4The Will of the Heart may have come down from the skies of Kandrakar, but it certainly was still floating before them. Its pink shawl flowed behind its form, the light weight carried by the Will's own energy. In the bright natural light cast down on the fortress, the Will's dress shone brilliantly like a jewel, its silver accessories paling in comparison.
Still, Will didn't know why the Will had to take her face, or her name, for that matter.
"Out with it," the Will said, "Ask away."
"Why the hell do you have my face?!" Will immediately asked, quintessence pooling in her hands. Her teammates might have gasped and suggested she calm down, but there was no way she was calming down at the sight of someone or something stealing her identity.
But the Will only said, "Simple. You are the current Keeper. Of course I will take your form. Would you rather I take Yan Lin's? Or Cassidy's? Or... Nerissa's?"
Will frowned and the energy around her ebbed.
"Good."
"So.. you're the Heart of Kandrakar?" Taranee asked.
"I am its will, but I am not the Heart itself." The Will smiled. "I am an aggregate of XinJing's heart, and all the keeper's own hearts. I am a being beyond anyone's control, a god if you may consider."
Hay Lin gulped. "Not a nymph?"
"XinJing and the dragons are the nymphs themselves in a mortal form." The Will crossed its arms. "The mortals are easily scared, and thus, they needed a different form to appeal to people like you."
"But what about Kandrakar's history? The nymphs... N'ghala..."
"You really ought to judge for your own. The elders might be immortal, to an extent, but they are not anything godly, all-knowing, or with good memory."
The sovereigns glanced at each other. What if, what if all along, Kandrakar had been making fools out of them? No. They were guided accordingly. This was just another test.
'Calm down,' Will reminded them through their mental link. 'The Will of the Heart acts on its own, and therefore, also has opinions of its own.'
"Any other questions?" the Will said.
Irma raised her hand. "Well, what do you need from us? Why did you call us here? We're pretty busy, y'know?"
"Too busy for the universe's affairs, sovereigns? Or should I call you guardians?"
"W-we hold control over the elements," Hay lin said. "That's not who we are anymore. We're... sovereigns."
"In that case, have you ever asked yourself if you were still... human?"
What a depressing question. Will was about to retort with an equally depressing answer, but Nash stomped and growled, "Enough with the guessing games. Tell us your business!"
The skies darkened. The Council Hall was bathed in pink light as the Will's dress glowed a similar color - much like how the Heart itself glowed. But nothing about it was hopeful or warm. It felt so cold! It felt so, so oppressive, so suffocating! And the Will, it floated above them. Its eyes were glowing bright; no doubt enraged!
"You will address me with respect, child of man!" the Will screamed, and the sovereigns cowered in terror. What an inhumane voice! And coming from a face mirroring their friends'!
Nash was lifted into the air. He struggled against some invisible force, no doubt by the power of the Will.
In a moment of weakness, Cornelia sent plants to crush the Will. However, leaves and branches alike melted in its hot glow. In retaliation, the Will sent a beam of light that phased through Cornelia.
"CORNELIA!"
No sooner than Will could finish saying her name, Cornelia screamed and fell to the ground. The other sovereigns ran to her side, inspecting their now unconscious friend.
"Don't hurt them!" Will said, flying towards the Will. "Please! It's me you need, right?! Your business has to be with me!"
The Will only frowned, but it appeared to lose interest in Will's friends as it let Nash drop to the floor. Fortunately, Hay Lin's air caught him. Will sighed in relief.
"Why do you think that?" the Will asked her. Slowly, the surroundings faded back to normal, the Will's dress changing back to blue. "What do you have in you?"
"I'm the leader," Will answered. "For fuck's sake, I'm the Keeper of the Heart! Everyone wants business with me and only me! They want my friends so they can get to me. So you, you too, like with all my enemies... you want to... make me submit."
The Will tipped its head and floated away. "Are you rather sure about that?"
"Yes!" Will answered.
"You say that as if I have ill intentions. I am displeased, Will. Tell me, do you have some kind of grudge against the Heart?"
Will gasped. That was not true! "NO! I'm going by the evidences and the experience I gained!"
"Do you think that perhaps, only perhaps, an incident similar to that with Endarno and Prince Phobos is happening right now? Who could I be, masquerading as the Will of the Heart? Does the Will even exist, or am I just an illusion?"
Will grimaced. Energy pooled around her. This was getting frustrating and more confusing by the second.
"Or, perhaps, maybe..." the Will floated back before her, back bent and head tipped, lips pursed in an amused smile. "There resides darkness in your heart?"
Will froze. She tried to calm herself and hide her power, but in vain. Her mind looped around the many incidents and tests as a guardian, as a sovereign. Phobos. Nerissa. Matt. Dark Mother. The Runics. Sovereignhood. Sixtar. Galaxy 97. The Professor. The Time Lord. The people who hurt her. The people whose fates riddled her with guilt. The jobs she left unfinished. The astral drops. And now, the Will.
"Ah, yes... there is darkness in your heart, see?" it mused, "And it stains your soul. Did you know? This darkness also spreads to your friends and stains their souls."
Will's mind returns to Wilma's words. The sovereign's heart pounded in fear. "And we would disappear. All of us." She glanced at Nash. No. Not him. Please. Not Nashter.
"Your souls cannot bear it all. You will need the dragons' help. However, you cannot let darkness take over you."
Will gulped. "T-there will never be darkness in my heart. I will vanquish it!" For everyone's sake. For Nash's.
The Will seemed doubtful. "Are you sure?"
"Yes! I will take it on! Be it some test or some pain, I will bear it! I will overcome it! I will triumph!"
The moment Will finished speaking, lightning flashed and thunder boomed. However, that was not from her. It was from something else, something from the high skies of Kandrakar. Will's eyes fixed on the dark clouds, from which a figure flew down, down, down, directly to her...
"Good luck, Will Vandom."
Then she woke up in her room, panting wildly. Goodness! What was that? Had that been just... a dream? All of it?
"Boo."
Large brown eyes met her gaze and Will screamed. No. It was definitely not a dream. Wilma was here, staying in her room, pink Quintessence tattoo glowing in the darkness.
Will knew something was up, but she didn't know if she was ready to face the challenge. Some semblance of regret was biting her, at the back of her mind. Some part of her even said she was losing grip of reality!
"The test's only started," Wilma said.
"Yeah... it just did..."
For the first time in her life, Will couldn't help but appreciate having Wilma around.
Aaaaand cut! I've only a vague idea of how to continue this, but let's just see!
