MLII C3.1, P8- "Reach For The Stars"

"Reach For The Stars" is the eighth Part of "Miracula Luxia II" 's third Chapter (Episode Two).
It was released on 25.01.2021.
== Plot ==
Jared enters the Realm of Dreams willingly, in an attempt to save Annie's soul and bring her back to the real world- a task that may not be as easy as it seems.
In order to rescue her, however, the young hero has to face his fears and defeat the darkness that still dwells deep within his soul. He has to come in terms with the deaths of people that are very dear to him. He also has to understand his newfound power as soon as possible and use it to traverse the realm and find Annie before it is too late.
The fate of an innocent person depends on Jared. And it is up to him whether he can save her in time or not.
== Story ==
Jared opens his eyes and notices that he is laying on the ground. He stands up and blinks a few times. The lights in this place are too bright for him and he has to get used to them.
When he is finally able to see clearly, he looks around and notices that he is standing on thin air.
"Wait."- He says- "This is not how the sky wor-- "
Suddenly, the aerial platform beneath him disappears and he starts to fall down 
"Why?"- He says- "Why is this happening?!"
At the same time, he hears a voice in his mind:
"Fly, child!"- It says- "Use your powers to reach for the stars."
"Reach for... the stars?"- Jared mutters.
Suddenly, a pair of angel wings appears on the boy's back and he sees a platform above him. He uses his wings to carefully fly up there, on solid ground.
He looks around. The platform is made of solid crystal, somehow able to stand in the air without falling down.
"Welcome, child."- The voice says- "Welcome, to the Realm of Dreams."
Jared raises his eyebrow.
"The Realm of Dreams? The place where the souls of innocent people are stored before going to Heaven or Hell?"
The voice makes a reassuring sound.
"Yes. We can sense that you came here with a purpose in your mind. Feel free to fulfill it."- It says- "Be warned, however, that you shouldn't take any of the souls that are staying here. If you try to take them back to the real world, there will be terrible consequences for both you and the soul. Do you understand that, my child?"
Jared nods.
"Very well."- He says- "I shall leave the souls where they are supposed to be."
He does not mention that he is here to rescue a friend that died recently. The guardians of this realm are going to be infuriated.
Fortunately, they fail to notice that he is lying to them.
"Have a pleasant trip, my child."- The voice says- "Also, feel free to enter and leave this realm whenever you want. You are a part of the Heavens, after all."
With that, the voice in Jared's head becomes quiet.
"None of this nonsense makes any sense to me."- He says to himself- "But that does not matter to me, for I have a mission to fulfill. An oath that I made to a friend that must be kept, at all costs."
He looks at another platform ahead of him, one that is much larger than the one he is standing on.
"I am coming, Annie."- He says- "Do not lose hope yet."
He flies to the next platform with ease.
Once he is standing on solid ground, he sees an unusual sight.
Two demons are standing near a massive hole and looking at each other. One of them is holding a soul in his hand.
The first demon laughs.
"This one radiates with kindness, but it's also very evil!"- He says- "I say we throw it into the whole to please the Master!"
The second demon smiles.
"And throw her we shall."
Jared looks at the hole. It is a drop with no end, an endless suffering for an unfortunate soul.
Without thinking twice, he draws Demonslayer and stabs the first demon in the back before he throws the soul in there.
The second demon howls and attacks the boy, but is stabbed in the shoulder. Moments later, he is thrown into the hole along with his friend.
Jared carefully picks up the soul and holds it in the palm of his hand.
Upon closer inspection, he recognizes who it belonged to in life. There are no physical features to indicate that, but energy that is still within it tells it all.
"This... this is Annie's soul!"- He exclaims.
He holds his friend's soul near his heart and feels the warmth radiating from it.
"I can feel her anger."- He says to himself- "No matter how hard she tries to hide it, I can still feel it."
He looks at the hole and notices that strange creatures are climbing out of it. Perhaps they are angered that he is taking Annie's soul away from them.
Without a second thought, he walks off the platform and flies towards another one, away from the creatures.
Once they are on the surface, they stare at him and growl.
"Looks like they cannot fly."- Jared says to himself- "This is good news for me."
He looks at Annie's soul. Moments later, he hears whispers.
"Hold on."- He says- "Is she... trying to talk to me?"
He listens more intently, hoping to hear something. However, his efforts prove to be futile.
The whispers are too incomprehensible for him.
"Annie, what are you trying to say to me?"- He wonders- "Are you angry? Sad? What is on your mind?"
Suddenly, the whispers in his mind get louder. Slowly, the words that are jumbled in it start to rearrange themselves, forming a single sentence.
"Jared... "- Annie's spirit whispers- "Help... me... "
Jared notices that she is starting to fade away. He gasps.
"N-no! Annie!"- He says- "This doesn't have to end like this!"
He looks at a platform ahead of him. It is very far away, but it seems like he could barely reach it.
However, the only way to do so is to try. Standing in one place and grieving for a fading soul will not achieve anything and Jared knows it well.
"I will save you, Annie!"- He says and takes a step off the platform.
He spreads his wings and flies towards his new destination. At first, he is unable to reach it since his wings are too weak to carry him there.
However, he experiences a sudden burst of power moments later. Motivation that keep his in the sky.
"Don't... give up!"- Annie's soul says, giving him the strength to continue.
With her help, Jared manages to succesfully cross the gap and step on the next platform.
"I understand now."- He says- "The power that I have been gaining until now, it was all thanks to the people who believed in me."
He stares ahead.
"As long as there are people who believe in me, I will never back down!"- He exclaims.
Suddenly, the platform gets longer. It forms a bridge across a massive gap, as if inviting our hero to cross it.
Sensing a trap that is well-hidden from him, Jared gets close to the crystal bridge and stares ahead. Sure enough, the trap triggers as soon as he is near the expanse.
Creatures climb out of the depths below and stand on the bridge. Others climb behind him and block his only way out.
Surrounded by enemies from both sides, Jared has no other option that to fight them and hope for the best.
He places Annie's soul on the ground and draws Demonslayer.
"I will not let you take her away from me!"- He yells and charges.
He manages to take out a large amount of them, but is soon weakened by their attacks. He falls to his knees, but does not back down.
However, the horde is slowly getting larger and larger, lowering the young hero's chance for survival. Soon, it will be over for him.
"Stop."- The guardians of the realm say to him- "This is not how you are supposed to fight those fiends."
Moments later, a majestic bow appears in front of Jared. It is a very fine piece of work, forged from the wing of an angel, held together by a golden string. A unique artifact, given only to those who have shown their might on the battlefield.
"This bow is known as Angel Wing. It is a Light-attribute weapon that does massive damage against creatures of Darkness."- The guardians continue- "Use it to defeat the evil ones and get to the goal!"
Jared sheathes Demonslayer and picks up Angel Wing. However, he has no time left to look at it. The creatures are getting closer.
He aims the weapon at the fiends in front of him, shoots an arrow, and...
*BOOM*
The arrow explodes on impact, sending the creatures close to the blast flying, sending them back into the depths from whence they came.
Jared shoots another arrow at the creatures behind him. The result is the same. as before.
Soon, he and Annie are alone. The enemies have been defeated.
Making sure that no one else is going to attack them, Jared puts the bow on his back, takes Annie's soul and crosses the bridge.
There, he sees an empty circle. Looking ahead, he also sees the Earth. It is not far away.
He takes a step forward, intending to take Annie's soul back to her rightful owner.
However, just as he steps on the circle, strong sunlight envelops him and he is blinded for a few seconds.
He steps back and notices that there is somebody standing on the circle now.
It is his uncle, Jason.
"Uncle?"- Jared says- "What is happening?"
Jason shakes his head.
"Jared, what in the world are you doing?"- He says- "Didn't you hear the warning of the guardians? You're going to get yourself killed!"
Jared remembers what the guardians said to him when he arrived in the realm. Taking a soul away from this place is going to cost his life.
Jason extends his ghostly hand.
"The mistake can still be avoided! We can still avert disaster!"- He says- "Give me the girl's soul and return back to the realm of the living. It's the only thing that we can do!"
Jared shakes his head and takes a step back.
"Uncle, you do not understand!"- He says- "Annie was not supposed to die! I came here to rescue her soul and bring her back to life. And I am not going to take no for an answer!"
"Souls that are taken to the Realm of Dreams are forbidden to be returned back to the realm from whence they came. If someone tries to break this rule, the penalty will be death."- Jason replies- "Please, nephew! I don't want you to suffer because of this! I know that you love her but please, know that this won't end well for either of you."
Jared looks down.
"You're going to lose your life, Jared!"- Jason says- "Why are you so ignorant of such a thing?"
Jared shakes his head.
"I have gone too far to have any regrets."- He says stoically- "Especially when the life of a dear friend is at risk."
Jason raises his eyebrow.
"What are you talking about?"- He asks his nephew.
Jared looks up. He is barely preventing himself from crying.
"Uncle, you do not understand how much Annie means to me! How much it pains me to know that she is not with us anymore."- He says- "Every moment that I spent without her is like walking on spikes- painful and filled with regret. And it is the same for every good person that was lost in this meaningless war between the Good and the Bad."
He gets close to the end of the platform.
"I admire your dedication. I'm glad that it's still intact, even after me and your mother left this world behind."- Jason says- "But is this really what you want? And, if it is, are you intending to do anything to succeed?"
Jared looks down and sighs.
"Every life matters, even those of the treacherous fools that I fought until now."- He says stoically.
He looks at Annie's soul and holds her near his heart.
"The souls of innocents like her have suffered too much. They do not deserve what is happening to them."- He continues- "And if I have the chance to save at least one of them, I will gladly give my own life away to save theirs. I will fight valiantly to make it happen. Because every soul deserves another chance, a small yet meaningful kindness that matters more than a thousand words."
He shakes his head.
"A hero never leaves a friend in need behind, no matter how many tragedies he has to face. He keeps fighting, knowing that he is always doing the right thing."- He says- "The heart keeps beating for the good of everyone, even when the end is near. The strength never fades away, as long as someone still believes in you."
Jason sighs.
"I can see how much she means to you now. No matter what I say, surely those words will mean nothing to you. Your desire to keep her alive will always win in the end. It is how the story goes and I cannot change it."- He says and steps aside- "Now go. Free the girl's soul and take her away from this place. And, if my words still mean anything to you, I want you to know that I still believe in you. And it will never fade away, no matter how many decades pass. No matter how far away we are from each other."
Jared nods and takes another step.
"Thank you for believing in me."- He responds- "Goodbye, uncle. I will miss you."
Jason smiles.
"I will miss you too, kiddo."- He says- "Stay safe."
He watches as Jared flies to the Earth, beaming with pride.
"I'm so proud of my brother. He has trained Jared well and I am proud of them."- He says to himself- "This... is the brave hero that we wanted to see. The young man, for whom we have shown so much love, so much care. The little boy that grew in front of our eyes, in just a few years."
He sighs.
"And I'm eager to see what he will achieve in the future."- He continues.
He looks at the sky and smiles.
"Keep on shining, little angel! We will always be there for you!"
Meanwhile, Jared flies towards the Earth, holding Annie's soul close to him.
"So close, yet so far."- He says- "But this does not mean that I will give up!"
As he slowly approaches his destination, he hears the voices of the guardians. They seem to be angry.
"Turn back, hero."- One of them says- "Go back to the place from whence you came. Return the soul to the Realm of Dreams, or you shall never see the light of the day!"