Rufina then told him that the guardian creature in question was a small bird with snow-white feathers that lived in the Malana forest. This creature was also known as the first inhabitant and protector of this place. It had also protected the fairies of Malana village from evil attacks for a long time, so all the villagers of Malana had great respect for this creature.
"You only need to bring one. Easy, right?" Her voice sounded so firm, there was no hesitation in her words.
"Sounds easy enough to me." Chronos nodded his head. "Hey, but our bodies still can't move." He grumbled, his face contorted.
'Don't worry, the effects of the liquid will wear off soon." Rufina's voice sounded very calm.
Not long after, Asher and Chronos were able to move again. It turned out that what Rufina said was true, although Asher thought Rufina might be lying. A sense of relief immediately appeared on both of their faces.
"Finally, it feels good to be able to move this body again." Chronos stretched the muscles of his hands, a happy look on his face.
"Wait, but now how do we get to the forest of Malana?" Asher stroked his chin. "We can't fly, how can we get down from this place?" Asher frowned, showing a look of confusion on his face.
"Use this. This potion can make you fly for a moment, but it will only last a short while. "Rufina handed over a glass bottle filled with a bright yellow liquid.
'You've got 2x Malana's potion.'
After taking the potion from Rufina, the two of them immediately got out of there, and instantly drank it, hoping to get down to the ground soon. But strangely a few minutes later, nothing happened at all.
Skepticism instantly arose in Asher's mind. Was Rufina lying about this potion? Perhaps it was just an ordinary potion that had no benefits at all? Who knew, he was trying to stay calm, trying to dismiss any negativity from his mind.
"Wait, Ash, do you feel something? "Chronos' face immediately stiffened.
"Huh? What do you mean by that?" Asher raised his eyebrows, a look of confusion on his face.
"I don't know, I just feel ...."
Slowly, Chronos' body lifted off the ground by itself. His feet no longer touched the ground. Seeing his friend flying like a bird, Asher immediately fell silent. To make sure that what he saw was not imagination, he kept patting his head, but evidently what he saw was real because a few moments later, his body also lifted off the ground, just as Chronos did.
"Uh-oh, what's going on? "Asher's face tightened.
"We're flying, Ash! Fly!" Chronos laughed, his face showing no fear.
"Uh, Chronos just calm down. Right now we need to hurry down and find that thing, Chronos." Asher tried to catch his breath, dispelling his fear. "Oh God, I don't like heights," he muttered with a frown.
After a few minutes, they finally reached the ground and started looking for the bird. However, it didn't seem to be as easy as Asher had imagined because, during his time in the forest, there was nothing to see but leaves falling like rain. Strange, where could that creature be?
"Chronos, is there any sign of it?" Asher's brows furrowed in an attempt to see from a distance.
"No, Ash. I don't see anything here." Chronos shook his head. "Damn, I didn't expect these creatures to be so hard to find. They seem to be very good at hiding," Chronos sighed, his face frowning again.
"Also the bad thing is, the potion's effect has run out and it looks like we'll have to start searching for those creatures on foot. " Asher patted Chronos on the shoulder, trying to encourage his friend. "Come on, we need to keep moving."
Not long after, Asher's eyes caught sight of something. There was a white bird, just as Rufina had said, perched on a tree branch not far from him. A feeling of happiness immediately filled Asher's mind, and he ran towards the tree.
"Chronos, hey, come here. Look what I found." Asher whispered, pointing upwards.
"Okay, okay, okay. Now all we have to do is get up there and catch this thing." Chronos rubbed his hands together, a look of excitement in his eyes.
"Um, yeah, but how do we get there?" Asher raised his eyebrows, looking confused.
"Climb to the top. That's the only way we can catch the creature, Ash." Chronos nodded his head, a serious look on his face.
However, while they were talking, they suddenly heard moaning behind the bushes not far from their position. At first, Asher tried to ignore the sound, but the moaning sounded quite heartbreaking to Asher's ears and made him feel uncomfortable.
"Chronos, do you hear that? "Asher paused for a moment, trying to confirm the voice. "Hey, looks like someone needs our help." Asher's face tightened, his thoughts growing more and more unsettled.
"Yes, Ash, I heard that. But we need to focus on catching this fucking bird. We can't let this bird get away with it, right? Chronos grumbled, an annoyed look on his face.
"But I sense someone needs our help, Chronos." Asher sighed in despair. "Oh wait, I have an idea. I'll check the source of the voice myself and after that, I'll be back, sounds good right?" Asher snapped his fingers, his voice sounding very convincing.
Chronos sighed, slowly the frown on his face fading. "Alright, alright. if that's what you want, I can't force you either.
Regardless, Asher immediately searched for the origin of the sound and found that what he had in mind was true. The sound was indeed coming from a fairy moaning. It seemed like her wings were injured quite badly, so she couldn't move at all. Asher decided to slowly approach the injured fairy, trying to help her.
"Hey, I can heal your wounds." Asher's face tightened, as did his shoulders.
"Who are you? Don't come any closer!" The fairy's blue eyes stared at Asher with a sharp gaze, her face tightening.
"I'm just trying to help you. Let me heal your wounds." Asher's voice sounded so calm, trying to reassure the elf.
"No! I don't need anyone!" The fairy slowly got up, trying to endure the pain. "Argh, damn it!" she grumbled, frustration showing on her face.
Asher sighed as he stared at the fairy. She needed help, but why did she think she was fine? However, for some reason, Asher felt that this fairy was very stubborn and suddenly reminded him of someone he knew.
"Alright, that's enough for now. I will heal you with my spell!" Asher began to chant the spell. "Cure! Cure'!"
"But why? Why are you still helping me?" The fairy raised her eyebrows, watching the wound on her wing slowly heal. "I've been rude to you, but why are you still helping me?"
Asher scratched his head. "I don't know, I just feel like I should help everyone who needs help," he said while showing his confidence.
"Weird. You're quite a strange person." The fairy shook her head, unable to believe that a stranger would help her. "Wait, but what are you doing here?" the fairy looked curious.
"Well, Rufina told us to look for Malana's forest guardian bird so that we could meet up with our friend." Asher sighed with a depressed look on his face. "But, it's not as easy as we think."
The fairy snapped her fingers with vigor. "Oh, I know the creature's location. That's the easy part. I can help you, but I have one request for you."
Asher furrowed his brows, a curious look on his face. "Wait, what do you mean?"