Make a Wish
Chapter Eight

The young princess stands before Zassul once again in the crystal cave, being surveyed by Ethereal. Sweat drips along her exhausted body, her trembling legs ready to give out any second.

“I want you to come at me again.” Zassul tells her, his request causing her legs to tremble even more. “Except this time, I want you to try and channel that anger you felt towards me yesterday.”

The young princess timidly nods. “Okay…” She breathes and tries to regain her energy. She can’t quit now. She’s come too far. Pushing past her fatigue, she begins channelling her anger. She can’t feel angry at Zassul. But perhaps something else can make her angry. She chooses between Amrita, Abdelus, and Iblīs.

She clenches her fists and grows more irritable. The air trembles before her eyes and sparks shoot through her veins, heating up her blood.

“Good.” Zassul praises her. “Now strike me.”

The young princess thrusts her hands forward, setting loose a wave of golden light that slams into Zassul and sends him crashing into the cave wall. Dust stirs up, blinding both her and Ethereal.

The young princess’ anger fades and she gasps in shock. “Zassul! Are you alright!?”

“...yeah…” He groans within the dust cloud as it covers his body while he lays on the ground. “Let’s…call it a day…”

The young princess runs to his side and helps him sit up. “I’m so sorry.” She dusts off his fancy suit. “I didn’t mean it.”

Ethereal approaches the both of them. “Once you have recovered, Zassul, I would like to speak with the both of you in my office.”

Worry begins to work its way through the young princess. The final confrontation is creeping closer and closer, and she knows this meeting will reveal more of what is to come.

The young princess walks through the ancient hall of Ethereal’s mysterious sanctuary. Built out of the same luminescent crystals, light grants a beautiful beacon that leads them forward.

At the end of the hall rests a small library. The walls are made out of rows upon rows of ancient texts. The smell is almost nostalgic, the scent of dust and book paper reminding the young princess of the long hours she spent at her old home, studying the different geographic books about the outside world.

She walks along the vast forest of books. She can tell by the mysterious aura, all of Ethereal’s knowledge comes from here.

“I have discovered something…” Ethereal starts as she sits down with her two newly companions. “It is a bit troubling. I told you before that I am always watching Iblis’ every move. His time being trapped down in the Oblivion has weakened him. It’s strange to me since such a hellacious place was created by him. So I did some digging and discovered his true form. He is an imposter. His real name is Alphanz, and he is not the true devil at all.”

The young princess’ heart beats at a rapid rate. She is unsure if she should be relieved or more terrified. If the Iblis they know is an imposter, then who is the real one? It is something that worries her. She won’t forget the pit of fear she felt when she first met him. His aura was far too powerful for her to stand before. If something as powerful as him is an imposter, the true devil could be far worse.

“Is this all you found out?” Zassul asks Ethereal. He remains stoic, his expression far too calm to be able to indicate if he is worried or not.

Ethereal shakes her head. “I’m not sure. And I am not sure how this came to be either. There are two theories I have. The true Iblis was dethroned, or he’s a coward and he’s hiding behind the imposter so he can never be directly confronted. My second theory is more likely. The Devil cannot be killed. His greatest fear is to be sealed away. No demon can resist holy magic. So having a decoy to hide behind makes the most sense to me.” Ethereal looks at the young princess. “Now that you’re learning to control your magic, his greatest fear will be you. So it’s time to intensify your training. The final battle is coming very soon.”

The young princess begins another day of training. She stands off with a demon clone that Ethereal created with her magic. A wave of light surrounds the young princess’ body as she launches magical spheres at a wall of black magic that protects the demon, trying to break through it.

“Keep it up.” Ethereal encourages her. “I can feel your chakra growing.”

Zassul stands beside her, encouraging the young princess as she goes. “You’re almost there.”

The young princess breathes in and lets loose the power she has been building up, smashing through the barrier and sending the demon flying. It smashes into the cave wall, disappearing into black dust.

“Well done.” Ethereal praises her.

The young princess approaches her and Zassul. “I think I’m starting to get it now.” She happily states to them.

“And the more you do it, the easier it becomes.”

She nods in response, her confidence growing. Ethereal’s words remain ingrained in her mind. She is Iblis’ greatest threat. It gives her courage. She has spent this entire time hiding and needing to be protected. But now she has the power to defend herself and the ones she loves. She’s not as helpless as she used to be. This isn’t necessarily the fate she desired, but she is relieved to know that she now has control of her own destiny.