Entry #20

The summit of the island’s highest mountain cut through the sky like a jagged tooth. Wind howled across its peak, and snowflakes spun in the air like dancing spirits.

Louis and his companions stood poised at the mountain’s edge.

“All right,” Louis said, steadying his breath. “Focus your wind energy. We’ll leap first, then glide.”

Gabriel glanced over the cliff. “Are you sure we can’t just fly?”

Louis grinned. “We will. But first—jump.”

As the countdown began, Joaquin frowned. The wind element still eluded him. His expertise, after all, was rooted in nature.

Without a word, Mira placed her hand on Joaquin’s shoulder and transferred a thread of wind energy into him. He blinked, surprised by the calm stability that entered his core.

“Thank you,” Joaquin murmured.

Mira smiled. “You’ve helped me. It’s my turn now.”

On Louis’s signal—3… 2… 1—they leapt.

For a moment, it felt like falling. Then, one by one, wings formed from wind essence unfurled behind them, guiding them safely toward the summit. They landed lightly atop a rocky outcrop dusted with snow.

Waiting for them was a man with long, obsidian hair, his broad shoulders cloaked in furs. A massive claymore rested against the rock beside him.

“Louis Delacroix, Champion of Talos,” the man said with a deep, even voice. “My sister Aide said you’d come.”

Louis stepped forward and bowed. “You must be Lord Vishap.”

“Just call me Vishap. No need for titles.”

They gathered around a fire pit, the mountain’s wind howling around them.

Joaquin raised a brow. “You’re the guardian of the Earth Element, and yet… you haven’t mastered it?”

Vishap’s shoulders stiffened. “That’s correct. I’ve never fully connected with it.”

Gabriel leaned in. “That’s… different. Louis has been learning from the gods. That’s kind of the whole point.”

Vishap lowered his gaze. “I’m sorry you came all this way only to be disappointed.”

Louis stood, placing a hand on Vishap’s shoulder. “Then let’s learn together.”

Vishap blinked.

“Being a god doesn’t mean being perfect,” Louis said. “You have struggles like any of us. If anything, you’ve reminded me that gods and mortals—we’re not so different.”

A smile slowly broke across Vishap’s face. “Then let’s train.”

Louis began the lesson with a skill he’d picked up from the others: Weapon Materialization.

“Visualize it,” he said. “Focus your energy into a shape.”

Louis conjured an ice sword from thin air.

Vishap, watching closely, set aside his physical claymore and reached inward. A moment later, a stone-forged version of the same weapon formed in his hand.

“You did it!” Louis said. “Now try construction.”

He summoned an ice golem, using the same techniques Olentzo had once taught him.

Vishap, drawing from the mountain itself, formed a rock golem, solid and imposing.

Next, Louis conjured an ice wall and pillar, showing the versatility of the element. Vishap answered with a stone rampart.

Then came the real test.

“Every god has a signature move,” Louis said. “Yours?”

Vishap faltered. “I… I don’t think I can.”

Louis offered a smile. “Just believe in yourself. I do.”

Encouraged, Vishap slammed his claymore into the ground. A second layer of stone coated the blade. When he struck the earth, pillars erupted around him, then detonated in a cascade of rock and force.

Louis was thrown to the ground, bruised but grinning. “You did it!”

“What should I call it?” Vishap asked.

“Something strong. Personal.”

Vishap’s eyes lit up. “Experiences of the Land: Strike.”

“Perfect.”

As Mira and Gabriel applauded, Joaquin rushed over to heal Louis. Vishap reached out and placed his hand on Louis’s chest.

“You’ve more than earned this, Champion. You’ve mastered Earth.”

Louis looked down. “But… I didn’t undergo a trial.”

“You did,” Vishap said. “We both did. And we both grew.”

He placed his palm over Louis’s heart. A golden pulse of earth energy flowed into him, anchoring into his soul.

Louis exhaled. “Thank you.”

Suddenly, the sky darkened, and a vast storm of shadows began to swirl above them.

Ama-Lurra, far from the summit, watched the storm gathering with wide eyes.

“Oh no…”

Back on the mountain—

Gabriel squinted. “I can’t see anything!”

Joaquin drew his staff. “It’s not just dark. It feels evil.”

Mira trembled. “She’s here.”

Vishap nodded grimly. “Mother”

The air twisted. From the swirling void, Tenebrae emerged, wrapped in black silk and decay, her grin wide.

“So you’ve mastered all seven elements, Champion.”

Louis narrowed his eyes. “Tenebrae. We have met at last.”

“I’ve watched you grow,” she purred. “My husband has placed so much faith in you. But these borrowed powers—do you truly think they can stop me?”

Louis raised his blade, infused with every element he had mastered.

“Let’s find out.”

He charged, the blade glowing with fire, lightning, ice, wind, nature, water, and earth.

Tenebrae didn’t flinch.

With two fingers, she stopped his swing.

Louis gasped. “Impossible…”

“These powers you wield,” she whispered, “they were mine once. I let them scatter across this world. And you, Louis Delacroix… are nothing but a footnote in my story.”

She plunged her hand into his chest, and with a sickening sound, tore through him, leaving a gaping hole where his heart had been.

“MISTER LOUIS!!” Mira screamed.

Gabriel lunged forward. “No!”

Joaquin dropped to his knees. “He’s… he’s gone.”

Vishap stared in horror. “No…”

His grief turned to rage.

“You’ve taken enough!” he roared.

With fury, he unleashed Experiences of the Land: Strike—but Tenebrae danced away, laughing.

“Very good,” she said. “You’ve improved. Too bad it won’t matter.”

As she turned her hand toward the others—

A burst of Imaginae Energy exploded from Mira.

A beam of raw power struck Tenebrae’s body, ripping it apart, piece by piece.

She shrieked. “This power! No—NO!”

Her form disintegrated into dust. Her presence vanished.

And then, a number appeared in the air: 0 / ∞

Ama-Lurra appeared through a teleportation spell, landing on the stone.

When she saw the body—Louis, motionless, a hole where his chest once was—her legs buckled.

“No… No, no, no!” she cried, cradling him.

“I’m sorry,” Joaquin said softly. “He’s gone.”

Ama-Lurra sobbed. “This is my fault. I suggested we find a mortal. I thought he’d survive. I thought he’d win…”

Then—a single drop of green liquid fell from the sky and onto Louis’s chest.

“Nature’s Weep… and Tears,” whispered Mira.

The light spread. Slowly, Louis’s chest closed, the hole knitting together with new life. His breath returned.

Joaquin stared. “Gods truly are miracles…”

Louis floated in a misty realm—his mindscape, silent and dreamlike.

Hands reached out from the haze.

“You’ve done enough, son.”

He looked up.

“Mother? Father?”

His parents stepped forward, smiling gently.

“And… Grandfather?”

“We’re proud of you, Louis,” his mother said.

“You’ve done more than any of us could imagine,” his father added.

“But where’s Celine?” Louis asked, voice cracking. “Isn’t she here?”

The three looked at one another.

“She’s not with us,” said Lord Delacroix. “We haven’t seen her.”

Louis’s eyes narrowed. “Then she’s still out there…”

“This is Paradise,” his grandfather said. “You can rest now. You’ve earned peace.”

Louis stepped back. “I can’t. Not yet. My friends—my family—need me. I owe them everything.”

His parents smiled sadly. “Then go, Louis. And live your story.”

“I promise I’ll be back,” he whispered. “When it’s truly my time.”

Entry# 20 End