Blue Nexus #76 - Grass is Always Greener

Previously on "Blue Nexus:" The Magus War came to it's epic conclusion! As Kyle faced off with the powerful and mysterious Demon Mage Faustus, Brenda, Sandy, and Tania all took on Rafael in a desperate final bout to rid the world of the dangerous Divinity mage. Tania sacrificed herself, and in doing so gave Brenda and Sandy the opportunity to end the threat of Rafael once and for all. Meanwhile, Kyle was defeated at the hands of Faustus, but Brenda's resolve to keep fighting, combined with Kyle's own latent power, stayed his hand from wiping them out, ending the battle and thus the war. 

Sandy leaned back in her seat, placing her hands behind her head and letting out a great sigh. She was alone in the room, save for the unconscious body sitting next to her. Kyle breathed normally and didn’t look as pale as he had the day before, after he took that massive dark energy blast head on. His Nexus bracelet still glowed like normal. It was strange seeing him in a regular old hospital, but, it was necessary.

                There’d been a startling amount of people that were in the nearby area. Most of them had been brave journalists, and others had been people that wanted, like a bunch of idiots, to see the Zanderia in action. They’d all been caught up in the fighting that nobody was aware of their presence. By the time it was over they were seeing people coming out of the forest and it took every bit of charm Phoenix had to get them away from the scene, otherwise Kyle’s identity would’ve been blown.

                Fearful that Kyle would go missing after another major incident, and then return at the same time as Blue Nexus, they decided to place Kyle in a regular hospital. His wounds were treatable at their level, and since Sandy was with him, she was able to improve that they were bringing him over from another part of town that was being attacked by one of the Six Pillars, one of those psychos using magic.

                Brenda was still up with the Zanderia, as they had to inspect her in case Rafael did anything to her. Tania’s corpse was also up there, being preserved, before they could properly hold a funeral for her. Sandy was the only one that volunteered to stay with Kyle.

                She gripped his hand. His pulse was normal. He was probably just asleep, not even in a coma or anything like that. His body needed the rest. Hell, she needed the rest. She slept for so long on the couch on the other end of the room she was surprised Kyle wasn’t awake when she was. Everyone but Kip and Luke thought it was a little strange that Sandy would still be there longer than anyone else. Mira thought she understood, since last her and Sandy really talked, Sandy did have a crush on the boy.

                Sandy glanced at him now and shook her head. She still had feelings for him, but after everything that’d happened? The torture Alucard inflicted upon her mind, the level of trauma that came with finding a home and losing it? All the fighting they’d done in the last day or so against their toughest opponents yet? It really put a perspective on things, especially on the things Sandy barely understood. She only got this far because she had Kyle and Brenda backing her up; what if Sandy had taken on Axel and John by herself? How quickly would she have been killed?

                Her hand still touched his. She squeezed a bit. A simple crush was so irrelevant compared to all that they were. Sandy was a member of the most elite super-team in the world, and possibly the galaxy. Kyle had powers of a cosmic scale. Rafael had been talking about War Gods and how he was among their pantheon at the height of his power; Gods! Beings that had power to shape worlds. And Kyle was their antithesis, and Sandy had fought one.

                Romance? Probably not as important.

                She still felt a little aching in her chest. Not for Kyle, but, for something. She wasn’t sure what. Sandy lowered her hand from Kyle and the door opened again. She’d been waiting to be kicked out by a nurse, but it wouldn’t come today.

                Instead, it was someone she didn’t recognize initially, until he started talking, “Finally got permission to hop off that base. Thank God, I thought I was going to go insane dealing with everyone up there. You know they never take off their costumes? Weird.”

                Kevin Miles, the Sentinel, shut the door behind him. He gestured at Kyle, and Sandy smiled and shrugged.

                “Just unconscious,” Sandy said. “He took a hell of a hit.”

                “Would’ve killed anyone else,” Kevin said. “Besides Shindari.” He shook his head and sat down on the couch on the opposite end of the room. “That girl…just…”

                “Both of them,” Sandy said. “When Brenda stopped Clarke’s blasts, when she fought him one-on-one, and then Kyle, when he fought that demon. It was all incredible, it was fast, it was fierce. It was so beyond what any of us could comprehend.”

                “And yet, we were there,” Kevin said. “And you were in the thick of it way more than I was. I just fought the ads.” He sat up. “I’m so used to gunning straight for the boss I forgot how fun it could be to fight the minions, first.”

                “I didn’t figure much against Rafael,” Sandy said.

                Kevin raised his eyebrow. “Really?”

                “Really.”

                “Then who landed the kill shot? One strong enough to get through all his magic wards and empowered body and all that nonsense? Was it Shindari? Don’t think so, I don’t see her magic working like that.”

                Sandy sat up in her seat. She hadn’t forgotten that, but it’d been in such the heat of the moment that she easily could’ve.

                “You ended this war,” Kevin said. “You.”

                “It was Shindari, and Kyle, and all the rest of the Zanderia that gave me the opportunity,” Sandy said.

                “Sure, but you still took the shot,” Kevin said. “You hit the shot. You killed someone that Shindari and the Blue Nexus weren’t able to. So what’s with you thinking like you didn’t actually do anything?”

                “I don’t deserve it,” Sandy said. “I don’t deserve to be there. I was created by a monster. My powers come from someone that killed so many people.”

                “And how many people have you saved with those abilities?” Kevin asked.

                He stood up, and in a flash had a gun out, spun so that Sandy could take it in her hand. It was scarred, cut up, and beaten to holy hell. Sandy could see even more scarring and injuries embedded in Kevin’s hand, like a scar running along his hand.

                “I was given this gun by someone who orchestrated the deaths of thousands, and I called him my friend at the time,” the Kevin said. “And I just fought a war to save the planet.” He slid the gun into its holster and knelt in front of Sandy, who felt tears welling in her eyes. “We’re more than what we start from. That’s why it’s just a starting point, because we move forward. We fight and we struggle but we make progress. I’m not defined by the violence and you’re not defined by the magic. We’re not defined by the monsters that make us but by how we defeat the monsters that fight us.”

                She bowed her head to try and hide tears from Kevin, burying her head into her hands. She couldn’t hide it at all as her body trembled and shivered from the tears. She slid from the chair and Kevin caught her, but didn’t embrace her. He just knelt there, as a shoulder for her to cry on.

                “I was so scared,” she said.

                “It’s over now,” Kevin said. “It’s over.”

                Sandy clenched her fists, and looked at them with blurry eyes. They still glowed a light shade of purple.

                “How do I keep fighting?” Sandy asked. “How can I fight all of it?”

                “Like you are now,” Kevin said. “With conviction.”

                Sandy braced herself on the ground. Kevin backed away but didn’t stand back up. She coughed and let the final bit of tears slide down her face.

                “By not backing down,” Kevin said. “Because you’re part of the Zanderia, you’re one of the Earth’s greatest heroes. It’ll be tough and you’ll question how you can fight, but it doesn’t matter. What matters is that you fight. And you’re pretty good at that.”

                Sandy let a little laugh escape. “Yeah, I guess so.”

                “No, really,” Kevin said. “You’re a warrior, kid.”

                She couldn’t believe the words coming out of his mouth. Her lips formed into a stupid little grin and her tears finally subsided.

                “She’s not a warrior,” a meek voice said behind them.

                Sandy got right to her feet, turning toward the occupied hospital bed. Kyle’s eye opened slow, tiredly.

                “Kyle?” she asked.

                “She’s a hero,” Kyle said, and managed to form a thumbs-up. Sandy did the same and tapped her fist against his.

                “Thanks,” she said.

                Kevin clasped his hand on her shoulder and flicked Kyle in the leg. “Took a little shot there, kid. How you feeling?”

                “Like I’m alive,” Kyle said, though all he could muster was a whisper. He didn’t even bother pushing himself up, even if he wanted to.

                “Good enough,” Kevin said. He sat at the edge of the bed. Sandy rested a hand on his shoulder. He didn’t seem to notice. He probably wouldn’t be awake long.

                “You’ve been out for a couple days,” Sandy said. “Keep resting.”

                “If you say so,” Kyle said. “Hey, Sandy, by the way.” He smiled. “Talk to Eclipse about something, a technique. It’ll help you…”

                His eyes shut again and he lulled his head to the side, and breathed softly again. Sandy squeezed his shoulder and moved her hand away. Kevin stepped off the bed.

                “I wonder what it is,” Sandy said. Kevin shrugged.

                “No idea, I don’t talk to telepaths,” Kevin said. “That’s your area of expertise. I’d like to keep things on the ground level as much as possible, but, if that idiot Phoenix comes calling, I’ll be hard-pressed to say no.”

                “What changed your mind?” Sandy asked.

                Kevin shrugged, headed back for the couch. “This all started in my city. I let it happen. If I’d known about Rafael’s mummy, maybe I could’ve done something about it. The Zanderia has the resources to save my city, far beyond what I have at my disposal.” He sat down, resting his hands on his lap. “Plus I’m technically wanted in several different countries and by the United Nations.”

                “Then how are you here?” Sandy asked.

                “No, not me,” Kevin said. “Not yet. The Sentinel.”

                “Oh,” Sandy said. “Long story?”

                “Very,” Kevin said. “And not a very pretty one.”

                I bet, Sandy thought. She couldn’t see the holstered gun, but knew that he probably had his other weapon, as well as most of his gear, on him, at the ready. Something in his life made him prepare for a serious combat situation at any turn. What had this man been a part of that trained him like that?

Sandy knew little about the Sentinel besides him sort of being the first super-hero, someone that could pull off extraordinary feats of athleticism in a war on crime. Soon after him came Riko and Phoenix to really kick things off and open the universe to the world. She remembered hearing about all of this at school, and how a lot of people didn’t believe the Sentinel was even real back when they were in middle school. Nobody knew what to think of it, and it didn’t really become real for her until she saw Riko and Phoenix fly over Adelita on their way to East City one time.

And now? The Sentinel, the one who started it all, and the Blue Nexus, who escalated everything to the next level, were in the same room, dressed in civilian clothes, like anyone else. Like the people next door or the people down the hall. The nurses didn’t know who they were treating, and to them it didn’t really matter as long as the patient survived.

Sandy sat back down in her chair, and crossed her legs. She wasn’t sure how long she was lost in the sea of thought until Kevin pulled her out of it.

 “Deep thoughts, huh?” he asked.

Sandy snapped up and nodded. Kevin slid his phone back into his pocket and crossed his arms. “Yeah, what?”

            “You looked like you were either asleep or thinking about something intense,” he said.

Sandy tried to fish through her mind to get any stray thoughts. They all revolved, though, around places. A bunch of places, places she’d never been to. Why was she thinking of them; of these mountains, and fields, and forests? Small towns full of strangers?

 “I want to leave,” Sandy said.

             “Then leave,” Kevin said.

            “No, like, I don’t want to come back here, around here, for a while,” Sandy said.

 “Dangerous idea,” the Sentinel said. “I headed to Europe a little after college, and it messed me up. You thinking the same?”

Sandy rolled her eyes. “This is so dumb, but, I want to find myself. I want to know more about the world, and how I can help it. I feel connected but at the same time so out of it.”

Talk to Eclipse about something, a technique…

                A technique? What martial arts form—at least, she believed it a martial arts form—did Kyle know that Sandy, a supposed master of Combat thanks to her magic, didn’t, or couldn’t? Where in the world could he learn that? Where in the world could Sandy learn more?

                “It’s not dumb,” Kevin said.

                Sandy shrugged. She still hadn’t made eye contact with Kevin, somewhat afraid, and somewhat unsure of what she could confront him with.

                “I want to see the world,” Sandy said. “I can’t come back here, that’s the thing. I’ve terrorized my school. Magus Forest, my new home, is in ruins. I have nothing left here but my friends, and, how can I go to them after this if I don’t even know how I am after this? There’s still so much more for me to learn, to become, that returning to everything like it’s normal will be nice for a bit, but, it wouldn’t be real.”

                “Then go,” the Sentinel said. “Trust me, I get it. It took me a long time to get back home after everything I had to do to just earn my way back. It’s a long road home from a fight. Sometimes you have to go somewhere else to learn what home really is.”

                Sandy finally locked eyes with the Sentinel, and could feel the honesty of his words. They were fierce, but gentle, meaning her no ill-will. She wondered if he saw in her what others once saw in him: a vulnerable young person trying to find their way in the world.

            “The problem is I don’t know where,” Sandy said.

            “That’s not a problem,” the Sentinel said. “Not if you have a purpose. You’ll know where to go.”

            Sandy nodded. Adelita and Magus Forest had been her homes, there were no others places she wanted to be because she had no reason to leave. She had friends, she had family, she had lacrosse and school, and then she had lessons and people that were also new to magic. But now? Now where could she go, where would accept her?

            A technique…

            “Hey,” she said. “Your martial arts, who taught you?”

            “My master, back in Pacific City,” Kevin said. “Before I honed them overseas. You don’t want to go there.”

            “Did anyone teach you there?” Sandy asked.

            “In a way,” Kevin said.

            “And where were they taught?” Sandy asked.

            Kevin’s eyes shone, and she saw a little smile touch his lips. Kevin sat up and braced his arm against his elbow.

            “A world and a half away,” Kevin said.

            It wasn’t nearly as dark and ominous a funeral as Kyle expected. He’d never been to one before. His parents were still reported as missing and were never properly declared dead, and he’d been blessed the good fortune of having a healthy family and friends with a healthy family. He glanced at Brenda from across the casket, and nodded to her. They laid the shroud across Tania’s wooden tomb, created from some of the trees that were left on the edges of Magus Forest.

            They stepped away, and Brenda pressed her hand down. Kyle glanced over his shoulder, to the others that were at the funeral: Sandy, and Andreus. Everyone else was gone. It was a small affair, the way Tania would’ve liked it. Brenda lowered the casket into the ground and then her Shield magic vanished from it. Kyle saw her hand still twitching from its use, and even he still felt a little uneasy to be standing.

            It’d been five days since the final battle at Magus Tower and already the world was erupting with reports of magic users being more abundant, and nobody being around to heal it. The Zanderia tried as much as they could to heal things over from PR perspective, but given that the latest threat to the world was a mage that tricked everyone, trust was no big thing.

            The whole fiasco was another reason why only the four mages were there. Tania was never one to want to be noticed; in fact, she wanted to keep magic a personal thing. At least that was how Kyle understood it. Tania was a complex woman, but, in the end, she fought on their side. She wanted good for the world, even if she had to come out on top.

            He heard soft trembling from Brenda across the way, who tried to hide her tears. Andreus was reacting similarly. She raised the mound of dirt that’d been collected, and opened the barrier up. The dirt cascaded down, covering Tania’s casket completely. Kyle knelt down and smoothed the dirt over with his hands, darkening them.

            “I wonder what she would say about all of this,” Kyle said. “Burying her here. The four of us being here.”

            “Nothing very nice, I bet,” Brenda said, wiping some tears away. Kyle felt the welling in his throat as well while he padded the dirt out.

            He never got to see her body until that morning. She was pale, bruised up, and unkempt, but looked so at peace. It sent chills down Kyle’s spine. She died before the battles could be won—or lost, in Kyle’s case—and yet, she knew they’d win. She placed her dying faith in all of them, in the ones she’d scorned at the beginning of all of this.

            Kyle swallowed his sadness for a moment, thinking back to the first time they met. How she tricked him and played games with him through her Reality magic. If they’d listened to her then they might’ve avoided everything; or, perhaps she was being played as well. They’d never know.

            Kyle stopped and scooted back, not wanting to cross all the way over her grave. Andreus got down next to Kyle and helped out, moving dirt much easier than Kyle thanks to his extended wingspan compared to Kyle. His blue mark was even more prominent along his arm.

            How much had Tania trained him? Consoled him, let him know that his power wasn’t a burden or a curse, it was a gift? Who else would’ve told him that? Tania had been a mentor to Andreus, and to so many others that just wanted to understand, and she wanted to help them.

            Kyle moved away from the dirt and let Andreus continue. He felt his own mark glowing on his arm, as Andreus’s was. Brenda and Sandy had their marks exposed as well, and Brenda wasn’t even hiding how broken apart her fingers looked from the self-inflicted damage she’d taken.

            Andreus paused, and rested his head on the dirt, letting out a cry. His body trembled and he clenched his fists together, balling them up and almost pounding the ground. He stopped though, and instead punching his own open hand. Kyle felt a little breeze from it, but Andreus was fine. He did it again.

            “Strength,” he said. “Resilience. Belief.”

            He punched his open hand again. The mound of dirt shook when he did. His hands trembled, and he balled them up again, but didn’t punch them together.

            “Thank you for everything, and for believing in me when I couldn’t believe in myself,” Andreus said. He took up some of the dirt, and squeezed it out of his hands. He sighed and opened up his hand.

            Kyle looked to his own hands, which were smeared by the dirt and soil. He and Andreus stood up together.

            “Andreus,” Kyle said, holding his hand out to his friend.

            Andreus didn’t even look, he just clasped Kyle’s hand. “And thank you, Kyle. For helping me, too, for trying to show me the good way.”

            “It’s what she wanted,” Kyle said, squeezing his friend’s hand. “She was proud of you, man. You were her favorite student.”

            “I’ll make her proud,” Andreus said. “I’ll never use my magic irresponsibly. I’ll become a great mage, like she would’ve wanted for me.”

            “I’m sure her spirit will always be watching over you,” Brenda said, smiling at Andreus.

            He nodded, and let go of Kyle’s hand. Kyle let his hands drop. Some of the dirt had been clapped away, and his hand wasn’t so dirty. He watched Andreus turn and head back through the ruins, which were more of just an open field now.

            “Be seeing you,” Sandy said when he passed her.

            Andreus stopped. “You’re really going?”

            Sandy nodded, and held her hand out. “I am. I’ve got some training I need to do before I can come back around here and help out. I’m not the mage I need to be just yet.”

            “Will you even be back in time for graduation?” Andreus asked, and Sandy shook her head.

            “Not likely,” she said. “But who knows? If things go well, I’ll try to make it. Just make sure my girls hang in there, alright?”

            “Of course,” Andreus said. “See you around, then.”

            Sandy clapped him on the back and approached Brenda and Kyle. They nodded to each other and held their hands out. Brenda reached out and produced some of Andreus’s residual magic from where he touched the mound of dirt.

            “From us to you,” Brenda said. “Thanks, Tania. You were a hero that day, and your legacy is going to live on.”

            Kyle couldn’t stop the welling from bursting free and a tear slid down his face while he let some of his magic pour from his arm. Sandy did the same, and Brenda captured it in a small sphere. She lowered their magics down and spread it over the ground, coating it entirely, and it glowed light blues, reds, purples, and black.

            “Grand Elder would be proud of her,” Sandy said.

            Kyle nodded, and felt the air suddenly grow thin around them. Something buffeted him. He turned to face it, and something ripped through the air itself, revealing a vortex with little bits of lightning casting off the vortex.

            “Damn it, don’t we catch a break?” Sandy muttered.

            Kyle held his hand over his bracelet. “Apparently not.”
            A silhouette appeared on the other end of the vortex and the wind started to pick up. Dust swirled everywhere, blowing away the soil to reveal the circle that once housed the great firepit. Kyle didn’t yet swipe his hand over the bracelet; something was holding him back. A familiar feeling, as if he knew who would be on the other end.

            A slender body appeared first, followed by a hunched one. A robed woman in black hair with several marks running up and down her arm nodded to them. The old man held his hands in his sleeves, and bowed to them as well. The vortex remained, but calmed behind them.

            “Oh my,” Brenda muttered. “It’s the old man from the oasis.”

            “It can’t be,” Kyle said. That face, the face on the woman. It looked just like that confused, scared, helpless little girl. But how?

            “Indeed, your Grand Elder is quite proud,” said the old man, and his voice sent chills down Kyle’s back. It was him, no doubt about it. He extended his hand, and the woman strode toward them, going first to Brenda.

            “You’ve grown quite a bit,” she said.

            Brenda’s mouth hung open, but she closed it into a smile. “You too, kid.”

            She smiled ear-to-ear. “It’s good to see you again after to long, Shindari. Guhuray and I, along with everyone else, watched with great interest during your plight.”

            “Everyone else?” Kyle asked.

            “Magic is nature, Blue Nexus,” the old man said. “It runs in a cycle. Once a soul no longer has need of magic, it retires the magic into another realm, into a place where one may retrieve magic, where one can live in it.”

            “Magic has its own realm?” Sandy asked.

            “Several,” Guhuray said. “The Nether, as you are well aware Blue Nexus, is one such realm, crafted and perfected by Demon magic.”

            “So, the Grand Elder, she’s with you?” Brenda asked.

            The woman nodded, and gestured at the little glowing spot where Tania’s casket was. “And soon so too shall Tania, the Reality mage.”

            “Why didn’t you help us fight them, then?” Sandy asked.

            “We cannot interfere,” Guhuray said. He stooped down and ran his hands through the dirt, but he just fazed through, intangible. “We are simply embodiments of magic.”

            “I less so, but indeed,” the woman said, showing her hands, completely marked up, and teeming with magical energy.

            “When it is your time, you too shall join us and continue the cycle of magic in the universe,” Guhuray said. He wiped his hand through the air. “But enough of that. We’ve simply come to congratulate on a great accomplishment. It’s been many eons since a Divine mage walked this plane, yet you were able to thwart him.”

            “Not entirely,” Kyle said. “One of his cohorts escaped.”
            The woman’s look darkened. “Cohort? You believe Rafael had sway over Faustus?”

            “He wasn’t at the top of the tower, so, yeah,” Kyle said. “Why?”

            “Faustus explained who he was, yes?” the girl asked.

            “Yeah, the first Demon mage,” Kyle said.

            The girl lowered her hands, then in a single move undid her robes. Kyle stepped back, and almost looked away if it weren’t for all the other marks that marred her body, like scars. Some even appeared to be bleeding.

            “We believed we could stop it, but then we realized the truth,” she said. “Faustus created me as a curse, given form.”

            “We’ve healed what we can,” Guhuray said. “But Alycia will never be a pure mage. And there are countless others that shall suffer the same.”

            “Alycia?” Brenda echoed. “Your name?”

            Alycia blushed and nodded. Kyle noticed a slight aura around her, permanent and cold, just like the one Faustus had around him whenever he was stationary. She seemed to have control over the power, but, was it so great that it could escape in a limited capacity?

            “Indeed,” Alycia said. “I discovered it while I trained. It came to me, and it stuck.”

            “Trained for how long?” Kyle asked.

            “Centuries,” Alycia said, and held her hands up. Her robe flew up and fitted around her nice and snug. She placed lowered her hands and shook her head, loosening up. “Time has no meaning for the ultimate Reality mage.”

            “Indeed,” Guhuray said. “But I fear we are wasting the time on this plane. Come, apprentice, we have much to tend to, still.” Guhuray held a hand up to the three of them. “Farewell, my friends, and best of luck on your travels.”

            “Blue Nexus,” Alycia said, stepping back toward the vortex. “Trust not the Nether.”

            Kyle nodded, and heard the words out of his mouth before he could say anything. “Train me, then, to become a better Demon mage.”

            Alycia smiled. “Not yet.”

            “Then when?”

            “When the God of Gods is slain,” Alycia said. “And the next Blue Nexus arises.”

            Her smile should’ve reassured him, but that last statement threw him completely off balance. Alycia lowered her hand and stepped through the portal. It sealed just behind her, vanishing with a gust of wind.

            “Kyle, I…”
            “I’ll find them,” Kyle said, nodding. He felt resolve steeling in his body, and he nodded again. “The second Blue Nexus. I’ll find them. I won’t be replaced, I’ll be helping them.” An overwhelming sense of optimism crashed along him. “What if it’s my parents?”

            “There’s no way to know,” Brenda said. “But it sounds as if we’re set on this path.”

            “We can always change it,” Kyle said.

            “At least you two know your paths,” Sandy said. She turned and held her hand out to Kyle. “Some of us still have to find our way.”
            Kyle stared at her hand, not knowing the words to say. She’d told him beforehand that she was preparing to leave and begin her training, but it didn’t mean he had to like it or want to see her go.

            The girl standing before him couldn’t be more different than the one that approached him months ago about discovering his powers, and holding it against him.

            Kyle clasped her hand. “Come back safe to us, Sandy.”

            “I will,” she said. “Make sure not to need me for a while.”

            They let go and Kyle stepped back, watching Sandy and Brenda embraced. Kyle sighed and felt the sadness and confusion go away for a moment, and in that moment, he felt peace at long last. He shut his eyes, and just let the breeze go by him. He quieted his mind, and enjoyed this brief moment of reprieve.

            He knew he’d need it for whatever came next, but he also knew he was ready. Now more than ever, he was ready to fight on.

Next time: In "Blue Nexus #77 - Ares and Artemis," Kyle and Phoenix journey to a strange alien world to settle diplomatic disputes, and find not all is as it seems. 

And beginning next year, Blue Nexus and Shindari battle the most dangerous magical weapon in all the world in order to save their civilization, and must combat both past and present to do so in the special miniseries "Blue Nexus: Dark Soul."