The doors to the church flew open. Janova and I raced out of our safe room and back into the outside of the Chaos Palace. In an instant, white strings began attacking us, trying their best to latch on us. Janova grabbed me from behind and flew me into the air.

“This is really getting old and fast!”

Janova complained. We ascended high above the Chaos Palace as we made our way to the destination Polechenote told us about. We could see the white barrier guarding the main palace in the middle from here.

“Feodora, Janova?”

Suddenly, I could hear the voice of Polechenote inside of my head. I looked over my shoulder to make sure Janova could hear the same thing and that I wasn’t going crazy.

“We can hear you, Polechenote.”

Janova confirmed my sanity.

“Good. You both are located near the center of the palace. If you look off into the west, you can see a collection of platforms that house three chapel-like buildings."

I turned to the west. Just as Polechenote said, there was a platform hovering in the distance in the clouds. Beautiful water flowed from it as the landmass had a large garden also. Three large white chapel-like buildings raised to the heavens on that massive platform.

“We see it, Polechenote.”

Janova pulled us downward, avoiding the chaos strings still relentlessly assaulting us.

“Getting tired here, kid.”

The bratty goddess complained to Polechenote. We heard an audible sigh from the child.

"Get to that landmass and make your way into the middle chapel. Inside, the white beast holds dominion of the white barrier.”

Janova soared in the direction of the three chapels. The Chaos Palace was starting to come together as time was against us.

“When we get inside, all we have to do is kill the white beast, right Polechenote?”

I asked.

"You sound confident, Feodora. Destroy the beast, and the barrier in the middle should be down… for a little while."

Our information guide sounded a bit unsure.

“A little while?”

I parroted.

"Yes, a little while. The beast will reappear soon enough, causing the barrier to be restored once more. If you're inside the white barrier before then, it won’t matter, though."

The way I thought about it, if we got inside of the center of the Chaos Palace, there would be no way out until we… dealt with Yuu Yuu.

“Feodora, Janova, I have to leave you alone for a bit. Jade has arrived, and I need to give her an update on what's going on."

Before we could say anything, the sensation of Polechenote speaking in our minds disappeared.

“What a strange kid.”

Janova complained once again. But I agreed with her. This Polechenote person was strange, but any help we could get was a godsend. We finally reached the landmass housing the three chapels. It was a lot larger in person than it looked from the air. We couldn't idle around, though, as we still had the dangerous threat of the chaos strings trying to latch onto us.

They would appear out of seeming nowhere and strike at us. Still, Janova and I stayed agile as we raced through the white flower gardens, heading to the chapel in the middle.

“Almost there, Janova!”

I said for motivation. Janova flew ahead of me and pushed the door with her shoulder, opening it for us. We ran inside as the strings disappeared like what happened at the church. In the middle of this holy setting, a white beast was sleeping. It was a pure white dragon glowing the same color as the barrier in the middle of the Chaos Palace.

“That’s the white beast you need to kill.”

 

 

Polechenote’s disembodied voice said. Janova and I approached with our weapons ready.

“Take it down with everything you have! The faster we destroy this, the faster we get to Yuu Yuu, Janova!”

The massive dragon rose up on four legs when it noticed us. Its body was nearly as wide as the room it was housed in. Chaos energy rippled from its body as it roared, causing my bones to shake from its shriek. The beast lunged back and blew a breath of chaos our way.

“Hold it!”

Janova held out her shield, deflecting the attack from hitting us. Taking this chance to my advantage, I brought my blade back and channeled my dark spell into my blade, waiting for the beast to finish its chaos spell. Once it was done, Janova released her shield, and I brought down my darkness into the ground.

A shockwave of dark energy collided with the beast, causing it to roar in pain. Janova rushed in, brought up her flaming spear, and thrust it at the beast's body. It was a direct hit, but the dragon wasn't going down that easy, and it began channeling a powerful spell.

The wind began forming in the chapel in a horrid spiral. Janova shadow walked next to me and held me in her arms.

“Hold on, Feo.”

She enchanted our boots with the earth element and shielded us from the wind spell. This reminded me of the beast in the Ancient Ruins that Eve, Vivian, and I faced. This dragon wasn’t moving from its spot, but it was using massive spells to compensate for its lack of mobility.

Its wing spread and flapped as thunder began to channel within the room. Massive bolts of electricity descended on Janova’s shield.

“Shit! This thing is strong!”

Janova said as she held her shield out. It was beginning to crack, to my surprise. This beast's spectrum levels were enormous, a testament to being created by a level 3 chaos user.

“Feodora, can you hear me?”

Polechenote asked. This was something I couldn't get used to. Her voice was bouncing around in my mind, and it felt a little invasive.

“Yes, Polechenote.”

“Jade has already defeated her three beasts. The barrier won’t go down unless you and Janova destroy yours soon.”

“Jade did what?”

I was confused. Janova held out against the spell as I questioned Polechenote further.

“What do you mean, Jade has defeated her beasts?"

“I sent Jade to the other landmasses. The beast you’re dealing with isn’t the only one, you know? She’s already handled three others at the north, east and south. Take yours down so you can enter the center already.”

I sighed.

“Jade is… insane.”

My eyes turned that dark purple as the world around me began to change.

“We need to finish this quickly, Janova. Let’s aim to overwhelm it with spells.”

Once the wind spell died down, the beast began channeling yet another one. I appeared above its neck and slashed it with a downward strike. My darkness magnified when I sliced its neck.

The beast shrieked and attempted to bite at me. I dodged, vanished, and appeared out of its shadow below with an upper slash. Just like before, I landed my attack on its stomach.

Janova was assaulting it from all sides, stabbing her spear into the beast where she could land it. However, this wasn't stopping it from channeling another spell.

“Die already!”

Janova screamed as she attempted to take the beast down before the spell went off. She appeared at the dragon’s head with her burning spear.

“Wait Janova!”

I felt two separate spells being cast. It was quick, too fast for Janova to perceive. The room darkened, and a terrifying bolt of lightning shot out from the clouds above. It hit Janova directly, causing her to fall from the air. I rushed over, took hold of her, and held her close to my chest.

“Are you okay, Janova?!”

 

 

“I… was being careless.”

Annoyed and wounded, Janova pushed herself out of my arms and tried to stand.

“That was a powerful attack… I think it drained my energy, Feo.”

“If you need to rest, pull back, and I’ll keep fighting.”

Janova shook her head.

“No! There’s no time to waste. Yuu Yuu… is waiting for us.”

The dragon roared as it released a stronger spell.  A typhoon of water appeared underneath the beast. Janova and I escaped back towards the door of the chapel for safety. Once again, Janova shielded us from the attack, but I could tell that she was getting worn out from this.

“Hang on a little longer… I’m going for the final blow, Janova.”

“Okay, Feo.”

She said warily.

I closed my eyes and began reaching inside of me. The blur I knew about connected with me as my blade elongated. As the water spell died down, my darkness spectrum amplified as I brought my sword back behind me. The room darkened as all the shadows drew towards me. Suddenly, Janova cried out my name.

“Feo!”

My blade was enchanted with the fire element, causing the darkness to turn to hellfire. Once the beast's water spell ended, Janova released her shield, moved to the side, and let me unleash my attack on the beast.

“Die already!”

I screamed as I rushed in, dashed underneath its chest, and aimed upwards. My large blade connected with the beast's neck. Fire severed its white head as darkness engulfed its body. Spectrum exploded around as the beast cried. It didn't turn to dust like the beast we usually dealt with. It just eerily vanished as its voice echoed along the walls.

I calmed down, and my blade went back to normal.

"Good work, you two. The barrier is gone. Hurry inside the center palace before it's restored."

Janova and I nodded at one another then raced off back outside. The white barrier that protected the massive palace in the center was gone.

“Hold on.”

Janova warned before lifting me up and flying me towards the center landmass. Once again, the strings attempted to assault us, but Janova skillfully dodged them. She enchanted herself with the wind element once more as she sped to the palace in the middle.

"Feodora, Janova!"

Polechenote called to us. 

"What is it, Polechenote?"

I answered.

"Jade Opal won't be able to make it to the center mass before the barrier comes back. She was confronted by Mother and is in a battle with her as we speak."

I sighed harshly. 

"Mother."

"So you two are our last hope! The barrier is coming back so you need to focus else we're all going to have to deal with the goddess of chaos destroying the world again!"

Polechenote warned us. We could see the white barrier begin to form again.

"If the chaos barrier comes up before we make it, Feo, I'm not sure if I can break through."

I closed my eyes and began channeling all my energy into my body. Just like I broke Janova’s shield by putting all my power into my strike, I planned to do the same here.

"Just go as fast as you can, Janova. We'll break through!"

I confidently said.

Janova nodded and sped up as we speared to the center of the Chaos Palace. I brought my blade forward and held it out in front of us, pointing it at the shield. Darkness channeled around us as we spun like a drill towards the structure. The spell circulating around Janova and me was a dense purple, contrasting the white chaos barrier in front of us.

"Come on! This is our only chance! Let's give it everything we got, Janova!”

My blade connected with the barrier.

The strength of the barrier was prevailing as it attempted to push us back. With force, Janova sped up, breaking through the shield slowly. I could feel the pressure of the chaos element attempt to tear us apart as our bodies pushed through the spell. The pain of the chaos spell was assaulting my body, and I'm sure Janova was feeling the surge of agony too. 

The pain had become unbearable as the chaos shield attempted to push us back. I could feel the barrier going back to its full strength as we began to lose speed within the wall.

“We can do it! Let’s keep pushing, Feo!”

 

 

I closed my eyes and channeled that blur within me. My blade extended, giving us that much more push within the chaos shield. Finally, we pushed through, deeper into the force field. We fell and landed on the center landmass.

Janova and I hit the ground, panting from exhaustion. When I opened my eyes, the silver strings began to surround us. I took to my feet, pulled Janova up, and helped her and me escape into the main palace.

“Sorry… I’m just… I’m… so tired, Feo.”

“Don’t worry, Janova... We’re almost there.”

We approached the door to the center palace, But the silver strings were relentless. One aimed at Janova’s back, and right before it reached her, I held her tight, shadow walked to the side, effectively dodging it. But more came our way. If one latched on either of us, there would be no way to get it off.

"We're almost there. Stay strong, Janova.”

We were both exhausted from everything, but we had to push forwards.

“We need to make it inside, Janova! It’s… It’s the only way we’ll save Yuu Yuu! We… we have to save Yuu Yuu!”

The strings were becoming more aggressive as they nearly grabbed my arm. At this rate they would reach us before we got to the door. And if that happened, it would all be over. Everything we fought for… would end.

“You’re right, Feo! No matter what… one of us has to reach Yuu Yuu!”

We were nearing the doorway when suddenly, Janova pushed away from me.

“Huh?!”

I turned to see the army of white strings about to grab us. Janova put her hands on my chest, pushed her face close to mine, and whispered in my ear tenderly.

“Save her to save me, Feo! Protect us, just like you promised!"

Janova enchanted my clothing with the wind element and pushed me. I flew backward before the strings could reach me. My body stumbled into the palace’s doorway and I broke through. I fell on my bottom and tumbled inside. When I looked up, I saw an insane amount of white strings wrap around Janova’s body.

“I’ll see you soon, Feo.”

 

 

The bratty goddess smiled as each string clawed itself on her.

“Janova!”

Her eyes went pure white as the strings took over her body. But before they could come inside, I shook my head, stood up, and raced to shut the door. When the door was shut… everything became abnormally quiet.  

“Damn it all!”

I pounded on the walls in frustration. I felt extremely weak as I closed my eyes, cleared my mind, and stood up straight.

“If I can bring Yuu Yuu back to her senses, the strings will release from Janova and she will be saved. Stay focused.”

I turned back to the interior of the palace. There were bright blue steps leading to a platform far above.

 

“I’m going to save you both. I’m coming, Yuu Yuu, Janova.”

I promised I’d keep them safe, protect them. It was time that I kept that promise.