The ground, which was burned earlier in the day, now had new grass and flowers growing. Nicole and the others might have left traces the night before, but it was now too hard to find them.
Since they changed their planned path, all they could do was hope that luck would help them find each other again.
Ren was running in front of Kestrel. After so ti, he suddenly stopped where the ground was a bit lower, bent down, and touched the plants to feel the soil underneath.
"What happened?" Kestrel ca back around on the orca.
"It’s Olivia," Ren said after thinking for a bit. "There was a fight here."
Olivia had a really straightforward and harsh ability that let her make her psychic incarnation - the panda - much heavier, many tis over. The huge, super heavy panda would suddenly co out of nowhere. It would fall from the sky and crush everything with its weight, overpowering the enemy quickly.
She nad this technique "Titan Butt." It seed easy but was extrely powerful and dangerous, making it almost impossible to defend against and almost as destructive as the gravity gun that Ren had.
Under Ren’s feet, there were several big holes pushed into the ground. Even though they were now covered by flowers and looked like normal changes there.
Ren could tell because of his good eye for details, that these were made by Olivia using her strong move here.
It looked like during the night before, so of them had walked through here and ran into so trouble at this spot, ending up in a tough fight.
Kestrel felt a rush of both surprise and happiness — the happiness was because she and Ren had chosen the right path, as their friends were here just last night; the surprise was because, after the unexpected change in their plan last night, they had faced a hard battle here, and it wasn’t clear if they were able to safely hide in a bunker.
Kestrel rose to her feet on the back of the orca. With the orca glowing purple light in its eyes, they zood over the flower field like a shooting star.
Ren was right behind her, stepping on the shadow the orca made on the ground. They quickly got to a new hiding place, and opened the roof cover. Ren went in first, and after a short ti, he poked his head back out, giving Kestrel a nod and saying, "They were here. But..."
From how things looked inside the bunker, it was clear that Nicole and her team had stayed here last night. They had used this hideout all day to rest and get better, but when night ca and it got cooler, they had already left and started moving again.
Kestrel and Ren had just missed them, getting there a bit too late.
A bright light showed up in the sky, signaling that another scorching day was coming. All they could do was shut the hideout’s roof and take a break in this small underground shelter to avoid the hot day.
They looked everywhere in the not-too-big space: there were pieces of gauze with blood on them and opened first-aid kits on the floor, showing that so of the people who were here before had gotten seriously hurt.
Kestrel found a letter with her na on it, opened it, and saw who signed it; Nicole had written it to her.
Dear Kestrel,
I guess you figured out that we had to switch to a different path than the one we agreed on with you to use this hideout. I don’t know which path you and Ren will end up choosing, or if you’ll even find this letter I left for you.
The alphas all think I’m just dreaming, saying that with so many hideouts around, it’s very unlikely that we’d just happen to use the sa one, but I can’t shake the feeling that we’re so linked, you will surely find this letter. ^^
Olivia was injured, pretty badly, and I nearly cried again. Now, I’m the only beta in the group, and I have to keep the alphas’ emotions in check, but look, I didn’t cry this ti, aren’t I strong?
I helped clean Olivia up and took care of her injuries; she’s looking much better as I’m writing this letter.
I’ve realized only now, with you not here, how hard it is to work with several alphas in a fight while also keeping track of everything else. Luckily, everyone’s been great, offering a lot of support and help.
The fights are really intense, it kind of gets your adrenaline pumping. We’ve given up a lot, but luckily, we made it here safe and sound. I’m guessing, right now, you and Ren are safe too, aren’t you? I really hope that’s the case.
Kestrel, I have to say, I really look up to your courage. I finally get that getting to where you are now wasn’t a piece of cake at all. It’s taken tons of scary battles to build up the skills you have. And now, I don’t want to just be a bystander admiring you.
I want to be as gutsy as you. You’re a great role model for us. I think, as ti goes on, there’ll be more betas like around. The journey ahead might be full of danger, but after talking with the two alphas, we’ve decided to keep pushing forward.
We chose this ourselves. I hope you get it and are rooting for us. Regardless of the paths we all choose, I have faith that we’ll see each other again in the end.
You ntioned once that you were after the stone that reveals the mysteries of this world. Now, it’s not only you working towards this goal; we all want to find out the big secret that binds us all together, just like you.
Hehe, how about we make this a race? We might even get to the stone before you do.
So, speed it up and join us, Kestrel, don’t leave hanging for too long at the finish line.
Instead of a signature, there was a sketch of a cute little snake in the end of the letter. It was wiggling its slender body forward, followed by a bandaged panda rolling along, and there was also a lion and a unicorn in the group.
Kestrel went through the letter a couple of tis.
Even though the note seed light-hearted and happy, the paper felt kinda tense and weighed down with emotion. The cave showed signs of blood, dicine.
Kestrel held the thin paper really tight. She wondered, if only she hadn’t shared her ultimate dream with them before leaving, if she had kept it a secret like in the past and ca here by herself, maybe they wouldn’t have pressed on while being so hurt. She wouldn’t feel this nervous and unsettled.
"She wrote, ’I don’t want to just be a bystander admiring you,’" Ren leaned in, reading a line from the letter.
He only read that part, but it sohow eased Kestrel’s worries.
Kestrel glanced at Ren who was next to her, and saw that he was looking at her with kind and determined eyes.
In his look, Kestrel rembered the evening before they set off.
The night before they left, in her backyard, Kestrel took down the Verity Vault and showed it to all the friends who were coming with her.
The little wooden box was giving off a brilliant light, shining with a captivating sparkle. Pictures of the Mary, the Erdtree, and the Eyehole popped up one after another above the box, with the final image being a mantis hovering in the air.
"So, you went to the Polluted Zone over and over. The main goal is to make this box light up?"
"Mantidale. Does this design an that the gem we’re looking for is in Mantidale?"
Kestrel nodded.
Her friends were all pretty shocked, letting out continuous exclamations. They were hit by a wave of surprise, shock, and wonder.
The Verity Vault. It was said that filling each of the slots on the box’s surface would let the person holding it see the real story of this world, to understand where the world ca from, why it started, and there were even rumors that it could show where humanity was headed in the future. It also contained things that the Empire and the Tower definitely didn’t want to show people.
They always felt that Kestrel was not like others. But they didn’t realize that she was uncovering such an amazing secret all by herself.
"How many stones do we still need?" asked Ren, the latest mber to join.
"Two," Kestrel answered. "If we can get the gem from Mantidale without any issues, we’ll only need one more."
It seed like success was not too far away. But Kestrel was fully aware that each lit slot on this box ca at the cost of many struggles and dangers.
"Has anyone else tried to find these gems before?"
"A few have... but they didn’t make it, losing their lives early on."
Kestrel wasn’t sure if other groups were trying to activate the Verity Vault. She just knew that her mom and dad once found a gem and tried hard to light up this box. However, her parents and their strong friends from that period all vanished. They gave up their lives to get a peek at the truth.
Back then, she was by herself, holding onto a valuable treasure, keeping secrets, and planning to move slowly and steadily. Now, she had so many reliable friends. She wanted them all to see this box. If sothing happened to her along the way, maybe soone would be ready to take over her mission.
On the final night before they left, Kestrel talked about everything that had to be done. The dangers, the difficulties, the destinations, and the secrets she kept were all shared, giving everyone a chance to decide for themselves.
Once they started down this road, it would be really tough to go back. It was a rough journey, and at the end of it, a mystery creature was waiting.
For the first ti, Kestrel felt a flicker of fear as she looked down.
Then, she didn’t know who reached out first, but one hand followed another, then a third... The companions’ hands tightly interlocked on the small The Verity Vault.
Many years ago, young Kestrel lost her parents in a great fire. She took over the secret left by her parents and walked alone on the dark, prolonged road. Along the way, there were thorny brambles and obstacles.
Now, unknowingly, she was having more and more companions following behind her.
...
Once again, the sky was graced by the rising of the scorching sun, igniting fierce and sweltering flas.
Kestrel and Ren took shelter in an underground refuge. In Kestrel’s hand was a pen, and behind the row of adorable psychic incarnations drawn by Nicole, she added a spherical orca and a round, rolly-polly Kraken.
The little Kraken was riding on the back of the orca, trying hard to catch up with its companions ahead.
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