"So, you rode Azymondias? The Dragon King?" My dad asked, surprised.
"Yup."
"And you were the only one to acquire one of his scales?"
"Yup."
"But you passed out minutes after?"
"Yup."
"Now this is something."
•••
The Elemental Realm is one not...
Keith led us through the castle for about half an hour. All the while getting a better idea of the castle layout. With every hallway, corridor and corner we turned, I felt we were getting closer and closer to meeting up with the guardians. We turned another corner, only to be blinded by a bright purple light in the middle of the corridor we were running through. Then, I felt myself, and the rest of the team, crashing into something. We all tumbled on top of each other.
"Ow..." I groaned.
"Keith, get off of me." My eyes shot open in surprise. I looked down and saw a few strands of purple hair sticking out from underneath Keith. I quickly scrambled off the pile and pulled Damian to his feet, before wrapping my arms around him in a warm hug.
"Damian! You're okay." I sighed. Damian chuckled, hugging me back.
"Good to see you too, Al." He replied. Aarya pushed past me and jumped into Damian's arms, hugging him tighter than I did.
"Oh, uh, hey-"
"Don't scare me like that again..." She whispered, a tear forming in her eyes. "...okay?"
Damian blushed slightly before hugging back. "Okay."
"Aaaw."
"Shut up, Zack." Aarya snapped.
"What? You guys are adorable together." Zack squealed. Aarya quickly pulled away.
"Okay, and now moment's ruined. Thanks a lot, Zack." Aarya glared at Zack, who quickly averted her gaze. I turned to Damian.
"How are you feeling?" I asked.
"Pretty good, actually." He replied, scratching his neck "Still a little drained, but I'll recover quick."
"Thats perfect. The throne room isn't too far from here." Keith said. Damian lifted his eyebrow in confusion.
"The throne room?"
"Grandpa and the others are heading to the main entrance right now, and the main entrance-" L "Is in the throne room, of coarse." Damian said in realization.
"We agreed to meet them there before we fight the Corrupted King." I explained.
"That's a pretty good plan." Damian said. "Oh, that reminds me!"
He stuck his hands into his inner jacket pocket and pulled out a small rolled up scroll. I felt a faint, yet strange magical energy radiating from it.
"Uh, what are we looking at?" Aaron asked. Damian grinned, then opened the scroll. A symbol was written on its surface.
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
"This, my dear friends, is how we defeat the Corrupted King." Damian said excitedly. I tilted my head in confusion.
"...I don't get it." I said sheepishly. Damian groaned.
"It's a binding glyph." Natalie jumped in. My confusion only grew.
"It's a symbol that temporarily blocks someone's powers." Damian explained. My eyes widened.
"Wait, what!?"
"No way!" Keith said in surprise.
"Yup." Damian said proudly. "And this works on anyone, regardless of what elemental they are."
"So this can work on the King?" Zielo asked. Damian nodded in response.
"This is incredible." Celest said with a cheerful smile. "We might actually have a chance against him."
"Thank goodness..." Cameron let out a sigh of relief. Damian stuffed the scroll in his pocket.
"Come on! Let's get to the throne room!" Keith pointed down the hallway. We all nodded before darting to the throne room.
•••
After a while, we found ourselves at the entrance to a huge, mostly empty room with large dark stone columns built up from floor to ceiling. The right had a few steps leading a large throne, seemingly framed in glimmering silver and obsidian. It was beautiful. There was a long, dark carpet rimmed with gold, flowing from the foot of the throne to the other side of the room, leading to a gigantic wooden door with silver edges and silver hinges and handles.
'The main entrance...'
"That's it!" I said in excitement. "Come on! Grandpa and the others might be waiting for us on the other side!"
With that, we all made our way to the giant door, only for a sudden sharp pain to stop me in my tracks. My chest felt like it had just burst into flames, and not at all in a good way. I let out a cry of pain and once again fell to my knees. The others turned and rushed to me, only to stop after taking a few steps. Their eyes went wide with terror.
"Guys...?" I muttered through the pain. They all seemed frozen. I turned to where they were all facing, and instantly, their sudden fear became clear.
"My, my, what have we here?" A vile voice spoke. A figure stood in front of his elevated throne, one arm black with crack-like veins creeping up his neck. His dark, faded hair fell in front of his black, glowing eyes, one eye completely covered while the other emitted a pale shade of magenta.
He was dressed in nothing but black, grey and silver, wearing a long, black tailcoat with silver trims, a dark grey suit and a fur-lined cape that flowed gracefully behind him. Above his head hovered a small, black, shimmering crown, outlined in the same faded glow his eyes did. He smirked.
"I wasn't expecting to meet you lot so soon. I'd expected at least, let's see, another hour at least?"
His destructive power radiated off of him, leaving a sizzling sensation in my chest, though I did my best to ignore it. His presence was overwhelming, so much that I felt my knees buckle a little. No doubt remained in my mind; we were standing before the most powerful, and deadliest elemental in the entire realm.
The Corrupted King...
~~~~~
Author's Notes
Okay, this took a bit longer to publish, but hey, I'm satisfied with how it came out. And hey, it didn't take me too long either. I can't wait to get started with the next few chapters. I'm ESPECIALLY excited to get started with...actually, I'ma keep my mouth shut. You'll find out soon enough...
