The Last Celestial

Protected by The Sand Part 2

Zebedee bent down to check if the man was still breathing. She knelt against the hot sand and went on all-fours. She moved closer until only an inch separates her ears from the man's lips. And when she felt a hot but barely there breath against her sweaty skin, she jolted up and said "He's alive!"

She looked down at the man this time and tried to place her head against his chest, trying to listen at his heartbeat. But it was so weak and faint, that if they don't do something, he might die today.

"We have to do something!" She screamed at them, and from what the sun-burnt man was wearing he was a part of the forty men and women who were guarding the Relic of Scorpio. "Nathaniel!" She screamed, and looked back at them.

That's when she saw their reaction.

Aiziah was crying, screaming as she ran towards them. "Elly!" She shouted as she ran, calling for his name. "Elly! That's Elly, Zebedee!" Aiziah tripped on her footing caused by the cruel sand underneath her feet. She slammed hard against the sand, her stomach and chest down on the hot desert floor. "We have to help him, please! Nathaniel! That's Elly. How could you not recognize him!"

Zebedee's breathing wavered after hearing what her friend just said. "Huh?"

She looked down on the man once more, and tried to study his features. He was so burnt, that no one would recognize him, until they gave it a second look. And yes, it was true. It was him. "Elly...?"

Tears rolled down her cheeks as she begins to sob. She thought one of the bones she carried was her friend's. "Oh, Sagittarius, if you hear us while you rest at the stars please give some of your fire of life to, Elly..." She cried.

It didn't take long for Aiziah to reach Zebedee. The two female Keepers exchanged a tight embrace. Their best friend managed to survive, even if he was left to die here. If they haven't fought against the heat and made it in time, Elly will never make it through the night.

Aiziah looked at Nathaniel and Kane who were baffled by what they're witnessing.

"Elder!" She screamed on top of her lungs. "What are you doing?! We need to act now or else Elly will die! We need to save him!"

Kane woke up from his trance, the desert heat was making his head ache and compromised his decision. After hearing the two Keepers, he moved forward to try to carry Elly.

Nathaniel blinked a few times, as if he was calming himself. He did not know if it was the desert heat, but the Bane inside the bottle he sealed so tightly was gone... and now, there's a black scorpion lurking on Elly's feet.

"Don't touch him." Nathaniel warned when Kane was about to pick Elly up from the sand. He pointed at Elly's feet, showing the three the scorpion. Its telson was curved up and was seemingly ready to attack. It looks as if it was protecting Elly from harm.

The three Keepers flinched and scurried away from Elly's body. The scorpion was taunting them, pointing its poisoned filled needles at whomever was at range.

"Wha---what... what's going on?" Aiziah asked.

The scorpion was pure black, and on its back was the mark of the Celestial --- Scorpio. A golden mark that shined through.

Leaving the four speechless at what they've just witnessed.

"Elder." Kane called. "What shall we do?"

Kane tried to move closer to get a hold of Elly but the scorpion almost charged at him, making him trip and fall on the sand to avoid its venom.

"Don't move, you fools!" Nathaniel spoke up, he leaned in closer but not close enough. He wanted to check on the back of the scorpion to really see if it's real or not. But by the looks of it, there is no denying it.

The letter M with an arrow on it was on the creatures back. This is the doing of the Celestial indeed. It's nothing but a somesort of a miracle. But what confuses Nathaniel is why the scorpion is seeing them as a threat and not the protector.

"What do we do?!" Zebedee screamed in panic. Making Nathaniel lose his concentration.

"Zebedee, shut up for a moment, won't you?! I'm thinking." Was Nathaniel's strict command to the noisy Keeper.

She huffed and crossed her arms, rolling her eyes at him. But still she followed. Nathaniel might be overly busy, a perfectionist but the thing about him that she likes... is that Nathaniel was extremely smart. One of the brightest Keepers out there. "Fine." She grumbled under her breath. "But it's getting hotter here, and if you don't think fast, not only will Elly die but we might be next from this unforgiving heatwave."

Nathaniel shook his head at Zebedee's never-ending rants. He focused and stared at the scorpion. Then he remembered something important.

A lesson that was taught to them, a knowledge that was passed on only to Elders like himself. He bent down on his knees. And then he pulled down his long sleeves to reveal the tattoo on his forearm, signifying that he's a Keeper, an Elder and a descendant of Haris.

If his intuition is wrong, he will die that day.

But then the scorpion crawled down from Elly's feet and slowly creep its way towards the Elder. The telson on its back went down, no longer held up to protect the man on the sand. And its dark color turned to white, showing its true colors.

The scorpion shined bright like the stars and then it vanished against the sand, the hot desert floor absorbed it like water.

And then something beyond comprehension happened. From where the scorpion dissolved into nothing, a small plant grew instantly. A lone flower called the desert lily. The flower bud slowly bloomed, revealing its beauty. It's pure white petals illuminated brightly, shining like crystals.

The four Keepers watched as a single drop of dew formed on the lone petal on the flower. By instinct, Nathaniel immediately fumbles to open the jar, removing the cloth on it and then placing it just underneath the petal and waited for the dew to fall.

Right after the dew fell on the bottle, the small bottle was filled to the brim. The color of the thick substance turned into bluish black with traces of golden dust.

Nathaniel was left breathless.

He looked at Elly as he listened to the guiding voice inside of him.

'Look for the man whose descendant looked after the stars. He was bestowed with the surname of Orion. Have him cure the descendant of Haris the Great.'

========================

Andrew, Hyacinth, Rajesh, Darlene and Landon rode on a plane towards the forest of the Zodiacs along with the other Keepers who survived the attack of the creature of Tar and coal as well as the giant bull that destroyed half of the island of Mindoro.

The association had to pay a hefty price for all the damage that had been done. The billionaires and tycoons who supports the association and its cause. Also, a lot of the funds coming from those people are either husbands and wives of the Elders.

The Haris descendants wealth is so abundant that up to 25% of the world's wealth is owned or named after Haris and the Keepers.

The world knows of their influence. Still, they cannot buy the lives that was lost, or pay for the family's homes that had been destroyed. Nothing can make up for lost memories and the meaning of a precious home and what happened inside.

Diomedes knows that well enough.

As they all travel towards the forest, he wonders why another person who doesn't carry the blood of Haris inherits such great power.

The Taurus.

He isn't angry, nor he is questioning the decision of the Celestial beings that he serves. He is just wondering why. Their family, their lineage had been taking care of the relics and the world for this entire time, yet... Hyacinth was chosen.

It baffled him to the core, yet he was overjoyed that the Celestial known for creating beautiful forest and plentiful food has returned.

Timothy and Dah were also with the Elder. But since Hyacinth isn't comfortable with anyone except for Andrew, they have no choice but to let the two be, and not try to meddle. For Hyacinth is still unstable.

She would flinch whenever someone unfamiliar approaches her. And her eyes will shine green and gold and brown whenever she feels threatened. They'll leave her be, just until the plane has landed on the ground so that they won't crash and die in the process.

"So... that's Landon's wife, huh?" Dah whispered onto Timothy's ears. "...and apparently, the baby that Darlene is holding is their son."

Timothy hummed and nodded his head as he stared at Hyacinth's features. And somehow he noticed how she gotten taller at the span of their 4 hour flight. There's still 6 hours left until they land.

She was only 5'1 when they saw her at the island of Mindoro, now she's practically 5'4.

"Dah." Timothy called. "Do you see what I see?" He said, and then pointed at Hyacinth who was sleeping and her head was laying on Andrew's broad shoulders. "Look."

Dah squinted his eyes, and his neck stretched forward to take a closer look. He stared for a moment, then looked at Timothy with a grin right after. "Well, she's not wearing any underwear... I can see that."

Upon hearing his friend's lewd and unnecessary comments, Timothy removed the shoe from his foot and slapped Dah on the back of the head.

"Ow!" Dah squealed, earning a few confused looks from the Keepers who were trying to rest. "Timothy what was that fo----"

"You insolent fool!" Timothy hissed as his face reddened. "I was talking about her height! Her height --- damn it! Not her breast!"

After realizing that their voices was too loud, Timothy and Dah froze and sunk on their seat as the other Keepers looked at them with such piercing and judging eyes. Before covering himself with a thick blanket, Timothy looked at Dah and sent death glares to him.

"That was your fault! p*****t!"

And then he covered himself, throwing Dah's blanket somewhere.