Running quickly and efficiently, Chiaki streamed deeper into the Sanctum Woodlands, making longer steps to cover more ground in a second. Stopping wasn't an option, and if she failed to navigate through the narrow paths of the rainforest, she'd waste more and more time and possibly fail to stop Hywel from summoning the ancient Seraph.
The further she penetrated the forest, the more trees she crossed. However, it lacked green leaves and grass and only witnessed natural hollowness as if it was winter. The trees looked like dried kelp on the surface, ready to evaporate in the heat.
The paths she was running on seemed to only have been covered by dirt and pebbles. There wasn't a single rose or tulip. It didn't even have any grass blades. They were just simple, small, and boring crevices in the earth.
But its emptiness allowed Chiaki a better view of the dead zone. The lack of trees didn't obstruct her path, and the lifeless ground allowed her to move more willingly without needing to avoid obstacles other than a few tumbled-over trunks of trees.
She didn't know it at the time, but she was closing in on Hywel rapidly. She wasn't too far away from him. In reality, she was close to an earlier path.
Only a few hundred meters from the beachfront stood the livelier area: the entryway to the Sanctum Islands.
She could see it; she didn't ignore it. "That's the entryway. I can see it from all the way over here. It's so much bigger than I thought."
She wasn't just amazed at what she saw; she was astonished to learn that the Dead Zone of the Sanctum Islands slept so close to the gateway.
"What would the visitors think if they saw that the beautiful Sanctum Islands weren't as gorgeous as foreseen?" she asked herself, utilizing that clear view to hopefully discover a hint that could point her to Hywel's current whereabouts.
And she spotted something unexpected. She could see Tarot's cloud speeding through the skies, soaring as fast as possible. It wasn't just Tarot. Timothy happened to ride the cloud with him, and they were nearing the upper islands in a hurry.
After Chiaki split up with the others, Timothy demanded Tarot to share the cloud and bring him to the upper islands quickly so he could meet the god of wind as soon as possible while leaving Benjamin with Olishia's group, which bolted deep into the woods and readied to overrun the Seraphs' secreted base.
Everyone had the same goal in mind. But everyone had a different duty to accomplish.
Chiaki; to stop Hywel from resurrecting Yerachmiel.
Timothy; to find Ivione and hopefully retrieve his people's trust.
And finally, Olishia and her group. Their mission was the easiest, but it was an important one. Due to their numbers, they had a good chance of succeeding.
And if they managed to stop the Seraphs from operating underneath Hywel's orders and destroy their hideout, that would be one of the most desired wishes blessed and granted.
They were ready to fight and give their best to succeed in their entrusted assignments. Would they be able to pass? The question was yet to be found. However, allying with Timothy's crew gave the Scanara people enough power to finally retrieve peace and harmony.
Kyora's group gradually started making their way through the Sanctum City, keeping hidden as much as possible. They attempted to reach the Celestial Tree or find someone who could help them.
Orders from the Seraph guards and officials were coming in through the mouth and other electronics. The word of outsiders spread and stated that unspecified individuals were worming inside, advancing further into the city.
Many citizens freaked out, holding their heads in ache. They ran around the streets like a bunch of wild animals and spread fraud about being bombarded and assaulted.
The officials did their best to keep serenity in the city, but it didn't help them. The longer they tried to stop them and the harder they oppressed them, the more chaos grew.
Many of the citizens never experienced outsiders breaching their islands. They thought they were safe, that nobody could reach the island's top 50,000 feet in the air. But today was the day they were proven wrong.
"What's wrong with them? Have they never had visitors before? I mean. Hywel and the others claimed they had, but these residents are going insane. They didn't even see us yet."
In the shadows, in a dark alleyway, Kyora's group observed the ruckus. The civilians' screams and cries generated confusion across the avenues that weren't warned about the invasion yet.
"I think that most people that visited the islands never managed to reach the Sanctum City, so the residents never needed to be alarmed. I've read that on the chip's database."
And even after Kyora's understandable response, Yumiko still didn't comprehend who triggered the alarm. None of them revealed themselves to the officials or security.
The only person who reached the city before them was Tarot.
He was the only person who could've assembled discord in the upper islands. It pulled them into a drawback and forced them to keep hidden in the empty alleyways.
However, that wouldn't last long as one of the officials instructed several guards to search the back alleyways. This drove Kyora and the others to run amok and continue pushing deeper into the city.
They ran further, their footsteps pounding against the floor. They hid in many different alleyways and most patrols ran by them without spotting them. They needed to be careful. Their current enemies were getting too close to them for comfort.
They knew hiding from them wouldn't last forever, but they couldn't abandon their plan. If they were seen, they'd have to waste even more time fighting or trying to escape them. Even if they split up, eventually they'd get caught or apprehended.
And they couldn't disguise themselves as civilians. The security was too sharp and cautious not to let outsiders pass them. They couldn't pass through without being inspected.
But there's always some hope around them. After escaping some patrols, they could see their one and only light speeding through the air.
They became relieved immediately, seeing Timothy and Tarot riding the cloud. They had an aerial view and headed their way. They couldn't overlook Yumiko waving at them with joy and excitement.
They descended and landed beside them. Timothy excitedly greeted them, happy to see that others didn't have any harm done to them. In luck, none of the officials or the patrols noticed them swooping down from the sky and continued searching the outer streets and corners of the city.
"Glad you're okay. I see you have a bit of trouble around here. Have you found someone or some way to return that chip?" he ensured not to waste the limited time. Time was precious in their scenario.
And without keeping any more secrets from them, Kyora told them everything that was necessary. She explained how to reach the god of wind's domain and formed a plan.
Since Tarot's cloud could only carry two people at a time, they decided that only Timothy and Kyora would ride it and hustle to the Celestial Tree's top as the others stayed behind and carefully made their way toward the massive trunk.
Once they devised this plan, the leading pair, consisting of Timothy and Kyora, took off. Without getting noticed by the officials, they soared toward the tree.
They were almost at the top. Soon they would come face-to-face with the Sanctum Islands' god Ivione.
To be continued...