falling. It was a sombre walk, with very few people uttering as much as a single word. It did not help matters that among the tamers were members of the Zodiac Squad who had only ever caused trouble wherever they went. Now, they were even responsible for the deaths of many citizens of Hazelton as well as many tamers’ Minakai. Aurin counted himself lucky that his friends and team had all survived the battle with Zeera.

As the tamers walked, the red lightning strikes continued and wild Minakai happened upon them. They were dealt with swiftly with Shamtile taking responsibility for banishing them quickly. The wild Minakai could not be allowed to overwhelm the area again, not when the town had suffered so greatly over the past day.

Harmony Tower stood tall and strong in its clearing, but the clearing itself was barely recognisable. Large chunks of earth were missing and many trees had been snapped or upended, but there was the tower in the middle of it all. It had stood for centuries and, if Aurin had anything to say about it, would continue to. It was a pillar of protection from the destruction of indiscriminate Minakai being brought into the world by the ancient magic holding open the gaps between realities.

“Leo,” said Aurin, “summon your Abysarex.”

Leo did as Aurin asked and used his summoning stone to call Abysarex, who appeared on the ground, still badly injured from the battle in the town square. Sunny floated up to him and weaved her magic, giddily squealing as she restored the cosmic Minakai to power.

“Thank you,” said Leo, avoiding eye contact; his shame was apparent to all.

Aurin ignored him and walked up to Kyle. He held out Zeera’s egg and handed it to the rancher who accepted it carefully. “Kyle, I trust you not to let anyone take this egg. I’ll deal with it later.”

“We will take care of it,” said Klaus, but nobody paid him any attention.

“Not the time,” muttered Conrad.

“It’s safe with me,” Kyle said to Aurin. “I promise you that nobody will lay a finger on it.”

“Catch,” said Gardner, tossing an Orb of Return to Aurin, who caught it. “Who knows what will happen if you get the barrier back, so maybe this will help you get out of there unscathed.”

“Thanks, Gardner,” said Aurin, giving his friend a nod of respect.

“Good luck,” said Luna, hugging Aurin tightly. “Come back safe, alright?”

There was a flash of red lightning and a Cryocoon appeared on the grass. The icy blue chrysalis sat on the grass, unmoving, but Shamtile was not willing to let it remain. He jumped in the air, flipped over and kicked his feet out, conjuring up a rock that smashed into it, cracking its body and banishing it.

“No tolerance for wild Minakai, eh?” asked Kyle.

Shamtile shook his head and then hopped onto Aurin’s shoulder.

“You ready, mate?” Aurin asked him.

Shamtile let out a warbling screech of determination. He was upset that he couldn’t out-earth elemental Zeera, but he would make up for it by sealing the tower.

“Let’s get to work,” said Taurus. “Sagittarius, if you would.”

“Of course,” replied Sagittarius.

The horse-masked Zodiac member stepped forward with his Mindadam and ordered it to open up a portal from the ground to the top of the tower. With a whinny and a slam of its hooves on the grass, the portal appeared.

“Let’s go,” said Aurin, waiting Taurus and Leo to enter first. Once they had walked through the portal, he followed with Sagittarius tailing him.