Zodiac High

Chapter 78

Ms. Celestia POV: An Ear For Languages
One name is engraved into my head. Aapeli. When my sister had changed, I knew who was behind it. It has always been Aapeli. He's the reason that the Zodiacs have come now. The reason that Bythos is dead. The reason that my sister and I are fighting to hang onto the world that we know. The world that we have created. If we fail, the world will be in absolute chaos. And that monster of a man will take control of the world. But, he wasn't always that way. When my sister and I came to this earth, we were soon joined by Aapeli. As my sister and I nurtured the humans into strong and resilient civilization, he brought ironic balance through war, plague, destruction but also through healing, hope, and courage. Without him, humans would have never been able to grow. The saying that you need to crack a few eggs to make a cake became true as the three of us watched over humanity.  So we allowed Aapeli to continue in his ways, always making sure he never went to far. Then one time, he went to far. My sister and I confronted him but, he had changed. We tried to bring him back. But when he became set on only bring humanity war, plague, and destruction, we knew that he had reached a point of no return.  We thought that he had finally disappeared for good as he would hide and then return to bring more chaos. But, he has returned once again and he plans to stay. Happy memories with him and my sister flash through my mind as well as painful ones where we were divided. I miss the old wise Aapeli but, all I have now is a power crazed monster of a man. 
My sister and I have found him. We have found the monster! We must proceed and destroy him. It will be hard and we have to win. If we don't, the world will be consumed with darkness. The job will fall on the Zodiacs and they are not ready. We've done our best to teach them as much as possible and hopefully it was good enough.
Sagi POV
    The four books are in a different language than any that we have studied. And we had to study ancient languages and runes in both Zodiac High and Celestial High. I don't mean to brag but, I have an ear for languages. The books have finished glowing and each is filled with the same unreadable runes. Virgo brings all of her translation books downstairs which don't help at all. Pisces is looking in the large red book for answers and hasn't come up with anything yet. The sun begins to rise. It will be a beautiful sunrise if we weren't stuck trying to figure this out. We have each taken turns over and over again. Virgo, Arête, Aphros, Leo, Taurus, and Aqua are looking through the translation books while the rest of us are blindly staring at the books trying to find words that we might know.
    " I think I found something," Pisces interjects, interrupting the silence, before she continues with, "It looks like ancient Atlantan."
    " Now that you say that, it kind of does," Cancer adds.
    " Remember when Prometheus showed us a bit of it?" Capricorn asks.
    Pisces hands me the large book and as I compare the runes. They match. We then hurry to translate the first paragraph. It reads: You have stumbled across the first book of ancient knowledge. What knowledge is left from Atlantis, Egypt, Babylon, and Greece in contained in these four books. In this book, you will find answers to questions you didn't know that you had. But, be wary of the spells you find in here. Performing some of them may cost you your life.
    For the rest day, Pisces, Scorpio, Cancer and I sit there and translate the first of the books.  During this time we and the others realize that the other books are in different languages as well. The second is in Ancient Egyptian. The third is in Ancient Babylonian. And the fourth is in Ancient Greek. Aries and Leo thankfully specialize in Ancient Egyptian while Gemini, Aqua, and Libra specialize in Ancient Babylonian and Virgo, Taurus, and Cap specialize in Ancient Greek. All of the books start the same one as the first one did except for their number. And they all talk about a monster named Aapeli. A man that has enough power to destroy a civilization as he did with all of theirs. They also each present a way to destroy him. Each of them will crack a few eggs before they make the cake. This strikes fear into my heart as I worry what is to come.
    " Guys, the large book is glowing again," Asterope states with curiosity and fear.
    The book glows a resilient golden light as it opens and spins into the air. Gravity becomes a thing of the past as we are all lifted up into the air.
    " Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius, Pisces, Aphros, Arête, Asterope, Calypso, and Perseus, I come with news and a warning. Celestia and Selena have battled Aapeli. Aapeli has overcome them and killed them. He will bring destruction. He is looking for you. You must fight and defeat him otherwise the world will be in complete darkness. Learn what you can from myself and the other four books. Each shares a knowledge that will help you defeat him. The fate of the world rests on your shoulders. Good luck," the book states before restoring gravity and falling to the ground.
    " Ms. Celestia is dead?!?! What about Ms. Zodiac?" Gemini cries.
    " I think that Selena is Ms. Zodiac," Aries replies as he puts a hand on her shoulder.
    " We have lost two great people today," Perseus states with pain in his eyes, " But, we can't lose hope. We must prepare. We only have a short time before Aapeli finds us."
     As I look around the room, each of us stands with confidence and we ready ourselves for the treacherous time ahead. It looks like sleep isn't even an option any more. We must prepare ourselves for the biggest battle of our lives, that will determine the fate of the entire world. Why did it have to be us?
     
    Happy New Year! I hoped you all enjoyed this chapter. My break is almost over but, I hope to get one more chapter in before updates go back to every 2-4 weeks. As always, new chapter soon. Bye!