Crystals of Silveria: Zed's Awakening - A Special by GamerZack87

Mara suddenly hears Zed’s voice in her mind.

Zed’s thoughts: Get ready, Mara, because I’m coming to stop you!

Mara stares off into space for a moment. Her eyebrows suddenly stick up. Brent takes notice.

Brent: Something troubling you, Mistress?

Mara frowns.

Mara: No, it is nothing.

Brent: If you say so…

Mara appears slightly worried. A bead of sweat begins to trickle down her forehead as she bites her bottom lip. Zed races into the room, rejoining the party.

Zed: Hey, what did I miss?

Mara raises her hands into the air, releasing pulses of energy which knock everyone out of Zed’s way.

Zed: What are you doing?!

Mara begins to slowly approach Zed.

Mara: You have been a thorn in my side for too long. It is time I finished you off once and for all!

Mara points her hand at Zed. Amethyst regains her senses.

Amethyst: ZED!

Amethyst leaps to her feet and runs towards Zed, pushing him aside. A bolt of lightning emerges from Mara’s hand, striking Amethyst in her torso.

Mak: AMETHYST!

Emily: NO!

Amethyst slumps to her knees.

Thobrun: LASS!

Amethyst falls onto her side, her eyes closing as she does so. The Magenta Crystal falls from out of her tunic, still around her neck. It glows brightly, before the light extinguishes. Everyone is utterly shocked.

Mara: No…that was not my intent.

Zed hangs his head, and tears stream down his cheeks.

***

Voice: Welcome, Zed.

Zed looks up, and quickly realises something is amiss. He looks around, and sees that he is standing in an endless, white expanse. An enormous dragoness, with scales in every colour and metallic hue, lands in front of him.

Zed: Whoa...

The dragoness speaks in a calm, almost motherly tone.

Dragoness: I have been awaiting your arrival for some time.

Zed: Are you...Celeste? The first Celestial Being?

The dragoness giggles.

Celeste: I am that, and yet so much more.

Zed: Why am I here?

Celeste: You still doubt your potential?

Zed: Well...

Celeste: Like me, you are so much more than yourself...child of the multiverse.

Zed: "Child of the multiverse"...wait...you mean-

Celeste: Your suspicions are correct, Zed. You are not from Junihoshi. You hail from another world. Look below you.

Zed looks down. Far below him is a cluster of multicoloured orbs which form a pattern like the mark on his hand.

Zed: Is that...?!

Celeste: The multiverse of the Chromaicora, a collection of worlds spanning several cosmoses. That bright cyan world at the bottom is the universe of Junihoshi, seventh on the Outer Ring.

Zed: It looks so small from up here...

Celeste: Opposite is the universe of Dracromia-Metaligon, first on the Outer Ring. That's it there, the red world at the top.

Zed: Metaligon...why is that familiar...?

Celeste: The azure world next to Junihoshi is Sunayuki. That is where you encountered the one known as Axian. And the metallic-cyan world on Junihoshi's opposite side, within the Inner Ring, is Terra Neos. You encountered it in a vision created by the Icon of Axis, Herikios.

Zed: Erik created the simulation?! But why?

Celeste: Erik is your mentor, a metaphorical "elder sibling". He is also your protector, and makes sure you stay safe.

Zed: Whoa...

Celeste: Erik created the projection in order to give you a chance to awaken.

Zed: Well, I did awaken.

Celeste: Not yet. But now is the time to awaken...as an Icon of Junihoshi.

Celeste's eyes begin to glow with cyan light.

Zed: Then I AM an Icon...

Celeste: A mortal bestowed with the gift of ages, and possessing an affinity with the aura of an entire universe.

Zed: So...my aura...is the aura of Junihoshi?

Celeste giggles.

Celeste: You are part of a rare breed, Zed. You lack any form of multiversal aura, which is a sign of your incredible potential. Unbound by chromairo of any hue, you are free to take your place in any world. Naturally, this means you have begun to form a connection with the world of Junihoshi.

Zed: Then I'm unable to leave Junihoshi's universe?

Celeste: Quite the opposite. Any sentient being from any world is able to leave the confines of their home and journey to a different realm, though very few are aware of this talent.

Zed: Why is that?

Celeste: Very few know of other worlds. Those that do have different viewpoints on the matter. Some fail to fathom the concept, while others are open to the idea. Some choose to outright deny it.

Zed: That's understandable.

Celeste: Most individuals remain ignorant, whether by choice...or by force.

Zed: How can people be "forced" to not know of other worlds?

Celeste: The remnants of the Axian Civilisation, one of the oldest cultures of the multiverse, still lingers even to this day. Its citizens lay scattered across the worlds, their job to make sure that each realm remains self-contained.

Zed: As a way of keeping the natural progress of each world in balance?

Celeste: You could say that. Very few are allowed to retain memories of other worlds they visit. Many have their minds erased of such ventures, and new memories put in their place, as though they never left.

Zed: Like Kurtiss, you mean?

Celeste: Indeed. There is one like you in Kurtiss and Astra's world of Astrumium, a woman who has yet to awaken as an Icon.

Zed: There are others like me?!

Celeste: Indeed. Seventeen worlds each have neophyte Icons waiting to awaken, including Junihoshi.

Zed: Will I meet any of them?

Celeste: It is within the realms of possibility that you will encounter each of them, though not all at once. I see you encountering seven within the next year. After that...well, we shall see, will we not?

Zed: Indeed.

Celeste: Oh, and there is one other thing I must bring up. You must give up the Azure Crystal, Zed.

Zed: Really? I thought it was an eternal bond.

Celeste: The Azure Crystal scanned the world of Junihoshi for centuries, waiting for the birth of the owner it was to choose. The one called Mara was selected, as she was born with a pure heart.

Zed: Wait...Mara was once GOOD?!

Celeste: But something happened, something which confused the crystal. Another individual was "born" into Junihoshi, a blank canvas who would be a much better match.

Zed: Me...

Celeste: Your arrival in Silveria all those moons ago managed to change the crystal's mind, something which its creator had not anticipated. As a neophyte Icon, it saw the potential within you, and sought to alter the course of fate.

Zed: How?

Celeste: Through a series of coincidences, it managed to switch itself with a replica, just before Mara was encountered by the one called Amethyst Lunerosée. Unfortunately, the replica was tainted with dark magic by a time-wanderer, ensuring that Mara would become twisted and corrupted. The real Azure Crystal returned to its resting place, deep in a cave near the town of Silvertooth. There, it waited to be found.

Zed: Then Mara's corruption...it was my fault?

Celeste's voice takes on a caring tone.

Celeste: Not at all, Zed. Your arrival in Junihoshi was not your doing. It was the will of the Axians that you bond with Junihoshi.

Zed: Then I'm not to blame?

Celeste: Most certainly not.

Zed: That's good.

Celeste: You have a chance to free Mara, however.

Zed: I do?

Celeste: Your wand is the fabled Sword of the Silver Dragon, and it will be made whole when you remember a great truth.

Zed: I'm...not a wizard, am I?

Celeste: You remember.

Zed: I'm a spellsword! And I got my training from my friend Cr-

Zed pauses.

Zed: I don't remember anything else. But I recovered a part of my past!

Celeste: Indeed.

Zed: This is so exciting!

Celeste: And that intense emotion is the key which will awaken you, Zed.

Zed: I...I feel...

The mark on Zed's hand glows brightly with cyan light. The aura surrounding Junihoshi far below begins pulsating, forming a link with the tiny rainbow orb at the multiverse's centre. Zed's whole body radiates with a cyan aura, and his eyes begin to glow with cyan light.

Zed: Wait...I remember...something else...

Celeste: You do?

Zed: Yeah...brother...? I have a brother! He's out there somewhere! I must find him!

Celeste: But first, you must save your friends, Zed.

Zed: I'm returning to my world...to stop Mara...and...revive Amethyst...

***

Zed suddenly raises his head, and his eyes are glowing with bright cyan light. The mark on his hand begins to glow brightly with cyan light. Zed removes his wand from his pocket. It begins to shimmer, and transforms into a long, silver sword. Zed removes his cape and throws it aside.