After Drake and Kael left the camp to scout for food for the group. Lyra also left the camp to find comfort outside its boundaries. No one dared to stop her, since they all knew that she had been disheartened after what happened with the Tendrilwort.
As she emerged from the camp's entrance, she drew her wand and ventured into the lush foliage surrounding the camp. The wand she brought out had two purposes. One reason is for protection and the second is to help her trace the source of the scent that was blown to the camp by the wind when she was there. Then, she extracted the scent from the air with a murmured spell and allowed the crystal embedded in her wand to absorb it. That way, she can trace its source.
"I don't know, but that scent felt so familiar. I have noticed it more than once in the High Priest's residence... I believe it possesses magical properties and I am determined to identify the plant it comes from." She reassured herself as she strolled through the forest, following the guidance of her wand.
Meanwhile, Thorne, who was stalking her from a considerable distance, was perplexed by where she was going. She even brought out her wand a had mumbled to herself. 'She is definitely after something, and I must see whatever it will be.'
Just as he was stealthily trailing behind her, he unknowingly stepped on a dry twig. It broke with a cracking sound, catching her attention.
Lyra turned around, raising her wand defensively toward the source of the sound. "Is anyone out there?" She gripped her wand tightly, ready to cast a spell at any moment. She knew it was not a beast or a wild animal because they had not completely left this plant-dominated part of the mountainous forest. However, anything can happen, especially since Apphira mentioned that some beasts can coexist with the beastial plants here.
Then, Torne knew that he might be discovered soon, so he took a deep breath before manipulating the wind element, causing a strong gush of wind to ripple out from where he stepped on the twig. It was an attempt to distract her.
Taking advantage of the distraction, he used his abilities to levitate and ascended a branch of a tree in front of him.
Lyra waited for some time, but nothing happened except for the gale blowing from the direction where she had heard the sound of something breaking. She decided to continue her search, although she was alert and had her guards up. She left the place, following her wand's direction.
Unknown to Thorne, the tree he was on had branches that belonged to a toxin-emitting beastial plant.
However, when he finally noticed the toxic gas permeating the air around the tree, it was already too late. He had inhaled so much of it. And, of course, the gas had a mild odor, but because of the gust of wind he had used earlier, it helped disperse the gas, thus reducing the odor.
Thorne felt his body stiffening as he struggled to move his limbs and possibly jump down from the tree. "What kind of bizarre plant is this? Damn! It seems to have a paralyzing effect on my muscles."
Due to the fact that he was already trying to move his limbs and since all his muscles had not yet stiffened up. Thorne lost his balance on the tree branch and, within seconds, collided face-down with the ground below. It wasn't just any fall; it was a significant one.
He groaned in pain as he tumbled over his body. "Fuck! Aargh! It hurts like hell… my nose hurts the most. Is it broken?" He cursed and grumbled after tumbling over.
"Fuck gravity for always lending a hand when people fall… fuck that blasted tree... fuck this hard ground." Thorne continued to rain curses, attempting to alleviate the pain without crying."Fuck me, for stalking her in the first place. How am I going to keep track of her now?"
Commanding his control over the wind elements, he conjured a hand made of wind. The wind hand pressed on the Astral ring he was wearing, and a pill materialized into the made-up hand from the ring. "I just hope the Neutralizer will be effective." He struggled to open his mouth; thankfully, the paralysis didn't affect his head much.
After taking the pill, he felt a soothing sensation wash over him, and the paralysis gradually loosened up his muscles. Additionally, the conjured wind hand had dispersed after giving him the pill. A few minutes later, he got back on his feet and resolved to find out where Lyra was. But he was still holding his broken nose, and his face was all scrunched up.
*****
Meanwhile, inside the barrier-camp coated with membranous vines, Emelda, Apphira, and Alvan were present. Alvan just asked Apphira about the Time Orb and the Infernal Crystal. And she was explaining it to him...
"Care to hear about their origin or just what we can do with them?" Apphira asked, looking at Alvan with enthusiasm. She seemed eager to start narrating her tales to the silver-haired guy.
"Go ahead with the origin. I mean, who doesn't like to hear stories about such things?" replied Alvan.
Before Apphira started, she took out the Time Orb, a colorless and transparent crystal orb about the size of half a football, and gently placed it on one of the empty earthen seats. The one closest to Alvan. There were seven earthen seats around the campfire in total. Since she was sitting two seats away from Alvan, she shifted to the next seat closest to him, with only the Time Orb in between them.
Emelda was on Alvan's other side. She was engrossed in watching the fire crackle, feeling its gentle warmth on her skin. They could also smell the scent of burnt embers as the dancing fire cast shadows across their faces. She was lost in thought, her gaze fixed on the fire, so she wasn't fully paying attention to Apphira and Alvan's discussion.
"The Time Orb has quite a history," Apphira began to narrate. "It was believed to have been forged by Temporalis, the Celestial Guardian of Time, in the celestial realms. Temporalis is responsible for maintaining the delicate balance of time across the cosmos. Harnessing a portion of cosmic and celestial energy, he crafted the crystalline artifacts now recognized as Time Orbs.
"There were many theories about why he created it, but to this day, no one knows the reason. And no one will know unless they meet Temporalis in person..."
"Wait... is he still alive?"
"Of course, he should still be alive; after all, he is a celestial being. They are more than just immortals." Apphira answered.
"Can you tell me one of the theories that people have speculated about regarding why he created the Time Orb?"
"Most people believe that he created the Time Orb to help safeguard against disruptions in the fabric of time within the mortal realm," she paused.
"But I personally think there is more to it. It can't just be that, after all he was the manager of time already."
Apphira paused again to check if Alvan still had any questions, but since he did not say anything, she continued. "History also records that Temporalis scattered the Time Orbs across realms, and only cosmic energy can activate them. That's all there is to its history."
"So, there are more Time Orbs in all realms," Alvan said, thinking deeply. "I wonder who discovered this one and brought it to Etheloria... Was it the High Priest?" Just as he said this, another person crossed his mind and he sputtered, "Or was it..."
"Yes, you already guessed it. Zamon Dreg discovered it while battling an ancient sorcerer who had experimented with the shadow plague years ago. Since then, nobody has used it, except when you used it to see what happened years ago."
Alvan was lost in thought at that moment. The mention of Alvan's father's name pulled Emelda out of the depths of her thoughts. She asked, "So, is it only to take a glimpse of the past and perhaps foresee the future that it can help us? I'm still confused about how it will help us track the constantly shifting locations of the Lost Temples."
Apphira was taken aback. This was the first time she had spoken to her politely, especially in an inquisitive manner.
"There are many ways it can help us in the quest, such as foreseeing enemies' moves, dodging attacks, or strategically planning actions by manipulating time. We can even experience time loops with it," she paused before continuing. "For helping us locate the Lost Temples, it's essential to constantly peer into the future, but I believe there is more to it that I have yet to discover."
"Now," Apphira continued, "let's talk about the origin of the Infernal Crystals…"