They rode back as fast as their carriage would allow, despite their injuries. They stopped at some of the small nameless villages on their route back. One of the carriage axles broke about 2/3 of the way back to Azidon. They unhitched their horses and rode bare back for the rest of their journey, stopping in Azidon.

The news of Solaris's fate wasn't taken well amongst the inhabitants of Azidon manor, though they were glad to hear of his heroic deeds, and also happy to see Romel and Red return relatively OK. The fact that they would be leaving again so soon met with much opposition.

"You aren't fit to travel in that shape!" said Elaine.

"Our carriage wasn't fit to travel in the shape it was in either, the axel broke and we haven't much time. Send someone out to retrieve the driver and things left behind please." Red ordered.

Elaine raised an eyebrow, "Since when did you have the authority to give orders here?"

"Since now, we have important stuff left there, not to mention the driver who stayed behind with 2 of the horses." Red glared back at her.

Romel stepped in "Oh, no, we're not having a fight, not here, not now. We do need that carriage, or at least the stuff from it recovered. Please send someone out. As far as our condition, we are fully aware that we aren't in the best shape to travel, yet this is EXTREMELY important." He held up the pendent, wasn't shining as brightly as it was before.

"We will be going to the Razanden Ruins as soon as we gather the needed supplies for the trip. It's not too far on horseback."

Neil walked into the room. "In that case, would you go with a small escort of guards? Should something happen, I doubt you could fight off much in your current state."

"Very well then, we shall take an escort. Since when were you able to walk normally again anyways?" Romel asked Neil.

"There's a healing wizard around the mountain range north of here" he replied. "He's a bit of a recluse. His name is Pinzu"

"You know, this is something you're kinda supposed to tell me. I'll look into that more after we go visit that dragon." Romel looked around the room as he finished his sentence.

Neil raised an eyebrow "Dragon? No, we aren't sending dozens of people to get eaten, and I would have to advise that you don't go. You'd get killed for certain as you are now."

"So, my telling you that I've seen this dragon before, and spoke to him, would mean nothing to you? What about the fact that he gave Solaris and I our swords?" He drew his sword as he finished, presenting it to Neil, who inspected it.

"I can't believe it, its made of dragon scales, and some strange metal." He said as he stared at the blade

"According to Solaris, its dragon claws." Red added. "Now, if we want to figure out what to do about our fallen friend, we should get going." She looked over at Romel

"Just so you know, we're going whether you like it or not. If you still intend to send us with an escort, then do so, but I want arrangements made for our departure for tomorrow morning. We will be going to see a dragon, but he won't harm you. I'd suggest bringing only those who won't wet their pants though."

The conversation ended there, and preparations for their trip began. Romel kept his eyes on Elaine and Red, making sure they didn't have any sort of argument.

They slept in their own beds for the first time in weeks, yet neither Red nor Romel could sleep very well. Their thoughts drifted back to the battle, and events leading up to it. Romel kept thinking of the 'horror trip' Quasar sent him on. He wondered if they would be able to change the fate of their world. He woke up early that next morning, and walked outside to the courtyard. Red and Neil were waiting for him, much to his surprise.

"Couldn't sleep either?" He asked, looking over at Red.

"Not really." She replied.

"Where's our escort?" He asked, looking at Neil.

"You're looking at it" Neil answered. "No one else wanted to go as soon as I mentioned 'dragon'. I knew I should've left that part out. We also sent out a group to retrieve the driver and carriage you had to leave behind."

Romel simply nodded in approval. "Shall we be off now?". He put on his backpack, which contained nothing more than a small lunch and the book Quasar had given Solaris. "I suppose you shall get answers as well Sir Neil."

"Eh?" Neil scratched his head in confusion.

"Never mind." Romel mounted frost and Rode out through the south gate. He was surprised he still remembered the route, even if there were only slight differences between the path to the ruins and that of his hometown. They made it in to the clearing in half a day. Romel hitched Frost to the trees nearby, and bit Red and Neil to do the same.

He clutched the medallion and approached the seemingly randomly placed pedestal in the middle of the clearing, waiting for the smoke. He stood looking like a fool as nothing happened. He walked up to the pedestal and poked it, kicked it, and saying "Quasar, wake the hell up, we have a problem."

After a few moments and a few concerned looks from Red and Neil, he walked back towards them. Just as he did so, a familiar mysterious fog descended upon the area. The last thing he could see was Red and Neil draw their weapons.  He grinned, this time knowing what was coming. "And now there should be a bright light…" he said.

Moments later, a bright light could be seen through the fog. "And now, I present to you…" he turned around proudly as if to show them the ruins. The thick fog still remained.

"You present to us with the fog? Quite impressive" Red said tauntingly.

"But…" Romel stood speechlessly, they could hardly see each other in the fog and they were just beyond arm's reach of each other.

"I'm not moving in a fog like this, not to mention the weird light that was in it could be dangerous." Neil said as he stepped back slightly.

Romel took off the medallion and looked at it as its glow hand all but faded entirely. "I hope there wasn't a time limit to this or something."

As he brought the medallion to eye level, Red and Neil gasped in amazement as the fog began to clear. Romel looked up to see the ruins sitting before him, in their normal splendor. "Damn ruins made me look like an idiot. At least they're here though."

"You made yourself look like an idiot, and trust me, you didn't need any help to do that." Red teased, bow still in hand.

They approached the ruins and walked between rows of columns. Neil and Red still had their weapons drawn , ready to attack. Suddenly, flames burst forth from the columns ahead of them, forming a wall of fire. They turned around to see the columns behind them had done the same, and flames were quickly spreading along the columns at their sides. They were trapped.

Red and Neil stood back to back, scared and ready to fight. Romel was surprisingly calm and caste incendiary guard on them all. Then he stepped towards the wall of fire keeping them from going forward. He walked through the flames which vanished as they touched the medallion.

The following columns shot blazing darts at them, which Red and Neil blocked and evaded. The darts for some reason didn't even come close to Romel, as if the ruins accepted him.

"Put away your weapons please." Romel asked Red and Neil, who complied nervously. They made their way to the large double doors leading to the inner chamber.

Romel remembered how Solaris opened the doors during their last visit, realizing that he had a fatal flaw in his plan: he wasn't a flame keeper end couldn't use nova to open the doors. He turned to the others and said with a sad expression. "I think I have to be a flame keeper to open those doors. Solaris got in by using nova."

"Nova?" Neil asked?

"Is that like 'blaze burn'?" asked Red.

Romel buried his head in his hands, and then sighed. "Right, of course they don't know this stuff." He muttered to himself.

Red pointed to a small impression in the center of the doors. "Doesn't that look familiar?"

Romel looked at the door closely. "Yeah, it does." He held up the medallion. The sun shaped marking on one side matched those of the door nearly perfectly, with the exception of where the medallion was hit by an ice shard in their last fight. Romel played the now barely glowing medallion into the place on the door.

The door slowly began to glow from the center outwards. The glow spread back down the columns behind them, stopping the traps they'd passed on the way. The doors slowly parted ways, revealing the pedestal they saw before, and the inner chamber.

The trio walked in slowly. Even Romel was cautious, as he'd been with Solaris during their previous visit. Red and Neil stopped as Romel approached the pedestal.

"Who dares awaken me from my slumber?" the voice of a seemingly cranky Quasar echoed through the halls.

"Sorry for waking you, but we have an issue, a big one…" Romel said, trembling slightly.

"And this 'issue' requires you to wake me up?" Quasar followed with another grumpy reply.

"Yes, it does." Romel held up the medallion. "Haven't you noticed that someone is missing?"

Quasar descended from the ceiling at alarming speed, finally showing himself to everyone. He face was mere inches from Romel's as he spoke. "You will tell me everything."

They all stared at Quasar in fear. Red feinted, and was caught by Neil, who laid her down and drew his sword. Romel watched the scene "Why does her feinting seems so familiar?" he thought to himself.

"I'll explain what happened, with Red's help, whenever she wakes up. You'll kinda have to give these 2 answers, especially the lady, since she's traveling with me now."

Neil charged at the dragon, sword raised. Quasar shot a fireball at the sword, leaving nothing more than a piece of the blade, not fit to be called a dagger, and Neil himself. Neil stopped, petrified with fear. Quasar picked him up with 2 huge claws and raised him into the air. "I'll have you know, Solaris tried that too. Since you are here, I assume you know him. I wouldn't try anything foolish. A fall from this height would surely hurt, if not kill you." ~e pointed down with his free hand to the floor a good distance below.
Romel added in, while pointing to the cracks in the walls. "Those imprints you see there are where Quasar here sent Sol into the wall. He hits quite hard, I wouldn't upset him."

"I'll be more careful with them. I have quite a few questions for you however, starting with the most obvious one. What happened to Solaris?"

His question was followed by Red's screams of terror as she watched Quasar hold Neil up in the air. Neil seemed mildly content with the situation, he was powerless to do anything about it anyways.

Romel walked over to Red. "Introduce yourself, he knows you're traveling w/ me and Sol now."

Red cried weakly, still in absolute terror over the sights of the large creature floating above them.

"Fine, Quasar," Romel looked up at the dragon. "Put Neil down, and come down here, maybe she'll stop crying if you don't look so damn scary."

"Really now?" he replied, as he lowered Neil back to the ground, and himself landed, somewhat. Most of him was still coiled around the citadel's ceiling. "I am Quasar, guardian of this citadel which you see here, as well as the guardian of the Flame Keepers. I'll say I'm pleased to meet you, but only if you can stop crying."

Red looked up at Quasar with tear-filled eyes. "Hello, I'm Red." she said, still sniffling.

Neil stood beside her a put his arm around her shoulder. She began to calm down. He introduced himself. "I'm Neil. I met Solaris in the city of Azidon a few months back. He's quite a strong one. I could only imagine it would take something like….you..…to defeat him."

"True that. Even so, he is still quite sturdy." Quasar said, extending his giant right hand, Neil extended his hand as well, and a very odd, disproportioned handshake followed.

"Now," he turned to Romel, "what happened?"

Romel and Red retold the tale of the battle, the inland encounter with the blight, Eber, and Solaris's sacrifice.

Quasar's eyes widened. "So that's what woke me up. That also explains how you were able to get back in here without a flame keeper."

"What?" Romel scratched his head.

"I can sense when he invokes the power of nova. The last move he used was called 'supernova shockwave'. I suppose he did read at least some of that book." Quasar opened the book to its 2nd to last page. "Its right here, an advanced skill of the flame keepers. He did it wrong…"

Romel took the book and read it, showing Red and Romel. "Says here it's a tremendous burst of energy, usually used as a last resort."

"It is, though there is a way to use this skill without blowing one's self up. I shall have to teach him how to hold back." Quasar said as he scratched his chin.

"How the hell are you going to teach him if…he's…" Romel stopped and stared up at the dragon. "OK you overgrown lizard, now it's your turn to tell ME everything!"

"HA! You say that like you could make me."

Red stood up and looked straight into Quasar's eyes. "After witnessing all that I have, I can no longer say that I don't believe Solaris and Romel. They told me of their task, their destiny. I wish to help them as much as I can. Please tell me all I shall need to know for this task."

Neil bowed. "I mostly just help from Azidon, but I shall do what I can to aide them as well.. Please tell us."

"Very well then. Romel, the medallion please." He reached out to Romel to receive the item, Romel gave it to him, and Quasar set it on the center of he pedestal.

"There wasn't much time left to get that item here. It will hold a spirit for about 5 days at most. Now, step back."

"I thought we were supposed to be getting answers, now you've just confused the hell out of me." Romel said as he stepped back nearly to the doors.

"This medallion bears the crest of the Flame Keepers. As you've noticed, it is no ordinary jewel. Now, silence! We haven't long to do this."

Neil, Red, and Romel looked at each other in confusion, then over at Quasar who was floating over the pedestal, with eyes glowing strongly. It was as if he was activating nova himself. Romel motioned to Neil to draw his shield and they all fell in line behind it. Romel cast incendiary guard on them all, and then followed with the elemental barrier.
They watched with curiosity and awe as the now golden dragon floating above them, as he set his claws directly around the medallion. He began to chant something which was unrecognizable to any of them. A brilliant light shined from the pedestal and both Quasar and the pedestal were surrounded by a huge wall of fire. The trio of onlookers ducked behind the cover of Neil's shield, despite the fact that they had 2 separate barriers protecting them.

The flames came down, revealing a normal, and seemingly tired Quasar, as well as an orange orb covered in flames. The flames surrounding the orb began to fade. Quasar came to the ground and coiled himself around the room. "I haven't had to do that in a long time."

"Do what?" asked Romel, stepping from behind Neil's shield and the barrier.

"Retrieve a soul. That medallion can contain the spirit of a person, but only for a short time. His life force was preserved in it. Extracting it is extremely difficult, and only certain creatures or people can even hope to be able to do so. Not to mention the fact that a guardian doesn't die as a normal being would."

"There he goes making more questions again" Red stepped from behind the shield and barrier as well. "You still have yet to explain yourself."

Quasar looked up at Red, as if he wanted to shoot her with flames, sighed, and began to once again, explain the story of Solaris, the flame keepers, and the fate of their world if left unchecked.

Neil and Red both stood speechlessly, while taking in the weight of the words they'd just heard. Their attention then turned to the glowing orange orb resting on the pedestal. They stared at the intricate patterns appearing and disappearing across its surface. Romel stepped forward and was stopped by Quasar, who dropped his tail between Romel and the orb.

"No, you mustn't touch it, not so soon. For starters, its still quite hot, even though it doesn't look like it. For seconds, if you touch it, you will contaminate the sphere with whatever darkness you hold within. You wouldn't want something with Solaris's power walking around with absolutely destructive tendencies, would you?"

"HELL NO! He's hard enough to deal with when he's mad. I don't wanna think about what he'd be like if here were" Romel gulped "…evil."

"Then you shall not touch the orb. Return here in 3 days. This orb needs time to finish forming, it's not yet complete. Now away with you! I must rest. This place will be much easier for you to enter next time. Be gone quickly, the blight will spread around the area while I'm weakened."

"What?! How? Its inland." Romel questioned.

Quasar merely brushed them back to the door with his tail. "GO, NOW!" he roared. "Next time, bring an extra horse."

They ran back to their horses and headed back to Azidon, as they rode, the forest and skies around the ruins began to darken. "What's going on?" Neil asked.

"Quasar seemed to be protecting this area from the blight, why it's here I don't know, but we shouldn't stick around to find out what'll show up." Romel said as he increased his pace.

The doors of the citadel could be heard shutting behind him, a loud and ominous sound, much like thunder. Quasar lay on the floor of the citadel. He spoke to himself while looking at the orb. "I didn't think the blight had progressed this much. It seems the release of something has hastened things."

He took a closer look at the orb. "This shouldn't take this long, it should've been pretty much instant. Why hasn't this orb finished yet?" he turned his head towards Fujima. "Even though the blight, and all the energy lingering in this building, why do I still feel such an ominous presence?" He fell asleep coiled around the orb, wondering if all would be well when he those 3 days later.

The party of 3 returned to Azidon manor later that night and enjoyed a hardy meal, cooked partially by Red, who was later kicked out of the kitchen by Elaine, who insisted that she rest. They all sat around the table, then Romel spoke up with a question.

"Guys, about what Quasar said, about returning after 3 days: does today count as 1?"
"Beats me" Red replied.

"I doubt it. That orb looked cracked, though I fail to see what it has to do with bringing Solaris back." Neil added.

"Meh, we'll find out in a few days. I have a feeling we may need a few more guards." Romel said. He continued stuffing his face, and paying little attention to anything else….until he hit his broken arm on the table. "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Neil looked up at him, "Tomorrow, you're going to see the old man."

"Couldn't you be a little more polite with what you call people?" Red asked. Neil looked a bit surprised that this came in the form of a request instead of an order.

"Uhm, I suppose so."

Neil and Red's conversation continued with random small talk as Romel sat in absolute agony for the remainder of dinner.

Neil, Red, and Romel departed the next morning, still a little weary from the previous day's journey. They made it to Pinzu's shack near sunset. Their welcome was far more pleasant than Solaris's.

"Sir Neil, back again so soon!? What has happened this time?" Pinzu said with a laugh as he stepped out from the shack.

Red gave him a good look and thought to herself "I see why Neil called him an old man"

"I'm not here for me this time, I brought 2 people who could use your help." Neil replied.

"So I see." Pinzu said as he looked at the still wrapped and bandaged Romel.

Romel looked over at Red. "I think she could use some help too". Red did, in fact have a large number of cuts and bruises, and had been in considerable pain as of the last week, but she dealt with it rather well. Even so, her injuries were nowhere near as bad as Romel's, who'd managed to remember the pain in his ribs, and the familiar face of agony.
Pinzu lead them to a nearby stream, the same stream he and Solaris spoke at, at nearly the exact same place. He spoke to himself, or whoever was willing to listen to him, as he led the way. "I have been to these banks numerous times in the last few months. Twice now to heal wounds, and once more to guide a wandering spirit."

"Wandering spirit? You mean like a dead person?" Romel asked.

"No, just someone who didn't know what to do with themselves: who questioned the reason for their existence, among other things."

"This person, didn't happen to be just slightly taller than me, have dark skin, golden hair and eyes, and a slightly mean disposition, did he?"

Pinzu raised an eyebrow. "Why, yes actually. That is a surprisingly accurate description to give for one who is as odd as him. I assume you know him."

"Yes, Solaris was his name." Red jumped into the conversation.

"Was, you say? Did something happen to him? His fate is very important, and I sense that his fate may be tied with that of the world itself."

"Damn, you're good!" Romel stood stunned by the accuracy of his words. "He's kinda dead at the moment, we have to go back and talk to Quasar about how to bring him back or something."

Pinzu's eyes widened yet again in surprise. "I know of who you speak. So, he really must be a flame keeper. I had my suspicions, but I never would've expected there to be one left."

"Well, there is, or was. Still not sure exactly how to go about explaining this." Romel said as he scratched his haid and fumbled for a decent explanation. "How do you know all of this stuff anyways? And you can actually heal us?"

"Didn't you know? All old men who live alone in the mountains are wise in some way." He said with a chuckle. "But, in truth, I have seen and studied many things, including legends and prophecies, as well as history. Though if you have spoken with the being known as Quasar, I'm sure you know more than I do about the Flame Keepers and their task in this world."

"Yeah, you could say that." Romel stared at the ground.

"It seems you are about as unsure of yourself as your comrade was. You shall figure it out in time. If there is a Flame keeper left, they may very well be a Moon Guardian left as well. It would be wise of your comrade found this person."

The 3 of them looked at Pinzu, astonished by how much he knew. Romel spoke up "You know, you aren't the first person to say that. Every lead we get as to what to do about the fate of this world gets linked back to that phrase somehow."

"The 2 are tied together, and rely on each other to carry out the task assigned to them. One alone is pretty much useless" Pinzu locked eyes with Romel as he started to chant something.

"If Sol were here, I doubt he'd like to be called useless. He probably would've drawn his sword by now." Romel just had to get the last word in. Pinzu beckoned them to step into the stream.

Romel and Red stepped slowly into the stream, shivering slightly since it was cold. Pinzu kept chanting and Red and Romel felt their wounds healing. It was as if life was being poured into them. Red was healed relatively quickly, it took Romel a fe minutes longer, to heal all his scars, the hurting ribs, and the broken bone.

"Where the hell did you learn to do that?!" Romel asked, astonished as he tossed his bandages to the ground while he stepped out of the river.

Pinzu pulled back his long, grey hair. His age finally showed, as well has his slightly pointy ears. "Simple, I'm a half-elf."

Romel was the only one surprised by this. "I totally didn't expect that."

"What DO you expect?" asked Red. Romel stood silent, unsure of how to answer the question.

Romel now locked eyes with Pinzu. "would you like to meet the fabled Quasar?"

Pinzu looked noticeably shocked by the offer. "I-I don't know. I doubt I would be able to enter the citadel of the Flame Keepers."

"You will, so long as you are with us. It would be a nice way to confirm much of what you've studied over the years, would it not?"

Pinzu bowed, "I would be honored."

"I was also wondering if you'd like to join us on our journey. We don't travel very fast or anything, though we do get into the occasional battle. I'm not going to say it's not without risk, but there's a chance to see the Moon Guardian too, as well as whatever else we come across on our travels."

Pinzu laughed, "I have lived a very long and full life, and have seen and experienced many things. I have been near death more times that you would care to imagine I'm sure. I have no fear of dying now. I would be glad to join you, and assist you with your tasks as I may."

Red and Neil looked at Romel with surprise. Red whispered to Neil. "did he just get a healer to join up with us?"

Neil nodded, in just as much shock as Red. They turned and headed back towards the shack, and spent the night there. They gathered and ate breakfast, which was prepared by both Red and Pinzu, the most delicious meal that any of them had ever eaten. They returned to Azidon manor and made the necessary rooming arrangements for Pinzu to stay there, which was easy, since he brought very little with him, save his staff and a few clothes.

They spent the next day showing Pinzu around the manor, and the following day, they left for the ruins. When they got close to the clearing, they noticed that the woods had become quite withered, far faster than anything they'd ever seen happen in 3 days' time. Pinzu raised his staff and it shined with a blinding white light. "This will keep the creatures of the blight at bay."

They kept riding, quickening their pace towards the clearing. They were beginning to become used to seeing strange and new things on their journey.

They reached the clearing and much to their surprise, the citadel was already there. It never vanished from their last visit. They were surrounded by a wall of flames, which surprisingly hadn't burned anything around them. The devastation caused by the blight stopped just outside of the light given off by the flames. Pinzu lowered his staff as they approached and Romel dismounted and stepped forward. He cast incendiary guard on all of them and approached the flames, medallion in hand. The flames parted ways as he passed, and he called for the others to approach. They did so, and hitched the 5 horses with them to the pillars leading towards the doors of the citadel.

Romel again placed the medallion into the depression on the doors and they opened, revealing Quasar circled around the orb, inspecting it closely. He looked up at them all.

"I see you have returned, with yet another person. Shall I make rooms here for all of you?  I wonder how many will be present the next time someone visits me, who actually survive the traps and blight."

Pinzu started in awe at the dragon floating above him. "Quasar I presume?"

"Yes, that would be me. It seems you've heard of me. And who might you be? Another companion of Solaris and the others?"

"Yes, my name is Pinzu, and I've met Solaris, though it was a while before I met Romel and Red here. I've known Neil for several years already. I am a bit of a scholar, or have become one due to the knowledge I've acquired over the years. I've studied many things, including all the history I could find on Flame keepers and Moon Guardians. That is why I know of you."

"I see" Quasar said while scratching his chin, seemingly flattered. "Anyways, lets unseal this thing. Its tied to my life force and energy while in this state. Makes me tired."

"Sounds like being pregnant!" Red laughed, "Quasar's having a baby?"

Everyone except Quasar laughed. He lowered himself and landed just in front of Red, who instantly traded her laughter for a small steam of tears.

"Not having a baby, however the idea is much the same. He has to be woken up."

"Wait, he's in the orb? How the hell does he fit?! There'd better not be a baby in there, that would be …weird…and I'm NOT changing diapers!" Romel shouted.

"Silence boy! Normally, there would be a price for unsealing something such as one of these orbs, but that price has been paid, he may be released without penalty."

"Huh?" all of them said at the same time.

"Nomally, to release a guardian of any sort, there is a release of darkness, or some concentration of dark energy. However, this isn't the first time Solaris has been sealed, nor was he sealed the same way this time."

Romel nodded. Everyone looked at him, expecting an answer, he simply replied: "It's more than even I need to know. Explaining it would merely be a waste of time."

Pinzu nodded, "Just the basics please, I needn't know excessive details."

"They can fill you in after this. Step to the orb please and place your hands on it." They all did as they were told, and felt a pulse through it.

"This is….a heartbeat?" Asked Red.

"Yeah, let's go with that." Quasar laid his hand on top of the orb, it covered the orb, as well as everyone else's hands.

Romel stared at the large claws which rested upon his hand. "Damn, that's big, can you throw those at people?"

"Sure I can, want me to show you, using you as the target?"

"NO!" Romel shouted, and instantly shut up.

"You shall all feel a little feint after this…including me. Just duck around the pedestal if I should fall over. I assure you, you don't want me to land on you."

They all nodded, and Quasar activated nova himself. Then he pulled the orb from their hands and held it away from the pedestal. There was a bright flash, and a moment later, Solaris stood where the orb was once held, surrounded by flames, and in the state of nova. Everyone ducked around the pedestal as Quasar and Solaris fell to the floor at the same time.

"After this blight gets dealt with, I'm taking another nap." Quasar grumbled as he pulled himself up. They all looked in the direction of Solaris, who'd fallen face down, and was naked now for the 2nd time. "Oops, he apparently had no clothes when he died." Quasar chanted something and Solaris was covered in glowing orange and white heavy armor. "Meh, the flames should vanish any second now.", which they did.

Solaris woke up to everyone staring curiously. "What?" he asked.

Red and Romel ran and hugged him, knocking him to the ground. "You don't remember anything, do you?" Asked Red.

Quasar looked down at them all "He should regain his memories as the days pass, and uhm….."

"'And, uhm' what?" Romel raised an eyebrow while staring at Quasar.

"Well, remember how I said the orb wasn't finished?"

"Yeah, that's why we came back later."

"It still wasn't complete, something was missing." The dragon said.

Romel glanced over at Solaris. "Quasar, it's a PERSON! WHAT THE HELL IS MISSING, HIS BALLS?! WE CAN SEE THE REST OF HIM!. Wait, he's a guardian, which makes him not quite human…does he even…"

Everyone except Romel, Solaris, and Quasar laughed at the scene unfolding before them.
Solaris spoke up, answering simply: "Yes, I do; yes, they are there, and I'm missing pieces of my memory, such as who the old man and woman are, among other things."

Romel turned, astonished by Solaris's bluntness. "Well, that hasn't changed."

Red reintroduced herself, as did Pinzu. They shot the breeze for a moment about how Neil met Pinzu. Quasar broke up their chat.  "I'd love to hear the story, another time. Ok, I lied, I don't care, we have biggur issues than how who met who. There's a new dark power that exists in this world, its about as powerful as Solaris here, who is slightly weakened at the moment.  I sensed it when I awake from the high activation of nova."

"Romel, I think he means that dark sphere we left behind." Red said, slightly nervous.
"Quasar, can the blight affect people who are exposed to it over time?"

"I believe so, why do you ask?"

"We ran onto an old…friend out there, a guy by the name of Eber."

Quasar froze, seemingly remembering the name. "Ah, Eber, Solaris's longtime rival, That must've been who he was fighting. There were few indeed who could beat Solaris. Eber never was a killer though."

"He most certainly tried, he was far worse the 2nd time we fought him. He looked different, and was far more powerful, and evil. We found him in an ice block, sitting in contaminated lands."

"Yeah, that explains...pretty much everything. Though if Eber was that powerful, he may not be dead."

"WHAT?!" Red and Romel yelled.

"That dark energy probably protected Eber, he may have returned to his former self, or at least a less evil self. He never was a killer, he just wanted to be stronger, and challenged Solaris to test his strength."

"I'm not going to lie, I was totally hoping he was dead" said Romel.

"I second that" added Red.

"In either case, that dark energy source is likely what became of Eber's dark energy, and the energy that got released during that explosion."

"So, what are you saying here?" Romel said curiously.

"You remember what I said would happen if you touched that orb the last time you were here?"

"Yeah, a Solaris, with dark tendencies, or something like that."

"You may be fighting that. Whatever memories or whatever Solaris is missing, can be found at that concentration of dark energy. You shall have to find it, and probably destroy it." the dragon said, as if he weren't quite sure himself.

"I feel the energy from here, it's that way" Solaris pointed towards Fujima.

They all looked at him with curiosity and suspicion. He seemed more passive than he was before, and didn't give off the same aura of strength as he once did. Solaris looked at the dragon, partially confused, "So, I go find it right?"

Quasar pointed towards the doors of the citadel, "Yes, but first, let me make getting out of here a little easier, since I have most of my strength back." The beast few up and out of the citadel, and activated nova. They all felt the heat from his flames beyond the doors of the citadel.

Quasar descended back into the room and laid down. "There, you exit from this place should be considerably easier."

They bid Quasar farewell and took their leave. As they exited, Quasar yelled to Solaris,

"We'll meet again, but you'd better not blow yourself up again. You WILL return here whether you want to or not."

Solaris scratched his head in confusion as they rode off. They would head back to Azidon manor, and have a celebration fit for a king, for everyone's return. For those few moments, all was well for everyone in Azidon.

However, the forests southwest of Fujima were ablaze. Guards and villagers raced to and fro to fight the flames, the cause of which was thought to be the explosion from the fight a week prior, that was until the silhouette of person was spotted moving amongst the flames, with glowing purple eyes. The figure slowly, as if it were a pleasant spring day. The figure came to the edge of the flames and grabbed a random villager. "Where is that light-haired wuss?" He asked.

Upon receiving no suitable reply from the villager, he crushed his neck and threw him into the flames, then slowly continued his path towards Fujima.