Illusion: Destiny Awaits (In Editing)

Mini Epilogue - After the Battle

Sabrina

It's early summer. The sun is rising. It is approximately 7 am. Normally I wouldn't be up this early, because sleep is beautiful, but today I get to hang out with Christi for the whole day.

I rush across the hallway, sprinting on the pavement. As I run, my speed creates a breeze, and my red curls fly in the air. Strung against my body is a yellow duffel with white straps. It has been stuffed with supplies to its fullest. It bounces against me while I continue to run.

Finally, I stop to catch my breath, because I'm not actually a runner, and my lungs have limits. I have stopped in front of a door, with the word 'Christi' engraved on it. I step up to the door, and knock. A minute passes, and nothing happens. I'm about to knock a second time, but suddenly, the door swings open. Christi greets me with a grin, and I grin back.

I step inside. The door swings shut behind me.

Inside the room, Christi grabs me and we both rush over to the chocolate and cupcake plates.

Christi says, "Sabrina, I'm so excited you could come over. And for the whole day! Did you bring your swimsuit?"

I nod vigorously. "Of course! Can't wait to go into the water. Speaking of, when can we go?" I speak through a mouthful of moist cake and chocolate. Why does she get chocolate cake? For some reason I always get lemon. Like, I like lemon and all, but I love chocolate.

"Hopefully soon!" Christi says. We both laugh, lying on the bed.

After 30 minutes of chatting and munching on snacks (which, yes, I know, it's probably not the wisest thing to do), Christi gets Skifter to let us in the water.

We, after changing into their swimwear, head into the nature conserve. It is now around 9 am. We both dive into the clear, blue water.

"Whee! Water!" I shout joyfully. I just love swimming. I might've mentioned that a couple of times.

The day passes quickly, because fun has overwhelmed us both. Nearing the end of the day, after the cookout at lunch, an afternoon of games and more dips in the water, we go to the sandy beach nearby. The sun is setting now, casting a faint fiery glow around us.

We race off and onto the piles of soft golden sand that illuminate the darkening beach. Then we sit by the edge of the water, letting our feet get wet from the foams sneaking out of the long, slow waves.

The long sigh erupts from the seagulls floating in the air above us. The perfect evening. Full of love, everything is safe, problems solved, everything is just as planned.

Or is it?

After a long, lovely day planned perfectly from start to finish, we tuck ourselves into our sleeping bags. The chirp of crickets in the fast approaching night lifts our spirits, keeping us awake for a few more fleeting hours.

But however, these things do not always stay for eternity. We quickly drift off to sleep, carelessness to the maximum. The stars shine brightly in the sparkling, laminated blue sky. And yet, not all sleep is safe and sound.

Both of us have the same dream. It startles our souls, awakening the Soul Animals within our necklaces.

In the dream, I see a man, tall, young.

The glare of death radiates off of his face. He is draped in a dark cloak, a hood over his face to conceal his identity. Oh, how scary. He has one message to bring.

"I see you have found a way to stop me, my friends. But not for long. Never. I will keep trying until I have accomplished what I strive for. No one, not even you with your pathetic little Soul Animals can stop me. But of course, I must give you the credit."

He pauses, leaving us, still asleep, with looks of dread painted across our faces.

"You tried."

The cool, hard hurt of hatred and loathing covers the entire sky, grasping like wolves at Christi and I. Wow. Thanks. We tried.

"No matter how hard you try, you will fail. I will make sure of it. My master will make sure of it. And think... you will try to stop us. But we have an army waiting for you. An army. Grander than anything you have ever seen in Klenouzlo. Grander than anything you have ever seen on Earth. So brace yourselves. All your secrets will be revealed, you can hide no longer. I will take your necklaces, and I will defeat you. My master will be proud of me.

"Let me get this straight, my friends. I'm not only going to defeat you, but I will destroy you. You and your wretched band of allies. But don't worry. I will make sure your death is the saddest, slowest death anyone could ever feel. And do you know why? Because you deserve it. You deserve to suffer. Just as I did."

He stops for a longer amount of time, letting all the words, all of the meaning sink in. Ya know, we were having a lovely day, but this is really a downer. It is starting to get a little creepy though.

I twitch on the ground, along with Christi, as if the dream was sending small volts of electricity through us. Our hands brush each, but I quickly retract, sweeping the grass in agony. It's not a pretty sight. The whole experience isn't pretty, but if you look past the pain and the confusion, it would be a pretty cool out of body experience.

"Aw, am I upsetting your sweet dreams, my dear friends? Good, that is what I wanted. Because you have caused so much pain to us all, so much agony. You should die right here and now. I would do it myself. Kill you, because that is my only deep wish and desire. But I mustn't. I will... well, do you want to know what I will do? I will make sure this is the last dream you ever have. I'm coming for you.

"You must be finally asking yourselves. What is the meaning of this? Why are you here? What are you going to do to us? Well, I have already answered most of those questions. I'm quite the generous man. But, yes, there is one question that obviously, is the most important out of them all. What is the meaning of this? What message have I come to bring? Well, let's let it all out. Right here. Right now. No more secrets. It, certainly, is about time you knew."

The man straightens his posture, making him loom over our weakened bodies. Ah, he's using that power move. You know, they use that when creating movies and stuff too, to show more power.

"Christi. Sabrina. Whatever you have lived in the past thirteen years you have been alive, it was an illusion. All of it. You have been fooled." The man takes a step forward, the hood covering his identity still visible.

And then, he takes it off.

"Because I... I am Kase. And I am Zaroho."