Chapter 85 - Fourth Gate: Land Of Terra (Part 7)

[Music Recommendation: "The Heart's Tale" by BigRicePiano - available in Youtube]

"Elliot! Elliot!" 

Hearing her voice crying out to him, Elliot came back to reality. He looked up to the direction of the voice and there he found Rania falling towards him.

"Rania -" he called back and caught her in an embrace. "What are you doin -"

"Elliot, please don't! Please stop this!" Rania sobbed. She wrapped her arms around his neck and trembled while sobbing. 

Elliot got confused. He seemed to have forgotten what he just did. 

He looked around him and saw the current state of the King of Chaos - with wounds all over his body, ice swords stuck deep in his skin, and blood-tainted clothes. 

"W-what did I - ," he thought to himself. Then he remembered the dead bodies of the villagers again … and Granny Elin's missing presence. His eyes widened. 

Memories came flooding through his mind. And along with the memories, deep pain and misery pierced through his heart again. 

"R-rania …," Elliot wrapped her tighter in his arms. "I … I failed them". 

Warm tears trickled down from Elliot's eyes ...

They flowed without interruption ...

And as if the heavens cried with him, rain started pouring down ...

With each falling raindrops, he felt his heart sink even further into the Gates of Grief and Sorrow …

A moment of silence passed by as they cried. 

Elliot blamed himself. He had all the powers in the world yet he couldn't use them when he needed it most. He learned all the knowledge and wisdom he could absorb yet it was insufficient. He did everything he could yet … they weren't enough.

"Why?" Elliot asked Rania. "Why didn't I think that we could get attacked twice in a single day? If only I thought of that possibility, then I wouldn't have called for Ducis and he could have stayed in the village to protect the others. I should have handled the Mad King on my own - which I could! Why did I even call Ducis in the first place? Why was I so careless again? I … sniff … sniff … It's all my fault". 

"If that is so, then I shouldn't have left the stronghold with Luna to search for the others. I should have gone alone and left her to protect them instead. I am at fault, too. But then … nobody really knows what else could have happened if we choose that path instead".

"No!" Elliot strongly disagreed. "It was I that … that -"

Rania shook her head in disagreement. Then, she gently whispered to his ears. "No … It was nobody's fault … sniff … And don't think for a moment that you failed them. You did your best - we all did. It's just that … we can't expect everything to happen the way we want it to be. My heart b-breaks as well … sniff … for Granny Elin and the other villagers that we couldn't save. But … even so, this is wrong. Do not blame yourself …

And most of all ... do not repay evil with evil!"

Rania loosened her embrace to face Elliot. She brushed his cheeks and held them with both of her hands. Then, she inched closer and rested her forehead onto his'. 

"Elliot, I know everything hurts right now and it's very tempting to take revenge on your own but … do not be overcome by evil. This is not who you are. You are a kind, patient, enduring, compassionate, and a forgiving person. Hatred and revenge is not the way".

At Rania's words, all of Elliot's hostility disappeared. Like water to fire, her words washed out all the flames of malice in his heart. 

"Thank you, Rania" Elliot softly whispered back. "I'm sorry for losing my sight. I know what I must do now".

Elliot descended and helped Rania back to the ground. Then, he approached the King of Chaos who couldn't move anymore due to the fatality of his injuries. Elliot aimed at him … and healed him of his injuries. 

"A-are you healing me to torture me again? How wonderful!" the King of Chaos sneered.

"No," Elliot responded. With eyes that no longer glared, he looked at the King of Chaos and said, "I will not kill you … for this battle is not mine to avenge. But remember this:

The Supreme sees the trouble of the afflicted! He considers their grief and takes it in hand! But woe it is to the wicked! Disaster is upon them! For they will be repaid with what their hands have done!"

Elliot's eyes burned with holy anger. His eyes pierced through the depths of the king's soul once more.

Suddenly, time stopped.

A black hole appeared from the sky, and from it, came the Guardian of the realm. Her short, caramel hair, fluttered in the wind as she descended. She wore a brown, body-fit tabard with white knee-length dress underneath. When her leather boots touched the ground, she fixed her golden eyes unto Elliot.

"You have almost failed this trial, Anointed One," the Guardian greeted him with a resolute face. "If not for this woman stopping you, you could have destroyed this whole realm and I will be forced to trap you here forever". Her voice was kind yet strict at the same time.

Elliot lowered his eyes. "Yes, I understand the gravity of my actions".

"If you understand, then it is good," she replied. Then, as if the wind suddenly shifted its course, her serious face smiled and turned gentle. "Now stop crying and being disheartened!"

Rania and Elliot were startled. 

"I have seen the depths of your heart," the Guardian continued. "To be honest, you have already passed my trial during the moment you helped Elin and this whole village".

"If that is so, then why -"

" - I had to continue it," the Guardian interrupted. "You stayed here for too long. Now, you only have around 60 days left. But I understand your reasons and intent, so I talked to my brother, the Guardian of Sand, and he agreed to combine our trials. It was also the perfect setting so he just thought, why not?" 

"The Guardian of Sand? Is that the next gate that we're supposed to go to?" Rania asked.

"Yes. And you have already passed his trial. All you need to do now is head straight to his temple when you travel to his realm".

Elliot couldn't believe what he was hearing. "But I … I don't deserve any of this. It's true that if not for Rania I would have failed!"

"Yes, that's right, my dear," the Guardian nodded. "She helped you and you passed - that's it".

"That's it?" Elliot still couldn't accept it. "Even though I -"

"Yes, even though you initially gave in to hatred," the Guardian smiled at him. "My dear, you were never meant to undergo these trials alone".

"Huh?!"

"Yes, you are the one being tested. But the Supreme will always bring people to your life that will help you out. The same happened to all the other Anointed Ones. For none of us lives to himself alone, and none of us dies to himself alone".

Rania came closer to Elliot and held his hands. She smiled at him and nodded, "That's right. You don't need to go through this alone. We're here for you".

Luna and Ducis came closer as well and Rania extended her other hand to them. Luna held them in return and she also grabbed Ducis' by her other hand. Now, they all held each other's hands, together.

Seeing this, Elliot's bitterness fade away. "I see … You're right. I'm not alone. I have friends with me to support me". He felt his heart warm up and he smiled at them endearingly. 

"Also, you may have figured out by now," the Guardian added. "This realm is actually a replica of the planet of Gaia thousands of years ago".

The team nodded in agreement.

"The reason why I brought you here is because this timeline is the most important page in the history of Magi. As Elin told you all, this was the Age of War where many kings fought each other in an attempt to rule over the whole planet. And this all happened because the people have forgotten the Most High …," the Guardian's eyes glistened with both happiness and sadness.

Rania and Elliot were shocked from what they heard. For how could anyone even forget the existence of the Supreme?

"People tend to believe in things that they see. And since they cannot see the Supreme with their naked eyes, lest they die, they stopped believing. They took matters in their own hands and ruled over their lives, not even bothering to pray, or consult, or talk to the Lord. Time went by and they continued to live for themselves not knowing that what they're doing led them to destruction.

But even after all of the things they've done, the Supreme still loved everyone. He did not want for His children to suffer.

Though they all turned their backs on Him, the Supreme didn't forget them …

Though they all lost faith in Him, the Supreme continued to believe in them ...

And so, in every generation, He would raise up his chosen ones - people who are capable of love ... people after His own heart".