Rainbow Guardians Chapter 8

 Chapter 8: Wrath of Negavise

I was sitting in a void. Literally, there was nothing but me and an active flow. I tried to figure out where it was. The thing around me surged inwards. A human figure appeared. He approached me very gingerly. He had scarlet eyes, oak-brown hair, and a weird body. His body was worn out. His clothes were fluctuating like a bird's wings. I examined him closer…Closer… Then, I recognised this hollow face. It was my father! He handed his index finger to the middle of my chest and drew an edgy spiral. I felt his sharp nail on my skin, piercing my flesh. My blood evaporated into the air, turning black.

'AHH-Hee-AHH!’ I cried from the pain, but something white emerged from that wound.

It was a female figure; she had snow-white hair and skin with amber eyes. Her locks were quite messy, and she stared at me. Her eyes were almost filled with something… Pity, affection, regret? I couldn't name it; however, I remembered her from somewhere. She healed my wound and attempted to touch me. My father's eyes became their natural violet hue. He held her hand; they began to disappear. She gave me one last glance and uttered my name: 'We will meet again, my Alexi!' The reality hit me like hail. That woman… It was my mother! I could identify her, but it was very late. When I was about to cry, the white and black energy from my chest intensified, building thick vapour around me. Out of it, another figure I knew came beside me. With her wavy platinum blonde hair and azure eyes, it was no one other than my dearest nanny. Friggia Tethys. She kneeled down, wrapping her arms around me. 

'Oh, my! Look at you, Alex. You turned into a grown-up gentleman.'

'Mother Friggia! Why are you here?’

'I am going to explain very soon. But do you remember my last words?'

'How can I forget?'

'I had told you that you were unusual. Do you know why?' Friggia asked, staring expectantly. 

'This has been on my mind ever since. Is it because I'm the son of your confidante?'

'No, my dear boy. It is because of your potential.’

She spun her hand inside the mist around her and made a big orb. Then, a scene appeared before us. We were in a battleground. Everywhere was covered with corpses of both humans and animals. The groaning choir of wounded soldiers filled the air. The hyacinth atmosphere was making things much gloomier. We witnessed a struggle. A struggle between two men…

"'Give it up, Galactica! There is no point in continuing.’"

"'Never! You have to get over my body.’"

"'Very well then, you will face my full strength! ’" He replied and tightened each muscle on his body. They became partially transparent, showing off his veins and flesh.

He grabbed the other man and slammed him to the ground. The second man slowly stood up. While the first man was about to attack, he instantly slid himself in the opposite direction. The corners of his eyes became more visible. They were emphasised with wine circles. 

“'This can't proceed like this, Hugo! Look what we turned into.'”

“'Indeed. But it is all because of you!’" Hugo rotated both his arms, using chunks of black matter in his palms. He built two tiny black holes out of them. He aimed them directly at Galactica.

Galactica managed to escape from the first one; however, he got caught. The second black hole sucked up everything and got bigger every second. Lastly, it took Galactica away. Only his piercing eyes were left on the surface, looking at Hugo intensely. 

“'STAY AWAY FROM ME! I WON. WON!'”

Later, the vision dissolved in the hands of Mother Friggia. I felt the cold shivering of fright in every part of my body. My blood literally became the Arctic.

'W-what was that?' I inquired.

'These were the people who caused destruction both in Negavise and the Harmony dimension long ago. And, you have their blood, my boy.'

'N-no! I don’t want to be like them.’ I fell onto my knees, tears rolling up.

'Don't be scared, my child. You still have the chance to change all this. Go and seek the leader of all nymphs. She has the answers!'

Abruptly, everything began to warp. Friggia transformed into a haunted soul, a ghoul. There were holes in her eye sockets rather than irises. From her mouth and eyes, the same black blood burst. I was surrounded by this liquid. I tried to inhale several times but I couldn’t. Suddenly, I found myself beside Nelly. She was inside a void tornado,  floating up and down. I touched her, but she wasn't stable. Then, something slowly dripped down on my skin. It was very humid and warm. I saw a real human heart beating in my hands! I looked at Nelly again and saw a gap on her left. It was pouring her life juice all over me. I shrieked at my full capacity. My screams mixed with the sound of beeps.

Beep. Beep.

I jumped out of my bed and glanced at the alarm clock beside me. It was showing at 07.00 A.M. It was only a dream. This was only a dream… Thank the Almighty! I woke up and went to the kitchen to drink some water. 

The sight before me was… The usual. My dad had returned from a coffee house near us, leaking away on the floor. What was he doing there? Let me answer you. Playing games, drinking heavy teas or coffees until numbing him and idleness in general. Did he care about me? Did I matter to him even a bit? This was controversial… I was raised under the wing of Mother Friggia. What happened to my mother? Simple. She died while giving birth to me. At least, that is what Friggia had said to me. According to her, my father used to be a good, average guy. However, after his wife's death, I became a burden for him (I won't sugarcoat it. I'm more like a nuisance to him). After that, he became a heavy caffeine addict and a gambler. He either spent his money on pegasus races or bets. I survived with the funds of the state. Also, they were giving me a scholarship at my school, but it is enough for me. This dream totally meant something. I had to be sure of the well-being of my Scandinavian nymph and my mother's grave. I stared at her wedding picture with my dad in a broken frame. She had the exact features I dreamt of. She was more beautiful in that image than in my dreams. I grabbed some money to get some flowers and made my way to her tomb. To the Spectral city…

***

We had finally arrived. After many decades, my comrades and I were on that planet. The planet was that it is full of anarchy, wilderness, and darkness. Why the serenity had to end? Why did I find myself in this kingdom again while everything was going well? Why did they have to interrupt everyone's life? It was both certain and uncertain with a misty curtain. 

The atmosphere was entirely electric. Every inch of my body was getting goosebumps. Everywhere was sparkling with flashes of supernova particles. A meeting committee guided us to the castle of Negavise. The only way to reach there was an old, wrecked cellar. Nearly all the advanced technologies such as teleport stations or fusion weapons were under the control of our council. This might sound a little harsh; however, we had reasons to do that. Just like now, they tried to obtain the cores of each planet and caused a series of devastating wars. The queens and kings of the time formed the Harmonial Council to prevent problems, crises, and disputes. But unfortunately, history seemed to repeat itself again, and it was our cue to stop this.

We passed from the onyx and obsidian corridors of the vault. The shimmers of the crystals were giving an eerie yet stunning view. There were tombs of former rulers of the planet. Queen Belinda, King Hades, Prince Pluto, and two others… Epitaphs of Lord Steven Hugo and his brother Lord Galactica. I frowned at these names once I recognised them. 

Once we came closer, the sounds of a band were heard. The light end of the exit revealed a few familiar faces with the anthem of the council. 

“Hail to the glory; hail to the tranquillity; hail to the harmony! Here they come, the colours of the beauty… Here they come!”

The voices of the singers echoed in the entrance. The whole government of the Negavise was waiting for us, their eyes fixed.

“Your harmonies, welcome to our planet. It’s an honour to have your presence here. We can’t wait to host you in our kingdom.” Told the president of the committee.

“Thank you for your gracious remarks. We hope to see more of it.” Akilah replied.

Then, the royalty of Negavise approached and bowed slightly.

“How many times do I have to say? There is no need for stooping.” Said Minerva Akilah, signing them to stand up. “You are our fellows, after all.”

“Thank you, President Akilah.” The king and queen responded in unison. They stood up quite gingerly and shook hands with each member of the assembly. It was the turn of members of the Earth. The person who shook mine was a bit… irritating.

“Welcome, Mistress Persephone of Greenwoods. I’m grateful to see you among everyone.”

“Thank you, Lord Stephan Hugo, of Negavise.” I took his hand unwillingly, barely squeezing it. “I cannot imply the same thing about you. Since you are the lowlife.” 

“Oh, my, my… What have I done to deserve such epigrams from you? Whatever my fault is, today we can solve it.” He answered with a menacing polite tone.

“I hope so. We should try our best to untie the knot.” I replied in a similar tone and went inside with the rest of the members.

We headed to the meeting room of the castle. Some guards opened the doors for us, expecting until we all entered. Everyone placed themselves on various chairs; the table was like a staircase. It had several steps with extensive grounds. Prof. Minerva sat to the highest part; we aligned according to our ranks. In the lowest parts, there were delegates and governors of Negavise. Soon, the president opened the occasion.

“Dear members of the council and the governments of Negavise, today we are here to speak about a crucial situation. We shall discuss the status of Negavise, Starland, and the Earth. Also, we would like to inform you about our solutions."

Minerva began her presentation about the current states of Starland and the Earth. She showed off the misery, famine, and destruction on the lands of Starland. The Earth was better than the light planet, but it was still endangered. Then, she told us about the measurements we were about to take.

“As the institution of security, we want to send some of our armed forces to each planet. According to the vulnerability of each state, we shall determine the exact numbers.”

“Why would Negavise need soldiers?” inquired the king.

"It is because we care about your safety, King Leviathan. You are a dear ally to us," replied Akilah.

“We should think about our people Levi.” the queen agreed eagerly.

“In that aspect, it is reasonable.”

“I too support the council’s decision. You know how perilous the depths can be.” joined Lord Stephen.

“Indeed,” I said approvingly, squinting.

“Well, since we took the consent of both sides’ leaders, we shall start the transfer process.”

After that, Minerva talked about some new restorations and compromises to ease another riot. There was an almost cynical grin on the face of Lord Stephen. It grew larger and larger as Akilah revealed more of the solutions.

"In a month, we are going to start the loosening progress of using advanced gadgets. However, our authorities are going to observe it. Also, we will bring new cultural and entertainment facilities to both Negavise and the depths.”

Lord Stephen applauded the words of Minerva vigorously. Everyone from the side of Negavise joined him instantly. The room filled with clappers. It lasted about a few good minutes.

When I gazed at Stephen, I saw his hands reddened as if a beet field. He started to play with a ring on his finger, continually turning its stone. The stone was flashing different hues of lights. They were the colours of each element: Yellow (the light), pink (the emotions), red (the fire), green (the Earth), white (the mind) and black (the darkness). 

All of a sudden, the doors and the windows of the room closed. The lights went off. I attempted to stand up to understand what was wrong, but I couldn't move. A few seconds later, a large hologram screen appeared. 

“The members of the Harmonial council and their lapdogs! The mighty followers of the Shadow Galactica Organisation and I have surrounded you. Each defence you put to hinder us is wiped out. The children of the Galactica placed special core exterminators at the source of your planets. If you don’t give your qualifications to our Lord Stephen Victus Hugo Negavise and don’t acknowledge him as your leader, we are going to destroy all your precious planets!” a female with a mask threatened us. There were three men behind her.

Lord Stephen laughed hysterically. He placed himself right before the screen.

"Well, well, you know what they say 'He who laughs last laughs longest.' If you attempt to dry the swamp, it will devour you, and it seems you are the flock of mosquitos stuck inside the mud!"

"Let us go, Stephen!" yelled King Leviathan. "You are insane!"

“Ho ho! The lapdog began to bark. If you were a faithful dog, you would listen to what your owner told you. You lost your chance long ago Leviathan."

"You'll pay the fee for your actions, Stephen! I swear in the name of the Almighty and Harmony Constitution." Glared Prof. Minerva Akilah, spitting his face.

We all were stuck in a cave, waiting to be saved in the dark. However, everywhere was covered with sharp stalactites and pillars. The water of fury was rising every second; it was the wrath of Negavise. We had to escape from this place before it swallowed us up, but could we see the light at the end?