The Heroes I-The Black Fire Lighthouse

Chapter IV-The Loss

After what seemed like hours, the four of them finally reached the top of the mountain, all exhausted except for Mr. Killimore. Kyle turned around to look out toward the village of Kio and what lied beyond it. He could make out a large forest in the distance that stretched the length of the land. He had a strange feeling about the forest, a bad one, it seemed dark to him and he could see a dark mist surrounding it. The same darkness he felt three years ago and the same darkness he felt so many years before that took his friend away from him before Garen's or Shelby's memories. He quickly moved his eyes away and looked on further to see a tower in the distance, or that’s what he thought he saw. It was very faint and barely noticeable, but he could see it nonetheless. He shifted his gaze to the left of the tower and thought he could see another one. This one was clearer for him to see. It seemed to shine, inviting him to come over to it, to gain its power for himself. It couldn't have been any closer than the other one he saw, may in fact be further away, he knew that, but for some reason he could see this one so much better than the other one. He took his eyes off the tower, having the feeling to venture toward it scared him.


Kyle turned back around and saw that Mr. Killimore was examining the entrance very carefully, running his finger tips from the top of it to the bottom; there was no sign of a way to open the entrance at all. The only thing Kyle could see was a faint seam running down the length of the wall, not a deep enough seam to be an entrance of any sort. Mr. Killimore turned to Shelby and motioned her to come over to him.


“You have the power of Silver Fire, am I correct?” he asked, she nodded and was about to say something, but he continued. “I know you’re not too skilled in the power of it, but all you need to do is light the tip of your finger with it and run it down this seam here.” He pointed to the very light dent in the wall that Kyle had noticed. The way Shelby and Garen looked closely at it told him that he and Mr. Killimore were the only ones to see it somewhat clearly.


Shelby walked over nervously, whether her nerves were about not knowing exactly what to do or for being afraid of what may happen once she does try opening the door, Kyle did not know, maybe it was both. When she reached the spot that Mr. Killimore pointed out, she reached up to the beginning of the small indent, her finger swimming with Silver Fire, and started dragging her finger down it to the bottom, then she stepped away quickly to see what would happen. Nothing did for a few seconds, but soon a silvery substance, neither solid nor liquid, started flowing down the middle of what was supposed to be the doorway and stopped at the bottom. Blue light came from the middle of the line and stretched around the wall, causing cracks to appear in the entrance. From there, the pieces of stone floated into the air until, finally, they dissolved into a fine rainbow dust.


“I never knew you could do something like that with Fire of Color,” Kyle said in an amazed voice, looking at where the wall just was. "That was an incredible thing."


"The things you can do with this power are extraordinary and can be extremely dangerous," Mr. Killimore said. "The extent of the power is so great that there isn't a single being alive that knows everything it's capable of."


They looked inside to see a set of stairs that went down and beyond sight. The stairs had what looked like a rainbow liquid inside of them; the walls and ceiling were the same. It was an amazing sight to look at, with the rainbow liquid surrounding them and leading away from them, the designs carved into the walls of dragons and people using Fire of Color to summon them, and the ancient writings carved into the walls next to the pictures. The pictures and carvings looked as though they told a story of a war that happened many centuries ago, but it was impossible for Kyle to understand anything that they said.


“Why would they make use walk all the way up this mountain, and then make us go do into its depths again?” asked Garen looking around at the sight. “Although, I have to admit, they knew how to make the place look nice.”


“The real question, Garen, is why has it been so easy to get through here?” asked Mr. Killimore curiously. “You would think that this place would be a little higher on its security, with it protecting such a valuable secret as the Tablets. I wouldn’t be surprised if there was a trap up ahead somewhere, so be on your guard.”


Garen nodded at him slowly, then he and the rest of them headed down the rainbow liquid stairs cautiously, being sure they did not step on any traps on their way down. Soon, they came into a room of statues, and Kyle instantly started looking around to see if he could figure out what had to be done with the statues that sat around them. He had never been in these rooms before, but somehow he knew that something had to be done with them to move forward. He scanned the entire room, almost losing hope, but he soon found something almost familiar and his heart swelled with an unusual longing to get past this room and get into the Tablet Room. He looked a little more carefully at the statues and saw that two of them had a branch in one hand and an arrow in the other. The one that looked as though it was supposed to go into the hole, that he knew existed somewhere, was the same exact color of the stairs, liquid and all, and it was holding its hands up and spread out, waiting for a message from the skies above.


Kyle walked up to one of the statues and pushed it onto a padding that had the Green Fire Symbol, as it seemed right to do, a light shined off of its chest, where a green mirror was and hit a circle on the floor. He did the same to the other statue, which went on a pad with the Black Fire Symbol on it, and again, a light shone off its black stomach, which caused the ground to melt into a hole where the circle was. After the hole was formed in the ground, he pushed the rainbow statue into it and something seemed to roll over them like thunder.


“What’s wrong with you, Kyle?” asked Shelby, a little more stern than concerned.


“What? N-nothing’s wrong,” said Kyle, who had felt a warm feeling go through his veins as he pushed the rainbow statue, a feeling that was amazing and made him feel invincible. What he didn’t want to admit to anyone, even himself, is that the statue also made him feel the urge to steal the Rainbow Tablet for himself, and possibly the others so he could light the Lighthouses, just to see what power they held. He was afraid of that feeling and tried to hide it, knowing that the reason they came here was stop the Tablets from being stolen.


“I just had this weird feeling when I touched that statue, it was indescribable, and I felt more power in me than I thought possible.”


“That’s because you just made contact with an item that has been stored with an enormous amount of Rainbow Fire and has been sitting there for centuries. It is, if you’re as old of a scholar as I, an obvious thing to figure out,” explained Mr. Killimore with a slight smile touching his lips.


As he finished his explanation, a beam of pure white light shot out from the center of the floor, went up to the height of Kyle’s head, about two meters, and shot toward the wall where all of the seven colors of Fire of Color appeared. The colors started spinning around, slow at first, then getting increasingly faster, the middle color, Rainbow, started to spread out and form into a door large enough for a giant.


“How big were the people who built this place, anyway?” Garen asked, examining the door.


“The people who built this place made it so that any sized man could get through without any troubles,” Mr. Killimore said sternly.


Shelby, Kyle, and Garen all looked at each other with questioning looks on their faces at Mr. Killimore’s reaction to Garen’s comment. Then, the four of them turned and headed toward the door, all wondering the same thing; what will happen next? They reached the door and walked through it, all expecting some sort of trap, and looked down the aisle in disbelief. Not only was there no trap waiting for them, but the stairs that lay before them looked as though they went on for miles, and every few feet, there would be bones or pieces of stair missing.


Kyle spun around quickly, hearing a noise behind him, forgetting all about what was waiting in front of him. He could not see anything in the light of the now closing door, which Kyle now thought could have been the noise he heard. Either Kyle was paranoid by all the bones lying before him, or he was worried that Elyk was following them, he was thinking it was the latter, but there was nothing in front or behind him.


“What is wrong with you, kid?” asked Shelby once again, more worried this time than the last.


“I thought I heard something, but I suppose it was probably nothing.”


“It was probably the door shutting, now let’s get moving, we’re running out of time,” Mr. Killimore said, pointing at the setting sun through a carved window.


“Yeah, you’re right, let’s get going.”


They traveled again down another set of stairs that seemed as though it would take forever to get down, and as they walked, Kyle's paranoia grew. Every once in a while, he thought he saw something move out of the corner of his eye, but when he looked, there was nothing there. Then, after he thought he was getting a little too paranoid over the thought of Elyk, he had that strange feeling again, like he was touching the statue. This feeling came without the power and warmth, though, all it had was greed and a longing for lighting these powerful Lighthouses, but he wanted the Rainbow Tablet the most. He wanted to feel its warmth and power, he wanted to wield it to make people bow before him, as the King of the One Great Realm, and he wanted to light its Lighthouse for his ultimate power.


He now saw himself in an argument with the others about lighting the Lighthouses, he wanted to leave and finish his task, but every time he tried to leave, they would stop him. He finally left without the Tablets, never to return to their side again until the end of everything, when his senses came through. Then, everything came back to view and he was at, yet another, puzzling door to get through, which Mr. Killimore was examining very thoroughly with an annoyed look on his face.


“How do you suppose we get past this one?” he asked. “Any of you have any idea?”


The door had a few lines on it leading to several marbles that had the seven Fire of Color Symbols on it, and in the middle, as always, was Rainbow Fire. The Rainbow Fire marble looked like it would be the key to opening the door, but beyond that, there was not a hint of what to do.


“I, actually, think I might know this one,” Kyle said a little excitedly, not for knowing how to open the door, but because he could now enter the Tablet Room.


He lit the tips of his thumb and index finger with his Rainbow Fire and grabbed hold of the marble. He then twisted the middle symbol seven times to the right, eight to the left, and twelve times back to the right, as though he was unlocking a combination lock. He pushed the marble into the door with his lit thumb, and the rumbling that came from it made him jump back violently.


The marble lit up, traveled to the other six marbles through the lines, changing into a blue fire that was unfamiliar to any of them. The other marbles also started to light up as the blue fire reached them and, like the last door, it started to dissolve into thin air, smoke rising out of it and a slight rumbling noise coming from what seemed to be nothing. The door that was left was, again, abnormally large and had some kind of ominous bluish-white light in it, which made the four hesitant to walk through.


“What was that? How did you know?” Garen asked, looking at the new door before him


“Not sure,” Kyle replied simply. “I kinda guessed, you know, some kind of instinct bred into me somehow…I don’t know how to explain it.”


“Yea, that’s all very nice, now let’s get going and not waste any more time discussing your psychic abilities,” Shelby impatiently said, “and let’s hope that was the last door.”


As they walked through the mysterious light, which made their bodies feel calm and warm, they found that Shelby’s hopes had come true. The room they have now stepped into was glowing with every Fire of Color, surrounding them and looking like the aura borealis and there were seven glass cases. Below them was darkness that went on for miles, any missteps could be the end. Within the cases held the seven Tablets stating what Fire they were on one side and the symbol on the other. The Tablets rotated in the cases slowly, but there was one major problem with the cases, there was only one path leading to only one Tablet.


“This is interesting,” Mr. Killimore said softly as he watched the door behind him vanish. “I never could’ve imagined that the Tablets were held in such a fantastic room."


“You are most certainly right about that one, old man,” said a familiar voice behind them.


“You’re kidding me,” said Kyle, frustrated. “I did hear see something behind me.”


“You are quite right about that, Kyle, though these idiots here were too foolish to believe you,” said Elyk as Kyle and the others turned toward him, Nerag, and the mystery man.


“Now that you’ve led us to this most wondrous room, you can also grab us the equally, if not more, wondrous Tablets. I do mean you and Garen, just to clarify things a bit.”


“And if we refuse?” asked Garen looking at them a little fearfully.


“Oh, I don’t think that would be very wise at all, unless you wish to watch you teacher and friend die,” said a voice suddenly behind them. “Now, I suppose, I should introduce myself, I don’t want to be rude.’


“Like you haven’t done that already,” Garen said quickly.


Next thing Garen felt was something indescribable. He could not speak, nor move; it felt as though his tongue was tied up in his throat. Then, the mystery man spoke, not gently like before, but commanding and coldly, the cruel leadership finally showing, “Do not interrupt me, that is very rude and you shall be punished for it. Now, as I started, before I was so rudely interrupted, I will introduce myself. My name is Kye and I am the leader of these two, I am also the one destined to light the Lighthouses. Now that you all know my name, get the Tablets, before I do more than disable your movement and speech.”


Garen felt the force on his body and throat lift, he dropped to the ground, and started gasping for air. Kyle walked over cautiously, helped him to his feet, and they both started walking toward the first path, which was another path that was possibly miles above the ground, causing Kyle to panic. He felt his legs go weak, his stomach started to turn, and his head got light quickly, but soon enough, he brought his training to mind and the panic was gone and was replaced with confidence.


As they walked toward the first Tablet, Black Fire, they heard an unusual voice from an unknown women saying, “Thou who shall pass and take the Tablets shan’t take them in greed to light yonder Lighthouses, or thou shall be punished.”


“Did you hear that, Kyle?” asked Garen coming to a stop and holding his arm out to stop Kyle.


"Yeah, I did,” answered Kyle softly and stopping at Garen’s arm, “but it doesn’t apply to us, we want the Tablets to save lives, not light the Lighthouses.”


“You’re right, let’s go,” Garen said, walking toward the Black Tablet again.


They reached the first Tablet, watching in amazement for a little while as it floated in the case by itself. Kyle reached his hand out quickly to grab it, but his hand hit some sort of force before he could touch the case. Pain seared up his forearm, his hand was in tremendous pain, and his eyes started to slightly water. It seems that the force did not only stop his hand from reaching the Tablet, but it also sent some kind of electric volt trough his arm. He looked over and saw Garen slowly reaching out toward the glass. He never hit an invisible force or got electrocuted, but instead, he was able to reach straight through the case and reach the Tablet. He grabbed it and brought it to Kye, with Kyle walking beside him, holding his arm.


“Let me be so kind as to cure that for you,” Kye said gently, “as a…payment for you getting the Tablets for us."


“That’s impossible, only those whom were given the power to use Black Fire can heal,” Mr. Killimore said coldly, not sounding like himself. “You don’t have that, I saw you use Rainbow Fire.


“Oh I can use many Colors,” said Kye with a little laugh. “Here, let me demonstrate for you.” He took Kyle’s arm roughly, causing him to wince in pain, and a black light started to glow on his palm. Kyle could feel the bones in his fingers and wrist start to realign themselves painfully and could hear the bones cracking and popping into place. “There, all better; now get the rest of the Tablets.”


“How are we going to do that?” asked Kyle. “As you can see there is no-”


A rumbling noise below them interrupted Kyle. He looked down, Garen at his side, and saw that there were now a few pillars coming up and making a full way path to the Green Tablet. Other uncompleted paths started to come up from miles below with the others and led to the other five Tablets. Kyle looked over at the paths and saw the uncompleted paths, thinking that they would soon be finished as the other had been.


They walked the path as before, and getting the Green Tablet was just the same as the Black, Kyle could not touch the Tablet, but Garen could. This same procedure went on for the next four Tablets, first the Purple, then onto Bronze, Silver, and finally Gold. After they got the Gold Tablet, Elyk came over to take it because the path that was now open was right in front of them. Kyle and Garen walked down the path to the last Tablet, just wanting it to end.


“Well,” Garen said nervously, “here we are, at the last Tablet. Let’s get it Kyle.”


There was no answer to Garen’s call, being nervous, he spun around to see if Kyle had not been killed or kidnapped. To his relief, Kyle was just standing there, but to his displeasure, he looked as though he wanted to do something other than get out.


“Kyle? What is wrong with you?”


“Huh? Oh…right, Tablets. I’m alright, no need to worry, but I think I should to get this one.”


“Alright, if you say so, I guess,” Garen said suspiciously.


When they reached the Rainbow Tablet, Kyle stretched out his hand slowly to see if he could grab it, and to his amazement and pleasure, he could. Right when he touched the Tablet, he had a look of greed in his eyes and could feel that urge to steal the Tablets again, then his face went blank.








“But this is where you are wrong, Kio,” said a man that resembled Kyle almost exactly, "lighting these Lighthouses will unleash an unimaginable power that will make this planet, and possibly others, better.”


“No!” said another voice firmly, this man looked a bit like Mr. Killimore. “The Lighthouses will destroy our planet, and all life on it before that. They will not make the planets round, or evolve creatures to more intelligent beings, that is preposterous. You have gone mad, Kyle, there is no way this could happen.”


“Have it your way, you will die with the rest of them Killimore,” said Kyle dryly, “but what about you, Garen, you believe me. You know that the Fire of Color Dragons will make everything as they should be and eliminate this world of scum like him.”


“Fire of Color Dragons? They haven't existed on this planet for years," stated Garen. “Never mind, it does not matter, Kyle. Your causes are flawed and unreasonable; you are hereby banished from the village of Kio…”











The ground beneath his feet was trembling, he could feel his fingers going numb from holding the Tablet so tightly, and his face was absent of color. He looked over at Garen who had the Tablet (Kyle had not yet realized the numbness was from clenching his fist) looking frightened.


“There were four people, not three,” said Kyle quietly. “The masked Hero was Kyle; then there was Garen, Killimore and someone else by the name of Kio was trying to stop him!”


“Kyle, this is no time for a history lesson, we have got to go now!” screamed Garen over the tremors below. “Let’s go Kyle we need to…KYLE, NO!”


The area where Kyle was standing collapsed while Garen was yelling. He ran toward Kyle, who was now trying to grab onto anything in sight, and jumped at him to grab his arm. The edge felt like it was falling in slow motion, but it was moving quicker than Garen, and by the time he got to the edge, Kyle was out of reach. Kyle tried jumping for Garen’s hand, with no avail; there was no way Kyle could be saved now. He saw a ledge next to him and grabbed that before he could fall again, and he climbed himself up to Garen’s reach, but the ledge broke causing Kyle to drag Garen a little way as they clasped hands.


“Hold on, Kyle!” Garen bellowed as the place started to shake worse.


“Well don’t count on me letting go anytime soon!” Kyle yelled back at him, but Kyle did let go.


Their hands were too slippery with sweat to hang on to each other, causing Kyle to fall, rapidly, miles below the earth, not being able to save himself this time. They could hear him yelling as he plunged out of sight as Garen was yelling something inaudible over the earthquake. He was trying to hold back the burning tears that were swelling into his red, puffed eyes, as he watched his lifelong friend’s screaming body fall into the depths of the mountain. Shelby was letting her tears fall, not being able to talk; Mr. Killimore had a fearful, sad expression and was saying to himself “No, Kyle” repeatedly. Nerag and Elyk both looked pleased at the solution, and Kye had his hands clapped together, as if praying, with his eyes glowing red.


“No, this can’t be happening! Not, Kyle, no!” cried Shelby with her eyes burning red with tears covering her cheeks and dripping off her face, toward the floor. Her lips were trembling violently and she also had her hands clasped together, hoping that there was some mistake, some trick, that this was all a nightmare. Kyle couldn't die now, not after all he's trained for. How could these monsters ruin everything, not only now, but three years ago as well? She fell to her knees, losing control of herself. Kyle couldn't be falling to his death; she had to wake up from this nightmare.