Sky: A Light is Born (I)

VII: The Ether of Delight

The gate called for Skye, and she slowly walked to it. She knew something great was awaiting for her in the other side, but just as she was about to enter Eli pulled her back and away.

"Don't go in there! Has everything that I have told you not been enough!?" Said Eli as he breathed heavily.

"But... What if that is the way we have to go? Are just going to stay here then!?" Said Skye as she raised her voice.

"Skye, that place is not safe. If you go in there, I don't know if we will make it back... Just mark my words, I am not going in there!"

"But, Eli! We can't just stay here and look at it! The spirits gave us this mission for a reason, and we have gone way to far for us to just stop here! We have to go!"

"I said I won't do it. We are going to die if we go there! You hear me!? DIE!"

"Well, I might as well go without you! There is a path that was made for us to take, and I am following it no matter what!"

Skye ran through the gate and left Eli behind. She was mad at him after seeing him take that attitude. He sure was scared of this place, but Skye wasn't. She had never seen what was on the other side, and maybe it was better to think about that before rushing in.

The place seemed to be destroyed, like something had arrived and broken it all. She kept on walking, just trying to forget the feeling she held inside. It somehow reminded her of when she first arrived to this new world. It felt the same way she was feeling at the moment, but she ignored it. The more she walked, the more she forgot. And so it got to a point where she was focused on getting to the end and absolutely nothing else. But deep inside, she didn't feel ok. This wasn't a place that she enjoyed exploring, unlike other realms she had traveled to along with Eli. She just wanted to get out. She wanted all of this to be over.

She reached a place that seemed to be a temple. She was scared of walking inside because of how broken it was. A wall could have fallen on top of her any second, but it didn't. She got to a point where she decided to take a break, so she sat on top of a small rock.

"What was all of that screaming for? What was his problem?" Skye wondered. "Whatever it was, I'm not going to let it stop me. Plus, what is it that is so bad from this place? It will all be just fi-"

Just as she thought she would be safe, danger came rushing in. She could hear thunder striking down, see rocks rolling their way down to her, and even feel the presence of an evil beast that she had met before in her dreams. She collapsed and started running, hoping she would somehow escape, but she would just find more ways to end her life. She ran more than she had ever done before, but it was useless. She reached a dead end and remembered that nightmare. All she could do was scream for help as she saw the boulders roll their way to her and the beast rushing in to devour her. But when she expected help to arrive the least, it did. She barely got pushed away from what felt like death for her. When she got up and looked at who saved her, she couldn't help gasping.

"Eli!? What are you doing here!?" She screamed.

"You really think I would leave you alone at this point!? I thought about what you said, and you are right. We have done more than I could have ever imagined, so we are not stopping now! And if we go down, at least I will do it knowing I did my best to keep you safe..." Said Eli. "So come on! We have a mission to accomplish!"

He took Skye's hand and looked at the storm they would have to confront. At this point, he was not afraid. He knew what he had to do, and he would make his best attempt. They both ran through the danger that lurked in that place, and they somehow pulled it off. They even felt like it was a little fun, since running and wandering around was something they liked to do. They finally reached what seemed to be a safe place. The storm seemed to have calmed, but they knew this wasn't the end of it.

"Now that we are here, I guess there is no going back, is there?" Eli said. "Maybe I can help with what comes next. There will be a storm stronger than the one we just went through. There is no doubt about it: we will get hurt. So just try and be strong out there, ok? We will try to reach the end. I guess that is where the Light awaits."

Before he could say another thing, Skye hugged her with all her force. As much as she tried to deny it, she was scared. But she was still determined, and she knew what she had to do. So, with tears in their eyes, they both went in into what they felt would be their last adventure.

The storm Eli talked about was insane. It was so strong that it could lift boulders up and blow them away like a grain of sand, but the might both of the chosen one had would be enough to make them stick to the floor and not get flown away. Eli took a deep breath and looked at Skye, which nodded up and down showing she was ready. So, with nothing else getting in their way, they rushed into the storm for once and for all. Darkness rained from the dark clouds above, making them get hurt instantly. But they weren't going to go down that easy. Eli ran and ran, and Skye followed his steps. Every little shelter they could find counted at this point, so they made it worth it. The more they ran, the more they could see the end. It was a light like no other, and it was so special they could even feel more powerful when they got closer to it. But the power they felt was nothing compared to the pain that was raining upon them. They tried to get there with all of their resolve, but it just wasn't enough.

Both of them started losing color and started to weaken. They were so close, but they couldn't take it anymore. They thought this was the end of it, the part where they would go down and make the tale come to an end. But as much as they knew it was the end, they looked at each other with a smile in their faces.

"At least we tried, didn't we?" Said Eli.

"We sure did. Thanks for everything, Eli..." Said Skye.

They hugged each other and closed their eyes. They could feel their lights fading away, but they still stood up for some reason. Skye wondered why this was happening, when she suddenly looked up and gasped. It was Samira, coming down from the clouds and giving them the little help they needed.

"There is a power stronger than Light that only a few possess. And that power is similar to the bond you two share. That little extra force is what made you get this far. That's why your voice was once in Eli's head, and that's why many other things happened that not even I could notice. Now then, allow me to give you the little push you need..."

She came down to floor level and slowly moved them towards the light. Even though they couldn't believe it, they had actually reached the end. They were still hugging each other, but when Eli opened his eyes and saw what happened, he was speechless.

"Eli, look. We did it..." Skye said with the little force she had.

"We did it... We did it. We did it! We actually did it!" Said Eli as he felt his light coming back and he realized what they had done.

Skye felt the same too, to the point where they felt brand new. They took their time to look at the place they were standing at. It seemed like a garden, but it wasn't an ordinary one. It was one that held that one thing everyone wanted but none could never claim. Skye and Eli felt it was there and turned around. And there it was, shining brighter than had ever done.