Chereads / Tales from the edge of reality / Chapter 3 - Chapter 2--Desolea part 1

Chapter 3 - Chapter 2--Desolea part 1

More than 500 kilometers from the Wright Mountains was the kingdom of Goldwater, founded by a family that originally came from Kingsbury. Its leaders had always been known for being good to the people under their care, which is why, in addition to the Wright Mountains, Kingsbury and the Living Jungle, they were the only kingdoms not controlled by the council of the capital. The people trusted their judgment to the point that on multiple occasions, the three kingdoms were left without heirs, and the king or queen chose their successor at their discretion. Generally, these decisions turned out to be correct, and since the people were happy, there was no need for the council's intervention. As a matter of course, the surname of that house had always been Goldwater, so there were never many changes, except sometimes in the person but generally it remained the same.A girl of about 18 years old was looking out the window of her room in the castle. It was an unusually clear and starry night, and looking at the sky had become an escape from the situation the kingdom had been facing for the past three weeks when a boy dressed in black with a white mask appeared. The next thing they knew was that part of the city was being attacked with what they perceived to be energy beams, and before they knew it, this boy had taken total control of both the kingdom and the city. Her brother, who had ascended to the throne because she didn't want to, had been taken prisoner, and since he refused to do what the boy said, she hadn't heard from him since. Originally, she didn't want to do much, but since she didn't ascend to the throne, she was made the commander pilot of the kingdom. She didn't like the idea at all at first, but little by little she got used to using her personal fighter, which made her the next piece in the boy's game. But since she also didn't want to cooperate, they locked her in her room, and she had been locked up for nearly a week."Great, Chara, I wish you had cooperated; at least you could have gotten your brother out of where he was, and then seen how to get out of this situation."Her attention was soon drawn to the window, where nine shooting stars of different colors were streaking across the sky. She saw a yellow star, a purple one, and a turquoise one fall near the side of the continent where she remembered the coral barrier city was located. Two pink stars with brown, a green star, and an orange star fell near the city of Lumia. Two stars, a golden one and a white one, fell together near Kingsbury. Midway, the white star simply vanished, while the golden one continued on its path toward the city. Finally, a star passed very close to her window, maybe a kilometer away; it was blue with red, and she could swear she saw a boy inside. The star passed over the Jungle of Corruption and disappeared behind the first mountains of the Wright Mountains. She kept staring at the star, something inside her screamed that she needed to investigate. Whatever was happening was important, and if all the stars were bringing people inside, they might be special and could help them."Maybe if I manage to get out of here, I can take my gunship and go to the mountains; maybe they know something."As these and other thoughts crossed her mind, there was a knock on her door. She approached and peered through the peephole; on the other side was the boy with the white mask. She simply opened the lower door and stepped back enough, then sat down in front of the door."What do you want?"The boy merely slid a tray of food under the door. This was always done by some guard with their face covered by a white mask, similar to those used by the infiltration team when entering the Jungle of Corruption, so this time it was something different. She grabbed a sort of stick she had and pulled the tray toward her."As you can see, colorful stars have just fallen all across the continent,"the boy said. She only listened; she didn't even want to touch the food at that moment."What do the stars have to do with you?"she inquired."Those stars are our parallels; we can't let them develop, or we won't be able to fulfill our purpose here."His words were very ambiguous. What the hell did he mean? At least now she knew that what she initially thought were stars were actually people, which only made her more eager to investigate."And what does that have to do with me? I don't think you have any purpose other than conquering, and you've already taken a kingdom; I don't think you need more."She said this in a sort of attempt both to gain information and to throw back at him what he had done to her nation. The boy let out a small laugh followed by a sigh."I can't just confront them; it wouldn't be good for me. No matter how powerful I am, and no matter how much they don't control their powers, they have the advantage of numbers. But since I don't want any of the others to win the race, I need to find them and catch them; the sooner, the better."She fell silent; he still hadn't answered her question. The boy then took a breath."I need you to help me find them. I can do it alone, but I need attacking power, and you, Chara of Goldwater, will provide me with that power since your brother refuses to cooperate."She breathed deeply; it was hard for her not to scream; she had to keep her composure."And what makes you think I will cooperate with you? I have no reason to do so, and why would I want to help you?"The boy let out a slight sigh."Because I can give you more power than you have now. You can have control over multiple kingdoms if you help me, and, of course, I will free both your brother and your parents, so the choice is yours."Chara considered for a fleeting moment helping the stranger, but since her parents had fought against him and so had her brother, she knew perfectly well that doing what he said would mean a huge betrayal. Besides, she didn't see any reason to help him; he could afford to speak to her harshly because regardless of the boy having taken the kingdom, if nobody supported him, he would be left with nothing to control, either by killing all the people of Goldwater or because they would leave on their own. He needed her, in whatever way, so she could take certain liberties in negotiating."I'm not going to help you."The boy fell silent; the girl's tone made it clear that she wasn't negotiating. Yes, she sounded calm, but if you looked behind the curtains, you could see that she was making it clear from the start that she didn't intend to help him. The boy then simply stood up and prepared to leave."Then your brother will cooperate, whether he wants to or not, as will your people."After the boy left, she heard murmurs outside her door, and then she was locked up again. She remained seated in her chair for a while; she still hadn't touched the food. Finally, she decided to try something; she couldn't even swallow the first bite when she heard screams outside her window. When she looked out, everyone was fighting against what seemed to be masks sticking to their heads. The horror that overwhelmed her when, after a while, everyone lined up as if they were an army in front of the boy, who was now in the center of the city, was indescribable. She had to get out of there and fast; she had to seek help.She took her portable radio that she had hidden and tuned into a frequency."This is Princess Chara of Goldwater. Any city that hears me, my kingdom has been invaded; close your borders; no person from my nation can be trusted now. I am locked in a cell; please take cover."The message ended as all the masked people turned to look at the boy, who then emitted a kind of black glow directed toward him, followed by a beam of black light shot into the sky.Oka, Dream, Jura, and Samu found themselves falling from the sky after passing through the door to the real world, all quickly regaining their senses upon realizing they were falling. Jura shouted."Shut up, Jura!"He turned to look at Dream, who was also falling, but unlike him, he curled up into a projectile shape, allowing him to control his trajectory, just like Oka and Samu. They all managed to recover, and Dream reasoned that perhaps what he saw in Fortnite could be useful, so he adopted the position in which players fell. This allowed him to almost glide through the wind as if it were water; it didn't slow his fall much, but it helped him steer. When he told everyone what position to take, Jura was just coming out of the trance caused by passing through the portal. His shout disoriented them so much that he had to return to his previous position. Jura looked at everyone.By instinct, Jura mimicked the others and brought his arms to his sides. Immediately, he felt the wind begin to flow, allowing him to pass. He started to control his trajectory like the others, even managing to match their speed due to his weight.Throughout the fall, they saw many things, passing over at least three cities that looked different."Hey! This isn't bad at all; in fact, I like it! It's like a roller coaster!"The air didn't carry Samu's words well because Dream then asked:"What do you like? Being rolled?"Everyone began to laugh. Almost at the end of their fall, they saw a city in the distance that was sinking into the ground; it looked like it was descending into the earth. From where they were, they could hear what seemed to be alarms as the city went down, which led them to infer that it was possibly the alarm indicating that the city was being secured. They passed by the city as a kind of metal curtain closed over it."What a strange city; it seems to be a fortress city,"Oka said. They passed by the city and looked ahead; their impact with the ground was approaching. Fortunately for them, not far from there was what seemed to be a lake; Oka's mind quickly kicked into gear."We have to fall into that lake; it's the only way to cushion our fall,"Oka shouted as he moved his body to orient himself toward the lake. The others followed his lead, but Jura fell behind; his weight prevented him from changing his trajectory."Hey! Help me! I'm going to crash into the ground!"Samu stretched out his arm to try to reach him, his arm stretching out as if it were a rubber band."Ah, I'm Mr. Fantastic; when did I get powers? It was about damn time!"As he tried to pull Jura back, his weight also pulled Samu down, and then they fell faster."Damn you, Jura! You're too heavy; we're not going to land in the lake!"Both shouted as they saw a rock appear in front of them, and while Oka and Dream fell into the lake, Samu and Jura were smashed against a rock.When they managed to get out of the lake, they ran to the shore to find a scene that was both surreal and horrifying; Jura (or what was left of him) was moving, slowly regaining shape after his spine and bones were compressed like a can from the impact. It was as if he were coming back to life. Samu, however, wasn't so lucky; his body, in the same state as Jura's, wasn't recovering; he definitely wasn't going to re-form. Neither Oka nor Dream said anything; they just looked on with expressions of surprise, disgust, and a kind of relief as Jura's body, and Jura himself, gradually returned to their original form. When he fully restored himself, Jura woke up, looked around, and realized he was completely naked; his clothes had been destroyed. Then, he saw Samu smeared against the stone.Jura screamed.Alex, Bee, and Fossil woke up falling over what they thought was a desert, but looking further ahead, they could see an immense ocean, and floating over it, a huge city. They all took on a star-like shape, extending their arms and legs to cushion their fall. None of them said anything; their heads were still trying to process everything. They continued on their trajectory toward what they identified as the city they saw in the distance and passed it by. Below the city, a large number of fish and other large marine animals could be seen. The entire city appeared to be illuminated by crystals similar to theirs, but much larger. Just as they were about to fall into the water, a ship appeared beneath them as if it were trying to catch them."Get out of the way!"Fossil shouted as he saw the ship extend a kind of platform beneath them and what looked like an acrylic box."Are you not going to move? What do we do?!"Fossil shouted again. Bee remained silent, trying to understand everything that was happening. Not a second later, both were covered by Alex, who took them and hugged them in an attempt to protect them from the impact."Hey, what the hell are you doing, Alex?! You're going to break apart from the impact!"Alex gave a confident smile, as if he knew he was going to succeed. Bee's hands then began to shine the same color as Alex's crystal. Not a second later, they impacted against the box, which shattered into a thousand pieces at the moment they destroyed the ship's structure. When they opened their eyes, Bee's hands had stopped shining, and the three of them were as if nothing had happened; none of them had any injuries as they surfaced to breathe."Hey, hey! We're okay! We did it!"Alex said while hugging his two companions."Yes, we did it! What was that?"Bee said, looking at her hands to realize they were no longer glowing."I don't know, but it just saved us! It's as if Alex were indestructible!"The three of them started laughing, partly from nerves and partly from happiness as they hugged again."Alright, let's move to the shore; we'll see what to do there,"Bee said. The shore in question wasn't too far; it wasn't much of a distance, and like back in the real world, they had all learned to swim, so it wasn't hard to reach. They were halfway there when a sound Fossil identified as an energy shot rang out behind them. Then Fossil felt a sharp pain in his back as he began to sink. Bee and Alex turned to see a black ship approaching them; one of the crew members had some sort of rifle and then aimed it at both Alex and Bee. Alex quickly shielded Bee. The boy felt the shots; they all hurt, but he didn't suffer any damage; he held on as long as he could until they both saw a yellow light appear beneath them. Then, Fossil shot toward the ship, destroying it from below. The soldiers continued to shoot at him, but each shot seemed to make his glow increase. The shoes he was wearing were shining yellow; they looked wet but seemed to be drying. Then, Fossil struck the soldiers; each hit sent them flying far from the ship while being destroyed from the inside by the enormous amount of energy with which they were struck by Fossil, who ran to reach the soldiers. His erratic and seemingly unreasoning way of acting made Bee realize that he was not only scared but also very disoriented."FOSSIL!"Bee shouted to get Fossil's attention, who was holding the last soldier. She had never seen the boy like this, not even when they had to fight against other human groups seeking resources near the village. Fossil released the soldier the moment he heard the girl's voice; the glow emanating from his body gradually began to fade. He looked at his hands and part of his body, which were splattered with blood, and his fright only increased. Bee quickly swam toward him and pulled him into the water while hugging him. Fossil trembled; it was clear that he didn't know what had just happened. He held on tightly to Bee while breathing heavily, and an alarm sounded in the distance."Guys, we need to move; I can move you from here, but we have to leave as soon as possible,"Alex said, trying to get both their attention. Bee just nodded. Then Alex pulled both of them to the shore.Pope and Dann were falling toward what seemed to be a kind of city resembling a medieval capital. They both had trouble orienting themselves since they were spinning while falling. Pope stabilized himself to stop spinning, extended his arms, and then pressed them to his body to avoid falling too quickly. He then turned to see Dann, who was still having trouble stabilizing herself. He directed his body toward her to give her his hand so they could stabilize together. Dann was very stressed; she was almost crying but was trying to regain her balance. When she was at a considerable distance, she extended her hand toward the girl."DANN!"Pope shouted to get her attention. Immediately, the girl turned to look at him; her face reflected all the stress and fear she was feeling. Pope himself was as scared as she was and was making a tremendous effort to control his emotions so they at least had some calm to hold on to."Give me your hand!"He said as he extended his hand toward the girl, who was trying to decide whether to take the boy's hand or not. Pope gave the most confident smile he could muster."Take my hand, Dann, we're going to fall together; we shouldn't separate. As long as we stay together, everything will be fine, take my hand."Dann turned to look into the boy's eyes, which showed nothing but trust, and then she extended her hand towards him. Both hands began to glow until, upon touching, they emitted a sort of energy discharge that made their ears start ringing. But the most important and the worst part was that it separated them a lot. The impact only stunned Pope, but Dann fainted and began to fall in the opposite direction to Pope."DANN!"Pope shouted as he saw her drifting away. Then, his head hit a tree, and he fell into what seemed to be a farm in the middle of a wasteland. His eyes couldn't stay open for long; the impact was too strong. Pope fainted, with his last thought and memory being how the girl he had spent nearly five years of his life with was suddenly separated from him.Floppa slowly woke up, his senses gradually adjusting to the place he was in. He felt his back and head on a cushioned surface, his eyes slowly opening, capturing the light coming through a window. Parts of his body were bandaged, but none seemed to be injured. He no longer had the clothes he was wearing just a few hours earlier; now he was changed into a sort of white dress, the sleeves appeared to have gemstones embedded in them, as did the chest. On his wrist was the crystal he took from the cave; it was clean. He thought he would be very dirty from the fall, but no, he was clean, as if he had been bathed.As he analyzed the room he was in, he noticed a chair next to a somewhat large window, a small table with a glass of water, some books and papers, a mirror on a small dresser, a bookshelf, and a rug. On the mirror's table rested the only things he had brought with him from the other world, which were also his last belongings. Floppa got up; in front of the bed, there were small boots that looked more like shoes, and there were also socks. Floppa put them on and approached the table to inspect his belongings. His side bag, although there, was torn, probably because he got caught on something during his fall. His goggles still held their structure, but one lens was broken, and the other was cracked. His music and video discs had broken cases, but the discs were fine. His headphones were just disassembled, and the player was also in good condition. The last of his parents' belongings, a necklace his mother had given him, was also there with him, meaning that whoever had helped him hadn't taken anything.Floppa approached the jug and bowl next to the mirror, peered into the jug, and saw it was water, so he took some to wash his face, which helped him wake up completely. Conveniently, there was a towel next to the bowl. The boy took it and dried his face. After looking around the room again, he noticed that on the wall there was a sort of tapestry, which was also a rug. Floppa approached it, and on it were drawings similar to those they saw in the cave where they found the crystals. The difference was that in this one, what he saw was the following:There was an embroidery of what appeared to be a blue and red star at the top of the tapestry, and next to it, there were eight other stars, with the largest being a golden one. All of them continued on their path, except for the red star, which was falling over a sort of mountains. In the mountains, there were many windmills and a village. The mountains were surrounded by a bluish-gray jungle with animals Floppa had never seen before. The embroidery continued to the village, where there was a golden path, and a person dressed in blue with a bit of red was walking in the center of the path, presenting what appeared to be a halo. However, it was not at the back of the head; it was on the person's back. Floppa was puzzled; this was even stranger than what he had first seen in the cave. Now it was not nine boys; it was just one, but he did not shine like the boy dressed in gold; he seemed to have a faint glow. Floppa decided not to think about it, then he headed to the table, where there was a glass of water and a note, surprisingly written in Spanish."When you wake up, please go down to the castle garden." -Mr.Floppa looked at the note, bewildered. Then he took the books; all of them were books with maps, biology, botany, and apparently medicine, all written in Spanish. The boy leafed through some; in the biology and botany books, there were drawings of animals and plants he had never seen before. Most were animals he had never seen in the books he owned; only a few did he identify as mammals and birds. Despite this, the book that caught his attention the most was the one with the maps. On the initial map, there was a layout that showed what appeared to be cities, and a drawing of a sparrow marked the location where he apparently was."Wright Mountain Range?"Floppa said, bewildered. Even though he knew he was no longer on Earth (at least the one he knew), it was still hard to accept. Then Floppa went to the window and opened it. The first thing he noticed was that he was high, very high; he was inside a castle. He realized this by seeing the structure of the walls and the columns of the building. Then, near him, the blade of a windmill passed by. He looked up, and before the end of one of the towers, there were windmills. Floppa then looked down to see they were inside a mountain range, surrounded by mountains, and the village descended down the slopes. In the distance, he could see some fields of crops, a forest, and many windmills and some houses, all connected by cobblestone paths. A river crossed the whole village, and in the distance, he could see a large star-shaped lake. Then a gust of wind hit Floppa, making him sneeze. His face grew cold, and Floppa lost his balance, slipping and falling out of the window. Floppa screamed as he fell, telling himself that it couldn't be possible he was being so stupid. He had just survived something horrible, and now he was repeating it. He brought his hands forward into tight fists and then saw that they were glowing, one red and one blue. Then a small flash blinded him, and the next thing he knew, he was back in the room, which still had the window open. Floppa took a breath, then approached the window and closed it while breathing."What the hell just happened?"Floppa said while looking at his fists, which had lost their glow again."Did I teleport?"Floppa said while looking around. Then he looked at his fists again and then at the door."What if?"He said aloud while looking at the door, then made a buzzing sound while waiting to teleport through the door, but nothing happened."Maybe if I run—"He said, then took off and ran, but likewise, nothing happened, and he crashed against the door, bringing his hands to his nose, feeling that it was bleeding again."Damn it!"He said while holding his nose. Not a second later, he appeared on the other side of the door, and his nose was no longer bleeding. He then tried to open the door to wash his hands, but since his hands were bloody, he couldn't grasp the latch properly."Damn it, I just want to go back to the room!"Floppa said, and when he looked, he was back in the room again."Hugh...it seems I can teleport by thinking of the place."The boy said. He then approached the bowl, where there was still the water he used for his face. He rinsed his hands and then took the towel to dry them. After that, he returned to the door. Floppa then thought of the hallway he had seen after the door and teleported to the hallway, but he fell face-first on some stairs, about three meters from where he was. He knew where the door to the room was because the latch had blood on it."Too much teleportation for today."Floppa said as he got up and walked down the hallway. The ambient light of the sun illuminated the corridor. He passed by some rooms where people wore clothes that seemed to be made of wool and cotton. For some reason, everyone greeted him and made a small bow of their heads as he passed by, and he just returned the gesture. Eventually, after reaching a larger room, he arrived at what seemed to be a courtyard with a garden. On one of its walls, there was what appeared to be a fireplace, and there was no fire at the moment. It was surrounded by flowers. There were benches in a circle of cobblestones connected by others to the hallway and a small gazebo in the center. A small stream passed through the entire garden and formed some small waterfalls, passing through a small hole in the wall. Beyond that, there was a man who appeared to be of advanced age. He wore a robe that covered his whole body and had a beige beard. His hat had teeth tied to it, and he wore leather gloves and boots. Upon feeling his gaze, he turned to look at Floppa and gestured for him to come closer. Floppa did as instructed, reluctantly, but approached the man. He didn't notice that behind him, at the entrance to the garden, there were many people gathered, watching expectantly. Floppa finished approaching the man, who spoke before he could say anything."Good day, young man, how was your stay?"The man said with a voice that sounded anything but old."Good...thank you very much for helping me and for cleaning me up. I truly appreciate it."Floppa said. The man then crossed his arms, his robe lifted, revealing that it was a cloak. Underneath, he wore cotton clothes and had two sword sheaths, as well as one for a gun, and also a belt with some pouches. Despite this, Floppa did not feel threatened; something told him this man did not represent a danger."I apologize for my rude introduction, but I had to ask how you were."Floppa then put his hands in front of him, as if he were asking for something."Don't worry; it's me who should apologize for bothering you and frightening you in that way, as well as for barging into your village, and for not introducing myself or anything; please forgive me."The man just laughed, then took Floppa's shoulder."Don't worry; we would do anything for you,"the man said."What? Don't say that; what do you mean?"Floppa said, surprise in his voice. The man then cleared his throat."Allow me to introduce myself; my name is Joseph Lui, but I'm known more as Master Joseph, and I am generally the one who teaches the royalty of the valley about the way of life of the people, as well as training them,"the man said, then turned to look at Floppa again."What?!"Floppa said, even more bewildered."What is your name, young man?"the man asked. Floppa hesitated for a second but then answered."Floppa..."he said after hesitating a bit. The man then knelt down on one knee, drew his sword, and planted it in the ground behind him. The sound of the people putting themselves in the same position made Floppa turn his gaze back, then he turned to look at the man."Welcome to the Wright Mountain Range, Prince Floppa; this is your kingdom now."Floppa's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets."WHAT?!Pope woke up hours after crashing at the farm; his head hurt and was spinning. He couldn't remember anything well. Slowly, he began to wake up; he was in a room that seemed to be a medical office. His head was bandaged, and his side was too, but he didn't feel like anything was broken. He brought his hand to the area where the bandage was, feeling through it what he initially thought was a large cut. One of his arms was also bandaged. The office was made of wood, and in a display case, he saw many things he identified as medical instruments. A first aid kit was hanging from one of the windows, and there were hooks for IVs on the other side. It wasn't the same, but in a way, it reminded him of the office where Floppa and his brother treated people in the village."The others..."he said, suddenly remembering his friends. He then tried to get up from the stretcher he was lying on, but it hurt a lot, especially because of the wound on his side. Just after getting up, a spring from behind his pillow snapped, and a bell rang. The sound annoyed him greatly, but he ignored it and kept trying to get up. Then, a girl around 20 years old rushed through the door."Don't get up, don't get up; you're very injured!"she said as she pushed him back onto the bed. Then she quickly examined him."Great, you've reopened your wound."The girl said after noticing the bandage on his side was starting to turn red. She quickly removed the bandage."Hey, hey, HEY! What are you doing?"Pope said. Generally, he didn't mind people touching him, but this was very sudden, and the wound was on his side. The girl's maneuver felt very invasive, and then she held his body."I'm trying to stop your bleeding, dumbass; stay still,"she said while finishing removing the bandage. Then the girl shouted,"GALIA! COME HERE!"Not a second later, another girl came in. She was the same age as the girl who was attending to his wound; in fact, she looked identical. If it weren't for the different color of their eyes, he wouldn't have noticed they were different."BRING THE KIT!"the other girl said when she finished removing the bandage, then the wound became visible. What he thought was a cut turned out to be something worse. He had seen similar things before; in fact, seeing a hole in his side reminded him of the time Fossil fell from a tree and impaled himself with a rock in the abdomen. Bee had panicked because of the amount of blood that started pouring out of her boyfriend, and it was just him, Dann, Fossil, and Bee—there was no one to help them. They didn't know what to do until Dann thought of carrying him between two of them to the village. Halfway there, they found Floppa and Alexa sitting and eating what seemed to be bread in a part of the forest they rarely went to. When he saw Floppa, he yelled at him; he didn't even have to tell him twice because the guy immediately went to help his friend. After that, everything turned out fine... well, everything except that Alexa got mad at Floppa for tending to Fossil without telling her and leaving her suddenly. Then Floppa began his litany of apologies, and everything he said to the girl, he didn't want to remember. The important thing was that Fossil was alive, thanks to Dann's idea."Dann..."The girl who had saved his friend was now lost, and he was on a stretcher with what he would bet was some kind of stab wound. He was pulled from his thoughts when he felt a sharp burning sensation in his side. The girl who was treating him was cleaning the wound with alcohol, then she started to suture it."I told you to suture it from the start, Galia; I knew this could happen,"she said while closing his wound."Well, yes, but you know I can't suture properly, Hilda,"the other girl replied. The discussion between the two girls faded from Pope's mind. He simply laid his head back on the stretcher and began to close his eyes. The image of his partner and how he had lost her reappeared in his mind."Hey, hey, HEY! Galia, quick, the alcohol, wake him up, NOW!"yelled the girl who seemed to be Hilda. The other girl quickly brought a swab of alcohol to Pope's nose. He shot up suddenly; the alcohol woke him up. Then the girl took him by the shoulders and held him securely to the bed. The boy didn't try to fight anymore; his mind was too lost to struggle with the girl. He didn't even notice the sensation the needle caused as it pierced his skin and muscle. There was no one else; it seemed Dann was alive but lost, and there was no trace of his friends. He wasn't sure if they were alive.His eyelids didn't close; he never fell asleep, but he knew his mind was no longer in its right state. He suddenly found himself in a kind of black tunnel, with several colored lights scattered throughout the space. It looked like the cave where they had found the crystals. There were groups of colors; the feeling of dizziness seemed to have disappeared, and his head was no longer spinning. He then clearly remembered the colors of his friends' crystals. The colors corresponding to Oka, Jura, Samu, and Dream were far from him but not as far as he imagined. All the crystals seemed to be in perfect condition, except for Jura's, which had many cracks and was repairing itself. Samu's crystal was shattered into many pieces, but it wasn't floating; it seemed to be tied to Jura's crystal and was still glowing. Maybe something had happened to Samu, but he was alive, or at least alive in some form. The crystals corresponding to Bee, Alex, and Fossil were also together. Fossil's crystal was shining very brightly, as if it were charged. Bee's crystal was replicating its glow, and Alex's crystal was blinking, but it didn't look bad. Out of curiosity, he tried to touch one of the crystals, and then a vision appeared before him. Bee was carrying Fossil out of what seemed to be an ocean. Alex was behind them, carrying a weapon while pointing it in different directions, as if he were keeping watch. They then ran into what seemed to be a cave and descended. There were metal structures. They kept running until they reached a door. Fossil was slowly regaining consciousness. Alex took the weapon and hit the door; it gave way under his blow. After knocking the door down, they entered what looked like a tunnel, then climbed up some stairs back to the surface. The vision suddenly ended when a shot rang out behind them. Pope realized that maybe he could access the locations or belongings of his friends if he touched the crystals, but he was limited."Ha, it's like what the girl from Stranger Things can do."Then he searched for Dann's crystal. He found it, but it was glowing with a very dim light, which worried him. When he tried to touch it, a black crystal with green blocked his way. Then a mirror rose in front of him, and he couldn't pass. No matter how much he hit the mirror, he eventually gave up. Then he remembered Floppa; he quickly searched for his crystal in that black tunnel and found it, but it was very far away. Its glow looked good; in fact, it looked bright, but it was too far away. He could barely see it, nor could he touch it. He couldn't reach it, so he approached another crystal nearby, a navy blue crystal with black. When he touched it, the vision of a burning kingdom, people with what looked like masks, and a boy dressed in black appeared before him. The scene was desolate; just seeing the streets made it clear that the situation was horrible. He kept walking through the place they were in until he reached some towers. He floated above them; all were either empty or filled with guards waiting. He passed what seemed to be a hangar where a spherical ship with wings was parked. Going higher, he saw a room where a girl was holding a radio and looking out the window. The girl wore a very simple crown. Pope reasoned that she must be a queen or something similar, and the situation of her evident confinement and invasion didn't seem favorable at all. His vision was cut short when he felt a hand on his shoulder and then saw a boy dressed in black, navy blue, and wearing a white mask. Then he woke from his vision."Did you manage to get it back?"the girl who had initially been attending to him asked her sister."YES, yes, I'm back."Pope said nothing. Surely leaving so suddenly because of that vision had caused him to faint or something similar. At least now he knew a little about his friends, but the information he had was concerning. Bee, Fossil, and Alex were being attacked, but they were holding up well. He knew nothing of Jura, Oka, Samu, and Dream, and the vision of Samu's shattered crystal but shining as if nothing had happened was certainly disconcerting. Floppa was very out of reach, but even though his crystal seemed to be in perfect condition, it seemed to be moving away, almost as if it decided to distance itself. And Dann... Why did another crystal block his way in the first place?Pope didn't want to think anymore; he would resolve it tomorrow, or later, or whenever—he didn't know. His head began to spin again, but he didn't want to pay attention to it. Slowly, he raised his arm as if trying to reach one of the girls attending to him. His hand began to glow slowly with a white light, and then, without him controlling it or knowing, a beam of light shot out from his hand, followed by an explosion in the corner of the room. Pope and both girls, who were covering their faces with their hands, slowly got up. The three of them looked at each other with a mix of fear and confusion."What the hell was that?!"