“Yes! Yes!” Krystal cheered in excitement as she looked down upon the many buildings and acres of land as she rode her hoverboard. After a few hours of riding the skies, Krystal and Prince had arrived at what was known as the town of Riven.
“I can’t believe we’re here, Prince. We’re finally here. Now the Chain of Leo is about to be mine.”
“Don’t celebrate just yet. We still have to find it.”
“I know. But I have a good feeling we’re going to.”
As soon as the two landed in Riven, Krystal and Prince got off their hoverboards and began walking around. It was required for travelers to have hoverboards or any other forms of advanced transportation devices at the entrance gates of the town. Riven also happened to be the closest to where Mt. Roja was located.
“I’m so tired,” Prince said.
“Oh, shut up! Once we get the Chain of Leo, we can go home, and you can nap for a whole day if you want to. But until then, we gotta focus on the mission.”
“You don’t know if someone already got it.”
“There you go being a rainy cloud. I know the chain is still here. I can just feel it! Now hurry up! We have to start searching.”
Krystal ran ahead while Prince followed her inside the town. She’s so determined to get this chain. It’s unusual, Prince thought.
***
Meanwhile, back at Ringmasters Training Academy, Aiden was working with Heer and Runa on their training inside the gymnasium. It was free period, so it was a perfect time to get some training in. “Okay, Heer, listen carefully,” Aiden said. “I want you to demonstrate an ice energy beam.”
“What is Runa going to do then?” Heer asked Aiden.
“Runa will observe you and then perform a dark energy beam,” Aiden replied.
“How…how can I do that?” Runa asked.
“This is what you need to do, Runa,” Aiden explained. “You have to learn to control your powers. All that starts with your energy and how you utilize it. As for you, Heer, it’s important you grasp this concept as well. So, Runa, I want you to trust yourself and watch Heer closely.”
Runa turned to Heer, who smiled back at her. With that, Runa nodded in agreement as she kept her eyes on Heer. Heer transformed into her beast form. After closing her eyes, she opened them after a few seconds, revealing their blue glow. She opened her mouth wide as an ice energy beam slowly formed, the energy twisting. Runa watched Heer closely, seeing how she was able to easily maintain the balance of energy within the beam.
“Very nice, Heer. Just maintain the flow of energy for a little longer,” Aiden said. “Are you ready to try for yourself, Runa?”
“I think so.”
“Good. Then go for it.”
Runa transformed into her beast form. It was truly a sight for Aiden to see Runa take on her panther form in front of his eyes for the first time. Runa closed her eyes, trying to concentrate. She opened them after a few seconds, and they began to glow a bright purple color. Runa opened her mouth, slowly forming a dark energy beam as she paralleled Heer’s ice energy beam.
“That’s it. Keep it steady, Runa,” Aiden said.
“So, this is why Zayn said we had to move our training elsewhere,” a voice said.
Aiden turned behind him to see Sana standing right by the entrance to the gymnasium.
“Sana. I’m surprised to see you here,” Aiden said. “What’s up?”
“I wanted to see what kind of training you guys are up to. It’s great that you’re training Heer and Runa together. It looks like it’s helping Runa with controlling her powers.”
“I hope you don’t mind that we had to steal your little training spot.”
“It’s no big deal.”
“By the way, is Rey still sick?”
“Unfortunately. I called his nurse at the health center and she said that he should start feeling better after finishing his medications.”
“I see. Well, hopefully he’ll recover soon. He’s a tough one after all.”
Suddenly, Runa’s dark energy beam began to get hectic as it started to give off static shocks. The sight alarmed Aiden, Sana, and Heer.
“Don’t let your energy get out of hand, Runa!” Aiden said. “Stay focused! Just use all your will power if you have to.”
Runa shook her head as she closed her eyes tightly. She kept calm as the energy of the dark energy beam slowly tamed down.
“Wow. You sure have a way with communication,” Sana told Aiden.
“That’s why I’m the coach.”
“Though don’t you think testing out energy beams is rather too simple?”
“It is. This is just a start. Heer and Runa…you both are doing great. Now I want you both to take things a bit further. I need you to trust each other. Launch your beams upward and make them collide.”
Heer and Runa nodded as the two proceeded to launch their energy beams up towards the ceiling. Once the beams were launched, they managed to collide perfectly, creating an array of blue and purple sparks. Sana watched the display with complete awe while Aiden smiled.
“Perfect,” Aiden said.
Amazing, Sana thought. He truly knows how to guide others.
***
Back in Riven, Krystal and Prince were busy making their way around the town. The town itself had a more mellow setting. Small brick houses were aligned on the streets with little shops that sold a wide range of goods. One attraction of the town was that its roads were completely made of crimson red bricks. And alongside many streets were trees that grew wisteria flowers. The town was famous for having them grow right at the beginning of the spring season.
Prince sighed as predictably Krystal was getting distracted by the beauty of the town. Instead of making their way towards Mt. Roja, the two stopped at a small boutique.
“These necklaces are gorgeous! And the bags! They have the latest Reshawna bag. I’ve been looking everywhere for this,” Krystal said as she brought all her items to the cashier for purchasing. “The girls are gonna love all these souvenirs.”
As the cashier began to ring up all the items, Krystal noticed Prince was awfully quiet. She could even see from his face that he was annoyed.
After she handed her credit card to the cashier, she said to Prince, “What’s your deal?”
“Nothing. I just expected this.”
“Expected what?”
“You to get distracted like you always do.”
“Distracted?! You know I always like to get souvenirs when we travel!”
“You came here for a reason. You wanted to get that weapon. And instead of getting that done, you’re shopping. Typical.”
“Hey, I am focused! Right after this, we’ll march right over to Mt. Roja and get it!”
“Excuse me. You plan to go to Mt. Roja?” the cashier asked.
“That’s right,” Krystal said.
“I hate to tell you this, but that area is off limits to tourists,” the cashier said.
“What?!” Krystal exclaimed.
“So much for that plan,” Prince said.
“Why would it be off limits?!” Krystal asked.
“It only happened recently, but several tourists reported ghost sightings there and went ballistic. So, they’ve decided to close off tourism indefinitely,” the cashier said as he handed Krystal back her credit card and finished packing her items.
“Ghosts? Really?” Prince said.
Prince looked at Krystal, surprised to see her so quiet. At a time like this, she’d normally throw a whole tantrum.
“Well, thanks for letting us know,” Krystal said as she grabbed her bags from the cashier. “Have a nice day.”
With that, Krystal and Prince walked out of the shop and back into the streets. Prince couldn’t tell what Krystal was thinking. But with this new information, he didn’t think it was possible for them to do anything now.
“So, what do we do now?” Prince asked. “Should we just head back to school?”
Prince looked at Krystal again and noticed a wide grin form on her face. He was quite puzzled by it.
“Now who said anything about going back?” Krystal said.
“What?”
“Let’s go. I have an idea.”
Krystal walked ahead while Prince followed her. Great. Just when I thought we’d be leaving, Prince thought.
***
Back at the academy, Ryan was in his office working on paperwork for his class. After half an hour, he placed his papers in a file folder and headed out of his office, locking the door. Ryan stepped out into the hallway, heading towards the stairs. As he went down them, he came across Headmaster Devil once he had reached the lower level.
“Devil?” Ryan said, confused. “I thought you were leaving earlier today?”
“I had some work to finish.”
“As did I.”
“How’s your class going by the way? I hope you’re adjusting.”
“It’s going well. Though four of my students have been absent. Krystal, Prince, Neil, and Rey.”
“Krystal and Prince have gone to Riven for some important work. Neil has gone back to his hometown, Helada. And as for Rey, he’s been quite ill lately, so he’s resting in the health center.”
“The boy’s still sick? Sana didn’t mention anything to me.”
“It’s just a flu according to the nurse.”
“No one has gone to see him?”
“Well, the nurse said it’s highly contagious, so it’s wise that he has no visitors.”
“Who is this nurse?”
“Nurse Sheila. She just started here around the time Zayn and Akira joined the academy.”
“I see. Well…I better get back home. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Sure thing. Have a good evening.”
Ryan made his way through the doors of the academy, pondering. How can that man be so oblivious? Ryan thought. I’m not the brightest man alive. But even I know something’s odd about this. So, who’s this new nurse that has everyone kept at bay?
***
Back in Riven, Krystal and Prince were on their way to Mt. Roja, continuing their quest for the Chain of Leo. Though Prince still didn’t know what Krystal had in mind. With the news they had received about the area being closed off to tourists, he didn’t think there was anything they could do. But they were still heading there, and Krystal hadn’t said a word about this idea of hers. She just kept her focus on reaching to Mt. Roja. It was weird to see Krystal not be a chatterbox. Normally if they went anywhere, Prince couldn’t go two minutes without her mouth going off. It made him think that this journey was very important to her.
After some more time had passed, Krystal stopped, looking at the map on her phone’s GPS. She looked up, seeing what appeared to be Mt. Roja. Its stature wasn’t much, the mountain range was quite small. But the striking crimson color of the rock was certainly there. It almost looked like the mountain was composed of bricks. Standing in the way of her getting to that mountain was a tall fence.
“Well, we’re here,” Prince said. “Now you better explain what you’re up to.”
“Well, this works perfectly.”
“What does?”
“The fence. It seems they don’t have any guards on duty. That makes this a little easier.”
“How? You’re still blocked from entering.”
“Not if you can jump over the fence.”
Prince thought he misheard. But then he remembered this was Krystal who was talking.
“What?” Prince asked.
“Yeah. We can jump over the fence. Of course, I think we’ll have to make sure we jump high enough, so we don’t touch it. I’m pretty sure it could be electric or something like that.”
“And exactly how would we jump over?”
“Well, you can transform into your beast form and leap over. The fence isn’t too tall and from my little knowledge on animals, I’m pretty sure lions can leap pretty high. As for me, I’m gonna use my sonic bell to emit a sound wave that can boost me up.”
“You actually expect that to work? How do you even know that your sonic bell will be able to propel you high enough to get over?”
“You can help with that. I’ll jump over first. When I use my sonic bell, you can use your Sonic Roar for extra power. That should be just enough to get me over. And once I’m over, you can go.”
Prince was surprised. As crazy as this idea sounded, it seemed like Krystal had it all figured out. But of course, there was the matter of whether it would work.
“If this doesn’t work, it’s your fault.”
“Trust me, it’ll work. Just transform already.”
Prince transformed into his beast form while Krystal drew out her wand, tapped it, and transformed it into her sonic bell. She got into her stance and made sure her sonic bell faced the ground.
She turned to Prince and said, “Okay. For this to work, I need you to be directly behind me. Our timing has to be right, too. So, as soon as I get my sonic bell going, you aim your Sonic Roar towards me.”
Prince nodded. Krystal got ready, taking one deep breath. She was confident that she could do this, but there was a part of her that was nervous. She decided to brush it off and focus on getting this done right. The Chain of Leo was waiting for her.
“Sound Beam,” Krystal said as she emitted a sound energy beam from her sonic bell that bounced her off the ground.
That was Prince’s cue. He immediately launched his Sonic Roar attack behind Krystal, combining it with her sound energy beam. With the two forces collided, she was propelled higher in the air and she managed to make it above the fence. As she headed towards the ground on the other side, she flipped and landed perfectly. Krystal grounded her standing and was astonished that she really did it.
“Yes. Yes. Yes! I did it!” Krystal exclaimed. “I actually did it! Come on, Prince! You can jump over now!”
And so, Prince leaped over the fence. It was quite effortless for him as Krystal said. He landed on the ground next to her and transformed back into his human form.
“Look, Prince! We actually made it over!”
“I know. Even I’m surprised.”
“Okay. Now that we’re here, we need to find the chain.”
“Well, this mountain is pretty big. It could take forever to search for it.”
“Ugh! You’re right! I didn’t even think about that.”
“Well, just take a minute to think. What did the riddle say again?”
Krystal took out a small chit of paper from the inner pocket of her flared top. She had written the riddle down on it. If one chooses to seek, one must go to the top peak. And look deep, beyond the crimson rock that stands so tall, Krystal read. Geez, we’re already here. They could’ve been a little bit more specific when writing this thing.
But then it hit Krystal. She looked up at Mt. Roja and slowly worked her way down to the lower rock formations.
“I think I understand the riddle. I only focused on the part about the crimson rock. But not on the part about looking beyond,” Krystal said. “I think we’re supposed to find it closer to the lower level of the mountain.”
“You might be right on that.”
“How so?”
“Look over there.”
Krystal looked to where Prince was pointing. There appeared to be a large hole in the ground. Krystal and Prince walked towards it.
“What do you think it’s for?” Krystal asked.
“My guess…someone else is looking for exactly what you’re looking for.”
“Oh, come on. You think someone dug up a hole here to find the chain?”
“Well, the riddle did say to look beyond. Now it was written a long time ago, so who knows. But maybe this is it. Of course, we’ll only know if we go down there.”
Krystal looked down at the hole, looking straight at the ground below it. She gulped, seeing how deep it was.
“Oh great! Now we have to go down here!” Krystal exclaimed. “Don’t they have those little transportation devices?! How can I go down there in this outfit! It’ll get-“
Before Krystal could finish talking, Prince gave her a slight push from behind and she fell down the hole, screaming. Krystal crashed to the ground, landing flat. Prince jumped down inside after transforming into his beast form. Once he had landed, he transformed back into human form, seeing Krystal on the ground.
“What the hell?! How dare you push me down here?!” Krystal yelled, getting up quickly.
“Your idiotic talk was getting on my nerves.”
“You’re lucky my outfit is still in one piece.”
“Whatever. We’re in. So, we might as well start looking.”
“You mean walk around and dig up the place like scavengers?”
“Well, how else are we supposed to find it?”
“I actually have another idea in mind.”
Krystal drew out her wand and tapped it, transforming it into her sonic bell. As she held her sonic bell, the actual yellow bell that was attached on it started to glow, picking up a signal.
“Looks like we have to head straight down and then make a right,” Krystal told Prince.
“How…how do you even know that?”
“While I was reading the book I got from the library, I learned that the Chain of Leo reacts when there is a presence of another sound weapon nearby. So, I thought that maybe if I use my sonic bell, I’ll be able to sense the vibrations of the chain, which could lead me to where it is. And since a reaction was picked up, we now know for certain that it is here.”
“Wow. That’s…actually a smart idea.”
“I can be smart when I want to be. Now let’s go.”
Krystal went ahead with Prince following her. Her sonic bell’s vibrations grew stronger as she came closer to where the Chain of Leo was hidden. As they continued walking, Prince thought, Seeing Krystal like this is remarkable. Either I’ve underestimated her this whole time or she’s starting to grow up a bit.
“My sonic bell is picking up vibrations from somewhere here!” Krystal exclaimed. Krystal looked around, seeing a gleaming light shining from the ground. She plunged her sonic bell to the ground, allowing the sound waves to crack the ground to where the light was coming from. Once that was done, she pulled away some of the dirt and rocks of the ground, revealing the glow that was coming from underground. Behind all that dirt was a long silver and gold chain.
“Yes! I found it! The Chain of Leo!” Krystal exclaimed as she got her hands on the chain. “I can’t believe we actually found it!”
Before Krystal could even pull the chain out, a bright purple glow came from underground. The ground exploded, which made both Krystal and Prince fall back. Once the smoke from the explosion faded away, Krystal was shocked to see a tall, muscular guy standing before them. To Krystal, he had a very rugged appearance with his medium-length ruffled black hair and dark brown eyes. He wore a black sleeveless shirt, long purple pants with a shiny black sash holding them, and black boots. He held the Chain of Leo in his hands, looking at both Krystal and Prince, smirking.
“Who the hell are you, buddy?!” Krystal yelled.
“I hate introductions. But since you also managed to get your hands on this thing, I might as well tell you,” the guy replied. “My name is Cyrus Swiftblade. And I’ve come a long way to get my hands on this.”
“How the hell did you get underground?” Prince questioned Cyrus.
“I heard someone come down here. I needed to get to the chain as fast as possible,” Cyrus told Prince as he held his weapon, which was a silver-colored longsword. “Clearly I wasn’t fast enough.”
“So, I guess you’re responsible for the hole that led us here,” Prince said.
“Listen up. I got to the chain first. So, I get to have it! Fair and square!” Krystal shouted at Cyrus.
“On the contrary, I believe we got to it at the same time. Which means if you truly want it, you’ll have to battle me for it,” Cyrus told Krystal.
Krystal was silent, unsure of how to respond to Cyrus’ challenge. She really hoped she didn’t have to get into any fights for this.
“Or if you’re too scared, just let me take the chain and I’ll be on my way,” Cyrus said. “After all, the chain doesn’t belong in the hands of cowards.”
“Oh, shut up already! We’ll battle you for sure! There is no way you’re taking the Chain of Leo from me, got it?!” Krystal exclaimed.
“Are you nuts? You really think we can beat this guy?” Prince said.
“Hell, yeah! Challenge accepted,” Krystal replied as she got in stance with her sonic bell in hand. It didn’t take her long to realize that she needed to leave her backpack to the side since it was carrying all her souvenirs.
“Very well,” Cyrus responded as he dropped the Chain of Leo to the side.
Prince transformed into his beast form. Krystal made the first move and rang the bell of her sonic bell, launching a sound wave towards Cyrus. Cyrus dodged it as the sound wave hit the ground instead.
“Basic tricks like that aren’t going to do anything for you. Let me show you what a real sound ringmaster can do,” Cyrus said as he got his sword ready. “Sounds of Darkness!”
Cyrus hit the edge of his longsword into the ground, launching a sound wave that carried dark energy beams along with it. The wave struck Krystal and Prince, making them fall back to the ground.
“You’ve got to be kidding?! He has power over sound and dark magic?” Krystal said as she struggled to get up along with Prince.
“That’s correct. And in my case, both powers go hand in hand whenever I wish,” Cyrus told Krystal.
Krystal grunted as she ran towards Cyrus with her sonic bell. Cyrus defended himself against her with his sword, but Krystal had tried to push against it with the vibrations from the sonic bell, slowly affecting the sword’s blade.
“That’s enough!” Cyrus shouted. “Shadow Blade!”
Cyrus’ longsword gave off a dark purple glow, which alarmed Krystal. The glow set off an explosion that hit Krystal. While she was down, Cyrus plunged his sword to the ground and called out, “Shadow Plunge!”
As the ground cracked, a sound wave made its way through the cracks towards Krystal. Alerted, Krystal deflected the sound wave with her sonic bell. But after a few moments, she was stunned by a shock of dark energy that had been emitted from the sound waves. Heavily injured, Krystal struggled to stand.
“I think it’s about time you gave up,” Cyrus said. “You’re obviously no match for me.”
Damn it! How do I fight sound with sound?! Especially when he’s combining dark magic with his sound powers. He has the upper hand here, Krystal thought.
“Have you forgotten about me or something?!” Prince shouted.
Alarmed, Krystal turned to see Prince had transformed back into his human form. It was weird that she hadn’t even paid attention to him for the past few minutes.
“I’ve been here, for you for however long it’s been, doing nothing. I’m here to help,” Prince told Krystal. “I know what you’re trying to do. You want to prove you’re as good of a ringmaster as Sana, Neil, and even Zayn. But if you want to prove that…then show that you’re a team player. Don’t put me on the sidelines.”
Krystal looked back at Prince, surprised to see him talk like this. It wasn’t the first time he needed to give her a stern talk. But in a moment like this, it was exactly what she needed to hear.
“You’re right, Prince. I needed that,” Krystal said. “Now let’s show this bozo what a real ringmaster team is made of!”
“Done,” Prince smirked as he transformed back into his beast form. Krystal got in her stance, holding her sonic bell as she focused on Cyrus. Okay…he may be strong. But since he’s using dual magic, it has to wear him out at least a little bit, Krystal thought. So, if I wear him out long enough, I should be able to get him where I want him.
“Prince! Use your Sonic Roar now!” Krystal ordered. With that, Prince unleashed his Sonic Roar attack directly at Cyrus. As the Sonic Roar came towards Cyrus, he dodged it.
“Go for it again!” Krystal exclaimed.
Prince commenced with another Sonic Roar. And once again, Cyrus dodged.
“You’re wasting your attacks on me! Do you think such trivial moves can affect me?!” Cyrus told Krystal.
“Again, Prince!” Krystal shouted. Prince launched his Sonic Roar once more towards Cyrus. Cyrus jumped out of the way again, landing on Krystal and Prince’s right side. Suddenly, I feel some kind of ringing in my ears, Cyrus thought as he stood, breathless. All this moving is tiring me out. Wait, is that what they wanted to do?
“Now, Prince! Use your Sonic Scar!” Krystal ordered. With Cyrus unable to move quick enough, Prince quickly attacked him with his Sonic Scar, plunging the claws of his paw into Cyrus’ arm. Cyrus yelped in pain as the effects of the Sonic Scar had taken upon his body, unleashing the sound waves inside of him. As his body took in all the vibrations, he fell helplessly to the ground.
“And now, I’ll show you what real power is!” Krystal exclaimed. Krystal and Prince got into positions, forming perfect linear alignment with one another. Krystal held tightly onto her sonic bell.
“Savage Sound Roar!” Krystal called out the equilibrium attack with her sonic bell, sending a tremendous sound wave that coincided with Prince’s mighty roar. The power of the attack hit Cyrus like a bullseye. The attack’s strength was evident from the way the ground shook like an earthquake and rocks began to drop down everywhere.
Once the attack had died down, Prince transformed back and Krystal fell to her knees, breathless. Cyrus remained on the ground, immobile. A few rocks landed beside his body from the impact of the attack. Seeing him completely helpless, Krystal slowly got up and made her way towards him. She moved some of the rocks off his body and then stood before him, extending her hand. Cyrus looked at her, confused.
“I don’t understand,” Cyrus said. “Why would you give me a hand?”
“Just trying to help.”
“But I’m your enemy. I didn’t exactly hold back against you.”
“So what? Just because we were competing over this thing, doesn’t mean I can’t be a good sport.”
Cyrus was surprised upon hearing Krystal’s words. He looked at her hand, which was as bruised as his own.
“Now are you going to make me wait till Christmas to take my hand?!” Krystal exclaimed.
After a moment, Cyrus smiled. He grabbed hold of Krystal’s hand while Krystal pulled him up.
“You’re a truly gifted ringmaster. And a wise one at that,” Cyrus told Krystal.
“Well, I’m not exactly wise,” Krystal said. “Someone once showed me to see the good in people. I just know how to take after what others say.”
Cyrus looked off to the side, seeing the Chain of Leo was still safely on the ground after the attack. He walked over and grabbed hold of it, realizing how hard it was to let it go. But he knew he had to because he had lost. He looked at Krystal, taking her hand and placing the chain in her grasp.
“I believe this belongs to you,” Cyrus said. “You earned it after all. What is your name by the way? “
“Thank you. My name is Krystal. Krystal D’Cruz,” Krystal said.
“And I’m her partner, Prince Blake,” Prince said.
“Do you go to a ringmaster academy?” Cyrus asked.
“Yes! We both go to Ringmasters Training Academy,” Krystal said.
“You’re both RTA kids? That’s amazing. I go to Pytho Sigma,” Cyrus said.
“Pytho Sigma? That’s pretty close by here, isn’t it?” Prince asked.
“Yeah. Right up in Roja Heights. That made it pretty easy to get here,” Cyrus said. “I’m finishing up my second year. We’re about to have our final exams soon, so I tried to come here in hopes to expand my arsenal.”
“Oh, yeah! We’re having our finals soon as well,” Krystal said.
“Yeah, our school year is ending a little earlier than yours. I guess that means I’ll be seeing you in the tournament then,” Cyrus said.
“Well, we do have to pass the exams before we can make that call,” Prince said.
“I know,” Cyrus said. “But I’m certain you both will make it through.”
“Thank you!” Krystal exclaimed. “So, tell me what it’s like at Pytho Sigma!”
As Krystal and Cyrus continued their chat, Prince watched them, happy to see things end so well. It was crazy how they were enemies not too long and we’re now chatting like close friends, even exchanging numbers. I gotta hand it to Krystal. She certainly knows how to surprise people, Prince thought.
“I’ll be on my way now,” Cyrus told Krystal as he prepared to head underground to exit the area. “I hope to see you again soon, Krystal.”
“Same here, Cyrus! Bye for now!” Krystal said to Cyrus as he headed underground and left.
Krystal turned to Prince, noticing he was looking at her in a way she hadn’t noticed before.
“Okay! What did I do?!” Krystal questioned.
“That whole seeing the good in people line…was that inspired by our own Heer?”
“Hey! I said someone taught me that. No need to go all copyright infringement on me.”
“Well, I’m proud of you.”
“Now that’s a first! This calls for a celebration! We should go shopping!”
“That’s not my idea of celebrating.”
“Oh, don’t be such a party pooper!”
“To hell with the drama.”
“Oh! Haven’t heard that in a while!”
Suddenly, the Chain of Leo began to give off a bright golden glow that stunned Krystal and Prince. A puff of smoke emerged from the chain, forming the shape of a ghostly male figure that had long hair like a lion mane and a goatee around his face. Even though Krystal had seen a lot of things during her time at Ringmasters Training Academy, ghosts weren’t one of them.
“Well, we now know the cashier guy wasn’t kidding about the ghosts here,” Krystal said.
“Don’t be afraid,” the ghost told Krystal. “I am the spirit of Leo. Your success in obtaining this chain has woken me from my slumber.”
“You mean Krystal is the first one to successfully get the chain?” Prince asked.
“Others have succeeded in finding it before. But I didn’t allow them to have it. You are the first one who has defeated your rival for it and shown compassion towards them after winning,” the spirit of Leo replied. “And for that…I would like to bestow a reward upon you.”
“Reward? I think the chain is enough of a reward,” Krystal said.
“You may need this in the future,” the spirit of Leo said as he waved his arm before Krystal, creating what appeared to be a golden scroll that was rolled up and had silver rollers on each end.
Krystal looked at it with awe as the scroll landed in her hands. It was just as beautiful as the chain itself.
“This…is the Leo Scroll. This contains every last drop of my powers in the form of a spell. When the time calls for its use, you may use it. I trust that you will keep this safely.”
“Yes, of course! Thank you!” Krystal exclaimed.
With that, the spirit of Leo smiled as he faded away in a golden glow.
I won’t lie…this is probably the most amazing feeling I’ve had in a while, Krystal thought as she looked at both the Chain of Leo and the Leo Scroll, both being held in her hands. The Chain of Leo glowed a bright golden color and had transformed into a golden wand with the Leo zodiac symbol embellished on it.
“Wait…what just happened to it?” Prince asked Krystal, confused.
“I read it in the book. Once the rightful holder obtains the chain, it transforms back into a wand. A zodiac wand to be specific. So, now whenever I need to summon it, I can.”
“Well, look at you. This whole experience has at least made you smarter.”
“Shut up! I am smart!”
“Your test scores last term say something else.”
“Oh, shut up, Prince! Don’t ruin my moment of glory!”
Copyright © 2021 Meryl T
All rights reserved. All illustrations created by Meryl T.
The Ringmasters Society 