Sparks of War Chapter 14
The Struggle Within...
By Limited Moon
Philia saw everything change into complete darkness. She saw nothing, heard nothing, and felt nothing. "Is this death?" she asked herself.
Then she heard a voice, calling her. It was Stahn's voice. She decided to follow it, the only problem was, it seemed to come from everywhere. She listened as the voice got closer and closer. Then, a bright light flashed into her, and she was somewhere differen't. She opened her eyes again, it was Lienea, everything completely intact.
"This...must be Stahn's memories," she said to herself.
She looked behind her and saw the Straylize Temple in Seinegald, and everyone discovering her turned to stone. I...it's just like i'm reliving these moments with him, she thought.
Soon, she heard a blast right beside her, she looked to her side to see Mary. "You made it," Philia said.
"I almost didn't," Mary replied, "I wish death wasn't so confusing."
Mary looked around, and caught sight of the memory of her reuniting with Dallas.
"This...this is amazing!" Mary exclaimed, "everything, exactly the same, but from his point of view..."
Philia looked around, "it's going to start soon, I know it is."
Mary looked at her, "what's going to start?"
"Crystallion," Philia said, "I feel that, he is coming to invade Stahn's memory, we have to find him, now!"
"Ok, lets go check his house then, shall we?" Mary offered.
They went to Stahn's house and knocked on the door, Lilith answered it with a smile on her face, "Oh, hi Philia and Mary, Stahn's going to be so happy to see you, let me get him out of bed...AGAIN."
"Uh, thanks," Philia said.
"Come in! Why are you standing there?!" Lilith asked, "Come in!"
They followed Lilith into Stahn's bedroom. Stahn was laying on his bed asleep. Lilith took a while but she woke him up. Stahn got out of bed, yawned and got down from it.
"Hello, Philia, Mary, it's been so long," Stahn said with a smile.
"Stahn, we're here, you must help us stop Crystallion," Philia said.
"Cryst..what?!" Stahn said, "Philia, what are you talking about?"
"STAHN!" Philia yelled, "get out of this memory based delirium, you know very well who he is, and he's coming to destroy your memories!"
"Philia, I...sorry," Stahn said, "this is my memory, this is where I relive all the moments of my life, from childhood, to adulthood. This is one of many reflections of myself living here, Philia. Thanks for waking me up," Stahn said, smiling.
"Stahn...," Philia said, "we must hurry, he is coming, I can sense it."
Stahn held his hand up in the air and nothing happened.
"Huh?" he said, "where's my sword?!"
"Stahn," Philia said, "think of Dymlos, Stahn, he will help you."
"Right," Stahn said, raising his han up in the air again. Eventually, Dymlos appeared in his hand. Clemente appeared in Philia's hand, also.
"We'll need them," Stahn said, "this will be our final battle, against my worst enemy...myself..."
Just then, they heard screaming from outside, and the memory of Lienea faded into nothingness. Crystallion using Talon's form emerged from the nothingness.
"So, you have friends now, huh? Trying to escape into your memory to elude me?" he said in Stahn's voice.
"I will run no longer, Crystallion, I wont let you have my mind, regardless of what I was born with! I'm not Talon, i'm not you, I'm Stahn Aileron of Lienea!!!" he yelled.
"No, Stahn. that's not true," he replied, "you are simply a loose fragment of me, and i've come to retrieve you."
"If you're going to do ANYTHING to Stahn, it'll have to be through us!" Philia yelled.
"That's very good, we like challenges, right Stahn?" Crystallion said.
"Damn it!" Stahn yelled, "I wont ever let you have me!"
Stahn charged Crystallion, Crystallion simply held his hand at Stahn and levitated him into the air, helpless.
"See?" Crystallion said, "I am your superior existence, Stahn."
Philia saw this and decided to try out her new powers, she closed her eyes, and concentrated on Crystallion. After a second, she visualized her spell and decided to cast it. The words came to her lips and her body began to glow. Crystallion noticed this phenomena and threw Stahn away. He floated closer to Philia.
"That looks like Resmah's power...but never this intense. What powers you young Philia? Is it hatred? No...what new power is this?" pondered Crystallion.
Philia released it into Crystallion, explosions ravaged the dream scape, creating powerful and strange phenomena. She was actually bending Stahn's dreams to her will to defeat Crystallion. The power was hurting him greatly, but he then blasted Philia away with a powerful blast. Mary then tried her spell out, and began to shoot spiritual blasts at Crystallion.
"I underestimated you, a mistake that wont happen again," Crystallion muttered, dodging the blasts. He then threw his sword at her, she stopped shooting and jumped out of the way. The sword flew back into his hand.
"You hurt me, fools, a feat you will only enjoy for the next 5 seconds!" he yelled, readying his sword.
Just, then, he felt a sharp pain in his back, and looked down at his breastplate. A sword had completely impaled him.
"I...I..." he muttered, then Stahn ran in front of him, without sword.
"You say I am an inferior being, Crystallion. A mere piece of you to suit your needs. Well, there is one thing you forgot Crystallion, any part of you can become strong, the more you leave it. I may be inferior, but it seems that now YOU'VE become inferior, Crystallion," Stahn said, panting.
"You...you...killed...me...how? You know that without me, you will die, Stahn. You are the -host-....damn you...DAMN YOU!" Crystallion yelled as light pierced through him, the armor of his body began breaking up and his form deteriorating, and soon he was gone.
However, Stahn felt the area shaking, a vortex had appeared in front of he, Philia and Mary. Crystallion began to reform right in front of them and they didn't know what to do about it.
"We just killed him!" Philia said, "what's going on!"
"As long as i'm alive, he can regenerate himself. He isn't a normal creature, if this were Resmah or Selene, I would've just died. This is new, though. Philia, you must...kill me," Stahn said sadly.
"Kill you?!" Philia said, "I can't..."
"Philia, you came here to save me. Now the only way to save me, is to sacrifice my life, Philia. Do it, while he's still regenerating, NOW!"
"Philia," Mary said, "we have to, there is no way around it."
"Mary...Stahn," Philia said, "alright, but before I do this, remember that I...I love you...from the bottom of my heart Stahn.."
"Thank you, Philia," Stahn said.
A sword appeared in her hand, she looked at it, then looked at the almost complete Crystallion. She closed her eyes, and thrust the sword. She heard it pierce Stahn, she felt the blood on her, but she couldn't look.
"Philia..," Mary said.
She opened her eyes, they were in the forgery of the Swordian R&D Lab. Stahn was nowhere to be found. She was lying on the floor, Karyl was lying on the floor near them both, still alive.
"Mary, I...I killed..him," Philia said, sitting up.
"I know Philia, I know, but he has no regrets, you should've seen the peaceful look on his face before we were returned here..," she said.
"Mary..," Philia said, "we should be...getting back..right?"
"Yeah," she replied, "let's go Philia..."
* * * * * * * * * * * *
A year later...
Philia had just finished conducting her sermon in the temple, and was sitting in the Pavillion, the same Pavillion she and Stahn sat in to resolve his nightmare on the day it all started. She wiped a tear from her eye as she remembered Stahn's wonderful manner, and often idiotic gestures.
"Mother Felice, I have come to offer you some tea, what's wrong?" came a familiar voice.
"N..nothing, just reminescing about an old aquantance, I..don't want any tea. Tell the bishop i'll be here for a while," she said, looking up at the supposed monk, but she gasped when she saw him.
The monk smiled, and said, "Oh, and a memento came, from an old friend, the address was anonymous though," he gave her a box then turned and walked away.
That..monk...looked like Stahn! she thought, same voice, same face, same everything, I must catch him!
She got up off of the Pavillion and raced towards where the monk walked to, but no sign of him. She saw another monk walking by, and got his attention, "did you see another monk, around your height, spikey blondish hair, kind of skinny..."
"I'm sorry Mother Felice," the monk said, "I never saw any monk like that around here ever."
She sighed and walked back to the Pavillion, she remembered the box she was given. She sat down and opened it. Inside it, was an odd picture, she had never seen anything like this before, it was similar to a painting, yet more realistic and smaller. It was a picture of the entire group together, Stahn, Philia, Karyl, Rutee, Chelsea, Bruiser, Mary, Garr, Lilith, and of course, by Stahn, herself. She smiled and felt tears rush down her face, and almost as if he was right next to her she heard, "I love you too, Philia..."
THE END
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