The fire warrior locked eyes with the tablet, feeling a shiver raced down his spine, his body tensing in response. Suddenly, the eye seemed to react to his gaze, igniting with an eerie luminosity. Before he could utter a word, he was plunged into a realm with crimson-red fog and ground as black as a bottomless pit. In the midst of the realm, Jake continued his gaze on the malevolent eye that appeared to be expanding with every passing moment, intent on reaching toward him, threatening to engulf him. Panic surged through him as he struggled against the overwhelming force that sought to crush his will, whispers of annihilation echoing in the recess of his mind.

Before anything, a blinding light burned through the realm, acting as a light of protection against the violent storm. The Fire Crystal shined before him, spraying him with warmth over his form, its familiar presence easing his fear against this overwhelming presence. Determined, Jake reached out to the crystal, its radiant energy pushing the malevolent eye from him. It was like a protective barrier, yet he felt he should not lower his guard despite the crystal's presence. He continued to stare defiantly at the eye before it disappeared from sight.

"Children!"

Jake's eyes snapped open, realizing he was back in the lab, not the chaotic realm. He looked ahead, seeing the safe closed and surrounded by mana. However, there was something else. He noticed he was in his Radiant uniform.

"It's locked up, you are safe." Luka reassured.

Blaze grimaced as he looked down at his hands. One was engulfed in fire, and the other tightly gripped his sword. Turning to the others, he noted their transformed states, each displaying confused and disturbed looks as they readied themselves for a battle.

"That," Lumina's voice trembled with apprehension. She had released her link from Christina and Blair. Beads of sweat dripped from her brow as she held the tonfas while one of her legs illuminated with light. "That... was horrifying. What kind of thing was that? It wanted to kill me for helping the weak."

"That crazy piece of... crap," Aero growled as he gripped his boomerang. "Supernatural bull was goading me."

"It m-mocked me for feeling a-alone," Kali stuttered, her hands radiating with power. "And implying my connection to the shadows pales to it."

"Huh." Bolt shivered as electricity coursed through his hands. "Nothing says serious like an eldritch abomination threatening you."

"The first Radiant had to face that," Aqua whispered, gripping her naginata. "That felt like hatred."

"Hatred is putting it lightly." Frost softly spoke, tightly gripping her estoc as sweat dripped from her brow. "Felt more intense."

"Bastard." Geo gripped his hammer as he glared at the safe. "We unconsciously transformed as a reaction to it. The crystals protected us from being possessed or whatever it would do to us."

"What an experience," Ivy's voice squeaked as she retracted her vines, her brow twitching. "You mentioned you thought you gathered them all, but more manifest as time moves forward."

"Something like that." Javo scoffed. "People believe Valcron sealed them with a time limit to appear."

"Or," said Jin. "The power of chaos is seeping in to manifest Valcron's will to continue his plan."

"So we ruin ol' despots' plans to turn this world upside down." Bolt nodded, then gasped. "But! What if he's already back but weak and hiding in secret or plain sight? Gathering his army and his power! Stuff like that happens!"

Jin scoffed. "There have been those who claimed to be Valcron reborn but were upstart imitators. Like that scoundrel from a decade ago."

"He died spectacularly." chuckled Javo.

"It's possible he has returned, but no proof has been produced." Luka sighed. "That's why Guardian is what it is. To be ready and aid the Radiant." She glanced at the safe. "Jin will be transporting this to Galvania in an hour, where it will be properly destroyed."

"I will be back tomorrow after this task and seeing an old acquaintance."

"You won't be gone longer than that?" the Shadow Radiant frowned.

"No." Jin smiled at them. "Sharing drinks with comrades and telling tales of life's journey is a treasured time. We should always find time to meet with friends, even if it's only for a short while."

Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

The black-clothed girl nodded, then smiled at the others.

"Are you okay?" Luka looked between them. "I know what you experienced is troublesome, putting it lightly, but we wanted you to know what the threat is and what you might encounter. We will teach you how to contain this appropriately. Blasting to pieces can cause a chain reaction to desolate a small town."

"That bad, huh." The red-clothe warrior narrowed his eyes. "Then teach us... but not today. I need to head home to clear my head."

"Same." responded the orange-clothed.

Luka frowned as the others agreed. "I apologize you experienced this. Let me know if you need anything."

"We will." Blaze replied solemnly and turned to leave.

The jolly man watched the children leave the room, then sighed and turned to them. "Perhaps it was good for all of them to be together to experience that."

"The crystals reacted to protect them." sighed the knight. "I hope this didn't make them more terrified."

"They faced three different threats." grimaced the bird woman. "If they quit, they would have done so. If this made them want to quit, then we are in trouble. Training the next chosen ones might be difficult." She sighed. "I won't blame them."

----------------------------------------

The Radiant reverted to their normal forms and converged in the Living Quarters. Ryu stopped at the door and sighed as he crossed his arms. He looked at the backs of his friends' retreating forms, noting their postures and how they walked. Jake lowered shoulders, Amy's lack of bounce in her step, Tanya slouching, and so on. He wanted to make a few jokes at the entity threatening him, but that desire dissipated during the encounter. After the Lightning Crystal burst through the dimension, he wanted to leave and find the others. He knew this was not like the comics and that he could get seriously injured during battle. He knew the manuscript left an impression on them, and it made them wary. He hated seeing them look weary; it made him afraid they would all quit from seeing that thing. He had to say something to them. It did not have to be epic; it had to be simple.

"Don't quit, guys."

The group turned to him, shocked at his withdrawn demeanor.

"What?" Christina looked concerned. "What's wrong?"

"You know what's wrong. I see it in you all. You are walking like we spent years in a soulless conglomerate. I said, don't quit. I'm not quitting because some ugly eye gave me the chills. I know it's scary, I know that was intense, and I almost peed my pants."

"Not denying that, myself." grimaced Sam.

The electric warrior breathed out softly. "I'm trying to say that was intense, and it feels like we are in over our heads." He placed his hands in his pockets while staring at them intently. "But that thing was in our world and corrupted two different people. Who else out there has been exposed to that? I'm sure the Radiant in the past blasted them into the next galaxy, but like with Marge and the vampire, who else did they seal away for us to pick up the slack and slap a sticker on them that reads 'NO.'?"

"We are picking up the slack if Valcron returns," said the fire warrior. "I agree it was scary, almost doubting if I want to continue, but I am staying even though I am afraid. I jumped on because I want to protect my family."

"Me too." the light warrior spoke up. "I want to keep friends and family safe."

The water warrior chuckled. "I felt like I had an obligation because it chose me."

"Father was about to be killed." The ice warrior looked at her hand. "I also wanted to improve myself."

"Cuz had the consequences about to kill him." the wind warrior scoffed. "Did it feel like we jumped in due to the spur of the moment?"

"If the moment was going to kill me, then yes." said the terra warrior as he sat on a couch.

"Finding meaning in my life." the flora warrior yawned as she fell on the couch.

"We're here b-because we chose to be." said the shadow warrior. "Our reasons might be... selfish, but here w-we are."

"We are here," said Jake. "Whether the choices we made and the crystals being drawn to us, we are here. If we wanted to, we could've dropped out due to the weirdness, but we all decided to stay... unless seeing that now made us want to rethink our choice." He sighed. "I made my choice because I thought that if I declined, then the next person would screw up. It's dumb to think that because we might screw up." Jake smirked at Christina. "You were unhappy with my reasoning."

Christina smirked at him. "I was harsh because I thought you sounded arrogant... but I did feel a little entitled to the power. Then I remembered watching Ryu play that Injustice game, which made me declare to use our powers for supernatural threats only."

"I get that." Sam sat on the couch. "Makes us more like urban legends than running out fighting all the crimes in the world. We can't solve all the problems."

"Even if we want to." Amy sighed. "I understand."

"We protect the masses from threats they are unaware of." Tanya sat on the couch and crossed her legs. "Noted."

The rest nodded in agreement.

"We won't let our power corrupt us. We also can't relent when chaos tries to entice us." Jake sighed. "Anyone afraid, be honest. As I said before, I am."

"Who isn't?" said Jack. "Even our world has dangers that make me afraid."

"Except this is beyond that." Christina shivered as she sat down. "That is something I don't want to meet alone."

Amy plopped down next to her friend. "We're a team, we have each other. We talk to each other. Lean on each other, right?"

"Right." nodded Blair. "We need to s-support each other."

"Then support." Lina lazily spoke up. "Support..."

Jake chuckled. "Let's take this one step at a time."

"Awesome." chuckled Ryu. "What do we do?"

"Hang out," said Sam. "Be in each other's company for a little longer before heading home."

"Stay for an hour," said Amy. "We have each other and Guardian if we need to talk.

The group nodded and remained in the Living Quarters. Luka poked her head out of the lab, observing them. A flicker of concern mingled with relief as she saw them enjoying each other's presence. She nodded, then turned her attention to the safe where Jin and Javo were preparing it for transport. She scowled at it for what it contained. She turned away, moving to a different part of the lab. Her mind briefly drifted to that day in the past, but she shook her head, dispelling the memory. She closed her eyes and whispered with affirmation.

"Keep moving forward, everyone."