“Dang it!”

I hit the wall. Like a bird trapped in a cage, the door closed us in.

“Let’s get going, Feodora.”

“That woman… the one who attacked me at the abandoned ruins… she’s here.”

Jade crossed her arms.

"Ah… I expected that to be the case. Did you see that dark vessel before the door closed?"

I nodded.

“Yes… and she’s certainly a dark vessel. I could feel her spectrum when our eyes met. She’s likely the one causing the symbols.”

 

 

Abigail turned to Lana.

"Lana, be prepared. Make sure to stay close to us this time…."

“Okay, Abigail.”

Lana walked close to me and put her hands behind her back. I finally calmed down and put my hand on my sword.

"She might be in here… I could feel her move around, and it wouldn't surprise me.”

The knight nodded and turned towards the giant steps in front of us.

"I can feel the flow of spectrum coming from below…."

Jade said as she led the way. We all began walking down the stairs as Jade lit the way with her holy spectrum. Abigail walked beside her as they scanned the underground sanctuary.

There were statues of a woman with long hair in a praying pose. It sparked my interest, so I ended up asking her.

“Abigail, who is Annaba?”

She put her hand to her lip.

“The god of the Cero people. She was the goddess of water.”

Abigail put her hand up and turned to me.

“As you know, Feodora… There are three levels to the spectrum elements. Level 1 is the general use of all spectrums. Every vessel can use every element essentially at its weakest...”

I nodded. Like what Maxwell taught me, we all can use the minimalist of all elements. Even I can use the holy spectrum but to a limit, because my blood doesn't resonate with it like it does with the dark spectrum.

“Level 2 would be a vessel user of their born element. Like you with darkness or Lana with earth.”

“That’s right.”

I agreed.

"But then there's the theorized Level 3… someone who is all-powerful in their element. Annaba was a case of a level 3 water vessel. She is a legend amongst the Cero people, and they pray to her daily."

Jade looked back at us.

“Annaba isn’t a legend, she existed, and I had to deal with her before.”

"Really, Jade? What happened to her?"

Surprised, I asked. Jade took a deep breath and answered.

"She passed away during a… war of the gods per se…."

We continued down the long stretch of stairs. It began to feel like there would be no end to them as we descended into the darkness.

“War of the gods?”

I questioned. Abigail giggled.

"Oh yes, around 200 years ago, there was a goddess who nearly destroyed the world with her level 3 powers. This shook the Radiants to the core, and now they tirelessly make sure to keep tabs on religious groups."

We reached the bottom and what was in front of us was a collection of catacombs. Annaba's statues were set all about the rooms, and one could clearly see how well kept this place was. The Cero people loved their goddess to create something so elaborate for her. Jade turned back to us and continued her story.

"Yes, level 3 is almost unheard of… and the person we dealt with could control the world…, and she almost did. But thanks to Annaba and many others… we killed her and stopped her from doing just that."

“Control the world?”

 

 

I questioned. Jade crossed her arms.

“This woman could use the 3rd level of the chaos element. With the ability to shape reality… you can only imagine how destructive she was.”

Jade turned back to Abigail.

"The fact is, if she didn't die, then the world would be a much different place than it is now. She… wouldn't have stopped after wiping out the Radiants. That demon… had every intention to control this world and bend it to her will.”

“And who is this person?”

I asked. Abigail shrugged.

“The Radiants forbade the use of her name to prevent worshippers from trying to praise her. Her name was scrubbed from history, isn’t that right, Jade?”

The knight shrugged.

“Mum’s the word.”

This went to show me how many secrets the Radiants have. The idea was that someone all-powerful… who attempted to take out the Radiants was foiled and killed by them. This only established that Jade was a force to be reckoned with for sure.

“Ahh!”

Lana cried before rushing off in front.

"L-Lana, get back here!"

Abigail cried to her.

“It’s Marable! I see Marable, everyone!”

Jade scoffed.

“Feodora, go catch her.”

“R-Right.”

I shadow walked in front of her and stopped her from getting too far. In front of us was a young girl in a white cloak. She smiled as her eyes were glowing a fierce purple.

“Hold on, Lana!”

I commanded. The child with long blonde hair took out a knife. Fire channeled within the blade as she sliced it at me. I connected my sword with her spectrum and scattered the fire away from us, protecting both Lana and me. The heat lit up the dark catacombs briefly.

“That’s my friend! Marable, what are you doing?!”

 

 

Instead of responding, she ran deeper into the darkness. I saw her turn the corner, but to Lana, she would have vanished out of sight.

“Why didn’t you let me talk to her, Feodora?!”

"Because her eyes were glowing purple, Lana…."

I turned back to the little girl, still annoyed.

“I could feel it… she’s been possessed.”

Everyone else ran up to us.

“Possession?”

Abigail murmured.

“So, we have people being drawn of their spectrum above… and others are being possessed? Could one vessel do all of that, Feodora?”

I shook my head.

"That's a lot of spectrum feeding too many things. We're likely dealing with more than one dark vessel."

I turned to Lana, who seemed to have a worried expression on her. She held her hands close to her chest and looked back at me.

"Your friend isn't in control of herself, Lana. But don't worry… ah…."

She looked at me with pleading eyes.

“If she’s been possessed… that means she’s still alive. There’s a chance that if we break whatever spell is possessing her that she’ll be okay.”

Jade crossed her arms.

"Okay… let me think about all of this. The people of Cero Village are being used as an energy source… and the Baron’s are likely being possessed to do something else down here."

Abigail tilted her hat.

“It would seem so. And whoever is possessing them is taunting us to go forward. That means we have to be careful and expect a battle with our family.”

As we ventured through the catacombs, pathways began to spider out from all kinds of directions. Jade took the lead and guided us through. It seemed she's been down here before, and if her story was true about Annaba, that would make sense. We then entered a circular dome-like room. From within the shadows, figures began emerging.

“Everyone!”

I cried out because I would be the first to see them coming. Within the shadows, the Baron's pilgrimage members began jumping out at us. Five of them came from above, aiming at the group. Lana created a wall with her spectrum, preventing them from attacking from above.

However, the structure was shattered as they shot many elements at the shield, causing it to break into pieces. Before we knew it, we were surrounded by all twenty pilgrimage members. They all had glowing purple eyes, just like Marable.

“Everyone, engage!”

Jade commanded as we all pushed a way through their formation. The knight's body began to glow a powerful holy light. Clearly, she was strong in the divine spectrum. Her blade lit with a bright golden flame, making the element a holy fire, and she sped forward, colliding with two of the members, pushing them back into their own corner.

“Lana, create a wall to separate them!”

Abigail commanded. Lana did just that as she brought up multiple walls. They littered all over the battlefield, effectively breaking up the pilgrimage’s cluster.

Abigail and Lana worked together as they held off a group of them.

“Don’t hurt them! Knock them out if you can!”

Abigail ordered. Each Baron had one of their own to fight against their family. As for me, the remaining numbers were mine, three of them.

“Don’t harm them! Try to bind them, do you hear me?!”

Their goddess commanded as she then put her hand up. Water rushed above us along with heat. My body felt tense for a moment before I realized what she was doing. Abigail was amplifying our abilities using her various spells.

 

 

I clashed with one of the three possessed members. This place was my battleground because of how dark it was. Using this to my advantage, I disappeared.

“Ha!”

I appeared behind one and kicked them in the head. However, they moved less like people and more like zombies. One attempted to slice me with a blade enchanted with fire. I caught their edge with mine and cooled it off. When I kicked off them, I landed on the ground and brought darkness into my hand. My fingers touched the ground, and a purple wave began rushing up. It weaved around two of them, and I pushed them to the wall, effectively trapping them there.

The third attempted to attack me, but the knight sped over. A red fire burned on the ground as she appeared in an instant, kicking the one in the head. They toppled to the ground. She had already put a holy spectrum handcuff on the two she was battling when I looked over. The battle edged on as countless spells were cast. I began channeling my darkness, latching on to more members and bringing them to the walls. The shadows held them one by one. Before we knew it, only 10 or so of them were left.

“Marable!”

Lana cried out as her friend ran deeper into the chamber. Before Lana could run after her, I broke away and grabbed her.

“Hold up!”

The ones we captured were passed out, unable to move.

“We’ve successfully got a few of them.”

Abigail said as she looked them over.

"They're all suffering from spectrum sickness. When possessed, it draws spectrum from the victim constantly. When the victim is being used, you can see signs of spectrum sickness.  That confirms it. The pilgrimage members have been possessed."

I added, looking over them. The symbols on them were the arrows from the abandoned city. I was able to associate this symbol with possession…

“It’s okay to touch them… this is a different kind of spell.”

I added.

"This symbol seems to be possessing them. A few should stay behind to detain them. The rest of us will have to capture the user doing this."

Jade walked over to one of them and pulled off the hood.

“Just as I thought.”

She looked at me.

“One of them is a missing person...”

Abigail and Lana ran over. The man was fighting to get the cuffs off, but it wasn't coming off anytime soon. He fought like a beast, clearly having no will to do anything but what was ordered of him.

“This man is a merchant who went missing. It seems that they are using the missing people as puppets for whatever scheme they have going. Like Abigail said, we need a few Baron members to stay behind and hold them down. Me, Feodora, Lana, and Abigail will find the person possessing them.”

The knight concluded as she stood up.

“Caesar and Marable are still deeper inside. Let’s hurry and save them before it’s too late, Jade.”

Abigail said. Jade nodded, turning back to Abigail. The goddess was worried as she looked up to the knight. She calmed herself and turned to the group.

"Anyone who'd use people like pawns is capable of much worse… and I don't want to lose any family, Jade.”

The “goddess” said. I could feel the worry in her words. 

“Right.”

The knight put her hand on her hips as she replied.

“This entire thing feels like it’s been set up from the beginning. Not just the Cero Village being attacked… but the Baron’s being taken too. This… doesn’t feel like a crime of opportunity.”

I caught on to what Jade was saying as I turned back to them. The four of us left the Baron group behind as we ran towards where Marable ran off too.

“Are you saying that… there’s a chance one of a Baron member is a culprit because they would have known about the pilgrimage?”

I ask, earning a nod from the knight.

"Yes, that white cloak we found in ruins was the clue that told us that. Someone… was likely a member of the Barons and knew of the upcoming pilgrimage. So, they decided to use this chance to do what they need."

Lana jumped into the conversation.

“And… what are they trying to do? Why would they kidnap all these people and make them puppets?”

Jade scoffed.

“I think I know… but until we find them, I can’t be certain. The making of a large beast… the constant need for spectrum energy… use of the dark arts… it’s all starting to come together.”

It seemed Jade had an idea of what was going on as she took the lead.

"Everyone, get ready for battle. We're nearing the main sanctuary!"

At that, she began running off. Abigail followed behind her, and Lana trailed next as they used their wings and flew. We entered a large door, and unlike the catacombs, this room was bright. Torches, the color of blue flames, lit up the large room. As we approached the expansive space, water flowed from both sides into a seemingly endless pit. The area was in a large circular dome, and on the outsides, a circular hole sat around it. It was bright. Unlike the catacombs before and above were chambers of water flowing from above. A large group in white cloaks and a strange boy standing in the middle were in the middle of the room.

“There’s everyone!”

Lana cried. All of them were kneeling, chanting away from what we could see. Their voices bounced off the underground walls, and most of what they were saying was washed away from the large waterfalls around us. In the middle of their chant group was a boy with bright red hair and a book in his hand. He looked as though he was directing a choir as I swung his arms about.

“Ah, they finally arrived!”

 

 

He laughed maniacally. He had a higher-pitched voice, showing how young he might have been. I'd never seen him before but what I could tell was this boy was the one possessing the Baron members and missing people. He had black armor mirroring the woman from the back, which made me tense up. On the ground were dried-up blood spots and symbols reflecting the arrow from the abandoned ruins. It… looked like one of Jade's crime scenes, adding to the idea that he was the culprit.

When we stepped into the room, they all stood up and turned to us like machines bending to the will of their master. In the middle was Caesar; even he was possessed, it seemed.

“How dare you do something like this to my people! Not just my people… but the people of Radiant City!”

Abigail took the lead as she faced up to the young boy. The faces of the missing people were all around us. It felt eerie as they watched us approach them. The boys’ eyes lowered.

“The goddess Abigail Pasco herself had made an appearance. I wasn’t expecting that you’d come.”

He taunted, still waving his arms around like a director.

"After seeing so many of my family go missing, I swore I'd be the one to bring them back. What are you doing to them?! Why do you possess them?!"

Abigail demanded answers as she took the front. The boy raised his hand and as darkness covered the floor. The possessed people began shaking like puppets. But as fast as he did this, he stopped, showing he was in control of their movements.

“Wait a minute… I know you.”

Abigail said as she stepped forward.

"You're Vert, a Baron member who left a few weeks back…."

Abigail put her finger to her chin.

"But last I knew, you were a wind vessel, and you lacked all abilities for any other element. How does someone like you have the ability to use this kind of dark vessel?"

Jade stepped in, concluding the matter.

“It’s because he’s a Radiant.”

Surprised, I turned to the knight who approached with her blade out. She was already prepared for the fight ahead of her. With her culprit insights, Jade had no intentions of letting him go.

“A Radiant?”

Even the goddess was surprised as she looked back at him.

"Radiants are attributed to 2 elements. They are strong in 2 separate elements naturally. It seemed Vert infiltrated the Barons and hid his second element… that being a dark vessel. That… is an extraordinary combination." 

The boy manically laughed.

"Oh, Jade, as keen-eyed as ever. It's pretty easy to hide amongst the vessels if you know what traits not to show. So, slipping into the Baron group and acting as a down on his luck kid was simple."

Jade approached further as she continued.

“You’ve been working alongside another dark vessel to kidnap people. Then you decided it would be best to get a wider amount by infiltrating the Baron group. When you heard about the pilgrimage, you took this chance to strike. But it begs the question, why are you, a Radiant, doing this in the first place?”

Vert grinned, and he tapped his head.

"We are praying right now… We're trying to please a certain deity, and as it stands, you all are in our way."

The boy turned to me as his eyes twisted maddeningly.

“And you… I heard of you, Feodora Cicer. Claudia mentioned that you might be coming here. I’m glad you didn’t disappoint. We… wanted to get to know you better, dark vessel.”

“Claudia?! Is that her name?”

I could finally put a name to the face. It seemed the woman with the devil's eyes finally had a name. Marable and Caesar stood in front of the boy. However, the remaining missing people walked behind them and started praying once again. It was creepy how in sync they were as they fed their spectrum to the waters below.

He smiled.

“Wouldn’t it be nice if you… join us, Feodora? To be with people who understand you?”

This boy was creepy, and I didn’t even want to answer him. Clearly, his ideas were warped as he manically laughed, staring right at me.

“If we take Vert out, all the possessed people will pass out from spectrum sickness, everyone.”

I whispered to the group.

“That’s easy enough.”

The knight said.

Jade sped forward, catching the kid off guard. I could see the look in his eye as the knight appeared right in front of him. She sliced down, catching blades with… her.

 

 

“Vert, you’re an idiot. I can’t believe you’d allow her to almost take you down so quickly.”

Her cold voice finally came out. She held a greatsword as an infinite amount of darkness was being held inside, combatting Jade. They finally broke apart with a blast. Marks of battle littered the arena as… Claudia warped her and Vert further away. There they stood behind Marable and Caesar. Suddenly, a silver disk came from under Vert as he began to hover above everyone. It looked to be some strange device he was using to float around.

"It's a 4 on 4, it seems."

Vert chuckled in excitement.

“How do you want to spit this up, Claudia?”

The devil licked her lips and pointed at me.

“I want to have a chat with her… The girl who shares my Shadow Crafts. I want to taste Feodora Cicer’s blood.”

The way she spoke was nothing short of creepy. I assumed they must have been watching me with them knowing my name for a while. The boy put his hand in his pocket as he began floating around with glee.

"Fine. Just remember, today isn't the day to die. All we're doing is collecting spectrum, and that's it. But if you can convince her to come with us, that would be nice too."

He spoke like I wasn't even here. The rest of us formed as we readied for the fight ahead.

"I'll handle Vert. Because he's a Radiant, there are different laws when dealing with him. Leave him to me."

The knight said as she held her sword out towards the kid.

“Lana, please keep Marable at bay. I’ll make sure no harm comes to Caesar. Do you think you’re confident enough to do this?”

"R-Right, sis."

“You think you can handle the Claudia woman, Feodora?”

Jade asked. I put my blade to my side. A sense of excitement and worry took over me. Answers were right at my fingertips. Who is she? How did she know Maxwell’s teachings and all? Everything was going to be answered today.

"You have no idea… I have so many questions for that woman. I'll subdue her so you can take her in."

I faced her, the woman who shared my mentor's battle crafts. As the water rushed around us, we all squared up to our respective people.

 

"We are trying to capture them! Do your best to subdue them. We aren't here to kill them! Do you hear me, everyone?!"

Our leader commanded.

“Right!”

We all cried as the battle began.