Turning to Stone 4: New Leaders (Rewritten)

Prologue: Waiting

Galvana was alone.

When you're stuck in a seemingly endless void, there isn't much to do besides... wait. And think. She did a lot of waiting and thinking. Sure, she knew she would be free eventually, but she was the Celestial of Electricity! Of course she'd have a lot of energy, and of course she'd get bored very easily.

If she could move, she would be moving all over the place, but she seemed to be stuck. So her thoughts wandered for her, drifting to places and memories she didn't even know she could still recall.

"Do you like it? I call it a Ghazt! What do you think?"

Plixie seemed excited about their creation, a purple and catlike monster that had orbs floating around it. The monster tapped a couple of the orbs, making notes ring out.

"It sounds great, but..." Galvana started to say, feeling guilty at Plixie's sad expression. "I don't think there's a place for it on the Continent. If we add a new element, too many new monster species would form. It just doesn't seem compatible, I'm sorry." She gestured with her arms and staff as she spoke.

"Well, it's not going on the Continent!" Plixie exclaimed proudly, putting their hands on their hips, or what could be considered the best equivalent. "We've found a new place, a new island in a whole new dimension! So we're gonna fill it up with new monsters!"

"We?" Galvana questioned. "Yep." Scaratar scuttled up behind her, startling her a bit. "Plixie and I, along with Vhamp, Loodvigg, and Syncopite, haven't had a chance to make something for the Continent, and you're right. There isn't space for any new monsters. But we were able to find a new space in what we've been calling the Pocket Dimension. Plixie, would you do the honors?" The ladybug-like Celestial gestured to his friend, who gave the Ghazt a signal. The new monster swirled their orbs around them, opening a portal.

"They can open portals?" Galvana asked, in shock. "Indeed. Plixie was the first one to discover the dimension, with the help of the Ghazt, of course." Scaratar explained. The Ghazt awkwardly waved, knowing full well that they were in the presence of the Celestials and they were talking about them.

"Come on! We've gotta show you, it's great!" Plixie grabbed Galvana's hand, along with Scaratar's, dragging them both through the portal. Galvana shut her eyes tight, but her vision was still purple for a second or two.

"Open your eyes, silly! It's not like we're gonna die here, we're Celestials!" She heard Plixie's laughter, opening her eyes like her fellow Celestial had asked. When she did, she was greeted with a sight beyond her wildest expectations. There was purple and pink and blue everywhere, with strange glowing plants and various crystals scattered around.

The Ghazt seemed to have followed them through the portal, mingling with others of their species, but they weren't the only monsters there. There were strange bats that seemed to bring shadows with them, mechanical monsters with their brains exposed, crystal-like monsters that made beautiful sounds echo across the island, and giant green bugs with loud sounds coming from their wings.

"What is this place?" Galvana asked, looking around in awe. "We've been calling the dimension the Pocket Dimension, but as for the island itself..." Plixie's voice trailed off and they laughed awkwardly. "We... don't really have a name for it yet." Scaratar admitted.

"It's... ethereal." Galvana said, her voice barely above a whisper. No other word could describe it, really. "That's it!" Plixie exclaimed, suddenly grabbing her and shaking her from her thoughts. "Ethereal Island! It's perfect! Right, Scaratar?" The plasma Celestial turned to the poison one. "Indeed it is. Ethereal Island, it just fits."