ALL EYES TURNED TO BASTIAN, FILLED WITH EXPECTATION, HOPE, FEAR, AND UNEASE. BUT NOTABLY ABSENT WERE DESPAIR AND SURRENDER.
AT THIS JUNCTURE, AFTER SO MANY HAD FALLEN ALONG THE WAY, COULD THEY REALLY TURN BACK?
"I UNDERSTAND," BASTIAN REPLIED SOLEMNLY, NODDING. HE KNEW WHAT HAD TO BE DONE.
TO DEFEAT THE STRONG, THE WEAK OFTEN HAVE BUT ONE CHOICE.
"SACRIFICE. SACRIFICE AGAIN," HE WHISPERED TO HIMSELF.
HE GAZED AHEAD, MOMENTARILY DAZED BY THE CHAOS. FIGURES RUSHED TOWARD THE LONE OBSTACLE, THEIR BATTLE CRIES PIERCING THE AIR. WITH THE SUPPORT OF HIS COMPANIONS, BASTIAN EDGED CLOSER TO THE FLAME.
SINCE ONLY ONE FORMIDABLE FOE STOOD IN THEIR PATH, THEIR STRATEGY WAS CLEAR: DISTRACT HIM LONG ENOUGH FOR BASTIAN TO COMPLETE HIS MISSION.
THEY HAD EMPLOYED THIS TACTIC MULTIPLE TIMES ON THEIR JOURNEY, AND NOW WAS NO DIFFERENT.
"BOOM!"
ANOTHER ALLY FELL, THE SILENT ASSASSIN EXECUTING HIS TASK WITH RUTHLESS EFFICIENCY.
BUT IN THAT CRITICAL MOMENT, BASTIAN'S FINGERTIPS BRUSHED AGAINST THE FLAME, THE VERY ESSENCE OF THEIR QUEST!
THE GOLDEN GLASS ENCASING IT WAS NO MATCH FOR THE DRAGON FIRE MINGLED WITH THE FLAMES OF DEATH. THE PROTECTIVE BARRIERS SET BY THE ALCHEMIST CRUMBLED BEFORE THE PRIMORDIAL FIRE OF CREATION.
CLUTCHING THE FLAME, BASTIAN HESITATED FOR JUST A HEARTBEAT. BUT THE SIGHT OF HIS COMRADES' BLOODSHED STEELED HIS RESOLVE.
EVEN IF HE COULD SEIZE THE FLAME OF CREATION, THERE WAS NO WAY HE COULD PROTECT IT, OR HIMSELF, FROM THE "SAGE'S CLONE" STANDING BEFORE HIM.
THERE WAS ONLY ONE PATH LEFT.
HE HAD TO MAKE THE FLAME DISAPPEAR BY BECOMING ONE WITH IT.
"INTEGRATE," HE WHISPERED, DRAWING THE FLAME INTO HIMSELF.
EMBRACING THE FLAME
AS BASTIAN'S WILL HARDENED, HE MADE A FATEFUL DECISION. WITH A SWIFT MOTION, HE PRESSED THE FLAME OF CREATION INTO HIS OWN CHEST. THE ETHEREAL FIRE MELDED INSTANTLY WITH HIS BEING, IGNITING EVERY VEIN AND ARTERY. HIS BLOOD TURNED TO LIQUID FIRE, A SEARING SEA COURSING THROUGH HIM. HIS BODY TEMPERATURE SOARED; EVEN THE AIR HE EXHALED SHIMMERED WITH HEAT.
A FIERY HAZE CLOUDED HIS VISION, AND BASTIAN KNEW UNCONSCIOUSNESS WAS IMMINENT. "ONE MINUTE? TEN MINUTES? PERHAPS JUST SECONDS," HE THOUGHT, REALIZING THAT ANY LAPSE COULD BE FATAL.
SUMMONING THE LAST OF HIS STRENGTH, HE EXTENDED A TREMBLING HAND TOWARD HIS COMRADES. "TAKE ME OUT OF HERE," HE WHISPERED.
HIS EYES FLUTTERED SHUT, BUT HE TRUSTED THEM. HE KNEW THEY WOULD CARRY HIM AWAY FROM THE MONSTROUS ADVERSARY, EVEN IF IT MEANT SACRIFICING EVERYTHING.
IF THERE WAS EVER A TURNING POINT IN HISTORY, IT WAS THIS MOMENT.
WHEN BASTIAN SUCCESSFULLY IGNITED THE FLAME AND UNSEALED THE TOMBSTONE THAT HELD SCORMETHEUS, COUNTLESS THOUGHTS RACED THROUGH HIS MIND.
HOW WOULD HE TACTFULLY EXTRACT THE INFORMATION HE NEEDED, THE LOCATION OF THE THRONE? HOW COULD HE DECEIVE SOMEONE AS SHARP AS SCORMETHEUS? THOUGH THE WORLD BELIEVED SCORMETHEUS HAD BETRAYED THE ELVES, AND MOST ASSUMED HIS MOTIVES WERE DRIVEN BY REVENGE FOR LOSING HIS BIRTHRIGHT, BASTIAN HAD DOUBTS. HE SUSPECTED THAT SCORMETHEUS HAD NEVER TRULY BETRAYED HIS PEOPLE.
BASTIAN'S RESOLVE WAVERED. SHOULD HE REALLY GO THROUGH WITH THE PLAN TO FREE SCORMETHEUS? THE ASSAULT TEAM, ALREADY CRIPPLED AND BATTLE-WEARY, STOOD NO CHANCE AGAINST SCORMETHEUS'S POWER. IF SCORMETHEUS TURNED ON THEM, THE ENTIRE MISSION WOULD UNRAVEL. YET, DESPITE HIS MISGIVINGS, BASTIAN MADE HIS CHOICE. HE BROKE THE SEAL. BECAUSE AS SCORMETHEUS HAD ONCE WARNED, THE SITUATION WAS FAR TOO DIRE. AND AS DANGEROUS AS IT WAS, SCORMETHEUS WAS THEIR BEST CHANCE FOR SUCCESS. WITHOUT HIM, COMPLETING THE MISSION SEEMED IMPOSSIBLE. IT WAS A RISK WORTH TAKING, BASTIAN CONVINCED HIMSELF.
NOW, MORE THAN TEN MINUTES AFTER THE CRUCIAL MOMENT, BASTIAN STILL FELT UNSETTLED.
"ARE YOU SURE ABOUT THIS? YOU'LL HELP US SHUT DOWN THE ELVES' ARTIFACT?" HE ASKED, HIS VOICE LACED WITH DOUBT.
SCORMETHEUS, WALKING AHEAD, DIDN'T BREAK STRIDE. "YES," HE REPLIED CALMLY.
"YOU UNDERSTAND WHAT THAT MEANS?" BASTIAN PRESSED, HIS TONE MORE FORCEFUL.
THIS TIME, SCORMETHEUS OFFERED A BITTER SMILE. "IT MEANS THAT I'LL GO DOWN IN HISTORY AS THE GREATEST TRAITOR THE ELVES HAVE EVER KNOWN. I'LL BE CURSED FOR GENERATIONS, MY NAME A SYMBOL OF SHAME AMONG MY PEOPLE."
"AND YOU'RE...OKAY WITH THAT?"
BASTIAN WAS GROWING MORE HESITANT. SOMETHING ABOUT THE ELF PRINCE SEEMED OFF. HIS CALMNESS FELT TOO MEASURED, TOO COMPOSED.
SCORMETHEUS'S EYES FLICKERED TOWARD BASTIAN, HIS EXPRESSION UNCHANGING. "CURSES ONLY MATTER IF THERE ARE STILL ELVES LEFT ALIVE TO SPEAK THEM. THINGS ARE WORSE THAN YOU THINK, BASTIAN. MUCH WORSE."
BASTIAN LOOKED AROUND AT HIS MAKESHIFT TEAM. THEY WERE BATTERED, BRUISED, SOME BARELY HOLDING ON. HE CAUGHT SIGHT OF NANA, WHO, DESPITE HER SEVERE INJURIES, STILL MANAGED A GRIN IN SCORMETHEUS'S DIRECTION. BASTIAN SIGHED. SCORMETHEUS HAD PLAYED THEM, TOYED WITH THEIR DESPERATION BEFORE. WAS HE DOING IT AGAIN?
SCORMETHEUS TURNED BACK TO THE GROUP. "LET'S GO. I KNOW WHAT YOU'RE AFTER. YOU'RE LOOKING FOR THE PHILOSOPHER'S STONE, AREN'T YOU? IT'S EASY ENOUGH TO FIND. THE THRONE? EVEN EASIER. FOLLOW ME."
WEAK AND WEARY, SCORMETHEUS LED THE WAY DOWN THE PASSAGE TO THE NEXT LEVEL. THE ELITE TEAM EXCHANGED UNEASY GLANCES. THEY WERE TOO DEEP IN TO BACK OUT NOW.
"YOU PROMISED US THE PHILOSOPHER'S STONE," BASTIAN SAID, QUICKENING HIS PACE TO CATCH UP WITH SCORMETHEUS. "BUT WE'VE FOUND ONLY FRAGMENTS, NOT THE SUPERSTRUCTURE YOU SPOKE OF. YOU SAID WE'D FIND IT IMMEDIATELY UPON ENTERING, BUT SO FAR, "
SCORMETHEUS CHUCKLED, HIS LAUGHTER CARRYING A STRANGE, UNSETTLING EDGE. "YOU'RE ALREADY INSIDE IT," HE SAID, HIS VOICE LACED WITH MOCKERY.
BASTIAN BLINKED, CONFUSED. "INSIDE IT? I KNOW WE'RE IN THE TOWER OF ORIGIN, BUT, "
THE REALIZATION HIT HIM LIKE A BLOW. HE STARED AT SCORMETHEUS, HORRIFIED. "WAIT. YOU'RE NOT SAYING…THE ENTIRE TOWER…"
"NO," SCORMETHEUS INTERRUPTED. "NOT THE CORE. BUT EVERYTHING ELSE? YES."
THE TEAM HALTED, THEIR EYES WIDE WITH DISBELIEF.
BASTIAN'S STOMACH TWISTED. THE ENORMITY OF IT SANK IN. IF WHAT SCORMETHEUS SAID WAS TRUE, THEN THE ENTIRE TOWER, EXCEPT FOR ITS CORE, WAS THE PHILOSOPHER'S STONE. THAT MEANT THEY WEREN'T JUST STANDING NEAR IT; THEY WERE ENGULFED BY IT, EVERY STEP THEY TOOK SURROUNDED BY ITS MAGIC.
NO WONDER SCORMETHEUS HAD TOLD THEM THEY COULD SEE THE TOWERING STRUCTURE FROM ANY POINT IN THIS PLANE. BASTIAN HAD NEVER SEEN THE TOP OF THE TOWER, NO ONE HAD. ITS SIZE WAS INCOMPREHENSIBLE.
BASTIAN FELT A WAVE OF DESPAIR. HOW COULD ANYONE HOPE TO DISMANTLE SOMETHING SO MASSIVE? THIS WASN'T JUST SOME ARTIFACT THEY COULD DEACTIVATE. THIS WAS AN ALL-ENCOMPASSING MAGICAL WONDER, A STRUCTURE WOVEN INTO THE VERY FABRIC OF THE WORLD AROUND THEM. EVEN IF BASTIAN SACRIFICED HIMSELF, BURNED EVERYTHING HE HAD, IT WOULD NEVER BE ENOUGH.
BUT THEN, THE ELVES HAD ALMOST TURNED THE SOULS OF THE ENTIRE PLANE INTO THE PHILOSOPHER'S STONE. IT MADE SENSE THAT SOMETHING BUILT FROM SO MANY LIVES WOULD BE THIS COLOSSAL, THIS IMPOSSIBLE.
SCORMETHEUS'S VOICE BROKE THROUGH HIS THOUGHTS. "THAT'S WHY THE THREE FLAMES MUST BE COMBINED. A SINGLE CREATION FLAME WILL ONLY CHIP AWAY AT THE STONE, BUT WHEN UNITED, THE FLAMES WILL VAPORIZE IT. ONCE THE FIRES MERGE, THE PHILOSOPHER'S STONE WILL BECOME THE FUEL, KEEPING THE FLAME ALIVE INDEFINITELY."
BASTIAN INHALED SHARPLY. HE UNDERSTOOD NOW. THIS WAS THEIR ONLY PATH FORWARD.
". . . NOW?" HE ASKED, HIS VOICE SHAKING WITH THE WEIGHT OF THE TASK AHEAD.
"NOT YET," SCORMETHEUS SAID, HIS TONE STRANGELY PATIENT. "WE STILL NEED YOUR HELP. THERE'S NO NEED TO RUSH."
THE TEAM FINALLY REACHED THE DESTINATION SCORMETHEUS HAD INDICATED. THEY HAD EXPECTED TO FIND A GRAND STAIRCASE LEADING UPWARDS, BUT INSTEAD, A SHADOWY, OMINOUS PASSAGE STRETCHED BEFORE THEM, A BLACK CAVERN THAT LED DEEPER UNDERGROUND.
"THE THRONE IS DOWN THERE?!" BASTIAN ASKED, INCREDULOUS.
"OF COURSE," SCORMETHEUS REPLIED WITH A CALM CERTAINTY. "THE SPACE WITHIN THE TOWER IS LIMITED, BUT THE PHILOSOPHER'S STONES HAVE BEEN AMASSED WITHOUT END. THE ORIGINAL DESIGN WAS BUILT FROM THE GROUND UP. THE THRONE IS THE VERY CORE OF THIS TOWER, THE CORE OF THIS ENTIRE PLANE. NATURALLY, IT WAS THE FIRST AND MOST CRITICAL PART TO BE CONSTRUCTED. IT'S THE FOUNDATION, THREE FLOORS BELOW GROUND."
SUDDENLY, CLARITY DAWNED ON BASTIAN. IT ALL MADE PERFECT SENSE NOW, THOUGH HE FELT FOOLISH FOR NOT REALIZING IT SOONER.
"THIS ISN'T A SECRET," HE THOUGHT BITTERLY. "IT'S PERFECTLY LOGICAL, YET WE WERE FOOLS, BLINDLY FOLLOWING THE ASSUMPTION THAT THE KEY WAS SOMEWHERE ABOVE US."
"UNDERGROUND? THAT'S... INCREDIBLY DEVIOUS," BASTIAN MUTTERED.
SCORMETHEUS SMIRKED. "THANK YOU. I TAKE PRIDE IN MY DESIGNS."
IT WAS A BRILLIANT DECEPTION. ANY ORDINARY INVADER WOULD INSTINCTIVELY FIGHT THEIR WAY UPWARDS, FLOOR BY FLOOR, ASSUMING THE MOST IMPORTANT TARGETS WERE HIGHER UP. NO ONE WOULD EXPECT THE MOST VITAL STRUCTURES TO BE BURIED BENEATH THEIR FEET, CONCEALED IN THE DARK.
AND NOW, WITH THE VERY ARCHITECT OF THE TOWER STANDING AGAINST THEM, THE MYSTERY HAD UNRAVELED.
WITHOUT HESITATION, SCORMETHEUS APPROACHED THE YAWNING BLACK VENT AND LEAPT IN, TRANSFORMING MID-AIR INTO A SNOWY OWL THAT GLIDED DOWN INTO THE ABYSS. SISTER NANA, IN A FLASH OF MAGIC, MORPHED INTO HER DRAGON FORM, HER MASSIVE WINGS BEATING THE AIR AS SHE SWOOPED DOWN, CARRYING SEVERAL OF THE TEAM MEMBERS WITH HER.
BASTIAN PEERED DOWN THE DARK SHAFT AND NOTICED A SLOW-MOVING CARGO ELEVATOR CREAKING ITS WAY UP. ITS OCCUPANTS, TOWER PUPPETS, IMMEDIATELY NOTICED BASTIAN AND HIS TEAM, AND ATTACKED WITH RUTHLESS EFFICIENCY.
GUNFIRE ERUPTED, LIGHTING UP THE BLACK PASSAGE IN FLEETING BURSTS OF FIRE. IN THE MIDST OF THE CHAOS, NANA, IN HER DRAGON FORM, SHOWCASED HER STUNNING AGILITY. WITH ONLY ONE GOOD WING, SHE NAVIGATED THE TIGHT, GRIMY CAVERN WITH SUCH GRACE THAT IT CONFIRMED WHAT MANY SUSPECTED, DRAGONS RELIED AS MUCH ON MAGIC AS THEY DID ON PHYSICAL PROWESS TO FLY. HER WINGS WERE MERE SUPPLEMENTS TO HER RAW POWER.
THEY DESCENDED DEEPER. THE SEVENTH FLOOR, THEN THE SIXTH, THEN THE FIRST UNDERGROUND LEVEL. AS THEY APPROACHED THE SECOND UNDERGROUND LEVEL, DISASTER STRUCK.