THE RISE OF AN OMEGA-Chapter 57: Illusion and echoes

Kira’s POV

I could feel it; it was growing inside me like a tiny storm gradually turning into something bigger. Asher’s men kept on coming closer. I waited patiently for the right time.

The moment I began to feel it on my fingertips, I didn’t waste time. I immediately sent a wave blast that sent them flying backwards.

"Ryker," I called out.

I could still hear him calling, but I didn’t know where he was calling from. I had gotten my powers back. But how? Did this happen because of Ryker?

I knew that it was not until I heard his voice that was when my power began to stir up from within me.

What could this mean?

Since I had gotten my powers back, I could defend myself. All I just had to do was find a way to break myself free from his illusion spells. More of Asher’s guards came, and I fought them off using my magical powers.

Suddenly, Asher appeared from nowhere. The way everything was happening was definitely not the way I experienced it in real life. The entity was really going out of its way to make sure it messed with my brain, but I wasn’t going to let it.

I was done being weak.

"Stupid illusions," I muttered, charging forward.

As I slashed Asher’s illustrated body, he vanished into thin air, like wind.

Then all of a sudden, I felt a claw slash at my back. I turned to look at my back, and there he was, grinning evilly. Immediately, I shot a bolt of fire towards him.

I was surprised I was able to do that. I had never done a thing like that before in any of my battles. It felt good and powerful, but it also felt dangerous.

I wasn’t sure why it felt dangerous.

Asher kept dodging all of my strikes, shots, and blasts. And then from nowhere, I felt tendrils snake around me, followed by the familiar ominous laughter, the one that I was used to, the one that I dreaded a lot.

"You will never go out of my illusion spells," he said confidently.

I tried to free myself from the tendrils’ grip, but it was too tight. I tried to make use of the bright light that I had used earlier, but it wasn’t working.

His devilish laughter came again. "This is my world, Moonkeeper. Your silly tricks won’t work here," he said. 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

I began to crack my head for a new suggestion, but nothing was coming to me.

"Please, just this once," I muttered.

"Even your moon goddess cannot help you here," he said.

Just when I was about to give up, I heard his voice again.

"Kira, wake up."

Only those three sentences I heard began to stir up something from within, just like the first time. Then the white light he had said would never show forth in his realm began to emanate.

"How’s this possible?" he asked, confusion laced in his tone.

As the light became brighter, I felt his grip loosening slowly. Then when the light was at its brightest, the tendrils loosened completely. Without hesitation, I channelled the light into my fingertips, shooting it towards the entity.

He tried to evade it, but he couldn’t. As the light shot landed on him, he let out a painful growl. That was when I knew I had hit a spot. I didn’t stop there; I continued to blast it with more light until he disappeared with an agitated growl. "This is not the end, Moonkeeper," he warned.

Immediately, he disappeared; I saw an opening as if the air was torn. I went closer. I was sceptical about entering, but when I began to hear Ryker’s voice coming louder from within, I wasted no time entering.

****

"Hey," I muttered.

Ryker rushed over to where I lay, trying to help me up as I tried to sit.

I looked around and noticed that it was nighttime already. I remembered clearly that it was during the day we were being attacked by the entity, but somehow time had moved so fast.

Back in the illusion world, it was just day all through, apart from the illusions that involved the death of my parents.

"You were out for about two days," he replied.

"Two days!"

He nodded.

"But back where I was, it didn’t feel like two days have gone by."

"Where were you?"

I began to tell him about my experience with the entity’s illusion. "So you mean you went through all this all alone?" he asked.

"I wasn’t alone," I replied, smiling.

"Who else was there?"

"You, Ryker."

"What do you mean I was there?"

"Your voice was what helped me to find my way back," I replied, resting my head on his shoulder.

He had a confused expression on his face, but he didn’t ask any further questions until I slept.

*****

"Where are you going to?" Ryker asked, standing in front of me, blocking my way out.

I woke up in the morning, took my bath, wore a very casual dress, picked up my purse, and headed to the door. I thought Ryker was still sleeping. I wanted to just sneak out of the house because I knew he wouldn’t allow me to go.

Not after I had been in the entity’s illusion for two days.

"Please, Ryker, move."

"No, I am sorry, but I can’t allow that. You were in a coma for two weeks," he took in a deep breath, "Look, I don’t even know if coma is the right word for it."

"I need to leave," I said abruptly.

"No, what you need is rest, Kira," he retorted.

"How do you expect me to rest when the entity is still out?" I said frustratedly. I heaved a deep sigh. "I don’t know when the Moonkeeper will be coming back. When he does, I want to be fully prepared."

"And you will be prepared," he said softly, placing his hands on my shoulder.

"I have to find the crescent moon stone as early as possible so when next he comes, I will be fully ready," I said calmly.

"And you will find it. All I want you to do is rest now."

I was adamant. In the end, Ryker agreed as he got to understand that I needed to go, but he insisted that he had to go with me.

We headed for Elder Anthony’s home together. Getting there, we saw him sitting on a wooden stool outside his compound, feeling the cool early morning air.

Without turning to look at us, he welcomed us, saying that he had been wondering when we would show up all this while.

There was something about Elder Anthony. The fact that the moon goddess also said that there were a lot of things that Elder Anthony knew about that even she doesn’t know makes it look like there’s more to him than meets the eye.

He asked us to sit, which we did.

"What do I offer you both?" he asked, smiling.

"There will be no need for that, Elder," I replied.

"Are you sure about that, my child?"

"Yes, I am sure. We have come to find out what you know about the crescent moonstone," I said, pointing at the diagram on my arm.

He leaned back on the stool he sat on, placing a finger on his jaw. "Hmm, the crescent moonstone?"

"Yes, the moon goddess directed me to you."

"The moon goddess did what?" he retorted, sounding confused.

"Yes, she directed me to you, saying you were the only one who knew about the whereabouts of the crescent moonstone."

He heaved a deep sigh, but it wasn’t a sigh of relief; it was a sigh of worry. He was quiet for a while until he finally decided to speak.

"The location of the crescent moon is a far place, and the road that leads to it is filled with many dangers around." He paused, taking in a deep breath. "Are you sure you really want to go that way?"

"I have to. The moon goddess said that was the only way I could have defeated the entity. The entity has been coming to fight me. I have always succeeded in saving myself, but every time it defeats him, it’s as if he comes back stronger."

"So you need the moonstone to fight the dark entity?" He stood up from the stool and began pacing to and fro.

"Is anything wrong?" Ryker asked.

The elder seemed to be lost in thoughts as he paced to and fro. Ryker kept on trying to get his attention, but he didn’t even budge.

Is he in a trance or something?

After some minutes, he finally responded to us, saying that the road to the crescent moonstone would be more dangerous than he thought. When we asked him what he meant by that, the reply he gave was shocking to me.

"The dark entity wants the moonstone as well, so you might likely encounter him on your journey."

I wasn’t surprised that he was interested in the moonstone. What was surprising to me was how Elder Anthony knew about this. And also, what did the dark entity need the moonstone for?

"You haven’t told us where this crescent moonstone is," I remarked.

"The moonstone is located in the deepest part of the Raventhorn forest. It lies in the space between the undead and the dead, the most dangerous place a person can ever be."

"What do you mean by the undead?" Ryker asked.

"It’s left for you to figure that part out yourselves," he replied, smiling.

"But how?" I asked.

"When you get there, you will know."