“Just do all you can, commissioner.” said the
defense minister, turning the screen back to him. His voice carried
a forced calm that the president’s wouldn’t have managed.
“Yes, sir … but I doubt if it’ll suffice.”
And with that, the link disconnected and the holo screen faded back
to thin air. The defense minister pocketed the device and followed
along with the others as they headed on towards the president’s
office. As the group of them approached, the door slid open by one
side, revealing the large, elegantly decorated room that was his
office.
Forcing in another deep breath, the president
turned to face the rest of the suited men, who came to a stall
behind him.
“Gentlemen … what we’re seeing is the worst
possible day of our lives. The entire republic is in chaos and
hysteria. And we’re going to have to put an end to this madness
whatever it costs.”
The lot of them gave a firm nod. But the
president knew he wasn’t imagining it when he saw the shadow of
hopelessness in all their eyes. He knew it for the exact same
feeling gripping him from within.
We’re lying to ourselves if we think we
can control the situation that’s breaking loose now.
he
thought, unabashedly honest.
All structures have now fallen
apart … and we’re still trying desperately to hold them
together.
For longer than it seemed, the three Nyon
were seated quietly around the same table. The silence immersing
the place seemed to boil with a new tension.
Floating about the air around them were the
strange dragonfly creatures. With their radiant wings, they looked
like colours glimmering about in the air, zipping from spot to spot
upon it. One of them with brilliant gold wings was hovering just
over the table.
Ion sat with his eyes blankly fixed on the
glass wall by the side of their table, watching the night’s desert
that surrounded them. He looked back inside the abandoned place,
drawing himself back to the gloomy silence within it. One of the
dragonflies with radiant gold wings hovered to a stall at the edge
of the table. It was a rarely beautiful sight, but one that Ion
couldn’t bring himself to appreciate at the present climate.
Mantra and Dantox had both sunken deep into
thought. Ion could tell that even Mantra himself was struggling to
fight the same hopeless mass that threatened to crush them all.
And that particular struggle was faring badly
for them all.
Ion couldn’t wrench the image of Redgarn, as
he had seen it in the screen, proclaiming that ten planets were now
wired with bombs. This was the finale that they had been working
towards … It all came down to this. Everything converged to lead to
the victory of evil over good that Redgarn had worked for over
eight millennia:
The army of Mezmeron, that was hidden in the
other dimension, could be released when Mezmeron’s life was
strengthened to its peak in this dimension. When anarchy was at its
peak … and the Xeni were achieving just that with what they had
just done. They were destroying ten planets, and proclaiming it to
the world. Billions of lives would now be shattered. And when it
was done, Mezmeron himself would have awakened to seize the world …
And the demon army, made of his life, would be ready to be
unleashed full fledged again…
“But we have the crystal!” Ion suddenly
exclaimed, turning to the two masters.
Mantra slowly came out of his thoughtful
reverie and brought his calm white eyes upon him.
“They need the crystal for releasing the
army!” exclaimed Ion, looking from Mantra to Dantox.
“Yes,” Mantra gave a nod. “the crystal is the
key to releasing the forces of Mezmeron. They can’t do without
it.”
“So whatever they’re planning now is
pointless, isn’t it?” Ion could feel the strain of frustration in
his own voice. “No matter how much anarchy they wreak, they can’t
release the demon army without the crystal.”
Laughing softly, Mantra lowered his gaze to
the golden winged dragonfly hovering at the edge of the table.
Dantox fixed Ion with a sad grin. “Ion, do
you honestly think they’re just going to be sitting there and doing
nothing about retrieving the crystal?”
“These are Xeni.” Mantra said in a dark
voice. “We may have prevented them from getting the crystal back at
the temple, but they certainly wouldn’t have given up looking for
us … and trying to retrieve it.”
“We’ve given them nothing more than a prick …
an itch, that they believe they will manage to overcome at the end,
and get what they want.” said Dantox.
“What do you mean?” asked Ion.
Dantox bent closer to him and, “They need the
crystal to open the demons’ dimension. They most certainly have not
given it up from their sight. But they clearly don’t see us as much
of a threat: they probably believe they can retrieve it in time for
the performing of the spell.”
Still looking at the golden winged butterfly,
Mantra nodded. “Indeed. That the plague crystal is now with us does
not bother them much, apparently. They’ll do what they have to,
which is spreading the life of Mezmeron through anarchy. But in the
meanwhile, they will obviously have a
very
sharp lookout for
the crystal.”
“You aren’t viewing things from their angle.”
Dantox told Ion. “They have just crushed the entire brotherhood of
Nyon. Wiped out their sworn enemies forever. They have just gotten
rid of the only, and most dangerous threat for their cause. At this
point, do you think they would feel threatened by
us
? They
realise that their most vital threat has just been erased. Although
the crystal is not in their hold, they don’t see it as a cause of
concern, because they know there is nothing that could truly stop
them now.”
“The scales have just completely topped to
their side.” Mantra said grimly. “Whatever feeble resistance we
place for them at this point is no resistance at all. At least, not
in their eyes.” He rose his gaze from the butterfly, meeting Ion.
“And after having crushed the entire Nyon, would finding and
retrieving the crystal from three lucky survivors appear to be a
problem to them?” He shook his head. “They obviously believe that
they will easily search and find us. And get the crystal back.”
“And if we’re not careful, they will.” Dantox
said darkly.
“But whatever happens,” Ion said. “they will
have to get it back at the end. To finish what they’re
planning.”
“Obviously.” said Dantox. “The crystal is the
key to the dimension where hide the demon army. So how much ever
mayhem and hysteria they spread, at the end of it, to release the
army of Mezmeron they’ll be needing the crystal.”
“And that,” Mantra said, a trace of light
seeping into his tone now. “is the single greatest fortune for us.
We have an edge over them now. One that we need to work hard to
keep up.”
Ion watched as one of the dragonflies came
close to his face, its pink wings fluttering beautifully.
“Meaning?”
“That the plague crystal is now with us,”
Dantox said in a slow, impressing tone. “and not with the Xeni is
the last, best hope for the world. And so and we need to strive to
make sure that one last hope is not lost. We need to protect the
crystal with all we have, and keep it hidden from them. Keep it
well off their hands. For without the crystal they’re powerless.
And keeping it off their reach is the only way we can save
everything now.”
“And so,” took over Mantra, sitting a little
straighter on his chair. “we will give ourselves over to it. To the
cause of staying here and keeping the crystal hidden and safe,” His
voice went soft. “at whatever cost we must bear.”
Ion watched the fluttering golden wings of
the dragonfly on their table, comprehending what he had just heard
a moment late.
“You mean to say that we’re supposed to stay
idle here and babysit the crystal … and in the meantime, as they
blow off ten planets, and we’re supposed to watch and do nothing?”
He shifted his gaze between the two masters. “You mean we aren’t
going to try and help?”
Mantra inhaled slowly and said, “For the
greater good.”
“The greater good?” Ion couldn’t believe
this. “But
billions
of lives are at stake!”
“No, Ion.” Dantox shook his head. “Much more
is at stake.
Trillions
. The entire spectrum is at stake, and
we hold the key to saving them. We must keep ourselves from making
a reckless move now.”
“We need to safely keep the plague crystal
away from the Xeni’s hands.” explained Mantra. “And if we leave
this place, and play the hero by trying to save the ten planets, we
run a
very
great risk of losing the plague crystal to them.
They have their eyes all over the spectrum. And this planet is
remote and off the reaches of civilisation. We are safe here. The
plague crystal is safe here. We can’t abandon this safety at any
cost, and risk losing the crystal to them.”
Ion couldn’t hold down his anger at what he
was hearing. He rose in his seat, his chair toppling over
backwards. Some of the dragonflies buzzing close to him scurried
away fearfully.
“But we’re the last surviving members of the
Nyon! We’re supposed to be the upkeepers of peace and harmony. And
if there’s one time where there’s a threat to peace and harmony,
it’s now! We’ve got to do something to stop those bombs going
off!”
Mantra rose in his chair as well, but slowly,
and he locked his white eyes with Ion in a stern, imposing
manner.
“Listen to
reason
, Ion. We can’t leave
this planet and abandon our greatest task, which the entire
brotherhood died for. And what’s more: there’s nothing that can be
done! If we’re going to want to find those ten bombs amidst
thousands of planets within the span of ten hours, we’ll be needing
nothing less than the search team of
an army!
” He held his
hands out, gesturing to the abandoned, shack like place the three
lone Nyon were now in. “Does it
look
like we have one? All
we have is three surviving members of the brotherhood of Nyon
comprising two sad old laggards and an angry young man, and a group
of butterflies!” He ended angrily, gesturing to the dragonfly like
creatures buzzing around them.
Dantox nodded, slightly more patiently.
“Believe us, Ion. We are not asking you to take pleasure in what
you are doing, or this entire situation. A war has its casualties,
and we need to endure them for the sake of the greater good.”
Mantra withdrew the plague crystal from his
pocket and gently placed it on the table between them, close to the
gold winged dragonfly.
“As long as this remains away from them,
all is well
.”
And he settled to his seat, giving a
consoling nod to Ion who continued to stand there for a few
seconds. Then, with a deep breath, he too sank to his seat, folding
his arms. A heavy silence fell between them, through which only the
faint buzzing of the dragonflies could be heard.
Great.
Thought ion, feeling a hopeless
gloom drown him from within.
It’s gonna be great watching the
world burn while we sit here and do nothing.
He fixed a worn out stare on the golden
winged dragonfly by the edge of their table, trying to wash away
the guilt.
__________
Meanwhile, a million miles away, in the light
barren cave, Zardin stood with his hands fastened behind his back.
Standing behind him, his presence hardly known to anyone but
Zardin’s inner senses, was Redgarn. Both of them were standing
before a holographic screen perched at the front of the cave,
showcasing a most intriguing scene.
With the camera angle at the bottom right,
the screen showed Mantra, Dantox and Ion seated around the table.
And the plague crystal amidst them on the table.
The video recording device, cleverly
disguised as a live golden winged butterfly, was doing a fantastic
job in transmitting this to them – something that would claim top
prize in their list of gains for the day. The final gain.
“The transmission comes from the planet
Utakor.” Zardin said.
He could sense the grin creeping across
Redgarn’s features in the darkness. “Excellent…”
They had found the plague crystal. They knew
where it was.
Everything was now complete.
Once they acquired the crystal, they would
have all that they needed.
Just after Redgarn had returned, the Xeni had
installed countless secret video transmission devices across the
spectrum. They were all hidden and ingeniously disguised, such as
the golden winged butterfly they were now watching this through …
And one of their video devices had just hit lucky.
“So,” Zardin turned to face Redgarn, the two
of them standing feet apart in the darkness. “shall we send in our
men? I think they would enjoy eradicating the last three of our
enemies, and taking what they had stolen from us.”
In the gloom, nothing could have been visible
of Redgarn’s features, but Zardin didn’t require illumination: he
could feel Redgarn’s eyes angled in a thoughtful frown as he
quietly stroked his chin for a second.