Chapter 14: Ea

Tayo felt the world slow down to a heartbeat, until when a spear charged with lightning descends from between the pillars of the temple and cuts Naori’s hand off. He screamed in pain.

Tayo rushed forward and cuts Hiro’s bonds and she grabbed the knife on the floor and stabs Naori. 

From a clerestory, two figures emerged, Henry and the other clad in grey armor. Daro. Without a word, they joined the fray. Henry moved and began cutting down minions. Tayo, bow in hand, loosed arrow after arrow, each one finding its mark among the enemies still lingering in the temple.

Daro strode forward, ignoring the bloodied combatants, and stood over the gasping Naori.

“Daro...” Naori coughed, eyes losing focus.

“Goodbye, traitor,” came the cold reply. Daro plunged his blade into Naori’s neck.

The light in Naori’s eyes died.

Without urgency, Daro moved to the foot of the towering statue of Ea and sat calmly, even as the temple echoed with the clang of battle.

“Don’t let that beast escape,” he called, his tone composed but commanding.

Tayo turned toward the archway. There, the lanba was limping toward the edge of the trees, dragging its wounded form into the forest’s darkness.

Tayo raised his final arrow, breathed, and let it fly. It missed, thudding harmlessly into the dirt.

“Does anyone have an arrow?” he called out desperately.

“You don’t need an arrow,” Daro said, standing now. “Focus.”

Tayo shut his eyes. Nothing. No weapon appeared.

Daro walked to him. He took the bow from Tayo’s hands, turned to the sky, and drew the string. As he did, an arrow of light shimmered into existence, forged from will into lightning and storm.

He released it.

The sky seemed to hold its breath—then, from the clouds, a bolt of lightning struck with terrifying precision. The forest flashed white for a second. When it cleared, the lanba was gone, vaporized where it stood.

Tayo collapsed to the floor, lungs heaving, hands trembling. Hiro checked her face for injuries, brushing the dust from her skin. Henry knelt nearby, hand on Tayo’s shoulder.

“So,” Daro said after a pause, “you’ve known my master since ancient times.”

“You were listening?” Tayo muttered, still catching his breath.

“He said we should wait,” Henry explained.

“Why?” Tayo asked.

“I didn’t trust you,” Daro answered.

Henry gestured between them. “Ray, this is Daro.”

“I know,” Tayo replied coolly. “And Daro, that’s Hiro.” Henry continued.

“How did you know we were in trouble?” Hiro asked, narrowing her eyes.

Daro’s gaze slid toward her. “I was watching Naori’s minions. That’s when I saw him.”

Daro remembers.

From the rooftop near the temple, he had spotted the bat monster clutching Henry as it flew. Without hesitation, he’d charged his spear with lightning and hurled it into the sky. The weapon struck its target, and the bat spiraled down, crashing into the forest far from the temple.

Now focused on them, Daro asked, “Why are you looking for my master?”

“We’re looking for answers,” Tayo said. “She was close to the professor. If anyone can help us, it’s her.”

“Guys, we should find a better place to talk.” Hiro warned.

Daro rose. “Even she didn’t see this coming. I doubt she can help. But I’ll take you to her. Come on.”

The temple loomed behind them as Daro stepped into the open and let out a sharp, whistling call that echoed into the night.

“I’ll get our horses,” Tayo offered, jogging into the dark.

As the others waited, Hiro looked at the now-distant statue of Ea in the temple. “That statue… it was Ea, wasn’t it? You worship her?”

Daro didn’t turn. “She is a being from before time.”

Henry crossed his arms. “And we’re the beings that created her. You know what that means, don’t you?”

Daro looked at him blankly. “No. I don’t.”

“It means if you serve her, you serve us. We created all of this.”

Moments later, the thudding of hooves returned. Tayo rode up with Hiro’s horse. “I couldn’t find the other one.”

“What do we do?” Hiro asked, frowning.

“You can share with him,” Daro said, nodding toward Tayo. Then, with a slight smirk, he added, “We’ll let this deity run after us.” Daro’s forse emerges from behind them.

The expression on Henry’s face was priceless.

The forest was hushed, save for the soft clop of hooves. Daro and Henry rode the forse, while Hiro and Tayo shared a horse. Tayo swayed, sleep tugging at his limbs. Henry had already nodded off. Daro nudged him awake with a sharp jab.

“We’ll be there soon,” he said.

Tayo turned his head toward Hiro. “Nice cloak. Where’d you get it?”

“On a mission,” she replied. “Why didn’t you tell the general you were a tester?”

He hesitated, considering the truth. “Because…” He looked away. “Because of what would be expected of me.”

She nodded. She understood. The burden of expectations.

They passed a cluster of wild horses and cattle grazing quietly beneath the starlit canopy. Eventually, the group dismounted and began walking toward the sound of rushing water. The gentle roar grew louder until they reached the edge of a cliff.

Below, a vast waterfall tumbled into a massive valley cloaked in mist and shadow.

Tayo froze, heart suddenly hammering.

Henry stepped forward beside him. “Don’t tell me...”

Daro answered, “Our destination is down there. The ruins of Ealao.”

***

The waterfall glitters in the moonlight as it thundered down the cliffside. The four of them descended slowly, climbing down the narrow, treacherous path carved into the cliff’s edge. The mist circled around them, clinging to their clothes and making every stone feel slippery beneath their boots.

Below, the valley stretched out, a forgotten world — quiet, cloaked in mystery. Tall rock formations rose like petrified titans, their sides covered with vines and crowned with pockets of stubborn greenery. Between them, lost in time and decay, lay the ruins of Ealao.

They have now reached the valley. Up close, they see sculptures etched into the sides of rocks. Their once-proud carvings had worn with age, but they still held a majestic, ancient presence.

Daro moved ahead without a word. The others followed. He led them into a narrow, pitch-dark corridor chiseled into one of the taller formations.

Daro ignited each torch along the passage, one after another by simply touching them. Their flames cast a warm glow on the ancient murals that adorned the walls, which depicted strange beings gliding across the skies painted in reds and golds and creatures no one could name.

Hiro glanced around. Behind her, Henry looked uneasy.

“I’m beginning to think looking for this lady was a mistake,” he muttered. “Why is she here?” he asked Tayo, gesturing towards Hiro.

“The general sent me,” she replied simply.

Their words echoed down the stone corridor.

Then the passage opened into a large chamber, lit by a magic crystal above.

The room was mostly empty, save for the weapons that hung along the walls. But all the party’s attention was drawn to the center.

Suspended in the air, refracting light like a prism, was a crystalline sphere. Within it shimmered the distorted image of Ea. No, it was Ea herself trapped within the diamond sphere.

Tayo stepped closer, eyes narrowed with concern.

“When she arrived,” Daro said quietly, “she sealed herself in it. I’ve tried everything, but nothing’s worked.”

Henry unsheathed a small knife and slashed at the sphere. The blade passed through as if through mist. Tayo reached out, tentatively. His hand too slipped through the surface, as if the sphere was an illusion rather than matter.

He whispered, “Ea… please wake up.”

Suddenly, the light from the sphere began to shift. The chaotic refractions cleared. Ea became more visible, no longer a mirage.

This new clarity reveals a deep black gash running down her body.

The sphere dissipated and Ea floated downward. Tayo moved instinctively, catching her in his arms. Her body was limp and all its warmth was gone. The others gathered around, and Daro knelt beside her them. She wakes.

“Tayo…” she murmured. “I’m so glad to see you. The professor… did he manage to—?”

Tayo shook his head solemnly.

She winced in pain, her body more tense.

“Do you have any healing potions?” Tayo asked Daro.

Before Daro can produce one, Ea replied. “No. This… doesn’t heal.”

Daro then asked, “What happened?”

With this question, Ea recalls a sea of writhing blackness. She stood on the edge of an abyss, her silhouette outlined against a sky riddled with red lightning and drifting crimson blots. The dark pulsed, it was alive.

“I was teleported to the dark realm,” she tells them. “The darkness itself got me.”

Ea gasped. The black wound along her side grew, spreading like rot. Daro tore a strip of cloth and tried to wipe it clean — the blackness consumed it in seconds.

“But,” she whispered, “I was able to escape and get this.”

She raised a trembling hand, palm toward the ceiling. Slowly, a double-edged sword materialized midair. It shimmered as if forged from a star. Strange inscriptions glowed faintly along its length.

“Take it,” she urged Tayo, voice cracking. “Take it. It’s the professor’s sword.”

Tayo hesitated but then he took it and dropped it on the floor.

The darkness has now covered most of her body. Her breaths came in short, pained bursts.

“Ea… how do we logout?” Tayo pleaded.

Despite her pain she replies, “I’m so sorry, Tayo. I don’t know. I failed my creator… my master…” She turned her face slightly. “Daro, please… take care of him.”

Daro said nothing. His face was pale, his body frozen, he cannot believe what is happening.

Tayo holds her hand. “What can we do?”

“Fight,” Ea whispered. Her lips trembled. “I’m glad you found me… Tayo.”

She reached out, gently touching his face.

And then darkness swallowed her whole.

Her body began to unravel — not into blood or flesh — but into fine black particles that shimmered faintly as they drifted upward. No one moved.

Daro’s eyes are heavy, and Tayo bowed his head in sadness as the last of Ea vanished into the air.