Agartha - Quest for the Legacy

Boyd waved his hands and the trap door opened. Inside it was endless white space. Everywhere they looked was white. Brad and Olympia held hands as they climbed the spiral staircase and stepped through the trap door.

They couldn't understand any direction at all. They roamed around, but could see nothing other than boundless white space. Neither could they understand whether it was day or night, nor could they understand where the legacy was.

They thought that Boyd fooled them, and was about to curse them, when they saw ripples in the space, and in burning letters, was written, "Thou shalt get what thou deserve to get."

Olympia thought, 'What should I do now?'

The words of Boyd echoed through her mind, and she opened her eyes wide to see a mirror in front of her.

A child was standing in her place, who had the same identical pair of eyes and looked at her curiously. She looked back in puzzlement, but other than staring at each other, they did nothing. Olympia tilted her head and thought, "Is this some sort of test?"

As soon as she thought that, she heard the child in front of her open her mouth to say, "You have two choices. Embrace the past, or flee from it. The outcome of everything will depend upon your choices. Be it easy or hard, it will be your choices, and you have to be responsible for them. Do you understand?"

Although the child spoke from the mirror, Olympia could hear her voice inside her mind. Olympia was very puzzled, but she knew that this was not the time to ask questions. They were on a quest and they had to complete it before sunrise. And, they had no way to measure day and night. As she was in deep thoughts, she saw that the moon was hanging low in the sky.

The entire space was basked in cool pale moonlight, the same that was outside. The serenity of the moon calmed her mind. She took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. The girl in the mirror calmly asked her again, "Do you understand?"

"Yes, I do. But what are the choices? How do I know them? What do I need to do?"

"Take deep breaths, Olympia. With this state of mind, you wouldn't be able to make any decisions. Even if you do, you will make wrong decisions. Always remember - Decisions must be made with a calm mind."

"But, you are a child. How do you know so much?" Olympia looked at her in awe. She was almost identical to herself, yet there were some differences with her. In contrast to the cute girl in the mirror, she was bubblier, and hyperactive. On the other hand, the girl in front of her was so calm, as if no chaos in the world can break her peace. She admired these sorts of people.

Olympia sat down in a quite unladylike manner and asked her, "Little girl, what is your name?"

"Olympia." She said straightforwardly.

Olympia's jaws dropped open as she heard that. 'Is this my past self?' She shook her head at the weird thought that crossed her mind. 'This can't be!' She scolded herself for thinking rubbish.

The little Olympia looked at the adult Olympia with a graceful smile hanging on her thin lips. She said, "Give me your hand."

Absentmindedly, Olympia stretched forward her hand to take hers. As soon as she did so, a sharp pain shot across her entire body. She felt as if a huge mountain pressed on her. Her insides were in extreme pain. Her senses were intact, but she wasn't in a state to do anything. She couldn't feel her extreme powers anymore. It was like a tiny portion of her power in her body was alive, the rest was sealed.

Her limbs felt shorter than usual, and she couldn't understand what was going on. After a long time did the pain reduce and she tried to open her heavy eyelids. She expected a blinding light to assault her eyes, but nothing of that sort happened. She saw the same pale moon hanging in the sky. She didn't know how much time had passed when she was unconscious.

She tried looking at the sky and then surveyed her surroundings. Brad was nowhere to be seen. She grew concerned. The younger Olympia was nowhere to be seen either. As she thought of the young Olympia, she heard a voice in her mind, "I am you and you are me. Remember what I said, "Your choices will lead to certain situations and you have to take full responsibility for them."

Olympia nodded her head as she heard the voice fade away. She sat there all alone, on the small garden bridge. The koi fishes were swimming happily in the pond. She bent down and caressed the water slowly. The fishes felt her warmth and flocked towards her fingers. Some even slightly pecked her fingers.

'The fishes are so cute and intelligent.' She smiled and caressed the head of a few fishes. They pouted at her. Seeing their pouts, she threw her head back and laughed hard.

A young man with icy blue eyes and a young woman with fiery red hair were standing at the farthest corner of the garden and watching the little one playing with the fishes.

"Say Aiden, will she grow up to be this cheerful? I am worried sick for her."

"She will surely be the best person she can be. You should be proud of her, Demi."

"What should we do about the excess powers sealed within her?"

"Let's watch for a while and decide what to do. Everything will depend on her choices. The choices she makes will lead to her own fate. Fate is nothing but the result of one's own choices. It will depend on her. Whether she chooses to fight or to flee will determine who she is."

"I see." Demi replied to her husband, Aiden. They crossed their hands over their chests and continued to watch their lovely daughter together.

Aiden caressed his wife's hair lovingly as he was in deep thoughts. He wasn't sure whether Olympia could take tough decisions or not. She was so soft-hearted that she wasn't able to understand the cruelty of the world. It was partially their fault. They never allowed her to face the harsh reality of the dog-eat-dog world.

They were still reluctant to do so, but she has to do that in order to gain her powers. Without her powers, she wouldn't be able to do anything in the future. Although she was born to them, her life belonged to one person, whom all of them swore to protect.

In deep thoughts, Aiden unconsciously walked forward and bumped into a tree, startling the kid having fun. The young Olympia looked at her dad and tears glistened in her eyes.

"Dad!" She whispered.

Aiden didn't know what brought on the change in her that made her cry seeing him. He realised that he had bumped into a huge oak tree and that startled the little kid.

With huge steps, he moved towards Olympia, bent down to her level, sat beside her and then pulled her into a hug and said, "Don't be afraid, Child. I am here."

He could feel the undulations of her shoulders as she sobbed in his embrace. He patted her back slowly and gently to calm her, but no matter what, she continued sobbing.

"Olympia, don't cry. It pains our heart to see you cry in this manner. Please don't cry anymore. Be a good girl for Mom." Demi tried to console her.

Olympia left Aiden's embrace and latched onto her mother's neck as she cried harder. The memories of all these years came down as tears, gushing through her eyes and getting soaked in her mother's clothes.

They were queen and king to the world, but were just a simple parent to their kid. They were dumbfounded and didn't know what to do. No matter what they tried, she cried even more.

After sobbing for a long time, she relaxed her body and fell asleep in her mother's arms. Demi carried Olympia in her arms and laid her down in her soft bed. She sat beside her and stroked her long hair. Aiden stood there looking at the mother and daughter pair and decided not to disturb them.

He left and ordered his trusted aides to gather in the main hall. As soon as he sat down on the throne, a freshly made tea was served.

"Master, what are your orders?"

"I want you all to keep the young princess safe. I know they are coming. I want everyone to be ready for the battle, but I want you all to keep her safe, and you will be her follower from now on. You shall obey her every command. Is that clear?"

"Yes Master." They answered in unison. They were his trusted aides and he knew what he was doing.