Aru Shah and the Soul Trident

Hello From the Other Siiiideee

Aru stared at the empty space where the hologram was, and suddenly, a tingling sensation spread throughout her. She gasped as her transparent body started to glow. "What's happe-"

"-Ning!" Aru blinked and sat straight up. Brynne was right in her face with a marker in her hand, which she dropped in surprise.

"Gah! Aru! I was totally not gonna draw a mustache," she muttered as she picked up the marker again.

"You're alright!" Mini came running to give her a hug, but Aiden reached her first. "Shah!"

His arms wrapped around her, and he practically squeezed the life out of her. Aru could feel her face heat up as she squeaked, "Aiden?"

He buried his face in her neck. "I was so worried," he murmured.

Aru could hear her sisters and Rudy snickering behind her back, but she didn't care. She hugged him back fiercely. 

As she breathed in Aiden's clean laundry scent, she was suddenly reminded of his prophecy, and the image of him...dead. She knew she had said that she wouldn't let anything happen to him in the chamber, but her confidence started to drain out slowly as she hugged him. "I'm alright," she mumbled flatly and quickly pulled away.

Aiden looked confused, but he didn't question her abrupt change in tone.

"Woah, Shah. Is that the SSS?" Brynne asked, her jaw dropping.

Aru looked at her right hand. Placed neatly in her palm, was a five-foot long scythe that was studded with jewels which glowed an eerie golden color.

"Yeah," she answered. She held it out for all of them to see.

Mini clapped her hands together. "Alright!" she said excitedly. "Now that we've got the scythe, all we need to do is find out where Pathal-Loka is!"

"Yeah, but how?" Rudy questioned, fiddling with his orange messenger bag. "I mean, Shah got the SSS, so that's all well and good to have a chance against Mahishasura, but we have no way of actually getting to him."

"As much as I hate to admit it, Rudy's right," Aiden sighed. "Where do we go now?"

Aru shrugged and stood up a little unsteadily. She glanced down at Gandalf in her left hand, and the SSS in her right. "Who wants to hang on to it?"

Rudy perked up immediately. "Me! I've always wondered what it's like to hold a weapon of mass power." Aru held it out for him, but when Rudy reached for it, the SSS let out a harsh red glow and released blue, angry sparks.

"Woah," Aru said, as Rudy drew his hand back. "What's happening?"

Rudy sniffed. "How could it not allow me, a prince, to wield it?! How rude!"

"What do you mean?" she asked.

Brynne tapped her chin thoughtfully. "You earned it, so only you can use it, I guess," she explained.

Aru scowled. "But I don't wanna hold two weapons!"

As if it were listening to her, the SSS suddenly emitted an orange glow and shrunk, changing its form to a pure black ring that was lined with silver. "Cool. Thanks," she whispered to it, and slipped the ring onto her index finger.

Mini sighed and clapped her hands together, grabbing everyone's attention. "Well, let's at least get out of here first."

"How?" questioned Aiden.

Mini was about to answer, when the right wall suddenly began to rumble, and cracks started to form. The Potatoes quickly went into battle formation, with the exception of Rudy, who cowered behind Aiden, nervously trying to nock an arrow in his bow and failing. "What's happening?" he whimpered.