The Fall of Chaos (Bonus)

Dusk Etherea's POV:

I turned back once to watch as Novalis continued to free everyone who had fallen under Rathmaro's spell. I wasn't quite satisfied with his reasoning for staying behind, but time was now of the essence. We needed to free the Queen and Princess.

A bit later:

We finally arrived back in Soluna, and were making our way to the Garden of the Moon, but it was a terrible sight everywhere we looked. The city's citizens were affected much like Starville's, frozen in place. But here, it seemed like it was to make their torment worse. While frozen in his hold in Starville, I could still hear, see, and feel what was going on around me, until Novalis showed up and freed me. So seeing all the strange phenomena that tormented Soluna's citizens, I knew that they were suffering. But right now, we couldn't save them. We had to fight one of the most powerful entities that had ever existed, and we needed all the inner magic we could manage.

As we made our way through the castle, it was only getting worse. Strange shapes danced from the floor, trying to ensnare or block our way. Small volcanic edifices spewed molten rock in some of the halls, while other areas were cracked from a constant tremor, like an earthquake that never ended. I had to maintain a shield over our group as well, to avoid the falling embers of cold fire or acidic drops of goo that seemed to just fall around us like rain.

Eventually, we made our way towards Princess Lunara's wing of the castle, finding many of her personal servants in stationary hell, but as we noticed in the city earlier, no one was in true danger, yet. I don't know what game Rathmaro is playing, but this needs to end, now. Finally, arriving before the door Novalis told us about, I flung it open and cautiously entered Primus Lune.

At first, nothing was amiss. The garden of moon lilies swayed in the gentle breeze, wafting their sweet fragrance over us. Deep shadows around the walls obscured other flowers, mostly night blooming types, leaving the center field only for Princess Lunara's favorite.

"Oh, lookie here, little 'Magical Prodigy' here to find her mentor. But where is the Dark Celestial's little student. Too scared to come and free his Princess? How pathetic..."

Turning around, I tried to find the voice, eventually laying eyes upon a visually disturbing Celestial. Rathmaro. The stories did not do justice on just how freakish he looked.

"Ooh, that's hurtful and rude, you know. I quite think I'm very handsome. And soon both of these sisters will know."

Rathmaro opened a portal in front of us, showing Queen Celestina and Princess Lunara chained to the floor of the Royal Hall. Without a second thought for my safety, I leapt through the portal. With a commotion of cries and warnings, I also heard the people I met in Starville jumping after me. Were they crazy?! We just met yesterday!

"Hey, that was super dangerous!" I yelled back at them.

"Well you're the one who jumped first," Fantasia snapped back.

"Now why would'ja go an' do that fer?" Paige asked, brushing herself off as she stood up.

Demura shot a scared look around the room, but turned a serious frown on Rathmaro sitting on the Throne. Tempest began to weave her magic around the room, deflecting or negating the weird weather that stemmed from him. Saturnalia was just, smiling, at him? She noticed me looking at her funny.

"Hey, he might not be pretty, but can't let him know I'm scared of him. Ancient Celestials like him get their power from how we perceive them. Didn't you know that," she whispered as she gave me a quizzical look.

Of course I knew that, but... Eww. He's just so gross to look at. Sighing, I focused my attention on him, ready to fight.

"Let them go, Rathmaro. You were beaten before, you will lose again here."

"Oh, that's funny," he said, grinning evilly. "They beat me only with the Spirits of Order. I don't see you wielding them."

"Well, things have changed since last you were awake. We have spells for fighting off your chaos."

With that, I shot a stream of pure light at his face, hoping to blind him. But to my surprise, he simply disappeared before it connected. 

"Light is the fastest thing in the universe, and makes for a very strong offense, but not if I see it coming."

What? See it coming? Did he mean that he knew what I would do? But that spell is instant. There was no warning. Could he see the future?

"Right you are, little Celestial. I see Celestina has taught you a fair bit. But while entombed for so long, I was also honing my own abilities. My brother may be the Ruler of Time, but even Time can be Chaotic."

Rathmaro's further words of gloating were cut off as he had to dodge a punch from Paige. She didn't just look strong, she punched the air where he was so hard it caused a blast of air to push out from her fist. 

"Whoo, that's one mean punch you have for a human."

"Shut yer trap, Ah'm just warmin' up," Paige snarled, twisting her shoulder and doing some light hops.

While Rathmaro seemed to be focusing on her, Tempest was using her magic to make a storm cloud above his head, attempting to electrocute him with a burst of lightning. Dodging those and laughing, he was almost tackled by Saturnalia, who missed. Skidding across the floor, she was still giggling at him, which seemed to irk him a bit.

"Why are you so happy? You know I could end this in an instant, right?"

"Oh please, even I can tell it's taking most of your power to keep them enchained over there," she laughed, pointing at the Royal Sisters.

Wait, really? I focused on them and realized that the chains he was using were indeed taking up much of his concentration. How did I not notice that earlier? Whatever. This meant he couldn't spare too much to fight us. Charging up another spell, I layered a five point delay with four different magics and enhanced them with a targeting spell. After the first beam made Rathmaro dodge, four more beams fired in succession after him. Dodging each of them in turn, he ended up near Demura, who I didn't expect to do anything.

But surprisingly, she seemed ready with her own plans. Grabbing him in a bearhug, she began to yell at him. What?

"You gotta stop before someone gets hurt. It could even be you. Why do you have to fight everyone anyways?"

"What the... Get off me!" Rathmaro growled in surprise, shaking her off of him. 

But weirdly enough, her kindness and worry for even him seemed to weaken him slightly. That's when I recalled one of the legends. It said that the ancient Spirits of Order were fueled by the wishes of the people, and one of those was kindness. If I recalled correctly, the rest of them were:

Laughter. I looked over at Saturnalia, who was still trying to tackle Rathmaro, treating everything like a big game.

Generosity. I remembered Fantasia giving me new clothes after I was drenched by Tempest.

Loyalty. I glanced at Paige, who was shown to be extremely loyal to her family and friends, always willing to help even if they didn't think they needed it, like Demura.

Honesty. Tempest's claims to me of being able to quickly and easily clear her duties, while sounding like bragging, were backed up by her actions. She also honestly told me where I'd be able to get new clothes, pointing me to Fantasia's shop. While none of them had ever lied to me, I felt she had the most reason to do so, but didn't.

Realization dawned on me. The Spirits of Order weren't gone from the world after the Sigils of the Starfall vanished so long ago. They were merely dormant.

"Girls, no, friends, I need you to buy me some time. I'm going to charge a complicated spell, hopefully it will defeat him."

They all nodded, knowing that without my attacks, it would be harder to keep him distracted. But considering how little my magic was working, it wouldn't make too much of a difference, I hoped. Closing my eyes, I retreated into myself.

"Dawn, I need you."

Materializing before me, my inner magic took shape. She looked like me, but opposite. Whereas I had dark skin and hair, she was fair skinned and platinum blonde. 

"So he's winning, is he?"

"Yes. I thought I could handle him with the spells our teacher taught us, but it's not possible. He can see through time."

"So what do you want to do about it?"

"I want to use the astral realm spell."

"Are you ready for that? You will die if it fails."

"I know. I know. But I have to try. I feel as if the Spirits of Order are still around, I even feel like they might be linked to my new friends."

"Friends, huh? Thought you only needed me."

"I'm sorry..."

"Don't be. I always wanted you to have real friends. Let's begin. And Dusk? Don't fail."

"I won't."

With that declaration, I opened myself up to my inner, unrestrained magic. I hadn't used my full power in a long time, but it was necessary to take this risk. Formulating the spell, fine tuning it for my own soul, I left my body behind and journeyed into the astral realm. Floating around, I sent pulses of power, attempting to draw the Spirits of Order to me, and repel unwanted beings away. After what felt like an eternity, I found them. Five beings of immense power coalesced before me, speaking as one.

"We see you, child. For what purpose do you call on us?"

"I need, no, we need your help against Chaos once more. I know that my friends would be able to use your power well."

"And what would happen should we be used for dark purposes?"

"They would never use you like that. Despite the turmoil most Celestials and humans feel towards each other, none of them harbor ill will towards the other race. Saturnalia just wants everyone to feel happy and welcome. Paige does not discriminate against Demura, despite her being Celestial, and Tempest has no problems with helping Fantasia's business despite her being human. I can feel in them that they would never want to disrupt harmony or order in our world. So please, help us drive away Chaos once more."

"And what of you? How do you plan to use us afterwards, should we heed your call?"

"I have no other wishes. Should you help me, you are free to do as you please. Should you reject my wish, I will have to find another way to win. I will not bend you to my will in any way."

"A Spirit cannot lie. We will help you. Should the threat you face be of great peril, we will help you in the future as well, Spirit of Magic."

If I had eyes, they would have widened in shock. Of course, there was a sixth Spirit, the Spirit of Magic. The fount from which all humans and Celestials drew to create their spells. It was in me? Well, no wonder I could cast any spell without major issue.

Returning back to my body, I was dismayed to see Rathmaro was apparently finally getting serious. Burn marks covered Paiges arms where she defended herself. Demura was cowering under a phantom he had seemingly created from her worst nightmares. Fantasia and Tempest were dealing with strange beasts that were surging from portals he had opened with his feathered wing. Saturnalia was the only one still facing him head on, but her smile seemed to be forced, almost about to break. 

"Well, Rathmaro, your time is up. Thank you, everyone, for waiting on me."

Opening my eyes, I could feel magical power unlike I felt ever before surging through me. With a wave of my hand, my intentions were manifested. The portals closed, beasts were dissipated into smoke, and the phantom tormenting Demura was banished. Through slightly hazy vision, I focused on each of my friends, healing them of their injuries, even the mild ones. Rathmaro kept sending Chaotic energy at me, but to no avail. 

I walked up to each of my friends, thanking them for their hard work, brushing my hands against theirs. Each time I did, a bangle formed on their arm, with a jewel that looked just like their Brands. Saturnalia, a three tiered cake. Tempest, a dark lightning bolt splitting a cloud. Fantasia, an ornate ribbon entwined with two hearts. Paige, a simple cowbell. And Demura, with a human and Celestial hugging each other warmly. Looking back to an enraged Rathmaro, I finally spoke his verdict.

"The Spirits of Order are not gone, Rathmaro. Your reign, short lived as it is, is now over. I have beseeched them for their power, and they have answered. You are hereby banished from our home. Should you lose the hatred in your heart, you may return. But until the day you stop using chaos to torment everyone, you are unwelcome here in Anzaria."

With those words, everyone around me began to float in the air as the Spirits I placed within each of them began to coalesce powerful magical energy. As one, each of them were connected with me via a beam of raw power, and I channeled those energies into Rathmaro, encasing him in a forcefield which prevented him from manipulating his Chaotic forces, and lifting him into the sky, I blasted him into space. After exhausting my energy to make sure he was far away from our world, and then shielding it from the hatred I felt within him, we all gently landed on the ground once more.

Looking towards the Royal Sisters, I was glad to see the chains he laid upon them breaking and vanishing. They both woke up slowly, and Queen Celestina looked at me with a warm look in her eyes. Princess Lunara however, seemed to be disappointed when she looked around.

"So, Novalis didn't come here..."

"No Princess. But he did stay behind to make sure that despite everything that happened, your wishes were fulfilled. As well as your ceremony being prepared, Queen Celestina."

"I thought he would come with you," Lunara said softly.

"He said it would be better for him to free everyone in town. He said he didn't have the power to fight Rathmaro, and he feared that he might worry you if he was hurt or worse. So he focused on the task you gave him, and entrusted your safety to us. Do not be hard on him, Princess, he only did what he thought was right."

Queen Celestina walked over to Lunara, whispering in her ear for a moment. After a hushed moment, Lunara finally nodded at her sister.

"Very well, let us continue the day as we planned. Let's see if Novalis did his part as well as the six of you. And also," Lunara and Celestina both bowed to us, shocking us, "thank you. Thank you for everything you've done this night."

With that, Celestina raised her head, and charged a magical field around the eight of us. After a couple seconds, right as my friends were about to question what was happening, we were all teleported to Starville, outside the Town Hall. After a moment, the doors opened, and Novalis walked out, followed by his group of friends. Celestina hugged me, before announcing what happened to everyone. I noticed Lunara walking away with Novalis in tow. I hoped he wasn't in too much trouble. But that would be his issue. For today, it was time to celebrate with my mentor.