Krystal took a step backward, turning to flee from the library only to find that the entryway had sealed itself behind her. She cast a glance back at the figure standing before her, panicking as she threw her weight into the ancient wooden door in an attempt to force it open. Realizing there was no escape, Krystal spun and raised the metallic hilt of her laser sword, threatening to activate it.

"Who are you? What are you doing in the library?" Krystal focused her sixth sense and trained it on the intruder's mind, but she found herself unable to detect his thoughts. A veil seemed to linger over her target's mind, rendering her telepathic abilities useless. This was something similar to what I sensed with Revan! Could this be him? The trespasser appeared to be a fox, but most of his face and body were concealed beneath a dark blue hood and cloak. The little of him that was visible was indistinguishable in the darkness of the library, closed and off limits during the late hours of the night.

Fighting back terror, Krystal activated her laser sword and swung for the mysterious character. "Identify yourself!"

As the vixen's glowing blade stretched forward, a rod-like object emerged from the fox's robes and the two weapons clashed, showering the air with sparks and lighting up the space between them. As Krystal held her position firmly, she lifted her blade to gaze into her enemy's eyes. The two crystal blue irises reflected her own in their depths, and at once the vixen drew a pace backward.

"Father? What are you doing here this late at night?"

The cloaked figure lowered his weapon, lifting the hood over his head to reveal a crown atop his head. This 'intruder' was in fact the King, Krystal's father. As he relaxed his defensive stance and approached his daughter, Krystal couldn't help but return his smile with surprise.

"Were you here, waiting for me?" The vixen questioned, lowering her laser sword and looking him up and down. "Why did you hide your mental trace from me?... And what's with the cloak? Why all the secrecy?"

"I'm sorry to have scared you by hiding myself the way I did," the King apologized. "I have been awake most of the night, monitoring the mental activity of the villagers and guards until yours in particular caught my mind's eye."

Krystal gasped in alarm. "So you know about my vision? You saw it too?"

Her father nodded. "Yes, I saw nearly everything. It was then that I knew I had to come here and wait for you; I disguised myself because it was you, and you only that I wished to see here. I safeguarded my mental trace because I knew you wouldn't come unless you knew you were alone." Before Krystal could ask any more of the questions that burned in her mind, the King waved his hand and beckoned for her to follow him. "Come, let us walk."

The vixen hesitated before taking her first step toward her father, gradually giving in as he was nearly lost in the darkness again. Racing to catch his pace, Krystal glanced around at the library's interior, hardly visible in the lingering darkness as very few torches burned dimly along the walls. Her memory of this place was rather faint, as she rarely visited the vast wealth of knowledge hidden among the many ancient tomes and scrolls hidden inside. She thought she and her father had passed the main lobby, located just at the entrance, but she was starting to become lost among the many twists and turns as she followed blindly in the dark.

Krystal raised her laser sword, hovering it over the many shelves and tables she passed trying to identify some of the names of the works with little success. Most of the books appeared to be old and worn, collecting dust as if they had not been touched for entire lifetimes. I hope Father even knows where he's going, the vixen thought as she honed her mind in on his. The wall barricading his mind from her sixth sense was beginning to fade, allowing her to sense his thoughts as she usually could.

"It's a neat trick, isn't it? The ability to shield one's mind from that of another..." The king's voice nearly caused Krystal to jump in the overwhelming silence, forcing her from her thoughts. "It will be a skill that you will surely learn to use in time, but requires a deep knowledge and understanding of how your gift works. Only once you master the minds of others, will you be able to learn how to become invisible to them."

"Do you know where you are going?" Krystal asked. Honestly, she would have had no idea where to start when searching the library for the information she needed. Surely many of the ancient prophecies and omens would have had their own special location, kept secretly apart from the rest of the library.

The king nodded, "I think I do... but not by my own effort. There are many secrets hidden within these very walls, some that even I am unaware of. The location of the ancient prophecies has eluded me for quite some time, and I have been able to discover it only recently."

Krystal took another sharp turn, following just behind her father when a thought suddenly sparked in her mind. Atticus! Channeling her mind to link with her father's she voiced her thoughts telepathically. You sent Atticus to search the library, didn't you? That's why he had been spending so much time here lately...

"Precisely," Krystal's father affirmed as he turned his head and locked eyes with her over his shoulder. "As the King, and ruler of this village, some of this library's secrets are passed down through the generations... but some, not so explicitly. I knew of a special location, hidden among the library and meant for keeping many of the ancient prophecies, but I was never told its exact location."

"And once you knew about my dreams and visions, you sent Atticus to search the library and find them?" Krystal finished her father's thought, almost knowing what he was going to say in advance.

As the King began to slow his pace to a halt, Krystal did the same. It appeared as if they had approached one of the far corners of the library, staring at two enormous walls so tall that they stretched up into the darkness and became lost from sight. Books filled each of the corner walls, with some occasionally missing and others left partially opened, as if someone had recently been rummaging through them in a desperate search.

"Either luck or fate favors us this night," Krystal's father murmured as he gazed at the large collection of works before him. "It appears that Atticus had just managed to discover this location before he was killed..."

Krystal's eyes widened and her jaw dropped as suddenly, her deceased friend appeared in the library, with her. The feline appeared to be exactly the same as he had always been, prior to the battle leading up to his death; his armor and clothing were clean of the blood that had soaked them and his wounds were no longer apparent as he stood before her, facing the walls as he approached the bookshelves in front of him.

"Father, look, it's Atticus! He's back!" Without waiting for her father's acknowledgment, Krystal thrust herself forward and extended her arm to wrap around her friend's chest, so thankful that he was somehow still alive. She had watched him die, and she had witnessed his funeral, but the sight of her friend alive before her own eyes caused her to ignore all that she knew to be true. Tears of joy began to form in her eyes as she reached for Atticus, only to find that her hand slipped right through him.

As Krystal turned to look at her father, his expression told her all that she needed to hear. I'm so sorry, the King projected his thoughts into her mind. This is only a memory I collected from Atticus' mind before he died. I am simply reliving the moment when he discovered the hidden doorway leading to the location of the ancient prophecies.

Turning back to the image of Atticus, Krystal watched as he searched each book, each shelf, flipping through the pages of each book before setting them down again. Some, he placed exactly where he had found them; others he had been less careful with, setting them down one by one in the positions where they had been when Krystal first set eyes on them. Just when the feline began to appear distraught, he pulled on a book at the end of a lower shelf and the wall began to tremble.

Unfortunately, Atticus is still dead. Yesterday's battle really happened, and our friend and comrade is no longer with us. Krystal's father cast his thoughts into her mind as a section of the wall forced itself backward, sliding sideways and revealing a secret hallway leading to an unknown part of the library. All we can do from here is honor his memory, by using what he was able to learn and fighting the same fight he gave his life for.

As the image of Atticus faded and the walls of the library returned to their original state, Krystal wiped the last tear from her eyes and nodded, crouching down on one knee so that she could reach the special book that triggered the change. As she ran her fingers up and down its leather binding, she imagined the hand of Atticus joining with hers as she pulled on it with a jolt. Once again, the walls began to tremble as Krystal rose to her feet and backed several paces away, joining her father. Again, the same section of the wall pushed back and slid sideways to reveal the hidden pathway once more.

The king took a step forward, hesitating as he turned to his daughter. "The prophecy must be this way; lead on with your sword as a light."

Krystal stepped past him, nodding as she raised her weapon and allowed its plasmatic blade to shine forward in the darkness. Taking her first step through the opening archway in the wall, the vixen shuddered as she entered the overwhelming darkness. Opening into a tunnel built into the marble walls of the palace, not a single light shined beyond the walls of the library itself. There was only darkness ahead of Krystal as she felt and paced her way through the narrow passageway cautiously sensing for her father's presence behind her.

I'm here, don't be afraid, the thoughts of her father helped to soothed her unease. Unable to look back and see him, the King's thought patterns were the only evidence that he was even following her at all.

After what seemed like an eternity of wandering in the blackness, Krystal nearly crashed into a wall and barely caught herself with her palm, pressing against what felt like sturdy wood. Taking a step back, she cast the light of her laser sword ahead of her, realizing that she had found a doorway at the end of the passage. Scanning the wooden door for a handle, she spotted one on the right side and gripped it in her free hand, pushing against it with her shoulder to no effect.

"Allow me," the voice of her father sent shivers running down her spine as he stepped ahead of her. Krystal desperately longed to be out in the open, free from the confinement of the narrow walls and the haunting darkness, but her desire to discover her destiny kept her from turning tail and running. Now that her planet was on the brink of imminent war, she was willing to take any chance at saving her village and her planet.

With a mighty thrust, the King threw his entire bodyweight into the wooden door and burst it open. Losing sight of her father in the void ahead, Krystal raced forward and entered the next room. The tight hallway behind her suddenly gave way to a larger room as Krystal could no longer feel the walls on either side. Raising her laser sword, the vixen could barely distinguish her father, standing several paces ahead of her.

Lifting one arm from beneath his hooded cloak, the King extended it toward his daughter. "Give me your sword," he directed, without any further explanation.

Unwilling to question his request, Krystal carefully handed her weapon over, sure that her father had taken a firm hold of its hilt before releasing her grip. Still unsure, she could do nothing but watch as he descended down a small series of stairs, pausing once the ground leveled out again.

Turning to his right, the King took several paces until one of the side walls came into view. As he raised the laser sword, Krystal could faintly see a glimpse of an unlit torch, clinging to the wall. One spark from the plasmatic weapon set it ablaze with flaming light, slightly enhancing Krystal's vision of the room below.

As the vixen began down the stairs to join her father, he retrieved the torch from its resting place along the wall and handed her weapon back to her. "Look here," the King turned his head to the opposite end of the room and nodded. As the passageway came to a dead end, the final room housed a small wooden table, with bookshelves standing on either side.

Far less impressive than Krystal expected, she tilted her head and turned to her father. "Is this it?" Glancing ahead, she noticed quite a number of scrolls and leather books lining the shelves and cluttering the desk. How would she know which one possessed the prophecy? There were so many to read from, it could take hours sorting through it all.

"Don't worry, we are one step ahead on this one." Sensing Krystal's anticipation, the King answered her questions out loud. Placing his hand on his forehead and closing his eyes, Krystal felt a sudden influx of mental energy emitting from her father in waves. Once again, the spirit of Atticus appeared before them, this time rummaging through the scrolls and books at the table.

"I've been following your nightmares and visions for a while, ever since I learned that you were having them," the King murmured. "Your interaction with the spirits is something that I have not seen nor heard of in my lifetime, but it brings back some of the ancient stories passed down through the generations of the royal family. You know some of the legends of the Krazoa... I've told you these stories many times before, especially as a child."

Krystal nodded, curious as to why her father was bringing this up now. He had seen her vision from earlier, and he knew that she had seen one of the Krazoa in her dreams that night. "Yes, I remember..." The vixen thought back to the many stories she had been told growing up. It was said that these legends had been passed down for hundreds of years, down through the royal family.

"It all began with the two planets," Krystal began, reciting the words her father had spoken so many times before. "Cerinia is one of them, but the other was lost nearly a million years ago when it fell out of orbit. This sister planet to Cerinia has long since been forgotten, its name and location a mystery to those who live today. Among these two planets resided the Krazoa Spirits, ancient peacekeepers and bringers of light and life to the two planets. Each planet was filled with a powerful energy force, requiring the power of many Krazoa Spirits to absorb it and keep it in check."

"When Cerinia's sister planet split and was lost to another solar system, the majority of the spirits remained here. It is still unknown whether this sister planet survived, but some say that several spirits had managed to merge with it, although several spirits alone would not be enough to absorb the magical energy threatening to tear the planet apart." The vixen paused, narrowing her eyes as she stared into her father's. "Why am I telling you this? What does this have to do with my dreams, and the prophecy?"

The king turned away from her, watching as the spirit of Atticus continued searching through the many scrolls at the table, tossing them aside when he failed to find what he was looking for. "When you first began having your visions, and even up until recently, I was unsure if the prophecy I had in mind even pertained to you... but after witnessing the Krazoa tonight, I am almost certain you are the one."

"What one? What do the Krazoa Spirits have to do with all this?" Just as Krystal asked her question, Atticus' ghost came to an abrupt halt, leaning over the table intently as he read from the scroll in his hands. After a slight pause, the feline carefully rolled the scroll tightly and set it down on the table again, leaning against one of the bookshelves adjacent to the back wall.

"Thank you, Atticus" The king acknowledged, releasing the focus of his mind. As if the spirit knew it had finished its work, the ghost of Atticus turned and gave one last look at Krystal and her father before vanishing. The last scroll he had read still stood propped up where he had left it, and Krystal's father headed for the desk to retrieve it.

Krystal froze where she stood and bit her lower lip nervously. Is this it? The prophecy that will guide me, and show me how to become the 'light and hope' for Cerinia? Anxiety clawed at her as she anticipated what her father would read from the scroll. What if the prophecy says nothing about how to save the planet? What then will I do? What if we came all this way for nothing?

As the King grasped the scroll in one hand, he raised his torch so that he could have a better view, while also trying to avoid burning the ancient parchment he held. "Even I don't know what we will find on this scroll; I never got the chance to ask Atticus exactly what was written here," he warned, raising his eyes to give his daughter a stern glance. "But I do know that somehow, this scroll pertains to you and your connection to the spirits."

The scroll began to unwind as its ancient parchment rolled downward, stretching from the King's hand down to his bent elbow. Krystal's apprehension escalated as her father stared at the paper in silence, scanning it carefully as his eyes moved back and forth. After a long moment's hesitation, the vixen broke the silence.

"Well, what does it say, Father? Does it say anything about defeating the forces of Venom?"

The king did not answer immediately. Instead, he paced toward his daughter and passed the scroll to her, taking it carefully in her hands as she handed him her laser sword in return. Casting her eyes at the document, she almost gasped in shock as she realized that nearly the entire parchment was blank. The only text inscribed was written using an ancient Cerinian dialect that Krystal was unfamiliar with; whoever had written this must have lived hundreds of years ago. As Krystal's eyes scanned the letters and symbols on the page, a voice inside her head spoke to her, as if reading each word.

In the time when a foreign threat emerges and all is at stake, only the one who can commune with the ancient spirits will be the last light and hope of Cerinia.

Krystal raised her eyes, realizing that it was her father who had translated the script as she read. "The language of our ancestors has all but faded from Cerinia's memory, but I spent some time studying in the event that we might need it," the King explained. "I had a feeling that this prophecy would be older, from a time when the ancient language was still dominant."

"So what does it mean?" Krystal glanced back down at the scroll before returning her father's gaze. "Is this all we have to go on? Of course, Venom must be this 'foreign threat,' and surely everything is at stake now... but the rest doesn't seem to help at all!" Frustrated, Krystal stormed toward the desk and slammed the scroll down on top of it. "The prophecy says absolutely nothing about what I must do, or how I can possibly stop the armies of Venom!"

The sound of footsteps echoed in the dark chamber as her father approached. Krystal could sense his disappointment as well. Surely, he also expected more guidance. "I'm honestly not sure what that second part means," the King breathed a deep sigh. "One who can commune with the ancient spirits... I still have a strong feeling this refers to you, and your visions. Your connection to the Krazoa in your dreams is unprecedented, even among the previous telepaths of the royal family."

"But this still tells me nothing!" Krystal slammed her forearm against the wooden desk, feeling her inner rage beginning to surge. "Why couldn't they be more specific? How can I be the 'light and hope' Cerinia needs?"

Placing his hand on his daughter's hunched shoulders, the King allowed his presence to comfort and soothe her mind. "Prophecies are not made to be cryptic or eluding intentionally; their prophets only describe what little information they know."

Krystal lifted her face and turned to look into her father's eyes once again, still confused and upset about what the scroll had revealed to her.

"We may not be told exactly what to do, but that is the part that is left up to us," the King continued. "This prophecy, together with your dreams, points directly to the Krazoa Spirits. This needs to be our starting place as we continue deciphering the prophecy's meaning."

Krystal nodded in understanding, allowing her anger to subside. Fury and rage would not help her to save her planet. "Then how do we find them? The only place I've ever come into contact with a Krazoa Spirit was in my dreams, and I can only do so much from there. Is there a way to reach the spirits in the living world?"

The king rubbed the fur on his chin, deep in thought. "There just might be a way," he answered hesitantly. "But what I have in mind is incredibly dangerous, not to mention unrealistic, especially in these times..." Before Krystal could ask what he meant, he began toward the steps leading out of the room. "Come, we have learned all we can from here. We should be getting back."

Krystal tilted her head, surprised at her father's sudden urgency. Just moments ago, he appeared to be so calm and relaxed... but his demeanor altered abruptly as he raced up the stairs, hardly turning his back to be sure that she was following. As the vixen headed up the pathway and into the tunnel carved out of the marble, she cast her sixth sense out to her father, whose mind was once again sealed from her sight. Racing to catch up in the darkness, Krystal knew better than to ask her father what was wrong. He clearly did not want her to know just yet.

"The Krazoa of Cerinia reside in the Krazoa Temple, located high in the mountains to the north," the King informed his daughter as his pace slowed. "At least, according to the stories and legends passed down from our ancestors. I have never been there, nor have I seen one of the spirits with my own eyes. Neither had my father, nor his father before him."

"Then how do you know they are there?" Krystal dared to ask, sensing that her father's urgency had lowered slightly with his pace. Whatever had been troubling his mind still persisted, but he had managed to lower his guard and return to a more relaxed state.

The return through the dark passageway leading back to the library was not as difficult as it had been the first time, this time having two sources of light as opposed to just one. Krystal's father led onward, using the torch he had found in the prophecy room as a guide. "No one does, for certain. The journey through the mountains is perilous, hazardous even for the most experienced warriors and travelers. None have risked making the journey for centuries; it is even questionable whether this ancient fortress still stands."

"But those are our odds?" Krystal questioned, sensing what her father's plan was. If they were to start with the Krazoa Spirits, the best way to find out more would be to find them for themselves. Maybe then, they would be able to learn more about the ancient prophecy and how to save their planet from the forces of Venom.

Finally reaching the end of the tunnel, Krystal followed her father as he stepped through the opening in the wall and into the interior of the library once again. The dimly lit space seemed bright in comparison to their previous location, though still dark from the night outside. When Krystal had safely reached the other side of the tunnel, the walls began to tremble and the entryway sealed itself off, leaving nothing but the library wall in its place.

"I'm afraid so," the King finally replied as the dust settled and all was silent. "Not only would we be acting on impulse, but we also have the concerns of the village to consider... I can't just take off for the mountains when our people are in danger. Venom surrounds us on all sides, and the walls are closing in. By the time we reach the Krazoa, it may already be too late–"

"Then I'll go alone," Krystal interrupted.

The king turned to face his daughter with a stern look. "Krystal, this isn't something you can do on your own. There is no safe path through the mountains, even if we knew exactly where the Krazoa Temple was located. This is a conversation for another time...Right now, I need you here. War is coming, and I need every one of my best warriors to fight and defend the village."

Suddenly Krystal realized her father's urgency. "You sensed something, didn't you?"

Her father nodded, taking off at a fast walk back through the library while using his torch to light the way. "I've alerted Sera's father, who is assembling a meeting with the high-ranking guards. We need to take defensive action and prepare for attack."

"Right now? This late in the night?" Krystal questioned, keeping pace at her father's heels.

Her father didn't answer, picking up his pace to a light run as he headed for the library entrance, glowing with a faint light in the surrounding darkness. Windows along the palace walls revealed the lingering night outside, still black from the lack of sunlight. Scanning her father's thought patterns, Krystal still found his mind to be clouded and sealed away from any further probing.

I hate it when my father gets like this, the vixen narrowed her eyes as a cold shiver ran through her fur. He can sometimes be so defensive and secretive, even to his own daughter who can read his thoughts. Surely, whatever troubled him so much would bode ill for the entire village. Casting out her sixth sense, Krystal tried her best to scan for this incoming threat her father seemed so concerned about. Through the sea of resting minds, deep in sleep, she could sense the thoughts of Sera's father. Perhaps he would know what was going on?

Nearly losing focus as she and her father rounded a corner and left the library behind them, Krystal probed into the mind of the captain of the guard, only to find that he was just as clueless as she was. He hasn't even told Sera's father yet! The captain is rushing to wake and gather the guards when he has no idea what is even going on!

"I'm sorry for keeping you all in the dark about this," the King spoke up as he stopped at the winding staircase leading down to the second floor of the palace. "The last thing I want to do is spread panic through our ranks... I promise to reveal everything at our meeting in the war room." Without another word, he descended the stairs and headed for the second floor.

"Just saying that makes me want to panic," Krystal retorted, following behind him without question. The war room was a special conference room located on the second floor of the palace, reserved for private tactical meetings between the King and the upper ranks of the Royal Guard. The destination was close, quickly approaching as Krystal and her father raced down the corridor at the bottom of the stairs. Soon, she would finally discover what this urgent meeting was about.

A wooden doorway soon began to appear from out of the darkness, already open as members of the Royal Guard raced inside. Sera's father was at the head of them, halting at the entrance and allowing his warriors to proceed. As Krystal and her father approached, the crimson fox bowed his head respectfully and signaled for them to enter as well. Glancing at his face, Krystal could sense the worry and fear concealed behind his stern expression. This only increased her own apprehension as she followed behind her father.

Krystal had never set foot in the war room before, taking several moments to absorb what was around her. The space was not very large, with only a rectangular marble table at its center and enough room for soldiers to surround its perimeter on all sides. A collection of maps and other documents spread out across the table, surely used when coordinating battle strategies and other military operations among the village. Flaming torches lined the surrounding walls, bringing a considerable amount of light to the small room in contrast to the darkness outside. Krystal took her father's lead as he proceeded to the head of the table, taking her place to stand beside him. She cast her gaze across the faces of the guards surrounding the table, many showing a mixture of confusion and alarm. None of them knew what they were doing there, nor why they were summoned so late in the night.

"Thank you all for gathering here at this hour," Sera's father prefaced with the shutting of the door behind him. Taking a place at the opposite end of the table, he leaned forward and glanced at the guards flanking him on either side. "My King, please address your warriors."

Krystal's father unfastened the collar of his cloak and tossed it aside, closing his eyes and taking a breath before speaking. All eyes fixed on him, Krystal could sense the intense anticipation emitting from around the room. Holding their breaths, not a single member of the council was ready for what the King had to say. His words fell on unexpectant ears as he finally spoke, bringing all their worst fears to life.

"Our village is on the verge of attack. The armies of Venom surround us on all sides and prepare to strike with full force."

Eyes stretched wide and jaws dropped around the room. Every soldier was lost for words, including the captain of the guard and Krystal herself. Though she anticipated what her father would say, she still found herself unable to cope with what was happening around her.

"War is upon us," the King echoed, unnervingly. "The enemy will launch a full-scale assault on the village by dawn."