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You and Karaee continued dancing as the apes played their stringed instruments. They sang along to many songs that night. While dancing with her, you noticed Karaee’s facial expression change. “There was something that was on my mind recently.”
“Oh, what is it?” You wondered what was bothering her.
“While you were climbing the tower, I noticed a red glowing light coming from you. Do you know anything about that?” A drop of sweat began to roll down your back and you became nervous.
“Huh? A re…red light?” You had no idea that everyone saw that red light when you were climbing the Tower of the Great Ape Uzal. You knew that Karaee was talking about the red Guardian Stone, but you didn’t want to mention it at all. You thought, if Shintiro wanted the stone so badly, you didn’t know how the apes would react to you having an ancient stone that gives you the power to control a reptilian beast. You thought that maybe they would see it as a threat to the safety of their people, to having such a dangerous and powerful artifact. You reasoned that Inkagi would do the same in your position and keep that information to himself. “Most have been the sun reflecting off the tower. I didn’t notice anything.”
“Hmm, alright.” Karaee didn't look convinced by your response, but she didn't press you further. You were relieved that she didn’t keep insisting on knowing more about it. She changed the subject and told a funny story about a time when a group of apes got lost in the jungle and ended up in the river. They had to get out of the river by climbing trees and holding onto branches. The image of the apes scrambling out of the water was hilarious. But as you laughed you remembered the moment you lost Alaska to the river. Your laughter suddenly stops as your mind thinks of her probably lost or even dead in the jungle. Karaee notices your sudden change in facial expression and wonders what was going on.
As you looked at Karaee’s eyes, you noticed her focus switches suddenly from your eyes to over your shoulder. Before she could ask you what was on your mind, something odd caught her attention. Her eyes were reflecting a strange light. Her facial expression became confused as she took a step back away from you while dancing. She breaks your hold from hers while squinting her eyes trying to make out what she was looking at. You open your lips to try and say something “Are you alrigh…?” Before you could finish your question, Karaee screams and points to something large above you. You became confused at first.
“What is that? What is it? IT’S RIGHT BEHIND YOU!” Something in the darkness was moving around. Her screaming startled the rest of the expedition group. You turn around to see what Karaee was pointing to. All the apes got up and stopped playing music. Inkagi stopped eating and turned to see where Karaee was pointing at. She’s screaming and pointing frantically but you couldn’t see what it was. You took a step back while looking at her with bewilderment.
“What is she going on about?” You wonder. It was too difficult to see but eventually, you could see a large shadowy silhouette get closer to the camp. It was a giant serpent with large sharp fangs staring you down.
“It’s a monster!” You hear Inkagi scream once he gets a good look at the beast. The apes immediately dropped their instruments as everyone was staring at the serpent.
Commander Zard replies to Inakagi’s comment, “No! It’s the legendary Acaer!”
Another ape responds, “What’s the Acaer doing here?”
Another ape soldier says something behind you. “The Acaer is not known for roaming around in these parts of the jungle. This is odd.” Every ape soldier was caught off guard. They all take a step back from the campfire trying not to make too much noise and attracting the attention of the Acaer.
Commander Zard tries to gesture commands to one of his soldiers, but most are frozen in place. He decides to take matters into his own hands and make a run for the camp area where his sword and other weapons are.
You freeze as you stare at the giant serpent slithering toward you. Everything was happening so quickly. The massive snake approaches. To you, everything felt like it was happening in slow motion. Its scales shimmer in the moonlight, reflecting the same strange light that you saw in Karaee’s eyes earlier.
The rest of the expedition group is now in a panic, scrambling to grab their weapons and defend themselves. You know this is not going to end well, but you feel a strange sense of calm washing over you as you stare into the serpent’s eyes. Its gaze almost puts you into a trance.
Without warning, the serpent shoots out its long, forked tongue and wraps itself around your waist. You turn around to try and escape but it is too late. Its stare and the fear of the beast had you frozen in place.
You gasp as it lifts you off the ground, gripping your body tight. You tried to squirm out of its tight grip but your efforts failed. The more you tried to escape its grip, the stronger and tighter it became on your body. It pulled you toward its gaping mouth. Karaee screams in horror watching you being lifted by the serpent. She places her hand on her waist and realizes that she doesn’t have her sword with her. The rest of the group watches in horror, afraid to even approach the giant beast. Some ape soldiers made it to their weapons but they remained frozen in place with fear, not knowing what to do as they watched you being devoured by the creature.
But as the serpent’s jaws close around you, something strange happens. You feel a surge of power within you, and suddenly your body begins to glow with an otherworldly red light. The serpent recoils in pain, screeching at the top of its lungs. It immediately drops you to the ground as it retreats several feet back.
The serpent's gaze now shifts to Karaee who was frozen in place. Its eyes glowed a bright yellow color that seemed to light up the dark jungle. The serpent slithered closer to Karaee, who took a quick step back. “Help!!” She screams, unable to react fast enough to get away.
You knew you had to act fast to protect everyone. Without thinking, you reach into your pocket and grab the red Guardian Stone, but you stop yourself from pulling it out. You couldn’t risk revealing it to anyone. Your heart was pounding in your chest as you saw the massive beast get closer to Karaee.
Tyenx suddenly dashed out of the darkness of the jungle and swung his massive blade at its torso. Tyenx slashes at the creature and cuts it just slightly. Some blood gushes out of the creature's wound. It hisses and becomes agitated. “I’m here for you Karaee! No need to worry!”
Tyenx holds a small silver stone in his hand and waves it in front of the creature, trying to be discreet and not let anyone else see what he was doing. Karaee falls back completely confused. “Ty…Tyenx!” Her hands were now trembling in fear. The serpent hisses and suddenly lunges at Tyenx while he is looking back at Karaee with a confident smile.
“Oh no! Watch out!” Karaee screams out, still not knowing why exactly Tyenx was even present at the campsite.
Tyenx holds the small stone up, outstretching his hand, but trying to make it look like he is doing something else. It keeps the giant serpent confused and stops its assault almost immediately after it tries to make a move on him. Tyenx smiles as he realizes his plan is going the way he wants. He was completely confident that he was going to look like a hero in front of Karaee.
“Ha ha! Get back you stupid beast! Don’t you dare touch Karaee!”
You feel a sense of relief wash over you as you see Tyenx wave his hand to distract the creature. It almost seemed to you as if he was controlling the giant serpent. However, you also notice the look of confusion and fear on Karaee's face. She had no idea what was going on between Tyenx and the serpent, and she couldn't help but feel a sense of apprehension. You couldn't help but feel that the situation was becoming more and more uncomfortable and that you were running out of time before something more serious happened. “Tyenx, wha… what are you doing here?”
The giant beast hisses and squints his eyes. It growls at Tyenx and snaps his massive jaw in the air trying to figure out how to get away from the small stone.
“Karaee, no need to worry. I’ve got the whole situation under control. This beast a day or two ago attacked our village before you left. Many in the village were hurt but I managed to come up with a plan and chase the Acaer away. It was all thanks to my quick thinking of course. The king did not know what to do. It was a good thing I was there.” Tyenx swings his large sword left and right trying to drive the Acaer back from getting too close to him and trying to show off as much as he could in front of Karaee. “I see now that it followed the expedition group here to try and kill everyone. I’ve been tracking the monster down to kill it and get revenge for our people. Aaahhhhh, get back I say, you vile creature!”
Tyenx turns to look at Karaee again and gives an arrogant nod. Karaee was now on the ground completely frozen in fear. Although she was confused with the whole situation, she was not at all impressed with his theatrics. Without any warning, the massive serpent uses its giant tail to slam Tyenx out of the way catching him off guard. He is pushed back with so much intensity that he rolls back over the side of a cliff. He loses his grip on both the small silver stone and his sword. The sword lies close to the edge of the cliff, but the stone rolls off the edge. “Noooo, my Persitema stone!” While hanging off the side of the cliff Tyenx gets a glimpse of the stone in the air. He reached out for the small stone while holding on for dear life to the side of the cliff, but it was in vain. The Persitema stone falls off the side of the cliff, into the dark depths below. His eyes try to focus on where the stone fell but instead looking down just induces in him a fear of death. Tyenx immediately attempts to pull himself up from the side of the cliff.
Commander Zard is completely shocked. During the chaos, he tries to make sense of what Tyenx just said. “Why in the world would Tyenx have chased after the Acaer alone?” He wanted to run over to the side of the cliff and help but the serpent was now looking for anyone to snap his jaws at. Without the power of the
“Commander the Acaer!” One of the ape soldiers calls out to the commander as the Acaer continues its rampage across the camp.
Since Karaee was the closest, the Acaer focuses his sights on her first. It slithers closer to her, making its way again toward her. Its tongue protrudes out of its mouth as it prepares to swallow her whole. You look over at her trying desperately to wave at her to get away. Since you could tell she was extremely frightened, you had no choice but to try and distract the beast with loud noises, to give Karaee time to escape.
You had no choice but to yell out and in the process get Karaee to snap out of it. “HEYYY WOOO, OVER HERE YOU STUPID SNAKE!” You wave and jump around frantically trying to get the Acaer’s attention. “Karaee get out of there!” You yell with everything you had but all Karaee could do was inch back little by little. She was trembling in fear and she didn’t know what else to do. Her body was frozen. Her heart was pounding in her chest.
Out of nowhere, Inkagi runs up to the serpent with a branch consumed in flames. “Aaaahhhhhh!” He screams at the top of his lungs as he dashes to the Acaer but once again the giant serpent resorts to using its massive tail to push him back. It whipped its tail forward at Inkagi, slamming Inkagi into a stone wall knocking him out cold and extinguishing flames on the short branch.
You take a step towards Karaee when the Acaer gets even closer to her. It lunges its massive head forward with its jaw wide open. You could see its enormous sharp fangs. Its eyes glowed with ferocity as the Acaer slithered its way toward her. The remaining ape soldiers make a run for their weapons deeper into the campsite. They knew that protecting the princess was a high priority. Commander Zard does the same, making a run for it to reach his sword.
You knew Commander Zard and the other ape soldiers wouldn’t make it on time, and those that did have their weapons would not be able to hold the beast back for long. It would only take seconds before Karaee was in the Acaer’s mouth. You had no choice but to grab your red Guardian Stone and ask for Pyro’s help.
You pull out the stone from your pocket. You hold the red Guardian Stone high in the air and close your eyes. You can feel the warm glow of red light consuming your whole body. You can feel Pyro’s heart beating rapidly from the stone. You feel your body warm up and you become one with Pyro’s energy. You open your eyes, and you notice Pyro emerge from the dark corners of the jungle and dash toward the Acaer’s head.
Your body feels stronger and faster than it has ever been before. You open your mouth and let out a cry, unlike any cry you’ve ever let out. Emotions overwhelm you as thoughts of Karaee being eaten whole by the Acaer surge in your mind. You couldn’t let that happen. You didn’t want to let that happen. You had to do everything in your power to stop the monster from killing her. “Karaee is not going to die! Save her Pyro!” You can feel it, the power of the red Guardian Stone consumes your inner being. It was all or nothing.
Your scream penetrated the Acaer’s body. It was also to get Karaee to snap out of her fear-induced trance. She immediately looked toward you. She could see the red light of a stone glowing intensely over your head. “Whaa…? How are you doing this?” She looked at the Acaer getting closer to her. She quickly got up and backed away slowly as she saw a red reptilian beast come running into the campsite in front of her.
The scream you let out was almost like an out-of-body experience as if Pyro roared out but using your mouth instead of his. The scream felt animalistic with aggression and intense strength mixed in it. Your voice echoed through the jungle. It was not like a scream you’ve ever heard before coming out of you. All the ape soldiers heard your cry, including Commander Zard who, at that moment, drew his large sword. He turns to the Acaer completely confused at what exactly was happening.
You tighten your grip on the red Guardian Stone. Your other hand forms a tight fist. Your body becomes hot with anger. You felt a new level of power you never felt before, a connection with Pyro that was not there before. Your senses heightened to a whole new level. Your heart beats at an incredible speed.
The Acaer hesitates before continuing once again its assault after your cry. This was your chance to get to Karaee while the beast was confused. You act fast and with everything you have, you run toward Karaee and lift her whole body in one swift movement. You carry her away to safety by running at top speed getting her to a safe location far from the dangerous serpent.
Karaee looks into your eyes. She notices that they are now a dark red color. At first, she was frightened but she realized that all you wanted to do was help. Karaee can see the red Guardian Stone in your hand, her eyes are filled with the blinding intense red light of the stone. You put her down quickly as you turn to see what Pyro was going to do to the Acaer.
Pyro could feel your inner thoughts. You wanted him to desperately save Karaee from the Acaer. As Pyro makes its way quickly toward the Acaer, it lets out a low growl. Pyro jumps high in the air toward the Acaer, baring his sharp teeth and claws. He pounced on the Acaer’s head, pinning its head onto the ground. The Acaer let out a roar and tried to squirm free. It hisses, wiggling its tongue outside its massive mouth. It lifts its head picking up Pyro with it. Pyro then sinks its sharp fangs into the Acaer’s head. Blood comes rolling down the side of the Acaer’s head as the hideous beast squints its eyes in pain and tries to shake Pyro off.
Pyro’s body glows a bright red as it penetrates with its sharp fangs into the thick skin of the Acaer. Pyro refuses to back down, sinking its teeth even deeper into the snake’s skull. The Acaer slammed its head onto the ground in desperation, forcing Pyro to let go. The Acaer lifts its head and locks eyes with Pyro. Its glare is intimidating and raises its massive body to assert its dominance.
Pyro stands on the front tips of his legs, claws pinned to the dirt, and roars with ferocity, refusing to let the Acaer intimidate him. Pyro’s body shakes with rage. He begins to growl. Its eyes glowed red with aggressive intensity. You began to worry wondering if Pyro would survive the ordeal.
The other apes looked on in horror, not knowing what to do. Commander Zard held his sword in a tight grip, but he was not sure yet what to do. He looked at the flames at the center of the campsite and thought about what Inkagi tried to do earlier before he was knocked out cold.
You look at Pyro in absolute shock. You had no idea he was capable of such raw power. The Acaer's mouth was open wide now, its jaw unhinging like a snake's as it snarled at Pyro. Pyro's eyes were glowing a brilliant red as he watched the Acaer's movements carefully, tracking the beast with precision. You have never witnessed Pyro so focused before in your life, it was like he had slowed down time to see every movement of the Acaer. Pyro lunged at the Acaer again, this time with increased aggression. You knew this was his chance, and he was going to do everything in his power to take down this beast and protect Karaee. The other apes looked on in amazement, wondering what the strange red reptilian beast was doing. Others stared at you holding the mysterious red stone and wondered if you had anything to do with it.
Karaee stood there next to you frozen. You grab her by the hand to get her to calm down. The warmth she felt while holding your hand brought comfort to her. Slowly her fear and shock were no more but still, she found it hard to know what to do or say. The glow of the red light overwhelmed her, but she soon realized that it was something good. She could only see a red reptilian beast attacking the giant serpent. She wondered if you were the one in control of the red reptilian beast. Thoughts of her ancestor Mighty Mizian came to her mind. She told you that he was the first and only ape capable of taming a reptilian beast. She wondered if the red stone was behind all this.
Tyenx struggles to get a footing on the edge of the cliff. Every time he was sure he could lift his body out, he’d slip back down. His legs were kicking wildly in the air trying to reach the side of the cliff and push himself up. “Hey, a little help here?” He tries calling someone over. But everyone was too busy with the Acaer to hear his cries for help. He began to panic, trying to sink his hands deep into the soft dirt on the edge of the cliff. His heart now pounded in his chest as his grip became weaker with each passing second. He closes his eyes and bares his teeth. He started to feel pain in his muscles and fingertips trying desperately to pull his entire body up. He began to cry out again in desperation, small rocks falling from his attempts to pull himself up. He couldn’t imagine being in such a sad position. He was slipping and he knew it. It was only a matter of time before his arms gave out. All he knew was he didn’t want to die.
The ape soldiers ran and yelled at the top of their lungs up to the giant serpent with sticks engulfed in flames from the campfire. They used the flames to drive the giant beast back.
The giant serpent was enraged. The ape soldiers acted quickly, waving the flames wildly in the air in front of the beast. The Acaer became intimidated by the bright yellow and orange flames. Commander Zard gave the command just in the nick of time.“Use the flames to push the beast back!” The ape soldiers slashed with their weapons to defend themself from its massive tail but used the flames to drive the giant snake back.
The serpent saw one of the ape soldiers on its right and quickly lunged forward with its massive jaws wide open. It bit down with incredible force on the ape soldier’s body. The soldier let out a blood-curdling cry and dropped his weapon, and the torch in his hand from the sheer pain. He screams out in agonizing pain. His mouth can be seen full of blood while the Acaer sinks its fangs deeper into his body pumping him with lethal toxins. “PLEASE Heeelppp….!!!” The ape soldier’s frantic cries suddenly trail off, becoming just a faint whisper. The Acaer, in one swift motion, tosses his limp body in the air, unhinges its jaw, and swallows him whole.
Karaee screams out trying to cover her eyes with her hand. She couldn’t believe the horrific scene. Her eyes are consumed with tears as the remaining ape soldiers fight off the beast.
The serpent slithered back trying to retreat with a lump in its throat from the ape soldier it swallowed whole. The soldiers readied their bows and shot their arrows, but they couldn’t kill the beast. Some ape soldiers’ hands trembled as they fired their arrows, some unable to get a direct hit. The giant serpent was intimidated by the flames of the ape soldiers. Commander Zard could see that the strategy was working.
The ape soldiers screamed at the top of their lungs as they waved the torches engulfed in flames in the air startling the Acaer. As the creature became confused, the ape soldiers became more confident in the strategy. The apes were still scared to death but faithfully listened to the words of their commander. “Set the trees next to the Acaer on fire!” The ape soldiers acted quickly and began setting bits of the jungle on fire. The Acaer did not know what to do. In all the confusion, Pyro runs up and slashes the beast’s abdomen with its razor-sharp claws, causing the Acaer intense pain. The Acaer screeched in pain, its tongue wiggled out of its mouth.
The apes started once again shooting arrows, this time engulfed in flames from the campfire. The Acaer was so overwhelmed it began backing away and retreating. The beast turned around completely and left the same way it came. Although the giant serpent was enraged it had no choice but to run away. You could hear a final hiss as it makes its way into the darkness of the jungle.
Commander Zard sighs in relief, hoping that the Acaer doesn’t return. As you caught your breath, you looked over at Karaee who was still in shock. You put your hand over her shoulder to comfort her.
“Help!!!” You suddenly hear a familiar voice.
Karaee looked up at you realizing who it was. “It’s Tyenx! That’s his voice. I think he’s over there.” Karaee pointed toward the direction she heard the voice. You and Karaee run to the edge of the cliff to find Tyenx hanging on for his life. You reached out to grab his hand but all he could see was the red light of your red Guardian Stone.
He growls at you in anger not wanting to grab your hand. You reach out even closer. “Grab my hand, I’ll pull you up!” You yell out to him trying to desperately get him to reach out to you. He notices the stone in your hand. His eyes light up and they get wider as they become fixated on your stone. “A… Guardian…..?” Small pebbles kept slipping out beneath you falling off the edge. You could see Tyenx struggling to keep his grip steady on the side of the cliff. You heard Tyenx whisper something to himself, but you couldn’t quite make out what. “Disgusting ohee-lum. Get away from my Karaee.”
“Tyenx, just grab his hand!” Karaee yelped out. Tyenx looked at Karaee for a second and became enraged.
Before Tyenx could say anything else he quickly uses the last ounce of strength in his arms and makes a move for your stone by yanking it out of your hand. The dirt he was holding on to gives way. He falls back, falling down the cliff with your stone in hand, and disappears into the darkness, screaming at the top of his lungs.
“Karaeeee noooooooo!!!”
“Hey, my stone!” You couldn’t believe he grabbed the red Guardian Stone from right out of your hand. Your arm is stretched out, but it was too late. He was gone along with your stone.
Karaee screams again and couldn’t believe her eyes. She turns her head to look away from the cliff. She closes her eyes shut from the shock. “Why did he…. ?” Karaee's heart was racing, realizing that Tyenx was gone, dead at the bottom of the cliff. However, it was uncertain where he was, the night was pitch black. All you could see was darkness, the red light from your stone was gone. Karaee covered her mouth while tears began to fall from her eyes. “He didn’t reach for your hand…… what….. why?” Karaee trembled with fear. Her face was now covered in tears. So much had happened in such a short amount of time. It was difficult for her to process it all. You grabbed her and moved her away from the side of the cliff and embraced her tightly to get her to calm down.
“I’m so sorry Karaee. I tried….” You said to her. But you were also worried about the fact that you had just lost your red Guardian Stone to Tyenx. You looked around the camp area to find Pyro, but it was no use, he was gone. You wanted to recover the stone as soon as possible, but now wasn’t the time to think about that. Karaee was trembling wildly. She was traumatized crying in your arms.
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