The storm roared as the trio glided among the dark skies. The twins watched in silence as the Sky Pillars neared like a dark hand stretching out its fingers to the clouds. Ari's wings flapped gracefully through mountain winds. The burn on her tail didn't seem to bother her, determined to reach her destination.

Their soaked clothes and the air blowing past made the twins shiver. Eila remembered the times her mother warned against playing in the rain too long. "You're going to catch a cold!" she'd say.

Getting sick was the least of their worries.

Tomas gazed at the satchel in Eila's hand. "Mister Green didn't look good back then... and if the monsters got him, then—"

He groaned. "No. He's strong. So is everyone else around me. I've got to be strong too."

Eila lifted her head, her eyes squinting as raindrops fell on her face. "What's wrong?"

"I'm just worried about, well, everything that's happening."

Eila sighed. "Same here. I think we're close to ending all this craziness though. We've got the orb, and we're headed straight to those pillars. Just find the shard, complete the orb, Xybelios gets his powers back, and we beat the Oracle. For real this time!"

"Right." Tomas quickly nodded. "And that Oracle ought to be very distracted at the temple, so let's find it before he notices us."

With that said, Ari grunted and dove down to the pillars. They drew closer and closer with each flap of her wings. Lightning and thunder struck around the Ilenes, brightening the skies with blinding lights. Though the sounds boomed and shook the twins down to their cores, it filled them with a strange hope.

If nature was not giving up, neither were they.

Ari stretched out her legs, her claws scratching stone as she landed. The twins jolted forward with a thud, slipping off Ari's back and onto their feet.

Their boots splashed in small puddles forming on the stone floor, water filling all the lines and curves carved into it. Behind them, a set of stone stairs led up the mountain to the pillars. Looking around, the Sky Pillars all circled the edge of the massive, circular floor they walked on. It was hard to make out if the carvings made a drawing on the floor, though Eila spotted certain markings resembling lightning rays and clouds. At the center of the pillars was a large, faded yellow stone altar. Another large stone sat at the far end shaped like a tall triangle. The stone triangle had an oval drawn on its face, along with a string of symbols in it.

"Ok, now if I were a magical gem shard, where would I hide?" Eila muttered.

"There's not a lot of places to hide one, really. Let's check that stone at the center first."

Once the two got to the stone altar, Eila's eyes twinkled with wonder as she felt around the cold stone. "Those movies about adventurers always have a secret button or switch in places like this. And whatever that secret button opens leads to treasure!"

She took off her soaked gloves, crouched and passed her hands around the carvings on the altar's sides. Tomas looked on with one eyebrow raised.

"Say sis, what's your secret?"

Eila lifted her head. "What secret?"

"How do you stay strong at a time like this? You say you're worried yet you're still so upbeat about finding secret buttons. I try to be strong too, but... I'm still scared."

Eila smiled softly. "I mean it when I say I'm worried too. We left mom, dad, Nino, and Mister Green behind; we're supposed to complete this orb on our own, and there's a loony wizard after us. It's... somehow not that scary though. I've got you and Ari with me, and we managed to fight against that Oracle together! That was really cool."

Tomas giggled. "I guess it was awesome. And you're right, I think we'll be ok so long as we stick together."

"Well said, Tommy! Now help me find that secret button."

The two searched the long walls of the altar. One depicted a group of people with hands raised to a storm cloud in the sky, while the other showed Xybelios flying over the Sky Pillars. In his front arm sat a perfect, smooth sphere held with long claws.

"Found it," she whispered with a proud grin.

She pressed the sphere, wincing and clutching her shoulder after.

Click!

Strange mechanical noises came from inside the altar followed by a low rumbling. Ari jolted her head up, frills open and facing the stone triangle.

"Guess watching a bunch of those movies comes in handy," Tomas commented while pulling Eila up from the ground. "How's the shoulder?"

"It stings when I move it now, but it's not that bad after a bit. More importantly, what did the button open?"

Ari softly growled at the two, pointing to the triangle with her tail. The twins followed behind her as she trotted past the altar. The oval in the stone triangle looked hollow now, with something glinting inside it.

The twins gasped and dashed toward it, catching up with Ari.

"That's it! It's gotta be!" Tomas yelled, his heart pounding with excitement.

They skidded to a halt in front of the tall triangle, finding the opened oval too tall for them. Ari stood up on her back legs, placing her arms on the stone face. She stretched out her neck as high as she could. Her snout barely reached into the oval. With a quick jump she snatched the glistening object from the oval, which closed with a snap.

"Well done. Now hand it over."

The wicked voice froze the twins in place. Ari's pupils constricted as she hissed, gem shard held in her mouth.

Tomas turned around first. "You again."

"Can't you leave two kids and a mini dragon alone in peace?" Eila snapped.

"I would if they behaved well. But you? You blind me, hit me, even burn me without a second thought," he accused with a sickly growl. "Awful children like you need discipline."

"We did it because you and your minions keep hurting others! You're evil, cruel, and need to be stopped."

"Ah, and me 'hurting' others is a good reason to call me evil and cause me pain? Tsk, tsk, children are being taught such vile morals in this realm. However, I am willing to forgive you." He took a few steps toward them as his face put on a mask of softness. "You are children after all, and you don't know any better."

The trio huddled closer together. Ari hunched over and hissed, curling her wings on top of the twins.

"Sit and listen." The Nether Oracle clasped his bony hands together. "My intentions lie with the guardians of Eosia alone. I acknowledge my followers are more... violent with their methods, but one cannot successfully rebuild a world without struggle and a few casualties, unfortunately. You see, I believe Eosia's guardians are failing the mortals they're supposed to guide and watch over. Our dear queen Nocturna is a most exemplary guardian! She rules an entire realm alone, so why does Eosia need so many?"

Tomas blurted out, "Each guardian watches over different elements in nature, that's why."

The Nether Oracle's eyes blazed. "Did I give you permission to talk?" he howled.

Tomas pursed his lips. The Oracle smiled and relaxed his posture.

"Watch over nature's various elements, you say. Water, fire, lightning, ground, and others. Sounds noble, but what of the creatures living among said elements? All I've seen is them doing as they please, with barely any interaction with guardians beyond worship and gawking at them. No, our Nocturna rules over our kind, she's involved in our realm's happenings. She commands respect, not provoke awe and wonder. As a guardian should!"

Eila whispered to Tomas, "Narciso sure admired her a lot, though."

"There's Queen Suilah too. She's got her kingdom if he's talking about guardians who are rulers."

The Oracle prattled on, his voice growing passionate. "This sickening, gnawing feeling in my guts grew and I couldn't take it anymore! I begged Nocturna to join me and show Eosia how a proper guardian should act. To overthrow those so-called guardians of nature and build a new Eosia with me at her side. Such was my dream!"

Eila furrowed her brow. "I think this guy's too full of himself." She nudged Ari and signaled Tomas by carefully lifting the satchel out of her trousers. Ari side-eyed Eila and discreetly pushed the shard in her jaws with her tongue. It peeked out of the side of her mouth, which Tomas grabbed with one swift movement of his hand. The Oracle continued rambling as he paced back and forth, lost in his own delusions of conquest and glory.

All they needed now was an opening.

"To my dismay, Nocturna never once understood my pleas. She grew angry with me, even threatening imprisonment if I dared to 'disrupt the balance of the elements.' My heart hurt for her, yet there was only one thing I could do if I wanted my ideas to come true. While she slept, I cast a spell on her to prolong her slumber enough to gather my congregation and conquer Eosia. I intend on waking her once all the guardians are slain, but if she doesn't see my view still... she'll be next. The path has not been easy, especially with a stowaway spying on our movements. I hope my followers take them out soon."

Tomas held his hand out to Eila, shard resting in his fist. Just a little bit closer now...

Ari shrieked and jumped out, nearly knocking Tomas's arm as he stumbled. A flash of bright purple energy and fire made the twins flinch. Once the light dimmed, the two gasped as Ari breathed heavily in front of them, hunched over with her wings spread out and tail in the air. Smoke came out of her mouth.

"Ari!" Tomas called out as the two sprinted to her sides, shooting glares at the Nether Oracle.

"Ah, ah." The Oracle wagged a taunting finger, holding his staff in the other hand. "I won't have you 'resurrect' a slain guardian under my watch. Bad enough to find out Xybelios survived our ambush, but I would've been content if he stayed a weakling pretending to be human. And to ensure he stays that way, I'm giving you a golden chance." He held out one arm to them. "Give me the orb, and I'll let you and your family leave this place in peace. I'll even have my followers escort you home!"

The thought of their parents still fighting at the temple crossed their minds. However, they had made a promise to their dear friend.

"No way!" Eila shouted. "Mom and dad wouldn't be happy if we let you win. Neither would Mister Green."

"Heck no, you're crazy!" Tomas followed. "An Eosia ruled by you sounds terrible. You've done nothing but hurt others, even your own guardian."

"Yeah, you're no oracle like Larya."

A brief silence creeped over them as the trio stared down the Nether Oracle. The Oracle's mask broke, his grin shattering into a wrathful grimace.

"Pity," he snarled, "I couldn't have the honor of defeating my greatest adversary personally, but dealing with his most cherished allies will be gloriously satisfying nonetheless!"

The Oracle cackled madly as lightning struck behind him, creating a menacing silhouette. "Grabbing the orb from your cold hands will be a nice bonus!"

The three needed to act fast. Tomas patted his clothes and darted his eyes on the ground around him. "What the—where is it?"

The shard had disappeared from his hand. "It's gotta have fallen somewhere around—"

Ari let out an earth-shattering roar as she charged forward. The Oracle dodged Ari's charge with a swift sidestep, firing a magic blast at her. In return, Ari moved her nimble body so that the blast missed her body. The two began a battle of magic and flame in the rain, their bodies twisting, jumping, and dashing across the pouring rain.

Behind the altar, the twins searched for the fallen gem shard on the stone floor. Amid the storm's chaos, wind blowing their soaked hair in their faces, a simple task became a challenge. But with Ari fighting for their lives in front of them, the twins could only gaze at each other with clenched teeth.

Tomas frowned and pursed his lips, then turned to Eila. A single look at her handbag sparked an idea. "Eila, do you still have that feather?" he asked.

Eila blinked, then gasped. "Yeah, I brought it with me," she said while opening the bag, "Right here!" She pulled out the feather and held it out with three fingers. Khiboreas' gift still gave off little snowflakes in the air, and it was so cold that it created snow out of the raindrops falling near it, shielding it from becoming wet.

"You think this'll help?"

Tomas shot a quick look at the battle. "I really hope so. Try touching the floor with it."

Eila tapped the wet ground with the feather. In a flash, ice covered a small spot and formed a circle big enough to fit a hand. Eila gasped while Tomas jumped back a little.

"Oh, that's cool," Eila muttered, "you think we can freeze the floor and make that evil sorcerer slip?"

"If it froze a bigger area, yeah. What I was thinking is freezing the water on the floor so we can see the shard easier."

Eila tapped another spot on the floor. "I get it, easier to find a dark gem on white ice. Good thinking! Still, I say Plan B is making that guy slip and fall."

Tomas scooted closer to Eila as she crouched and held out the feather to the side. "I just hope Ari can hold on just a little longer," he said.

Eila swung Khiboreas's feather around like a stick on the ground. Wide ice arcs followed wherever the feather touched, soon covering the area around the altar and stone triangle in white ice. The two worked quick while Ari dodged and weaved the Nether Oracle's attacks. The brave dragon soon recognized her flames weakened in the rain, so she resorted to her close-range weaponry: fangs, claws, and a swift, mighty tail. Soon she closed the distance between her and her prey and lunged at him with open jaws.

Ari glared into the Oracle's fire-red eyes. Neither demon nor dragon intended to give up. The Oracle brandished his staff in front of his chest just as Ari jabbed him with her tail. She groaned and winced as her injury hit the staff, catching a glimpse of the twins in the distance.

"Your weaknesses are too obvious," the Nether Oracle taunted with a grin. His staff readied another magic spell. Ari jumped away and raised her wings in a defensive pose.

But the Oracle wasn't looking at her.

"Over here!" Eila yelled. She pointed at a small object stuck in an ice patch beside her. Tomas lifted his head and dashed over, shaking with excitement.

Ari slowly turned, following the Oracle's black-hearted gaze. Her eyes widened as an unfamiliar emotion overwhelmed her senses, threatening to shake her will.

Fear.

Tomas pulled out the gem shard from the thin ice as Eila took out the orb. The two held out their respective treasures, which emitted small sparks as the distance between them shortened. The twins gazed in wonder as strange flickers of powerful, ancient magic began flowing out of the orb. Just a few more seconds, and their quest would end.

Ari's distressed cry pierced through the storm. The twins jumped and jerked their heads in a second.

Behind them, a large sphere full of dark magic flew toward them. Its sinister glow soon filled the twins with immense dread, one so strong it overwhelmed the orb's leaking magic in their hands.

It moved too fast to even scream.

The two gasped in horror as Ari leaped in front of the sphere with her back to them, wings spread out. Life slowed to a stop as they watched the sphere explode with bright, purple light. They shielded their faces with one arm as strong wind and rays of energy blew past. Once the light dimmed, they stood in shocked silence at a smoke-covered Ari.

She gazed at them with warm eyes and purred as if reassuring them. Soon, her eyes closed as her body fell on the wet ground.