Solo, Alena, Meena and Maya all sighed heavily. The battle against Foo Yung and Chow Mein had left them exhausted, but they had little time to rest if they wanted any chance of putting an end to Psaro's plan to utilize the Secret of Evolution to its full potential. Despite the desperation of their situation, Chow Mein's last words to the party were tormenting Solo…
"Somewhere out there is a tree upon which a mysterious flower has just blossomed."
Could it really be the legendary Yggdrasil flower? The flower that has the power to restore life to those who are now in the embrace of the Goddess? If so, then it was clear to them all that they had to revive Rose, the only one capable of stopping Psaro's madness.
It was as clear as Rose's ruby tears as to what they must do.
It was clear to all of them…Except Solo.
All I could hear were the screams of the townspeople. The bloodcurdling screams. The sound of the bodies hitting the ground above me. The unmistakeable smell of smoke becoming stronger by the second.
Voices…
"There he is! That's him!"
"Psaro wants him dead! Make sure every last *rattle* bone of his is broken!"
Cynthia…why? It should…it WAS me…
My heart began to race. I didn't ask for any of this.
"Solo! We'll hold them off, ru-Huurk!"
I covered my mouth to stop myself screaming in agony. I recognized that voice. It was my father. He told me to come down here to hide. Said I was to play a vital part in the events that were about to unfold. Cynthia had used a spell to transform into the duplicate of me. Everyone was sacrificing themselves for me.
And I'm sat here like a spineless coward!
Why do they all have to die?
"This one has some crunchy bones for such a young one!"
"Eat around the bones, you klutz! That's where all the best meat is!"
"Shut up, bonehead!"
The sickening crunches of teeth gnawing through bone echoed through the basement. My knees buckled, my entire body shaking with rage and repulsiveness. I began to retch uncontrollably, the world spinning around me. Mustering all my strength, I managed to crawl behind a crate full of old weapons. Grasping the hilt of a broken-down copper sword, I vowed to avenge you all. I won't rest until every single monster has been wiped out of existence!
Then everything faded to black…
"Solo?"
"Huh?"
Alena was staring at Solo, her face full of worry.
"Ya alright?"
Solo smiled kindly. No matter how battered and bruised she was, the Princess always put others first.
"Yeah, I was just daydreaming."
"You've had your head in the clouds…literally! You can daydream all you want later, we've got a tree to climb!" Alena ran ahead to catch up with Meena and Maya, who were tending to the wagon. The Yggdrasil tree could barely be seen in the distance. They wouldn't reach it today. They'd have to stop at a town. They were all over-exerted from their past exploits to even dream of reaching it without rest.
Solo gritted his teeth and ran towards the others. He could feel his heart beat in his ear. Each footstep caused his legs to tingle with pain. He'd have to fight through it. He had a reason to go on now.
I'm coming…Cynthia.