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Chapter 10 - Lightbane Ridge

"Damn, here we go again." Aqua said as he and Kitsune summoned their blades. The demons, creatures of shadow, and lost souls bore down on them quickly, only to be cut down. As always, however, they felt like they were fighting a losing battle. The air around them trembled with power and whispered the death songs of the enemies as their swords passed. Finally, the demons, shadow creatures, and lost souls retreated to recover their strength. Even for those who were immortal, they too needed time to gather their strength for another assault. “Press on my friends; we can probably get another couple of miles in before they try again.” “Are you crazy Aqua?!! Everyone has been going on empty for the past five days! Your going to get us killed doing this much longer!” Kitsune shouted at him “Look, if we stop before we get to that sanctuary spot we’ll be killed as we sleep, which has nearly happened many times now.” Aqua said calmly “But the sleep has kept us able to fight, despite the risks. We need a couple hours sleep. Not even Serena, with all of her powers and mine combined, can keep ending everyone’s fatigue; not without killing ourselves at any rate.” “Very well then, we shall sleep.” Aqua relented. “However I will see what I can do about making it so that we can sleep soundly without fear of death.” With that, he constructed a mind barrier around the group. “Be warned that this can still be easily cracked and won’t hold off something battering on it for long.” he cautioned. “So long as we all get a bit of sleep, I could care less.” Kitsune answered gratefully. The group curled up and dozed off on the icy surface, surrounded by the shadowy stares of the denizens of the Lightbane Ridge.

Silver woke suddenly. Not because something was battering on the shield, but because they had been asleep for a good twelve hours. Feeling something smoother and more slippery under his paws than the ice he looked down. “Oh crap, a soul diamond. I gotta get everyone awake, quickly too before they get trapped here.” Furiously, he started to try to awaken them by any means necessary. Serena was the first to wake, and she was not in a happy mood. “What the hell, Silver? I was having a great sleep. Why’d you wake me up?” “That’s the thing, we shouldn’t have slept this long. Even now we’re in danger. We’ve been sleeping on a soul diamond.” Serena looked alarmed. “I need you to help me wake the others before they become prisoners of a waking dream.” Silver pleaded. “How do we know we’re not in one already?” Serena asked. “It takes thirteen hours to become trapped when sleeping on a soul diamond, and we have already slept twelve.” Silver told her. Serena’s eyes went wide and she started for Kitsune. Kitsune didn’t wake up especially pleased. Serena, booking no nonsense spoke her mind for once. “I don’t especially care right now what you want to do. I need you to start waking Bugsy while I work on Aqua. We have less than an hour to get everyone awake and the longer it takes the worse danger we’re in.”

Aqua was back in the waking dream and back to being beset by demons and shadow fiends of all sorts. It was the only reason the barrier hadn’t cracked for a full twelve hours. The snow and ice around him was spattered with blood. Whose, he could not tell, and there were yet more coming. He looked over his shoulder and saw the group, moving, and saw his body being shaken for some peculiar reason. “What the hell is going on?” he wondered dashing into the safety of his mind barrier. Suddenly he realized, this wasn’t a dream at all. He didn’t even inhabit his body anymore for the time being. “Oh come on wake up, wake up, wake up!” Serena yelled “If you don’t wake up your going to be stuck in about two minutes!” “Whoa I’m okay girl, chill. I’m not going to die in two minutes.” Aqua replied coolly. Serena looked around wildly for his voice “um, stupid question, but where is your voice coming from?” she asked “I seem to be 2 feet over your head” he replied. “Well then, I suggest you get back into your body and awake unless you want to look that way forever! You’re sleeping on a soul diamond!” Aqua paled visibly “How much time do I have left?” “About 30 seconds, maybe a minute, tops.” He dove for his body. “Don’t let me be too late.” he prayed.

Aqua woke with excruciating pain. “Damn, that was so not fun. Remind me not to do that ever again.” He looked over the ice and shuddered. “We still have a long way to go, and many a demon to fight before we get to the heart” “Aqua, you’re missing something fundamental here. Glaciers move, along with anything they picked up, what if we’re over our captive right now?” Silver asked. “Only one way to find out.” Aqua said, delving his mind beneath the ice. He came upon a heat source in the shape of a human body and withdrew. “Looks like were already here guys.” “First things first, Aqua, we gotta find a way down.” Serena said. Aqua grinned a grin nobody liked the look of and caused everybody to start backing away edgily. “Not a problem, I’ll make a path in.” he placed his hand on the soul diamond. Suddenly his hand glowed, the diamond cracked, and finally shattered into shards that fell inwards into the gaping hole of the chasm. Without waiting for anyone else, he jumped in, hit the side of the slopeing shaft, and started sliding. “Where the hell do you think you’re going Aqua?” yelped Silver, jumping in after him. “Well, we can’t stay here waiting for them to get back, come on!” Kitsune said as she stood on the edge of the chasm. “Together then?” Serena asked “Together. C’mon Bugsy.” As one, they stepped into the chasm.