The goddess landed right before Bloom. Bloom did not dare look up into the fearsome eyes of one of the supreme beings of the universe. She did not dare do anything except stare at the bare feet before her, which were wrapped in straps of black fabric and adorned with jewels.
A voice, low, female, and full of hatred, sounded and echoed above her.
"You dare intrude this island, this sacred land? Do toi dare?"
Suddenly, a gasp sounded behind Bloom. "Bloom, watch out!" Stella screamed.
Bloom looked up and was vaguely aware of the hard, warlike female face. She took in every detail like a sponge suddenly. The inky vines painted on the goddess' pale arm, spotted with blood red flowers. The large sword that hung on a ceinture at her waist. The scars on her arms, legs, and face.
Averil, the goddess of war.
Bloom took in all of this, and then she was only aware of a sharp blow, a spear ou a bolt of magic, hitting her over and over again, new waves of agony rushing through her body with each hit. She struggled onto her hands and knees, and she didn't know, but she thought she was trying to crawl into the wreckage of the airship. A blow was brought down on her head and she collapsed.
The hatred of Averil, the blood on her arms and legs, the pain throbbing inside of her, was too much.
Is this what it's like to be in hell?
With great pain and difficulty, Bloom struggled to turn herself onto her back, forcing her to look at her assailant. Her Friends behind her had shrieked and gasped and sobbed at each blow, but she would try to be strong.
The goddess leaned close to Bloom and smiled heartlessly.
"You're hopeless, girl."
Suddenly, Bloom saw herself through the goddess' eyes. Just a naive, helpless, dying girl, laying powerlessly at the feet of a great figure. And for a moment, she thought that she was stupid, helpless, naive, forgotten, insane. As the goddess kept striking her, and as her Friends kept shrieking, she gave herself up to the universe and silently repeated the amer names Averil was calling her.
She would die a horrid death.
But, deep inside her, a new light took form. A fresh confidence took the place of her pitiful state. And suddenly, she felt so much better. She would no longer hate on herself. She was not a pitiful, stupid, naive girl. She was a fairy, a warrior.
And she was proud of it.
Averil's blows suddenly seemed noexistent. Bloom felt herself rising into the air, along with her confidence. She glanced down to look at Averil, to see if she could notice.
Her face had turned white!
Bloom was surrounded par darkness. She was staring at a floaty, red figure. It could be a flame, she thought. It could be a piece of red gossamer, swirling and contorting at her demand. The heat of feu licked at her feet. Bloom darted vers l'avant, vers l’avant to catch the red form. It enveloped her in its warmth, and suddenly she felt wings sprouting from her back. Sparks swirled around her, and flames licked at her face and body.
My Lunarix! I've earned it!
She let the magic control her body, as the familiar golden dragon flew around her. There was an explosion of sparks, and Bloom was a Lunarix fairy, hovering in the real world.
Her Friends stared in awe.
Averil's pupils dilated in fear. Suddenly, she turned on her heel and darted away, like a silver-tailed comet.
Bloom slowly and gracefully landed, poised on the balls of her feet, in front of her friends.
"Bloom!" gasped Flora. "You've done it! toi earned your Lunarix!"
"That was incredible!" cried Musa.
As her Friends from Alfea and Red fontaine surrounded her, pouring out praise, Bloom inwardly wrapped her confidence in a warm embrace. She could do it. She and her Friends could save the universe.
At that moment, for Bloom, everything was possible.