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rise-of-the-ancients · 1 year

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“Each of the Chaos Crystals were crafted under the watchful eye of myself. These crystals harbor an element inside of them that correlates with a phenomenon of nature. It is our duty, as their guardians, to nurture their environment and provide a sense of security to them. Chaos is a living element. It carries thoughts, emotions, energies from living entity and to the next. Treat it with valor and compassion and it will bestow the same onto you.”

Easier said than done.

With each stride he took, with each painful draw of his shortened breath, Terios kept moving.

Don’t stop! Keep running!

The soles of his boots dug deep into the doughy mud as he mounded himself off the ground. His heart pounded furiously in his ears. The heaves of his icy breath that he drew in from his burning lungs. Sticky mud quickly turned into slippery ice on the forest ground. It was enough to catch him slightly off guard, but a charitable warning for him to be mindful of his surroundings. His eyes shifted back and forth with every step that he took as he ran through the thick foliage of the East Forest. With the staff and straps of his bag in a choke hold, Terios hurdled over various obstacles on the path with ease as his mind focused on one goal: to get to the temple. He trusted every fiber of his being and muscle memory to get him safely to his destination.

Relax, you are familiar with me.

Terios couldn’t feel a connection from the crystals. It was as if he was being ignored. An irked Terios shook his head and rummaged through the deerskin bag to hold the green crystal in his hand.

Cease this activity at once! I am trying to help you!

He was definitely being ignored. The crystals, as he concluded, had been neglected for so long that they couldn’t recognize assistance. And if they couldn’t recognize assistance, then they were bound to act by their own accord to govern the state of unbalanced nature. That was not a possibility to be consider in Terios’ mind. The crystals could not do so without proper guidance. If not housed in the temple, then the planet’s weather would be out of control thanks to the green crystal. Time was not on his side as he had assumed. He had hoped that the day’s journey would provide some progress by putting some distance between them and the temple. What he didn’t expect was to run the entire half of the journey in an hour tops! Even without his skates it was mildly impressive.

Terios blinked a couple of times as glanced to the forest floor. What was once dim light that directed his path was conquered by a cold shadow that leered by his side. Terios could feel his fur stand on end as a foreign energy washed over his aura. He dared himself to turn his head to witness the horrors of the storm clouds in the sky. Obsidian black clouds tumbled forward with a roar that shook in his chest. Lightning cackled and exploded in the sky as violent wind lurched forward. He could’ve shrugged it off as a ruthless storm if it weren’t for the bizarre green streaks of lightning that strikes the ground. Each bolt of verdant green lightning struck down from the skies and stabbed the trees, setting them ablaze instantly.

Chaos energy. Of course it was unchecked Chaos energy from the crystal. Thank chaos for the temples… at least it was a temporary solution for the time being.

“For Chaos’ sake!” Terios growled, “I hate rain!”

Wind, rain, and ice pounded Terios’ head as he ran. The further the traveled, the harsher the conditions became. He had to keep moving, who knew what other bizarre weather patterns could happen next. Terios released a sharp gasp as he quickly evaded a bolt of lightning. The heat that radiated from the lightning bolt warmed his fur and barely singed his quills. He was surprised that didn’t come with a sly quip from OMEGA. The rock golem’s head often liked to pull his leg when it was convenient for him. Come to think of it, it had been a solid five minutes since he’s heard his traveling companion speak.

Where was OMEGA?

Terios halted from his sprint and shielded his eyes from the elements. Haze from the rain and ice was too hard to see through. While most of his traveling through the weather was done through channeling chaos energy, he still relied on his eyes to help navigate terrane.

“OMEGA,” Terios screamed through the gust of wind, “where are you?”

“OVER-HERE!”

Whipping his head around, he spotted the glow of cyan eyes and markings flicker from the rain pour just a couple feet down the incline. With an annoyed growl, the Titan slid down the slope to retrieve his friend. Terios growled as he picked OMEGA from the ground, muttering a slew of swear words under his breath as he picked the head up from the ground and crawled back up the incline. Which was very hard to do, mind you… especially with loads of ancient artefacts to carry and a rock golem’s head that liked to scream for attention. The frantic change from mud to ice must have been too much for OMEGA, as Terios concluded. As much as he tried, OMEGA managed to lodge himself in the occasional nook and cranny on the ground as he rolled.

As soon as Terios returned to the main path, he sped off with the head wrapped tightly in his arms. “The hell we’re you doing?”

“PURSUING-THE-RED-WISP,” OMEGA roared through the wind.

“A wisp? Don’t be daft! Those disappeared when Rosé—“

Terios followed the glance of OMEGA’s eyes to the trail below, blinking a couple of times and shaking his head. From afar, the hedgehog could see a small red orb flutter by with indigo eyes directed sharply upwards. The wisp eyes gestured to the path in front of them before speeding by them to the path ahead. Something about the wisp felt familiar to him. Very familiar. He could shake the feeling. He couldn’t believe his eyes. The proclaimed wisp. He hadn’t seen wisps in ages. Not since Rosé…. Terios shook his head to rid of the thought. Now was not the time to get distracted.

“A wisp,” he grunted. Another query to worry about as soon as the weather situation was fixed. “I cannot have you get distracted. Time is not of the essence here.” OMEGA didn’t utter a word as Terios move forward.

The temple found in the East Forest had long existed before many of the Ancients existed. When the temple was introduced to Terios hundreds of years ago, it was the first of eight that had been constructed. Construction had just begun on the second temple, blueprints were drawn for the third. Progress on the temples were projected to last for a couple hundred years with the helps of the Ancients and those that inhabited Sanctuary. Terios remembered feeling proud in assisting with the progress of constructing the temples. If he was occupied with tasks assigned by Blue, he would took it upon himself to help the others build. It had been quite some time since he visited each of the temples. Of all of the events that Terios had endured, a part of him was quite relieved to revisit a piece of a past that reflected a simpler time… even if it was under unfortunate circumstance.

As Terios and OMEGA arrived to the temple’s front, the Titan couldn’t help but step back with mouth ajar. What was once a temple constructed of concrete, vibrant colors, and rimmed with gold was now nothing more than a crumbling structure. Pillars and beams laid scattered on the ground with moss growing on top. The walls caved in and were brittle to the touch. What ached his heart the most was that the great oak tree—one that grew for centuries in the temple’s courtyard—was found uprooted with horrible scorch marks along its trunk. The magnificent structure that provided solace in these darken days was noting more than a vague memory of what was.

The two sought shelter just as a gust of wind and rain forced its way to the temple. Hail had just begun as Terios dived to a crumbled wall with enough roofing to shield his person. Terios set OMEGA down onto the ground and knelt next to him. The messenger bag was flung onto the floor as he stabbed the ground with the end of the staff. OMEGA leaned close to look inside as he watched Terios rummage around for octahedron-shaped crystal. The titan held the crystals in both of his hands as he looked down. A soft hum radiated from the crystal as he gave it a fatigued grin.

“You are safe here,” he whispered to the crystal. “You are home. And you have a job to do.”

Before any of them could make a move, the titan and golem were startled by a cackle of lightning striking the ground. Horrendous roars of thunder echoed through the remaining upright walls of the temple. Terios twisted his head in every which direction as he witnessed the rain pour through the minimal coverage of the diminishing roof. All around him the remaining walls shook and teetered as the thunder continued to roar in the sky. To his horror, Terios watched as inner walls and decorated columns finally crumbled and laid waste to the Earth. His breath shook as pillars and decorative art dropped to the ground all around him. His heart sank into his chest as he watched the wreckage continue to grow.

What he didn’t notice through all of the chaos that erupted around him was the flutter of the crimson red wisp flutter by him once more. Terios stared in awe as the wisp swayed back and forth to grasp his attention. Indigo eyes sent a chill down his spine as they locked with his. He knew those indigo eyes... Terios finally understood what the wisp’s omen was; it was there to help. With a quick nod of the wisp head, it took off into the depths of the temple without hesitation. The hedgehog quickly collected his things and trailed close behind. Terios had full trust that OMEGA could catch up on his own.

Terios kept close to the wisp that guided him through the temple’s ruins. Neither of them dared to stop. The hedgehog’s ears twitched to the low tumble of OMEGA rolling close by. Just beyond the uprooted tree was an alter covered in vines. Terios watched as the red wisp bolted to the alter and spiraled around it. The wisp fluttered in circled and motioned for the hedgehog to step forward. The alter was just as he had seen before; a limestone cylinder covered with gold and cyan inlays along the edges. The smooth counter top featured a single slot for the crystal and subtle relief carvings of the Ancients’ emblem below. It was good to see something familiar to him.

The titan step forward with caution as he kept his surroundings in check. The verdant crystal’s humming grew louder the closer he came to the alter. Right as he attempted to place the crystal down, Terios bared his fangs as the noisome scraping of stones slowly dragged and dropped from the ceiling. Terios lifted his ears up to the sounds of quiet taps just above him that followed close behind. I feel danger all around me… and anguish as well. Scarlet red eyes shifted above to look around. Nothing. There were no signs of movement above or in front of him. He may be the only one visible in the room, but he knew that he wasn’t alone. Something wanted his attention.

Without a moment to spare, the hedgehog placed the crystal down into the octahedron-shaped hole on the alter. With a soft click of the crystal nestled inside, a warm glow illuminated and pulsated as chaos energy was regulated. From above, the harsh rain had stopped pounding the ruins. The echoes of the wind screaming from outside had disappeared. Terios gave a subtle sign of relief as he tapped his knuckles on the alter in content. The weather had stopped. One crystal was restored. Only seven remained. As long as the crystal remained in the temple, then no one had to worry about the sporadic and violent weather around them.

“This should suffice for the time being,” he muttered softly. “Anyone that dares move you from this alter knows that consequences will follow. Without the other Ancients and guards around, I will assure your safety.”

With a bow of his head, Terios turned on his heel and walked away. Terios took his leave. Though the task was done, he couldn’t quite shake the unsettling feeling of danger off of his aura as he walked away. His quills tingled with each stride that he took. Something was off. Terios quickly scanned the temple’s opened room once more and proceeded forward. He needed to consult the scrolls once more to pinpoint his next location. That, and he had to find OMEGA again. It’s been too long since he’s heard an obnoxious one-liner from the golem’s head. As Terios quickened his pace, he was stopped once more by the fluttering red wisp that barricaded the exit. The wisp, as he watched, spiraled around and around his person in a frantic motion. Indigo eye made contact with him once more as it furrowed its eyebrows.

“Warning,” He heard the wisp say in a deep voice.

Terios opened his mouth to rebuttal, but paused as soon as he felt the quills on his head and forearms raise. The hedgehog quickly raised his quills and narrowed his eyes with a snarl. Terios grasped hold of the neck of the staff as he lowered it to the ground. To block, he extended an arm just above his muzzle and flares the quill-like fins to the pointed nose of the figure that stood behind him. A maroon colored echidna with orange dyed spines stood proudly with his shoulders rolled back and his chest puffed outward. Sapphire blue eyes stared coldly at the hedgehog as thick white eyebrows furrowed. The state of the planet and the results of war had clearly made a mark on the echidna. The echidna’s garbs were reduced to nothing more than tattered sandals, a worn sarong, and scratches across the once prideful emblems of the Ancients.

“Pachacamac,” Terios groveled.

“Titan,” the echidna flashed him a crooked grin. “About time you showed up. You disappeared for a month and then reappear when chaos lets loose. Seems to be a trend with you, don’t you think?”

Terios tightened his grip around the neck of the staff. The quills along his forearms continued to raise as the danger grew around him.

“It’s cute how you think that your arm fins are weapons,” Pachacamac said. “I’ve known you for what? A hundred years? And you’re still using them? Glad to see that you’re not trimming them like you used to.”

“Enough talk, what do you want?”

“No need to get defensive. We’re all here with good intentions,” Pachacamac stated.

With a quick snap of his fingers, hundreds of eyes emerged from the shadows and stared back at the two figures in the room. Terios twisted his head around and watched in awe as swarms of echidnas dropped into view one by one. The hedgehog watched at each of the echidnas prepared themselves to strike with spears drawn and shields upright. All of the echidnas that Terios had grew accustomed to throughout the years had crowded themselves into the room and waited for a cue.

“So now you all show,” Terios groveled.

“You don’t get to be sour with us, Terios. We all had our assignments during the war. We accomplished ours—“

“You fled like cowards,” Terios spat, “you and the others are a blood soaked stain to Strength’s name.”

“And you’re not?” Pachacamac tapped his finger on Terios’ forearm quills to lower from his nose. The snarl the Terios gave him was quite amusing. “You, on the other hand, failed to do yours. And because you failed, the Ancients are gone. You were the very last one to see Blue alive. So what happened to them? Where are they?”

Terios shot a glance to the echidna that tried to grab the bag. In a flash, the hedgehog leapt into the air with the bag held tightly to his chest. Terios landed not far behind with eyes narrowed down to Pachacamac rather coldly. Of course the echidnas would be here the Chaos Crystals. They’ve always had an unhealthy obsession with obtaining such awesome power. A hundred years later and they were still in the same mindset. Strength would be so disappointed…

Terios pointed the staff to the older echidna and frowned in disgust. “You’re not worthy of the crystals. Blue bestowed the power and role to me. Now get out of my sight. I’ve an objective to complete.”

“So far you’ve proven that you can’t do your job. And if you can’t do your job, then it’s best to remove you. Let the true descendants of the most powerful Ancient take the crystals. And you, an artificial being, have no role here. We’ll be taking those now.”

Before he could rebuttal, Terios halted in his step and lurched forward. For a second of a fraction Terios could feel an acute surge of energy strike his back and swarm across his torso. His arms were vigorous pinned to his side as he was shoved to his knees to the temple’s cold hard floor. Terios’ eyes frantically scanned his person in attempt to puzzle together the source of his unfortunate situation. From a glance he saw four redden beams wrapped tightly around his person and surging with chaos energy that singed his fur. His mind struggled to process how quickly he was restrained, but was interrupted by a shockwave of unbearable energy coursing through his veins. Bared fangs and growls escaped curled lips as he bared through the wave. Unchecked chaos energy could not be used in such a vitriolic manner. The echidnas drew closer with spears drawn forward as they pointed directly to his head.

“Ancient technology,” the echidna said with a shake of his head. Pachacamac revealed a sharp piece of flint from his minted hands and cut the strap from Terios’ shoulder to retrieve the bag. “The Titan is coming with us. We need him.”

Terios was pulled from the ground and up to his feet. A set of mitten hands shoved his forward to follow behind the maroon echidna. As much as the titan desired to fight, he knew better than to strike without a plan. He loathed the idea of being in one’s clutches as much as anyone else. However, as long as he cooperated, he knew that minimal harm would come to protecting the Chaos Crystals. He didn’t have much choice. For now he was within their care. The echidna army pushed him out of the temple and far into the forest. One last glance at the East Forest temple earned him another shove to walk forward. The red wisp, who had watched from the shadows, fluttering anxiously behind the echidna army.

#The Aftermath #Short Story #Stength’s Warriors #Terios the Titan #OMEGA the Golem #my art #sonic boom #Strength the Ancient #Sonic Boom AU #Shadow AU

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