Who's Side Are You On?

By Flying Torchics

Part 8

He woke up reluctantly. Ash rolled over and over, trying to drift off to sleep again. But it was useless.

He was already wide awake.

As he jumped out of bed Gerald entered.

"Well, you're finally awake. I came in here a few times but you were still asleep." Gerald said

"He he he... sorry about that. I'm a deep sleeper." Ash replied.

"Ash, today's you have training today, magic training. Did you forget?"

"Oh yeah!" Ash exclaimed, "Wait here, I'll get changed. Um, Gerald... where do I change and where are my clothes?"

"They're right over there," Gerald said, pointing to the left of Ash's bed. "I'll go outside, when you're done just tell me."

Ash simply nodded in response and Gerald left the room. Ash went over to where Gerald pointed. There

was a small side table made out of wood. And on top of it sat a pile of clothes. When he was changed, Ash

stepped out of his room and out into the street. Ash was dressed in plain brown sweater, his pants were baggy and it matched his sweater.

"Are you ready now, Ash?" Gerald asked

"Yeah, I am."

Gerald took Ash to a small hill near Tohoki Village. When they got to the top they had a beautiful view of the village.

The air was fresh; there was no scent of anything dirty, like smoke. Gerald was the first to talk, "Ash, did

you bring the stone? The magical stone."

"Uh-huh." Ash then pulled out the stone. He handed it to Gerald, but Gerald pushed it back into Ash's hand.

"Ash, I don't need the stone, you do.”

So then the training commenced. Gerald stepped onto a large boulder, which Ash didn’t notice until now.

“Ash, first of all, you need to go back in time and steal the big pack I have.”

“When, and where?” Ash asked.

“When it was… when I was waiting for you to change. And where, I guess you know now.”

“How do I go there?” Ash asked

“It’s simple really, just think of the date, or imagine a scene of the time you want to go to.”

Ash did what he was told. He concentrated really hard, thinking of Gerald standing in front of the door. Suddenly, the stone glowed blue and he went in the air spinning. After that, he was gone.

Gerald then sat down on the rock, muttering a few words. He was trying to contact the Stone of Excratia. Gerald shook for a few moments. Then, in his mind, there was a blue explosion. Slowly, the Stone of Excratia appeared. It was blue all over, as blue as the sky. Light reflected off the stone’s smooth surface, the lights made the stone seem as if it was glowing. It was the size of a fist, though it was small, it was beautiful. The stone was the first to speak. ‘Yes? Why have you called me, Gerald?’ The stone asked.

‘I need to ask you, is Ash really the one who can beat Uldun?’

‘Remember Gerald, nothing is 100% sure until it happens. Even if he has a good chance, something might go wrong and we might be thrown into a world of darkness.’ The stone answered calmly

‘So, you’re saying that he is the one you picked. And that you believe he can beat Uldun?’

‘I think he will be the one, or maybe someone else will slay Uldun. The only thing that will matter when Uldun is defeated is our freedom.’

‘When Uldun is defeated will another evil force rise?’

‘Unfortunately Gerald, yes, when Uldun is defeated those who have a lust for blood will become the source of evil. See, those with a lust for blood must see, taste, or smell blood. They crave it.’

‘But can’t that need for blood be a good weapon against our enemies.’

‘Yes, against our enemies. But if we were their enemies…’

‘We will all be killed.’

‘Yes. Gerald, Ash is coming back from the past, it’s best that I leave right now.’

‘Thank you for answering my call, oh beautiful stone.’

The Stone of Excratia disappeared from Gerald’s head and was replaced with total darkness. Gerald opened his eyes, and like the Stone of Excratia said, Ash appeared. Ash came over to where Gerald was sitting and dropped the bag in front of him.

“Whew,” Ash said wiping sweat from his forehead, “this bag’s heavy”

“Very good, Ash. Now I guess that is enough for today.”

“Why?”

“Because Ash, you’re exhausted, see, when you use magic it uses your energy. So, you get exhausted. And that took a load of your energy. Come on, let’s get you back to bed.”

Once in bed, after a nice bath, Ash was thinking of the day’s events. It was now that he realized how right Gerald was. He was so tired. He just wanted to sleep. And that’s what he did in a matter of minutes.

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