Entry #15

Someone's Point of View

It’s been a while since I first set foot on this island.

Nothing here made sense. The sky never stayed still, the trees whispered like they were alive, and the Xeolstors… they weren’t just roaming—they were trying to leave. But why?

I remembered that kid—Giuseppe—back at the camp with the green-haired lady. He didn’t recognize me, thankfully. I snuck away before anyone else noticed. That place felt too controlled. Too... holy.

Now, the forest around me seemed to close in like a cage of bare, twisted limbs. The wind howled suddenly, slicing past me like the wings of a massive bird.

I flinched. “This forest is dark…” I muttered, stepping cautiously between gnarled roots and frostbitten brush.

A low, guttural growl echoed behind me.

“Oh no…”

I ran. Branches clawed at my coat, shadows darted between trees. Just as my lungs burned and my legs threatened to collapse beneath me, I spotted it—a cottage.

A miracle in the woods.

I rushed up the steps and grabbed the doorknob. Unlocked. I burst inside, slamming the door behind me.

The interior was… cozy. Too cozy.

Warm. Inviting. Like my family’s parlor during winter holidays—wooden shelves, a stone fireplace, soft rugs.

“Hello?” I called.

A woman appeared at the end of the hallway, balancing a tray of cookies.

“How can I help you?” she asked, her voice as smooth as velvet.

“I’m sorry to barge in,” I said between gasps. “Something—someone—was chasing me out there. I saw your house and thought—shelter—safety”

“It’s alright,” she said with a gentle smile. “It’s been lonely here since the whole family left.”

I blinked. “The whole family?”

A shadow passed across her face. “I’m sorry. That’s none of your concern.”

She handed me a cookie and a glass of milk. I took a cautious bite.

“Delightful,” I admitted.

“Thank you,” she said sweetly.

I wiped crumbs from my sleeve and stood. “My name’s Aurelius Claudio Quartinus. I’m a doctor—looking for something.”

“A pleasure,” she said. “My name is Tenebrae.”

I froze.

Surely not…

Her eyes sparkled. “So... what’s in the urn?”

My grip tightened instinctively. “That’s classified. Something personal”

Tenebrae smiled again—wider this time, unnerving. “Oh really?”

She took a step forward. My heart began to race.

“You’re making me uncomfortable,” I said, stepping back.

“Oh, don’t be so tense. Please, feel yourself at home… son.”

The floor groaned.

Suddenly, the cozy cottage shifted.

The walls warped, twisting upward. Shadows bled across the surfaces like ink. The fireplace cracked apart into obsidian pillars. Curtains dissolved into chains.

The cottage became a castle of darkness.

Chains wrapped around me, yanking me down into the cold stone floor.

“Let me go!” I shouted.

Tenebrae’s voice dropped to a purr. “What’s in the urn first?”

“Like hell I’d tell you!”

She lifted my chin, forcing me to meet her eyes. “I like you, Claudio.”

She plucked the urn from my satchel. I thrashed, panicked.

“Celine! Don’t do anything to her!”

Tenebrae raised an eyebrow. “Celine? Is that what you call it?”

“She’s not an ‘it’—Celine is my friend!”

Tenebrae giggled like a child offering a secret. “Since you’re so honest, how about I make you a trade?”

“I’m not selling out my friend!”

“Oh, Claudio…” she sighed. “Men of logic want only one thing. Knowledge.”

She snapped her fingers. A book fell to the floor before me—thick, ancient, humming with energy.

I looked between Celine’s urn and the book.

A temptation unlike any I’d faced before.

Tenebrae’s voice coiled around me like smoke. “You’re a friend of the Champion, aren’t you?”

“Louis? So he’s here on this island” My voice was weak.

“I wouldn’t say I know him,” she said coyly, “but let’s say I’ve taken… an interest.”

She ran her fingers along the urn’s surface. “Celine Blaine Delacroix… That’s the name, isn’t it?”

I gasped. “How—?”

She snapped, and the world collapsed.

I tumbled through space.

“You’re a god,” I whispered.

“Correct!” she sang, grinning. “But I am far beyond my so-called children and husband”

“I am the darkness that will swallow the light—beginning of a universe and the end of it!”

“You—!”

“Bye-bye, dear Claudio.”

Her laughter followed me into the void as I vanished.

And then, silence.

End of Claudio’s Point of View

Meanwhile, in the far eastern fields blanketed with clouds, Louis and his team arrived at a large temple nestled between twin cliffs. It buzzed with raw, crackling energy.

At the entrance stood a muscular man with windswept hair and a storm for a smile.

“Louis! I’ve been dying to see you!” he said, spreading his arms. “Welcome to my post!”

Louis returned the smile. “Likewise.”

“Name’s Odei—but I’m guessing you already know that.”

Mira twirled in place, wide-eyed. “Whoa! This place looks like a dojo! I have read about these”

“Well spotted, little lady,” Odei chuckled. “I train my body constantly—if those Xeolstors ever think they can break me, they’re in for a shock.”

He winked at his pun.

“So, how many elements have you mastered, Louis?”

“First was your sister, Ama-Lurra. Then Ilazki, Aide, and most recently, your brother Olentzo.”

Odei burst into laughter. “He actually let you in?! That guy’s got more walls than this temple!”

Louis shrugged. “We worked it out.”

“That’s the spirit!”

Gabriel leaned toward Joaquin. “I like this guy more than Olentzo. He’s got energy.”

Joaquin sipped from his canteen. “He’s the Ruler of Lightning—what did you expect?”

Odei clapped his hands. “How about some tea? We’ll talk about tomorrow’s fight.”

Elsewhere, at Ama-Lurra’s post, a rare gathering was underway.

Ama-Lurra, serene as ever, poured herbal tea into carved cups as her siblings sat in a circle—Ilazki, Aide, Olentzo, and now… Vishap.

“You finally came out of your cave,” Ama-Lurra said gently to him.

“I heard enough to be concerned,” Vishap replied. “Mother’s movements are escalating.”

Ilazki folded his arms. “She’s visiting our camps. Watching. But why?”

Aide leaned forward. “She attacked Olentzo’s post. That wasn’t surveillance—that was a message.”

Ama-Lurra turned to Olentzo. “Where is the Champion now?”

“I sent him to Odei’s post. It was closest,” Olentzo said bitterly.

Just then, Talos—their father—entered.

“How many elements has he mastered now?” he asked.

“Four,” Ama-Lurra replied.

Talos nodded, thoughtful. “Then the time has come.”

“For what?” Aide asked.

“The truth,” he said. “The truth of your existence.”

Ilazki’s voice dropped. “Our origin?”

Talos took a breath. “Before creation… there was only her—Tenebrae, the ruler of the endless dark. Then I came, born of imaginae energy—the power of creation. And from that energy… you were born.”

Aide’s lips parted. “So… mother isn’t—?”

“No,” Talos said. “She isn’t your creator. Only I am.”

Ama-Lurra gasped. “That’s why she had no remorse for killing Ran…”

Olentzo stood violently, fists clenched.

“You should have told us sooner! I could’ve ended her myself!”

“Olentzo!” Ama-Lurra warned.

Talos stood. “You think I haven’t tried protecting you? I failed to save Ran. I couldn’t risk losing another of you.”

Aide whispered, “She uses chaos energy, doesn’t she?”

Talos nodded. “And that’s why I chose Louis Delacroix. He may be the only one who can stand against her.”

Olentzo turned away, seething. “Does Odei know?”

“He’s known longer than any of you,” Talos admitted.

The cane dropped from Olentzo’s grip.

“I’m done talking,” he said, turning for the door.

Ama-Lurra stood. “Where are you going?”

“To do what none of you will—I’m going to kill her.”

Entry# 15 End