(Shanae, Mentri, Oracle. The Kraken)
"What weaknesses does Exitium have?" asked the Oracle.
"HE WAS FELLED TWICE IN ALL OF HISTORY. ALONG WITH THE SWORD OF ETERNITIES, THOSE THINGS THAT FELLED HIM ARE THE ONLY WAYS TO DEFEAT HIM," hissed the Kraken.
"But the Armor was destroyed," whispered Shanae.
"THEN IT LOOKS LIKE YOUR FRIENDS ARE DOOMED. AND YOU ARE ALL ABOUT TO DIE," snarled the Kraken. It rose out of the waters.
The Kraken resembled an enormous jellyfish, with its hundreds of tentacles emerging from beneath a dome of pale flesh. A tentacle rose.
"STOP!" the Oracle's magically enhanced voice rolled over the waters. She had pulled something from her pocket. It was red and glowed like a fire. It was... a feather.
"THAT..." the Kraken sounded stunned, "THAT..."
"Skreee!" came a birdcall from behind Melody.
"AAAAAARGH!" roared the Kraken. It didn't sound scared, but annoyed. "YOU!"
Shanae turned. An enormous bird, with feathers that seemed to be made of fire. A flicker of fire made up its beak, and two embers, white hot, made up its eyes.
The Kraken roared. Jets of water blasted towards the bird.
The bird spun in mid-air, wing over wing. Each wing left behind spheres of fire, which unleashed blasts of white hot fire. Fire and water met mid air, and steam blotted out Shanae's vision.
The Oracle's blurry silhouette shifted, and the boat began to move, backing away from the battle at top speed. The steam was beginning to clear, but Shanae still could not see, and so it came as a complete surprise when an enormous wave shook the boat. She nearly fell flat on her back, and was very glad that she was sitting down.
Now she could see. A great flash, closely followed by a wave of heat, nearly took her vision again, and left Shanae blinking away spots in her vision.
The bird swept overhead, breathing fire and unleashing gales. The Kraken roared, tentacles whipping through the skies, sending jets of water to strike down the Phoenix. Both were only toying with each other, though, as was made obvious a moment later.
The bird screamed, and streaked down, crackling golden fires going before it, turning water into steam before it. With a bellow, the Kraken heaved itself out of the water and launched itself off the surface of the water as though it were solid. Raw magic radiated from their bodies.
Sky and Sea collided in an explosion of light, painting the world in a shining light as had not been seen since the few years following the Dawn of Creation.
•~•
This explosion of light, in reality, lasted no more than a second. But for those who saw it, it lasted for much, much more than a second. In that primordial clash, raw energy warped time and space, twisting and stretching that moment out.
Then, the light cut off, leaving the world seeming dry and colorless, and the sun's light seeming inadequate. The Kraken had been thrown back into the sea, and the Phoenix reeling back into the sky. Now, standing in between them, seeming to hover in midair, was a Being. The most outstanding feature of this Being was that it was incredibly large, slightly larger than the Phoenix and large enough to pose a threat to the Kraken. This Being was clothed in grey, the color of neutrality. He wore a grey, hooded cloak, and had no feet. At least, none that could be seen. Instead, the cloak tapered off the a pointed end at the back. This meant that the back of the cloak was longer than than the front, and Shanae could see clearly that the Being had no feet. No face could be seen within the hood, it was too dark. arms were covered by voluminous grey sleeves, and the hands, grey and covered in pearly veins, were both crossed on top of the pommel of a great sword. The sword was a broadsword, and the blade shone with inner light. The pommel and hilt was gold, with red patterns flowing over it. Purple flames flickered over his cloak and hands.
"Who..." whispered Shanae, awed by this Being.
"I AM LAW," boomed the Being. His voice was rich and deep and commanding. "OR RATHER, UPHOLDING IT IS MY JOB, AND AS SUCH MANY WHO DO NOT KNOW MY NAME CALL ME AS SUCH. MY NAME IS SAMUEL,"
Both the Kraken and Phoenix had fallen silent.
"BACK TO YOUR DOMAINS, THE BOTH OF YOU! YOU KNOW THE RULES. RIGHT BENEATH 'NO INTERFERING WITH WORDLY AFFAIRS' IS 'NO FIGHTING'!" roared Samuel. He didn't sound angry, but his voice demanded to be obeyed. The Kraken growled, and slunk beneath the waves, and the Phoenix nodded at the Oracle, and vanished.
"AND YOU THREE. YOU ARE ALL PARTS OF THE MOVEMENT TO STOP THE NIGHTMARES FROM OVERTHROWING BALANCE," boomed Samuel, "MAY I GIVE SOME ADVICE?"
"Of course!" said the Oracle eagerly, hoping for advice. Samuel was one of the primordial beings, and if anyone knew how to defeat Exitium, it was him.
"DON'T FAIL," said Samuel, before vanishing in a clap of thunder.
•~•
Uro sat grimly in his chair.
"Well, we're going to have to hope the last team can get some information," he said, quietly.
"What are the chances?" asked Animo, "Of them learning something?"
"If they can find Obulan, their chances are good. Obulan is not naturally aggressive towards sorcerers in general, not like the Kraken and the Dragons. And while Obulan is younger than the Kraken, he did live through the war and did participate in it," said Uro, "If they can find him, he will likely help them."
"And what are the chances of them finding him?" asked Ventus.
Uro was silent for a moment. Then, "Not very good."
Suddenly, Uro's earpiece crackled.
"Uro! Help!" shouted Cassandra. Then the earpiece went dead.
•~•
Alone.
Alone in the darkness.
For centuries.
Surviving, but not living.
Conscious, but not awake.
In a perpetual nightmare.
Such was his fate.
Till one day, four children entered his domain.
It awakened an emotion Obulan had not experienced for centuries.
Curiosity.
Tunneling through the earth, Obulan set out to find them.
