Chapter 50: The Guardian of the Past and the Forgotten Friendship
The Sudden Intervention
Just at that moment, as the Shadow-King was about to attack Rina, a sudden explosion of golden light shone from within the seal. This was not Rina's light or her power, but a warm and ancient gold. A man stepped forward wearing an old cloak that seemed to be woven from the rays of the sun. He raised a wooden staff and, with just a single word, drove the darkness of the Shadow-King back.
The Father's Shock
Rina's father, trembling in a corner, looked at the newcomer. For a moment, his fear was forgotten. He stood up and said with a low, shocked voice: "Elias? Is that... is that really you?"
The mysterious man turned his head slightly and gave a tired smile: "It has been a long time, my old friend. I promised that I am always with you; even if you are lost to me, I will find you. Although, I didn't expect it to be in the middle of an apocalypse."
Rina's father was in total shock. Elias was his closest friend and ally in guarding their homeland decades ago; a man who was thought to have been killed on the night the forest was cursed.
Elias: The Silent Watcher
Elias looked at Rina, his eyes full of wisdom and sorrow. "You have the courage and the stubbornness of your father. You are a successful and persistent girl. Well done, my daughter! Be like this and raise your family's head high. I promise to come to your house so we can spend a good time together. You must make my favorite food with your own hands—Pizza! You must make it, okay? I am such a shameless person, how can I ask for that? Hehehe. But this Shadow-King is not something you can win against just with anger." Elias explained that he had lived in the shadows of the cave for many years, acting as a secret guardian to prevent the seal from breaking. He had been waiting for the moment the lineage of Light would return.
Temporary Peace
Elias used his golden magic to temporarily bind the Shadow-King within the cracks of the wall. Elias warned: "This will not hold him forever. We need to combine the ancient wisdom and the new light." Rina looked at her father's friend and felt a strange sense of hope. For the first time, she didn't feel that the weight of the world was only on her shoulders.
Elias went over to the unconscious Diari and placed his glowing hand on his chest. "This boy has a brave heart," Elias whispered. "He carried a curse just so you wouldn't have to." Slowly, Diari's eyes opened, and the red light returned to them, but this time it was calmer.
End of the Chapter
Rina's father hugged his old friend, and tears fell from his eyes. But the joy was short-lived as Elias looked at the seal and whispered: "The Shadow-King has tasted the world again. He won't go back easily. Rina, we must prepare for the final ritual."
Written by: Dlin_myth