Sky, Lilianna, and Lumiya stood silently, captivated by the scene before them. Clouds swirled around the high cliffs, and a waterfall cascaded down from the thick clouds, its spray turning into a mist that filled the air. The roaring sound of the waterfall was thunderous, seemingly capable of washing away all the filth of the world.
After entering the valley, Sky and his companions could only proceed less than 500 meters before their path ended. On either side, sheer cliffs reached for the sky, and in front of them lay a deep chasm. They stood on a massive rock jutting outwards, suspended in mid-air, gazing at the huge waterfall plummeting before them.
Below the massive rock, the waterfall had to fall dozens of meters more to reach the valley floor, stirring up a great mist that merged with the fog in the valley, obscuring the view below completely.
Looking up at the cliff above, about 20 meters from where they stood, was the cave entrance they had seen earlier. "To reach the Goddess's abode, we must pass through that cave," pointed out Lumiya.
Sky recalled his first encounter with Lumiya, and the seemingly childlike stories she told on their way back to the castle: waterfalls, caves, glowing forests, ancient towers, Echo Valley, and fountain courtyards. Sky wasn't sure which parts were divine revelations and which were her own dreams.
Lilianna, who had transformed back into her human form from a swarm of bats, looked at the waterfall and commented, "That waterfall is strange. The amount of water is too much for this mountain to sustain. And from the water of the waterfall, I can faintly sense some sort of magical energy."
"If the Goddess is real, then I guess we can accept any supernatural phenomena," Sky remarked, looking up at the cave 20 meters above. "Shall we climb up?"
"Forgot I can fly?" Lilianna retorted. Spreading her large black bat wings, she extended her hands. "Grab onto one of my hands each, and I'll fly us up."
Sky grasped Lilianna's pale hand, feeling the same soft touch as he remembered from the night before, making his young heart beat faster again.
Lilianna, sensing Sky's quickened heartbeat, gave him a meaningful smile. Then they noticed Lumiya hadn't taken Lilianna's hand but was curiously staring at her back.
"What are you looking at? Are you curious about a vampire's bat-wing form? Don't you also have a werewolf form, and can probably transform into a giant wolf?" Lilianna asked.
Lumiya exclaimed in wonder, "It's amazing! You can grow wings without tearing your clothes, as if they are part of them. How do you do that? It's so convenient. Every time I transform into a giant wolf, I need a new set of clothes. Such a hassle."
Lilianna, slightly exasperated, replied, "Your transformation is a physical mutation; mine is magical shape-shifting. They're not the same. Do you want me to fly you up, or would you rather climb up yourself?"
"Oh, I'm coming," Lumiya said, extending her furry paw, or rather, claw, to grasp Lilianna's other hand.
With a powerful flap of her enormous bat wings, they soared up into the sky.
In the air, Lilianna circled around and flew into the cave entrance. Inside, the trio discovered a vast space, lit by light filtering through the entrance. The cave was as large as an indoor stadium, with a high ceiling and several smaller passages branching off in different directions.
Lumiya let go of Lilianna's hand and jumped down, only to slip and slide away as if on an ice rink, crashing into a rock. Sky noticed that the floor and walls of the cave were unnaturally smooth, almost like ice, suggesting that someone had coated the cave's stone with a thin layer of crystalline substance.
Lilianna uttered a strange syllable, and a swarm of bats appeared around her. They seemed to receive a command and dispersed in various directions. After a while, with her eyes closed as if sensing something, Lilianna opened her eyes and said, "My bats have scouted the entire cave. There are a few deep branches, but they all seem to lead to dead ends. No other exits were found."
"Oh, I forgot," said Lumiya, rubbing her head and staggering to her feet. "The Goddess gave me a password in my dream. The gate to the Divine Realm is voice-activated." She pulled out a crumpled piece of paper with a long string of numbers. "This is what the Goddess made me memorize in my dream. I wrote it down in case I forgot. It's 101 numbers long, starting with a decimal after the first digit. Memorizing it was torture. Every time I got it wrong, the Goddess would strike my tail with lightning in my dream. I lost all the fur on my tail."
Lilianna, landing next to Lumiya with Sky, carefully stepped on the slippery surface. Lumiya started reading from the paper, "3. 1415926535…"
Halfway through, Sky couldn't help but whisper, "Is it possible that this is just the first 100 digits of pi after the decimal?"
Lilianna nodded, "I think it's very likely."
Lumiya stopped, looking at them bewildered, then said with a whine, "Landlord, landlord, getting struck by lightning on the tail really hurts."
Looking at Lumiya's dejected expression, Lilianna took the paper from her hands, "Let me do it."
After Lilianna finished reading the 100 digits of pi, the cave's rock surface suddenly lit up with a soft glow, illuminating the space beautifully. The cave ceiling and floor also glowed faintly, turning the cave into a mesmerizing sight.
Suddenly, the trio felt a force pulling them, fixing their feet to the ground. An invisible force then rapidly slid them across the floor towards an entrance of one of the branches.
Sky, caught off guard, was pulled into the entrance, accelerating to an incredible speed. The glowing rocks on either side blurred past as he felt like he was hurtling through a tunnel of light. As he approached what seemed like a glowing wall at the tunnel's end, he instinctively closed his eyes and raised his hands to protect his face.
But the expected collision never came. Sky and his companions passed through the glowing wall at the tunnel's end and disappeared. Gradually, the light in the cave dimmed and faded away.
Sky felt his body abruptly still from its rapid motion and, opening his eyes, found himself in an entirely new landscape.
They stood on a grassy field, with a vast, clear lake not far away, shimmering under the breeze and creating ripples on the surface. At the center of the lake was a small island, adorned with a villa that combined elements of fantasy, magic, cyberpunk, Eastern immortality, and science fiction in an oddly harmonious yet surreal blend.
In front of the villa, a giant fountain bathed in a soft magical glow, with a beam of light shooting up from its center, connecting the heavens and the earth. Sky and Lilianna exchanged glances, both reminded of the crystal fountain in the center square of the City of Stars.
Near the lake's edge was a sleek, sci-fi-style boat with a metallic silver sheen, docked at an elegant pier. Onboard was an energy being, resembling something from an animated film, a round and chubby figure about 2 meters tall, with blue electric arcs coursing over its body, seemingly composed of lightning elements.
As the trio approached, the electric figure floated quickly towards them. Sky stepped forward and politely inquired, "Hello, may I ask if this is the Goddess's Divine Realm? We are here to meet the Goddess at her summons."
The electric figure nodded and replied in a series of crackling and buzzing sounds before floating towards the pier. While it sounded like a flow of electric currents, Sky somehow understood its message: "Hello, I am a magical energy servant created by the Goddess, awaiting your arrival. Please follow me."
Sky and Lilianna followed, but Lumiya lagged behind, whispering in curiosity, "Can you understand what it's saying?"
"Can't you?" Sky asked in surprise, then realized that their understanding might be due to their special player language abilities.
Indeed, Lumiya shook her head, to which Lilianna quickly bluffed, "Maybe your language talent is just not good enough."
"I'm not yet an adult, but I'm not stupid. My language talent is great; I know at least 12 languages," Lumiya retorted, suspicious. "Are you two hiding something from me?"
Lilianna smiled slyly, "Yes, we do have quite a few secrets between us."
Sky coughed, urging, "Let's not talk now. Follow up."
The electric figure had already floated onto the boat, making more crackling noises. Sky translated for Lumiya, "It's asking us to board the boat."
Upon boarding, Lumiya looked around in awe, "Wow, this looks so high-tech. But how do you operate this? There's no steering wheel or dashboard."
As they spoke, the electric figure transformed its hand into a plug shape, inserting it into a socket-like recess at the boat's front. The vessel gently vibrated and swiftly sailed towards the island.
Sky chuckled, "Indeed, high-tech."