The Enchanted Realm: At Journey's End

Pieces of the Puzzle

Orion held the Eye in one hand, the Ring in the other. He felt the urge to place the Ring upon his finger. Instead, Orion put the Ring up to his eye, holding the Dragon's Eye as far as his arm could reach. The golden rim of the Ring fit perfectly with the Eye. Orion set the ring back into his pocket, looking down at the Eye as he brought it closer. He saw the fiery gleam of the Eye swirl around. Orion held the Eye in his palm, remembering the day exactly how it went. Journeying across the Mainland of the Isles, searching for an alternate way home. They ventured across the Mainland, searching far and wide, while S. F. ran the calculations for the portal home. But then all hell broke loose. The Shadow Infection took over Orion's body. For some reason, Orion longed for that feeling. Having another voice in his head. Having someone besides himself to talk to. Having power. Ignoring his thoughts, Orion looked up to see Moonlight enter the tent the two had set up. "Everything's packed. Isaleks are ready. We'll head out soon." She stated. Orion nodded in reply. He looked back down at the Eye. "You feeling okay?" Moonlight asked.

"Better, yeah." Orion felt his shoulder again. It had been aching ever since the explosion hours ago. "Let's go." Orion and Moonlight exited the tent, climbing onto the backs of Isaleks. Together, they rode off across the Lost Isle.

...

Over two hours have passed, and they still found nothing. No sign of any sort of base, tower, or anything relating to the root of corruption spreading across the world. Only small towns and open air. "Still nothing." Orion groaned. "Even if we did have a lead, we still wouldn't find Eclipse."

"Maybe we're not looking in the right direction." Moonlight suggested, looking off to the north. The Grayhorn Mountains seemed to await them. "There's got to be something up there. I know it." Moonlight assured. The two turned to their right, taking off towards the mountains beyond. It didn't take long for them to arrive. Orion looked up at the motionless mountains. They didn't mock him, they didn't laugh. The wind spoke of thoughts. Orion's thoughts. Orion grabbed the sword he forged, sheathing it at his hip. He stored a shield on his back, proceeding to climb up the mountain. With Moonlight following him up the cliff face, Orion didn't feel that same feeling he felt the last time he was in the mountains. That feeling that the armor tightened around his body, like he wasn't worthy of it. Like it wasn't his. Because the armor wasn't Orion's. It was S. F.'s. But now, Orion was wearing his own armor. He felt comfortable now. Reaching the top of the mountain, Orion was met with a cavern. Peering down, Orion could see movement. Looking back, Orion motioned for Moonlight to not make noise. "Do you think it's Eclipse?" Moonlight whispered.

"Maybe. Who knows? It might just be another one of her creations." Orion replied. He took his sword from its sheath. "I'm going in." He whispered before jumping down into the darkness.

"Orion, wait!" Moonlight called out to him. But he was already gone, vanishing into the cavern. It wasn't long before Orion flew out, on the back of a dragon.

"This was a bad idea!" He called out. Moonlight took her bow, firing an arrow right into the dragon's exposed underbelly. It roared viciously as it writhed, trying to throw Orion off. But the boy wouldn't let go. His sword had gone deep into the dragon's back, and his grip on the handle was too strong to break. The dragon flew up, high into the sky; above the clouds and exposing Orion to the beautiful sunset. But that beauty was short-lived. The dragon dove down, with Orion barely hanging on. It went back beneath the clouds, swerving through the mountains. But then, the dragon stopped. It swooped back around, throwing Orion off of it. Orion crashed on the same mountain he had jumped into, nearly falling into the dragon's nest, if not for Moonlight catching him. The dragon roared again, fire pouring out of its mouth as it got closer and closer to Moonlight and Orion. Moonlight slipped off the ledge, falling into the dragon nest along with Orion. The dragon flew over the pit, roaring again as it flew away. Orion landed on his back, with Moonlight landing on top of him. "Ough...that's gonna hurt in the morning." Orion groaned. The two got to their feet, observing their surroundings as their eyes adjusted. "Where are we?" He asked.

"A place I thought we'd never find..." Moonlight gasped softly in awe. Her eyes adjusted quicker to the darkness, allowing her to see a large, ancient temple directly before them.

"Is that..."

"The Dragon Temple."

"How'd it get here?" Orion asked, placing his hand on the stone walls.

"It's always been here." Moonlight answered. "When S. F. sent Izzylyn, Amilie, and Elana to get the Eye, the temple entrance transported them here. To the Lost Isle."

"How do you know?"

"Because S. F. told me. He already knew about this place, long before we came here."

"Then why didn't he tell us?" Orion felt anger rising in his throat.

"I don't know. All I know is that we found this place for a reason. The Temple wants to tell us something." Moonlight suggested.

"Then let's find out what it wants to tell us." Orion stated, standing by the opening in the Dragon Temple. Moonlight took Orion's hand, leading the two into the temple.

...

The two stood directly in front of a pedestal. There was an inset in the shape of a circle in the middle. Not big enough for the Dragon's Eye, but big enough for the Ring. Orion looked at the small, golden ring in his hand. "We do this, and we get answers, right?" He looked at Moonlight. She nodded in reply. Looking back at the pedestal, Orion took a breath before putting the ring in the inset. The temple rumbled as a book rose from the ground. Moonlight grabbed it, flipping through each page.

"There's nothing here." She said aloud.

"What good does an empty book do?" Orion asked himself. Ink spread across one of the pages.

"'An empty book can have a variety of uses. You can write your own story in it, for example.'" Moonlight read. "Orion, this is what the book says. The words just...materialized."

"Wait, what?" Orion walked over, seeing the words. "I think this book answers questions. Like Tom Riddle's diary."

"Who?"

"Not important. We wanted answers. This book is our answer." Orion stated. "I can figure out so many things. Why did I have those visions in the Wild Ocean? How am I still alive?" He asked himself. Moonlight closed the book before it could answer.

"We can't answer those just yet." She said, "we need to find a way out of here." Orion thought a bit.

"I have an idea. But, it's a more...explosive option."