~Chapter 4- Corri's gambit~

Corri and her family continued south until they made it into the great desert, and they made camp just outside of the Link Temple. All the while she refused to speak to her father.

That night, the earth beneath them started to quake violently. It was as if their entire world was going to be torn apart. Distant landmarks began to disappear behind the horizon. But soon, the quaking calmed. Despite the rumblings, nothing looked damaged whatsoever.

A swath of red and purple blotted the sky, illuminating everything in that color. A nearby palm tree amidst the sands began to wilt and weaken in reaction to it.

"What happened?" Aero asked everyone.

"The sky... It looks like it did back in the Lands of Ranuulo," Jirro said.

Vos and Diva looked especially terrified by the sight.

Corri saw light coming from the Link Temple - a purple light. "Valr?"

She and the others hurried towards that temple embedded in the sand, and out from it came a brown-haired boy with a purple orb of light floating at his fingertips.

Corri threw her arms around Valr, "You're okay!" She looked at him, but he had a panicked look on his face, "What's wrong?"

"What're you doing here?" Valr asked as he looked at Corri and the others.

Vos and Diva hugged their son, "We were coming for you!"

Valr still appeared distressed, "Something bad is happening. I think Lunahreim revived Ranuulo!"

Diva gripped Valr by his shoulders, "Are you sure?"

"He had Zantii's body and was doing some sort of ritual. But I couldn't stop him!" Valr spluttered through his explanation.

"Isn't... Ranuulo supposed to be a god?" Corri asked. Aero and Jirro seemed to have the same question on their minds.

Diva turned to them, "Yes, the God that created the Lands of Ranuulo."

"Is that... bad?" Aero asked honestly.

"Greetings, people of the world," A voice rang through Corri's mind. A commanding yet soft voice that seemed to originate within her own thoughts. Based on everyone else's reactions, they seemed to hear the voice as well.

The voice continued, speaking to everyone in the world telepathically, "I am your God, Ranuulo. After nearly a thousand years, I've been restored to serve you all once more. But there is a matter to be dealt with before I rule. The Heir to the Goddess."

Corri's heart skipped a beat, and everyone glanced at her. Ool called her the 'Heir to the Goddess' because she could wield Ralosia's Gauntlets. Ranuulo wanted her?

Ranuulo continued, "She is to appear before me here."

An image appeared in Corri's mind - a great island with two thrones sitting at its peak. Knowledge about the island seemed to be implanted in Corri. Amidst the ocean, at the midpoint between the Lands of Ralosia and Ranuulo- the equator of their world. She knew it to be the former meeting place between the two gods long ago. This information was now privy to all people of the world.

"I care not for whether she comes of her own accord or if she is brought to me," Ranuulo declared, "She is to appear before me soon, or else."

Red lightning passed through the atmosphere over the hundreds of Sky Lands that filled the air. Lightning struck the foundation of one of the floating land masses, shattering its foundations and causing it to fall from the sky to the earth below.

Across the world, Sky Lands were obliterated in masse so that all understood the power that Ranuulo held. Corri watched as a Sky Land she used to visit fell and crumbled to the desert sands.

"I hope I am understood," Ranuulo's voice sounded through all their minds again, "You have one day. I am waiting, Heir to the Goddess."

Corri sat in the sands and looked at the golden gauntlets she wore. How many people just lost their lives? All because he wanted her.

"How could he do something like that?" Aero asked in disbelief.

"Who is this 'Heir to the Goddess' he wants so badly?" Valr asked.

"It's Corri..." Jirro responded.

All eyes were on her. Corri was speechless.

"So, what do we do?" Valr asked.

Jirro clenched his fist, "I don't care if he's a god. He's clearly evil. We have to stop him. He told us where he is, we can go there ourselves."

"But, he's a god. I'm not sure it's possible to fight one," Valr said.

"We can try! We've beaten people way stronger than us before!" Aero exclaimed, "He'll be no different."

Diva put up her hands to ease the boys, "Let's not rush into anything, alright? We need to think about this."

"Who knows how long it'll take before Ranuulo strikes again. We can't sit around for too long," Lucar pointed out.

"We're not turning Corri over," Razan declared.

"Of course not! We'd die before we'd let that happen."

Corri's body shivered. They were all willing to lay down their lives for her. More people were going to die, all because of her. Everyone bickered with each other on how to proceed, and she put her head in her hands.

She was the one who opened the way to the Link Temple. If not for her, Zantii would've never come to their world and killed all those people. Ranuulo wouldn't have been resurrected. He wouldn't be threatening everyone in the world now.

The others were kidding themselves into believing they could actually challenge him. If they tried, they'd all be killed. Corri knew what she had to do but had to make sure the others wouldn't follow her.

Corri broke their argument and said, "We need to get some rest. We'll figure out what to do in the morning."

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Aero asked.

Corri nodded, and the others went along with her.

Corri lay awake beside Rojo, waiting for the others to fall asleep. With the blood-red sky that loomed over them, it was difficult. Aero and Jirro came to Corri in the middle of the night.

"How're you feeling?" Jirro asked in a hushed tone as he sat across from her.

Corri sighed, "Terrified. It's not fair, I never asked for any of this."

"You're not alone," Aero declared, "No matter what happens, we're in this with you."

Corri looked at her brother. His simple way of looking at things was annoying a lot of the time, but she appreciated it now. But she knew his way of thinking was likely to get him killed.

"Thanks, Aero," Corri replied.

"Do you have anything in mind for how to deal with this?" Jirro asked.

Corri shook her head, "No. But all the more reason to get some rest. The sooner we do that, the sooner we can deal with it."

-------------------------------------------

Everyone besides Corri drifted into slumber. She carefully stood and sleuthed Rojo away from everyone. She needed to make sure that none of them saw her leave. She took one look at them all and whispered, "Good bye."

She mounted her sparrow and flew into the air. She passed over the desert until she came to the ocean, now colored red from the sky, and continued southwest. Her heart felt like it was beating out of her chest the entire time.

Corri knew she'd have to face Ranuulo alone. That was the only way to keep everyone else safe. Maybe she had a chance of beating him using Ralosia's Gauntlets... But she knew that was a longshot. She couldn't even beat Zantii on her own. As powerful as he was, he was just a mortal. Not a God.

She knew she was most likely heading to her death. But at least the others would be safe. Maybe, after Ranuulo had her, he wouldn't hurt anyone else.

She gripped the feathers of her bird tightly. Out on the open ocean with no one else around, she allowed herself to cry.

She wished she had the chance to live a longer life. To get married. Have kids. To have a family and grow old.

She wished she got to meet her mother. To make her proud.

She wished she could've worked things out with her dad. For the two of them to truly understand one another. Despite all the mistakes he made as a father, she still loved him.

But that wasn't her life.

She and Rojo continued over the ocean towards the equator of the world, and to Rannulo's meeting place.