The Final Chapter

True Power

Chapter 30

"Traveler...", she heard Paimon whisper as her companion turned around. She turned her head quickly only to end up staring in the piercing yellow eyes of the one thing she feared to meet up here. Not all to far away the Sustainer of Heavenly Principles hovered between the columns, threatening at them with a stone cold stare to stay away from the entrance.
Lumine grabbed her sword more tightly and tried to calm herself down as her opponent began to speak:
"Outlander... You dare to challenge me to another fight?"
"I don't know... Will you just let me pass the entrance or will you cause me trouble?", she growled. The Sustainer scoffed. "It is my duty to protect the entrance from uninvited guests. And this time I will not just send you back. This is where you die!"

Wings appeared on her back again as she leaped into the air and attacked the Sustainer head on. The god dodged the hit and threw one of her cubes in the Traveler's direction. "Watch out!", Paimon yelled and flew between them, shielding Lumine with a white glowing elemental barrier. The Traveler quickly attacked the Protector again this time her blade infused with Pyro. Her opponent struck again this time sending multiple cubes after Lumine, who just barely managed to dodge them. However Lumine's sword attack had just been for show as a row of ice missiles she created earlier now hit the Sustainer. Then using the distraction the missiles brought, she unleashed a massive wave of water trapping the god in it and then finally freezing her in a ball of ice.
She relaxed her hands and breathed heavily. The sphere containing the Sustainer dropped down from the sky. For a brief moment, there was peace. A smile came over the Traveler's face. Had they done it? No. It couldn't be that easy.
Paimon flew towards her: "You did it! I knew you could do it!" She looked at her flying friend. Then she heard a loud shatter below them and behind Paimon the Sustainer appeared again. This time having prepared a large spike that she held like an arrow in a bow.

Paimon turned around, horrified at the gaze and weapon she witnessed. Without a single flinch the god launched her arrow at Lumine hitting her badly. "Lumine!", she cried out out as she watched her friend getting pierced and pinned against a column. No... Was she? But... Tears formed in her eyes.
In the Traveler's bag she saw the faint glow of the Gnoses tempting her. Paimon knew that they were calling to her. That Celestia was calling to her. Her mind raced. The last time she had used her own power against the Principles, she had shrunk in size and lost her memories.

And although she swore to never use that power ever again, she pulled them magically out of the bad letting them surround her. She turned back to her enemy firing small balls of energy at her. For a distraction.
"That will be of no use small goddess", the Sustainer said at blocked her hits one by one with ease. But Paimon stayed silent. Slowly she collected power from the divine hearts, gaining her connection to Celestia back in the process. But that was a small price to pay for saving Lumine's life.
Paimon the travel guide had always been so annoyingly childish and never helped her in any of her fights. Now Paimon the goddess had to make up for that.
Finally she had established a connection to all of the Gnoses. She fired energy balls again, barely missing every shot. The Sustainer laughed: "Like I said little goddess..." Playing with a black cube between her fingers, "Now die!"

But nothing happened. Paimon layed her hands together and said: "Elemental Prison, Tartarus" The seemingly missed shots still floated in the air, now connecting to one another and surrounding the Sustainer. Her enemy looked around in shock as her cube had faded into nothingness. She tried to summon another one but nothing worked. The Sustainer looked back at the little goddess in front of the prison, but was unable to do anything as Paimon continued: "Compression."
The prison shrank down in an instant only leaving a small marble. The small goddes snatched it out of the air and immideatly turned around to the Traveler.
Lumine was not pinned to the column anymore as te spike had vanished with the Sustainer. But her injury was still real. Gently Paimon turned Lumine on her back. "Lumine? Are you still?", she cried and touched first her face. Then she put her ear to the Traveler's chest and listened for her heartbeat. "I never knew you were so strong Paimon...", Lumine suddenly whispered coughing up blood as she spoke. "You're alive!", Paimon squraled with tears of joy filling her eyes. The little companion then looked at the injury on her stomach. She took the marble towards the injury and closed her eyes. "What are you doing?", Lumine asked weak and put her hand on Paimons, interrupting her. "I'm saving you! I'll transfer her vitality to you, so you will get healed", she explained. But Lumine shook her head and answered: "No... Maybe she is being... controlled too... We... can't just kill... her"
Paimon began to cry and held Lumine's hand. She knew that her friend was right. Even though she had tried to kill them, they were just assuming she acted of her own free will. But she had to save her! They were friends!
She gazed over the injury again. An injury like that would need a lot of energy. Connecting her to the Gnoses was out of question, both of them tried to rebel against them after all. But Paimon saw no other way.

Although... there was one.