***
The dim glow of the cavern faded slowly. Tiny pinpoints of light imbedded in the walls flickered briefly then began to die, suffusing in darkness Chahzuu’s lifeless form sprawled on the dirt floor. His outstretched hand was barely beyond reach of the now empty crystal.
The light continued to fade and inky darkness fell on the room. Suddenly a tiny spark flashed in the center of that crystal.
A flickering spark began to pulse, and with each pulse, it grew, building with ever-increasing intensity until the crystal scintillated with blinding white flashes. Crisp shadows danced with every flash, as if the crystal had drained the energy of the room -- and the very air around it -- to power itself again.
Chahzuu’s body remained still. Then a spasm of movement came from his outstretched hand – a feeble flexing of a finger stretching, reaching for the source of the light.
It strained, moved closer, pulsing with the crystal. Stretching, stretching, until the trembling finger brushed the crystal . . .
A tremendous gasp convulsed Chahzuu’s body as he took in a deep lung-full of air. With a spasmodic movement, his hand closed over the crystal, clutching it as life energy melded back, filled him with the tiny kernel of life he'd set into the crystal right at the last instant.
It was his core essence – all that he truly was, deep down, nothing hidden, nothing false.
It all came surging back through the clutched, scintillating crystal in his palm. The light was so bright it outlined his flesh, highlighting the bone underneath.
Ecstasy filled his soul at being once again united with his body. He trembled in relief. And still the energy coursed, replenishing strength, though he dared not move for fear it hadn't been real.
Chahzuu lay still for a time. The crystal had stopped glowing. The transference was complete and he was enveloped in the darkness.
Finally, he allowed himself to move, feeling oddly refreshed. He felt better than ever. That surprised him considering what he'd gone through. Why? He wondered. Then it hit him. All his old inner barriers and falsehoods had been stripped away. There had been nothing left to place within the crystal other than that kernel of his true, most basic self. He felt strangely free. But he also saw himself now, with no bias, no pressure to be . . . He just was -- and grateful for it!
Chahzuu sat up, still in the dense dark, holding the crystal up in his open palm.
There was a bare hint of light in its center, the only thing keeping the chamber from utter darkness. Then the chamber walls seemed to flicker. The tiny pinpoints of light faintly started growing, as if the energy the crystal had drawn was now finished and the power could now return to the chamber.
How can such be done? Chahzuu marveled. Praise the Guardians! As the last light flickered and died from the crystal the chamber was again as light as before, and the crystal was completely clear now . . . Except, when Chahzuu studied it, he could barely make out the gray, scintillating veins again. The crystal was different than he’d seen in his visions, yet it had saved his life. And he hoped the last gasping thrust he’d sent out at Nemesis had at least given him a headache.
Remembering Nemesis, he quickly glanced around the room. It was empty save for himself. Then looking back at the crystal, he wondered if it had been damaged – if it would still function as he needed it to function.
His dreams had been hopelessly shattered. Nothing remaining as he’d seen before . . . only that he had died? Did I die? He wondered.
Should I still merge? Will it kill me? If it were whole would Nemesis have left it? These thoughts all ran through his mind as he stared intently down into the crystal's clear depths.
I must proceed, he thought. My people are in danger more than ever! Calming his mind and focusing his concentration on the crystal, he sent his thoughts into it.
You are mine – I am yours – we shall be one.
Still seated on the dirt floor, he sat upright, back rigid, drawing his palm, holding the crystal near his breast, chin high, head back, eyes closed. The crystal began glowing, rapidly blaring into brilliant light the closer it came to Chahzuu’s breast. A flash erupted, illuminating the whole room as it contacted exposed flesh.
Chahzuu found himself surrounded by brilliant white. No contrast to anything. He couldn’t tell if he was in a large chamber, a vast open area, or small confined space with no hint of dimension. What is happening? Nothing like this had ever been in any of his dreams. Then he felt he wasn’t alone and a gentle, caressing thought crossed his mind in words, anticipating his thoughts.
‘Your visions are not the actual future. They’re dim projections of what may be. All are free and determine their own path.’
Chahzuu pondered a moment, then opened his mouth, trying to speak, trying to ask a question. Nothing would come out. His voice was gone. Was it the void?
In answer to his silent thought, the voice again entered his mind. ‘You are no longer whole -- yet more than whole. The crystal was been used in a way it was not intended, yet you made it work for you again through sheer strength of will. That is why you have been chosen.’
Chahzuu blinked and closed his mouth. These must be the Guardians!
‘Yes, we are.'
'Did you send my dreams?'
'We did not.'
'Then where did they come from?'
'The Source.'
'Source? What is that?'
'It's the Source; the source of . . . everything. Your visions are why we sought you out.'
'But you're the Guardians! Aren't you the Source?'
'No. The Source is . . . Greater. Much greater. We are . . . between.'
'What does that mean?'
There was silence, and Chahzuu felt the presences around him seemed nervous. 'Please tell me. I don't understand.'
The silence continued.
'You must help my people -- my world!’ Chahzuu directed his thoughts outward.
‘We cannot,’ the gentle thought caressed, a hint of sadness seeming to sweep through in tone. ‘We are under attack from forces you cannot at this time comprehend. But you have been chosen.’
‘Chosen for what?’ Chahzuu glanced around, trying in vain to see the speaker.
‘Chosen and Promised.
Chahzuu recognized the emphasis on the words. Words he recognized from his learning of the great prophecies.
'You and others,' The Guardian continued. 'Especially The One. To help us combat the greater evil sweeping through all our realms.'
Chahzuu cocked his head as the thoughts continued to brush his mind.
'We are fighting hard, yet losing, and we need strength – a powerful strength you do not yet realize deep within. You must find it. We have not the power to bring it out.’
‘Bring what out?’ Chahzuu was confused. There was no answer. He waited.
‘Will we win?’ Chahzuu asked in his mind, worried at the revelation that his once believed almighty Guardians may not be supreme after all.
‘What is winning?’ the thought filled his mind. ‘Winning is but the continuation of the precious right to choose one’s path, to be free, to emerge and evolve in knowledge, growth, happiness.’
'Then what is losing?’ Chahzuu thought.
‘We will show you.’
Immediately he was hit with a wall of blackness, powerful, surging, encompassing, snuffing out all life before it. Chahzuu couldn’t breath. He felt himself suffocating, his body being crushed . . .
Gasping and heaving, he tried to cry out with his mind; then abruptly the brilliant white returned and he took a deep, life-saving breath.
There was silence in his mind as Chahzuu drew in breath after precious breath, trying to make sense of what he had just experienced.
‘Losing . . . is ceasing to exist,’ the voice came to his mind.
Trembling Chahzuu looked around again, still not seeing anything but white.
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‘Will we survive?’
The voice came back in his mind, quieter still, yet just as piercing.
‘Unknown. We do not understand its advance and know of no way to stop it. Yet each world, each race, must be given its chance to fight.’
‘How?’ Chahzuu pressed.
‘Unknown,’ the answer came back tinged with deep sadness. ‘You have the right to try. The Crystal will help you become more than you are; all you can be.’
‘How do we fight?’ Chahzuu was at a loss for words, remembering and fearing only the emptiness he could not describe.
‘Unknown. But there is a chance.’
‘What? What is it?’ Chahzuu desperately thought.
‘It rests with the Two.’
Chahzuu’s eyes widened.
‘Two of the One – One of the Two. One of the blood yet Two of the spirit.’
Chahzuu’s eyes furrowed, thinking this must mean something.
‘It does,’ the voice caressed.
‘My dreams!’ Chahzuu thought, hope springing forward.
‘Yes. Your dreams. The Pale Ones.’
‘But what does it mean?’ Chahzuu pressed.
‘We don't know. We’ve only the glimpses of your dreams. But you will know. You and the other Promised Ones. Only that brings a chance. You all must help The One and also Two. Only that may turn the tide.’
‘How?’
‘Unknown. You must try, you and the others, or all is lost.’
‘But the dreams?’
‘From the Source. We're not sure we understand either. There are so few Dreamers now. Only a hint of the future; things that may be. It’s your choices, your power that will make it so. Yours and the One.’
A silence came over Chahzuu’s mind like a warm blanket, and the light began to dim, grow bleary, until everything faded to darkness. He panicked, thinking the invading void had somehow found him. Then a thought soothed across his mind.
'Peace.' A glowing warmth settled within his breast, burning outward, calming him to his core.
The light began to grow again, taking on definition. Chahzuu recognized the chamber's walls with their tiny pinpoints of light. He felt the dirt floor of the cavern, and glancing down, saw his palm was empty. He had merged.