F I N A L F A N T A S Y I I I : T H E C R I S I S O F L I G H T By Sky Render The Full Compilation NOTE: This is the story of what happened before Final Fantasy III (not FF3us), when the powers of light overtook the world. PROLOGUE: The Great Balance The crystals had always provided a balance between each other. The crystals of light would cancel the dark effects of the crystals of blackness, and in turn, the black crystals would null the incredibly overwhelming power of the light crystals. The two had always balanced each other perfectly. until the Dark Crystal of Fire began to crack. The other black crystals soon followed, and the balance of power was destroyed. The light overcame the world, and all that were not pure were slowly and painfully destroyed. It was at this time that four young boys, who had no clue as to what they were doing, discovered the shards of the Dark Crystal of Wind. And thus, the quest to save the world from the light began. C H A P T E R I : The Light of Purity It came suddenly. People began to feel ill, and many began to die. The skies were far brighter than they had ever been. The people began to fear for their lives, seeing their own die. The only ones who appeared to be unaffected in the small village of Granza were four young boys, who had been discovered in the nearby forests. The wise men had advised the people that these four were to become the most powerful beings ever, but their mere existence served as a threat to the village. It was natural, therefore, that the people began to blame this catastrophe on them. "You're the reason we're dying!" another boy yelled at the four. "I'd kill you all myself, but I. ack." The boy fainted, and his parents, who were already weak, came to take him inside to safety. "This is bad," said one of the four, named Koram. "Yeah, no kidding! They're mad at us, but we've done nothing!" replied another, the boy known as Fane. "Let's get out of here before someone does try to kill us!" said the third, Zack. "Then let's go, already!" said the fourth boy, Lokim. The headed for the gates, uncertain as to where they would go from Granza. "Where're we gonna go, anyway? We've got no home, now, and no place to go," Zack said. Koram considered the matter, then replied, "I know! Let's go to the old ruins!" The other three stared at him in fear and amazement. "But we were told it's dangerous in the ruins!" said Fane. "Yeah, I don't want to die!" Lokim added. Zack shook his head. "We left to live, not to throw our lives to the first monster we meet!" "And what else can we do?" asked Koram angrily. "We have no home, no hopes, no possessions! We don't even own the clothing on our backs! We've got nothing, and by avoiding danger, we'll continue to have nothing! I don't know about you three, but I want to live my life to the fullest while I still can, seeing as at this rate, we may be dead in a week!" The others just stared at their brother. "He's right," Lokim said. The other two turned towards him. "We don't have anything left to lose. Our lives hardly matter anymore. We're going to get blamed no matter where we go, now. We might as well have a bit of fun before we die." Fane and Zack stood there, not saying anything. "Well," Koram said, "I guess we're alone in this, then, aren't we? Come on Lokim, let's go. They don't want to come along, so we'll just leave them here, I guess." Upon hearing this, the other two jumped. "Don't leave us here! The villagers will come for us!" Zack shouted. "Yeah, we can't survive against an entire village! I may be against going to our deaths, but it's better than waiting for it from those we've lived with all our lives!" Fane chimed in. "Then, it's decided! Let's get going! To the ruins!" With that said, Koram turned around, and started down the rough path to the ancient ruins. The other three followed, close behind. Little did the four know, the future of their entire planet was about to be determined by their actions that would follow. C H A P T E R I I: The Ruins of the Dark Crystal Koram and his brothers had begun their journey down the path to the ruins almost three hours ago, when Zack stopped. The others did likewise, and turned around. "This is nuts!" he said, "We're never going to reach those ruins at this rate! How far is it from our village to them, anyways?" "Oh, quit complaining, Zack!" Lokim said, "We're almost there. Can't you feel it...?" The four felt a chill pass through them, and each shivered involuntarily. They could feel something there, something... calling... to them... "I'm not too sure if we should go on..." said Fane, a nervous edge apparent in his voice. Koram shook his head. "Then what should we do, Fane? Just sit here and never find out what's in the ruins? We've got no purpose in life any more, and you want to quit this journey?" Fane quickly shook his head. "I'm... I'm just scared, that's all. I don't like the thought of going into a dangerous place like this with no way to protect myself." Zack picked up a fallen branch from a nearby tree. "Then grab one of these to defend yourself. It'll make you feel better if you have it. I know, I used to grab a branch whenever I felt I was in danger, and it comforted me knowing that I could at least try to defend myself." Fane paused, then nodded. He grabbed a branch, too. "I do feel safer. Thanks for the hint, Zack. All right, I'm ready to face whatever happens to lurk in those ruins, so let's go!" Koram and Lokim both grabbed a branch, as well. "Best to be prepared, I suppose," Koram muttered. The four continued down the path, no longer so afraid of what they were doing. Suddenly, the path began to climb uphill. "Woah, this is one steep hill!" Lokim said, "I'm glad we grabbed those branches! Let's scale it, shall we?" The four brothers began to climb the near-sheer cliff that the path had become. At one point, Zack lost his footing. "Aaugh, I'm gonna fall! Help!" Fortunately, Fane was there to catch him. A relieved Zack replied, "Thanks, bro. I owe you one!" They continued up the steep path, and soon, the top was within view. A withering oak tree marked the summit, and as they grabbed onto it for support during the final few steps of their climb, they finally saw the ruins. They were a magnificent sight to behold. "It must have been an entire city at one time!" said Lokim, staring in wonder. The others nodded faintly at the remark, absorbed in what lie before them. The ruins towered at least ten meters above them, cracked along their foundations, but still standing tall and noble. They could see a square through the damaged ironwood gates, and a magnificent fountain, which had sixteen horned demons that once spouted water. Atop the fountain was a sight that they would never forget. There sat the remains of a crystal of pure blackness. Its bottom half was all that remained of it, the shards of the top half lying scattered about the fountain base and the ground around it. "I feel... like I know this place!" said Koram. The others felt it too, and the chill returned. They had been here once before, long ago. They had seen this very city once, and had lived here. "Who are we?" asked Fane. They all understood what he meant. Who were they? They were obviously not the four orphans they had always thought they were. "That's the source of the call," Lokim said. They looked at what he was pointing at. The crystal briefly grew darker somehow, then returned to its former shade. "The crystal was calling us to it. But... why was it calling us? Why are we the chosen ones of this crystal?" They approached the city gates. Nothing moved but the four boys as they passed through the frighteningly large and forboding doors of the ruins. Koram stopped, looking at a tablet on the ground. "It's... it's in another language, but... I can understand it!" The others looked at it. "I can, too!" the other three chimed in unision. It read: There will come the four to the City of Darkness, Chased by the Power of Light, And they will save the very world That decided that it would destroy them. And from their arrival to the Shrine of Wind, Till their final battle, Against the Entity of the Pure, They will be the world's first, last, and only hope. The four boys looked at each other. Zack asked, "Can this tablet speak of... of us? Are we... the four?" The others did not respond, but they all knew, instinctively, that they were indeed the four chosen. "We are to save the world..." muttered Fane. "Wait! Did you hear that?" asked Lokim. They all looked to the dark crystal. *I am the crystal of the dark winds* a voice echoed in their minds, *I called to you four, the Chosen Ones of Darkness. You are the ones that the Prophecy spoke of, those who would return balance when the light overpowered the dark. And I am here to aid you. I grant you the powers of darkness held within my shards. Take them with you, and save the world from the light with their powers.* The shards began to float, and formed into a ten-pointed star. They then severed into ten, rather than ten thousand, shards, and they landed in Koram's waiting hands. *Seek out my bretheren, the dark crystals of Fire, Water, and Earth. They will aid you as well, and grant you the powers of their elements. Farewell, chosen ones.* With that, the remains of the crystal simply disintegrated. The four boys looked for a moment at the spot that the crystal had previously been located at. "It's gone..." Lokim said. The shards gave a faint, purple glow, then faded again. "They're giving us their powers, those of the winds," Fane said. Zack nodded. "They will allow us to change in form, to become more powerful than any living thing has ever been." Koram looked down at the ten shards. "They are entrusting upon us... the future of the entire world..." The four looked at each other, and they knew. They had a world to save. Without another word, the four left the City of Darkness, and descended the Cliffs of Torment into the Valley of Light, to fight that which could destroy the world in its purifying path... C H A P T E R I I I: The Empire of Light The four young heroes reached the foot of the Cliffs of Torment, and took one last glance at the city that they had learned so much in. "We may never return there," Koram said. "Yes," Zack said, "but the crystal's power will return again to that city, once we succeed. We've got to find those other crystals, now. Where should we look? I can't think of where we should go..." Fane suddenly jumped. "I know! I know where the crystal of dark fires is! It's in the Valley of the Dead Voices, just beyond the Empire of Light!" Lokim looked up from the shard he was examining. "Empire of Light? That sounds like trouble! We can't possibly go through an entire empire without getting noticed!" Koram smiled. "Don't be so sure. Did you notice the power of this particular shard?" The shard shimmered purple, and, much to the surprise of Lokim, Zack, and Fane, Koram dissapeared. "Brother! I can't see you! I know you're there, but..." Koram reappeared. "This shard has the power to cloak its user. But it's draining to do that. I don't think we could keep an illusion like that up much more than ten minutes before we all lost our stamina." The other three nodded. "You do look pretty tired. So we can cloak ourselves with that crystal shard. What about the others?" Zack asked. He held up one of the shards. A calming wind began to blow. "Wow, I feel very relaxed!" Lokim said. "Yeah, it's as if we never climbed that cliff twice in one day!" Fane added. "It must be a healing wind! What about the others?" In the course of the next few minutes, they discovered that they had the power to cloak themselves, heal themselves, atack with the wind, lightning, and storms, and the power to shapeshift. "Hey, what about the four that didn't do anything?" asked Koram. They looked at the four. They were all different from the others, in that they had a strange pattern on them. "I wonder..." Fane said. He placed the markings in alignment. Suddenly, a strange old man appeared. "Who... who the heck are you, old man?" asked Zack. "Rather rude of you, boy. I am Ramuh, the master of the winds and lightning. You summoned me?" They all looked at the crystal shards. "Uh, yeah, we were trying to figure out these crystals, and... well, I guess we know how to summon you, now," Lokim said sheepishly. "I don't mind, young ones. Life in the clouds is not very fun, anyways. Feel free to summon me at any time." With that, Ramuh vanished. "Wow," Koram said, "we can do a lot with these crystals, can't we?" The others nodded. "It's a power to be respected and used carefully," Fane said. They were all tired from the exertion of using the crystal's powers, so they decided to take a rest in the nearby woods. What they didn't realize was, they had chosen the Woods of Light, adjacent to the Empire of Light. A lone scout came upon the four. Seeing them, he quickly went into hiding, but then came out when he saw that they were all sleeping. He looked them over carefully. They seemed to be ordinary boys, but... Then he saw it: a faint, barely noticable purple glow. He sucked in his breath quietly. The Dark Ones of the Legend had come to destroy them. The Legend stated that when the four who held the shards that glowed purple would come and bring everlasting darkness to the Empire of Light. He creeped back to his post, his face pale with fear. They might only be children, but those four were far more dangerous than all of the armies of every empire on the face of his planet. He reached his post, and summoned his superior. "Yes, what is it?" demanded the man angrily. "Sir!" the guard said frantically, "The Legend! It has come true! The four! They are here! They are here!" The commander slapped his guard with the back of his hand. "Slow down! Now, tell me exactly what caused you to come charging in like it was the end of the world." The guard was getting hysterical now, despite his commander's order. "The world IS coming to an end! The Legend has been fulfilled! The four Dark Ones sleep in the woods less than a hundred yards from this very spot!" The commander looked at his guard skeptically. "Have you been drinking on duty again?" The guard jumped at his superior. "NO, I HAVE NOT BEEN DRINKING!!! I saw them with my own eyes! Come, see for yourself, the terror that threatens us! Come!" He then ran back into the woods. Shaking his head, the commander followed at a much slower pace. Finally, he caught up with his officer. "Now what...?" he began, only to find his guard's hand over his mouth. "Don't wake them, they might attack us!" The commander was about to kill the guard, sure of his insanity, when he saw the purple shimmer. "They... they ARE the Dark Ones! Oh, shit! We must inform the Emporer!" The guard, startled at this sudden change in reaction, nodded. "Yes, sir, I shall go myself to inform him! You can handle them! I will have no more to do with these... emblems of death!" The guard then began to run back towards the castle. The commander stepped forward, and looked at the four young boys sleeping before him. "Can this truly be? They are but children... But the Legend did not speak of an age. We have no choice." He turned to one of the boys, who happened to be Koram. "I'm sorry, but I must do this..." Just then, Koram woke up. The commander took a step back, startled. Koram looked around, confused. Then he noticed the armored man before him. "Hi, who are you?" The man shook his head. *I... I can't... DO THIS!* He ran, and Koram was left staring in confusion. "Hey, brothers, wake up!" Zack, Fane, and Lokim all sat up. "What is it, Koram?" Zack asked. "A strange man just ran off. I asked him who he was, and he just... ran!" They all looked at each other in confusion. "I wonder what's going on here?" Fane mused. Just then, eight men jumped down from the trees, and a very large net fell on them. "Aack, a trap!" Lokim cried out. "Call Ramuh!" Koram assembled the crystals... and nothing happened! "What the? Hey, this material resists magic! We're defenseless in here!" One of the guards, who was dressed differently from the others, spoke. "You four are under arrest in the name of the soveriegn Empire of Light. I, the Prince of Light, do hereby declare you prisoners of war." The four looked at each other, apprehension in their eyes. They were definitely in trouble. C H A P T E R I V: The Unfair Trial "Don't you dare make a move," the Prince of Light said, reinforcing his apparent hold over he boys. "We're taking you to my father, the King of Light, for judgement and, quite possibly, punishment." Zack was about to say something nasty in reply, but Lokim smacked him. "Are you dense, Zack?" Lokim asked quietly, "They've got our lives in their hands, so don't go off and provoke them!" Zack nodded weakly. "All right, men, take them to the castle immediately. Do not let them escape that net under any circumstances whatsoever. Understood?" The guards all nodded stoutly, and each took a section of the net. Soon, the four boys were being haplessly dragged towards a small bluff with a pure white castle. "Hey," Fane asked, "how come these people aren't falling ill, like everyone else?" One of the guards laughed. "Because, we are pure, that's why! We are the chosen defenders of the all-powerful Crystal of the White Winds!" Koram looked nervously at the guard who had spoken. "The guardians of a crystal? Is that... safe?" The guard just shrugged. "I really don't care wether or not it is, as long as I don't die from the Plague of Purity. Mwa ha!" The guards began to pick up their pace, and soon, they had arrived at the gates of the castle. "We've brought the Dark Ones! Open the gates!" There was a brief pause, and the gates of the castle began to open slowly. "We shall enjoy this, I have no doubt," one of the guards said, and a malicious smile crossed his face. The boys knew what was going on, all right. It was as clear as day to them. They were to be "tried justly", then "punished". And these guards were intending to enjoy that punishment. The halls of the palace were pure white, and they were hurting to the eye to look at for any length of time. The four ended up closing their eyes to protect them. They knew that they were in a place where they did not belong. A loud grinding brought their eyes open, as a very large set of doors opened into a grand hall. The walls were made of opals and pearls, it seemed, and pure blue light streamed down from a massive skylight above. Pillars ligned the hall, and the ceiling was almost four meters above them. At the end of the vast hall was a very large dais, upon which sat the Crystal of the White Winds. Fane could not help but gasp. "That's...!" Lokim nodded. "Yes, the Crystal of the White Wind. The arch-nemisis to our own shards." They just looked in wonder and anger as they were brought closer to the crystal. To either side of the crystal, thrones were placed. On the right throne sat the Prince of Light, looking quite triumphant. On the left sat the King of Light, with a very angry expression on his face. "You four boys have been charged with bringing the power of darkness to the Empire of Light. How do you plead to this charge?" The boys were taken aback by this. Koram spoke first. "We plead not guilty, your highness. You see..." "SILENCE!" the King said. Koram shut his mouth, and the King continued. "You will have a chance to defend yourselves soon enough. First, I call the guard Taronce to the stand." A very nervous guard came up to the podium. "Taronce, did you not encounter these four boys in the Forest of Light early this morning?" Taronce just quivered. "ANSWER ME!!!" "Yes, yes, I did!" Taronce spurted out, utterly afraid. "And did you not see a purple glow, the very sign of the dark crystals?" Taronce barely managed to say, "Yes". "Let the record show that Taronce the guard has answered yes to both questions, thus obviously stating that these four are the Dark Ones." Taronce half-jumped from his location at the podium. "Hey, wait a minute, I didn't say..." "Did I say you could speak? I have no further questions for you." Taronce nodded. "Your witness, boys. Make it good." Koram stepped forward. "Taronce, did your Legend specifically say that they would be glowing purple... or shimmering?" There was a mutter among the courtroom, and the King of Light slammed his fist hard on his throne's arm, causing all to be silent. "The question is out of order and irrelevant..." the King began. "Ah, but it is fantastically relevant! I have heard the legend before, while living in my hometown of Granza. The legend speaks of four Dark Ones who have crystals that glow purple. But our crystals do not glow, they shimmer." The court became an uproar. "SILENCE!!!" the King yelled, and slammed his fist so hard that he cracked his chair's arm. "You are speaking irrelevancies, and I will not tolerate this! I hearby demand that the vote be made now!" Koram jumped up. "What?! But you've only had one witness! That's not fair!" The King snarled at the boy. "I can feel your dark taint already upon the minds of the jury... Take them away to the prison! They are to be executed publically at dawn to show that no one will ever fulfill the Legend!" Koram tried to make one last debate, but he lost conciousness as a hilt of a shortsword was placed across his brow. He and his brothers were taken, unconcious, to the dungeon of the castle. "We'll be back," said one guard, "and we'll be giving you a little... fun... he he he..." With that, the guard slammed the door shut. The four sat up, dazed. "Ouch!" Zack said, "My poor head!" Lokim gave a faint nod. Fane just rubbed his temples. "We're really in deep, now," Koram said, "I'm sorry I couldn't do better, brothers." Fane stopped rubbing his head, and looked at his brother. "That's okay, Koram, you did better than we could have. You're a true leader, you know that?" "Yeah," Zack said, "you really are good at leading us. If it weren't for your encouragement, we'd be dead by now, in the claws of some wild animal." Lokim nodded. "We owe our lives to you, Koram." Koram blushed. "Thank you, brothers. I mean it. I've just been doing the best I can. I'm glad it was enough." "I think we should get some rest," Zack said. The others nodded in agreement. They all fell asleep. Their future was looking bleak, but they still had hope. Even if they were unarmed, and without their crystal shards, they still had each other. They still had hope. C H A P T E R V: The Rescue and the Natilus The four were sleeping soundly at last when a very loud noise awoke them from their tentative slumber. A very large hole was now placed in the northern wall of their cell. And outside of it, there was a familiar man standing there, looking very nervous. "Taronce?" Koram asked. "Yeah, you'd better get out of here! I'm afraid, but I know that somehow, you're going to save the world, even if our country will die. Come on!" Taronce led the four out of the hole in the wall, and towards a massive cavern. "Why are we going there?" Fane asked. "You'll see! We've got to get there fast, though!" As he spoke, a cry of alarm was heard at the castle, and a group of soldiers was visible through the hole in the cell wall. "Hurry!" Taronce shouted. They rushed towards the cave, and reached it only a minute ahead of the soldiers. "Not enough time... Alright, get on the airship!" He pointed to a very large shape under a covering of some sort. Zack looked at it, did a double take. "The WHAT?!" Lokim shoved him up what was obviously a ramp. "Don't ask questions, move!" They all boarded the odd covered vehicle hastily. "Hey, what is this thing, anyway?" Fane asked. "It's an airship! Now we've got to hurry!" Taronce pulled a lever, and the drape fell off, revealing a massive gondola with the word "Natilus" imprinted upon its balloon. "Wow! This thing really is an airship!" Koram said in utter astonishment. "Prepare for lift-off! I suggest you brace yourselves, this thing moves very fast!" Taronce pulled a lever. "What do you... eyaugh!" Zack shouted, as he was thrown backwards, along with his brothers, into the rear wall. "Ouch!" Lokim cried out, "This thing's dangerous! Watch where you're going, Taronce!" There was a muffled reply, and the airship began to speed off, arrows from below just barely missing it. Back on the ground, the Prince of Light threw back his white cloak in disgust. "They got away, you fools! After them! We cannot let them fulfill the Legend of the Dark Ones!" He mounted his chocobo, and headed back towards the castle. The warriors, meanwhile, prepared the newly-built Airshredder for the chase. The Airshredder was the cousin of the Natilus, just as fast, but twice as deadly. It had cannons attached, and was designed for just what it was about to do: hunt down another airship. The ship took off, chasing after its cousin, already far away, and heading for the Valley of Dead Voices. "Um, Taronce, we forgot something..." Koram said. "Huh? Oh, the shards of crystal! Don't worry, they're in back, along with your hiking sticks. I knew you'd need them, so I made sure I got the duty of taking them into custody." Fane looked carefully at him. "You were planning to save us?" Taronce blushed. "No, actually, I thought of that at the moment that the king called your claim irrelevant. I knew you were somehow special. You gave me the courage to do what I did. Now, I feel much more brave. I could even take on the Airshredder in this thing without fear!" Zack looked up. "The what?" Taronce laughed. "I forgot, you're not from the Empire of Light! The Airshredder is another airship, just as fast as this one, but armed." Lokim gave Taronce a hard look. "You mean to tell me this thing is UNARMED?!" Taronce blushed again. "We didn't know how to arm airships back when we built Natilus! Besides, you can still fight with your crystal shards, can't you?" Meanwhile, the Airshredder was rapidly gaining on the Natilus, running at maximum speed. It soon came within one hundred yards of its cousin, and a shot was fired. The cannon ball hit the side of the Natilus, knocking it astray. "Oh, they DID send the Airshredder after us!" Taronce yelled out in dismay. "Looks like we've got a job to do, guys!" Koram said. The others nodded, and they climbed atop the airship. "All right, Ramuh, do your stuff!" Koram said, and the four each placed one of the summoning shards together. Ramuh appeared. "Yes? Oh, look at that! I'll take care of that thing!" Thus said, Ramuh lifted his staff, and an enourmous bolt of lightning hit it. Then, he sent an even bigger bolt straight into the Airshredder. There was a shreik of metal being singed and heavy-duty cloth being torn. The Airshredder began to fall to the earth, its only source of levitation destroyed utterly by Ramuh's powerful lightning. "Thank you, Ramuh!" Fane said. "No problem, kid! See ya later!" The four began to descend as Ramuh dissolved into thin air, and they found Taronce standing, awestruck, at the controls. "You... You actually took down the Airshredder! That was incredible! You truly are the legendary knights! But... I know the Empire of Light too well. They will repair the Airshredder, and make it even more powerful. We'll have to be careful from here on out." Koram nodded. "Thanks for keeping the ship steady while we did our thing up there, Taronce. Can you fly us to the Valley of Dead Voices?" Taronce shuddered. "That place is cursed with darkness! Oh, I forgot, you're the warriors of darkness. All right, but I'm not going in. I'll wait on the Natilus until you're done there." With that, he changed course slightly, and they began a direct course for the next crystal, that of the dark fires. C H A P T E R V I: The Valley of Dead Voices The Natilus began to approach a wide cleft in the earth. "That's it," Taronce said, "The Valley of Dead Voices. I really don't like this, I hope you know." Koram wasn't paying attention to Taronce, and neither were the others. The voices were beginning to whisper to them. They knew what they were saying, too. Death had come to the world, and death was the only way to save it. The powers of darkness were becoming lost to the light, and the world would soon be nothing more than a puppet of the light. The crystal shards were losing power, and day by day, they were becoming less and less potent. All of this, and more, was told to them by the dead voices as they entered the Valley. "I can feel it," Fane said, "The crystal is definitely in here! It's hidden, though. The forces of light attacked long ago, decimating the defenders of the dark fire crystal. The defenders fought bravely, but lost, and the dark fires ceased to exist as the crystal was shattered at the hands of the former King of Light." The others looked at him in amazement. "How did you know all of that, Fane?" Lokim asked. "I... I don't really know. I just... do. I know everything about the dark fire crystal. And I sense Koram knows all about the dark wind crystal." Koram nodded. "I do. It was so strange, I decided not to comment on it earlier. That means that you two must know something about the other dark crystals. Can you remember anything?" Both Lokim and Zack tried to remember, but they had no luck. "Something is keeping us from seeing the truth clearly," Zack said. "Perhaps the dark fire crystal will help us," Fane suggested. They all nodded in agreement. The Natilus landed tentatively on the moist soil of the Valley of Dead Voices. "I'm not leaving the ship! You four do what you must here, but I, for one, am staying here!" Koram nodded. "We'll be back soon." He and the other three set out into the cleft. The air was stagnant and misty, and the ground was soft and moist. There were many rocks and bones all around. "Just like home, eh?" Zack said sarcastically. The others just glared at him. They began to descend into the crevice. "I feel as if we've been here, too..." Lokim said. They all felt it again, the mysterious chill of knowing that they'd been there at some time long ago. "We have been here... but..." Fane trailed off. They continued their descent, silent and thoughtful. Soon, they came across an outcropping, that had a tunnel in it. "It's at the end of the tunnel, I can feel it!" Fane said, and charged forward. The tunnel was relatively short, and soon they found the cavern in which the dark fire crystal was. It was a massive, gem-filled cave with many, many bleached bones. "What happened here?" Lokim asked. "A great war," Fane answered, "between the dwarves and the humans. They fought for the right to bear the crystal, and the humans won. But those who died continued to haunt this cleft, and it was named the Valley of Dead Voices because of it." Zack whistled softly. "What a tale!" They continued towards the crystal. Or rather, what remained of the crystal. The crystal was severed even worse than the dark wind crystal. It had no top, and only a small, jagged piece was left standing on the pedestal. Fane approached it. *Greetings, Dark Warriors. I am the Dark Fire Crystal of the Valley of Dead Voices. I have waited long for your arrival. You are my last hope...* With that, the shards of the crystal began to form into a single, spherical piece, which then slivered into seven individual splinters. They all landed in Fane's hands. "Who am I, Dark Fire Crystal?" Fane asked, "Why do I know all about you?" The crystal shards glowed a deep red. *Your identity will be revealed in time. Now... go and save my brother, the dark crystal of water.* With that, the faint red glow of the lower portion of the dark fire crystal went black. "But... when will I learn who I really am?" Fane asked to the air. Suddenly, Zack jumped. "I remember! The crystal of dark waters, hidden far beneath the sea, in a fortress protected by the ancient race of the merfolk. But, how will we get to the bottom of the sea?" They pondered it for a bit. Then, Koram looked up. "Let's get back to the Natilus. We can figure it out from there." They began to ascend the cliff once more. As they reached the edge where the Natilus was parked, Fane took one last glance at the valley below them. "I will return one day. I promise." With that, they boarded the Natilus, and found Taronce. "Hey, Taronce, is there any way to get to the bottom of the sea with any vehicle you've seen around?" Koram asked. Taronce seemed to brighten. "Yes, actually! I've heard of a great inventor, who goes by the name of Jid. He lives on the Isle of Magic, out in the middle of the sea. Let's go to him!" Koram nodded. "Then, to the Isle of Magic! I hope this Jid character can actually help us." The Natilus lifted up out of the cleft, and headed for the eastern sea, with a new goal to achieve. C H A P T E R V I I: The Isle of Magic and Jid The Natilus began to approach the island just as night began to fall naturally upon the land. "We're going to have to stay here for a while, because I'm no good piloting at night." Koram commented sarcastically, "What, they didn't even install lights on this thing?" "Hey!" Taronce said, "We didn't need lights on this thing when we first built it!" Koram just laughed. "I was being humorous, Taronce. You've got to lighten up!" Taronce shrugged. "Sorry, I've been tense since we left that valley... ugh! I'm never going back to that place, ever!" The island came into view. "Wow, it's pretty big! How does it fit into such a small space like that?" Zack asked. "Magic, of course. The island itself is actually on a different plane of existence. We can just access it from here. I'm glad they've got it so low, it makes trade easier between them and the outer kingdoms." Lokim nodded. "But it may not stay that way, what with the Purifying and all..." Taronce nodded. "If it gets too bad, they'll just raise the island above the sea, so as to keep it from being infected. They don't need to worry, anyway, theirs is a world without crystals." The Natilus passed through the dimension gate, and landed ever so lightly at the base of a very high mountain. "That's called Cockatrice Peak. It's said that a legendary dragon lives on it, but no one's ever proven it." Fane looked up the peak into the clouds above the mountain. "The King of Dragons sleeps in this mountain. I can feel his presence. He will awaken only when the worlds are merged into one." Koram looked to Fane. "Huh? Hey, Fane, how come you can see so much about this place, and we can't?" Fane shook his head. "I have a strange ability now, I can see wherever fires may touch. You too could see anywhere the wind blows, but that would require a great ammount of trust in the crystal shards." Koram nodded. "All right, it sounds kinda complicated, so I'll pass for now." Taronce lead the four towards a small village at the base of Cockatrice Peak. "This is the village that Jid lives in. They never named this town, but everybody just calls it Cocatrice Town." They entered the gates to the town. It was fairly small, with very few people waling around. "Excuse me," Fane said to a passing man, "but where does Jid live?" The man pointed to a house near the edge of town. "Jid's a wierd one, though. Good luck dealing with 'em!" They headed for the indicated house. As Koram knocked on the door, there was an explosion. Confused, all five travellers stepped back. The door opened, and a young woman stepped out. "Yes, can I help you?" Koram nodded. "Yes, we're looking for Jid? Have you seen him lately?" The woman looked at Koram carefully, then said, "Nope, never met a man named Jid. Come on in, though." Koram shook his head. "We really need to find this Jid fellow." The woman laughed. "There is no fellow named Jid! Are you dense? Jid is a woman's name!" Koram blushed fiercely. "Oh! I didn't realize... then, are you...?" The woman nodded. "Name's Jid Westwind, howdayado! Well, come in already!" They entered the house, and noticed what a mess it was. "Sorry, I've been doing a lot of experiments with explosive things, trying to find the secret to making a mass flotation generator for the isle." Taronce looked at her in shock. "You mean the island has decided to begin its flight?" he asked incredulously. Jid nodded sheepishly. "The elders are afraid for our lives, and they've demanded that we get away from the Empire of Light, as well as the Three Nations of Purity." Zack seemed uncomfortable. "What is it, brother?" Lokim asked. "The dark crystal of water... it's being hunted by one of the Nations of Purity as we speak. We have to hurry!" Jid heard the mention of a dark crystal, and nearly fainted. "You four are the dark warriors who will save the world?" They just nodded. Jid decided it would be best to help these three. "Well, how can I help you, then?" Koram asked, "Do you know what a submarine is, or how to build one?" Jid nodded. "Yeah, but I don't have all the parts I need to build one. I've heard of a Key of Time somewhere on the island, I think somewhere near the Dwarf Caves. That key is said to have the power to let ships both fly in the air and sink beneath the sea. If I had it, I could make you a submarine. But you'd have to provide me a ship, too." Taronce stepped forward. "We have an airship, the Natilus. It's very fast at flying, and it can probably be converted fairly well to the task." Jid nodded approvingly. "I guess I can help you, then. Go get the Key, and I'll be able to help you." The five travellers nodded in unision, then left for the Natilus. "So," Koram asked, "where's the Dwarf Cave?" Taronce looked at a map of the island. "It's just past the Death Jettis, and on a small, mountainous isle to the northeast. I guess that's where we're going then." Koram nodded. Lokim decided to ask, "Hey, how does this ship fly if it's not built with that Time Key thingy?" Taronce laughed. "This airship can actually fly without needing the Time Key's aid, since it uses a helium balloon." Lokim seemed a bit embarassed at having asked, and the subject dropped. The Natilus began its flight northward, towards the Dwarf Caves. C H A P T E R V I I I: The Key of Time A mountain range came into view as the Natilus began its descent onto the island of the Dwarves. A cave entrance was clearly visible on one side of the mountain, and several confused dwarves appeared to be wandering about it. "That's odd," Terrance said, "dwarves almost never come out of their caves unless..." The ship landed on the grass a few meters from the cave. The wandering dwarves didn't seem to notice it, and the ramp was lowered. "I'll stay here," Taronce said, "I'm an airship pilot, not an adventurer." The four boys nodded, and disembarked from the Natilus. One of the dwarves, having finally seen the very large gondola in front of it, walked up to the four humans without any fear. "Laiho! Welcome to the Dwarf Cave. You'll have to excuse our odd behaviour, but we lost something of value recently, and we can't seem to find it." Koram nodded. "That's all right. We're looking for the Time Key, so we won't get in your way." The dwarf gave a small hop. "Uh, oh! We, um, are kinda looking for that key..." Koram looked puzzled for a second, then realized what the dwarf was talking about. "You mean you lost it? To who?" They seemed very sheepish about it. "We really don't know. He was really big, and had horns, but..." Koram smacked his forehead with his hand. "What does it matter? All right, which way did he run?" The dwarf scratched his head (quite a task with a bone helmet on it), and said, "Um, we really don't know... you see, he just sorta appeared, then dissapeared, but we all got knocked out in that second..." Koram shook his head, realizing what had happened here. Someone had taken the Time Key, then caused the Dwarves to forget what had happened. "We're not going to find this thing just standing here! Let's go inside and look for clues," Lokim said. Koram nodded, and they entered the cave. The dwarves inside were looking around, too. As they entered the main cave, they saw two very bizzare horns seated on a pedestal. "What are those for?" Zack asked a dwarf. He looked up, and said, "We've no idea. They're the tusks of something, but they've never done us any good." Zack shrugged. "I guess they're just some dead animal's final gift to this isle. Well, let's keep looking." They came upon a small entrance where no dwarves seemed to be searching. "Hey!" Koram called out to one dwarf. The dwarf, rather startled at the sudden noise, almost fainted. "Don't scare me like that! What?" Koram pointed to the tunnel. "How come no one's looking down this tunnel?" The dwarf shook his head. "That's a forbidden place. No dwarf ever goes down there. There's a horrible beast at the end of it." Koram nodded. "Let's go, then. If the dwarves haven't gone down there, the key's probably there." They followed the path, but ran into trouble. "It's a huge pool of water. What now?" Fane asked. "You don't know?" Koram asked, "We shapeshift." He took out a dark wind crystal shard, and suddenly, they were all frogs. "Hey!" Lokim croaked, "That was low! Turn us all back!" Koram hopped. "Not until we find the end of this pool of water. Let's get going!" They all jumped in, and swam through the pool. Soon, they encountered a waterfall, and were back on dry land. Koram returned them all to human form, then. "Whew! I don't want to ever have to swim like that again!" Lokim said. They noticed that they were in a big cave, and that someone was only a few feet away, muttering. They hurried over to him. It was the monster the Dwarves had described, and it had a small gear in its hands. "I can't believe this!" it was saying, "All that work for a puny gear?" Then he noticed his visitors. "What do YOU want?!" Koram pointed at the gear. "We want that. You stole it from the Dwarves, and we want it back. Now!" The monster just laughed. "You squirts?! Hah! Even Dwarves are bigger than you!" With that comment, they all grew into wyverns, using the power of the dark wind crystal shard. "Eek! You're mages! All right, take the gear! Just don't hurt me!" The monster promptly dropped the gear, and ran off down the tunnel. The four returned to their true form, and Fane picked up the gear. "Yep, this is the Key of Time, all right. Let's get going!" After a short bout of swimming and a brief visit to the Dwarf leader, they were soon back on the Natilus, and heading southward to Cockatrice Town. *** Meanwhile *** "Work faster, you dogs!" the Prince of Light shouted. The workers complained, but complied. The new airship would be done soon. They were going to own this world. The Invincible would destroy every living thing, and the Empire of Light would rule over all of the pure. The prince smiled covertly. They would kill everything, especially those four boys. Only they and their bretheren of the Nations of Purity would survive, and those nations would bow to the Empire. "I've seen a sick chocobo run faster than you work!" he taunted at the workers, "Get moving!" He then turned around, end left the hangar, a dark smile across his face. C H A P T E R I X: A Nightmare Begins Taronce seemed very nervous as the boys returned to the Natilus, the small gear that was the Key of Time in hand. "What's wrong, Taronce?" Koram asked. "They're coming. I know that sound anywhere. Can't you hear it?" The boys listened. They did hear something. It was a very loud sound, like fifty propellers turning all at once. "What is that noise, anyway? I'm getting a headache just hearing it!" Zack complained. "That's the Airshredder, but it's been completely rebuilt into a new airship. Look at it!" They all looked out the viewport at the sight before them. An enormous ship, big enough to hold a small village on it (and it just might have), armed to the teeth with at least fifteen cannons. The ship moved at a very slow pace, but it was definitely dangerous. "We've got to get out of here!" Taronce said. "That thing will destroy the Natilus if it gets much closer!" Koram nodded. "Take off, then, and head east. They're expecting us to go south, that much is obvious." The Natilus began to shake as it lifted off. The first shot was fired at the Natilus, but it missed and landed on the ground. "I hope the Dwarves all got back into the cave," Lokim said. The Natilus began to accelerate towards the east, almost at a frantic pace. "We may have speed, but it'll never be enough if we stop for any reason. We've got to figure out where we're going, and quick!" Fane stepped forward. "There's a small village, Ur, at the base of a very large mountain range. They will expect us to go to Sasun Castle, but we will not go there. Let's hurry!" Soon, the mountains came into view. "How are we going to climb over those?" Taronce asked, a bit nervous. "We have the power of wind, remember? slow down the ship, and we will summon the wind to blow us over." Taronce did so, and Koram picked up the shard of powerful winds. He summoned a wind that would take them over the mountains, and soon, the airship was floating over a small forest. "That was a surprise!" Taronce said. He landed the ship near the edge of the forest. "Well, what now? Where's this Ur village?" Lokim pointed out the main viewport. "Right there." he said. A small village was indeed there. "So we're going to stay here for a while?" Taronce asked, "Well, all right, but I'm against staying put while that big ship is still around." Just then, the horrid noise returned, and they saw the Invincible, just on the other side of the mountains, trying to climb them. "Well, I'm glad no airship can get over these mountains naturally." Taronce said, but was cut short as he saw the Invincible begin to go higher than the mountain range. Fortunately, it didn't stay that high for long enough to cross the mountains, but it still disturbed Taronce. "They can go over mountains, now. This is not good." The boys exited the airship, Taronce in tow. "What are we going to do here, anyway?" he asked. The four didn't answer him. They just continued into the village. The entire place was very peaceful. No one seemed to notice that the five who had entered were not from the village. The travellers approached the elder's house, and entered. Inside, an old man looked up to see who was there. "How can I help you... Hey, you're the Dark Warriors! How did you get all the way out here?" Koram spoke first. "We're trying to get back to the town at the base of Cockatrice Peak, but we were chased by the Empire of Light, and had to stop here. But as long as we're here, your village is in danger. We need to know how to get back to that town." The elder pondered it a moment. "There's a path to the south and west, but it's not too stable. We get avalanches there a lot. You can try, though." Koram nodded. "Thank you for your help, sir. We will be leaving, now." The five returned to the Natilus. "This is insane!" Taronce said, "We're going to be spotted the moment we leave that pass!" Lokim shook his head. "I don't think so. I've got a plan. The castle of Sasun is nearby. Let's go there." Taronce was confused, but agreed to take them there. The castle was fairly small, for a castle, and the guards did not appear to be too alert. They entered without any sign of resistance, and went to the king's throne room. "How can I help you, travellers?" the king of Sasun asked. Fane replied, "We need your help. My brother, Lokim seems to have a plan in mind, but I have no idea as to what it is." Lokim coughed. "Well, my plan is as follows: The Empire of Light is looking for a ship called the Natilus, but they will not be looking for a ship that does not look like the Natilus." The king nodded. "So you want us to disguise your airship? Very well, we shall help you. I know of you four. The Empire of Light fears your powers, I can tell. You are the Dark Ones of their Legend, but you are the four heroes of the Prophecy, as well." Koram asked in surprise, "You know of the Prophecy?" The king laughed. "Yes, I do. It was written long ago by the Gurgans, who know the future because of their sixth sense. You four are the ones it spoke of, that is clear. They told of the four coming to Sasun, riding a ship lighter than air. That would be your airship, I presume." Taronce was getting a bit panicky. "They could be here any moment, so, if you wouldn't mind..." The king nodded. "Very well! I will send my crews at once to modify your airship!" The five left the castle, and approached their ship. About twenty men were working on drawing decals and adding fins to the ship. "I guess that will help hide us," Taronce said. About ten minutes later, the men had left the ship, and the Natilus looked entirely different. There were fins at the rear end, four of them at symmetrical locations, and decals were there that indicated the ship as a ship of Sasun. "That should keep them from noticing us," Zack said. They boarded the airship, and took off towards the pass. They were in luck, and there was no blockage to keep them from progressing. Upon exiting, they saw almost immediately the airship Invincible, ready to fire upon anything that left the pass. But their disguise held out, and they were not attacked, only looked at suspiciously. They landed once more at the small town at the base of Cockatrice Peak. *** Meanwhile *** "That was them, all right. They are up to something." The Prince of Light put down the binoculars, and turned to one of his scouts. "Send a party down to the village. I want those boys alive. I sense something... amiss... on this isle, something that should not be." The scout left to assemble a team, and the Prince of Light turned around to look upon the airship that was parked near the village. "We will have you this time, Dark Ones," he said to himself, then turned, and left the viewing room. C H A P T E R X: The Sages Dorga and Unne The four boys disembarked from the Nautilus one more, and entered the town of Cockatrice Peak. "Someone ought to name this town," Koram said. "I have a good name in mind for it," Fane said, "I think it should be called Canaan." The others nodded. "We should mention it to Jid," Lokim said. They entered Jid's house, and found her working on a bizzarre little box. "We've got the Key of Time!" Koram said. Jid looked up, and saw the gear. "Excellent! Now I can finish both projects. All right, take me to your airship, and let's install this thing." Koram nodded. Lokim stepped forward. "Before I forget, we thought of a name for this town. How does Canaan sound?" Jid looked at the boy, then smiled. "A good name. We'll call it that from now on." Lokim smiled sheepishly, and they all headed back to the airship Natilus. Taronce was waiting for them. "So, what do you have to do to get it to go underwater?" Jid looked it over. "This thing looks different than I remember it... Oh, well, it really doesn't matter. Let me see the main control room." Taronce led her to the cockpit. "Ah, I see now, you have a Natilus model... Waitaminute, this is the Natilus!" Jid opened a panel. "I helped build this thing! I know it like the back of my hand!" She flipped a small switch, and another compartment opened. "Now, this thing was originally going to be a submarine. But we didn't have the Key of Time to finish it. But now..." She put the gear into a small holder, and the gear began to glow. Then, it flew off suddenly, and another gear was in its place. "It worked! This will let you submerge. But, I don't know how long this system will last. The Natilus was meant only to do one underwater mission, and I think it may not dive after that." Koram nodded. "Hopefully, we'll only need it for one mission. Thank you, Jid. What will you do with the gear, now?" She smiled. "The Knights of the Square Table hired me to build a tower for them, one that will let the island fly like an airship does. I'm going to use it to finish my device." She pulled out the box she had been working on. "This thing will be the core of the tower, but it's gonna need a lot of space to get it to work right. You see, it has to be at least the same hight as the island is going to be above the planet, or it won't work right. Well, I've got to go back and start designing the tower. Say, what are your last names?" Koram thought back. "Every person in our old village referred to us by the village elder, Mr. Owen..." Jid noded. "I'll call it the Tower of Owen in honor of you four." She then left the airship, and headed for Canaan. "We get a tower named in our honor?" Lokim asked, "Cool! Well, I guess its to the bottom of the sea, then..." Taronce shook his head. "Not yet. We can only go under the sea once, and that may not be enough. We should seek out the two sages, Dorga and Unne for advice." Fane looked at Taronce. "Dorga, the great wizard, and Unne, the guardian of dreams... They can help us. Let's go to Dorga's palace first." The Natilus lifted off, and headed west, towards the mainland. *** Meanwhile *** "They're leaving the island? Call the search party back... No, cancel that, forget the search party. Let's go!" The Invincible's engines roared to life, and the gigantic airship began to fly across the skies, in pursuit of the Natilus. "This time, I've got a little surprise for you, foolish boys," the Prince of Light muttered to himself. "Power the engine to maximum. Target: the Natilus. Prepare the cannons for attack." He walked off the bridge, and down below into the crew quarters. They would not lose. The Natilus would never again fly. Satisfied, he laid down in his bunk, and slept, his smile constant as he did so. *** Meanwhile *** "That's it, Dorga's mansion," Taronce said. They were above a very large mansion, at the end of a long corridor. "That guy's insane for living at such a high place!" Lokim said. Zack shook his head. "He doesn't want to be noticed, and I can't blame him." They landed, and the boys entered the mansion. As they did, four small and furry things approached them, spears in hand. "What are these things?" Koram asked his brothers. "Don't move!" one of the things said, pointing his spear at them. "What are you doing in Dorga's mansion, hmm?" Before they could answer, a voice boomed, "Leave them alone, guards! I was expect- ing these four." The guards backed away, and an old man in a conceal- ing cloak came down the hall towards them. "I am Dorga. And you are the four heroes, no doubt. Come this way." He led them down the hall into his main room. They stopped before a small statue. "Take this statue. With it, you can submerge indefinitely. But I want it back when you're done. That statue is very important to me." Koram nodded, and picked it up. "We will return it, I promise," he said, and started to leave. "Wait," Dorga said, and they turned back towards him. "You'll need more than just that statue. Go to see Unne, and she will activate its power for you. I can no longer do that, as I have lost too much power to the light. Hurry!" They turned back around, and returned to the Natilus. "You got it, eh?" Taronce asked. "Yeah," Zack replied, "and we've got a new quest. Point this thing to Unne's Shrine! We've got a short visit to make!" The Natilus lifted off, and headed south, out of the corridor, and towards Unne's Shrine. *** Meanwhile *** "They've left Dorga's palace, sir," the sentry reported, "and are headed towards Unne's Shrine." The Prince of Light nodded. "Then we will capture them there. Redirect the Invincible's course towards the shrine." The sentry bowed, and left towards the bridge. The prince's smile continued to show on his face as he lay back down. This insane game of hide and seek was about to end. In victory. *** Meanwhile *** The Nautilus landed once more, in front of a small cave. "That's the Shrine, all right. Well, I'll wait here, as always," Taronce said as the four disembarked. They entered the cave, and walked up to the sleeping form of Unne. A bird near the entrance startled them by telling them, "Unne is sleeping right now. Come back later." They all looked at the bird. "We need her help now. Can we wake her somehow?" The bird looked doubtful. "She's a very temperamental woman. I doubt she'd enjoy it, but you can try." Koram went over to her, and shook her. Unne woke up almost instantly. "What the? I knew I should have put a spell on myself! Who are you?... Wait, you have Dorga's statue, say no more. I will power it for you." Unne lifted her hands, and the statue began to glow. "Now, please leave, and never return. Just to be sure, I'm going to cast a spell on myself so that only the Lute of Noah can awaken me." With that, she promptly cast a spell, and fell asleep. "That was odd," Zack said. The others nodded. "Well, at least we have the statue energized," Fane said, "Let's go back to the Natilus, and get out of here." They walked out of the cave... and into the hands of the waiting guards. "We've got you this time, you little runts!" the foremost guard said as the anti-magic net landed once again on them. Just then, the Nautilus' ramp lowered, and Taronce walked out, followed by a few guards. "They caught me, too," he explained. "You four are all going back to the Empire of Light," the guard said, "and your escort may be a familiar face, as well." With that, a man dressed in white, with a white cloak stepped into view. "So glad we could meet again, Dark Ones," the Prince of Light said, then turned to his guards. "Take them onboard the Invincible, and take the Nautilus back with a seperate crew." As he turned back to the Invincible, his smile was impossible to miss. He had finally succeeded. He had won. A short while later, two airships lifted off from Unne's Shrine, both heading for the Empire of Light. C H A P T E R X I: A Bold Escape and the Dark Crystal of Water Koram came to, and realized that he was in a room on the airship Invincible. His brothers were nearby, and none were looking too pleased. "This is not good," Zack said, "If we don't get off this thing soon, we're gonna be made into horsemeat!" Koram nodded. "I know, I know, just calm down. We'll find a way out." He checked the door, but it was, of course, locked. "Urgh, I wish we still had our crystal shards. A good fire could burn down that door," Lokim said. Fane nodded. "They are nearby, I can tell. I wonder if..." He closed his eyes, and concentrated. In the store room, one of the crystal shards glowed a deep red. suddenly, the door to their cell began to burn. "It worked!" Fane said in shock. The door was shortly reduced to cinders. "I'm glad they build the structure of these airships out of wood. Now, let's get out of this place, and find our stuff!" Koram nodded, but seemd a bit aprehensive. "We should save Taronce, too. He's the only one who knows how to pilot the Nautilus, and he's on our side." Lokim turned to his brother. "I'll look for him, you three find our stuff." Koram, Fane, and Zack all headed down the hall while Lokim searched the doors for another locked one. Soon, he found it. "Taronce, are you in there?" he asked. A muffled yelp of surprise was heard on the other side, along with a faint "Yes". "We're getting out of here, so stand back from the door!" Lokim did as Fane had, and summoned the power of the fire crystal shard. The door was quickly reduced to cinders, as the other cell door had. "Come on, the others are getting our stuff!" Taronce stumbled through the charred entry, and followed the boy, confused. "Where are we going?" he managed to ask. "To the store room, then to the Nautilus," Lokim replied. They reached the store room quickly, and met up with the other three. "Piece of cake!" Koram said, indicating two unconcious guards. "A little wind tainted with sleep powder was all it took to get them down." They took their crystal shards back, and grabed the statue and their four branches. "These things sure have come a long way," Zack commented. They hurried to the main deck. On the way, they met up with the Prince of Light, who was going himself to check on the bridge's crew. "You!" he cried out, "How did you get out of your cells?" Fane, without saying a word, hit the prince with his branch with as much strength as he could muster. He was very surprised when the prince fainted. "Wow, that worked pretty well," he said. "I guess he's all words and no real strength," Lokim said. They hurried down the halls. In less than a minute, they burst in upon the bridge. "Hey, those prisoners are loose! Catch them!" But before anyone could do that, the five had begun to descend the hatch's ladder. "Where are we going now?" Taronce asked, very nervous at all of the guards above them. "The Nautilus, of course! We've got to get back on it!" Koram replied. As he said this, the Nautilus came into view below them. "JUMP!" Zack yelled. They jumped. All five of them landed on the balloon of the Nautilus. "Ouch!" Taronce said, bouncing into one of the fins. "Okay, we're back on the Nautilus, sort of. I'll leave the rest to you four." Zack shook his head in disgust. "Why don't you actually help out this time, Taronce? You're stronger than you think you are." Taronce was taken aback by the remark, but nodded. "All right, then, let's go!" They descended onto the main part of the ship, where a small five-man crew was waiting for them. "I knew I heard vermin skittering above us," one of them said. Fane just smiled as he unleashed a wind that blew the crew off the Nautilus. "That was just too easy," he said, as Taronce hurried to the controls. "Where should we go, now?" he asked them. "Under the sea, of course. Head south of the Empire of Light. There should be a cove near there that we can descend into. They arrived there in short time (as they had been less than three miles from the Empire of Light when they escaped), and descended into the sea. "I hope that statue of yours works, or this will be a very short descent." The statue began to glow a faint blue, and the airship continued to descend. Soon, a city appeared in the viewport. "It's a sunken city! This is just fantastic!" Taronce piloted the Nautilus into the center of the sunken city. "I don't know how you're going to handle this, but..." Fane shook his head. "One of the shards of fire allows us to breathe anywhere. We'll be all right." They exited the Nautilus, and entered the sunken city of the Crystal of Dark Waters. In the largest building of the city, they found the remains of the Dark Crystal. It was not as badly destroyed as the dark fire crystal, but it was still very badly damaged, nonetheless. The shards were lying around the base, waiting for them. A voice came to them, and Zack heard it far more clearly than the others. *I am the Crystal of Dark Waters of the City of Fortasan. This city was once a proud one, but we sank to the bottom of the sea when the First Nation of Purity defeated us in combat.* Zack nodded. "They fought well here, too, but they could not win against the Nations of Purity. They were forced under the sea, and everyone living here died." The crystal continued, *Please, seek out my brother, the Crystal of the Dark Earth. He is not far from here.* Lokim's head snapped up. "It is in the earth itself, below the reach of all men, in a great rift on the ocean floor, the Chasm of Magma." The others nodded, and the crystal went silent. The shards formed into a cube, but then severed into five pieces, which landed in the waiting hands of Zack. "We have almost succeeded. We've only but one crystal left to find. I think we may be on the verge of saving the world. Let's go back to the Nautilus." They left the shattered remains of the crystal, and reentered the Nautilus. A short while later, the ship headed northeast, to the center of the world, and the Chasm of Magma. C H A P T E R X I I: The Chasm of Magma and the Nations of Purity A rift appeared on the hazy horizon of the Nautilus' viewport. "That's the Chasm of Magma!" Lokim said, "We're almost done, brothers. After this, we will have all of the crystal shards, and we can..." He trailed off, and they knew why. What were they to do once they did collect all of the shards? Reform the crystals? But that would be impossible. The statue, which had been glowing blue the entire time, began to fade suddenly. "We need to surface briefly," Taronce said. Koram looked doubtfully at Taronce. "Is it safe to do that right now? After all, the Empire of Light..." Taronce nodded. "I know, but we have to take a chance. The gears are acting up, and it's not going to be safe to remain underwater much longer." The Nautilus surfaced, and the four boys stepped out and went on top of the balloon to talk. "I've been thinking," Fane said, "What are we going to do with all of these shards? We have no place to go after we get the last crystal's shards. What are we supposed to do?" Lokim lowered his head in thought. "I think I know," he said suddenly. "The dark crystal of earth will guide us to the place we must go. Each has guided us to the next step. Don't you feel it? the feeling that we're being manipulated by them? We are their pawns. We are their tools, meant to do their bidding..." Zack shook his head. "I don't know wether that's true or not, but the fact remains, we're the only ones who can save the world." *** Meanwhile *** "It's true, then?" the king of the First Nation of Purity asked. "Yes, sir, there is an airship that has appeared nearby, come up out of the ocean. It bears the markings of Sasun Kingdom," the sentry replied. "It must be the ship we were warned of by the Empire of Light," the king said. "Prepare the ships to take them into custody." The sentry nodded, then left. The king shook his head as he looked out upon the half-submerged airship. "How can it be that the Legend of the Dark Ones is coming true? Does that mean we will fall to them?" He stood there, the answers evading him. *** Meanwhile *** "The Nautilus is ready to submerge again," Taronce said. The four boys nodded in unison, and returned to the cockpit of the Nautilus. "I think we might have been spotted, though. Look to the northeast of here." The four boys looked, and they saw what he was talking about. A fleet of five ships was heading right for them. "Crap, I knew it was too dangerous to surface," Koram said. "Let's go, Taronce! They can't submerge, at least." The Nautilus went under the waves, and the ships stopped approaching. Aboard one of them, the captain said to one of his mates, "They've gone underwater. Prepare the divers to follow them." The mate nodded, and signaled to another crew member. Within five minutes, the ships each sent three small crafts down to follow the Nautilus. The Chasm of Magma was looming before them. "Well, where should I land this thing?" Taronce asked. Lokim pointed to a small outcropping in the far wall. "There. We can descend down to the crystal from there." Taronce complied, and the four left the ship. They walked off the edge, and slowly descended into the chasm. "I hope that the Magma part of the name is just figurative, or we may be taking a short drowp down to our deaths," Koram said. Lokim shook his head. "The magma is far down, and we won't land in it. Don't worry about it. The chasm is not very deep, and the crystal should be in a very tightly sealed cave." They came to the bottom of the chasm in surprisingly short time, and encountered the seal that Lokim spoke of. "I will release it. Stand back!" Lokim said. They did so, and Lokim chanted an odd spell. The ground began to shake, and the seal shattered. "We can enter now, but be wary. I sense a disturbance," Lokim said. The cave was enormous. Inside, there was no water, despite the seal being broken. "A spell," Lokim explained, "to protect the crystal. Come, it's not far from here." They continued into the cave, and soon saw what he spoke of. A massive dais stood in the center of the cave, and the remains of a crystal were there. "The crystal remained untouched for years, and was not discovered until the city of Fortasan fell. Then, they built the first submarines to find the remains of the city, and discovered this cleft. They destroyed this crystal, and took its shards. They also sealed the cave." Koram sighed. "Then we can do nothing here. The shards are the most important thing we've found from the crystals." But Lokim shook his head again. "The crystal knows where its shards are. We must ask it." They walked up to the crystal. *Welcome home, Lokim.* Lokim looked at the shard in confusion. *We have not told you four of your origins. Now is the time.* Suddenly, the room went dark, and the crystal's base began to glow. An image was forming within its depths. They saw themselves, born of the crystals, sent to the village they knew of as home, and cursed to one day go on a quest to save the world. They saw how they had come to the horrid and painful point that they were at now, and they also saw... *Yes, those are your lives. You cannot change them. They have been decided by us, the crystals. I know it will not be easy for you, but I ask that you continue.* They were all shocked, but Lokim nodded. "Yes, we will... Where do we go now?" The crystal glowed again, and a new image appeared. A maze, a labyrinth of passages, that led to another world, one of pure light. *That is the Other Side. One set of crystals was meant to be there while the other was to be on this side. But the balance was disturbed when the crystals were being exchanged. Now, the light rules both worlds, and the darkness is fading. If you do not stop it, the light will overpower both worlds.* Lokim nodded. "Where is this labyrinth?" he asked. The image was clear. It was past the Third Nation of Purity. "That means... we have to go through all three of those nations. This is impossible!" Koram said. "We could never survive!" *But you shall. You have seen that your lives will continue. But the future is clouded. I do not know how you will succeed to evade the Three Nations, I only know that you will. I wish you luck, dark warriors. May the powers once again return to balance. Seek my shards, which lie within the Second Nation of light.* The crystal's voice then faded, and the glow stopped. "We need to return to the Nautilus," Fane said. The others nodded. They knew, though. They knew what would happen, and they knew that they could not prevent it. They hurried from the cave. As they reached the outcropping, they could tell something was very wrong. There were other submarines around theirs. "They caught up with us!" Zack said. Then, the four were unconcious, knocked out by the soldiers of the First Nation of Purity. "We have them. Go and inform the captain, and we will follow shortly with them in tow," the commander said. The Empire of Light would definitely give a high price for these four. He chuckled as he had them disarmed and placed into his personal sub. Indeed, he would likely be promoted for this. Soon, all of the subs had left the Chasm of Magma, and nothing was left on the outcropping. C H A P T E R X I I I: The King of the First Nation The city of Salonia was built high on the cliffs of the Great Mountains, and it ruled over the Nations of Purity. The king of the city, known as the Pure King, watched as the small airship Nautilus and the five captives were brought into the city. "What were they doing when you found them, captain?" the king asked the sailor who piloted the Enterprise. "We saw them returning from the Chasm of Magma, and the Sealed Cave of the Dark Crystal," the captain replied. The king frowned. "They are the Dark Ones, then. Only they would be so bold as to enter the forbidden cave..." The captain saluted. "If we may, sir, we are ready to bring them to you for your discretion," he said. The king nodded. "Bring them here at once, and make sure they're unarmed! I don't want the scene on the Invincible to recur here!" The captain bowed, and exited. Soon, he returned with Koram, Lokim, Fane, Zack, and Taronce. "So, you are the five who have been causing so much trouble to the Nations of Purity and the Empire of Light," the king said. "And you, Taronce, I never expected you, a soldier from the Empire of Light, not to mention a good friend of mine, to turn to the side of the Dark Ones." Taronce looked very nervous. "My old friend, I have my reasons. They are the ones chosen to save the world..." The king waved his hand. "I don't want to hear of it. They are a threat to us, the Dark Ones of the Legend, and I don't want them destroying all that I worked so hard to build." He turned to the guards who had brought them in. "Take them back to their cell, and be sure to place extra guards. I don't want to discover that our captives have escaped our grasp. Understood?" The guards saluted, and took the captives away. The king turned back to his window, and gave a faint sigh. He was only trying to stop the inevitable. The Legend, he knew, could not be stopped. Back in their cell, the four boys began to discuss what they were going to do, and Taronce just sat back against a wall, depressed. "We've got to escape, that's for sure! But were is the Second Nation of Purity?" Koram asked. Fane answered, "I sense it's nearby. Indeed, the three nations are truly three aspects of one. The First rules over the Second and Third, and all fight with each other for dominance. However, the First has had power for a very long time." Lokim thought about the situation. "So," he said, "the three are really just one, but each is somehow seperate?" Fane nodded. "Well," Zack said, "I don't know about you three, but I'm in no hurry to see what they have planned for us. I suggest we get the heck out of here, and into that Second Nation. They've got our shards of dark earth there, after all." Koram sighed. "We're trapped until we can locate the other shards. And this castle seems to be resistant to our searching powers. I don't know where they are." Taronce looked up. "They're in the king's study, I saw them there when we were taken there. But they're going to move them soon, no doubt." Fane looked over at Taronce. "Really?" He began to formulate a plan. *** Meanwhile *** "So you caught them?" the Prince of Light asked. "Yes," the king said, "and we caught the rebel who aided them. We will turn them over to you soon, but we have our own plans for them." The prince snorted. "You'd best consider your actions carefully, oh King of the Nations of Purity. The Empire of Light has never liked your kingdom, and we're in no hurry to begin liking it. Now, once you are done with them, you will deliver them to the Invincible, alive. Understood?" The king sighed. "Yes, I do understand. Very well, Prince of Light. The four will be within your hands before the sun sets again." The Prince of Light did not reply, and left quietly. The smile was gone from his face, and was replaced with a scowl. *** Meanwhile *** "I've got it!" Fane said. "We can get out of this one easily! We just demand an audience with the king, claiming we're coming clean, then take the crystals back while the confusion ensues!" The others looked at him like he was insane. "It'd never work," Zack said, "They'd see right through us. But... well, it's also the only way we're going to get out of here any time soon." Taronce, having heard talk of escaping, sprung into action. "Guard!" he said, "We wish an audience with the king. We must speak with him immediately." The guard was a bit confused. "But, you're prisoners... Well, he didn't say anything about not letting you have an audience. All right, come on." He opened the cell door, and the five captives followed. "What is it?" the king asked as the guard approached him. "The five captives seek an audience with you, your highness." The king gave a dismissive gesture. "Tell them I will not see them." Just then, Koram broke past the guard, who was trying to explain that the captives were outside, and grabbed the shards. "You fool! Now look what you've done! Guards!" But it was too late. A wave of water slammed into the king, knocking him down, and a ring of fire surrounded him, holding him within the trap, helpless. The guard fleed. "All right, your highness, we're here to take back what we've lost to you," Zack said. "I know," the king said, "I will not try to stop you. I do not like it, but I know you four will save the world, even if the Empire of Light will not accept it. Now I see that it is true. You must be seeking the shards of the Crystal of the Dark Earth. They are within the Draon Knight's tower, in the Second Nation of Purity. Good luck." Taronce walked up to the king. "Thank you, my old friend, for seeing the truth. I will stay here with you." He turned to the other four. "Hurry to the Second Nation! The Empire of Light will not stop in its quest to destroy you, and they will see the deciet that the king has commited here soon. It is time that we part, heroes. You have been great friends, and I hope we meet again after this is all over." The four boys nodded, then hurried out of the room, the ring of flames extinguishing as they rounded the corner. "Have we done the right thing, my friend?" the king asked. Taronce nodded. "We have. We have." He helped the king get up, and they awaited the arrival of the king's troops. C H A P T E R X I V: The Tower of the Dragon Knights A small group of children left the palace of the First Nation of Purity, and headed towards the Second Nation. The boys were in a hurry now. The sun was getting lower in the sky as they ran faster across the square towards the Tower of the Dragon Knights. At the entrance, several of the knights were guarding it. One stopped them. "Who do you think you are, trying to break into our tower?" he asked them. Koram sent him flying with the wind. "I'm sorry, but we don't have time to explain!" he said. They hurried up the tower, stared at by everybody they passed, up higher and higher, onto the top floor of the tower. "Where's the shards of the crystal?" Lokim asked a startled guard. "Uh, right here, in this display case... But who...?" He never finished, as he was knocked aside by a cascade of water. Lokim smashed the casing in with his fist, and grabbed the shards. They flew out of his hands, though, and formed into a tetra- hedron. They then severed into six pieces, and landed again into his waiting hands. "Well, we've got the crystal shards, but we've got too little time! We just barely escaped the castle with our heads on, and the Dragon Knights are gonna kill us if we stay here," Koram said. The others just nodded, and they hurried back down. But after going only two floors, they were confronted. "You are not leaving this tower alive!" one Dragon Knight said. "We don't have time for this!" Lokim responded, and summoned the elemental of earth, Titan. "Who summons? Oh, look who I get to face off!" Titan slammed down on the ground, knocking everybody off their feet. "Can you give us a ride out of this tower?" Lokim asked Titan. The big giant gave a grunt of approval, and they mounted his shoulders. "Let's get out of here!" One of the Dragon Knights got up. "They're escaping! To the Dragons!" Titan broke through a wall, and dashed through Salonia, straight for the castle. "Wait!" Fane said, "We need to get to the Third Nation of Purity!" The giant nodded, then changed course for the other side of Salonia. A shadow appeared behind them. Then another. Then three more shadows appeared. "Dragons!" Zack said. The Dragon Knights were coming after them. "I'm no match for a dragon!" Titan said. "I'll have to return to my own realm. It's been fun!" With that, Titan set them down, and vanished. "Now what?" Koram asked. "Run!" Lokim screamed, as a Dragon Knight barred down on them, his dragon spewing fire. They dashed away, running for the Third Nation. "They won't dare enter their own enemy's nation!" Fane said. "Don't be so sure," Zack replied, "They're always fighting for power around here, remember?" The four finally managed to get to the outskirts of the Third Nation. "They're still coming!" Koram yelled out to his brothers, and they picked up the pace. "Don't let them escape!" the commander of the Dragon Knights said. The others split off from their formation, searching the parts of the city. "We cannot let those Dark Ones reach the Crystal Tower. If they do, then the Dragon Knights are finished." He lead his own small group of Dragon Knights further into the city. "Those four represent a threat even greater than this city, so don't be afraid to kill those who try to send us back home." His men nodded, and they flew onward. "We've lost them," Fane said. They stopped for a moment to catch their breaths. "We can't evade them like that forever, you know. We've got to get out of Salonia!" Koram was lost in thought. "The city is walled on all sides, and they have dragons, so we need something of an equal advantage. But what can we use?" They all pondered the matter. A cry of a dragon brought them back to the present. "They've spotted us! Don't think, just run!" Lokim said, and they ran further west into the Third Nation. Eventually, though, they encountered the wall. "What are we going to do? We've got the Dragon Knights after us, and this wall in front of us! We're stuck!" As he said this, a shadow appeared over them. They looked up... and were surprised to see the Nautilus above, hovering, with its ladder lowered to admit them. "Taronce!" Koram called out. Taronce waved from the entrance of the Nautilus, then indicated the ladder. "Hurry!" he yelled down. The four climbed the ladder in record time, and the Nautilus passed over the wall of Salonia, and on towards the Crystal Tower. "I knew you were in big trouble when I saw those Dragon Knights flying past the castle. Whatever you did in that tower, you really provoked them." The four could only sigh in recollection of what they had done. "Let's just get to the Crystal Tower, okay?" Zack asked. Taronce shook his head. "I can't make it past those barriers in the Nautilus. I'll have to let you off there. Good luck to all of you, by the way. I hope you succeed. If you don't..." They knew what he meant. The Empire of Light would rule the world, and only the pure would survive the Light. The Nautilus landed a few feet from the first barrier. "Good luck. Oh, and so you know, I'll return that statue to Dorga for you. I know you're kind of busy now. Don't worry, and just focus on saving the world!" With that said, Taronce piloted the Nautilus away, and the four were left there, staring at the gates to the Crystal Tower. "How will we enter?" Koram asked. Their shards glowed in response. "They will let us pass." Fane said. They all started in. Each barrier allowed them to pass, and before they knew it, they stood before the Crystal Tower and the Labyrinth. "Wow, we've gotta get through that to get to the tower?" Zack asked. Fane nodded. "It's the only way that we can." The four knew it, too. They walked into the entrance to the Labyrinth, determined. C H A P T E R X V: The Labyrinth and the Crystal Tower The Labyrinth was confusing to begin with. The boys quicky got lost, and ended up backtracking to the entrance. "This is insane!" Zack said, "We need to do this logically. Let's make a map." They did so, and after an hour of confusion, they finally found an end to the labyrinth. "What a maze! I'm just glad the light killed all the monsters around here, or we'd be sitting ducks!" They went through the doorway, triumphant. They didn't notice the man who was following them, a man dressed entirely in white, with a white cloak draped over his shoulders... * * * * * * * * "So, this is the Crystal Tower," Koram said. The others looked upwards at the massive tower. "At the top lies the gate to the Other Side," Fane said, "It is guarded by the Light, and only we, the warriors of darkness, can defeat it." They entered the tower. It was riddled with traps and secret passages, they soon found. One of the traps almost killed Fane, a scything blade swinging out at him, but Zack got there before it could, and knocked his brother to the ground, and to safety. "Now I don't owe you one anymore, ay brother?" he asked. Fane just nodded, his face pale with the realization that he'd almost died. They continued, dodging traps and discovering secrets, until they found a gateway. "It leads to another world," Lokim said. "Yes, a very dangerous world, one full of weapons and monsters, beyond the reach of the light. We can't get to it, though. We need a key to get into that world, and we don't have it," Koram said. They left the room, wary of traps still, but musing on that portal. Soon, they reached the top floor, and the room of the Light. There, a great statue of power stood, and held them back. "I am the guardian of light, Alexander. Who seeks to pass into my master's domain?" Koram, Fane, Lokim, and Zack all merged their crystal shards into one. They were amazed when, from the center of their newly assembled super-crystal, a figure emerged. "I am the Dark Cloud, protector of darkness," it said. "You, Alexander, will not survive my wrath!" With that, the Dark Cloud unleashed a wave of pure molten energy, that ripped Alexander asunder. "No!" Alexander cried out, "Why must it end like this?" The Dark Cloud vanished, and Alexander did as well. Behind them, a gasp brought their attention to the Prince of Light. "You followed us!" Koram accused. The prince wasn't listening to him. He was staring at where Alexander had been. "You... you killed the guardian of Light! You will die, now!" He drew a sword, which had engraved upon it a legendary name, and raised it above his head. "Die, you dark fiends!" he cried out... and was forever silenced as twenty-eight shards of crystal pierced him through. The prince fell, and never got up again. "We killed him," Koram said. "He would have killed us," Lokim said. "Still," Zack continued. "We had no choice, if the world was to be saved," Fane finished. They hurried on, not looking back. They entered the gateway, and found themselves surrounded by blinding light. "It's near, all right. The Light is here, and... it's afraid of us." They went forward, ignoring all else, as they approached the source of blinding light. "It's purity beyond all else," Koram said, "The power of absolute perfection. It is what cannot exist without magic: the perfect machine." They all looked upon the blinding ball of light. *I am the Light of Judgement, the chooser of who is pure and who is not. You have violated the cause of the Light, and shall now be extinguished.* The light then attacked, and the four boys were knocked back. "We cannot fight this!" Koram said. "It... it is far too powerful, even for the Dark Cloud!" They ran from the Light of Judgement then, knowing that they would return soon. C H A P T E R X V I: The Final Showdown The four ran faster as they reached the gateway that they'd entered the Other Side from. "What are we going to do?" Koram asked. They were all unsure. "We have to summon the powers of the crystals..." Fane said. They looked at their shards. "How can we?" Lokim asked, "They're in about thirty pieces, and we've got nothing to put them together with. What do we do?" Fane shook his head. "The crystals are just the physical manifestations of the powers they hold. Those powers can be hidden, but not diminished. They can only be increased, and that is what we must do if we are ever to defeat the Light of Judgement." He held up his shards into the shape of a sphere, and they began to meld into one. "Now, merge yours back into their former shapes. They can channel their powers best when they are closer to being full crystals." They did so. The shards merged into their forms: a star, a tetrahedron, and a cube. The light began to dim around them as dark purple, red, blue, and brown glows began to emit from the newly-merged crystal shapes. "It's working! Now we must go back, and defeat that light! But to do that, we must merge... with the crystals themselves." They knew this was coming. They had seen it at the Crystal of the Dark Earth. They knew it was the only way. They each grasped their crystal, and began to chant. The Light of Judgement sensed this. It prepared its most powerful attacks, and launched them all at the merging forms. But it was too late for the Light of Judgement. The crystals had merged with their holders, and they deflected the shots easily. The Light of Judgement screeched in terror as the power of darkness enveloped it. When the darkness lifted, the Light of Judgement was nowhere to be seen. The darkness had consumed it, and again, the balance had returned. The four warriors rested then, inside their crystals, for a very long time. They would one day return, they knew, as they had seen that it was so. Koram, Lokim, Fane, and Zack would one day return, and finish what they had done this day. And as the light faded, the Other Side became that of darkness, and the light began to fade from that world. And the side of humanity began to return to its former self... EPILOGUE: A New World The Empire of Light, enraged at the Nations of Purity for not stopping the Four Heroes of Darkness, declared war on them. The Empire, however, was greatly weakened by the loss of their prince, and they lost quickly. The Nations of Purity remerged into the Kingdom of Salonia, and no more was ever heard of their former titles. The Dragon Knights soon resigned from their duties, as war was no longer likely. The people of Salonia began to relax and rebuild. Elsewhere, the village of Granza, nearly wiped out, was rebuilt, and became the town of Amur. The Invincible was buried in the caves south of Salonia and forgotten. Dorga got his precious statue back, and Unne continued to sleep her long sleep. The Isle of Magic became known as the Floating Island when it took to the skies at last, under the power of the Tower of Owen. The seal that kept it in another dimension was dissolved, and the light crystals of Fire and Wind were entrusted to it. The water crystal was moved into its own shrine, and the Earth crystal was entrusted to the labyrinth. Meanwhile, the four shrines of the dark crystals vanished, and no one knew what happened to them. The Other Side was now the Dark Side, and it held the crystals of darkness, and their respective warriors. Soon, the war between the Light and the Dark was forgotten. Then, after almost two centuries, four young boys, stout and brave, entered the Wind Altar, and the cycle began again... Thus ends the tale of the four heroes from Granza, who unwittingly discovered that they were the world's first, last, and only hope. T H E E N D