13th installment of the VGNU.
Dragons and Broadswords,
Mystery and Adventure,
Final Fantasy has them all!
The beginning of Phase 2 for the Video Game Novel Universe.
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The Cardia Islands are an archipelago of mainly flat forested terrain, with only the home of the dragons containing a tall mountain in its center. But upon their departure from Bahamut's prison, the King Before the Darkness directed them due east, where they would find aid in their quest. An ancient friend of the dragons who often visited them during their magical imprisonment, a little fairy and the last of the Sylphs named Eos, had suddenly disappeared. Bahamut suspected she was taken to the tower Eos had mentioned last they spoke, a tower that would become the centerpiece to a great castle, a castle where monsters would flock.
Bahamut named this place the Castle of Ordeals, and asked the heroes to rescue her. But not without reward. Bahamut knew nothing of where the Fiends were tucked away, as he had been imprisoned under the mountain before they had woken from their slumber, but Eos would know. Eos could take all the guesswork out of the rest of their quest.
And soon after departing Bahamut's cavern, with Bahamut's mystical strength coursing through them, the heroes discovered the extent of the powers bestowed to them as they fought their way back to the airship. Though, 'fought' isn't quite the right word any more. An hour ago, maybe twenty minutes ago, they would have 'fought' the monsters in their way. But this was not fighting, it was near slaughter.
The heroes were nearly untouchable, their strength or magic increased tenfold, resulting in many of the wicked beasts to simply flee in terror once they realized they didn't stand a chance. Even the Giants that continued their attempts to damage the airship docked off the shore of Bahamut's island were no match for the newly evolved heroes. Ben's speed was faster than he could've imagined, faster than Emily's had been, and the runes of his daggers glowed with an unearthly power so that in place of the electricity that struck off the blades, it was now like wielding bolts of lightning. Lumina unleashed her full powers of Light and Dark magics. She may not have had access to all the spells Emily had, nor what Ava could achieve, but what she could do was just as terrifying. From instant teleportation, to ripping a monster's heart in half from inside, to freezing an enemy in place. Ava could do all that and more, with more than half her spellbook now unlocked to her, granting her the power to permanently lobotomize a target with just a few words. And then there was Conner, who was granted the skill of a thousand accumulated warriors, and the hide of the beasts they fought. On the front lines, the first to strike, Conner had become a walking tank, capable of taking the full impact of a Giant's steel club without moving an inch before striking back twice as hard.
In this fashion, they made it to their ship with ease, and scared away anything else that might've come their way.
As they set course for the east, Conner let go of the wheel of the airship and stepped away. Once locked in, the ship was capable of flying itself, only needing adjustments every so often, so Conner spent most of their time in the air sitting back against the rail of the poop deck and watching the world below. As he was testing the weight of his sword-- which felt considerably lighter since Bahamut's gift-- casually spinning it in his palm, his thoughts reflecting on the past were interrupted by Lumina.
