I woke up back in bed. Sylph was seated at the bottom with her head down. I tried to sit up but I had no energy. My movement brought Sylph out of her thoughts and she floated over to my side.
“Hey” she said in a soft voice “How are you feeling?” memories of what happened to Tara came flooding back.
“Terrible” I groaned. I looked around to see if anyone else was around but we were alone. “Where is everyone?” I asked.
“Lance just left to get you something to eat and Nesso is outside” she told me.
“Where’s Evan?” I asked my fear growing.
Sylph didn’t answer right away “He went after Ifrit.”
“What” I quickly jumped out of bed. “I told him not to go after him” Sylph placed a reassuring hand on my shoulder.
“Relax, you need to rest. Evan promised he was only going to see where Ifrit went, he won’t attack” she tried to put me back on the bed but I stayed up.
“He shouldn’t have gone out on his own” I said but my legs grew weak and I had to sit back on the bed. We sat in silence for a moment.
“I’m sorry” she said “about my brother” she let out a sob. “I knew he wasn’t happy about his powers but I didn’t think he would go this far.”
“No I’m the one who should be sorry” I said and grabbed her hand. “I spoke with him earlier but I didn’t know how to help him. I still don’t” I admitted.
“No it’s my fault” a voice spoke up. Lance stood in the opening of the tree holding several apples in his arms. “I was the one who got him angry by saying how great it was to be able to create something” he stepped forward and handed me an apple. Sylph also took one and Lance put the rest on my bed. We ate in silence, none of us knew what to say. Finally our meal was interrupted by the sound of Evan landing outside. We ran outside to greet the green dragon.
“Hey I found him” Evan spoke first. Nesso ran up from behind the tree to join the group.
“Good now we can go and take him down,” Lance said anger clouded his face.
“You can take us to him right?” Sylph asked
“Yeah” the dragon answered, “I don’t understand why he even ran away in the first place.”
“He needs to train” I explain it was common in the fantasy novels I’ve read “When someone gains a new power they need time to adjust and learn how to use it. He just got lucky making the stone wall.”
“Well he’s definitely been practicing,” Evan told me.
“What was he up to?” I wondered what the fire god did with his new power.
“He had this really big mountain that was shooting out this really hot red water” he described moving his arms to show the actual shape. It sounded oddly familiar, a mountain shooting out hot red water.
“A volcano” I realized.
“A what?” Sylph asked.
“A volcano, it’s a type of mountain that shoots out lava. That’s the red water you saw, it’s made from melted rocks.” I explained.
“Oh so it’s like when fire and earth mixes” Sylph summarized.
“Right. Evan you said that Ifrit was there”
“Yeah,” the dragon began, “but I couldn’t see him that well. He was bent over like he was trying to hide something. After I saw him I came right back here.”
“So now what do we do?” I asked though I already knew what they were going to say.
“We are going after him,” Lance spoke up. “We need to attack before he does.” Nesso grunted in agreement. I was surprised at how angry Lance was, I didn’t think he was the type to get violent like this.
“Well we need a plan first,” Sylph reasoned. “Like who's going…”
“I’m going” Lance volunteered.
“I have to go” Evan said and Nesso stepped forward signaling his volunteer.
“Well I’m not staying behind” Sylph spoke out and they all looked at me. I didn’t answer right away, this wasn’t right. The more people who went the bigger chance we would lose someone and then Ifrit would be even stronger.
“No, me and Evan are the only ones going.” I decided and was met with mutual disapproval.
“I have to go, he’s my brother” Sylph yelled.
“I have to go to avenge Tara” Lance said.
“No I’m the one who has to stop him” I told them, I knew it was true.
“But” Lance began.
“Enough” I shouted. My voice grew louder than I thought was possible, the pain in my chest started up again worse than before.
“This is my world and you all are my creations including Ifrit. If one of my creations is causing trouble then it is my responsibility to stop them.” I told them. This was the way of a God, I had a responsibility to take care of this world and that is what I plan to do. No one looked happy but they didn’t offer any more resistance.
“Good now Evan, get ready to go” I instructed the dragon. He quickly began stretching for the long flight. Sylph stepped closer to me.
“Phanes I won’t ask you to let me come with you but please help my brother. He feels like he was born different from everyone else” she pleaded with me.
“I’ll do what I can” I promised her but this might not be settled easily. Once Evan said that he was ready I jumped onto his back and looked at the gods before me.
“Well I’m heading out, please don’t follow us. I’ll be back soon.” I gave my short speech and was about to take off when Nesso stepped forward. He didn’t have to speak for me to know he didn’t want me to go.
“Nesso you have a nice voice. “ I told him “when I get back I hope you will let me hear it more” the water God’s face darkened to a dark indigo as he nodded. After giving one more goodbye we took off.
Evan flew swiftly and we traveled in silence. I watched as the giant tree shrunk in the distance and then turned my attention to what was ahead.
“Alright Even when we get there I need you to just drop me off and retreat to a safe distance” I told the dragon. I didn’t want him to get involved in the fight.
“What? No, you need some kind of help” he argued.
“I’m sorry but this is something I have to do on my own” I said.
The dragon let out a small growl as the volcano came into view. “Fine” was all he said. The volcano was as Evan described it a large mountain with molten lava flowing out of the top, creating streams running down the sides. I spotted Ifrit resting at the base of the volcano. Evan flew down and landed in front of him. I jumped off and patted Evan on the back signaling his departure. The dragon gave one last look at Ifrit and took off into the air. I turned and faced the god who had not only attacked me but destroyed Tara. The pain in my chest flared stronger when I saw him but another feeling pushed it down. I felt stronger when I looked at him, was this the feeling of a God?
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“So you came” , Ifrit spoke first. He sounded almost like he didn’t care like I was here. This was the last reaction I expected.
“Yes I’ve come to talk” I revealed.
“Talk? Talk about what?” the fiery God questioned as he rose to his feet.
“I want to know why you attacked me,” I stated.
“Because you and the other Gods had the power of creation and I didn’t”
“So you were jealous of us,” I reasoned. He stared at me for a while with an odd look.
“Yes, I guess I was.” He said sadly “I felt different like I didn’t belong with the Gods.”
“You should have told me this sooner. I might’ve been able to help you.”
“I don’t think so that was the way I was born” looked at the fire god now with sadness I had failed as a God.
“I’m sorry I truly didn’t mean for you to be born that way” I apologized and the fire God looked away so that I couldn’t see his face.
“It’s too late for apologies” he said and turned back with a cruel smile “I have no choice now.” he raised his arm and a spear of fire burst into existence.
“What are you doing?” I called?
“I’m going to kill you.” He said with cold eyes “and then I’m going to eat your core, absorb your power and start all over with new Gods.” Once he finished telling me his plan he threw the fire spear directly at my heart. My body moved before I told it to and my hand rose up towards the fire weapon. The power I felt grew, it made me feel like I could do anything. This was the first time I had truly felt like I was a God. As the fire spear was about to hit me I summoned an invisible shield out of reflex. The fire burst across the shield before dying out. I turned to the shocked attacker.
“You had your chance Ifrit” I told him “Now I have no choice.” I launched myself to him faster than he could react and punched him square in the face. The fire god shot back several feet from the power of the blow. I was amazed at how strong I was, but the fire God recovered quickly. With a small hand movement he shot several large rocks at me. I managed to duck out of the way for most of them but one hit my arm. If I wasn’t a God my arm probably would’ve broken but it was still intact and only stung a little.
I jumped into the sky; twenty feet in the air. While I was in the air I recalled a scene in an anime I loved. Electricity began to spark across my body condensing in my hands. I raised my hands together as small sparks began to shoot out of them.
“Lightning Pulse” I cried out and sent the two orbs of lightning flying at the fire god below me. I don’t know where the name came from but it sounded good. I began to fall down as the orbs reached the god he dodged one but the other hit him directly. He let out a large howl of pain that made me cringe as the lightning shot through his body. He was still standing after the attack died down and looked at me with his eyes full of hate. As soon as I touched the ground I jumped to my left narrowly avoiding a wave of fire charging at me. As I slid from my jump I spun myself on one leg and did a full roundhouse kick. I was amazed at my new found flexibility and balance. A large gust of wind formed from my kick crashed into Ifrit pushing him farther back but he still recovered. He began to charge at me leaving a fiery trail behind him as his body burst into flames. Remembering what he had done to Nesso I gave a quick wave of my arm and the ground in front of me rose to create a wall.
I heard the impact the fire God made on the other side of the wall and cracks formed on my side. I guess being a god gave me some sort of danger sense because I moved once again without thinking. I jumped to the side right before the wall burst as Ifrit forced his way through. Once he saw me to the side he waved his arm and a section of my earth wall broke off and crashed into me. The chunk hit me directly on my side and continued to push me back. I gave it one hard punch and it broke into dust. Ifrit was breathing heavily at this point while my only injury was my side and the pain in my chest that started to flare up again. I decided that it was time to end this and charged at the wounded God. My hand began to glow with a holy white light which reminded me of another attack I had seen.
“Heaven’s Judgment” I called out as my light covered fist connected to Ifrit’s chest. A beam of white energy shot out of my hand and shot Ifrit back through the earth wall which crumbled from the destruction. The beam sent Ifrit flying only for him to land near a stream of lava. I took my time approaching the god, I could already tell that the battle was over and I had won. Once I reached Ifrit I was glad to see he was still alive.
“What are you waiting for?” he asked bitterly “kill me already”. I looked down at the defeated god and realized something.
“I don’t want to kill you,” I told him. It was true no matter how angry I was about what he did to Tara I still didn’t want to kill him.
“You have no choice,” he said miserably. He was right the others wouldn’t accept him back after what he did and even if I tell them not to they would definitely come after him. I didn’t even move but my powers took effect. Behind me a large chunk of the ground in the shape of a spike rose into the air.
“I’m sorry” I said and began lowering the spike. Before it moved any farther a small red thing dashed in front of me. It was a young girl no bigger than a pencil that wore a dark red dress. She had light pink hair and brown eyes that looked at me with anger. Two orange butterfly wings sprouted from her back.
“Don’t hurt daddy anymore” she called out. Her voice was high and musical.
“Daddy?” I said in confusion.
“Titania” Ifrit spoke up in a stern voice “get out of the way.”
“No” the fairy said with determination clear on her face “I won’t let this man hurt you anymore.”
“Wait Ifrit is this your daughter?” I asked hoping he would explain what was happening.
“Yes” he said “I created her with the powers I got from Tara. She taught me something, I was wrong to blame you for my inability to create anything. When I created Titania I realized how little control you had on how we turned out.”
“Why didn’t you tell me this earlier?” I asked, “We didn’t need to fight.”
“Yes we did,” he told me. The fire God surprised me by standing up “I still needed to pay for what I did and this was the best way” he stepped forward and pushed the fairy out of the way. He stood in front of me waiting for the final blow. I lowered the earth spike but in the opposite direction. I put it back in the large hole it had risen from and stepped closer to the fire God.
“I’m not going to kill you” I told him and there was no way I was changing my mind. As God stared down at me I saw relief in his eyes. I smiled up at him and quicker than he could react stabbed my hand into his chest. Titania let out a high scream and Ifrit stared at me in shock but I didn’t focus on them. I was more interested in the cold gem I grasped within the fire God’s body. I pulled out the gem and with a small tap sealed the hole I had made in Ifrit. The fire God changed again his body and eyes returning to their natural colors. Ifrit inspected his body in shock and looked at me in confusion. I simply revealed the mushroom shaped diamond in my hand.
“You don’t need this anymore” I told him as I inspected the gem. It made me sad to think this gem had once been part of Tara. As I looked at the gem I saw a small glimmer of light. I moved the diamond closer to see if what I saw was true. It was, inside the gem a small light was still glowing.
“Tara” I let out a small whisper and clasp the diamond. I closed my eyes and remembered the short time we had spent together. I thought of how I first created her and her warm smile that always made me feel safe. I recalled how excited she was whenever she talked about creating the world. I remembered how worried she had been when I had fallen from the tower in the sky. These memories and more flooded into the diamond fueling the light making it grow bigger back into the human shape I remember. I felt the mushroom diamond slip out of my hands only to be replaced by two more hands grabbing mine. I opened my eyes and stood in front of me was Tara. I grabbed her into a huge hug and felt her hug me back.
“Thank you” she whispered in my ear.
“You’re welcome” was my reply.
After me and Tara finished our warm reunion, Ifrit stepped forward to apologize about what he did.
“You don’t need to apologize” Tara told him “I saw what happened while I was in you and I forgive you” Ifrit looked very grateful but didn’t say anything more. Titania flew up till she was level with Tara’s face.
“Are you my mommy?” she asked innocently. Tara began to blush vividly.
“Well um I guess you could say that” she told the young fairy. Titania cheered and gave her mother a miniscule hug. I let out a small happy laugh at the mother and daughter, glad to see them getting along. I was about to call for Evan when the pain in my chest began to worse than before. I fell to the ground gripping my chest in agony. Tara Ifrit and Titania surrounded me trying to see what was wrong. I couldn’t answer them. The pain made it impossible to think, it felt like something was trying to rip itself out of my chest. Finally the pain surged to an unbearable level and I let out a horrifying scream towards the sky. Out of my mouth shot out a purple beam, the beam rose into the sky and began to take form. As more and more poured out of me the pain began to diminish until it was gone completely.
With the pain gone I could see what had come out of me. A large black dragon stared down at me with emotionless purple eyes. This dragon wasn’t like Evan, it looked more like the Chinese dragon as it had a longer body and a large mane. This dragon was also about five times as big as Evan. I stared up at the giant beast in utter astonishment; I had no idea what it was or what it was going to do. Tara was still next to me also staring up at the dragon. Ifrit had backed away and was trying to comfort a terrified Titania. The dark dragon pulled back his lips in a vicious smile. It took his sharp talon and tapped the ground to the left of us. Where he tapped a large hole opened up. The inside of the hole was completely black and I couldn’t see where it led.
“Soon” the dragon growled in a deep ominous voice before flying into the large hole. After the dragon’s tail entered the hole it closed up and looked as if nothing had happened. We all simultaneously released the breath we were holding. I could hear Evan approaching as fast as he could.
“Phanes” Tara spoke up next to me “What was that?” she asked, her voice and body shook in fear. I didn’t answer right away because I didn’t know. I heard Evan land behind me and I knew he, like everyone else, was looking at me for answers.
“I don’t know what that was” I admitted “but it is gone and we are safe” I stood and helped Tara to her feet. I then walked over to Evan and jumped on his back.
“Let’s go back home” I said “we all need a long rest”.
Everyone seemed to calm down a bit after but I could tell they were all worried, as was I. I didn’t know what they thought it was but I could tell that it was up to no good. It was something we would have to deal with but we will do that later. For now we can all go back to the tree. It was going to take some explaining for anyone to trust Ifrit but I’m sure that I can handle it.