V.I.R.A.L

Acceptance kneeled poking Gale giving him a curious look. "I must say, I am pleasantly surprised you haven't been consumed by the darkness inside of you yet. Anyone who refuses to accept the truth in my presence always falls to my stage. Perhaps I am not strong enough yet? I guess being sealed away for nearly 400 years does that. How interesting."

Gale fell onto his back, panting unable to see anything. He lays his head back, fighting for air. "What the hell are you?"

"You mean you haven't heard of me? How strange. I didn't expect the humans of today to have already forgotten their overlords. Can you all forget in a mere 400 years? No. Something else must be happening." He debates going over all the outcomes. "Has the Garden really been cut off from the outside world for that long?"

"This is the Garden? The Garden of Greif?"

"Oh, so you've heard of our home. Our birthplace. That is fascinating. No, this isn't the true Garden. This is merely an echo of what once was. See it as a replica of the original painting. You are simply looking from a safe distance outside. The barrier between your world and ours. This is how far I can go. Trapped as an onlooker all thanks to those heroes 400 years ago."

Gale clawed at his throat, feeling worse as he held his arm out. "Please, stop it! I give up! I give up!"

"I'm sorry young man. Once a stage of grief takes hold of you, only you can stop it. You have to accept your fate. Accept the real reason you came here, and you will be spared. I have no intention of killing you."

"I can't!"

"So be it, you will die nonetheless. I be it much slower than usual. You're only putting yourself in this situation, Gale Lampard."

Gale curled up, feeling life flee from his lungs. Unable to take a breath, he squeezed his eyes together, screaming with all his might. "It's true! I didn't come here to save Lucas. I came here to escape from it all!" The pain suddenly stopped. The light returned to his eyes as Gale began gasping for the much-needed air. "I accept that. I'm not their protector. Their hero. I'm just a loser who couldn't take the responsibility of being relied on."

"Denial. Anger. Bargaining. Depression. Acceptance. These are the five stages of grief. These are emotions all humans face before death all before reaching Salvation. Thank you, Gale."

Gale sat up, rubbing his neck, confused. "Why are you thanking me?"

"You'll know soon enough. At this moment in time, you have piqued my interest, and you are also the first human to speak to me in over 400 years. I shall therefore tell you what you are facing. Four hundred years ago, I, alongside the other stages of Greif, was tasked with playing a game. A game to entertain our creators. The game was to conquer the world: a rather barbaric game but one which would keep the creators entertained for years to come. Four hundred years ago, the Garden flourished into your world. We began our conquest only to be challenged by four legendary heroes. They went by the time breaker: the Gatekeeper, Geostruction and the Phantom. The four heroes battled till the death as many people lost their lives. In a desperate final stand, one of the heroes betrayed the others killing the Gatekeeper, and many of the other heroes and he sealed himself and us away in the Garden forever. To this day, my brothers and sisters are still trapped waiting for the day to come where we will once again take this world and beat the game."

Gale looked scared; he licked his lips, trying to piece together the information told. "You said there were four others?"

"Yes, Denial, Anger, Bargaining and Depression. They too are just as powerful and have their own stages which like mine can be caused if you turn against your true feelings."

"And they are trapped too…"

"For now."

"How is the seal broken?"

"Isn't that the golden question? It is quite simple. For the seal to break the legendary heroes of old must die. They are the only things keeping the seal going. Once they die, the seal will break."

"But you said it had been 400 years. No one can survive that long. Right?"

"You tell me?"

Putting thought into his next question, he began shaking his leg nodding. "This is the second time coming face to face with the Garden. My friends saw the first glimpse of it two months ago."

"Team Rhapsody. I've had my eye on them too. The others have too. One in particular, really. Intrigues me."

"Why now? Why is the Garden starting to show now?"

Acceptance smiled, adjusting his tie. "Isn't it clear? The seal is finally breaking. There are, but two heroes left. When they die, we will be free, and unlike last time we will win. Once you accept that as truth, you will find Salvation."

"Salvation?"

"The sixth stage of Greif. It is said when a being manages to harness all five stages of Greif; they become Salvation. A power to rival even our creators themselves. Of course, that is nothing more than a legend. The sixth stage has never appeared fully."

"If the day ever comes when the seal is broken, know this. We will defeat you."

"You deny the truth? Failing to accept fact will only doom you. Or did you forget?" He chuckled soon noticing Gale wasn't falling to his stage. "Well, isn't this exciting. The darkness hasn't taken you. You truly believe you can win."

"I'll accept your reality. When the time comes, I believe we will lose. But until then, I will find a way to change that. Change that reality and make it so I can only accept us on top."

"We were right to watch you all. How amusing. How very amusing. Take him. Your brother is yours. Know this though Gale. Nothing is given. Only you can take what's yours. Accept that, and you will go far. I look forward to our next meeting."

The Garden vanished as Gale was blinded. Covering his face, he looked away as everything returned to normal. Opening his eyes, he was shocked to find himself back above the Ravine to his side was Lucas. Gale quickly scooped him up, checking his pulse. "Alive. Thank God. Come on, Lucas. Let's get you home.

****

Hours had passed since Gale had reached the village. The day had crept into the night, and there was no sign of Alton nor Scarlett. Emil and Percy had also returned empty-handed. With no chance of finding them, the group was forced to spend the night worrying about their friends. Sitting in the middle of the village, Percy had set up a small fire as Team Rhapsody crowded around talking the night away.

"Are you serious? Monty seriously still does that?" Zinnia gasped sipping her cup of hot chocolate.

Emil scoffed nodding. "Stuffed animals the lot. He still has the same stuffed animal his mother gave him in his room. I sometimes caught him sleeping with it."

"Ha! That's some funny stuff. Oh, just wait till Alton…" Zinnia stopped sighing. "Damn it."

"I wasn't one wanting to bring it up, but it's hard not to think about."

"It was like the situation with Vanguard two months ago. But this time he could be in danger, and we are all here drinking hot chocolate."

"There's nothing we can do Zinnia. It's too dangerous to go out at night. We have no idea what's out there, and we can easily get lost." Percy claimed. "Need I mind you that this is Alton we are talking about If he can survive a one on one brawl with Vanguard, I'm sure he's fine. Besides he has Scarlett to protect him."

"Little miss ruler of justice."

Gale shook his head, rubbing his eyes. "I really can't help but feel like this is my fault."

"Don't say that. We all came here, knowing there could be some risk. It's not just for you, but it's to protect all the people in this village. That's what we are fighting for. Once we find Alton and Scarlett, we will kick this Acceptance guy's ass and break the barrier."

Getting a chuckle Gale sipped his drink slouching over staring at the fire. "This place hasn't changed one bit since I could remember it. We're probably one of the first visitors this place has gotten in decades. The village is self-isolated from the rest country Victoria. Most people have never stepped foot on Rhinefield. We are a self-sufficient island which only needs help here and there. We trade with the capital trading the fish we catch for medicine and other items. Most people here will never know of streamers or the outside world. They will be born here, and they will die here."

"They know no difference."

"No, they don't. I. I ran away from home five years ago. Snuck onto fisherman's boat and just ran without saying anything. I chose to live with my grandma; she was on my father's side, who was a fisherman who fell in love with my mother. I couldn't rot away here for the rest of my life without seeing the world. I refused to. So, I ran away and never looked back. This is the first time I've come back since, and now I fear I will have to make amends for those mistakes and fulfil my duties and protect this village."

"Gale." Zinnia whispered.

Percy punched him lightly, holding his drink up. "Don't look so down about it. Whatever you choose to do, we will support you. The villagers don't hate you. In fact, they are pleased to see you. No matter what you do, you'll be a hero in someone's eyes."

Gale stood up, throwing the rest of his hot chocolate into the fire putting it out. "I'm going to bed."

Emil tutted disappointed. "He really can't take a hint, can he?"

"He'll come around. Family is important, but at the end of the day, it's his choice. We can't force him to choose either one." Percy states.

"Agreed." The two boys stood up, drinking the last of their drinks before leaving.

Zinnia sat by herself, cupping her glass closely as she took another sip feeling empty. "Gale. Is leaving?"