FULL NOVELXO Chapter 21 Good bye
Steel crossed her arms as she lowered her eyes to the distance where she knew Aurory and the annoying one had flown off to.
The ground began to shake violently and she fell hard onto her bottom, crying out in pain. Rain fell out of the clear sky in the sudden burst, stabbing her skin. But the water was gone just as quickly as it had appeared, leaving Steel confused.
Steel pulled herself to her feet as the ground stopped shaking. She wished she had gone with them, to maybe do something useful with her life for once.
Sora appeared in the sky, flying low over the ocean waves as she made her way back to Steel.
“Maybe I can help,” Steel said, smiling at the dragon as it snapped its jaws, catching fish from the water.
Sora’s feet had barely touched the dirt when Steel approached her, offering a rodent she had caught earlier.
“Let’s go,” Steel said, mounting its back. But before she could move, Firrian erupted in a blast of red, covering the sky in ash.
Valeena fought hard against the darkness as it held her in place, Gaia crying out once more. She windmilled her arms to keep from falling over, anger filling her heart. They had come so far, there was no way she could fail now!
Suddenly, Thanos stopped laughing. Confusion washed over his ugly, twisted face before being replaced by fear. His eyes grew wide and his grotesque mouth dropped open.
“No!” He shouted, the darkness weakening its grip on Valeena and Aurory. “NO!” HIs anger echoed off the walls, overpowering the cries from Gaia.
Sensing things had changed, Valeena grabbed her sword and darted forward, Aurory swinging the morningstar. Her sword sliced smoothly through the tentacles that were holding Gaia, releasing the Goddess from his grasp.
Aurory landed a blow on Thanos’s ugly head, knocking him hard to the floor. She spun, spying the warrior as it tumbled towards her, still angry about her previous attacks.
But the Morningstar struck Thanos once more, black blood oozing out of his wounds. Valeena watched as Gaia removed a brilliant, gold, flaming sword from her back, and moved towards Thanos. Her face was not angry but determined as she stared at the evil beast that was now cowering on the floor.
Aurory stepped aside as the Goddess neared her, her starry eyes locked on Thanos.
“No!” Thanos cried out again, scrambling on his back, pushing his body with his feet in a feeble attempt to get away.
But his pleas fell on deaf ears as Gaia lower her sword, piercing his heart. A red burst of light erupted from Thanos as he cried out once more, his body melting away to nothing.
The warrior stood still, suddenly immobile as Gaia was no longer in any danger.
“We did it!” Aurory cried out, jumping up and down on her feet. It was as though a heavy weight had been lifted off of her shoulders. She rushed forward, hugging Valeena tight.
Valeena was momentarily paralyzed with shock. Aurory had never hugged her before. She recovered quickly and awkwardly patted the child on the back before hugging her tightly.
Aurory released her sister and faced the Goddess, beaming as she said, “You’re free now!”
Gaia nodded, waving her hand in the air, gold like glitter trailing from her fingertips.
In the blink of an eye, Aurory and Valeena were standing in the snow, facing the ruins of the Temple. The wind whipped past them in short burst, the air smelling fresh.
Valeena held out her hand as red ash fell onto her skin, raining down from the now destroyed planet. The threat was over, the planet was saved.
Gaia, who was standing in front of the sisters, raised her arms towards the sky, where golden clouds began to gather. A beautiful, glittery rain began to fall from the sky all over the planet. The waters washing away the evil that Thanos had left. A gentle wind helped to spread the water, forcing its way into cracks and holes.
The citizens of the once mighty Star Kingdom slowly turned back to human as the darkness was washed from them. Guardia was flooded with the waters as the virus was stripped from within, the people regaining their true forms. Anywhere Thanos had spread his evil was being washed clean by the healing waters of the rain.
Aurory beamed at Valeena, but her smile slipped from her face as she remembered her sister’s fate.
Valeena’s mouth formed a line as she fought back tears. “Goodbye, Aurory,” She said, hugging her sister one last time.
Aira, Rowan, Akari, Nyles, and Elden fled the cavern, making their way back up through the dark castle. The ground was shaking violently under their feet as they rushed towards the doors, hoping to make it out before the building fell on top of them.
Elden was the last through the door, stumbling out into the odd, glittery rain that was falling from the golden sky. He landed on his hands and knees, peering behind him as the castle fell into the angry ocean waters.
“We did it!” Akari shouted, pumping her small fist into the air. Nyles and Rowan gave each other a high five and laughed, smiling like fools.
Elden faced the ruins, feeling a small sense of sadness. He had spent most of his life in those castle walls, where Thanos had tried and failed to raise him to be evil. Sure most of the time he was locked in a cell for refusing to kill someone or for being stubborn. But it had been the only home he had.
Elden rolled his eyes at the thought of the castle ever being his home. He suddenly understood what Valeena had meant the night they had first met.
“Wait a minute,” Akari said, her smiling fading as she held up a hand. “What’s going to happen to us now?”
The team fell silent as they remembered what Aurory had said. They exchanged awkward glances but no one wanted to say it out loud.
“I-” Aira began but she held her words and looked at her feet instead. Rowan and Nyles stopped celebrating and remained silent.
“I guess this is goodbye,” Akari finally said as tears silently ran down her cheeks. Aira nodded as she brushed away a tear, unable to reply. There was a flash of light before everything went dark.