MLTNL P5- "Loyalty"

"Loyalty" is the fifth Part of "Miracula Luxia: The Northern Lights". It was released on 12.03.2020.
== Plot ==
The fifth Challenge is going to test Jared's ability to be loyal towards his allies and loved ones, as well as his ability to stay concentrated in order to reach his end goal.
Guided by the friendly spirit, he has to resist all the temptations and reach a beloved person without falling victim to his greed.
Will he manage to do so?
== Plot ==
"This will be the one of the hardest challenges so far, Jared. I hope that you are ready for it."- The spirit says.
Jared says.
"I am ready to do whatever I can to gain the full ability to protect the good citizens of the world. Let's do this!"
The spirit smiles.
"It is nice to hear that you have a sense of responsibility to protect the ones around you. Because the Challenge is going to test that ability of yours."
"In a moment, I will teleport you to an underground room. There, we will navigate our way through the darkness. As for you, you must resist any temptation- be it gold, gems or any other such materialistic possessions you want to have for yourself. Failure to do so will force me to punish you in some way."
"Should you succeed, a person you love will wait for you and the end of the trail. Are you ready?"
Jared looks up and closes his eyes for a moment. Then, he takes a few deep breaths, to get ready for whatever comes next.
The spirit watches as the young hero slowly calms his nerves and gets ready to face this new Challenge.
After a few minutes of relaxation, Jared finally opens his eyes and smiles.
"I am ready. Let us see what this challenge has for me."
"Are you sure that you can succeed?"- The spirit questions his ability to stay calm- "If you stray away from me, I will be forced to punish you. Remember that!"
Jared nods.
"I cannot make any promises, but I will try to do so, at the very least."
The spirit smiles.
"Very well. I like the way you think, young hero. Let's move on to the next Challenge."
Having said that, Jared and the spirit teleport to a new nexus.
Jared opens his eyes, only to see himself and the spirit in a bright room, both of them staring at a closed door.
The spirit helps Jared stand up and continues staring at the door.
"I hope you're ready, Jared."- He says- "Past this door, we will find ourselves in almost complete darkness, having to navigate through a very long corridor, which will eventually lead us to the beloved one."
"Fortunately, I am bright enough to illuminate the way forward, so just follow my lead and we will be fine."
"And don't forget to stay near me. If you stray too far away because of a treasure, I will... "
The spirit sighs.
"Whatever. I am sure that you already know what's going to happen if you do that. So, are you?"
Jared nods.
"I will do anything to reach this beloved person. If he or she is so important to me, then I must see them."
The spirit smiles.
"Very well. Then please open the door in front of us, so we can proceed."
Jared tries to open the door, but realizes that it is locked. 
However, it is not locked by key. Jared realizes that it is kept locked by some invisible force, which doesn't let him open it in a normal way.
The spirit pats him on the shoulder to get his attention.
"Not like that, Jared. You need to open the door not with the force of your muscles, but with the force of your mind!"
"With the force of my... mind?"- Jared wonders.
The spirit nods.
"Indeed. You must convince the one, who is keeping it locked that you are a friendly person and just want to complete the Challenge to see your friend. It is simple."
Jared realizes what the spirit is talking about and closes his eyes. He communicates with the spirit that is keeping the door locked in a spiritual way and manages to convince him to open the door for the two of them.
After a few moments, Jared opens his eyes and hears a soft *click* sound.
The door swings open, letting Jared and the spirit leave the room without anymore negotiations.
"Excellent work, Jared!"- The spirit congratulates him- "You are truly a unique person, and you should know that well. Your affinity with the spiritual world makes you a very valuable ally."
Jared smiles.
"Thank you, spirit. I inherited the ability to see the spiritual world and talk to its residents from my aunt. I guess you could say that she is devoted to the things that we cannot see with a normal eye... and you are right. She is an occultic person who believes in the beyond, without a fear for the consequences."
The spirit smiles, realizing who is the person, for whom Jared is talking about.
"Ahh. I remember her well. I've been communicating with her, ever since she was a teenager. Such a wonderful young lady."
Jared is surprised by this statement.
"You... you know my aunt?"
The spirit nods.
"Yes. But I will tell you more about it later. For now, let us comcentrate towards the task at hand."
"The action you just performed successfully has enabled us to go forward, towards the light. This action alone was a huge step towards the completion of the Challenge."
"The only thing that remains is for you to follow my lead and not get distracted. Got it."
Jared nods.
"I said it earlier and I will say it again. I am ready. Let's do this!"
"Hopefully, this won't be too hard for me."- He says to himself as the spirit slowly begins to fly forward, with Jared coming right after him.
"So, you said that you're going to tell me about how you got to know my aunt. Care to explain?"
The spirit nods.
"Indeed I will. I got to know your aunt when she was younger. Back then, she had suffered a huge loss. She lost many of her friends, who died in an abandoned school. Because of that, she became a very desperate girl."
"In her time of need, I appeared as a kindred spirit, someone who she can fully trust. At first, she didn't react to my presence, still fearing every spirit because of what happened back there. But... she quickly warmed up to me not long after and we started talking to each other, thanks to her enhanced spiritual abilities."
"We talked about how she suffered from the loss at Heavenly Host, how she was trying to recover and try to think about the people around her, who are still living. I told her to never give up, to think about the future and leave the past behind. Of course, she didn't want to forget her deceased friends, but in the end she decided to not grieve about them anymore."
"After talking to her for a while, I also got to know her brother... your father who was always coming in her room, wondering about who she is talking to. That's when she introduced me to him and we quickly became friends."
"Years later, she was still shaky from all the things that happened back at the school and she didn't stop acting that way... until you were born. When your mother gave birth to you, your aunt quickly forgot about her problems and started caring about you and only you. Miraculously, you became her new reason to live."
Jared nods.
"Indeed. Aunt has always loved me very much, as much as I did. Even now, she still wants to protect me from the hostile forces. So much that she is ready to even give her life for me. To be honest, even my own parents wouldn't do that."
"Just like your uncle Jason, right?"
Suddenly, Jared is reminded of one of the people who are dearest to him. He starts to cry, but is stopped by the spirit.
"I know how it feels. Those memories are painful. They burn in your mind, even now- years after the person died. But you must move on and think about what is happening now. Your family. Your friends. The friendly people around you. And, most importantly, the future."
Jared nods and stops crying.
"You're right. No distractions. Let us do this."
With that, Jared and the spirit continue moving forward.
Jared sees shining chests and glittering gold around every corner, tempting him to stray away and get them.
For a moment, Jared considers abandoning the spirit and see what is in the chests. However, his soul prevented him from doing so.
"No!"- He says to himself- "I promised the spirit to stay with him. I won't stray away, just because there are some sparkly coins and golden chests to the left and right of me. I will not!"
With those thoughts in mind, Jared continues walking towards the light ahead, resisting the trickery of the materialistic rewards with relative ease.
However, near the end of the path, he sees something that he has not seen in years- his Keyblade.
Somehow, there is a Keyblade, which looks exactly like Jared's to the right of him. He stares at the weapon, as it beckons him to come and get it.
He tries to move away, knowing that this is another trick of the light. However, his legs refuse to cooperate. He watches in horror as they slowly move him closer towards his beloved weapon that he lost to Vanitas two years ago, slowly at first, then faster.
Jared's mind is in a complete state of fear, knowing that the spirit is definitely going to punish him for getting distracted from the main goal.
Just as everything seems to be lost, Jared manages to regain control over his body, succeeding to go back before the spirit notices his absence.
He stares at the Keyblade for a few moments. Suddenly, the Keyblade transforms into a simple blade. Slightly rusty as well.
Without even a single bit of hesitation, the young hero briefly stares at the rusty blade, which almost tricked him into failing the Challenge and quickly walks away from it, joining the spirit once again.
Finally, the two of them reach a well-lit room and see another person standing in the middle of it.
Jared looks closer and sees a face that he immediately recognizes. It is Annie!
But... something is wrong with her.
Jared stares at her in disbelief as he realizes that she is now a spirit.
"Annie... you... "
Annie smiles.
"I know what you're thinking, Jared."- The spirit says- "But don't worry. She is not dead. This is just a projection of her spirit who wants to speak with you."
"Look at you."- Annie says- "Loyal to the end. Knowing that you would see me, you didn't even get tricked by the fake Keyblade."
Jared gently takes her hands in his and smiles warmly.
"I knew that it would be you."- He says calmly- "From the moment when I accepted the challenge, when the spirit told me about a loved one, I knew that you will wait for me at the end of it."
"And I'll always be waiting for you, my love."- She says and kisses him on the cheek.
Jared blushes and looks down. 
With her hand, Annie gently pulls Jared's head back up, so he can look at her.
"I know that you miss me, but you must continue fighting on. Your determination to become a true hero has led you this far, and I'm sure that it will lead you even farther."
"You mustn't stop believing, Jared. Do you understand?"
Jared nods.
"Very well. Then go ahead and show those unworthy fools what you're truly made of. I will wait for you... no matter how long it takes for us to meet again. I always will."
"Good luck, my love."
Annie hugs her beloved Jared and suddenly vanishes, motes of light slowly going up, into the sky.
Jared sighs.
"Such a wonderful person, she is."- He says.
"Your love for her is what helped you complete the Challenge. Love is truly a powerful force, don't you think?"- The spirit says.
Jared nods.
"Love, friendship and the joy of others are the most powerful forces in the whole world, much more powerful than money and fame. I will never trade them for anything else. As long as I have them, I will be who I am right now- a hero who fights for the good of everyone."
The spirit smiles, reminding himself of the times when he was alive. When he used to help the people of his village fight against the monsters surrounding it and how they were grateful for that.
"The world needs more heroes like you, Jared."- He says- "If it had more heroes, its residents would be much safer and happier than they are now."
"But there is no time for simple talk. You must complete the last two challenges and prove yourself to the Spirit Council as a true hero. We can talk more later, when you are done."
Jared nods.
"Very well. I am ready to complete the last two Challenges, for the good of the innocent souls around the world.
The spirit smiles.
"Then come with me towards the next Challenge."
Jared and the spirit leave the room as sparkles of light slowly start to illuminate the way towards the next Challenge.