36 Age Eleven – The Day the Land Trembled part 5

“Celeste!” Elicia ran over and cradled the weeping young girl. This was the first time she had seen Celeste in tears. Her hands moved awkwardly as she had not the faintest idea how to console her friend's wail.

“Why are you crying? Were you scared of the sudden earth shake?” she asked.

Elicia was unaware of what had just transpired moments earlier. She was only brought out of her trance by a vicious trembling at her feet and an aged voice speaking directly into her head. Elicia froze in fear at the unknown circumstance, but seeing Celeste run at full speed towards a direction filled with seething red light, she swiftly tried to follow.

Elicia tried, but one step was all she could manage as a heat too unbearable blocked her advance. A few seconds later, the calmness of the room was restored as if nothing had happened. And on the cooling ground was left a slumped, weeping Celeste.

“Y-Ya, where's Urie?” It was at times like this that her aunt had told her that a boy should comfort a girl. Elicia's chestnut-amber eyes blinked in search of Urie's ashen hair, but to no avail.

“Where did he go?” As she wondered about his location, one of the pedestals—the first one holding clear water—suddenly let out a high-pitched hum. A blue, luminescent light expanded from it, forming the silhouette of a beautiful woman. Blinding as it was, Elicia could feel an aura of elegance quickly spreading out to the room.

And it didn't end there, the second pedestal—the one that she had held onto—followed with a brilliant yellow light, and took the shape of a small old man with a cane. Elicia felt an aura of concern and care from the light as something about it had resonated within her.

From the third pedestal—swirling green light had emerged. It was free-flowing and untethered but at the same time sharp and swift. The light did a graceful dance around the pedestal before coming together on the ground to form the shape of another man in a laid-back position.

The second to the last pedestal which was covered in moss glowed a pale brown. It wasn't as grandeur as the others but Elicia could feel a strong aura of life and vibrancy from it. A playful little girl's vestige appeared sitting on the pedestal with her leg raised and her hand to her chin.

Elicia turned an expectant look to the final pedestal but nothing occurred.

“Hah... We were too late...”

Surprise colored Elicia's face as the blue-colored woman spoke with a gentle voice as calming as a mother's.

“Ah, that idiot lizard created such a mess! How does he expect us to clean this up!”

The tone the green-colored man spoke with reminded her of Urie and Celeste's lanky grandfather.

“Ya, he has less than a decade's worth of mana left, it is understandable that he was rash. For now, we better look after the poor children.”

Elicia recognized the voice of the yellow pedestal. It was the aged voice speaking in her head. He felt like an affectionate grandfather. Curiously—he also spoke like someone from her family.

“Hmm? I'm holding onto my little lizard right now. Should we punish him? Throw him back outside the wall? Or toss him over over the cliff?” The little girl glowing pale brown giggled mischievously as she spoke. Elicia felt from her a whimsical vibe.

“Hah... None of that. It's enough to just lock him up inside the academy,” the woman in blue light instructed while the mischievous little girl issued a cry of disappointment. She continued, “Now, about the children...” and gestured towards Elicia and Celeste.

“Y-Ya, w-what about us...?” Feeling the attention of the mysterious beings fall upon her, Elicia's face paled.

...Meanwhile, in a room filled with nothing but pitch-black—a young boy gathered mana in his right hand in an attempt to light a fire.

“Wha—!?” Much to his surprise, a small flame emerged from his hand according to his intentions. “That was easy. I thought I was going to blow up again.”

The flame in his hands quickly peeled the darkness away and revealed the ashen-haired Urie Loeth who had been eaten by the fifth pedestal.

“W-Where am I?” Urie surveyed the room, noticing it had the same arrangements as the room he was in before, but with a few differences.

The small mirror and the column of light were absent. The first four pedestals were still there, however, they were without the unique traits which made them distinguishable. The fifth pedestal in front of him also looked different from before. He swiped his finger and found that it was covered by a layer of black soot.

“What's going on? Where are Celeste and Elicia?” Urie walked around the room with a torch hand to look for his companions. Failing to find anyone, he shined his light on the corridor leading to the outside before deciding to leave.

“This is—!?” He'd expected to be hit with blinding radiance but was instead met with a dim ambiance.

The blanket of night was draped over his head. An orb of light looking much larger than the moon he was used to was strung high up in the sky—illuminating an unfamiliar city. The only thing recognizable was a fountain with a statue of a dragon.

“Erden's Tower? Why am I outside?”

Urie's chest grew heavy and a fire fueled by curiosity and uncertainty raged at the nape of his neck. He raised his torch hand to try and see clearer, but unwittingly attracted something loitering from the nearby shadows—a dark, sinister-looking arm emerged from a dark puddle and held onto the pavement. Lifting itself upwards, the head of what appeared to be the silhouette of a magic creature appeared.

Peeking from within the black abyss Urie saw was a pair of red candleflames—no, they seemed to be a pair of eyes meeting directly with his.