Chapter 24
Light Versus Darkness
Jared felt like all the blood had rushed out of him. He almost fell over as the shock and horror overcame him. It was...
“Dreggan,” he gasped.
Dreggan stepped closer, his face shaded by the hood of his robe “It’s too bad this tragedy could have been avoided. It’s because of you she’s dead.”
His accusation pierced Jared’s heart. Danielle had died trying to save him; in that way, what Dreggan said was true, but Jenna was the one who killed her.
“Leave her and the decoder, and you two,” Dreggan pointed at the boys, “can go.”
There was no way Jared was going to let Dreggan have the decoder or Danielle. “She was our friend, and we’re not letting you have her!” Jared sneered at Dreggan and put his arms out to his sides to show Dreggan that he wasn’t going to let him by. “You’ve already gotten all you’re going to get from her! You took her life! I won’t let you have the rest!”
Jared clenched his teeth, pointed his laris at Dreggan, and tried to stun him. “Tordistrem!”
However, Dreggan was quick to his guard and blocked it. He laughed at Jared. “Do you really think you can beat me?”
Jared lowered his arm. He knew he was no match for Dreggan’s powers, but he made a snide remark anyway. “Well, we got away from you once.”
Dreggan frowned. “Don’t worry; it won’t happen again.” He narrowed his eyes. “Give me the decoder and leave. Do it now, or I’ll kill you both.”
Jared was scared and confused. He didn’t want to die, but he also didn’t want to let Dreggan win.
But, I’m just not strong enough. Jared took the decoder out of his robe slowly, looking at it.
He walked around to the other side of Danielle’s body, keeping his eyes on her face, and then dropped to his knees next to her. He breathed out heavily.
Paul joined him on the other side of Danielle but remained standing.
Paul, Danielle, and he had become so close. They had a deep connection, so, with Danielle dead, Jared felt that a part of him had died.
He was physically and emotionally spent and felt that he couldn’t fight anymore. He just wanted it to end. He silently apologized to his parents, as if they were there with him, for not being able to meet their expectations.
Jared looked at the decoder, shook his head, and then, for some reason, became acutely aware that his free hand was touching the dirt. He glanced down at the ground.
At that moment, he remembered the things Ferran and Tiersda said about everything being connected, looked at the palm of his free hand, and then saw the hand symbol flash before his eyes.
Suddenly, he got an idea. It was like a veil of darkness had been removed from his eyes, and he could see more clearly than he ever had. He began to feel hope, courage, and strength.
Jared tried to hide the optimism in his voice as he spoke to Dreggan. “Okay. But, just to make sure you keep your end of the deal, this is how it’s going to go down.
“I’ll leave the decoder here on the ground beside Danielle’s body, I’ll use my treyo to locate a gateway, and then we’ll omporulae to it. That way, you’ll have what you want, and we’ll be safe.”
Dreggan gave a dismissive wave. “Fine.”
Jared looked at the decoder and then, seeing only one possible socket for his treyo’s interface cable (like the one he had seen his father pull from his sleeve and put in his treyo when shutting down Teruvisa during the HST), placed it on the ground between himself and Danielle.
As he took out his treyo, he said, “Now I’m going to look for a gateway. Paul, watch him.”
Paul knelt down next to Jared and then asked, “We can’t just give up like this, can we?”
Jared took the opportunity, as Dreggan glanced over at Paul, to subtly reach into the sleeve of his robe and pull out the interface cable attached to the lining (he had never noticed a cable there before, but it was there at that moment because he needed it; he knew it would be). Once the cable was connected to the treyo, he kept the handheld device close to the cuff of his sleeve so as not to let Dreggan notice the cable.
Jared pretended to look for a portal on his treyo but was really looking for Central Security. “Yes we can. We have to. Danielle’s already dead. I don’t think she would want either of us to die, too. Dead, we can’t do anything. But alive, we’ll have the chance to stop him another day.”
Dreggan snorted. “Your parents thought the same thing.”
Jared located the security command center on his treyo. “Okay. I found the nearest gateway,” he lied. “It’s just at the edge of the clearing.” He looked up at Dreggan and pointed to the right “So now, we’ll be going.”
Jared looked down and whispered to Danielle, loud enough for the others to hear, “I’m sorry Danielle, but this is the way it has to be. I hope you understand. I hope you can forgive me.”
He touched her hand and then leaned over and rested his head on her shoulder, pretending to get emotional. With his robe, his head, and Danielle’s body now blocking his hands from Dreggan’s view, Jared was able to set his treyo on the ground and guide the cable out of his sleeve.
Once he had removed it completely, he took the other end of the interface cable and plugged it into the decoder lying at his knees.
“Enough,” Dreggan said. “It’s a shame I have to end such a precious moment, but I hate long goodbyes. Get out of here before I change our agreement. As it is, I’m being too merciful. I should kill you where you stand just for destroying the control panel in my security room.” He paused. “You know what? I’ve grown tired of this game. I’m going to kill you right now and be done with you.”
Paul gasped. “No! We had a deal!”
Dreggan sneered. “I make the rules.”
Jared didn’t look up. Ready or not, he had to do it. Now.
He put a thumb on the screen of his treyo and placed the palm of his other hand on the ground. A word flashed in front of his eyes as he closed them and pictured himself in the central security control room of Teruvisa.
The word he saw wasn’t the word he intended to say, but he didn’t question it. “Falayno.”
Instantly, warmth surged throughout his body. He opened his eyes. The ground quaked, and, in a matter of seconds, the sky became as bright as if he was standing on the sun.
Dreggan shrieked, “NOOOO!” spun around, turning into a whirlwind, and then flew back over to Obalin.
Jared was surprised that the raguam hadn’t prevented Dreggan from crossing the Divide, but at least he was gone.
It worked. Jared had restarted Teruvisa and enabled the new technology. He smiled in amazement and then looked up at the sky, marveling at how bright it was—though, it wasn’t as bright as the initial burst of light when he said the password. He also noticed that the darkness of Obalin contrasted with the light of Teruvisa even more than it used to.
After standing up and surveying the heavens some more, he looked toward Teruvisa. The mountain shield was gone, and Teruvisa shined brightly.
“What just happened?” Paul was looking around, wide-eyed.
“I remembered what Ferran and Tiersda said about everything being connected. I figured that, if they were right, I wouldn’t need to be at a computer terminal to connect the decoder to Teruvisa. So, while I was bent over Danielle, I hooked an interface cable up to my treyo and the decoder without letting Dreggan see what I was doing.
“Once I was done, I touched the screen of my treyo and the ground. Then, I pictured myself in Central Security and said my password, which enabled the new systems. Jared thought about the unexpected word he had seen. “But, the password wasn’t the one I got at the end of our game of ketauro...”
“It was the real password,” someone said from behind Jared.
Jared whipped around.
Manasto was standing there, accompanied by Verissa, Ferran, Tiersda, Rohlwig, Gromagan, Hilcar, Prienna, Dorn, and a few guards.
“Mo
m. Dad.” Paul ran up to his parents and threw his arms around both of them at the same time. “I thought I’d never see you again.”
Tiersda ran her fingers through Paul’s hair and then bent down and gave him a kiss on the cheek. Ferran patted and rubbed his son’s back. All three of them were crying tears of joy.
Jared was glad Paul and his parents were reunited, but he was confused about what Manasto said about the password. “The real password?” What was the other one for?
Manasto nodded. “Yes. The password you got after your ketauro match was a fake one.”
Jared was going to ask why they were given fake passwords, but Tiersda came forward and knelt at Danielle’s side.
Jared’s curiosity instantly turned to heartache. He didn’t try to hold back the tears. “I’m sorry. There was nothing I could do.” He knelt down next to Tiersda and looked at Danielle. “Her mom killed her.” He sobbed harder.
“It’s okay, Jared.” Tiersda put a hand on Jared’s shoulder to try to comfort him.
Jared took several deep, quivering breaths to stop sobbing. He sniffed and wiped the tears from his eyes with his sleeves.
Tiersda uncorked a thin, wooden vial. She lightly sprinkled a powdery substance over Danielle.
Jared asked, “What are you doing?”
Tiersda didn’t answer but touched Danielle’s head with both hands. “Pelay alemo.”
She slid her hands down Danielle’s arms, which were at her sides, all the way down to her feet. Then, scooping a hand under her neck, she picked up Danielle’s head and placed her palm over Danielle’s eyes. When she removed her hand, Danielle’s eyes were open.
Jared couldn’t believe it. He stared at Danielle in astonishment and then smiled. She’s alive! “What...? How did...?”
Tiersda shushed Jared. “Not now, Jared.” She whispered to Danielle, “Danielle?”
Danielle looked around. She licked her lips and swallowed. “Is this a dream?”
Tiersda smiled. “No, Sweetie. We’re real.”
Tiersda had Jared help her get Danielle to her feet.
Jared could tell Danielle was weak because she was using Tiersda and him for a lot of support, but Jared didn’t mind. He’d stand there holding her forever if he could. He was just so glad she was alive.
Danielle looked around at everybody. “Where am I? How did I get here?” She rubbed her eyes with the back of her hand. “What’s going on? Where’s Dreggan? And my parents?”
As everyone gathered closer around Danielle, Tiersda said, “We’re on the Teruvisan side of the Divide. Jared figured out how to activate the new systems.”
Danielle looked over at Jared. “You did?” She smiled.
Jared had thought he’d never get to see Danielle’s smile again. He nodded. “It’s good to have you back.”
Danielle looked confused. “What happened to me? The last thing I remember is my mom pointing at me.”
Tiersda brushed a lock of Danielle’s hair out of her face. “You were killed.”
Danielle scrunched her brow and looked down. “I was... dead?”
“Yes,” Tiersda answered.
Like he was finishing a previous thought, Manasto added, “That’s the difference between Diestro and Sedroth—Sedroth leads only to destruction and death, but Diestro is life. And, even though Dreggan doesn’t believe it, Diestro is more powerful than Sedroth.” He looked at Jared and Danielle, then Paul. “Don’t ever forget that.”
Jared shook his head to acknowledge that he wouldn’t forget.
“Anyway, I think it would be a good idea to have Jared tell us all what happened after Danielle was killed.” Manasto looked at Jared and smiled.
Jared pointed to himself and raised his eyebrows. “Me?”
Manasto nodded. “I can’t think of anyone better.”
Jared cleared his throat. “Well, Paul and I escaped with the decoder by distracting Dreggan and his guards with an olamshi. We hid in the sublevel and eventually stole a shuttle. We had to bail out over the Obalinian jungle, though, when our shuttle was hit by a missile or something.” He looked at Danielle with a grin. “But, luckily there weren’t any jobaliches.”
Danielle smiled back, acknowledging that she remembered the encounter she and Jared had with a jobalich during one of Rohlwig’s simulations.
“Then, we ran to a portal that brought us back here. That’s when we saw you,” Jared glanced at Danielle, “lying on the ground.” He looked at Manasto, wondering if he would explain how she had gotten there, but Manasto gestured for Jared to continue.
“Anyway, Dreggan was waiting for us. He wanted us to leave you,” Jared looked briefly at Danielle, who was still listening intently, “and the decoder in exchange for our lives. However, that’s when I figured out that, since everything was connected by the Light, I could connect my treyo to the decoder and then connect to the Teruvisan main frame if I was touching part of Teruvisa at the same time—the ground.
“Then, I said the password, which restarted Teruvisa with the new technology enabled. But, it wasn’t the password that I got after the ketauro game. Manasto said those were fake passwords.” He looked at Manasto, who nodded.
Danielle asked, “So, what happened to Dreggan?”
“Well, my best guess is that, as we learned from our lessons, dark and light cannot occupy the same space, which I imagine means that Sedroth and Diestro can’t either. So, when the new technology was activated, the Light filled everything on this side of the Divide,” Jared pointed up at the sky in a circular pattern, “and Dreggan had to leave.
“The evil, dark powers of Sedroth are the exact opposite of Diestro’s powers of Light. Darkness cannot be where the light is. Though, I can’t explain how Dreggan was able to withstand the Light on the Teruvisan side before I got the new technology online.” He looked to Manasto for an answer.
“Well done, Jared.” Manasto applauded softly. “And, you’re absolutely right; Dreggan shouldn’t have been able to withstand the Light before Teruvisa was restored. However, the fact of the matter is he did figure out a way. It most likely had something to do with the weakened state of Teruvisa. But, the new technology, with the full power of Diestro behind it, was obviously too much for whatever protective measures Dreggan was using.
“Now, let’s back up and talk about some circumstances and events that you might not have known about and fill you in on what our plans were.” Manasto began pacing back and forth, apparently thinking about where to begin, and then stopped and addressed Jared and the group. “So, once Dreggan found out that the MSIs were already implanted in you, he knew that you would be trained to turn them on and receive passwords to interface with the decoder.
“We discovered that Dreggan’s plan was to allow us to train you, turn on the MSIs, and give you passwords; then, he would step in, kidnap you, and threaten or trick the passwords out of you to implement the new technology for Obalin.” Manasto raised his eyebrows. “Using that knowledge, we came up with a plan to get the decoder.
“First of all, Dreggan kept the decoder where only he knew where it was. Anyone who saw it to work on the programming of Obalin’s new systems did so under the direct supervision of Dreggan. He never let it out of his sight during those times.
“So, our only hope for recovering the decoder lay in the assumption that Dreggan would want to make sure he was ready for the passwords by doing one last diagnostic test with the decoder connected to his systems. And, he would most likely do that once you three got your passwords.”
Jared thought that was a pretty big assumption. Hopefully, they had a backup plan.
Manasto continued. “Our plan was to finish training you and turn on the MSIs, as we originally intended, but then give you fake passwords after the ketauro match. Once Dreggan found out that you got passwords—not knowing that they were fake—he would get the decoder, and whatever else he needed to, ready while he had someone—which ended up being the Beasts—try to kidnap you.”
“So, the ketauro ma
tch was just a hoax?” Jared was beginning to feel like he had been a guinea pig in an experiment.
“No, not at all.” Manasto waved his hand. “The ketauro match was necessary for your training because it allowed you to get the real passwords.”
Jared’s slight agitation went away. Good. There was a point to playing ketauro.
Manasto raised a finger. “What we did was create a mask over the real passwords with fake ones as part of our contingency plan. Also, the ketauro match gave us a reason to have several people around to protect you when Dreggan tried to capture you, without tipping him off that we knew he’d go after you at that time.”
Manasto looked down. He seemed a little embarrassed. “Of course, we failed to keep you safe, even with all our safeguards.”
Mistakes happen. Jared honestly didn’t have any hard feelings about it.
Manasto held up a hand. “That’s when our contingency plan became necessary. In case Dreggan did succeed in kidnapping you and successfully got the passwords from you, by you having fake passwords, when he tried to load the fake passwords with the decoder connected, his new systems would fail, and our spy would be able to get you three out of Obalin during the chaos and maybe even recover the decoder in the process.”
Manasto frowned slightly. “But as it turned out, our spy in Obalin failed to steal the decoder—he wasn’t able to get close enough. And, he—”
Paul interrupted with the same question Jared had. “You had a spy in Obalin?”
“That’s right. In fact, he was the person guarding you in the security command center in Obalin, Jared.” Manasto looked right a Jared.
Jared flinched. “Really?” He tried to remember if he ever got a good look at the spy’s face, but he didn’t recall ever seeing it.
“Yeah. And, he didn’t like being stunned. That made his job even harder.” Manasto smiled, showing that he was joking around.
Who would? Jared shrugged and put on an innocent smile. “I didn’t know.”
Everyone got a good laugh out of that.
Jared took the opportunity to ask another question. “Excuse me, Manasto. How did I see the real password if the fake one was masking it?”
“Ah.” Manasto nodded. “As you’ll see when we have the decoder connected to a security console and have Danielle and Paul focus on their connection to Teruvisa, the real passwords will just come out.”
Hm. Jared nodded. That’s how it happened for me.
“Anyway, everything changed when our spy released your arm restraints, Jared.” Manasto pointed at Jared.
So, I didn’t break them. The spy set me, Danielle, and Paul free. Jared had been surprised that the restraints had come open so easily. That explains it.
“He had intended to subtly free you one at a time, use beoveh to tell you to wait for a signal, create a diversion, and lead you to a hidden portal. He didn’t expect that you three would try to take on Dreggan all by yourselves.” Manasto threw the back of his hand to his forehead and tilted his head back as if he was faint with disbelief. When he brought his head forward he had a big smile on his face.
Jared knew Manasto was joking around, so Jared smiled with just his mouth, shifted his eyes from side to side, and shrugged. “Whoops.”
Everyone chuckled.
Manasto exhaled loudly. “Anyway, before our agent could reveal himself to you, Jared, you ran to the control panel and grabbed the decoder. At that point, our man had to focus on making sure you three got out of Obalin with it.
“It was difficult for him to protect you without revealing his identity to everyone in the room, but fortunately, he was able to strengthen your shield and move a chair in front of you when Dreggan attacked. And, he was the one who put a protective, transportation bubble around Danielle an instant before she was hit with that baovissim—the obliterating, kill command.”
Jared was glad that someone was there in Obalin to help them. Without that help, he, Danielle, and Paul would all either be dead or still in Obalin.
Manasto paused, shook his head slowly, and frowned. “Sedroth will do things to those who align themselves with it. It can make someone kill those who are close to them. Things that seem illogical or wrong to us, don’t to them. Their minds are not their own. They’re obligated to obey evil.” He looked skyward as if thinking about something. “Danielle’s parents aren’t the same people we used to know.”
Jared remembered how Danielle’s parents behaved when they were in Obalin. He had noticed that they seemed like Dreggan’s robots—like puppets.
“Where was I? Oh yeah. Your escape from the control room.” Manasto smiled like he was keeping a joke from everyone else and then said, “After you escaped, our spy sure had a difficult time keeping up with you: in the sublevel, the shuttle, the jungle, the Divide, and all the way back here.”
That was the point of Jared’s plan to use the sublevel—to keep anyone from catching up with him and Paul. Apparently, it worked not only on Dreggan’s soldiers but Manasto’s spy.
“It was impressive how you stepped up to the challenge, Jared and Paul.” He held out a hand to each of them. “And, equally impressive was how you,” with warm, joyful eyes, Manasto looked at Jared, “were able to figure out how to connect the decoder to Teruvisa and focus well enough to see the correct password. You relied on your feelings and trusted in your abilities.”
Jared felt proud and excited that Teruvisa was saved. I can’t believe it, Mom and Dad; I finally did it.
Out of the corner of his eye, Jared saw Paul standing with his dad. Ferran seemed so interested in Paul—looking at him and touching him like he was trying to make sure Paul was real. My dad would have been so proud of me if he were here.
Danielle said, “I think I’m alright now.”
Jared and Tiersda let go of Danielle, allowing her to stand on her own. Tiersda rejoined Ferran and Paul.
“Excellent.” Manasto was apparently noting Danielle’s progress. “Well then, let’s get you to Teruvisa, shall we?” Manasto pointed at Danielle and Paul. “You two need to recite your true password to connect to the new systems.”
“Jared. If you would, please, bring the decoder.” Manasto pointed to the ground where Jared had left his treyo and the decoder.
Jared nodded. “Sure.”
As Manasto turned, he said, “Oh. And, keep it connected to your treyo until we get to Central Security. When we get there, I’ll tell you what to do with it.”
As Jared and the group walked through the jungle, Jared turned to Danielle and said, “Excuse me. I just need to ask Manasto something.”
Jared caught up to Manasto, who was in the lead, and whispered, “Manasto, I have a question for you.”
“Sure.” Manasto must have sensed that Jared wanted to keep the conversation private because he spoke softly, too. “Whatever you want to know, just ask it.”
Jared thought about how to word his question before speaking so that he wouldn’t let his sadness and frustration show. “If you can bring people back to life with Diestro—like Danielle—then why couldn’t anyone bring my parents back?”
Manasto’s focus shifted downward. (Jared wondered if Manasto had dreaded that he would bring up the subject.) “Unfortunately, by the time we were able to get back to where Hilcar last saw them, it was too late. Everyone was gone, and we weren’t able to find your parents to administer the fullayenah—the resurrection powder—to them. Dreggan must have killed them with a baovissim.”
“Oh.” Jared’s frustration ebbed away. He didn’t know what he was expecting to hear, but if his parents were gone, then they were gone. At least they had tried. Maybe he could find some consolation in that fact.
Jared thought that there was something else he wanted to ask Manasto, but he couldn’t think of it right then. It took him a minute to remember.
Jared spoke normally, not caring if anyone overheard the next part of the conversation. “I noticed that some Obalinian shuttles couldn’t cross the Divide. I know that it’s a defen
se barrier, but I don’t really understand why. It seems like it would be easy to just fly across it.”
“Well, you see, raguam—which binds our world to Earth but also separates Teruvisa from everything else—is a bit of a physical contradiction.” Manasto held out a hand and tilted it side to side. “It separates darkness from light, but at the same time, it is darkness and light.”
Jared wasn’t sure he understood what Manasto was getting at.
Manasto must have noticed Jared’s confusion. “That may not make sense unless you think of light and darkness in terms of technology—Diestro and Sedroth. Raguam, which is more light than dark, can consume anyone following Sedroth, and they will vanish forever. They are burned by the fire and embraced by the darkness with which they have made an oath.”
“So, they don’t have to fall in to be killed?”
“No. Raguam, which can seek to destroy that which isn’t in harmony with Diestro, can consume a follower of Sedroth even by him just getting too close.”
Jared wondered how close “too close” was.
Manasto added, “And just so you know, raguam creates a barrier that reaches high above it into the heavens and deep below it into the core of our world. So, a follower of Sedroth who tries to completely cross that boundary, at any distance from above or below, can be destroyed.
“But, as you have noticed, we can walk over raguam on a pier, fly over it, or protect ourselves from it with solums because we are of the Light, and as such, raguam doesn’t seek us out.”
“Then, how did Dreggan cross the Divide?” Jared asked.
“Well, the raguam is not an impenetrable defense, and, as I mentioned before, the old systems weren’t stable.” Manasto held up a finger. “Also, Dreggan is very powerful and knows all the tricks of Sedroth.”
“But, Teruvisa’s safe now with the new technology, right?”
“Yes, of course. There’s no need to worry, now. Teruvisa is safe.”
When they reached the outer earthen wall of Teruvisa, Jared noticed that it wasn’t mountain all the way up anymore and could see some of the beautiful, prominent structures of Teruvisa towering above it.
Two winged guardians came out of the wall, and Manasto requested permission to pass.
Everybody held out their kevanshus, and, two at a time, the stones flew out of each owner’s hand and into the hands of the sentinels, except for Jared’s. Then, the guards absorbed back into the wall.
After the wall parted to reveal the dark tunnel, Jared called out, “Wait. I still have my kevanshu.” He held out his hand and showed them his stone.
Manasto said, “Your MSI is already linked to Teruvisa’s systems. That means that, at an access point like this one, you’re instantly recognized. So, you can put away your kevanshu and enter.”
“Oh.” Jared put his fist to his chest and absorbed his kevanshu.
Manasto addressed the whole group. “Well, let’s get inside. You all look like you could use a rest.”
“A long rest.” Paul was apparently as exhausted as Jared.
Jared smiled. True. So true.
Manasto laughed heartily. “Fine. A long rest.”
“And, I’m hungry,” Danielle added with a chuckle.
Manasto laughed again. “Of course. Eat all you want.”
Two winged guardians came out of the wall, and Manasto requested permission to pass.
Everybody held out their kevanshus, and, two at a time, the stones flew out of each owner’s hand and into the hands of the sentinels, except for Jared’s. Then, the guards absorbed back into the wall.
After the wall parted to reveal the dark tunnel, Jared called out, “Wait. I still have my kevanshu.” He held out his hand and showed them his stone.
Manasto said, “Your MSI is already linked to Teruvisa’s systems. That means that, at an access point like this one, you’re instantly recognized. So, you can put away your kevanshu and enter.”
Jared began walking as he put his fist to his chest and absorbed his kevanshu.
Once they had all passed through the opening, the wall instantly closed up, and the tunnel lights came on.
Jared, thinking about not needing to hold out his kevanshu to get into Teruvisa, realized that there was probably going to be a lot more new things he’d have to learn. He joked to himself, And just as I was getting used to what I already knew.
The adults took their treyos out, and Manasto said, to Danielle, Paul, and Jared, “Now that you each have a treyo, we don’t need to make a human chain for you to travel down the tunnel.”
Jared took his treyo out, activated it, and found his coordinates.
“Let’s go.” Manasto disappeared down the tunnel.
**********
In the central security control room, a control panel raised up from under the floor by the wall. Jared was shown where to insert the decoder. When it was securely in the slot, Jared was instructed to disconnect the cable from the decoder.
After doing that, he unhooked the other end of the cord from his treyo, shoved the cord back up his sleeve, and then put away his treyo.
Verissa directed Paul and Danielle forward. “Now, we’ll have both of you touch the sensor.” She indicated a gray pad on the console. “All you have to do is close your eyes and focus on making a connection to Teruvisa. When you see a code word, don’t think about it; just say it out loud.”
Paul was the first to place a hand on the pad. As he did, it lit up. After a few seconds, he said a password.
Danielle was next. She, too, touched the pad and then said a password.
Everyone in the room cheered and began embracing each other.
Amid the celebration, Manasto announced, “The long-awaited moment in our history has finally arrived! Teruvisa will achieve its infinite glory!”
At that moment, Jared couldn’t help but think of his parents. He wished they could’ve been there with him. They would’ve been so proud of him.
“It’s time for the rest of those who left Teruvisa to return!” Manasto declared.
Jared snapped out of his contemplation. It was a time of rejoicing, not of wishful thinking. His parents wouldn’t have wanted him to worry about what could have been, especially during such a joyous time, so he put his thoughts of his parents aside to celebrate the moment with his friends in the safety of the new Teruvisa.
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