A Great Wrong

Raiden walked Jewels to her room then kissed her forehead and bid her a goodnight telling her that he had work to do in his room and for her to turn in early.  Before she could ask him if he was okay, he had already left with this guards and left Roku and Ichi guarding her door. Although his room was next doors to hers, Raiden never looked back once.  He made his way to his room and once inside, the door were closed and Ni and San guarded the out side while Shi and Go entered the room with Raiden.  

"Is everything okay with Prince Raiden?" Jewels asked Ichi. 

Ichi looked forward and did not say anything. 

"He told you not to tell me, huh?" Jewels guessed. "Very well, when he is ready to tell me, he will tell me.  Instead of sending someone to sneak around to find out any information on the other person like someone here."  Jewels teased as she looked at Roku.  Roku unable to meet her eyes, stared straight forward just like Ichi.  

Smirking, Jewels enters her room and takes out all the reading material Pop pop gave her.  She goes through all of them in a matter an hour.  Reading and rereading the material.  In the books, Jewels has found little to no information about the metal bracer known as Infinite Galaxy.  Mostly the books and journals were about the last owner and the legendary stories of how he defeated his enemies and what he did to their bodies.  There were nothing about where the bracer came from, who made the bracer and what kind of powers Infinite Galaxy could actually cast.  So far all Jewels knows about it is that her lion to call Nemean, was able to reside in the Infinite Galaxy so Jewels was able to take him with her where ever she went.  The bracer was able to act like a flashlight, with the help of the sun.  

If only the golden vines on bracer could come out and become a wipe, that would be great, Jewels thought.  Suddenly, a bright light flashed and Jewels held a golden whip in her hand.  The whip connected to her bracer and the golden vines on the bracer were no longer there.  Seeing the whip in her hand she smiles. Now I have another weapon on me, she thought as she started to practice whipping the whip around and hit a mark. After a while, she looks at the scroll she brought with her, letting go of the whip, the light shined bright once more before the whip disappeared and the golden vines returned to the bracer.  Sitting down to read the scroll, Jewels could hear Nemean roar loudly so she placed her hand out, palm facing upwards as Nemean jumps out from the bracer and lands gracefully in front of her.  

"Hello, there Mighty Nemean, what brings you out?" Jewels asked him. 

"The scroll calls to you like it calls to me." Nemean said as he approaches her and sits over all the other books and journals so he can be close to her. 

"Lets see whats inside, shall we?"  Jewels says as she opens the scroll.  

As quickly as she opens the scroll, she felt as if someone punched her and knocked her out.  In the darkness, she could hear Nemean breathing next to her, but she wasn't scared.  She remembers the darkness, she has always welcomed the darkness. She waited until the darkness slowly receded and saw that Nemean still layed beside her unconscious.  As darkness became light, Nemean slowly woke up to Jewels sitting beside him. 

"What happened?"  Nemean asked.  "Where are we?"

"I don't know."  Jewels answered back.  "We're here together and I don't know where "here" is."  

Nemean slowly gets up and stands up, "Get on me, we'll explore our surroundings together."

Getting on top of him and riding him like a horse was harder than she thought.  With her lack of experience in the saddle and even more lack of experience riding bare back, Jewels held on to Nemean's mane tightly almost pulling some fur out.  After traveling together for some time, Jewels finally found the rhythm to riding Nemean's back and slowly gained confidence in herself not to fall off. 

From the light came green forestry in front of them.  Slowly making their way to the forest, Jewels held on to one dagger in one hand and three throwing needle darts in the other.  When they reached the outskirts of the forest, Nemean slowed down even more and quietly made his way in.  They slowly traveled until they reached a lake. When they arrived, Jewels got off Nemean's back and looked around as he reached down for a drink. 

"Its weird isn't it, Nemean."  Jewels said as she slowly turned around to take in her surroundings.  "There is no cry of animals that I can hear.  No birds chirping, to rabbits running in the bushes, no insects buzzing.  Where is everyone?" 

Nemean stops drinking the lake water to look at Jewels.  She was right, there were no living thing in the forest and he did not notice until she brought it up.  

"How's the water?"  Jewels asks him. 

"Not poisoned if that's what your thinking." He answered back. "Taste just like water." 

Reaching the water with her hands cupped to gather water, she notices something shiny at the bottom of the lake.  The shiny object kept flashing on and off again catching her attention.  

"See that?"  Jewels pointed at the shiny object. "Can you swim?"  

"I can swim small distances, but to swim that far and get whats under the water I cannot." Nemean told her. 

"Wait for me here, I'll be back." Jewels told him as she made her way to the middle of the lake.

"Be careful."  He warned her back. 

 Jewels swam her way to the middle of the lake and before she dived down, she made sure to capture light on her bracer so it would glow then made her way down to the shiny object flashing within the water.  Jewels made her way to the object and quickly reached her destination.  Jewels reaches out to the shiny object in front of her and grabs the huge pearl the size of her fist.  She then made her way back towards the shore and Nemean when she could feel a dark aura come after her.  Knowing that if she didn't get out of the water soon, there would be a possibility of her dying in the water.  Swimming as fast as she could, when she almost reached the shore, she felt something wrap around her leg and pull her back.  A roar from Nemean could be heard, when she was pulled back.  Taking the dagger from her sleeve, she reaches down and slices whatever wrapped around her leg and when the dagger met the thing, it sliced straight through the flesh and red blood flowed out of the thing.  Not taking any chances, Jewels swam to the surface for air and tried her best to make her way towards Nemean.  When she came closer to Nemean, he jumped towards her and grabbed hold of her with his teeth and drags her to the shore.

Jewels, too tired and scared to argue with Nemean lets him drag her.  Once they were far from the lake and closer to the edge of the forest, Nemean lets her go and she turns around to look at her leg.  There was a purple bruise that wrapped around her ankle.  No punctured wounds could be found, so Jewels sighed heavily with a big relief. 

"What happened?" Nemean asked her. 

"When I grabbed this pearl,"  Jewels opened her hands to show him.  "I suddenly felt a dark aura and I started swimming back towards the shore.  Suddenly I felt something wrap around my ankle and pull me back.  That's when I pulled out my dagger and cut whatever held me."  

" I did not see anything above the surface of the lake, nor did I see any air bubbles come up either." Nemean said as he looked back at the lake.  "Whatever is out there can only survive in water."  

"Well, lets not go back into the water no matter how many shiny things we see."  Jewels said mostly to herself. 

Nemean let Jewels rest for a bit before making her stand and get on his back so they can explore more.  Holding on to the large pearl, she got on Nemean and they made their way further into the forest.  When the over grown forest blocked out the light, Nemean and Jewels stopped to rest before continuing on into the dark forest.  Getting off, Jewels looked around for big leaves that she could weave into a bag.  Walking around, not far from Nemean, she found the tree that she was looking for.  Its leaves were big and its center vine was sturdy.  Climbing up the tree, she breaks off the leaves one by one and lets it fall to the ground.  After collecting enough leaves, she climbs down and starts to gather them.  Once collected, she makes her way back to Nemean and sits next to him weaving a bag with the vine and leaves.  By the time she finished, the bag was big enough to carry several medium sized items and its strap was long enough to go around her shoulder like a satchel.  

They slowly made their way towards the darkened forest where the only thing making noise was the footsteps of Nemean and their breathing.  They kept forward with no destination in sight while listening and watching their surroundings.  After awhile, they reached the foot of a mountain and at the foot of the mountain, there was a well worn path that looked to be abandoned for some time.  Without even hesitating, Nemean walked forward, following the path into the mountain to reach the destination at the end of the pathway.  

Jewels didn't know how long or far they walked.  Jewels took turns getting off and on Nemean's back so he wouldn't be so tired.  They stopped several times to rest and yet they felt no hunger or thirst.  Where ever they were, they had to find a way out so they continued walking on the same path.  From a distance, Jewels could see the top of the mountain.  And at the top of the mountain, lied an opening into the mountain.  When Jewels pointed it out, both Jewels and Nemean felt a rush of hope to finish walking the pathway.  

Nemean reached the entrance to the mountain before Jewels and waited for her, he wanted to go first to see if he could smell anything by the entrance.  When the coast was clear did he finally sit back and watch Jewels make her way slowly up the mountain on her two legs.  He let her rest her legs when she reached him.  Her heavy breath could be heard as sweat dripped off her forehead and down her neck.  

"Would you like to sleep here before we go in."  Nemean asked.

"That would be nice."  She said as she laid her head down on his side, using him like a pillow.  She slept until she woke up, the light still shining, there was no sun or moon to tell her what time it was, it was constant light outside.  "Would you like to sleep?  I'll take watch this time."  

"No thank you, lets make our way inside, shall we?" Nemean said. 

Once inside it was dark again so Jewels back tracked outside and caught the light with her bracer and went back inside.  When she arrived at the place she left Nemean, he wasn't there.  She called out to him several times, but he did not answer her.  She knew that what ever happened to Nemean, he would put up a great fight before going down and since she did not see him when she came back, he and the attackers must have moved further into the mountain. 

Jewels made her way further into the mountain, following the big paw prints.  There were no other foot prints on the floor which confused her.  If there were no attackers, why would Nemean leave her behind?  Unless it was not a physical attack that was cast but an illusion energy cast that cause Nemean to leave Jewels behind.  Picking up the pace, Jewels made herself hurry but made sure her steps were quiet.  She did not want the other party to know what she was up to.  When she reached the end of the path, it dropped into steep stairs and opened up into a huge cavern and Nemean was already at the center of the cavern.  Making her way down the steep steps, she did not want to get caught going down the stairs so although she made more noise than she would like, she made it down the stairs in time to see Nemean talking to a huge ice crystal.  In the ice crystal, there was a frozen being held within.  Jewels sat back watching her surroundings before making her way toward Nemean, keeping to the shadows.  When she got close enough, that is when she heard his one sided conversation.  

"What do you mean you're stuck? How can I help?" Nemean said to the ice crystal. 

"But I can't breath fire, I'm a lion!" 

"Yes, I am a golden lion, but I still can't breath fire.  Lions don't breath fire!"

"Look you're not making any sense." 

"My human? What about my human?" 

"She can help me breath fire? How?" 

After awhile, Nemean turns around until his eyes meets Jewels.  

"There you are!  I thought you would never catch up to me."  Nemean said to Jewels. 

"Whats going on?"  Jewels demanded.  

"This here is Fenghuang.  She says she is a phoenix.  She has been caught in the ice crystal for several centuries and wishes to be set free.  She says that in exchange for setting her free, she'll give us gifts."

"What kind of gifts?"  Jewels asked as she walked closer to the ice crystal.  

"She said she'll grant me the power to breath fire.  She said a long time ago before I was born, golden lions such as myself were able to breath fire, but somehow we have lost the ability to do so.  If you help get her out, she'll grant me the skill to do so and give you the scrolls in which you seek." Nemean said. 

"And how does she know which scrolls I seek?" Jewels asked. 

"She says, a phoenix knows what others seek by looking into their eyes.  She sees all." 

"Ask her to look into my eyes and ask her what she sees."  Jewels says as she stares at the phoenix. 

Nemean waited a while before he answered.  And when he did answer it was with a voice that did not sound very happy. 

"She says you seek to stand on top of the world, with everyone under you, you will finally then be happy. You seek to be the strongest and you seek vengeance."   

"And those scrolls she has, will they help me with what I'm seeking?"  Jewels asked.

"Yes, the phoenix says, all those that you seek shall be in those scrolls."

"Then how do we get her out?"  Jewels questioned him. 

"Fenghuang says to use your fire base energy to melt the ice away."  

--------

It took a long time for Jewels to melt the ice crystal away with her fire base energy.  Sweat dripped off her body and she had to take several breaks along the way.  After what the phoenix told Nemean about what Jewels was seeking, Nemean have been keeping to himself as if he was thinking about his choices and who Jewels really was.  Nemean kept his distance and kept watch over Jewels and Fenghuang.  After a long time, the ice crystals finally melted away and Fenghuang fell to the ground with a loud thump.  Jewels could only partially catch her to break her fall because she had been too tired to move quick enough to be able to catch her.  When both of them fell to the ground, Jewels cut herself catching her fall and they rolled, some blood got on to Fenghuang.  The blood touched the corner of Fenghuang's mouth and as Fenhuang opened her mouth to cry out in pain, some blood fell into her mouth and to both of their horror, a contract was made between the phoenix and the human.   

"You did that on purpose didn't you?"  Fenghuang said as she tried to push herself away from Jewels. 

"Did what?"  Jewels said annoyingly. 

"You purposefully cut yourself and bleed into my mouth and made a contract with me!"  Fenghuang accused her. 

"Why would I want to have a contract with you?" 

"By holding a contract with me, I am now at your disposal.  I am now at your beck and call until that contract has been fulfilled!" 

"And what's this contract that I supposedly threw on to you?" Jewels said annoyingly. 

"The end of the contract will end when you accomplished what you seek!"  Fenghuang shouted.

Laughing out loud, Jewels couldn't believe her luck.  "What an arrogant phoenix you are!  Who said I want to keep you by my side until I accomplished what I seek?  For all I know you will be nothing but dead weight to me and my plans! What can we do to break our contract?" 

Fenghuang looks at Jewels for a moment before she tells her the truth.  "The only way our contract breaks is if one of us dies or you accomplish your goal of standing on top of the world.  Until then, we are stuck together." 

"Death or a lifetime with you?"  Jewels thought as she sat up looking at Fenghuang. "I choose death."  

Jewels said as she pulled her dagger out.  Taking advantage of Fenghuang's weakened state, Jewels aims her dagger to Fenghuang's heart, wanting to quickly end her life and the contract that was accidentally made.  Fenghuang screams in surprise, but before the dagger could reach Fenghuang's heart, it was stopped by a pair of golden hands.  Looking up, she could see the man in front of her shine brightly gold.  From his skin to his clothes it was all gold.  His hair was a darker gold, but it was his red eyes that Jewels recognized.  

"Nemean?"  Jewels questioned. 

"Fenghuang did warn me that you would seek to be at the top of the world, that you seek vengeance and strength. I just never thought you would kill in cold  blood to end a contract that you thrust upon Fenghuang." 

Feeling betrayed by her animal to call, Jewels hardens her heart even more.

 "What's this?" Jewels says pulling back her dagger. "My animal to call has been keeping secrets from me?  When we shared our memories, I thought we showed each other everything.  It seems to me that you've forgotten to share one of the most important information.  And have you forgotten what I use to do in my past life?"  

Jewels reminds him again as she crouches on the tip of her feet, ready to fight should Nemean attack. 

"I use to kill people in cold blood all the time for money.  So what if I kill Fenghuang?  She's a phoenix, she'll burn brightly then be reborn and once she's reborn our contract will be voided. You both act as if I was the one who wanted to free this bird from its ice crystal to receive it's gifts. You both act as if I knew how to make a contract with creatures such as yourself!  You both act like I was the one who could communicate with this bird through the ice crystal and be greedy enough to collect creatures like jewelry and show them off as my power and strength.  Yes, I do want to stand on top of the world, for this world we live on, only the strongest survive.  I want to be the strongest to protect those I care about and make sure they're never bullied again.  Yes, I will have my vengeance on those who treated me and my family unkindly.  I will right the injustice they felt through the years, over and over again and kill them without mercy.  And yes, I will accomplish these goals of mine, but what you don't understand, is that when I do this, it'll be with my hand and on my terms.  I will never pretend to use your strength and claim it as mine. So why would I purposefully make a contract with a whiny, weak, stupid bird who was weak and stupid enough to get trapped in a ice crystal for centuries? Why would I contract myself to someone who doesn't thank the person who saved her, but instead accuses her of wrongdoings and condemns her into a lifetime sentence of annoyance?"  

Looking at Nemean  with disappointment in her eyes, Jewels tells them. "If I had to choose between me or this bird, I choose me.  This bird can die and be reborn over and over again.  I don't know if I'll be reborn after this life.  So until I die, I will work toward my goals and so what if she dies? Through my hard work, you will still get what she promised you.  The ability to breath fire and I get the scrolls she promised me. After she dies, our accidental contract will be null and void and she can go on her merry way and I can go on my merry way."

"What about me?" Nemean asked Jewels. 

"What about you, Nemean? You can go anywhere you want to go." Jewels says. 

"But our contract--"Nemean started to say. 

"We can break it of course." Jewels said coldly.  "I don't want someone watching my back who doesn't trust me.  Someone who questions me and my character based on the words of a stranger. I can't afford to have an animal to call who holds secrets of their own and refuses to let me know about them until forced to show them." 

Nemean's head tilts downward in guilt and sadness. His heart broke little by little with her words.  He made a mistake and he knew it.  

"So what if I want to stand on top of the world and be the strongest, Nemean.  You are already on top of the world, being the strongest in Parker Forest, hell in any forest.  So what if I want vengeance on those who wronged me, my family and those who I care about? At my weakest and my families weakest, they still bullied me and my family as if we were able to defend ourselves!  For all the grievances that we felt, they shall feel it too.  But at least this time, when I pay them back tenfold, at least they have the ability to defend themselves!" 

Jewels looks over at Fenghuang and smile menacingly, "So, wanna die now and be free or die later and be stuck with me? You get to choose this time since I failed to kill you the first time." 

Fenghuang looked over at Jewels and knew she did a great wrong to her savior.  When she looked into Jewels eyes, all she saw was darkness and her greed to be the strongest.  So she warned the golden lion about the darkness that resided in the girl in front of her who worked so hard to get her out of the ice crystal.  And when she fell, it was the girl who tried to catch her so she wouldn't injure herself.  It was the girl in the end who injured herself trying to save her.  A great sense of guilt overcame her and she knew she would not be able to leave the girl's side until she could help the girl accomplished her goal of standing on top of the world.  Gathering all of her strength, she kneels in front of Jewels and says.

"For your lifetime, this phoenix will be yours to call."