The otherworldly pixie

Second.

"Anything but her," he repeats, "I'm willing to fight whatever monster you want me to, but do not take her as a sacrifice."

The group had met at the Leap, and Philip was worried about the trip back home. He gathered the courage to take both of them. 
Imagining all three of them back home and using his powers, he managed to disappear from the dimension, but there were greater forces at work which did not agree with this vision.

Philip fell hard on the sand below his feet. His vision was blurry, and he didn't understand where he was, but that wasn't important. Looking around and searching for his companions, he saw some grey and thought it might be Kane. Trudging through the sand, Philip managed to get to Kane. He heard the roar of the ocean near him.

Kane spoke, his voice trembling and asked Philip, "Dear Philip, Do you know where our friend could be found? Her glamour and blood magic could be of use to us."

Fear emanating from Kane was not a good thing. 

"Why are you so afraid, Kane?"

"That is of no importance right now, Philip. You should focus on the fact that our pixie is missing."

"What? No. Joy must be here. She can't be far."
Philip focused on his surroundings, his vision clearing up. He looked around for the burst of colour the pixie brought wherever she went. The yellow dress she had worn that day, or the red hair she had chosen. Any sign that she was safe. Philip looked at Kane. Kane was looking around, but Philip knew they wouldn't find Joy. He couldn't just lose Joy. He screamed her name. Over and over, but he knew it wouldn't help.

Suddenly, his knees buckled, and he felt Kane's hand on his shoulder. Nothing around him made sense. He wanted to find Joy, but his body felt heavy. Right then, the voice which Philip had heard previously spoke, "You agreed. You said - 'A sacrifice shall be made then.' and made it was. Your sacrifice was that pixie."

As these words registered to Philip, he lost all sense of sanity. Anger overtook him, and he overloaded the voice with chaotic thoughts. He spoke slowly and said to the voice, "Not her."

"You are not strong enough to do what could be asked of you."

"Anything but her," he repeats, "I'm willing to fight whatever monster you want me to, but do not take her as a sacrifice."

The voice snickered and spoke, "Very well then, lone adventurer, I do not know how you stumbled onto my power, but you did. And you dared to ask me to lend you more." 

The voice stopped as if letting Philip grasp the meaning of those words.

"And as a sacrifice, you must clear my shrine. An ancient monster lies where my presence should be. Fight him with all your might. If you can rid my palace of him, your sacrifice shall be completed, and you shall have the one you hold dear back. However, you have to defeat the monster alone. I do not need to say this, as your Elven friend is already incapable of helping you due to the ocean."

Philip tried to ask for more details, but the voice had gone silent. He could glean over the message it had left him later. First, he had an ancient monster to take care of. Philip asked Kane to accompany him as he tried to find out what monster lay in this palace.

As they walked the island, Philip saw that the sun was almost upon them. They didn't have time to waste. Philip tried to talk to Kane, who was unusually silent. He thought about the voice's words - "... your elven friend is already incapable of helping you due to the ocean."

Philip had never thought Kane could be afraid of anything, much less something as stupid as the ocean. He then remembered that Kane was pretty weird. Philip also feared stupid things. He reminisced about how he used to be hemophobic until a few years ago when an unfortunate series of events began with a broken plate. He was the last person who could judge someone for their weird phobias.

He started thinking about what the voice had said and realized he needed to come up with a better name than 'the voice'. He thought about the word for 'voice' in the languages he knew. 
Latin- Vox; Greek - Foni; Japanese - Koe. The Roman god of voice was Aius Locutius. The Greek goddess, one of the nine muses of Olympus, was Aoede. The A sound was present in the names. He thought about how this being seemed so grand and godly. That's when a memory from his childhood resurfaced when he used to be obsessed with Greek mythology. Aether was used to describe someone divine and ethereal. He decided to call the voice Aether from then on. 

He then remembered what the voice had said - "...I do not know how you stumbled onto my power..." - What did he mean by 'his power'?

Philip had wondered about the origins of his power ever since he first used them three years ago. Over time he ventured into dimensions and learnt more about them. He had found weapons that put him on par with some of the strongest beings in the multiverse. Yet the mysterious origin of his powers had never surfaced. What if Aether is where he got his powers from? What if his powers were nothing but a mere imitation of his? 

He imagined the true powers of a being whose power had allowed Philip to become as strong as he was. He feared and respected Aether for his ability.

His thoughts were interrupted when Kane spotted a temple a few hundred feet away. Both of them sprinted as fast as they could towards the temple, and as they neared it, they were mesmerized by its beauty.

In the heart of the remote island, embraced by the vast expanse of the endless ocean, rested a barren temple of ancient magic. Weathered stone walls stand defiant against the ravages of time, adorned with intricate carvings that whisper forgotten tales. Moss-covered steps lead to an imposing entrance, guarded by statues frozen in eternal vigilance. Inside, the air was heavy with the residue of ancient spells, and the atmosphere resonated with some otherworldly energy, casting an enchanting aura upon the forsaken sanctuary.

They entered the temple to find it empty. There was no sign of life inside the temple. They looked around inside the temple for some time, looking for signs of anything that could help them in their quest. They scoured the entrance hall and the first floor. It was such a big temple that it took up most of their day.

Philip looked outside and saw that the sun was only a few hours from setting. Seeing this he went to the second floor and in the very first room he found what he was looking for. 

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