~Chapter 5~
Lucar sat among the Densius people on Platt Mountain, while Razan and Dimon took turns telling them stories. Dimon loved to tell stories of its youth, it helped to remind everyone of how long it's been around. At nearly 500 years in age, Dimon had plenty of his own stories.
Razan exchanged his own stories, even if most of them were edited to appeal to an audience. But it enraptured the Densius people nonetheless. He was telling a story about how he and Lucar faced a massive electrical being called a jellyfish while out on the ocean.
Lucar was present in body, but not mind. Ever since he saw Jirro use Focus, he couldn't help but revisit old memories. Old mistakes. Mistakes he wished he could amend but would never have the chance to.
As Lucar sat silently, he felt a tremor. With time the shaking grew, accompanied by a noise drawing ever closer. It sounded like stones being scraped against each other with great force.
Lucar saw Jirro, Aero, Corri, and Ruben running towards them with panicked looks on their face. In moments it was clear why. A giant Densius was chasing after them, behaving like a feral beast.
Elder Dimon appeared saddened by the Feral Densius. Razan stood to confront it, but Dimon stopped him.
"Can you stop the Densius without killing it?" Dimon asked Razan.
Razan nodded, and Dimon let him pass.
Razan cracked his neck and got into a running stance. The ground beneath him cracked, and moments later, after moving at staggering speeds, he was in front of the Feral Densius.
Razan jumped into the air and delivered a single kick to the Feral Densius's head, knocking it clean off its body. The blue light that once filled the feral Densius's eyes faded.
But it was not dead, only blinded. The children stopped and watched as the beheaded Feral Densius swung wildly at the air. Razan looked at the chest cavity of the Densius and could make out the faint blue light deep inside it. Razan jumped and plunged his arm deep into it's chest.
He tore the sapphire that acted as it's Heartstone out of the giant Densius. All of the rocks, dirt, and clay that formed the Densius fell to the ground. They were only lifeless stones now.
Razan looked at the sapphire, it was unharmed. And he hadn't even broken a sweat. Lucar wasn't surprised, his older brother was nearly as strong as he was.
"Is it dead?" Aero asked.
"No," Elder Dimon approached, "As long as it's Heartstone is intact, this one is still very much alive."
Dimon extended his stony hands to Razan, and he placed the sapphire into the old Densius' palm.
"I remember this Heartstone..." Dimon said, taking the sapphire with great care, "It belonged to a Densius named Seraphi. They'd been lost in our tunnels after a cave-in for quite some time. Decades. When we finally found Seraphi, they were no longer sane. We Densius need to be with others to live properly. After decades of isolation, we'd become feral just like Seraphi did."
Dimon cleaned the sapphire of the dirt and clay which had once surrounded it and smiled, "I think Seraphi deserves a second chance at life."
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That night, the entirety of the Densius tribe climbed to the highest point of Platt Mountain. Using flint, they lit torches surrounding the plateau. The Densius tribe carried rocks of various shapes and sizes, and began placing them at the center of the plateau. The rocks were set down and took a humanoid shape. Elder Dimon delicately placed the Sapphire at the center of the rocks.
The Densius tribe formed a circle around the pile of stones and began to dance and chant. Dimon outdid all of them with it's exuberant twirling. Aero, Corri, Jirro, Lucar, and Razan, all sat cross-legged and watched the ritual. 390Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDmiaO4DAqK
The Densius chanted and danced for what felt like hours. Jirro looked to his side and saw Aero was snoring. Jirro tried to tap and wake him, but when he looked over, he saw that Razan had fallen asleep as well.
Lucar glanced at the two, "Like father, like son," he said as he rolled his eyes. Lucar looked to Corri and Jirro, "Keep watching you two. You'll want to see this."
The rocks surrounding the sapphire all began to rumble and shake. Dirt enveloped itself around the sapphire, and rocks began forming around it. First, a sturdy torso of rocks was formed. Stones approximating arms and legs joined to the torso. Finally, rocks formed at the top, creating a head. Two black stones began to glow blue as irises formed within them. The Densius Seraphi was reborn.
The newly reborn Seraphi struggled to stand, but Emer and Dimon rushed to it's side and helped it to it's feet.
Seraphi took its first steps with Emer and Dimon helping it along. Seraphi could recall bits and pieces of its original life, as if it was a distant dream. The original Seraphi was present at Emer's Heartstone ritual. Emer was gladdened to be there for the rebirth of Seraphi. Jirro couldn't help but marvel at such a beautiful moment. 390Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkn3zc34jRM
