There’s still one more chapter left to go. What could happen after Sparky had heroically saved the fireflies?
On that night, back at the glowworm cave, the dazzling stars twinkled in the fireflies’ sight. The sparkling ballerinas in the celestial sky seemed to be celebrating the fireflies’ reunition and survival with a ballet that shone the pitch-black sky into a starlit sensation. The ballerinas danced and pranced in the cloudless sky like there was no tomorrow, while the fireflies had their heart-warming reunion under the glittering sky like they hadn’t seen each other for ten years.
Yes, it’s heartening that the fireflies are safe and sound, but what about Sparky? Where did he go?
Sparky fluttered his wings, looking at the many fireflies gleefully chit-chatting with their comrades. Sparky has been left out once again, and Sparky is still the outcast that he was, even if he had saved everyone from a horrendous fate.
Sparky felt no hint of gratitude from his fellow fireflies, and agony burnt inside his soul; Sparky felt no sign of attention from his fellow fireflies, and sorrow flooded inside his head. Sparky had decided that he would end this circulation of ignorance and exclusion.
Sparky drifted away from the glowworm cave, and Bubba saw him, and he cried, ‘Sparky! Where are you going?’
‘Somewhere away from you ungrateful ignoramuses.’
‘No! Sparky, you can’t do that!’
‘Why not? I’m just a menace to this society. I don’t have a spark; I’m worthless and hopeless in this judgmental world.’
‘But Sparky… You’re one of us.’
‘Oh, am I? All I’ve gotten from you unappreciative people are- Oh, you know what? Forget about it; you would have a million reasons and excuses for your behaviour.’
‘Sparky, this isn’t you….’
‘This is farewell, isn’t it? Goodbye, brother.’
Sparky flapped his wings and left Bubba and the fireflies, which left Bubba in tears, but other fireflies didn’t notice but kept celebrating their survival of the treacherous capture of the mischievous boys.
Once again, Sparky had run away from the fireflies and isolated himself. This time he didn’t even speak to Cricket and Mr Owl. He had locked himself in a cave. It was like he was in solitary confinement, but it wasn’t the warden who locked him up; he had locked himself away from all people from the outside world.
At Glowworm cave, Monique was no other firefly noticing Sparky’s disappearance. Monique saw depressed Bubba and flew to him; she asked, ‘Hey, what happened?’
‘Sparky.’
‘Oh… I noticed that too. Where is Sparky?’
‘I don’t know. He- he just flew off.’
‘Bubba, we must find him and convince him to come back.’
‘Monique, it’s no use. Sparky had been hurt too deeply this time.’
‘But… I believe that Sparky still has an ounce of care for us!’
‘Well, you’re right, I guess. Your suggestion is worth a shot.’
‘Then what are you waiting for? Let’s go, chop-chop.’
Monique and Bubba decided to find Sparky before something bad happened to him. Monique and Bubba fluttered their illuminated wings and set off to the treacherous woods.
Back with Sparky, he had isolated himself so long in a cave that he had lost count of time. He was starving, weak and downcast; he was dying. The cave was pitch-black like an abyss; there was yet no hint of light coming from Sparky.
Sparky realised that isolating himself wasn’t the solution to this problem. He thought, ‘I’m just the victim of this bullying and exclusion. Why am I the one suffering? Why do the bullies get to enjoy the great things? It’s just a spark! I don’t get how important it is; that stupid spark ruined my life.’
Out of nowhere, a spirit appeared in front of Sparky, and it seemed to be the spirit of another firefly. Sparky immediately flew behind a rock to take cover. The spirit fluttered its see-through wings, circled the cave, and spotted Sparky. Sparky felt chills running up and down his spine; he trembled with fear. What was the spirit going to do to him? Sparky glanced at the spirit; how it looked wasn’t so bad. Sparky saw a white firefly, but it looked more transparent than usual. Sparky looked at its glow…
It was flaming red.
‘H…how?’ stuttered Sparky. The spirit gave Sparky a weird face and examined him. The spirit said in a snake’s tone, ‘So you’re Sparky, eh?’
‘Y-yes…’
‘Oh, I forgot to introduce myself; sorry for the fright. I’m Macabre.’
‘But a macabre is-’
‘HUSH, child. Despite my name, I am nowhere close to being grim and gruesome.’
‘Why are you here?’
‘I need your help.’
‘Why, and what is it?’
‘It might be unbelievable, but there’s a wizarding word out there.’ Macabre spun himself, and suddenly he was wearing a tuxedo; he spun himself again, and now he was wearing a swimming suit; when he turned, the cave became a swimming pool. Sparky was bewildered; he asked, ‘What’s with the spiritual look then?’
‘Oh well, I’m dead.’
‘How are you here?’
‘Professional wizards like me are kept in the living world to guide new wizards.’
‘Why are you here? Am I a wizard?’
‘You could be one.’
‘Really?’
‘Yes, now are you going to help me or not.’
‘Yeah, but I just want to ask one last question.’
‘Ask away!’
‘Why me?’
After Sparky asked that question, everything became noiseless. It was aphonic. Everything reverted to normal; the swimming pool was back to its original dull cave walls; the swimming suit was gone. Macabre sighed and said, ‘Don’t be too shabby about it, but you’re the chosen one.’ (No, this is not Harry Potter)
Sparky almost fainted in surprise. What on earth was happening? It’s all happening so fast, and Sparky can’t comprehend everything. Macabre said, ‘I see you are very confused and might even be traumatised. Now, we should probably get moving to the wizarding world.’
Macabre turned his light to the cave exit, and there was a golden door. Macabre told Sparky to go inside the door for a surprise,
And such a big surprise that Sparky got.
Sparky stepped into the door, and he was teleported into another world. Macabre soon followed, and he welcomed Sparky, ‘Welcome, Sparky! To the magnificent city of Zrashire!’ The scenery was so stupefied that Sparky had his mouth wide open and stood as still as a statue. However, there was something that Sparky did not understand, where are all the firefly wizards? Sparky looked at Macabre and asked, ‘Hey, where are the others?’
‘You see those humans?’
‘Yeah.’
‘We can turn into humans, and then we can walk and talk like humans.’
‘That’s amazing!’ Sparky exclaimed. He looked around the entrance of Zrashire; there were men in suits guarding the entrance of where they came from. Sparky asked, ‘So they’re fireflies too?’
‘Yes, they’re the guards of this door – the door of Krester. This is the west door of Zrashire,’ Macabre answered, ‘Now come with me; you need a place to stay.’ Macabre led Sparky to a cosy little cottage, and they went there.
‘So how exactly do I turn into a human?’ Sparky asked.
‘Well, imagine what you would look like as a human.’
‘Oh! Oh! I see it, I see it!’
‘Now you feel yourself, arms and legs growing, head humanifying. Growing all your handsome features.’ Sparky tried as hard as he could, and finally, his head became bigger, and he grew skin like a human. Later, his four arms became two, and his legs were longer. Some time later, his arms and legs grew longer, and he was taller. His body became larger, just like a human too. Sooner or later, Sparky was just like a human.
‘Well, that’s weird. Usually, fireflies glow their bum even if they had turned into a human.’ Macabre said, confused. ‘I never glowed.’ Uttered Sparky. Sparky was now a cute boy with brunette hair and freckles on his face. However, he was naked. Well, you couldn’t expect a firefly like Sparky to be wearing clothes.
‘Well, um… You can turn into a human; that means you’re a wizard,’ Macabre said awkwardly and chuckled, ‘Usually, newbies like you won’t be able to do the human transformation successfully for the first time. Maybe you’re special.’
‘Ironic to say that since you just said I was the chosen one earlier.’ Sparky laughed.
‘Yes, but you must understand that I am getting old.’
‘How old are you?’
‘Eh… I guess about 1250 years old?’
‘Wow, you’re ancient.’
‘Not, my friend, Pierre is 4000 years old.’
‘No offence, but do spirits like you, um… die?’
‘No offence taken, but yes, we do indeed die. Only a blood arrow can end a spirit, but the consequences of killing one are horrendous.’
‘What are the consequences?’
‘The culprit receives the punishment, which is worse than death, but anyways, we must get you some clothes.’
‘Yeah, sure.’
‘But you, don’t go out. We don’t want nudity around Zrashire.’ Then Macabre transformed into a human, or should I say a ghost of a human. Then he floated out from the wall.
Soon Macabre was back with a few sets of clothes and said, ‘Now, put on clothes, and I’ll give you a tour. You won’t want to return to Glowworm cave, right?’ Sparky got changed into a white polo with jeans and answered, ‘Yeah, not after what rubbish they had treated me like.’
‘Well, then, a tour is necessary. Come with me, boy!’ Macabre and Sparky exited the cottage and went for a stroll around Zrashire.
‘Sparky, this is the east entrance of Zrashire – the door of Eyrith. Eyrith was the first wizard to exist in this dimension. Nearby is the marketplace of Eyrith; we can buy our food there.’ Macabre introduced.
‘I remember the west entrance, the door of Krester. Who’s Krester?’
‘He’s the founder of Zrashire. He grew Zrashire and made it what it is now, the best city in this dimension. Let’s continue our tour, shall we?’
Then Macabre took Sparky to the south entrance, and he said, ‘Let’s get straight to the point; this is the south entrance, the door of Antavine. Antavine is the Goddess of peace, who defeated the mistress of evil and saved us.’
And lastly, Macabre took Sparky to the north entrance; he sighed and explained, ‘This is the north entrance, the door of Monteverdi.’ Macabre stopped talking, so Sparky asked, ‘Who’s Monteverdi?’
‘Oh… He’s my great-great-grandfather’s rival.’
‘Was he a good man?’
‘He was the worse, but people loved him.’
‘Oh, why?’
‘Monteverdi is famous for his dragon slaying; he’s even given the name “Dragon of the North”. But people didn’t know how much damage he did to the cycle of nature.’
‘What happened?’
‘Dragons are mythical creatures that roam outside the city walls, and they are the spiritual form of the fire god. Though dragons sometimes attack cities, killing one is just a big no-no.’
‘Why?’
‘Fire is the element of power and desire. When dragons – the representatives of fire – are all killed, people will lose desire, and nature will lose its power.’
‘Wow, but if he’s good at dragon slaying, he must be a good wizard. Is he a spirit?’
‘Yes, he died after attempting to slay the most powerful dragon, Syrax. Then he, in his spiritual form, became a false guide and manipulated new powerful wizards to rid all dragons.’
‘Did he succeed?’
‘Luckily, not yet. The two most powerful dragons are still active at this point.’
‘But why do people love Monteverdi? They even named the entrance after him.’
‘People nowadays still think dragons are vile creatures because of the influence of Monteverdi.’
‘Oh, I see. It’s getting dark now; let’s go back.’ Sparky and Macabre went back to the cottage and sat on the sofa. Sparky asked, ‘I’ve been thinking about something.’
‘Yeah, what is it?’
‘What did you mean by you need my help? How am I the chosen one?’
‘Well, now that you asked. I’ll explain the situation to you. The evil mistress is back.’
‘Wait… as in whom the Goddess of Peace defeated?’
‘Exactly, only I know this terrible news; I witnessed my old protégé unseal the evil mistress’s binding curse.’ There was suddenly a large bang outside the cottage, and Sparky decided to go check it out; what he saw was nerve-wracking…
(for a better reading experience, start playing Verdi requiem dies irae until you finish reading the following two paragraphs)
What he saw was a black storm outside; the evil mistress was back, she was really back! A black tornado supported the cruel mistress, and she let out a terrible and distorted chuckle. She announced, ‘THE DAY OF WRATH WILL SOON ARRIVE TO THIS MISERABLE WORLD!!!’ And the evil mistress’s goons on shorter tornadoes all chanted, ‘DIES IRAE! DIES IRAE! DIES IRAE!’
Sparky shivered and questioned his sanity, day of the wrath? What does that mean? ‘WE SHALL CONSUME THIS CORRUPTED WORLD TO ASHES; WE SHALL INVADE THE HORRIBLE MINDS OF MANKIND.’ The evil mistress continued, and her goons chanted, ‘FULL OF TEARS AND FULL OF DREAD, TIS’ THAT DAY THAT WAKES THE DEAD!’ What kind of mayhem was that? Sparky wondered. But whoever this ‘evil mistress’ is, she must be stopped. Sparky saw vileness, atrocity, and gruesomeness. The horror this evil mistress gives off, the unpleasantness she caused Sparky to feel.
(you may now stop the music if you have started playing it)
Sparky went back to the cottage, traumatised. He thought of what he had witnessed, Day of Wrath? World to ashes? Wakes the dead? What’s going on? All this just happened in a mere day. It’s hard to cope with the fact that he is an outcast living in a cave. But now he’s told to be destined to save the world. Macabre saw Sparky’s face and asked, ‘What happened?’
‘E-e-evil m-mistress!!’
‘I wished that all this evil mistress mayhem was fake, but I guess you ARE indeed the chosen one. The evil mistress must’ve sensed your aura. I must get you trained for a battle.’
‘Oh… How are you going to train me?’
‘You’ll see. Your training starts tomorrow.’
That night Sparky couldn’t sleep; too much had happened after he left glowworm cave. Sparky’s bedroom was extraordinarily well-designed. He had friendly glass roofing and many greening decors, perfect for where he came from. The room wasn’t big, but the windows made it look spacious; not a single space felt cramped.
Sparky gazed upon the sky. There were some shooting stars, and Sparky made a wish. I don’t know the desire, but maybe you could try to guess! The Sky wasn’t just ballerinas this time. Sparky could hear the orchestra accompanying the ballerinas fluttering, and some whirling and twirling as the moon smiled at the sleeping people like an endearing mother. Sparky soon fell asleep; the calming winds of Zrashire were like a lullaby to Sparky; they sang,
“Under the moonlight, there’s a lullaby.
The night in the meadow whispers through the breeze.
Music is endearing and swirling under the starry night; the lights are shining brightly,
oh, my dearest firefly, let me soothe your soul
under the darkest tree.”
Sparky felt the love of his mother from the soothing lullaby of Zrashire, oh how Sparky adored his mother. Sparky whispered to himself before he slept, ‘Mother, please protect me from the difficulties I’m about to face.’
The next morning, Sparky changed and headed out to the living room. Macabre asked, ‘How was your beauty sleep?’
‘Amazing.’
‘Of course. You overslept, you big baby.’
‘Oh… I…’
‘Well, that’s not important now, eat breakfast and let’s get training.’
Sparky followed Macabre to the west entrance; this time, the door wasn’t a portal but a normal gateway. The door led to a large piece of grassland, probably the areas beyond Zrashire’s wall. Sparky let out a large sigh, and he cried. ‘Why are you crying’ Macabre asked.
‘It’s just, I haven’t seen anything so magnificent since the night I…’ Sparky was lost for words; he just didn’t want to be reminded of the tragedy he faced back at glowworm cave. But what Sparky saw was something so spectacular. The bees buzzing on flower fields, the horses galloping on the grasslands, the sun shining so warmly on the grounds of Zrashire. ‘Anyways, let the training begin. The first thing I’ll train you in is your physical and mental control. Then We’ll work on Spiritual and Magical duties.’
Macabre first tested Sparky’s physical abilities by running and flying as a firefly. It turned out Sparky was decent at that. And for mental control, I guess Sparky wasn’t so good at that. That’s probably why he left glowworm cave instead of talking things out. ‘I see, so you’re not good at controlling your emotions.’ Macabre said. Sparky said,
‘Yeah, that’s like the reason I left my home.’
‘I see. Not to be a creep, but I think what you felt was normal.’
‘Maybe, I guess.’ Sparky replied. Now Macabre was floating back to the gates of Zrashire; Sparky was confused, so he asked, ‘But you’ve just tested me; isn’t there still training to do?’ Macabre continued floating and said, ‘Yes, but I think you’re hungry.’
‘Yeah, I am. Let’s go back then.’ Sparky nodded and spoke. Then Sparky and Macabre went to the humble little cottage and had lunch. After lunch, they returned to the grasslands, and Sparky’s Spiritual and Magical power was tested.
Macabre requested Sparky to try to cast a simple spell – the fireball summoning spell. Sparky transformed into a firefly (I forgot to mention that only in the firefly state could you use magic) and tried casting the spell. Of course, he succeeded, but something magical happened…
Sparky had a faint glow at the last section of his abdomen. Had sparky found his glow? Yes, but the light wasn’t the usual greenish yellow; it was a golden glow. Macabre pointed at Sparky’s back of his abdomen and cried, ‘Sparky! Sparky! You’re glowing!’ Sparky looked at his back, and WOW! He was glowing. But why in such a sudden? Sparky asked Macabre, ‘Why am I suddenly glowing now?’
‘It’s because you’ve set your path to become the world’s saviour.’
‘But other fireflies start glowing since their birth.’
‘Well, you’re special. You could’ve gone down many roads and gotten your glow. You could’ve become a villain; you could’ve become the “dictator for life” of the other fireflies; You could’ve become the best soprano singer in town. But others have an assigned role by the world’s creator; you’re special, and you get to choose yours truly.’
‘Wow… So, my glow shows if I’ve found a path I would go down.’
‘Exactly.’
‘I must train hard to defeat the evil mistress.’
‘Now that’s the spirit! Let our training begin.’
Then after Sparky’s glow appeared, he worked harder than ever to save the world. He trained day and night; no matter how insane the weather was, a blizzard or typhoon, he would still find a place to train. Soon, Sparky was probably the best wizard in Zrashire. But he wasn’t ready to take down the evil mistress, for she had a whole army. Sparky had to recruit some people to help him.
Sparky went around the town of Zrashire; he put up posters for recruitment of his army. Many people didn’t believe it was real, but they still came to Sparky’s cottage to check out what was going on. Many people went to see, and when Sparky flew up the roof and transformed into a human this time, his transformation was smooth. Sparky said, ‘Fortississimo.’ (A spell that makes him louder) Then he announced,
‘GOOD EVENING, FELLOW LADIES AND GENTS’. I’m sure you’ve seen my posters. You’re probably very confused right now, but what I wrote on the signs is true and still is. Right now, I’m recruiting members to help me take down the vile evil mistress.’
A citizen yelled, ‘How do we know if you’re not speaking rubbish?’
‘Good question; I’ve seen the evil mistress myself. She was… nerve-wracking, and she mentioned something about the day of wrath and consuming this world into ashes. We must stop her.’
After hearing what Sparky said, the crowd chit-chatted and debated whether they should join Sparky on his risky adventure. A courageous young man raised his hand and said, ‘I’d like to help!’ What the man said inspired many people, and they all wanted to help Sparky.
At the end of the recruitment, Sparky had recruited over 5,000 members. What a success! Now I’m running out of time. Let’s fast forward to when they fight the evil mistress.
(Maybe written during the CNY holiday)
On the day, the day of the fight, it was a lunar eclipse, when the evil mistress was the weakest. Sparky and Macabre led their army to the castle located at Mount Black Salt. The castle was built of black bricks and with black stained panes. How typical of a villain, black and dark.
Sparky’s army was getting closer and closer to the castle; here they stood for the turning of the years. They marched into the castle, and immediately there were two soldiers of the evil mistress blocking the way, and of course, their magic was spectacular, and Sparky barely defeated them.
If the soldiers were so powerful, what about the evil mistress? Was she like a god, so powerful but yet wicked? Stay tuned for the next writing.