Hours later, two armed masked girls, toured past a dark secret chamber in which they used magic to light their path.
"Yurie! are you sure it's this way?" Zyda asked, anxiety tugging her body.
"Trust me I know this chamber like the back of my palm," Yurie boastfully retorted, pulling Zyda to stay closer to her. After what seemed like an hour walk down a dark chamber, they came to its end where there was a wall. Zyda knew the chamber door since her past days taught her well.
The chamber immediately led them to a garden with the spring boulder. It was the spot where Zyda agreed to meet Rolam.
"We are here," whispered Yurie, her head facing the ever exquisite garden. " I'll be on the guard watching you, "she assured and vanished leaving her behind.
Zyda slowly approached the boulder but her heart kept on thumping at a high speed, it seemed she was going to pits of hell and her palms and forehead sweated profusely.
At last, she saw a black shadow that she knew. It was Rolam's shadow, his black silhouette gigantically stood under the moonlight staring in space typically engulfed in thoughts. From afar, it looked lonely but ambitious. The silhouette felt her presence as it turned to face her. A small smile crept on his face despite the solemnness marred by his features.
"Hi! Zyda!" he greeted her, slowly sauntering in her direction.
"Hi Ro!" she whispered, gently squeezing her sweating palms. She had a bad feeling about this secret meeting with Rolam. Worst of all, there was something eery about the way Rolam stared at her and it was bothering her. She felt as if this side of Rolam was new, he looked villainous and more cryptic. Something macabre lingered in her surroundings.
Meanwhile, in a small plain dark room with a wrought iron, rusted locked gate was a mysterious body that had lain supine to the floor, unconscious. None knew the source of unconsciousness for the body had no bruises or any signs of oozing blood. The room was cold and rugged and resembled a penitentiary room. Minutes not spared, clad in red hooded robes strange short men entered the room, carried the unconscious boy and disappeared with an eccentric red smoke clouding the room behind.
Zyda subconsciously took a defensive step backwards but Rolam kept on approaching her in a slightly intimidating way. On a closer look, she noticed the glowing red eyes which were hypnotic.
The owner of the eyes also looked at her intensely as if he wanted her to see what was in his eyes.
"Focus Zyda! don't look in those eyes!" a small voice shouted in her mind which jolted her back to reality.
"Umm... Ro! you...said, umm... you wanted to tell me something about mum and dad?" she stuttered but she managed to let out her mind and slightly averted her eyes away from the hypnotic gaze of his.
Disappointment covered his face but he briskly masked it with a slight cough " Ahem!". His disappointment did not go unnoticed for Zyda secretly peeked on his face. Silence took over, both took no initiative to talk.
Unaware of fate, mystic energies clouded her mind and she suddenly felt something penetrating her soul at a high speed. For a moment she numbly jerked forward. The other party meticulously stared at her with incredulity. Her body reacted up, the black lustrous hair she adorned turned sparkly white. Her black orbs were replaced by a pair of sapphire blue eyes with visible lines appearing on her forehead stretching to her fragile hands. The lines magnificently glowed under the moon making the clone extremely awestruck.
Without wasting time, Zyda swiftly caught his throat, lifted him till he was dangling in the air. Zyda felt extraordinarily powerful at that moment.
"Who are you?" she interrogated, casting him a murderous look as the hand on his throat tightened.
The clone ignited its magic to fight back but all in vain because his magic was nothing compared to Zyda's. He was drained.
"Hkkk...I'm hkkk!" he gasped for air, his hand holding Zyda's strangling arm in despair, he couldn't breathe.
"Who are you? Where is my brother?" a different female voice from Zyda's asked. It was a dangerous voice. Zyda slightly tilted her head, her lips curved up in a small smile. The fake Rolam shivered at this vile smile, he was in deep trouble.
"I'm....kk.... n.. not... Rolam.." he stuttered still struggling to survive with his remaining skills.
"Pathetic!" she threw him on the ground like a useless paper.
"What the hell!" gasped Yurie who had been hiding behind a wall to the chamber. She was astonished by Zyda's incredible strength.
Zyda hands focused on the air around her and smithed a sword out of it. In her arm stood a shiny blue sword as she raised, at this act, the ground shook massively as though struck by an earthquake. Even the boulder slightly cracked from her intense powers. Her sapphire blue eyes gleamed with anger as she shouted at the culprit before her, "Where is Rolam!?"
Multiple echoed in anger, shaking the surroundings. He was filled with fear. He wouldn't have done this mission if he was to face such a powerful scary creature. "He.... is... "
"WHERE'S HE?"
Fresh chills crawled up his spines and he spilt the beans,
"The red castle....! p...please spare me.." he pleaded.
The shaking of the ground alerted the rest of the people in the grey castle. They quickly sought its source but the blue glowing light answered them.
"The garden!" a group of boys screamed in unison as they immediately pelted to the garden.
"Holy heavens! she's cultivating?" exclaimed one of them.
"She's mad...no very mad!" whispered an old man who had just arrived the spot and was their master. He knew all about elementalism and now he got to see how mad they can be.
The culprit wanted to escape but he was quickly seized by the stronger magicians who were Serpent shadows.
"Yurie!" shouted the master, in his commanding tone.
"Yes, master!" immediately dashing where her master stood.
"I want you to cool her down now!" he pointed at the still angry Zyda. Yurie could only gulp and nod.