The Lost one's journey

Part 26: Etapa part 3

Domo and his tiger now both start to run towards Zam. However, a black wall suddenly appeared, causing the two fighters and the tiger to collide into it. Shadowy tendrils come from the wall and hold down the fighter and tiger onto it. The wall then seems to sink into the ground, consuming the fighters with it. "That is enough for today." An intimidating voice says with a gentle tone. The crowd is stunned for a second, but then quickly starts shouting and booing, enraged at the loss of their entertainment. The announcer tries to talk, but his voice is drowned out by the angry crowd. A pillar of shadows shoots from the center of the arena, frightening the crowd and announcer. The shadow pillar disperses, and a beastkin stands where the pillar was. The beastkin isn't like Domo and is instead more of a beast than a human. The beast has long, black hair. Its eyes are catlike and purple. The beast stands at an imposing ten feet. He wears robes adorned with a black panther gem, which ties the robe together. The crowd and announcer gasp in surprise as they see the panther beastkin. "I said that is enough. Sau, Send them away." The goat-beastkin announcer bows his head as he lets out a bleat, causing the crowd to teleport away. "L-lord Voda, if you had sent word that you were on the way, I- I would have." Voda raises his hand, quickly shutting Sau up. "The two sources of entertainment were about to kill one another. You were about to let them kill each other?" He asks, not even looking at Sau. "N-no, sir! I wouldn't-" shadowy tendrils grab at Sau's head and body despite Voda not making a clear move. "Do not lie to me." Sau panics for a second but quickly calms down, taking a deep breath. "Sorry sir. Yes, you're right. I hadn't realized that they were about to kill each other. I thought Zam would have won." Voda sighs. "That's the problem, Sau. You thought. Nothing is set in stone, so you can't just assume that he would have won. You should've stopped the fight. Be glad I stepped in." He says as he disperses the tendrils. "I'm sorry, sir. I'll acknowledge this failure and do my best to not make this mistake again." Sau says as he bows to Voda. "I hope to see that. Prepare the fighters again for later combat. We can't disappoint our tourists. as well as prepare the VIP room. We have important guests from the Arcana coming today." He says this as he walks away from the arena in a pillar of shadow.

"Haha, we have arrived!" Raphael declares as they walk up a small hill of sand. As they reach the top of the hill, they see a large city on the horizon. The buildings seem to be made of stone, with intricate panther designs etched into the stone. "It's real!?" Folmon says in shock. "What, you doubted me?" Raphael says with a cheeky grin. "It looks pretty weird." Pocu says as she gazes upon the city. "Well, that's because we still have, like... a very long time before we actually get there." "WHAT!?" "Yup. Trust me, I'm exhausted as well." Raphael says, despite not a drop of sweat on her body while Folmon and Pocu are drenched in sweat. "I hate this." Folmon says with an annoyed voice as the group stands up and begins to move towards the city.

A pillar made of shadows erupts within a room. Voda steps out of the pillar of shadow, and the pillar dissipates. Voda looks around the room, and it's rather empty, only having a small, luxurious chair adorned with gems and a rather large couch with the same gems as the small one. Voda takes a seat on the chair as a door opens and three people walk into the room. The first of the three is a lady with long
black hair with some gray spots. She wears a necklace with a star design. She also wears a yellow and white robe that reaches to the ground. She appears to be the youngest. Her eyes are an opaque white. The second of the three is another lady; she has long blue hair with a necklace of the moon, and her robe is blue and turquoise. Her eyes are clear and blurred. The lady also bears a striking resemblance to the first. The third and final lady seems to be the oldest, with long black hair and a golden dress adorned with a necklace of the sun. They all sit down across from Voda. The youngest of the three looks around the room with a small smile. The middle one focuses her gaze on Voda, while the oldest does the same. "Thank you for having us for this audience, Lord Voda." The oldest says, "It is nothing. The fool requested this meeting with me. I am only fulfilling the agreement I made with him." Voda says in a relaxed tone as he looks down at the trio. "I suppose he hasn't introduced us? He has a bad habit of not doing that." The oldest says with a chuckle. Voda shakes his head. "I see. Well, allow me to introduce me and my sisters!" The oldest excitedly says, "Arcana of the Sun, Shemesh Celestial. I am the oldest of my sisters. It is nice to meet you." Shemesh says with a bow. She then turns to the middle one. "Arcana of the Moon Sahar. She is the middle child of us three." Sahar gives a bow to Voda. "It is very nice to meet the Lord of the Beasts." Sahar says as she bows. Shemesh then turns to the youngest. "This is our youngest sister, Kokhav. She is the Arcana of the stars. I'm sorry to say, but she cannot speak. I had neglected to mention it before; however, Sahar is blind, so she cannot see your brilliance." Kokhav gives Voda a bow as Shemesh introduces her. "I see. It is a pleasure to meet you all. Now, what was the purpose of this meeting? The fool never did explain." Shemesh takes her seat once again, and her face becomes more serious now as her tone follows this. "Fool is... not the greatest at explaining what has to be done. He's more of a father than a leader. However, I am more than capable of speaking his will." As she speaks, Voda keeps a careful watch over the three siblings while he listens to her attentively. "You see, Lord Voda, a summoned one, is most likely on the way here to your kingdom. She was rightfully and legally summoned by Beliynn in Dryadalis. He was betrayed, and the summoned one was sent all the way to the first world. Now she has made her way here. I'm sure you wonder why we would take the effort to come speak to you. After all, the majority of the worlds doesn't even believe the Arcana exists. Well, it isn't as simple as we first believed, before the summoned one came here The Fool himself had seen it last with a certain individual we think you'll find interesting." Voda raises an eyebrow. "What makes you believe that?" "Do you know of Raphael of the healing waters? One of the archangels?" As Shemesh says, this Voda seems to become agitated. "What are you implying? Speak carefully." Voda speaks in a threatening voice. Shemesh appears to not be wary of Voda's threat, while her sisters look nervous. "Raphael of the healing waters. A very curious individual, if you ask me. There are very few panther Beastkins, and even fewer with a name. In fact, there are only two, one being you, Lord Voda, and the second... your daughter, Ikati. Yet she was declared dead." Tendrils made of shadows grab Shemesh by the throat and lift her up while also holding captive her sisters. "Say what you are implying, human!" Voda says in fury, but not quite shouting yet. "Ikati is leading the summoned one here back to her home!" Shemesh says as she struggles to breathe. Voda lets go of her, causing her to fall back onto the couch. "If you are lying to me, human, I will personally create a siege to destroy that organization you call the Arcana." "I can assure you that I am not lying, Lord Voda. We have come to ask for your assistance in acquiring the summoned one." Voda glares at Shemesh, frightening her. "How would you expect me to help?" "Fool wanted your help by having your city guard on the lookout for the summoned one, as well as your support should we need it. Wherever it goes, Ikati will follow, after all. You aren't helping us, Lord Voda; no, we are helping you." Voda stays silent for a while before talking once again. "And you truly believe that you three are a match for her? She has my blood running through her veins. She has my mana flowing through her core. She even has my contract in her soul. Ikati is an almost perfect copy of my power, even if she isn't nearly as refined as me." Shemesh grins. "I never said that I was going to be the only one taking her down. I have two other sisters here to help me after all." Shemesh says with a confident tone.