Entry #23

They soared through the clouds, the wind howling in their ears as Crystal Cove shimmered in the distance like a fractured jewel. Ama-Lurra, along with Louis’ companions—Gabriel, Mira, and Joaquin—was joined by the gods Olentzo, Lamia, and Aide. Their wings of wind magic carried them swiftly across the sky.

“There!” Ama-Lurra cried out, pointing toward the mouth of the cave below.

Louis stumbled out of the darkness, eyes wild, breath ragged. He looked like a man escaping death itself.

"He's running toward the Blackwoods," Aide observed grimly. "That's near mother's castle."

Ama-Lurra’s heart sank. “We need to follow him—now.”

Branches cracked. Shadows loomed. Louis sprinted through the forest, fear clinging to his skin like sweat.

“He’s a killer…” Louis whispered to himself, panic threading every syllable. “He didn’t even flinch killing my younger self... He’s not afraid to kill a child.”

He slammed into something—or someone.

A girl stumbled back.

Louis’s heart stopped.

“Celine?” His voice broke.

The girl looked up, tears welling in her eyes. “Louis! I'm scared! Something's inside me... Where are we? Where’s Claudio?”

He fell to his knees and wrapped his arms around her, trembling. “I’m sorry... I wasn’t there when they—when they... I should’ve saved you.”

She clung to him tightly. “Ohh, big brother…”

“You’re safe now. I’m here,” he whispered, burying his face into her hair.

She pulled back. “Where are we?”

“An island. A strange one, filled with gods and danger... but I’ve met people—friends. I’ll introduce you, I promise.”

“I want to meet them!” Celine smiled faintly.

Louis stood and reached for her hand. “We need to go. He’s coming—he’s always coming.”

But then the forest shifted.

Thorned vines writhed from the ground, snapping around their ankles and locking them in place.

“No!” Louis struggled. “Celine, hold on!”

“I’m scared!” she cried, shivering in his arms.

A distant voice echoed through the trees, a haunting whisper that grew clearer with every second. A mix of masculine depth and feminine lilt.

“Louis…”

More voices joined it.

“Mister Louis!” Mira’s.

“Louis!” Gabriel.

“Louis!” Ama-Lurra.

They burst through the treeline, their weapons drawn, their faces pale with dread.

“There!” Olentzo pointed. Two silhouettes clung to each other beneath the canopy.

Ama-Lurra rushed forward. “Louis!” She fell to her knees, throwing her arms around him.

“Ama-Lurra?” Louis gasped. “You shouldn’t have come. He’s after me. Only me. If he sees you—”

Ama-Lurra pulled back. “Who is ‘he’? Why didn’t you cut the vines?”

“I lost my weapon,” Louis muttered, breathless.

“Oh, Louis… but eventually, I will.”

The undertaker’s bells tolled in the wind.

Blue flames erupted around the clearing.

Erio stepped into the light.

His long coat swayed with ghostly grace, and his grin was far too human for something so inhuman.

“I’m not here for everyone,” he said smoothly. “Just for you, Louis.”

Ama-Lurra’s face paled. “You’re Erio... the Mechanism of Death.”

“Exaggerated entrances, always so flattering,” Erio said, his scythe materializing in a glimmer of void-light. “But yes... I’m Death.”

Weapons were drawn. Power crackled in the air.

Louis stood shakily. “You’ve come to kill me.”

“Yes,” Erio said. “But not just that. I’ve been studying this universe’s Soul Space. You mortals go there when you die. Each soul’s perception of it is different, thanks to my dear friend Mauma.”

Louis froze. “That place... where I saw my parents… and Celine?”

Erio nodded. “One of the Delacroix souls escaped. That’s what started this little manhunt.”

Everyone looked at Celine.

Louis stepped protectively in front of her. “It wasn’t me?”

Erio laughed. “You were supposed to die three times already. You were meant to die. Burned. Stabbed. A hole in your chest. And yet… you ran.”

Mira looked up at Louis. “Mister Louis... is that true? That you never wanted the powers you have?”

“I...” Louis hesitated. The truth burned in his throat.

Erio smirked. “He wanted to remove the elements from the world. Didn’t care about the journey. Not the friendships. Not the trials. Just the end goal.”

Louis lowered his gaze. Shame crept in.

Erio tossed him his sword. “Then show me. Show me you’ve earned it.”

Louis looked at his hands. Then at his sister. Then at Ama-Lurra. Then at his friends.

“I’m done running,” he said.

Flames. Ice. Lightning. Wind. Earth. Water. Nature.

Everything coalesced in his grip.

He lunged.

The two clashed—man against death.

Louis’s strikes were wild but precise, desperation shaped into steel. He disarmed Erio, sending his scythe flying into the trees.

Breathing hard, Louis stood over him. “I know one day you’ll come for me, Death. But not today.”

Erio tilted his head, impressed. “You ruined my moment, Louis Delacroix. I expected cowardice. You gave me defiance. I like that.”

He walked to retrieve his scythe.

“Live your life,” Erio said. “But I wasn’t lying. A Delacroix soul still doesn’t belong.”

Louis exhaled. “Until you return, then. One legend to another.”

Erio smirked. “I tip my hat to you, Louis.”

And then he vanished.

Ama-Lurra tackled Louis with a relieved hug. “I thought you were going to die.”

Louis chuckled. “Come on, it wouldn’t be any fun if I died twice in one week.”

Mira approached. “Are we… still going back to the capital?”

Louis looked around—at the trees, the skies, the friends he’d made.

“No,” he said. “I think we can make a life here. All of us.”

Gabriel raised a brow. “Even your sister?”

Joaquin blinked. “I thought she was…?”

Louis smiled at Celine. “Turns out, she’s been here all along.”

“Once we clear the Xeolstors, I’ll talk to Talos. Maybe—just maybe—he’ll let us stay.”

Ama-Lurra grinned. “I think he’ll be proud. Annoyed, but proud.”

Aide tilted her head. “So… you’re staying?”

Gabriel looked at her. “Let’s call it… a fresh start.”

Aide kissed him. “I think we could use the company.”

Gabriel stood stunned. “...Yeah, I could get used to this.”

Celine beamed. “Louis! You’ve made so many friends!”

Louis ruffled her hair. “This island—our island—is home now.”

Celine’s eyes dimmed. “I wish Claudio were here too…”

Louis stiffened.

Ama-Lurra’s face changed. “Claudio? Did you say... Doctor Aurelius Claudio Quartinus?”

Celine nodded. “Yeah! He’s my friend.”

Louis’s jaw clenched. “Wait. What?”

Ama-Lurra hesitated. “A few months ago, I saw a man by the sea. He had an urn. He said his name was... Claudio.”

Louis’s hands curled into fists. “That bastard... he’s on this island?”

Celine blinked. “He’s not a bad guy.”

Louis turned toward the horizon. “He’s the reason we’re here. The reason we have these elements. He started this.”

And far, far away...

Claudio smiled beneath a cloak of fog.

Entry# 23 End