Memories of Gaia: A new day is dawning
Chapter 19 Gaia

Valeena wanted to scream as fear pulsed through her body, as she fell towards the light. The air whipped past her, hurting her ears as the glowing orb became larger the closer she got. She braced for impact, wondering briefly if she was going to die.

Her body fell through memories of children flying kites, or fireworks being set off in Kingyosou. She saw older men fishing on ancient-looking boats and woman gossiping in parks. Each memory interrupted her fall, the sensation of moving never ending as she watched the scenes play out. Then, with a tug from somewhere in her stomach, she was falling once more, the stars rushing past her. She wanted to vomit from the continuous motion and locked her jaw tightly.

She heard the strange cries of the planet as her body continued to fall through the stars. Valeena’s arm struck a memory and she was suspended in water for several minutes as she watched Steel swimming in the waves.

Aurory was with her, wearing a ridiculous suit that made her look like a walking rag doll. She had an inflatable tube around her waist as she toed the water, whining it was cold. Steel paused, bobbing the water, motioning for Aurory to come on. On the beach, there was a large woman wearing an apple print bikini relaxing under a beach umbrella. She was sitting on a plastic chair that was bent like a U, her body sunk into the sand instead of resting above it.

“You wanted to play in the water, now go!” Queen Maylee barked as she reached for a bag of snacks, a servant fanning her with an over-sized leaf.

“But it’s cold!” Aurory whined, shivering dramatically. “I want the water warm!”

Steel shook her head and began to back float away, wondering why she ran away to this Kingdom in the first place.

The memory ended, making Valeena wonder who it had belonged to. She suspected Steel, but there were too many people in the scene for her to know for sure. It was odd seeing the Queen relaxing like that. She had never been known for taking downtime and would rather be doing something than nothing.

Valeena closed her eyes as the white light became overwhelming, burning her eyes. She wanted to cover her face, but the force of the fall kept her arms pinned to her sides. She prayed to whichever God was listening for her not to die.

Valeena opened her eyes, her heading feeling dizzy, her body buzzing. Her face felt wind-whipped, as though she had just been a sandstorm. She was lying on her back, her eyes facing the endless, starry sky.

Valeena sat up, holding her head as the scene rocked in front of her. There were mountains in the distance, resting beside an ocean. Beside the ocean was a jungle, that met the side of a desert. Valeena followed the yellow sands of the desert with her eyes, discovering that it ended at a tundra, the snow peaceful looking. The snow then led to a volcano, where bright orange and red lava poured out, falling into the void. The volcano sat near a lush looking forest, that ended at the mountains. Everything flowed in a smooth circle.

The sky near the mountains was an orange sunset, melting to a pink sunrise at the ocean. The scenes seemed to alternate between sunrise and sunset, with vibrant colors reflecting each one.

Valeena pulled herself to her feet, wondering where she would find the Goddess. She glanced around, her soul pulling her towards the direction of the silent ocean.

“Maybe I died,” Valeena whispered to herself.

“No, you didn’t,”

Valeena jumped, nearly shrieking at the sound of the reply. She spun on her heels and nearly laughed as she saw Aurory, standing behind her.

“What? You thought I would let you do this alone?” Aurory teased, her eyes rimmed with red from her tears that she had shed moments ago.

Valeena smiled as she said, “Come on,” Valeena began to walk towards the ocean, but paused. The void under her feet began to shift, changing from the starry scene to sand. Valeena felt her sister grasp her hand tightly as the world shifted.

“What’s going on?” Valeena asked as the sand seemed to be moving, the jungle taking its place.

“These are Gaia’s memories. The Goddess must be fighting to hang on.” Aurory replied as the jungle faded away to the tundra. “Just keep moving,”

Valeena felt as though she were walking in place as the scene shifted before her eyes. Her body never seemed to move, but she was somewhere else with each step.

Snow began to replace the jungle scene and a fine mist rose from the ground. Valeena felt Aurory’s hand tighten in hers as the snowflakes danced in the air. But a few steps further, and they were walking beside a lake of lava, the deep orange and red warming the air.

The lava began to hiss loudly as the ocean returned, it’s waves crashing down on the hot mass. Valeena held her breath as a wave splashed over her and Aurory, dousing them with cold, salt water.

Moments later they were gasping for air as the water resided, leaving a grassy plain in its wake.

A temple slowly rose behind her, the darkness seeping out of it like water from a sponge. The beautiful scenery began to darken, lightning flashing in the sky.

Aurory tugged on Valeena’s arm, pulling her towards the ancient temple. The walls of the temple seemed to be made of dying stars, each one glowing at a different rate. Some were brighter than others, while a few stars seemed to have bee extinguished altogether.

The cries from the planet were louder as the darkness pulsed again, dimming several of the stars that made up the temple.

Valeena entered the temple and saw Thanos, his disfigured body facing the gorgeous Goddess. She was wrapped in those awful ropes of darkness, her head hanging limply.

“Stop!” Valeena shouted, removing her sword as courage returned to her blood.

“You really want to die,” Thanos said, turning to face her. His face was horribly scarred, his clothes covered in a black liquid.

“No, but you do!” Valeena charged at Thanos, swinging her sword upwards. But Thanos countered her attack with ease, using a sword of his own. His sword was black as the night, with a row of sharp thorns on the top edge of the blade. The handle had horns on it that seemed to have been taken from a demon.

Aurory tried to use a summon, but her calls were muted by the darkness. She had a dagger hidden in her cloak but knew that it was no match for Thanos. Aurory turned and ran towards the nearest room, searching for a weapon.

Valeena caught her sister rushing away from the corner of her eye and felt betrayed. She was supposed to be on her team, but it seemed she had decided not to.

Valeena jerked back, barely missing an attack from Thanos as she had been distracted by her fleeing sister.

Valeena spun on her heels and ducked, slashing Thanos’s leg. A thick, dark liquid oozed out of the wound, the substance smoking on Valeena’s blade.

Aurory rushed up a floating staircase, having failed at locating a weapon. There had to be something here! She thought to grab the rail as she slipped on the rug in her haste. Aurory stumbled to the second floor, spying a statue of the Goddess herself. It was hovering above a pool of a glowing, gold liquid that sparkled brightly.

Behind her stood a statue of a strong warrior, guarding her. In his marble hands, he held a morning star, his eyes seeming to stare at the child.

Aurory raced for the warrior, tugging hard on morning star. The warrior’s arm raised and shoved her hard, her body nearly splashing into the gold liquid.

“I need your help!” Aurory said as the statue returned to its original pose.

“The REAL Goddess is in danger!”

The warrior remained immobile, as panic began to set into Aurory’s heart. She took her dagger from her pocket and faced the floating statue as an idea came to mind.

“Sorry,” She whispered as she swung to stab the floating Goddess.

“STOP!” The warrior boomed, ripping its feet from the floor.

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“Save her!” Aurory shouted, pointing towards the battle scene.

The warrior moved forwards, swinging its morning star in a giant arch above his head.

“Crap,” Aurory groaned as she scrambled to her feet and sprinted towards the stairs. She felt the air whoosh by her as the morning star whizzed overhead, nearly hitting her. She tripped over her own two feet and bounced down the stairs, landing hard on the stone floor.

Aurory rolled over, spying the warrior as he tried to move down the stairs. But his body was far too large and he too tripped, tumbling down as well. Aurory pushed herself to her feet moving just in time to not be crushed by the warrior’s massive body.

The weapon was dislodged from his hands as his stone arm broke off, crumbling from the fall. Aurory wasted no time and picked the heavy weapon up, groaning from its weight.

She felt her muscles shake as she forced the massive morningstar up, swinging it in clumsy arches.

Valeena felt relief as she saw her sister had returned. She swung again at Thanos, but he countered with ease, punching Valeena in the stomach.

Valeena gasped as the air rushed out of her, pain filling her stomach. She had to press on and fought the pain as she moved towards Thanos once more.

Aurory somehow had managed to swing the weapon above her head, striking Thanos in the back as she brought the morning star down.

The evil beast fell forward, tightening his grip on the Goddess. The cries from the planet became louder, Valeena covering her ears from the sudden uproar. It was as if hundreds of people were screaming in pain.

Aurory lifted the morningstar once more, dropping it down hard on Thanos’s. The cries became louder with each blow, and Valeena sensed something was wrong.

“Every time we strike Thanos, it hurts Gaia,” Aurory out loud as she realized what was going on. Valeena uncovered her ear as the screaming died down.

“We can’t defeat him without killing Gaia as well,”

Thanos began to laugh, as the darkness oozing off of him began to thicken. Puddles of it began to form around Aurory and Valeena’s feet, locking them to the stone floor.

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