Chapter 2: Epiphany

We see Noah come to the place where Roya was, and he sees her crying inconsolably, so he puts his hand on her shoulder and says:

Noah: Roya, you must calm down, I know you want to see him, I still want to do it too, but Sebastián is right when he says that we should be patient and wait

Roya: I know Noah, only it hurts me not to have him here, I was always there for him, and now I am very distressed, I have a bad feeling.

Noah: Zed is strong, I know that in case of facing any problem, he will be able to overcome it - he looks at the sky and smiles - we must believe in him

In parallel we see Zed, Eliot and Damian go down the street that leads to the entrance to the castle ... As they are about to arrive, two Guards cut them off and one of them tells the group:

Soldier 1: Who the hell believe, is not allowed to enter the castle just like that, they must be notified in advance.

Damián: We do not have time to talk with you, we must enter now

Soldier 1: We are not interested, GO BACK NOW

Damián: We have no other choice, Zed, attack them

Soldier 2: What ... Did he say "Zed?

In this Zed, he takes Shards out of his hand and throws them at the soldiers, and easily knocks them down

Zed: Stop controlling my body Damián, I don't want to fight or hurt people

Soldier 1: But this won't stay like this ... - Launch a Shard which contained a spirit, this was a Water-based spirit- Go now and finish them; Geranos!

Soldier 2: No, wait!

Damián: Zed, call Rambos

Zed: - summons his spirit Shard and summons Rambos, Raise his Left hand- Attack!

Eliot when seeing the spirits battling among them is terrified and shouts:

Eliot: Zed, what the hell are those things? Where did you bring me? This place is horrible

Rambos and the spirit of the Templar soldier maintain a uniform battle, meanwhile he launches himself to Attack the group of our heroes, Zed uses a shield to cover himself from his attacks, at the same time he uses spell Shards to attack the soldier ...

In the distance ... Noah and Roya were on their way to Mikki's bakery when they hear the roar of the battle started merely by Damian:

Noah: What the hell was that?

Roya: That comes from the castle ... Are we under attack from an enemy?

Noah: What should we do?

Roya: Stay here, I'll go find out what's going on- Run away- You can't take a chance

Noah: Roya No ... Wait, it's very dangerous!

Roya continues hes way without listening to Noah's warning, on the other hand, more soldiers are coming to the place

Eliot: Heck, they're surrounding us, what are you going to do? Damian, Because of you we are in this predicament

In that a voice is heard in the background saying:

UK: let them pass!

To everyone's surprise it was nothing less than Sebastian standing behind all of them:

Sebastian: I hope the reasons for all this fuss are good.

Damien: Believe me, there is a good reason for all this stuff -, he turns it around to see the white-haired man. Zed enters the castle and heads to the place where the Amir Goul shrine once was.

Zed: Damn- His body that was still not responding to the boy begins to move taking the action of running- please stop controlling my body

The boys entered the castle leaving Sebastian behind, and he says to the soldiers:

Sebastián: No word from who was here, say it was an escaped prisoner or something similar ... UNDERSTOOD? Don't let anyone pass into the castle either until further notice

The other soldiers nod their heads in obedience, and Sebastian heads towards the boys ...

Soldier 1: Why would Master Sebastian make a request like this?

Soldier 2: Because the Savior, the person who beat Tasker was among those people ... Master Zed was with them

Soldier 1: What?

In that Roya appears, she is very agitated by her career at the castle:

Roya: Hey ... what is happening? A roar came from here, as if we were under attack ...

Soldier 1: Nothing happened, miss ...

Soldier 2: An inmate had escaped and made a little scandal, but this was already contained

Roya: An escape you say? - Go around and see some things damaged by the previous battle- Well, that escape has to be a high-ranking Shard caster, because it shows that he gave them problems ...

Soldier 1: Something that could be handled without any problem

Roya: -Little convinced by the soldiers' explanation- Well, with permission -She tries to access the castle, but the soldiers get in her way-

Soldier 1: I'm afraid you can't make it to the castle miss right now

Roya: Why not? If this is where I live

Soldier 2: We have instructions not to let people through, so please leave

Roya: Something strange is happening here, and I won't leave until I know what's going on-

She pushes one of the guards and tries to enter, but another holds her from behind:

Soldier 1: You don't pass miss

Roya: Let me go

Noah: Roya, enough is enough ... you must calm down - We see the black-haired man in the distance - They won't let you pass.

Roya: But Noah ...

Noah: By the other hand we must help Mikki to take the bread to the Redondo's house

Roya: -Turn to see the castle and then sigh- Okay Noah

On the other side we see Zed, Damián and Eliot arrive at the place where Amir Goul rested, to the surprise of Zed he was Renovated, there was a new spirit statue, this time it was more like his form acquired during the war in Neotopia Long ago. There were large bases (a total of 4) which held blue curtains and torches on each one

Eliot: Where exactly are we?

Zed: A ... Is the Amir Goul here? -He says this while staring at the big figure in front of him-

Damian: That's right -He approaches Zed and removes the control Shard located on his body- Get closer to the statue ... Master Zed - The whitehaired was going to approach when they hear a voice in the background-

Sebastián: - Enter the room- What do you think that are you doing?

Damian: We are only following the orders of the Great Amir Goul; Sebastian… I ask you not to interfere

Sebastian: Amir Gaul's orders? Zed ... you disappear from one moment to another and then you go back to make a whole scandal, what do you mean with Orders of the spirit?

Zed: In my defense I have been brought here by force, I don't know what he means, but I think we will find out soon

That said, he turns to see the statue in front of him and begins to walk towards it, while the boy said to himself:

"Why do I feel this pressure on my chest? Amir Gaul's presence is very strong and at the same time so weak ... it is ... it is very different from when we separated from the fusion long ago "

The white-haired man comes to the front of the statue, slowly directs his gaze towards the face of the same, the Shard of the Amir Goul was embedded where the gem that he wore in his armor should go, at the height of his chest, suddenly from the Shard begins to emit a light which for a moment cuts off Zed's sight ... when the boy manages to open his eyes he sees himself surrounded by yellow walls, turns to look back and to his surprise he was alone, there was no one around him, when suddenly he heard as if a spirit was summoned ... It was the Amir Gaul appearing before him

Zed: But if he is the Amir Gaul ... - Raise his voice- TELL ME ... WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM ME? ... you have caused a disaster and all this has me very confused ... Isn't it because I had to stay the Calm? What should not return? If so ... why did you bring me back? I know perfectly well that you can answer me, I don't want mysteries this time, the first time I was here I had to find out on my own who you were and what was my path to follow - He bows his head- But I'm tired of all that, of the battles and of wars- Sigh- Will this ever end?

Saying this, we see that the spirit nods in the affirmative, but when doing this, a drastic change of scenery is made… Zed was outside the castle, but the vision was horrendous; bodies everywhere, destroyed houses and buildings

Zed: What ... what is this?

Suddenly a scream is heard ... it was a masculine voice and it was very familiar, so Zed immediately runs in search of the person who emitted it, upon finding him his surprise was a lot ... It was Eliot crawling on the ground, wearing characteristic Templar clothes, the boy's face was scared, something was terrifying him, and he says:

Eliot: Please ... spare my life, I know it was wrong to betray you ... I put everyone against you and that was not good at all, but please ... I beg for mercy ...

Then the guy who was attacking his friend appears, wearing characteristic Task clothes, but he was on his back, therefore, he could not see his face ...

UK: You destroyed my life Eliot, I became a monster because of you ... NOW YOU WILL HAVE TO PAY- That being said, it goes through a sword in Eliot's throat, killing him instantly ...

Zed: ELIOT ... NO!

The guy turns around to where Zed is ... The boy's face was filled with terror and confusion, he could not believe what he saw ... it was ... It was himself!, but the other Zed at the same time looked different, his gaze triggered hatred, bitterness and suffering at the same time

Zed: But what is happening here? What is all this?

Suddenly he feels someone standing next to him ... It was Amir Goul, but he was about the same size as Sebastian, or maybe a little taller ... He was staring at the Zed next to him ... Then he turned to see the Zed that was in front of them ... He takes out one of his wings and launches himself into the attack. Suddenly a hole is created in the floor and our Zed falls into absolute darkness ... A voice is heard that says the following:

"This will be your end if you don't open your eyes and don't do what you should do"

Hearing the latter, Zed wakes up suddenly ... but ... he was no longer in the Amir Goul shrine, he was in a bed, the light entered through one of the windows of the room

Zed: But what happened? What was all I saw?

Familiar voices are heard outside the room, therefore, Zed gets up and leaves the room where he was, and enters a living room, where both Sebastián and Dimitri Khan were sitting at a table ...

Khan: So you woke up Zed, a lot has happened since the last time I saw you

Zed: What happened to me?

Sebastián: You received the power of the Amir Goul again, but you got tired and passed out almost instantly, so we brought you here ... but rest assured, you slept for a couple of hours.

Zed: Where's Eliot?

Sebastián: If you mean your friend who came with you from your hometown ... he is next to Damián in another room, I will gladly take you to where he is, but we need you to answer some questions first, Zed

Zed: some questions?

Khan: Tell me, are you feeling good about having a council meeting right now?

Zed: Do I have another option?

Meanwhile we see Robes and the rest of the council in the room where they usually meet regularly ...

Robés: You must be joking, I am tired of being your pawn, I must always be the one who must do problematic missions

Sage 1: It is your obligation to be the current Shard champion

Robés: If this continues, I will not participate in this year's Joust

Sage 2: I understand your annoyance in this regard, but your collaboration is necessary to maintain the peace and order of our nation

Robés: Anyway ... Are we done yet? I have an important party in a few hours, and I want to see that everything goes in order ...

Sebastián, Khan and Zed enter the room ...

Sebastián: The boy has already woken up and is ready to talk to us

Robés and the rest of the council stare at the boy, he was the same from back then ...

Robés: Oh well, what a surprise ... I did not expect to see you around here, it has been a long time since I last saw you ... you have grown up - He sees him from head to toe- And boy, did you feel very well, you must have many girls crazy about you, huh?

Zed: -smiles- Instead you continue without changing, you are still the same egomaniac of always

Robés: Someone as perfect as me has no reason to change ... oh by the way - Draw a smile on his face- Today there will be a party at my house, if you like you can come, it will help you to take away the stress that these old men will cause you

Zed: No thanks, I must find a friend of mine who came with me, other than your parties do not interest me

Robés: You are still the same as always

Sage 3: Sorry to interrupt you, but we must start with you Zed, if you don't want this to go on long

Robés: Oops, I better go ... good luck Zed, and think about it, you can have fun, and if you find your friend you can bring him too, I have no problem

Zed: Forget it

Khan: Well, as you can see, Zed is finally in Templar, and we as a council are very interested in your current situation.

Neotopian Sage: You beat Tasker a long time ago, and you became the long-awaited Savior, the one who would end the wars in this world ... But you disappeared that day and we did not know more about you, nobody knew of your whereabouts, we could not locate you and then you return as if nothing, causing an uproar at the entrance of the castle ... What are you not ashamed of?

Sebastián: Regain your composure, remember that you are a wise man! We are not here to reproach him

Sage 2: Well Zed, let's start with a good time… You have an idea of the position you are in now

Zed: In ... the position I am in now?

Sage 2: That's right ... You were the human whom Tasker chose as the last living human being, the human who obtained the power of god while still a child ... the god who created this world and is the source of power for the Shards that we humans use, either for good or for evil, you see ... Until now Tasker was a legend, we did not know exactly who he was, even now we cannot fully understand who he is, and according to the implication, the one who if Tasker's power were to come he would practically rule the world ... So tell us Zed ... what are your plans?

Zed: I don't have anything planned

Neotopian Sage: Are you sure about that? Because as far as we know, you tried to kill us a long time ago by obtaining the power of Tasker, you went crazy and therefore we lost many valuable lives, including that of Master Zico ...

Zed: -he turns to see the empty seat, which once belonged to that teacher- What are you pretenfing- He looks at the Neotopian- Do you imply that I am up to something specific? If so, then you are wrong, I do not intend to re-enter the fight for the Key spirits

Sage 4: If it's this way ... Why have you claimed the Amir Goul as yours again? Since we understand that it lives inside you again

Zed: In my defense, I don't remember taking it, what's more ... I can't feel it inside me, besides I was brought to him against my will, they inserted a Shard that controlled my body, so I couldn't control myself

Sebastián: Now stop attacking the boy, it has been a tired day for him, we cannot harass him in this way

Khan: Sebastián is right- He directs his gaze towards Zed- The boy looks tired and we don't want him to collapse here either… Zed, I know you have told us that you don't want to participate in a new fight, but Task and Jimoto have started to move in a certain way Strange lately, we as the country of Templar will always be fighting to defend humanity and philanthropy ... Therefore, we want you to lend us your strength once again and be with us fighting for these ideals.

Zed: Task… Have they really stopped despite what happened with Tasker?

Sebastián: They are making dangerous movements, therefore, we require your help

Zed: Templar was the first place I came to when I was brought into this world and made my home, therefore I will always defend this country without needing to be asked.

Khan: We are glad to hear that ...

Noah, Roya and Mikki are in the house round making the delivery of the Bread ordered by the family butler

Mikki: Thank you very much for your purchase, the bread is freshly baked, so we hope you like it

Butler: Thank you for being as punctual as ever

In the background we see Robes egomaniac, approaching the entrance of the house

Roya: Master Robés, it is a pleasure to greet you

Noah: Good afternoon Master Robés

Mikki: The delivery has already been made, so you can rest easy with it

Robés: Thank you very much for bringing him here, it is very nice of you - he stands in front of the guys- How about you come to my party tonight? I think everyone would like the atmosphere of a splendid evening

Mikki: It is very kind of you Master Robés

Robés: Oh by the way ... you should try to convince Zed too, I invited him saying that his presence would be an honor, but he sent me to hell practically

Mikki, Noah and Roya: WHAT?

Robes: you kept him very quiet, why didn't they tell me before the boy was here?

Noah: As far as we know Zed is not here ... Could it be that he got confused with someone else?

Robés: So, you did not know that ... that explains their faces full of surprise ... but no, I did not confuse him with someone else ... I saw him in the castle, in the council of sage's room, he entered the room with Sebastián and Dimitri Khan the poor must be doing porridge right now there

Roya: Master Robés, aren't you lying to us?

Robés: I would not joke with a thing like that ... That boy has grown well, it is almost enough for me and I must admit that he looks very good, if I were a woman I would have melted at that moment- He says this with a roguish face- If you want to go see it, you can use my carriage to get you to the castle soon

Roya: What are you guys waiting for, let's find out if it's true

The boys nod in positive response, and start down the steps from the front entrance, but Noah stops and says:

Noah: Thank you, Master Robés, really ... thank you very much.

Robés: No problem - he says this with a smile on his face

Returning to the castle, Zed and the rest of the sages continue in their meeting, which seemed endless ...

Neotopian Sage: Zed, forgive my indiscretion ... but tell me what you felt when you were absorbed by Tasker? when you had his power in your hands, when you were inside him

Zed: What?

Neotopian Sage: Describe it, I need to know now

Sage 5: I'm curious to know too

Zed: I really don't remember ...

Sebastián: What do you mean?

Zed: It's like, if something blocked that memory, that feeling ... I remember that Tasker's Shard entered me, and when a white light reappeared it came out of it, when it was enveloped by it my body stopped responding on its own , in my mind I was blank and I only felt that Amir Goul was calling me, that I was joining Tasker, and I was absorbed by him, from there I only remember voices, but I don't remember what they said to me, but the one that is stored in my head is the voice of Zico and everything he said to me, I know he was there with me and that thanks to him I managed to get out of the trance I was in

Sebastián: Oh Zico ...

Zed: But the feeling of that power I can't remember, I don't know what it felt like, I don't know if I managed to see Tasker inside, everything is clear before he will enter Tasker and later when I was released, my fight together with the Amir Goul against Tasker is super Clara, I remember every detail, I know I was inside Tasker, but I can't remember what happened inside

Neotopian Sage: I don't believe you ...

Zed: What did you say?

Neotopian Sage: That…I do not believe you Zed, it is very convenient that you say that you do not remember what happened with Tasker ... Maybe you want to hide something from us

Sebastián: Don't you dare make accusations like that, his defensive attitude is tiring me ...

Neotopian Sage: The attitude of all of you is tiring me, it is possible that we are facing a demon and you are as if nothing, perhaps what you are looking for is to kill us

Zed: I won't allow you to accuse me of something like that, I'm not that kind of person, if that's what you think

Neotopian Sage: I have never trusted you, and now less ... you are still a foreigner who caused many problems for Templar ... Do you know how many fatalities there were only here, IN Templar?

Sebastián: You're going so far… shut up

Neotopian Sage: Sebastian, you won't shut me up ... 15,000 ZED, only 15,000 people died in the temple, nor in our previous wars were there so many casualties

Zed:Are you saying the true? - Look at the Neotopian, on her face was an expression of bewilderment and surprise-

Khan: This is getting out of control. This is how far this meeting goes.

Neotopian Sage: oh Dimitri Khan, You always covering and protecting this boy along with Sebastián and Zico at his time, you must imprison him, we must eliminate him while we can

Sebastián: Stop saying outrageous -Take Zed by the arm- Zed, we're leaving right now

Sebastián leaves the room, taking Zed with him ... The boy was still in Shock from what he had heard, 15,000 deaths only in Templar, which will have been from the rest of the countries ... He knew that Noah and Roya were alive ... but that he was from rest of his friends ... Khan quickly catches up to them ...

Khan: Sebastián, Zed… I'm sorry about what happened during the meeting, everything got out of control

Zed: Khan ... is it true what that sage says ?, about the victims in Templar

Khan: Zed ... I ...

Sebastián: What good will it do you to know? Leave that matter like this

Zed: No Sebastián, WILL YOU TELL ME NOW- The boy's gaze changed drastically, it was full of pain and sadness, but at the same time it triggered nervousness, at the same time he took Sebastián from his clothes and brought him closer to him with force- NO SHUT UP ... TELL ME

Sebastian: Zed, calm down, you're getting too upset

Just then the voices of Noah, Roya and Mikki are heard approaching inside one of the corridors ...

Roya: There is Master Sebastian ... - he runs to get out of the hallway quickly- Master Sebastian ... it is true that Zed ...

She is the first to come out of the hall, but to her surprise she meets the Scene that Zed was mounting to Sebastián and Khan

Noah and Mikki come out of the hall, And they are amazed by what they are seeing before their eyes

Noah: Zed… Drop it now!

The white-haired man, hearing his friend's voice, releases him and immediately turns to see the group that was in front of him, but on his face there was no smile or sign of joy, quite the contrary ...

Zed: You ... you will tell me the truth

Noah: Truth? What truth do you mean? Zed

Zed: Yes ... you will

That said, he tries to run towards his friends, but Sebastián takes him from behind with force to prevent him from moving and committing madness

Sebastián: Zed, calm down, recover your composure, come back to yourself

Roya: Zed, what's wrong with you? - Run towards him -

Sebastián: Roya… he has entered a nervous breakdown

Zed: Please Roya ... TELL ME THE TRUTH ... TELL ME

Roya: What truth do you mean Zed, I don't understand

Khan: Guys, the best thing would be for you to leave now, this is not a good time for reunions

Zed: TELL ME ... TELL ME NOW, DON'T SHUT UP, CONFIRM IT, TELL ME I'M A MONSTER

Noah: Forget it Khan, I won't leave my friend alone

Mikki: But what truth do you mean ...

Noah: Zed- He approaches the white-haired boy- React, you say nonsense, please react

Seeing his friend in front of him, Zed elbows Sebastian in the stomach, leaving him breathless and forcing him to release him, then quickly grabs Noah by the shoulders and starts yelling at him:

Zed: YOU WILL TELL ME, TELL ME THE TRUTH NOAH, TELL ME NOW, DO IT

Noah: Zed, react… you're hurting me

Zed: I WILL NOT RELEASE YOU UNTIL YOU TELL ME - That being said, the boy begins to hyperventilate- SO ... TELL ME ... NOW

Noah: Zed, stop, you're hyperventilating, it can hurt you

Zed: I DON'T CARE, TELL ME - Having said that, he begins to feel a pressure in his chest, and he begins to feel dizzy.

Noah: Zed, are you feeling okay?

Zed, do you hear me?

Zed ...

ZED