Revival: Of Cethore ✔

Chapter Thirty-Four

Chapter Thirty-Four: Face-To-Face

Samari blinked rapidly. "I'm a what?"

The spirit titled his head, "You don't know? Do they not teach kids about Celethorians anymore?"

She stared at him, waiting for him to continue. Never had she encountered any mention of Celethorians, whether from a conversation or in a book. He scoffed, creeping closer to her.

"Thoran's power has been forgotten. The power that the ancient spirits granted this land is unknown."

"Wa-wa-wait, what? Thoran, as in, the king who stopped the Blood Era and united the tribes? Th-that Thoran?"

"Do you know another?"

Hesitantly, she shook her head. Her thoughts swirled as she tried to recall anything she could about his power.

"Then, as I was saying, Celethorians are those who have the same ticon as Thoran--that is, they have mastery of the six elements."

"A-are you serious? Cause, I don't have any ticon. I-I can't possibly be...a Celethorian," she said sheepishly, fiddling with her key.

Shaking his head, the spirit clicked his tongue. He circled about her, his head nodding up and down as he examined her.

"Oh, dear child, you are truly confused. Your ticon was never lost; it was simply locked away. All you need is a key."

Samari looked down to her hands clenched around her precious keepsake. Zoran told you the same thing that day. You've been scared to touch your ticon again. You've been hoping Shadow Knight could help you, but he just gave you a crutch instead.

Stupid, useless, failure.

Her gaze drifted to Zoran fighting against Viper. Every blast of ticon made her flinch. She could see his slowing down, spells slower and attacks lighter.

But he's still fighting, so I must fight too.

"Um, wh-where can I get...a key? Whatever I-I need to do, I'll do i-it!"

The spirit burst into a fit of laughter. He rolled through the air, Samari's glare boring into him the entire time.

"I-I'm being serious, you know! If you know wh-what the key is, tell me, please! I've b-been looking for it...for moon-cycles!"

He slowed down, wiping his eyes. "You really are funny. 'I've been looking for it, ' says the girl who's had one attached to her belt!"

She dropped it.

Her hands fumbled as she bent down to pick it up, cursing. She caressed it in her hand, unable to stop staring at it. Nothing in her believed that it was anything more than ordinary.

"Let me guess. It is indestructible, has abnormal energy, and has something about it that mysteriously draws you in, right?"

She nodded slowly.

"Ticon key. If you can find the place where your ticon is locked away, you can use that to release it. It's sorta assister the ancients made for future Celethorians, just in case."

Looking at the key and feeling it in her hand, Samari swayed towards his words. She realized why she had recognized the spirit when he had arrived, why his stone had felt so familiar to her hands. 

The key swirled, shifting in and out of her vision like the spirit's wavering form. In the handle, she could make out a distinctive space, almost like a diamond-shaped slot--about the same shape and size that the air gem had been.

If they go together, then this is the air key--will it unlock air ticon? Only one way to find out! Time to find the path.

She sat right on the ground, much to the spirit's amusement. Legs folded, she closed her eyes. Her fingers pressed against her throat, and her chest moved in steady breathing.

Divulging into the back of her mind, she cleared her thoughts until all that was left was a gentle chime ringing in her brain. She felt the gentle pull of Shadow Knight's ticon flowing through her like water in a river.

She dived below the flow, feeling for a riverbed for her to follow. When she touched it, cold and sharp, a shiver stalled her search. Ignoring the feeling, she followed the path. The trip was can and gentle, almost as though it were welcoming her to search inside.

Just like in the water.

A gate appeared before her, the image that Zoran has described now etched into her mind. On the other side was herself--or some version of herself with strips of color in her hair and splatters on her skin. She guarded the gate, making sure it was holding everything back.

Slowly, Samari backed away. Her eyes opened when she came back from her inner world.

"Looks like you found it," the spirit said, motioning to her hand resting atop the spot of the gate. "Now, let's open it!"

Nodding, she removed her left hand to gaze at the inside of her wrist. Before she could scare herself, she thrust the key straight into the spot.

Surprisingly, it slipped right past her flesh as though it were not even there, only leaving a cold tingle. Still, being the jittery girl that she was, Samari screamed. Furthermore, she tried to back away from the object, stopping when she remembered that it was attached to her.

She panted and tore her eyes away. Glancing back slightly, she turned the key.

The stream released slowly at first, mingling softly with the riverbed before rushing into a roaring flood. It was different than Shadow Knight's power, not icey cold but warm and raw and refreshing. A well flowing from deep inside her and raining down like a gushing hot spring.

The more that came out the more she could feel around her. She felt like she could whisper to the wind and it would answer. She could feel the spirit pulsing beside her, his ticon communing with her own power.

"Ooh, I love watching Celethorians unlock their powers!" he cried clapping cheerily. "The birth of a dragon."

Next update July 12th.