Henry. Just. Henry.

Chapter 34|Destruction and Creation

Lights in Sorden were shutting down, leaving pieces of the City in darkness. Most of the crickets had stopped chirping and frogs were now gallivanting across the pasture, their boisterous crocks echoing through the night.

After a surreal night of magical wonder, Henry and his team waved goodbye to the Elemental Ethereons. But the gears in Fallon’s mind turned to a stressing question.

“Wait!”

The Ethereons turned around, facing the group. “Question?” Atielle said.

“Y-yeah. What are we to do with this?” He asked, holding out the Grandour stone.

“What do you mean? You keep it.”

“But…” Fallon looked at the stone, contemplating the dangers of having it.

What if they lost it? How could they contact the Ethereons without it? What if Erasmus wants it back? They won the battle with the skin of their nails. A second win seemed so distant he couldn’t see it.

“What’s wrong?” Atielle asked.

“It’s just that, the only reason we have it is to keep it out the hands of Erasmus, Gent and Bristine. They’ve been hunting this stone since Henry went to Rion and it caused a lot of trouble.”

“Then we’ll destroy it.”

“Sure but…” He squinted at them. “Wait, what?”

“It’s not a big deal. Grandour Kingdom is already gone. So is the purpose of the stone. We only kept it around in case one of the other stones of the Nine Kingdoms disappeared or was destroyed. We could have replaced it. And there’s no need to worry about how you’ll contact us either. We’re already connected through the elements. As we said before, trust the animals to guide you.”

“Oh.” Fallon said.

He stared at the stone, shimmering in the undertone of the sky. After everything they’ve been through for the Grandour, it felt blasphemous to destroy it. But what else were they to do? It was the only way to stop Bristine and Gent from coming after them.

“We know this may be tough for you guys, so talk it out and come to an agreement.” Atielle said.

As soon as Fallon looked at his team, everyone smiled, giving their undeniable consent.

“Are you guys sure?” He asked.

“Fallon,” Miyu said. “It makes sense. Destroying the stone is the best course of action.”

“Yeah.” Cedric agreed. “And even if we were to use it to stabilize one of the Kingdoms, that’s one out of nine. What if two were unstable, or four… or all.”

“I agree with them.” Henry said, and Ezra nodded.

Fallon furrowed, objecting to the plan. His mind and heart were in sync, agreeing to keep the stone for a future dilemma. Though he didn’t know what, as the old saying goes, “It’s better to have it and not need it, than need it and not have it”.

He squeezed the Grandour, unable to part with it. Then the gears in his mind turned again, conjuring a plan. A smile crept across his face and he faced the Elemental Ethereons.

“Ready to get rid of it?” Atielle asked.

“No.” Fallon replied, and everyone looked at one another, confused. “I have a plan. I think this will ward off G.B, and we'll get to keep the stone.”

“G.B?” Henry raised a brow.

“Gent and Bristine.”

“Oh.”