The Legend of Lemur (Book 3) - Rise of The Desert Queen

Chapter 22: Elysium

Lemur opened his eyes slowly and weakly. His vision was fuzzy, but what little he could make out didn't seem to be the battlefield he was once in. He sat upright and surveyed the area. All he could see were fuzzy shapes of blues and whites.

"Where... Where am I?" Lemur asked out loud.

"Why, you are in the Aether, my boy," an unknown voice boomed.

"The... Aether? Who are you? Show yourself!"

Lemur's vision suddenly cleared and what he saw was astonishing. There he sat, upon a massive, sturdy cloud. The area he sat on seemed to be a cobbled path towards two large, magnificent golden gates, guarded by two giants that towered over him. They were dressed in robes and clothes that seemed ancient in design, but the materials looked as if it were made yesterday. One had wavy silver hair, with silver coloured eyes behind a large set of glasses, while the other had blond hair with dashing blue eyes that was comparable to Lapis Lazuli itself. As Lemur's gaze shifted downwards, he nearly jumped out of his skin at the sight in front of him. Metres away, was a translucent box made of what appeared to be holy light, housing a sinister demon of fire. It clearly looked uncomfortable, as it lashed and snarled at the box around it, but it was unable to break free. It was like a caged animal.

"I am Aether, and this is Apollo," said the giant with wavy silver hair.

"Wait wait wait," Lemur asked, "You said I'm in-- and you're--"

The two giants chuckled.

"You may know us better as Gods," Aether replied, "I am the one who governs this domain, hence it's name."

Lemur was in shock again, then quickly asked, "Why am I here?"

Apollo sighed and answered, "You passed away valiantly in the Overworld."

"WHAT!?" Lemur exclaimed, "Where's Lillian!? I need to get back there!!!"

"You're dead," Aether said, "You can't go back."

Lemur wanted to cry, but for some reason couldn't. It was like he didn't have the organs required to tear up.

"I can't just abandon them like this," Lemur sulked, "Not after everything we've done... everything he have yet to accomplish. A war is going on down there and I-"

"Death is like that," Apollo interjected, "It's very seldom that a soul can choose when it departs, and when that time comes, it always feels like you didn't do enough in the lifetime you were given."

The giants suddenly shrunk down to about Lemur's height and approached him sympathetically.

"We're here to aid you in moving onto the next life," Aether stated.

"My next life?" Lemur asked, "My next life resides... here?"

"It could, however, there is... an elephant of a problem with that," Apollo said as he gestured to the demon screeching in the cage behind him.

"Is that..."

"It is," Aether informed, "That is your curse... or rather, what the curse gave you. That is who you call 'Kaīta'."

"You see, young Lemur," Apollo said, "You belong in the Aether... always did. Your ancestors and their ancestors resided among us, and had done great deeds in the Kolachnik family name. Even you. I mean, you did solve the century long struggle between the Aether and Nether Kingdoms. This is where you're meant to be."

"But the issue is Kaīta... isn't it?" Lemur asked.

The two nodded their heads.

"We can't permit a demon beyond these gates, even if it were tamed," Aether said gravely, "It can and will cause havoc across all the realms, shifting the balance, and we can't risk that."