Rederis came to wake them the next morning to see Vogeron. However, it was not yet dawn. It seemed that Vogeron was the kind of person who got up early, and went to bed early.
Despite their grogginess, the party allowed Rederis to lead them to the tower. The priest opened the doors, and told them that they had to go on without him. Their trip to see the phoenix had to be made on their own.
The inside of the tower looked just as old as the outside. However, it was not all covered in moss. The walls were festooned with carvings of what Jezza assumed to be the Great War. It showed Phoenix's fighting large beasts. Jezza assumed that these must be the ARMORs. She then saw the tower of Megalensis, and it seemed to be sucking the energy out of the planet.
Soon, they came to the stairs. The stairs spiraled upwards toward the ceiling. It looked like it was going to be a long climb. So, without any more delay, they began to ascend the stairway.
When they finally reached the top, They saw that the walls were also littered with carvings. In the center of the room, stood a gargantuan phoenix. The phoenix radiated a warm glow. Not just a physical warm, but a spiritual one as well.
The phoenix raised it's head and looked at the party. "Greetings friends. I see that you have finally reached my tower."
"That is correct," Aren said. The rest of the group nodded.
"You have come seeking Kane; am I correct?"
"Yes," Alex said. "Do you know where we can find him?" Alex's heart was beating rapidly. After all the hard work, he could finally get some definite answers.
"I know indeed," said the Phoenix, "but you will have to pass several tests."
"Tests?" Mathis said.
"Yes, tests. You see, I have to see if you are worthy of Kane. To do so, You have to pass three tests."
"What are these tests?" Alex asked.
"You have to pass through three halls: the Hall of Greed, the Hall of Terror, and the Hall of Love. Each will test your will. If you can pass through these halls, I shall tell you about Kane."
"Very well," Alex said, "Let's begin this trial." Vogeron moved his wing and a green sphere appeared. Vogeron urged them toward it. This was it; the beginning of their trial. Alex was the first to enter the sphere. It was a strange feeling. As soon as he set foot in the sphere, it was the sphere suddenly wrapped around him. Then suddenly, he found himself in a room full of gold.
The others came shortly after, each of them going through the green sphere. When they were all there, Alex warned them not to touch anything. And so, the party walked through the golden hall, not touching a thing. Finally, they came to another sphere. They looked at each other, then walked in. This hall was a cinch, that was for sure.
The Hall of Terror was pitch black. Alex said one thing, "Keep all your feelings of terror to yourself! Don't let this place scare you! It's all an illusion." They agreed and continued to walk through the black hallway.
Suddenly, Jezza heard the voice of General Ignis laughing. She instantly wanted to grab a hold of Mathis for protection, but then remembered that that was just what the hall wanted her to do. She had to confront her fears. "Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha! What's the matter little girl! Not a member of the Fire Force anymore? Don't you like the mindless destruction of innocent lives. You should try it sometime; it's soo fun. Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha!"
Jezza ignored the laughter, and continued walking forward. "That's it! No one, and I mean no one, insults General Ignis of the Fire Force! Now you die for your insolence!" Before they knew what was happening, Ignis was floating in front of them. Out of his hands, shot a huge ball of flame.
The party quickly dodged the attack. Alex countered with his sword. To his surprise, the blade went right through Ignis. "Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha! Nothing can defeat General Ignis!" As he said this, a second wave of fire balls were shot at them. The party barely dodged that one.
"Let me try now!" Mathis yelled. "Icicle attack!" A barrage of icicles flew at Ignis, each of them going strait through him. Ignis continued to laugh. "What the hell is going on here! Is this guy invincible?"
Ignis laughed, then said, "Exactly." Ignis raised his arms and began chanting a spell.
"Run!" Mathis ordered. "Before he toasts us all!"
Before they had a chance to get anywhere, Nevanyk stopped them. "You fools! It's only an illusion! If you run, you only make him stronger!" So they did nothing, and the fire went straight through them, as if it wasn't there. "Now," Nevanyk commanded, "walk slowly toward the sphere."
By the time they reached the sphere, the apparition had vanished. Now, Alex had something to warn them about. "That hall was difficult, but he next one will probably be even harder. We have to try our best to keep our feelings to ourselves. Especially you and me, Aren. Remember, it's not really Maria, it's just an illusion." Aren nodded.
"It'll be no problem for Nevanyk," Mathis joked, "I don't think he can love anyone."
"Hmph," is all that Nevanyk said.
"Anyway," Alex continued, "just be careful." And so, they entered the third and final hall.
This hall just looked like a normal hall. Nothing special about it. However, they knew that it could very easily be the hardest of them all. Mathis knew, that he had to somehow hide his feelings for Jezza. He didn't know how he was going to do it, but he knew he had to.
Suddenly, Jezza grabbed a hold of his arm. She began to rub her head against his shoulder. At first, Mathis was relieved to know that she also had feelings for him. However, he quickly realized that he had to push those feelings away. So, he pushed her away.
Meanwhile, the others were also beginning to see the horrors of this hall. Luna appeared in front of Alex. "Alex, why don't you just give up this silly quest. Terranox says that if you behave, he will let us live forever with him in the Dark Earth. Please Alex, please." This was harder than Alex imagined. He wanted so much to submit, but he knew he couldn't. He had to refuse her offer.
"I'm sorry Luna, I can't."
"What's the matter Alex, don't you love me anymore." Alex was hit hard with that. He could barely stand it anymore. "If you love me, then you'll come be with me forever."
Alex had nowhere to go. There was only one thing he could do. No matter how much it would hurt him, he had to do it. "Luna!" He hollered. "I hate you!"
The words echoed through the halls as if they were trying to make Alex mad. He couldn't believe what he just said, but it was the only way out of this. Luna looked devastated. "Alex! How could you! I loved you! Aaaaaghhh!" With that, she vanished.
"Luna, I'm sorry.”"
Jezza had since reattached herself to Mathis' arm. Mathis once again tried to push her away. "Oh, Mathis you big silly. Why do you reject me? Don't you like me anymore?" Jezza continued to giggle, then grabbed Mathis' arm again.
"Jezza get off!" Mathis screamed as he tried to push her off of him. She was off, for now.
Nevanyk continued to walk through the hallway, ignoring what everyone was doing. Suddenly, an image flashed in front of him. It was the image of a woman, with long, braided blond hair. She had tan skin, and beautiful blue eyes. She smiled at Nevanyk. "Jeryl," he said, "can it be! No, it's just an illusion." Then, the image disappeared.
Jezza's situation had gotten worse. No matter what Mathis did, he just couldn't keep her off of him. "Jezza!" He screamed. "Just get away from me!"
However, it was just a waste of energy. Jezza was instantly back on Mathis' arm. It was if she had totally tuned out everything that Mathis was telling her. Her head was rubbing against his arm again when she said, "Oh, Mathis, I love you."
Mathis couldn't stand it anymore. She just told him that she loved him! He couldn't submit though. He had to do something before he went nuts. "Jezza! Leave me alone! I'm serious."
Jezza's giggly facade was wiped from her face. Instead, she just stood there. A tear trickling down her cheek. "Mathis, why don't you love me? I love you, but you don't love me!" Jezza lifted her head and looked at Mathis. Her face was the face of a madman. Filled with anguish and hate. "Why the hell don't you love me! Aaaaghh!"
Jezza begin to chant a familiar phrase. It was the same one she used to cast the fire spell a few nights back. Mathis recognized it exactly. "Dear God, what is she doing! Dammit run!" A ball of fire was shot out of Jezza's hands towards Mathis. "Jezza, what are you doing!?"
"You don't love me, so now...you...DIE!" More flaming spheres were hurled at Mathis. He nimbly dodged them all.
"Alex help me!"
"Sorry Mathis, this battle has to be won on your own."
"Yeah," Nevanyk added, "it's your fault she fell in love with you."
"What!" Mathis had no more time to argue with Nevanyk, for Jezza was still firing at him. Finally, when the current barrage of fire had ended, he prepared his Matron. "Jezza, forgive me. Frostbitten Wind!" Instantly, a wave of freezing air shot at Jezza.
Jezza crossed her arms in front of her face to prepare for the attack. It seemed that it did absolutely nothing to her. "Mathis, why do you have to be so cold? You know, I'm really hot for you!" As she said this, more flame was thrown towards Mathis.
"Ice Shield!" Mathis chanted, as a wall of ice appeared before him. The shield successfully blocked the flames.
Aren stood by and watched the fray. "Dear God, is this the true power of the Fire Force? If I hadn't saved her all those years ago, would she had turned into this, this beast."
"The dark side of love," Alex said. "Jealousy, hate, rejection; that's what turned her into this. Deep down inside, she's still the sweet Jezza that we know."
"Sweet?!" Nevanyk joked. "I wouldn't exactly call this fiery little brat sweet."
"Nevertheless," Aren said, "Mathis has to find a way to quell her rage."
"Mathis how could you! How could you hate me so much!"
"I don't hate you!" Mathis yelled back while dodging fire. "In fact, I like you quite a lot!"
"Shut up! Stop lying to me you bastard!"
"But I'm not lying! Jezza, please listen to me!"
"I have no time to listen to your lies. You hate me, so I'll just have to eradicate you!"
"God dammit Jezza I don't hate you! I can't hate you!"
"Why not! Why can't you huh? Does it go against your little code of ethics to hate anybody huh?!"
"No! I can't hate you because, because..." C'mon Mathis just say it. Now is as good a time as any. "I can't hate you because I love you!"
Jezza stopped dead in her tracks. The fireball that was forming in her hand disappeared. She looked straight at Mathis and said, "You, you love me." Then, out of exhaustion, she began to faint.
Mathis quickly ran up to her and caught her. "Jezza! Are you all right!?"
Jezza opened her eyes and stared into Mathis'. "Mathis, do you really love me?" Mathis nodded. "Oh, Mathis. I'm so sorry. I can't believe I almost tried to kill you! I'm, so ashamed."
"Don't be Jezza. It wasn't your fault. This hall got the best of you that's all."
"Yes, but I let it get a hold of me. It's all my fault."
"Jezza, it doesn't matter anymore. What's done is done. The important thing is that we're still alive right. Not only that, we passed the last trial. Now we can go on and find out about Kane."
"Mathis, thank you." Their eyes met in a long stare. Mathis bent down and kissed her. When they were done, they got up and walked toward the end of the hallway, none of the others saying a word, not even Nevanyk. They entered the final green sphere. The trial was over. Soon, they would learn about the great Kane.