Chapter 38: A bond established

The three crimson moons remained silent in the sky, pretending not to have witnessed everything that had happened below.

Yunbuck Village, on the other hand, had been reduced to broken houses, with flames still burning in some places. Only a few houses towards the north had survived the assault, and thanks to McCoy’s bravery, many people had been saved and brought to that part of the village.

Meanwhile, the three friends were still locked in a heart-piercing hug. The Red Queen stared at them, smiling, relief very evident in her expression.

McCoy, however, barked, "Enough of the hug, goddammit!"

The Red Queen laughed despite the pain rocking her body, but stopped abruptly as her jaw began to ache badly.

The three finally let go of each other.

Star stared at Sarah, his face still weighed down by his earlier grief. "Thanks." That was all that came to his mind to say at that moment.

Sarah’s cheeks turned pink. She looked away shyly, suddenly finding the ground beneath her feet far more interesting than Star’s face.

"R-right," she stammered.

"Okay, you lot need to get out of here. Now!" McCoy urged impatiently.

"Come on, McCoy!" the Red Queen said weakly. "Let the kids... well... be kids. Besides, they’ve been through a lot already."

"No!" Star cut in, turning towards the Red Queen. "I appreciate the concern, but I think McCoy is right. We do need to get out of here, and fast."

McCoy glanced at the Red Queen victoriously.

"Oh, stop," she croaked.

Star smiled. "Well, I think the question is how."

Silence settled over them as no one could come up with a better idea than walking. Going to the part of the village where the rescued people were to get horses was almost the same as surrendering Star in exchange for one, since they would want to slay him as the demon he was.

However, as though on cue, a calm shriek reached them. Instinctively, all five of them turned towards the sound, and there, flying towards them, was Skar.

"Awn," Zuru drawled. To him, the Luragon was some angel sent by the universe yet again in their time of need.

Star’s face twisted with guilt as Skar landed beside them, its six huge feet making the ground tremble softly beneath them. It was apparent that the beast was still recovering from Star’s earlier blow.

He went towards it and gently patted it on the face. "I’m sorry, Frosty," he said softly.

The beast cooed before stretching out its tongue and licking Star. Its tongue was so huge that one lick left Star practically drenched in its saliva.

Star laughed lightly, recalling how it had always done that to him back when it was still his uncle’s beast. But now, it literally had a stronger connection to Star, since it had already fused with a part of his soul, Athrax. That was why its frosty-blue colour had now changed to black.

"That’s it," Star said to the others, still patting Skar’s body. "I think this is our way out of here."

Sarah and Zuru paid their last compliments to the Red Queen and McCoy before moving towards the beast. Zuru climbed onto its back, and then McCoy helped Sarah up.

Star was about to climb aboard but stopped. He turned towards the Red Queen and then walked up to her.

He looked at her, his expression softening as he struggled to find the right words.

"Thanks," he finally said, his voice sincere, though his eyes struggled to meet hers. "For everything."

The Red Queen forced a smile and nodded. She didn’t say anything, perhaps because she didn’t want to expose her three missing teeth.

Star then looked up at her. "My mother..."

"She’s alive," the Red Queen cut in sharply. "The king has her."

Star clenched his teeth. "He’s no king." He shook his head bitterly, his anger starting to rise again. But as soon as he noticed it, he closed his eyes and breathed slowly, calming himself.

He then nodded at the Red Queen before turning towards McCoy.

McCoy walked up to him and placed a firm hand upon his shoulder. "You’re strong, kid," he said, nodding repeatedly. "And you’ve made me proud. You are truly the heir to the Seven Kingdoms."

Star nodded back at him. Those words meant more to him than he let on. After everything that had happened, someone had looked beyond the demon, beyond the bloodshed and still seen the person he was trying so desperately to remain.

He offered McCoy one last grateful look before heading towards his friends.

When he clambered onto Skar’s back, the Luragon rose to its feet and spread its massive wings. With one mighty beat, they were already soaring into the air.

As they flew higher, they waved at McCoy and the Red Queen, who waved back. Soon, they were soaring through the sky.

"Sooo, where are we headed?" Zuru asked, glancing at Star over Skar’s back.

"To a safe place," Star replied. "Somewhere a friend and I used to visit."

Zuru raised an eyebrow but said nothing more, while Sarah glanced at Star curiously. Whatever memories that place held, it seemed he wasn’t ready to share them just yet.

...

Star, Sarah, and Zuru lay lengthwise across Skar’s back, with Sarah in the middle. That way, they could grip its fur tightly and avoid being thrown off by the strong winds at that high altitude.

However, none of them had said a thing. Star remained as though deep in thought, Zuru was too busy enjoying the flight for anything to concern him, while Sarah kept glancing over at Star as though expecting him to say something.

When it seemed he wasn’t going to talk, she spoke up.

"So... Vehitoshi, huh?" She snorted lightly.

Star turned towards her, initially very surprised that she had actually said that. Then he chuckled, mostly at how she didn’t seem too bothered by it.

"Yeah," Star replied with a nervous laugh. "I-I-I guess so."

Silence returned between them. Star wasn’t sure what else to say.

Sarah, however, seemed enthusiastic. "That ring," she said again with a snort. "H-how did you get it?"

Star’s eyes narrowed thoughtfully. He would have been pretending if he said he didn’t understand what Sarah was doing. Therefore, he decided to simply give her an answer rather than beat around the matter.

"Are you sure?" he asked. The question was actually deeper than it sounded.

Sarah nodded. Even Zuru’s attention seemed to have turned towards them, and he nodded as well.

Star took a deep breath and then narrated everything to them.

He made sure he hadn’t missed anything, not even the twists riddled in its core.

In the end, the story was so overwhelming for Sarah that she didn’t actually say anything. She simply remained introspective.

Zuru, on the other hand, felt the sting as well, but he also had questions that needed answering and therefore couldn’t remain as quiet as his sister.

"So you’re saying that your uncle had struck a deal with Vehitoshi, well before you became Vehitoshi, to corrupt you first and then kill you. And in return, he would destroy the Crimson Mandate after granting him freedom?"

"Yes," Star answered.

Zuru frowned. "It doesn’t make any sense. Why, then, are you still alive?" He stared up at the three moons. "I mean, the Crimson Mandate is still there, and..."

He exhaled as he saw the look on Star’s face.

"Yeah, just explain," he said.

’Uh, finally.’ Star cleared his throat. "Dante never planned to hold up his end of the deal. His initial plan was to steal my powers, as you know how legendary they are. The only problem was that he first needed to corrupt me, since that was the only way he could claim the power. That’s why he had asked Vehitoshi to corrupt my soul before killing me. Once I was corrupted, Dante could claim my power and then use the Phoenix to destroy Vehitoshi. It would be a win-win for him."

Zuru listened, and so did Sarah.

"What Dante didn’t know, however, was that Vehitoshi had a plan of his own," Star continued.

"He had already figured out that Dante came to him because no ordinary power could corrupt me. As the rightful wielder of the Golden Phoenix, I was believed to be too powerful to be corrupted by anything ordinary. Dante needed a stronger darkness, and that darkness was Vehitoshi. So, instead of killing Dante like he did to anyone else who ventured into his prison, Vehitoshi used him as a tool for his escape. His plan was to corrupt me, then, when Dante was waiting to make sure I was corrupted, my corrupter would instantly fuse with the Golden Phoenix and rise even stronger."

"Universe!" Zuru muttered. "How do they even keep up with all this cunningness?"

"It surprises me too," Star chuckled. Before continuing.

"To make the deal seem genuine, as though he had no bad intentions of his own, Vehitoshi suggested that they fuse. Dante’s beast... then a piece of his soul."

Sarah’s eyes widened thoughtfully. "Skar and Athrax," she murmured.

"Exactly," Star replied. "That was how our precious Frosty here was turned into this and became Skar. But I thought that on that night, when everything finally happened, something went wrong for both of them. Dante poisoned me with Vehitoshi’s core, but... but..."

Star paused, his eyes going blank. Now he realised that Zuru’s question had brought up an unanswered question, perhaps one he hadn’t even asked himself.

What had happened inside him when Vehitoshi’s core entered his body? It had prevented Vehitoshi from completing his plan and perhaps ruined Dante’s plan as well.

"But what?" Zuru asked, still waiting for Star to finish.

Star shook his head. "I-I-I..." He lifted his head and stared at him. "I don’t know."

Zuru frowned. "What do you mean, you don’t know?"

"Because I don’t know what happened inside me that made Vehitoshi’s plan fail..." His voice lowered. "That made all their twisted plans fail."

"Maybe he just couldn’t corrupt you... maybe your body became another prison for him," Sarah suggested.

"Yeah, maybe," Star replied.

He exhaled. Maybe Sarah was right, or maybe she wasn’t. He just couldn’t help thinking that there was still some enigma buried within it all. Well, whatever the truth was, he pushed the thought aside for now.

Zuru nodded. "So you’re saying that everything that happened tonight was all connected to..." He frowned. "What happened back then?"

"No. No, I don’t think so," Star answered. "I think what happened tonight was an entirely new plan, sketched out by Dante. He knew that sending the Skarthrax after me would throw me off balance and bring out the demon inside me, since the Skarthrax was created from a piece of my soul." He paused. "Well, it nearly worked. But thanks to the ring..."

Sarah nodded slowly. "So the plan was exactly as Vehitoshi had said. Use the Skarthrax to lure you out, kill you both, and claim all the glory for himself."

"Exactly," Star replied. "And I think that’s why Vehitoshi became so angry with him. He never even intended to honour his side of the deal. His plan was simply to gain glory and kill every human who isn’t Blessed," he added matter-of-factly.

But then, as though the full weight of his own words had finally caught up with him, his eyes widened.

"Hang on. Dante plans to kill every human who isn’t Blessed?"

Sarah and Zuru exchanged startled glances before turning back to him.

"But why?" Sarah asked, shock written all over her face.

Star shook his head. "Maybe he just wants to get back at my father. I think he believes my father earned all the glory he did because he saved people who had no powers. Those he believed were weak."

"So he wants to kill us all off... JUST BECAUSE OF THAT?" Zuru roared. "THAT MAN IS INSANE!"

Sarah, however, only stared at Star, struggling to digest what she’d just heard. The idea was so horrifying that even finding the right words to respond seemed difficult.

Star, too, was still wrestling with the revelation. What ached his heart the most was the fact that Dante was misunderstanding such great power.

His fingers curled into a fist. "We’ll have to stop him."

Sarah and Zuru looked at him.

"We have to make sure the world stays safe," Star continued, meeting their gazes. "And I’d like to do that with you both by my side."

For a moment, neither of them spoke. Then Sarah’s expression softened, and a warm smile spread across her face.

"Well," Zuru said, placing a hand against his chest with exaggerated dignity, "I..."

"WHOA!" He nearly fell off if he hadn’t quickly grabbed Skar’s fur.

"Gods... I’m in!"

Sarah snorted. "Yeah, I’m in too." She smiled reassuringly. "Someone needs to be there to save your ass, at least."

Star smiled at them, his heart warming with an emotion he couldn’t quite put into words.

"I wouldn’t have it any other way."

Zuru’s eyes suddenly narrowed.

"Hang on."

Star glanced at him. "What?"

"We need to go back."

Sarah blinked. "Go back where?"

"To the cabin, obviously! We’ve forgotten our box filled with gold!"

Sarah closed her eyes and sighed. "Really, Zuru? That’s what you’re thinking about right now?"

"What else am I supposed to think about? The fate of the world can wait. Our money, however, cannot afford to be abandoned in a wooden cabin in the middle of nowhere."

Before either of them could argue further, he had already tugged on Skar’s fur, prompting the beast to turn around. Together, they headed back towards their small wooden cabin to retrieve the silver-locked box.

As they flew back towards the cabin, Zuru exhaled. "Ugh, and we seriously need a warm bath."

A/N: To everyone who has made it this far, thank you so much for your support. It means more than you know!

As Volume One says, this was only how it all began. The real journey is just getting started! We’re heading into a bigger world filled with deeper world-building, exciting power systems, adventures, romance, and much more.

And also, here is where you will find the full revelation of some enigma buried in volume one.

So, strap in, everyone. It’s only going to get better from here!