Memories of the Forgotten

And here, updated much quicker then you thought it would be, is the next chapter!

Chapter 25


"There is no way we are waiting two days to get there."

John, Jessica, and Aivon were sitting down to some food, the scare from before over and people calmmed down. Jessica was eating her stew while Aivon had ripped off a piece of bread. John had not yet begun to eat, still fumed over the fact that Midas would taunt him so.

"We can leave to the Kalos Ruins tonight and stop him. We'll get there before that stupid two day wait."

"Good luck." All three looked up to see the innkeeper. "Sorry for listening, but I'm afraid it's impossible to make it to the Kalos Ruins in under two days. In fact, it's a week's journey to even get near there." He turned away when someone else called him, leaving the group back to their thoughts.

"Great, so now we don't have a choice. There's no way to make it to the Kalos Ruins in time even if we leave now." Aivon picked up a spoon and ate some stew. "So that doorway Midas provided is our only option."

John gripped the edge of the table in anger. It was all he could do to soothe the fury burning inside him. Jessica seemed to sense this for she rubbed his arm. "Please just eat something for now John. We can deal with things when we get there." He calmed down a bit and settled himself to the food in front of him. She smiled to him and began to finish her own meal.

"So, what are these ruins anyway?" John asked between bites of bread.

"I've heard a few stories," Aivon commented. "From what I've heard, Kalos used to be a large kingdom centuries ago. No one is quite certain what happened, perhaps it was war or some other natural disaster. But the kingdom fell, completely cumbling to the ground. It was never rebuilt again, though I'm not entirely certain as to why."

"A former kingdom?" Jessica asked uncertainly. "I wonder what could have happened that the people wouldn't even try to restore themselves..."

"Maybe they couldn't. I mean, if it was a war or something, couldn't they all have been killed?"

"I suppose." Aivon shrugged, finished his meal and headed in to get some sleep.


For the next two days the door remained, a puzzle to everyone but three certain spellcasters. Several people inspected it, a few tried to open it, but nothing happened. It simply stood there, a testament to something that seemed both impossible to understand or comprehend to an average person. But John, Jessica and Aivon knew, this door was the path to their destiny.

John gazed to the door, waiting as the minutes passed. It was nearing dawn, and he vaguely remembered that Beras had also used a door similar to this to take them to his tower. He shook away the memory, and turned to his left to see Jessica, waiting patiently, and then to his right where Aivon was standing, his gloves off. His claws seemed to have grown a little, as each finger flexed as though preparing to rip through something.

As the dawn's light cast itself onto the three of them, the door opened, a light emerging as it slowly inched foward. All three walked through, the familair feeling enveloping them as they stood before the remains of a castle. Behind them loomed the remains of a town. Where there had once been tall buildings and lively people, now stood barren of life, the buildings torn down. None of them seemed to have retained their original size and shape, debris and rubble occassionally falling down to add to the steadily growing pile.

Before them, half of a door still stood, and even that was hanging off it's hinges, ready to collaspe at the slightest touch. What once stood as towers now had crumbled, the stones scattered about. Various weeds grew around what was once a garden, as vines creeped up along the castle walls. Jessica gazed about, remembering fighting Atoris and the spell he had used to cloak the mansion-like home that he resided in. He had made it into a beautiful place before it was revealed just how much the power of time had destroyed it. It seems they had not bothered to waste such magic for this.

All three entered into the darkness of the castle, stepping into the remains of a foyer. There, standing in plain sight was a staircase that led downward. It was the only thing in the room that looked remotely usable. Several doors to rooms had been blocked and the only other staircase that led upward looked as though it couldn't support any weight but it's own. "Guess we go down then," Aivon said.

The three decended into the depths of the darkness, moving slowly. As they reached the bottom, torches burst into life, illuminating the hallway they had come across. Stone walls that looked properly maintained were on either side of them giving the feeling of them being trapped. As they walked along the hallway, footsteps echoing out into the distance, Aivon knew they were only at best a few feet underground, but it felt so much deeper then that. It was as if they had been sealed away from the rest of the world, leaving only this hallyway and the destination that they all knew lay ahead.

At the end of the hall was a door, made of some bronze-like material. The doorknob was made of polished silver. John reached out and gripped the knob, turning it as he pushed it foward. An audiable gasp could be heard at the circular room they had emerged in. Had they not been sure of their location, it would have been like a step back in time as the room they were in looked exactly the same as the room where the three had fought Hieas. It was brightly lit, and the only noticable difference was the absence of the pedestal where the three keys to the Dark Gate could be placed.

And, as though to complete the picture, there on the other side of the room, stood Hieas himself. The door behind them closed as Hieas gazed to them. "Well well... we meet again, Aivon. And it seems you brought your old friends too. Hehe... looks like the gang is all here."

"Hieas..." Aivon said in almost a growl. He made a tight fist that would have almost certainly drawn blood had he not had his own demon protection.

"So you decided to come here after all. That's nice. It would be a shame to not see you here at the end of it all."

"Alright, I don't know how you got back, but I know how your going to die," John said taking a step foward. He was surprised when Jessica raised her hand to stop him.

"John wait, let me take charge of this." She moved ahead of him, drawing her staff, while Hieas looked on with an amused face. "You need to conserve your strength for later. Besides, I want to show this demon just what I'm made of."

"Oh this is amusing. The little angel is going to try to fight." He chuckled as he reached behind his back to grip at the handle of his battle axe. "Well, if you really want to be the first to die, then I have no objections." Both stood tense, ready for the other to make the first move.


"Do you think it wise that Hieas is to go first? I mean, I know he was practically unstoppable before but..."

"Worry not Elno." Elno looked to his superior and bowed. "It doesn't matter if Hieas succeeds or not. After all, he is to die for the spell to work anyway. The seal must be drawn with demon blood. If he eliminates the threat then it's just one less thing to worry about." The man stood, his cloak and hood once again hiding his face from view. "But you must be ready. In the event that he fails, you must take the lead."

"I will not fail you." With that, Elno took his leave. Both the man who wa spossessed by Mammon and Midas watched him go.

"You don't expect Hieas or him to come back alive, do you?"

"Even if they did, it wouldn't matter. After all, Midas, you should know what kind of power we are dealing with here," the man added with a smirk. Midas shrugged and went off to find Monica, to get her ready for the upcoming ritual.