Entry #13

At Olentzo's Post, the storm of battle had already consumed the horizon. Smoke twisted into the air like demonic fingers, while the sound of steel clashing against darkness rang through the mountaintop stronghold.

Olentzo stood at the center of the chaos, his gauntlets burning with raw elemental energy as he struck down another Darksider. Bloodied but unyielding, he turned sharply.

“Lamia!” he called over the roar of the battlefield. “Have any reinforcements arrived yet?!”

“Lady Aide has answered the call,” Lamia shouted back, her glowing eyes flicking between waves of encroaching shadows. “And the champion is with his companions!”

Olentzo scowled. “I don’t need mortals—I need someone like me. A god. How could he even fend off these darkspawn?”

But before Lamia could respond, the sky cracked with thunder.

A sonic boom echoed across the mountains as Aide descended from the sky, Louis and the rest of the squad beside her.

She wasted no time. Aide tore through the battlefield like a storm, her blades slicing through darkness, her presence rallying what little strength the defenders had left.

Louis dropped beside her, sword ablaze. With a single sweeping motion, he sent a wave of fire through a line of Xeolstors, cutting them down with precision.

“Glad you could join the party,” Aide muttered.

“Wouldn’t miss it,” Louis replied, eyes locked on the chaos.

Gabriel landed near them, blades drawn. “Let’s show these bastards what mortals can do!”

He hurled an enchanted knife laced with fire, which detonated upon contact. Aide grinned, then disappeared into a gust of wind, flanking a group of Xeolstors and slicing through them with ruthless grace.

Mira, hovering on a cloud of her own, hurled unpredictable bursts of elemental energy, causing a chain of explosions. “Eat that, you creepy things!”

Joaquin watched the mayhem from a safe distance and sighed, “Looks like everyone’s improvising again.”

He rushed to Olentzo’s side. The god was kneeling, battered and bruised.

“I must keep fighting—” Olentzo began.

“No,” Joaquin said firmly, pressing glowing hands to his wounds. “You need to rest. Let us handle it.”

Olentzo reluctantly nodded, but as he scanned the battlefield, his eyes widened.

“Lamia…”

She was being overrun by a pack of high-level Xeolstors, pushed to the edge of collapse.

“Aide!” he barked. “Lamia needs help!”

“I’m a little busy!” Aide shouted from the front line.

Louis saw it too and immediately tried to intervene—but even he was getting overwhelmed by sheer numbers.

Olentzo stood. His wounds protested, but he didn’t care. He roared and surged forward, cutting through the enemy like a raging storm, racing toward Lamia.

Just before she fell, a blinding burst of light radiated from her body. The Xeolstors around her froze—then shattered into shards of corrupted magic.

She rose slowly, her body glowing with divine energy.

“I will not fail!” she cried. “Not Master Ran, not Master Olentzo! I’ve come too far—from an elemental beast to this!”

Lamia ascended into godhood.

Aide landed beside Gabriel, stunned. “She did it… she actually ascended.”

“I’ve never seen it happen before,” Gabriel whispered. “I thought gods were just… born.”

“So did I,” Aide murmured.

Lamia collapsed, exhausted. Olentzo caught her before she hit the ground, holding her with trembling hands.

“You’re alright…” he whispered, brushing her hair from her face. “You did it.”

“We defeated them?” she asked weakly.

“Yes. Thanks to you… and my sister.”

The rest of the squad rushed in to regroup.

Aide crossed her arms. “Well, Olentzo, he’s yours now.”

Olentzo looked up, confused. “What? Isn’t he supposed to go to Vishap’s post?”

“Change of plans. Since I brought him here, I’m asking you to conduct his trial next.”

“I refuse,” Olentzo said without hesitation.

Later that evening, the group rested at the camp. Sweetened snow—freshly made by Olentzo himself—was passed around.

“You refused to train him?” Aide asked, unimpressed.

“I said what I said,” Olentzo replied between bites. “How could a mortal handle a power of a god?”

Louis folded his hands. “With respect, I’ve already passed three trials—your siblings thought I was capable.”

“You’re excused, Delacroix.”

“Thank you. But hear me out—humans improve because we face trials. We evolve, step by step. That’s why we keep moving forward.”

Olentzo leaned forward. “Then learn my element on your own.”

Aide rolled her eyes. “Here comes the infamous Olentzo pride.”

“Say you improve,” Olentzo continued, “then do it yourself.”

“But someone has to teach me,” Louis replied. “I can’t do everything alone. Look what happened to your camp. Even gods can fall without help.”

Olentzo’s gaze tightened.

“No man is an island,” Louis finished. "I've reached this far because i have people believing on me even though i'm burdened by this purpose"

“We were doing fine,” Olentzo said coldly. “Lamia and I could’ve finished the job.”

Lamia cleared her throat. “If I hadn’t called for help, your post would’ve been ashes.”

“Gods’ business,” he retorted.

“I am a god now,” Lamia said quietly.

The table fell silent.

Olentzo grumbled. “Fine. But if he fails my trial… he forfeits the right to bear any elemental mastery. He must surrender every gift my siblings gave him.”

“Olentzo!” Aide gasped. “Father would never allow—”

“It’s alright,” Louis said calmly. “I accept.”

That night, under a cold starlit sky, Olentzo, Aide, and Lamia sat around a table.

“She’s been visiting our camps,” Olentzo muttered.

Aide’s brow furrowed. “Mother?”

Olentzo nodded. “She already went to Ama-Lurra, Ilazki, and Vishap. Mine was the only one she attacked.”

“Why?” Aide asked.

“She says she’s spending time with her children. Watching the champion’s progress.”

“Then why attack you?”

“Because I’m not easily persuaded,” Olentzo said flatly. “A couple of beatings might be her idea of parenting.”

“What did she demand?”

“That I conduct Louis’s trial.” He clenched his fist. “But I still don’t trust mortals with divine power.”

“You’re impossible,” Aide snapped, standing. “I’m leaving.”

Lamia rose too. “I’ll return to Ran’s post now that I’ve ascended.”

“Wait.” Olentzo stopped her. “Lamia… can we talk?”

She turned. “Sure, Master.”

“You don’t have to call me that anymore. Just… Olentzo.”

“I don’t want to be disrespectful.”

“You never could be—not to me.”

They stood in silence for a long moment.

“I thought I was going to lose you,” he whispered. “I… I care about you more than I’ve let on.”

Lamia looked at him, wide-eyed.

“I want to be with you,” he said. “Forever. I love you.”

The words floated, heavy and trembling.

Lamia looked down. “I’m sorry… I only see you as my teacher. I care for you deeply, but not like that.”

She bowed and left.

Olentzo sat alone in the dark, quietly eating his untouched ice cream. It hadn’t even melted.

“I respect your decision,” he whispered.

Aide soared through the lower clouds, mind still heavy from the conversation—until something slammed into her.

She tumbled through the air, sword drawn instantly. “Who dares?!”

From the shadows, a voice coiled around her ears.

“Watch your tone, young lady.”

Aide froze.

“Mother.”

Tenebrae emerged from a shroud of black mist, calm and unbothered.

“Is that how you greet your mother?” she asked, almost playfully.

“What are you doing here?”

“Can’t a mother visit her daughter?”

Aide didn’t wait. She lunged, sword first.

They clashed violently—steel and shadow. Aide’s speed was unmatched, but Tenebrae’s raw power overwhelmed her. She struck her daughter down, slamming her into the clouds.

“Futile. Weak. Fragile.”

“Why did you attack Olentzo’s camp?!” Aide demanded through gritted teeth.

“He’s too stubborn,” Tenebrae said with a shrug. “Maybe a few bruises would make him listen.”

“And what about Ran?”

Tenebrae’s grin widened. “You still remember her? Sweet. Her little proxy’s doing just fine—it’s only a matter of time before she dies like her master.”

A blade of wind sliced through the air.

Tenebrae caught it midflight.

Gabriel landed beside Aide, daggers drawn. “Are you alright?”

Tenebrae tilted her head. “So this is one of the companions.”

Gabriel spat, “Why don’t you stop hiding and show us your face?”

“Later,” Tenebrae replied. “When I’ve claimed a new body.”

She laughed—a horrible, echoing laugh—then vanished in the mist.

Gabriel exhaled slowly. “You okay?”

“You followed me?” Aide asked, surprised.

He nodded. “Someone had to. Besides, your brother’s love life was getting too dramatic.”

Aide chuckled. “Payback for his cold personality, I guess.”

Gabriel grinned. “Who’d he confess to?”

“Lamia.”

Gabriel blinked. “Oh... yikes.”

Entry# 13 End