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【Vision of an Alternate Future】

Arc 2: Return of the Crystal Guardians

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【VAF】Chapter║: 60 ─ Elder Might

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Meanwhile back on Crystalorb the senior Guardians are visibly frustrated by the delay in deploying a reinforcing force.

Cmdr-Arog : “ Why hasn’t the Council of Elders authorized the deployment of the reinforcing force? The longer we wait the more of our people die!”

Eld-Utel: “ The Knoras made it clear that no reinforcing force should be deployed until five Knoras are dead!”

Cmdr-Arog : “ We are going to wait until they are killed? This is madness!”

Eld-Deov : “ Careful Guardian!”

Cmdr-Arog: “ Apologies Honoured Councils! How are the deaths of Knoras acceptable to you?”

Eld-Aten : “ The deaths of Knoras are not acceptable to us, but we have a choice; we have to trust the judgement of the Knoras!”

Nulen : “ Knoras are too important. The skill set is very rare; nearly irreplaceable! They are not Elders who can be replaced in a heartbeat, I mean; it’s much easier to replace an Elder.”

Eld-Utel: “ We are not unaware of their importance; which is why faith is necessary here!”

Crimson: “ Why do the Knoras think that their deaths are necessary? This can’t be about Crystalan evolution?”

Nulen : “ That is the critical question isn’t it?”

Eld-Deov : “ Ever since we authorized Aurora’s intervention on the planet the Elders and Knoras used Elder Sight to seek out our enemies.”

Eld-Utel : “ What we Discerned is both Unsettling and Disturbing!”

Eld-Aten : “ We felt a tremendous collection of powers in the area! They are watching every move we make and they’re preparing to react!”

Eld-Deov : “ So far everything Crystalorb has done has taken them by surprise.”

Eld-Utel : “ And now they wait for us to make a forced Error.”

Eld-Aten : “ We are not going to walk into a trap!”

Eld-Deov : “ They need a victory; something they can show their people to restore their morale after three massive defeats at the hands of Crystalans.”

Eld-Aten : “ The loss of our Knoras is anticipated but not inevitable.”

Eld-Utel : “ The Knoras are the most powerful of Crystalans, and if they cannot defeat the most powerful Migon warrior then we are all in trouble.”

Eld-Deov : “ If we are to convince the Migon that their survival is at stake we must prove ourselves equal to their strongest and mightiest.”

Cmdr-Arog : “ We destroyed 3 of their worlds! That is proof enough!”

Eld-Utel : “ To you perhaps, but not to the Migon.”

Crimson : “ And what happens if Five Knoras die?”

Eld-Deov : “ Then all bets are off!”

Nulen : “ We walk right into what you believe to be a trap?”

Eld-Deov : “ Yes! We confront 3 to 4 more Diacs and up to a hundred thousand Migon warriors.”

Nulen : “ Wow!”

Cmdr-Arog : “ A hundred thousand Migon warriors?”

Eld-Utel : “ The Migon warriors aren’t the problem; the Diacs are the real threat.”

Cmdr-Arog : “ Yeah!”

Eld-Deov : “ Numbers are meaningless to Diacs!”

Eld-Aten : “ Consensus is building that; Defeating a Diac will require a Power Level Higher than that of an Ascended Crystalan.”

Nulen : “ And you believe that the deaths of our Knoras will achieve this knew power level?”

Cmdr-Arog : “ And what happens to us if it doesn’t work?”

Eld-Aten : “ This is not a plan imposed by the Council of Elders; it was developed by the Knoras themselves. All we are asking for here is that you have a little faith in the Knoras. Trust the judgement of the Knoras!”

Crimson: “ For all their knowledge and wisdom the Knoras are not infallible; they can make mistakes!”

Eld-Utel : “ We had the same concerns as all of you.”

Eld-Aten : “ I asked the same Questions you are all asking.”

Nulen : “ What did they say?”

Eld-Deov : “ The Knoras answered with a Question! A set of unusually complicated questions of their own.”

Nulen : “ Questions?”

Eld-Aten : “ What happens when the Migon deploy a Diac onto O’con? What happens when the Migon deploy a Diac onto an Allied Homeworld? What happens when there’s a Migon Diac on Crasla, Entig, Andronus or even Crystalorb?”

Nulen : “ So the Knoras are trying to find a solution to a potential problem?”

Eld-Aten : “ Once we sent Aurora to contain the Migons on Atlas Colony we inadvertently triggered a failsafe.”

Eld-Deov : “ When you send Aurora you send Naole!”

Crimson : “ Naole being a Knora is part of a Sanctioned Power; Elder Might!”

Eld-Utel: “ And therein lies the Trouble! Once Naole was in a Fight it brought the other Knoras into the fight; a fight that was always going to happen; the Knora were always going to have to confront the Diacs.”

Nulen : “ Once they entered the Fight they set out the parameters for further Crystalorb involvement?”

Eld-Aten : “ We don’t know much about the Diac but the little that we know indicated that they are a power like no other!”

Eld-Utel: “ Sending more people into the fight will only make the Diac stronger! Naole withstood the power of a Fusion Beam, and yet the Diac killed him! We can’t make any sudden moves until the Knoras make an assessment of the powers of a Diac.”

Cmdr-Arog: “ You are afraid that if we lose this battle the Diacs will become the primary Migon weapon?”

Eld-Utel: “ We should all be afraid! If they come out victorious in the scenario they’ll make more Diacs, and the Galaxy will fall.”

Crimson: “ This is unsettling! A moment ago we were on the brink of victory but now they’ve somehow turned the tables!”

Eld-Deov : “ The Migon are an Ancient Power! And even though it seems like we had the upper hand in the last three battles Crystalorb is still a long way off from being their equal; we are not even a near peer.”

Nulen : “ The balance is still heavily in their favour?”

Eld-Utel : “ Undoubtedly!”

Eld-Aten : “ Watching our Knoras battle the Diac tells us there’s still a long way to go before we are a true Galactic Power. Elder Might has never been tested in battle; we’ve never had to! But we’ve always known that this day would come; always known that the powerful Bonded Energy Charm that is Elder Might would be tested in Battle!”

Eld-Utel: “ And since Crystalorb law strictly prohibits Elders from participating in any kind of fighting the Knoras were always going to have to test the efficacy of Elder Might!”

The conversation comes to a sudden halt as their full focus shifts to the battle on Atlas Colony.

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General Zadoc had just completed an attack that resulted in the abrupt death of Knora Neru, and in the chaos of the immediate aftermath of Neru’s death Knora Camin is also killed by Migon Solders. The shock of the successive deaths of 2 Knoras reverberated across Crystalorb to the horror of all Crystalans.

The Crystalorb forces regroup in the wake of the Knora Deaths; thus allowing Knora Dirang and Knora Rilen the space and time necessary to gather sufficient Positive Psionic Energy to restore life to Knora Neru and Knora Camin. However General Zadoc attacked and Killed Knora Rilen; thus preventing the revival of Knora Neru and Knora Camin.

Gen-Zadoc : “ Just as I thought; you are nothing! You are beneath me, all of you!”

Hilan : “ Is that right?!”

Gen-Zadoc : “ Pitiful!”

Hilan : “ At the cost of my life I sacrifice my Life Force to activate the Elder Might Bonded Energy Charm The Sacred Ritual of Life!”

There is a massive energy release as a Fragment of the Spirit Stone Brings the bodies of all the dead Knoras and living Knoras to a single spot, and then a White Aura appears around the bodies of both the dead Knoras and living Knoras. A powerful Energy Shield surrounds the Knoras.

Peo : “ Now the stage is set for your defeat Diac!”

Gen-Zadoc : “ Is it Now? I’ve heard that before!”

Peo : “ Elder Might can be considered as the 5 Seals of Sacred Power! The First Seal is Power Balance, and the Second Seal is The Sacred Ritual of Life! The Second Seal cannot be activated unless the First Seal is activated, and the Third and Fourth Seal can only be activated once the Second Seal is activated.”

Gen-Zadoc : “ And the Fifth?”

Peo : “ The Fifth Seal is Forbidden!”

Gen-Zadoc : “ So your hokum fails you ah?”

Peo : “ The Forbidden Fifth Seal does not require any other Seal to be Active, but its power is Forbidden!”

Gen-Zadoc : “ huh!”

Peo : “ Prepare yourself Diac! With the Sacred Ritual of Life activated the life Force of all Dead Knoras is restored automatically upon death.”

Savan : “ The Sacred Ritual of Life brakes through the Limits of Power!”

Peo : “ Return my Comrades! Return!”

Knora Hilan, Knora Rilen, Knora Neru and Knora Camin revive back to life even stronger than they were before, but that’s not all a Dark Sphere forms around Naole’s body.

Gen-Zadoc : “ Him too?”

Peo : “ I think the Sacred Ritual of Life can bring him back to life!”

Hilan : “ Legend says; He died before he was born! Therefore because of this his has only ever truly been Half Alive; his Soul can Will His Body back to Life!”

Savan : “ The Vision he Showed us!”

Hilan : “ Yes! As a Sacred Knora of Crystalorb it’s not his Wife who is his primary bond; it’s those of us who are bonded to each other by a Sacred Oath! He will live because we want him to; because we need him to!”

Then the Dark Sphere around Naole’s body sucks in the dead bodies of 7 Migons and Vanishes into an Inter-Dimensional Vortex to CIDR.

Gen-Zadoc : “ After all that talk of power he runs away! Are the rest of you going to flee too?”

Peo : “ Run?”

Hilan : “ You still don’t get it?”

Gen-Zadoc : “ What’s there to understand? You’re all harder to kill! However that does nothing to Change the power difference between us; nothing you do can change this!”

Peo : “ Elder Might was developed to destroy an enemy that can defeat the armies of Crystalorb!”

Hilan : “ The power difference is precisely why you are about to die!”

Gen-Zadoc : “ Really? Ha-Ha! Ha-Ha! Ha-Ha!”

As the Diac continues to laugh an Inter-Dimensional Vortex from CIDR appears and the Dark Sphere containing Naole’s body returns.

Peo : “ Can you feel it?”

Hilan : “ Finally he’s ready!”

Gen-Zadoc : “ So the Shame of his Cowardice brought him back!”

Peo : “ Now it Begins!”

Hilan : “ Since Five have Died the remaining Four went through Spontaneous Evolution! However since we’ve returned back to life the Elder Might Bonded Energy Charm Power Balance doesn’t allow excessive Power Disparity Amongst Knoras therefore we have to go through Spontaneous Evolution!”

They glow as their Bodies evolve. The Dark Sphere containing Naole disappears to reveal Naole fully restored and more powerful than ever. However Naole’s Physical appearance has changed beyond expectations.

Hilan : “ Wow!”

Gen-Zadoc : “ So this is your Spontaneous Evolution? You’ve taken Andronian Form!”

Naole : “ The 4 meter long tail coming out of my back looks Andronian but it’s actually a fusion of Andronian and Migon; exemplified by the Red Energy Crystal instead of a Migon tail Spike. I suppose the 1.2 meter long Clear Energy Crystal tipped tentacles from above my ears are actually Migon Head Horns with an Andronian twist.”

Gen-Zadoc : “ So that’s why you took their bodies?”

Naole : “ I thought you understood? We will feed on your kind just as you feed on others!”

Gen-Zadoc : “ Easier said than done Halfling!”

Naole’s response is interrupted by Hilan.

Hilan : “ What the hell did you do to yourself?”

Naole : “ The Crystal Heart gave me a few new options!”

Hilan : “ And this is what you chose for all of us?”

Naole : “ I made a few improvements!”

Hilan : “ A few?”

Naole : “ We needed more powerful bodies!”

Hilan : “ Why Migon?”

Naole : “ The blood of Ancient Dragons already flowed through Crystalan bodies and that made them compatible.”

Hilan : “ Is that an Exoskeleton underneath your skin? Did you turn the bottom layer of your skin into an Exoskeleton!”

Naole : “ It was either that or scaly dragon skin, but that seemed a bit unseemly for a humanoid!”

Hilan : “ Where’s your Armour? Did you absorb it along with the 7 Migon and their Armours?”

Naole : “ I need more Density to Support Higher Strength levels!”

Hilan : “ You’re insane! Did you think about How this would affect the rest of us?”

Naole : “ Oh!”

Hilan : “ Yeah!”

Just then Clear Spheres enveloped the other 8 Knoras and the Spheres Vanish into an Inter-Dimensional Vortex to CIDR.

Gen-Zadoc : “ I take it the others are going through a similar Transformation?”

Naole : “ Yeah! I must say; I appreciate your patience! Most enemies would not allow their adversaries the time to gain more power! For a monster you are very Noble!”

Gen-Zadoc : “ It can’t be helped! Beside you’ve wrapped yourselves and the abominations in a ridiculously powerful Energy Shield!”

Naole : “ Even so; Thank You!”

Drako : “ So you’re the one responsible for the Chaos in the Galaxy?”

Naole kneels on one Knee as Drako Approaches Him.

Naole : “ Lord Drako!”

Drako : “ One such as yourself need never kneel to me!”

Naole : “ I may be the only one of my kind who still remembers the courtesies of Old, but I am not at liberty to forgo them your Lordship!”

Drako : “ Then it can’t be helped! Therefore rise Knight of the Old Order; Knora of Crystalorb and High King of the Velrovian Enclave!”

Naole : “ Thank you your Lordship! Though I fear I may no longer be High King of the Velrovian Enclave!”

Drako : “ How come?”

Naole : “ I did die after all!”

Drako : “ Death servers a Kings power!”

Naole : “ It is as it should be; a Velrovian now sits on the Throne of the Velrovian Enclave!”

Drako : “ So tell me; have you acquired sufficient power?”

Naole : “ Not even Close!”

Drako : “ But you’ve become so much stronger!”

Naole : “ You can’t overpower a Diac! I think that was the whole Idea behind their creation!”

Drako : “ Then why go through this transformation?”

Naole : “ I needed a more powerful form to hold the kind of energy reserves needed to summon a power that can kill a Diac!”

Drako : “ I thought you said you can’t overpower a Diac?”

Naole : “ True! But maybe I don’t have to!”

Drako : “ How so?”

Naole : “ It might be Easier to just kill the Diac than to fight Him!”

Drako : “ Easier to just kill the Diac huh?”

Naole : “ Sometimes you have to assassinate rather than combat! Though taking such an action undoubtedly requires knowledge of the killing arts!”

Then an Inter-Dimensional Vortex from CIDR appears and the Clear Spheres containing the 10 Knoras return and open to release the Transformed Knoras.

Dirang : “ Thanks for the Horn you Jerk!”

Naole : “ What? No tail? And only one Horn?”

Neru : “ You know; I liked the way I looked!”

Rilen : “ Naole; how much do you weigh?”

Naole : “ I’m a little over 74 tons, so you guys must range between 60&70 tons!”

Dirang : “ You Bustard! How am I supposed to sleep in my bed?”

Naole : “ I’m thinking Energy Bed! How come you guys have one of the 1.2 meter long Clear Energy Crystal tipped tentacle from the backs of your heads? You need 2 to cross reference omni-directional data!”

Hilan : “ Our Eyes are pure Clear Crystal Now, so it has the same effect! You wouldn’t know this since you’re Eyes are pure Blue Crystal! The tail is extravagant and Unnecessary!”

Camin : “ Thank Heavens we have no Tail!”

Peo : “ So this is the durability you sought?”

Naole : “ When I fought him He pierced My skin far to easily; my Armour was his only Obstacle.”

Rilen : “ Is it enough though?”

Hilan : “ That’s not what it’s for!”

Camin : “ No?”

Peo : “ Energy Storage!”

Neru : “ Hence the tail on this Idiot!”

Rilen : “ I see!”

The Diac approaches the Edge of the Energy Barrier.

Gen-Zadoc : “ Are you going to keep me waiting?”

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