XX-I
"Elemental? Me, an elemental?" Stephen asks looking at Alviary shocked at the sudden revelation. "Stop joking, Alviary!" the kid suddenly exclaims not believing every word that Alviary spouts minutes ago.
"Fine, don't believe me then," Alviary said as he walks away from the kid. "In one condition," he then said before he turns away from Stephen. "Stop fight for the people of Biringan. Stop training and go home.
Leave this place and forget about everything that you have seen here." Alviary said then he walks away, leaving the boy with a gaping mouth and everyone with uneasy faces. Waiting for Stephen's answer but nothing came.
The other creatures start walking away as they can't help but get hurt when Stephen did not answer. Minutes had passed and everyone is almost gone, and only Laryo, Triton, Uran, Alviary and the Queen is the only ones staying and waiting for his answer.
The Queen whispers to Alviary, "Isn't it too much?" she asks as he leans back and stares at Stephen, who is contemplating what to do. "The condition?" Alviary asks and stares at the Queen. "No, it is not. If he can't accept such a thing, he can't do anything," he said but before he goes away with the others; he yells another thing, "Tell me your answer tonight, kid!" he said then they completely go away, leaving the boy with so much to think.
~0~0~0~
As Stephen stares at the departing king with his Queen and the wolves, Stephen thought of the journey that he and Triton made throughout the span of a month. At first, he just thought of helping Triton to get home but after what he experienced in the mountains and what he heard of the current situation in Biringan, he wanted to help at any cost. Knowing that now, the sudden revelation does not actually scare him but he just needs to think it through.
For all his life, he was an ordinary boy living an ordinary life with his ordinary parents and his grandmother's extraordinary stories. All of the things that he is experiencing right now starts with her stories about an ordinary girl that was thrown into an extraordinary curse that almost killed her but these just start with his grandmother's stories.
A living God and the Queen of all Angel Gods, the wolves, the creatures that you don't normally see, the birds that are too big to exist, the horses and most of all is the island, everything is just overwhelming for him but his decision is firm.
If he needs to learn how to produce wings, he will do it, just for the sake of saving the people of Biringan and taking Triton back to his humble home. If he needs to learn different techniques of combat fighting, he will learn them to protect himself and the people around him.
With this so much thought process, Stephen's back starts to hurt. The kind of pain that he never felt ever before. As if something is coming out of his back.
Because of the pain, Stephen decides to crouch down near the lake, and with teary eyes, he yelps out when he felt as if the skin from his back rips apart creating massive bloodshed in his shirt. His yelps became louder as a bony structure starts coming out of his back, resulting in a burning sensation as if it rips the freshly wounded back of Stephen, and that bony structure keeps on growing and growing and growing, then eventually created a thin elongated structure that also forms into a diagonal angle making it look like the shape of wings but featherless.
Minutes later, the feathers start to draw out of the bone structure creating a humongous size wing fitted for a god-like Alviary or the Queen herself. Stephen exhales a heavy sigh of pain relief before he flops down to the ground out of exhaustion.
~0~0~0~
Triton is worried after he heard Alviary's condition and would like to ask Alviary as to why he said such things but Laryo and Uran stop him from fighting with the living God. They have known Alviary as the Playful God but for a creature under his legion, they don't want to mess with an angry God like him.
Triton starts pacing around the room, waiting for Stephen to come back, but when he didn't, he got bored so he decides to go back to the forest and ask Stephen about his decision only to find him passed out on the ground covered with his massive wings.
The wings are a bit crusty and look old, might be older than him or even older than Stephen himself. The feathers are not aligned properly, and they look cumbersome. When Triton tries to approach them, the wings suddenly change into something he hasn't seen before.
Crystal-like structure with a bit of a metallic touch. The feathers became as sharp as a knife but as light as a dagger. The linings of the wings give out a mirror effect that shines when the sun hits it with its rays. Triton is utterly speechless.
He had never seen such wings like this before. He mostly sees what they call "common wings". Light, fluffy and airy type wings, perfectly suited for a light creature of someone who just loves flying. But Stephen's wings are the type that was used in wars; they were both massive and deadly. It can slice about anything in one snap.
Triton frantically called out Alviary out of panic and when the Forest King got where they are, he was shocked by what he sees. There lying in front of him is the "Mended One". An old fictional character that depicts the contradictional counterpart of himself which is his sister that is known as the "Broken One".
He was supposed to be a fictional character but here he is, in the flesh, in front of the living God. Alviary gasps before bowing to the other God in front of him, Triton follows down and shakes the feeling of nervousness in his veins before looking up.
"Whoever calls upon me, in time of need, I am here to serve and brings justice to the forgotten ones," he says as his wings spread and showing the reflection of the past and the present of the island.
"Once a dark place, filled with creatures that elicit a dark aura, causing the people of this island to migrate and go far away from it; now, created a world filled with possibilities and an utterly gorgeous place that they could call home," he said as he shows the current situation of the Phantom Island.
Triton saw himself and the others, he even saw the flirtatious ways of one of the Angel Gods towards Stephen that made his blood boil. "Hush now, little wolf. He didn't mean of harming Stephen," he said as the reflection suddenly stops showing Stephen crouching down the ground and yelping as the wings pierce through his skin.
"Are you still Stephen?" Triton asks as he watches Stephen passed out in exhaustion.
"I am Stephen as I am Salthifer, we are one and the same," he said finishing the reflection then faces Alviary. "Stop putting a lot of pressure towards this kid, Alviary," the Mended One warns the living God.
"He is your only hope in saving Biringan from the hands of the Sluagh. Without him, every single creature will die in fear and despair that you living gods tried to prevent," he said as he walks towards the two.
"The growth that he had made over the past few weeks is massive compare to the Angel Gods. I won't show you the future of your people if you don't stop putting this ridiculous tough nature of yours.
Your thick and cold heart needs to meltdown for you to be able to see the Stephen you thought the kid couldn't do in such a short period of time. Look into other's perspectives to see much greater things," he said smiling and giving Alviary and tap on the shoulder before walking towards Triton.
"And you, my boy, you need to tell Stephen the truth and your real intention of needing his help in the first place. Lending that truth to him won't very much affect his decision, since it was as firm as Alviary's hardened heart. He wanted to help, no matter what cost," he said before fading out into view revealing an exhausted Stephen.
The boy faints to the ground and Alviary catches him, smiling to himself, 'You never cease to amaze me, kid,' he thought as he carries the boy and puts him on Triton's back. "Let's go?" Alviary asks as he smiles at Triton, making the wolf flinches a little bit.
They made their way back to the kingdom with Stephen in tow and his massive wings that cover his entire body.