Sol's Shine and the Kingdom of Fire

Chapter 23 A Kingdom In Ashes

     At first it all seemed like Brook was dreaming. After Brook got hit with the red light Apollo shot at him, everything went dark. After a while it was like his mind was transported somewhere else without his body. He was deep underwater descending further down into the depths. He could see the light slowly fade whenever he looked up and when he looked down, the darkness slowly swallowed him whole.

At a certain point Brook couldn't even tell if he was still sinking or not. He could breathe just fine but everything was completely and utterly dark. Brook was even starting to think that this had to be what death was like. A simple voice came through the darkness that proved him wrong. "No you are not dead. Not yet at least." Brook could hear a woman's voice but couldn't make out where it was coming from. It was like the very void was speaking to him itself.

"What's going on? What's happening?!" Brook said without realizing that he could speak. Even though it felt like he didn't have a mouth, he was still able to speak his mind. "I can talk?" Brook was amazed about all these circumstances. "You can't actually talk out loud. This is a link between both of our minds." The woman answered. "So this is like telepathy? Who are you?" Brook asked.

"You should know who I am. We've been trying to get a hold of you for some time now. I can only thank Apollo for letting us talk to each other so clearly, even if it was an accident." This made Brook a little frustrated. "You're the one who's been giving me all these headaches aren't you? What gives?!" "I was only trying to guide you to us and to keep you out of danger. I'm sorry if we caused you any inconvenience."

"Who is this 'we' you keep referring to? Where do you even want me to go?" After Brook asked, the darkness all around stayed silent for a little bit. It was as if this mysterious woman was trying to figure out how to answer his questions. "You must head for the Kingdom of Water. As to who we are, I cannot say. We are servants to the one who didn't give us a name." That was the only answer he got.

"I wonder how long I'm going to stay stuck like this." Brook thought. "I can release you from Apollo's power if you wish. I just want you to remember what I said. Farewell little one." Without any time to respond back, Brook suddenly opened his eyes again. When he came to, Lilac had him in a headlock and Jordan came running around the corner. He was in front of two doorways that led down to one of the dungeons.

"Lilac! Apollo got Brook!" He yelled out. "I know! I got it all under control. Why are you here?" She asked him. Embarrassed to say much of anything, seeing as how Lilac didn't have much of a problem, Jordan looked at the ground. "I was just wandering around." Lilac's grip got tighter and Brook couldn't take it any more. "Ow! Ok ok, I'm good now!" He exclaimed. Lilac took a look at the color of his eyes and she released him.

"How is that possible?!" Ella couldn't believe what she was seeing. "Wait... so Apollo didn't get Brook?" Jordan said as he scratched his head. "No he did but it's sort of complicated. I can tell you later." Brook told them while looking at the two doors that led underground. "Is this where they're keeping Crystal?" He asked Lilac. "Well she wasn't down there at first but one thing led to another and she is now. The queen is with her too."

Jordan was so eager to see Crystal that he burst open the two doors and ran down the stairs. "Wait! I wasn't done talking." After Jordan saw the look in Crystal's eyes and the smirk across her face he could tell right away that something was wrong. "Apollo got to them both. I'm sorry." Lilac said to him. Jordan was furious but at the same time he seemed hopeful. "Sol is going to beat Apollo. When he does, all apologies should be saved then. Because that's what I need to say to Crystal for letting that demon take her away! I just want to be able to tell the real Crystal that I love her again."

Sol was running for quite a while inside the castle. A fire started from the explosion that had been set off. None of the flames fazed Sol. His body was also lit on fire thanks to the Shining Giant's power. Sol didn't like the idea of burning his home down but his family was more important than a castle filled with gold and diamonds.