Okay. I'm just posting to tell you chapter 3 is actually coming. I had a pretty bad case of writers block, so that's the main reason. I had originally planned on this chapter being the same lengh as the others, but it's already the same lengh and I've only covered about half of what I wanted to. So what I may do it break the chapter in half. That way you won't have to wait too much longer for something new, and I can put more polish on it, rather than having something long that's not as good. If I do decide to break it up, expect something new in a day or two.

Sweet...Thanks Jeff...i have been waitting for some time! Thanks again and can't wait!!!!



Rob

Well, I can't add anymore to my first post, so I'll continue it in my posts from now on. Remember, this is only half of what I wanted to put in this part. So not much action here, but an epic boss fight next time. Look forward to it. And as a little bonus for making you wait so long, here's a little sneak peek. I learn "His" name next chapter.


"Hold still, would ya?" Holding my nose close with one hand and a bottle of water with the other, I tried in vain to give Silva a bath. The little dragon stunk to high heaven, yet he wouldn't even let one drop of water touch his head. After emptying the bottle, I slumped to the ground and sighed. "Fine, from now on, I'm calling the Stinky." Silva landed in front of me and began to chirp happily. Inside I smiled; it was good to see Silva so happy.

For the past week we'd been traveling non-stop, following the scant clues "he" left behind. After Ludibrium we followed him to Leafre, where he apparently was transported to Zipangu. Since then there hadn't been any word on his movements, so I've decided to wait for now and get some training in.

Motioning to Silva, we headed towards the Forest. The path there was easy enough, just some weak monsters barley worth the time it took to slay them. Approaching the final portal, I sighed and raised my staff over my head. Three fairies appeared above me and began to bless me with their magic. One circled around me, protecting me from harm while the other two poured a sacred elixir over my body, granting me holy strength. All three vanished and a white, glowing cross of light formed behind me, vanishing a moment later.

With my body now emanating a holy light, I entered the portal and reappeared at the deserted Buddha temple. This was a popular area to train, so it was proper etiquette to see if someone was there before you started killing. As I walked away from the portal, my vision went blank as my eyes rolled back into my head. Unable to even scream, my body was flung through the air, crashing into the ground a good fifty feet away from where I had just been. My vision was still blurred, but the pain alone told me what had happened, Crow had been waiting behind the portal. Gasping for breath, I could hear the ghastly cries of the Himes approaching me.

Trying to heal myself, I realized I didn't have enough mana to do so. The power of the fairies allowed me to withstand the severe blow, but at the cost of all my magic. It was pretty safe to assume my arms were broken since I couldn't move either one, so using a pot was out of the question. "Si…lva." I managed to call in a whisper, but it was enough for the little dragon to get my meaning. Zipping through the Dreamy Ghosts, Silva quickly reached me. Rummaging through my pack, he pulled out a glass bottle of purple liquid and attempted to open it. Struggling for a moment to remove the cork, Silva gave up and simply smashed the bottle on my chest.

The liquid began to soak through my robe to my body. It was very cold, but the medicine would get my back on my feet in no time, and within moments, I struggled to my feet. With my vision cleared, I came to the quick conclusion that I really didn't want to be here right now. A sea of Himes lead by Crow was heading straight for me. Grabbing a return scroll, I prepared to activate its magic when I heard a whimpering to my right. Turning my head, I saw a Chief Bandit and a Priest behind the Buddha. The Bandit was covered in blood and the Priest looked like he was on the verge of death.

"What are you doing here?! Use a scroll and get away!" I yelled at the two and the Bandit slowly turned toward me, tears running down his face. "They… They don't work." I was shocked, they always worked here before. "If they don't work…" I began to focus my magic in my right hand, "This will! Mystic door!" A burst of light from my hand shot straight into the air and exploded, a strange object forming from the light. The object fell to the earth, revealing itself as a door. "Go, quickly!" I commanded and the Bandit picked up the Priest and passed through the door to safety.

As I approached the door, it began to spark violently. "What's happening?" It had never done that before, the magic of door was remarkably stable and could be used almost anywhere, but this time something was wrong. The frame of the door began to crack and splinter, the magic used to form it evaporating like a fine mist. Right before my eyes, the door faded into nothingness, leaving me stranded. Something inside told me that recasting Mystic Door would do nothing, so I turned my attention to the main portal. As I prepared to break through the enemy ranks and escape, the blue light of the portal stopped. "What? NO!" I yelled as my last chance of escape vanished.

None of this was possible; Mystic Door and return scrolls could not be stopped by any normal means, let alone the normal portal. Portals were stagnant; they never ever changed, let alone vanished completely. As reality set in, I could feel nothing but anger, anger at the stupidity of this situation. All I wanted to do was a little training and now I was gonna die at the hand of some fat nosed monster. I couldn't take it anymore, if I was destined to die, I'd drag him to the underworld with my last breath. Gripping my Kage in my right hand, I reached into my pack with my left. Searching for a moment, I found what I was after, an Onyx Apple. Taking a bite of the blue apple, I could feel my magic growing to astonishing levels. It would only last ten minuets, but I knew that by that time either I, Crow, or both or us would be dead. "BRING IT ON YOU FAT NOSE FREAK!" With a cry, my magic exploded and I charged forward.

My sudden power caught the Himes off guard and they stopped, giving me all the time I needed. Approaching the closest Hime, I grabbed it by the sleeve and threw it over my shoulder towards the mob. Any type of physical feat was usually beyond my scope as a mage, but the apple amplified both my magic and physical power, granting me the strength of a warrior. The Hime slammed into the other ghosts, sending half a dozen to the ground.

Raising my staff in front of me, an arrow of holy magic appeared in my left hand as a while thread of light formed between the top and bottom of my staff. Within ten seconds, I had fired off a dozen arrows, purifying just as many Dreamy Ghosts. As I fired another arrow, Crow burst through the ghostly ranks and headed straight for me, ignoring the arrow as it struck him. Lowering my staff, I noticed the Himes weren’t moving anymore. It seems that Crow didn't want anyone interfering. A smile crossed my lips; if it was just Crow I might just stand a chance.