In that unfortunate dark night, the moonlight filtered through the broken windows of the Crystal Guardians' mansion. The perfectly decorated rooms were not the same as before; they all turned into ruins covered with dust and ashes.

"... and they took Neva into some dark portal. That's all I can remember." Violet explained everything to Auria, Lola and Piko when they returned home.

"I am so sorry I couldn't save her." Ezen sniffed.

"It's not your fault. Neva didn't want us to fight; she sacrificed herself." Violet tried to comfort him.

"I don't understand why, though. It was three against one. We had a great chance of beating him."

"That's not the case, Ezen. We didn't know what he was capable of."

"I am sure Neva had her reasons. You know she is the best decision-maker among all of us; that's why she is our leader." Lola said in her high-pitched voice.

"But we are nothing without her." Ezen wept.

"Did that man mention one of the holy names?" Auria put in while she stared at her star bracelet.

Ezen and Violet turned to each other, trying to remember more about that terrifying moment.

"The masked man cast a spell which was like 'give your soul to Notria only'." Violet recalled.

"Notria..." Auria's eyes went wide open.

"Who is that?" Ezen questioned.

"Notria is the fire goddess, one of the sisters of the legendary goddess Amaryllis." Piko explained.

"But, this is weird. Amaryllis and the Witch Bix are enemies." He continued.

"Piko, how do you know about everything?" Ezen pulled the hanging bunch of his hair back.

"I am Piko, the third crystal, guardian of mind. And, I read a lot of books." Piko lifted his eyebrows twice.

"Oh yeah, I know, I know."

"We need to find Gemma. She probably knows how to reach Neva." Auria suggested.

"You just introduced too many names! I can't remember them all." Ezen laughed nervously.

"Neva always said we can trust Gemma if anything goes wrong. And now, it's the time." Auria glimpsed at her golden bracelet.

"I know where she lives! Let's go! Let's go!" Lola urged cheerfully.

"Don't you think it's a bit late? Maybe, we should go tomorrow." Ezen yawned.

"We can't waste any time. We will go now!" Auria stepped outside.

✦✦✦

In the silent streets of Etheralia, the full moon was the only source of light. But, it wasn't intense enough to brighten the road leading to a dark narrow street surrounded by oak trees.

A wooden house with a blue door was the most noticeable building on that street because of its haunted appearance.

"So, is this where Gemma lives?" Ezen asked in a trembling tone. The creepy house made him shiver.

"Don't worry. She is a good person." Lola assured. She was sitting on Piko's shoulders again.

Auria glimpsed at the golden star on her bracelet, and then she turned her face to the blue door of the wooden house. Without hesitation, she knocked on the door.

The door got opened by itself. The house was dark inside, and it looked like a maze made with bookshelves full of old books. Five crystal guardians began examining around, trying to find the woman called Gemma.

"Gemma! Gemma! We are Crystal Guardians, and we need your help. Where are you?" Lola shouted continuously in a high pitched tone.

"Maybe she is asleep. We should search for her bedroom or something." Violet suggested.

"Nice idea." Lola beamed.

An old woman appeared in the middle of the room; she was wearing a brown cape and holding a wooden broom. The corners of her mouth extremely curled up as her purple eyes turned to the crystal guardians.

"Gemma?" Violet guessed.

"Yes, that's me. And, you are... the crystal guardians?" The old woman's smile grew bigger.

"We are here for our friend Neva. She was taken away by some masked man." Violet explained.

Gemma laughed in a croaky voice. She continued and continued laughing.

"Is she okay?" Ezen asked, lifting his one eyebrow up.

"I've been waiting for this moment since I was a kid. Finally, you came to me. It will be easy to kill you all." Gemma kept laughing.

"Kill us? What the hell are you talking about?" Fear took over Ezen's blue eyes.

Gemma chuckled, raised her wooden broom, and she ordered: "Darling, kill them! Kill them all!"

The wooden floor behind the crystal guardians tore apart as a giant black anaconda came out. The anaconda locked its emerald green eyes onto the guardians, and it roared, showing its poisonous teeth inside its human-sized mouth.

"I hate snakes!" Ezen shrieked in fear as he made eye contact with the pitch black snake.

"I don't know why Gemma is doing this, but we should stop her!" Auria suggested, squeezing her fist.

"I am Auria, the first crystal, guardian of light!" She closed her eyes, sending light rays onto the snake.

The anaconda quickly dodged all of Auria's light beams. It was fast enough to make it hard for her to see its movements.

Auria extended her hand towards the anaconda, releasing a continuous light beam. It couldn't dodge this attack; instead, it advanced onto Auria with its mouth wide open.

"Smallify." Lola jumped forward, making the snake's teeth smaller.

However, she couldn't stop the attack. The anaconda instantly bit Auria's shoulder, causing her to collapse to the ground. Luckily, she didn't get poorly injured as the snake's teeth were smaller.

"Auria! Are you okay?" Lola tried to wake her up.

"Anaconda's poison isn't deadly, but it stops the wounds from healing. Auria will lose lots of blood if we don't hurry up." Piko said in a low voice tone.

"But, if we don't have Auria, who will fight the snake?" Lola widened her eyes.

"I can't fight. Piko, you can't fight. Violet can't fight either." She added.

Suddenly, all of them turned their faces to the tall blonde guy, Ezen.

"Why are you all looking at me?" Ezen looked sideways.

"Come on, Ezen! Stop being a coward and fight!" Lola encouraged.

"We all know you are a brave boy." Violet winked.

"Of course, I am brave, and I will fight!" Ezen's cheeks turned pink.

Ezen stepped forward, facing the pitch black snake. It was looking directly in his eyes, causing him to tremble in fear. However, he took a deep breath, closed his eyes and pulled his blonde hair back.

"I am Ezen, the fourth crystal, guardian of Lyndra's sword."

Red thunderbolts flashed inside the wooden house. Ezen raised his hand, catching the chain of lightning coming from the sky. First, his grey sweatshirt and sweatpants transformed into a white shirt and white trousers with a red belt. Then, electricity flew through his body as a red hooded cape completed his suit. With the flash of another thunderbolt, his glossy hair parted from the middle, making him look like a prince from another nation.

"I am not fangirling or anything, but you look so handsome." Lola's eyes glimmered as she stared at Ezen's new look.

The corner of Ezen's mouth curled up while a sword made of a red coloured crystal formed in his hand by the power of the lightning strikes.

"You will pay for hurting one of us!" Ezen warned the anaconda, pointing his sword against it.

The anaconda roared and jumped onto him with its mouth open. Ezen flipped backwards in the air, dodging the snake's attack. Then, he slashed his crystal sword, creating a wave of lightning.

"Lyndra, the oldest sister of the legendary goddess Amaryllis, unleash the full power of the crimson sword." Ezen held the sword with both hands, feeling the thunder surge through his body.

Ezen jumped onto the snake, reaching lightning speed as he slashed the anaconda's head from the middle. Anaconda shattered into pieces of dust in the blink of an eye.

"My name is Ezen; e, z, end! That was an easy end. You get the joke, right?" He chuckled.

"Haha! You are so funny!" Lola laughed boisterously in high pitched tone.

"Everything was cool until you ruined it with that joke." Violet sighed.

"You think I am cool? Violet thinks I am cool!" Ezen's mouth slightly curled up as he blushed.

"You're whatever." Violet rolled her eyes.

"We need to save Auria. Her bleeding didn't stop." Piko reminded.

Violet walked closer to Auria, who was lying on the floor. Her eyes were closed, and her shoulder was still bleeding.

"I am Violet, the fifth crystal, guardian of healing." Violet said in a heavenly voice tone.

A green wind blew around her while she pointed her hand to Auria. The wind surged onto the scar on Auria's shoulder, making it disappear.

"Thank you, Violet." Auria thanked her as she opened her eyes.

"Your powers are amazing." Ezen watched Violet with his mouth open.

"I just do whatever it takes to keep you guys safe." Violet said with a smiley face.

"That's enough!" Gemma yelled in a croaky voice.

"Not that old woman again!" Violet rolled her eyes.

"Okay, okay! I will stop acting. I don't wanna kill you. That was just a test to see if you are really the Crystal Guardians." Gemma confessed.

"Are you insane? You almost killed us." Ezen shouted at her.

"My test perfectly worked. Now that I know who you are. I can help you find Neva." Gemma continued.

"I don't know if I can trust you, but I am listening." Lola said in a high voice.

"There is a magical garden in the northern Etheralia where flowers consume memories. I heard that the Witch Bix lives there in another form." Gemma said while looking at the guardians' faces.

"What kind of form?" Auria wondered.

Gemma started shaking, her eyes moved from left to right, and her broom fell to the ground. She looked terrified.

"You will see when you go there. But, you might forget when you come back. Because nobody went to that garden and came back sane."

✦✦✦

✦ End of Chapter 2 ✦

✦✦✦

✦Ezen, The Crimson Sword Theme✦

https://youtu.be/A5JmY2jji-I