Breathe.
I had been holding my breath for well over a minute now. There was no way I was coming out of this pool unless I did as the Wanderer said.
But I needed air to breathe, not this liquid substitute. My lungs burned with the need for oxygen — my only hope was that there was enough in the liquid to help me survive.
So, I breathed.
The liquid seemed to squeeze into my lungs. My body immediately rejected the liquid, forcing it back out. But it sucked it in again, greedily — only to force it out once more. My body was caught between the need to breathe and the panic of having something that wasn’t air in my lungs. Slowly, I became aware that my head had cleared, and the burning in my lungs had ebbed. My panic, slowly, settled into calm as my heart beat madly.
I accepted, instinctually, that I would have to breathe this liquid, at least for a little while.
I focused my attention before me. The Wanderer still stood just ten feet ahead, garbed in his usual brown robe. His white eyes shone brightly in the thick, warm liquid.
I couldn’t speak, for obvious reasons. I breathed the liquid in and out, wondering whether the man who stood before me was flesh and bone, or merely a vision.
Are you real?
The thought crossed over through the liquid. The Wanderer stood, his form wavy.
Yes.
If he was alive, then it meant that he hadn’t really died. He could still lead the Elekai.
Seeming to guess my thought, though, the Wanderer shook his head.
My time to walk this world has passed. The sacrifice, once made, cannot be undone.
How are you still here, then?
I will always be here, the Wanderer thought. I am the Elekai, now. And I will always be with you, wherever you go.
Do I have to lead, now?
The Wanderer nodded. The prophecy has come to pass. This is your time to shape the fate of the world.
It’s…too much.
It always is, Alex. Even I didn’t know what I was doing.
That’s…comforting.
Isn’t it? The Wanderer’s thought entered my head, and the implication was that it should be comforting. It has always been a fool’s quest. But we should be glad that the battle in Los Angeles was won. Askala is thwarted for the meantime, but in the coming days, she will have another army ready. We must use the time given to us to prepare the final attack, before she strikes again.
All I could think, as the Wanderer “spoke” to me, was why it had to be me, and why it couldn’t have been someone far more qualified.
Why did you pick me? I asked. I’m not saying I won’t try. I just have to wonder. Was there something different about me that made you decide that I was the one to do it?
There is one quality I have looked for in each Champion, the Wanderer said.
I was about to ask him what that quality was, when he spoke again.
You must think lightly of yourself, and deeply of the world.
What?
It was a saying, on a faraway world. Its name cannot be pronounced, nor understood, by any human. It was the first world attacked by the Radaskim, millions of years ago. And it was the first to fall. When the Radaskim first came there, they were greeted as gods. It wasn’t long before that notion was dashed.
If all of those worlds have been conquered, then what hope do we have?
I thought I caught the Wanderer smiling. I had no idea how he could smile at something like that.
There never was much hope, Alex. Know this: it is much better to hope than to despair. The greatest things are accomplished by the tired and the discouraged, by the ones who don’t give up. If they have no song to sing, they find one.
I couldn’t speak, because the Wanderer had so silenced me. It had always been easy for me to get discouraged. It was hard not to, watching your world being swallowed before your eyes. Something Makara said a long time ago came back: you fought, even where there was no point in the fight. You never knew what tomorrow would bring.
Alright, I said. I see what you’re saying.
The Wanderer raised an arm, as if in benediction.
The last battle comes. And remember: do not lose hope. You never know who’s counting on you, or who’s looking up to you. You have changed much, Alex. The Elekai are yours to command. And I believe that their powers are beyond even your imagining.
With that, the image of the Wanderer faded into the ichor.
Remember…though I have passed from this world, my words will always be with you. Never give up, even in the darkest moments. When you find yourself in a hole…look to the stars.
I stood there for a moment, my throat clenched, realizing that the Wanderer really was gone. His image had now passed; all that was left was the clear pink fluid. I almost wondered if he had been there at all, if all this had only taken place in my head.
Whatever the case, it was time to turn back. I swam to the shoreline, nearing the surface. When my head broke through, the air felt cool and light in comparison to the heavy liquid. I tried to breathe, but my lungs were full of the ichor. I coughed, spewing the liquid out of my lungs. It landed on the surface of the pool, quickly rejoining it. I sucked in a mouthful of air.
As I continued to hack, Anna strode into the pool. Makara shouted my name, while everyone else watched me worriedly.
My feet found the bottom, and I stood with the ichor up to my torso. Finally, my lungs seemed to be empty of it. I stood there, panting, feeling the liquid crawl off me and rejoin the surface of the lake.
Anna grabbed me, pulling me into a fierce hug.
“You were under there for at least five minutes,” she said. “What the hell?”
“I breathed it,” I said. “Whatever that stuff is, it works as good as air.”
“Come on,” she said.
Anna guided me back to shore. Once on dry ground, the liquid that clung to my skin and clothes flowed downward. I collapsed to the xenofungal bed, exhausted.
“Your eyes are white,” Makara said.
“Huh,” I said. That didn’t really bother me anymore. “I talked to him. The Wanderer.”
The murmuring of the Raiders quieted at this statement.
“He’s alive down there?” Makara asked.
“No,” I said. “I mean…I guess I really didn’t talk to him, but maybe to his memory. He wants…he wants us to not give up hope, even now. I know it’s easy to give up, but we can’t. We have to keep fighting.”
“Alex, you need to worry about getting some rest,” Makara said. “Are we good to head back to the army?”
I shook my head. “No. There’s one thing I have to do here.”
“What’s that?” Anna asked.
I stared at the pool, toward the inlets leading deeper into the cavern.
“I have to visit my army.”
The dragons were gathered in one of the farthest caverns from the entrance. It was a lot of swimming to get there. While the rest remained onshore, everyone who could swim decided to come with me. This included Makara, Samuel, Anna, and Julian, along with several of the Raiders. Even Ashton had decided to come; he said he wanted to investigate the cavern more fully, along with experiencing the lake’s vaunted regenerative properties. He said something about a Fountain of Youth.