SWNOVELS Chapter 6 The Phoenix Ash
Nyles rolled his eyes as he scanned the grove for Elden. A tree shook violently up ahead before finally snapping loudly, falling to the earth with an audible crash. Birds that had been sleeping peacefully in the tree flew into the sky, chirping angrily in protest.
Nyles flew towards the scene, lowering the still shrieking Steel roughly to the ground. She released his leg and landed on her feet, falling forward, her palms slapping onto the dry ground.
“Elden!” Nyles called out, folding his wings as his boots touched the bark of the fallen tree. There were several fresh claw marks in the bark indicating a large animal had done this. “Elden!” He repeated, reaching down and grasping a massive rock in his hand, preparing to throw it.
Nyles peered slowly around the grove, hurling the rock into the shadows. A soft thump came back to him as the rock found its mark. “Elden!”
Two angry orange eyes peered out of the shadows followed by low puffs of steam emitting from the beast nostrils as it exhaled loudly. Nyles spread his wings once more, retreating into the sky as he realized that that was not Elden. He decided he did not want to stick around to find out who or what it was.
Nyles found Elden, no longer in the Ankou form, laying sprawled out on an old altar, his mouth covered in dry blood. He appeared dead, and for a moment, Nyles assumed he was. But Elden gave a loud snort and broke wind, proving he was still among the living.
Nyles sat beside his friend, resting his arms on his knees and shaking his head. “You, my friend, are a mess man.” Nyles sighed, his eyes looking at the dry grass, his mind replaying the event from earlier. He had several questions he needed answers to but decided to let Elden sleep instead.
The sun was a bright, orange sliver on the horizon as Elden awoke, groaning as he pulled himself up listening as his bones cracked painfully. He made a point of casting his eyes aside as he spotted Nyles, looking at the pink sky instead. “Why are we outside?”
“Dude,” Nyles began, watching a bird hop along the dry, brittle grass searching for breakfast. “Your dumb ass nearly got us killed! So, you’re an Ankou now.”
Elden did not respond. He instead focused on the bird, watching as it pecked at the ground, chirping softly. He heard Nyles say something, but could not make out what it was.
“Elden!” Nyles snapped, angry at the fact he was being ignored. Elden sighed and scratched at the blood that was drying on his face, knowing Nyles would not shut up as easily as Valeena had.
“How are you able to change back to human?” Nyles asked, his eyes refusing to meet Elden’s. Elden felt the familiar twinge of pain and swallowed hard. He held up his hand instead to show the ring that was on his left ring finger.
Nyles glanced at it, shaking his head. “Who gave it to you?” Elden tightened his lips and shook his head, as he climbed to his feet. He wanted to tell his old friend everything, but he could not. The wind brushed lightly past him and he could smell a woman’s perfume.
“Fine, keep your dumb secrets. One day you’ll need someone to help you but there will be no one. You live in a fantasy world, man. Just admit the Elements are not real!”
Elden cursed himself once more for leaving the bag with Valeena. “The Phoenix Ash was down there! There are catacombs, tunnels leading to it! That temple-”
Nyles waved his hand in the air as though he were waving away Elden’s words. “You’re in denial!” He interrupted, adjusting his legs as he prepared to stand, his bottom sore from sitting on the rough stone all night.
“I’ll go without you then! I really regret finding you!” Elden spat, turning his back on his friend as he prepared to storm away.
He had been so sure that was the right location, everything he had read told him that it was there. The Goddess Tears and the Heart of Gaia had been so easy to locate, to obtain after he researched them. He KNEW the Ash was here on this continent. He just had to get back to the temple somehow.
Elden started walking, picking the direction at random. The ocean was to his left, the waves rolling smoothly to the rocky shore, crashing loudly. The trees were to his right, dead and decaying, the scent of rot hung heavily in the morning air. The bird flew away in fright, leaving behind the insect it had located.
“Elden,” Nyles called out, jogging up beside Elden and matching his quick pace. “I’m only going with you to prove you wrong! Then maybe you’ll give up on this foolish quest!”
Elden did not bother to offer a reply as he wove through the trees, avoiding any hole he saw in the ground now that he knew SinCrawlers were hiding here. He noticed Nyles was gliding on the air, apparently having the same thought.
Elden led the way back to the pile of dust that was once the statue holding its screaming head. The way into the cavern was still open and Elden heard the haunting sounds of the faint breathing from below. He saw a wisp float slowly out of the opening, bobbing in the breeze like a child’s bubble.
“You can’t pay me enough to go back down there, man!” Nyles said rudely, hovering a bit higher as he spied another wisp floating out of the passage.
Elden crossed his arms and peered around the grove. He did not recall the statue turning to dust in his findings, but his notes were long gone.
He had turned into the Ankou and had abandoned his campsite, the rain washing everything away. He had nothing to go off of now but his feeble memory. A golden dragonfly zipped through the air, zigzagging in the breeze as it landed on an invisible object across the grove, flexing its wings.
Confused, Elden started towards it, jumping as a twig snapped under his foot, his mind screaming at him that it was a SinCrawler.
Nyles had made it to the dragonfly first, startling the golden insect and causing it to zip away. He reached out his gray hand out, disappointed to find there was nothing there.
Elden stared at the spot as Nyles walked through it, scratching his head in thought. An idea bubbled to the surface of his mind and he used his Crystal to manipulate the air. A very faint object shimmered briefly before fading out of sight. He was able to just make out that it had been a statue of a man, pointing to the west.
Elden motioned for Nyles to follow him as he made his way towards the trees, following an unseen path. The brown bushes were thick and covered in sharp thorns; dangerous snakes slithered across their path as they traveled onwards.
Elden could see a rusty lantern with a cracked frame covered in soft, green moss resting in a hole that was carved into the rock up ahead. He picked it up gently, turning the switch on despite the bright mid-morning sun burning in the sky, sending its rays through the canopy of trees above.
The flame of the lantern flickered to life, as a hazy purple fog rolled out from the trees, only visible in the light of the lantern.
“Whoa.” Nyles breathed, landing silently on the brittle ground as he trailed behind Elden, following the hazy, glittery fog. Elden could tell it was not a normal fog as it swirled and disappeared, only to reappear, thicker before thinning out again. It moved like the ocean, ebbing and flowing, rising and falling.
Elden and Nyles followed the purple fog out of the dead trees and out to a shallow cove where ocean waves spraying them with mist as the waves struck large boulders that lined the shore. The purple fog led them through the yellow sand and to the face of a rocky cliff where it vanished into the cracks like smoke through a window.
Elden held onto the lantern as he tapped on the rocky surface finding it was solid. He stepped back, observing that the rocks lying on the sand had once been attached to the face of the cliff. Something had caused them to fall, creating a wall in front of the cliff.
“Can you move these rocks?” Elden asked Nyles, who chuckled to himself.
“Can I move those rocks…” Nyles laughed as his Crystal began to glow a soft blueish-green. The rocks covering the cliff face rolled away into the ocean, moving one by one, revealing an ancient, green door behind them.
The handles of the door had long ago rusted away, making it difficult to pull the door open. The heavy, metal door broke off its hinge and fell with a thump into the sand as Elden wedged his fingers into the pitted metal and pulled.
Elden then stepped over the ancient threshold and into chilly, salty temple. The ghostly bodies of jellyfish that had been lying frozen on the temple floor stirred to life, glowing brightly as they lifted their once lifeless bodies off of the sea foam colored floor and into the air. Giant seashells decorated the temple room in intricate patterns. A staircase that resembled a conch shell sat in the center of the room as the jellyfish moved through the air as gracefully as if they were in the water.
Elden walked slowly across the polished floor, avoiding the jellyfish as he made his way towards the staircase in the center, his eyes scanning the walls. Beautiful murals, each one depicting a different sea creature, graced the temple walls in stunning colors.
Elden descended the soft pink stairs as they spiraled down deeper under the sea, the stone temple transforming into a vibrant glass dome. More phantom jellyfish lifted their dead bodies off the walls and floors, lighting up the room like ghostly lanterns.
The temple floor was made out of alabaster and became very difficult to walk on. Elden envied Nyles as he hovered in the air, using his wings instead of his feet.
“Alright, this is worth the trip so far,” Nyles whispered, passing through an archway that was decorated with more seashells. They moved slowly and carefully, doing their best to avoid the jellyfish. It became gradually darker and darker as the jellyfish floated away, their ghostly bodies dimming.
Elden did not realize that he still had the lantern in his hands until the flame once more sputtered and sparked to life. Elden raised it slightly, spying a tiny wisp of fog. Small drops of salty water dripped down through the ancient, cracked ceiling, playing a soft staccato on the polished floor.
A SinCrawler, who had been napping on the floor tucked into a tight ball, hissed as the light of the lantern fell upon it, turning sharply and fleeing through a hole near the dusty floor. The light of the lantern seemed to burn it in a way the sun never would.
Nyles had jumped, his wings spreading quickly and slapping Elden painfully in the face causing spots of light to spark behind his eyes. He held his breath, trying his best not to call out in pain, not wanting to wake what else may be lying in the darkness.
“I told you they were connected!” Elden said, feeling the warm sensation of blood as it seeped out of a fresh wound on his cheek.
“Yeah, but I’d rather travel this way than with those shits, man!” Nyles countered, following Elden past several more openings where a few sincrawlers hissed in protest as the light washed over them.
Nyles tightened his lips not to call out as a Sincrawler nearly landed on him as it fell out of the ceiling, retreating into one of the many holes to avoid the light.
They ducked under a low archway that was dripping beads of water onto the floor, forming a slippery puddle at their feet. The room had several openings, each one dark, hiding its secrets within. Elden stood it the center, moving the light of the lantern along the wall, searching for a clue.
“Wait, go back,” Nyles whispered, pointing one long talon into the darkness. Elden did as he was instructed with a slight huff of annoyance and caught a very faint vapor of the purple mist as it disappeared into one of the openings on the far right.
Elden refused to meet Nyles eyes as he followed the misty trail, bending to pick up a single orange feather that was lying on the smooth floor. As he held it up to the light the feather caught fire and burned into purple smoke, disappearing from sight.
“Whoa.” Nyles breathed, unable to contain his excitement as he pushed by Elden, knocking the ancient lantern out of his hands and onto the stone floor as he moved into the darkness.
Elden glared at him as he stared at the cracked metal resting near the roughly carved wall. He trailed slowly after Nyles, muttering under his breath. A great orange light that was burning as brilliantly as the sun itself, flared up ahead, forcing Elden to look away as he was momentarily blinded by the light.
“Shit!” It was Nyles, his cries of horror being drowned out by the loud screeching of a great bird.
Elden was running before he even registered he was moving, his legs moving quickly across the smooth floor. He crossed the golden threshold, entering a colossal room made of shiny gold, orbs. It was shaped like a massive oval with a beautifully designed bird swing hanging from the blue, glittering ceiling. It felt as though Elden had stepped into a fairy tale.
Nyles ducked and rolled as the majestic bird swooped down upon him, its beak sharp and deadly. Nyles spread his own wings, spiraling upwards towards the grand ceiling, the Phoenix hot on his heels.
Elden felt the room shake violently, but Nyles’s Earth powers were futile here. Elden tried his own crystal, but the bird was too swift, flying passed him on its stunning orange and red wings, giving the illusion of a soaring fireball, the purple smoke trailing behind it.
Elden wished he had a weapon as he watched Nyles circle back, using his stone fist to strike the Phoenix in the beak. Nyles cursed and shook his hand, darting side to side as the bird snapped at him, nearly missing his feet. Nyles flew back to the ceiling, doing a double take as he passed it.
He spotted Nyles’s spear impaled into the golden wall on the far side of the room and broke out into a rash to retrieve it as the mighty Phoenix released a fireball into the air. Elden threw his body to the right to avoid being burned as the fire rained down upon the room.
“Hang on!” Nyles shouted over the din as the bird screeched angrily, clearly not happy they were in its liar. Elden had his hands on the spear and pulled forcefully, dislodging the tip of the weapon from the golden wall.
Nyles circled back, doing a fake out move to confuse the bird, circling under its belly then veering to the left. Elden had no time to think as Nyles ripped the spear out of his hands before flipping in the air and grabbing him roughly by the back of the shirt, lifting him forcefully into the air.
“Hold your breath!” The words barely registered to Elden as Nyles used his strong, stone body to hold the spear upright, breaking through the thick, glass ceiling. Icy, salt water cascaded in through the opening, flooding the room as Nyles fought the current towards the surface.
He burst out of the chilly water, still holding Elden tightly, and into the warm afternoon sky, the bird bursting out of the water beside them. The Phoenix was injured, having difficulty staying in the air as water poured off its fiery body.
Nyles darted through the air, making his way back to solid land as he avoided certain death. A floating black object could be seen up ahead as a faint sound he’d never heard before met his ears.
As he flew closer, making sure not to get too close, he saw that it was a ship, but it was not in the water, it was in the air. The propellers were cutting the air loudly, moving the ship through the brilliant blue sky. A burst of light shot through the clouds and hit the Phoenix in the head, the bird crying out in pain as a second object it in its fiery body.
The brilliant Phoenix suddenly exploded like fireworks in the night, the heat of the fire hot on Nyles and Elden skin. Then, the fire gathered together forming a single, orange, purple, and black pile of ash that hardened into a stone, Elden reaching out and catching it before sunk in the ocean below.