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Days turned into weeks as the trio followed the beam of light their joined Azalea stones had created. With their combined powers they were able to fight off the monsters in their path, all of which seemed to grow larger and more difficult to defeat the closer they got to their destination. They were exhausted and weary, but knew they had to push on.
"It's been a few hours. We should check again," Dia's serious tone broke the sound of the huffing and puffing coming from her companions.
Kanan, who had been leading the group, halted and turned her attention back to them. Dia's raven ponytail flipped as she in turn looked back to Hanamaru, who had fallen a bit behind. They waited for Hanamaru to climb the stones to reach them, and Dia gingerly pulled a snack from her bag and held it out to the exhausted scholar.
It was true that they needed to check and make sure they were still on the right path, but it was also about time they took a break to regain some of their energy before continuing their hike.
Hanamaru graciously accepted the snack and plopped down on a large boulder. Kanan and Dia drew close to her and they all held their Azalea stones out, recalling their golden compass once more. The light beam shot up to the sky and turned to direct them in the way they had been traveling.
At least they knew they were still on the right path, even though they currently were trying to traverse a dangerous mountainside .
Luckily no monsters seemed to have taken refuge here, so they did not have to worry about engaging in combat on the jagged terrain.
Kanan pulled away first and turned to go settle on a boulder of her own. She grabbed her worn canteen and took a swig before speaking Dia's earlier thoughts out loud, "We should break for a moment. I have a feeling it's only going to get tougher from here on out."
Kanan pulled a map out of her bag, and unrolled it across her lap. She began studying the path ahead and absorbing the layout of the land ahead of them. The turquoise moon on the back of her hand glittered as Kanan reached up to tuck her bangs behind her ear, a habit of hers she seemed to do when concentrating.
Munching sounds were heard as Hanamaru dug into her snack, and Dia sighed as she claimed her own boulder to rest on.
Even though they were so close to reaching the end of their journey, Dia still couldn't shake the feeling that something was off.
Her sapphire eyes watched Kanan, who was completely immersed in her map. Dia knew the turquoise stone wielder held knowledge of their situation that neither Dia nor Maru knew of, but it was difficult to find an opening to question her about it without sounding accusatory. For the most part, Kanan had been cordial with them, and had willingly come along even though Dia could tell she did not want to for some reason.
Why would she not want to save the world, knowing she had the power to do so?
Kanan had proven herself to be an experienced warrior, even though she had told the counselor and scholar of her history as a lowly castle servant from a far-off kingdom Dia had not heard of. Apparently she had always dreamed of being a warrior and battle strategist, and the decay of the world allowed her to escape her oppressive kingdom and hone her skills.
Her developed fighting skills, mixed with the supernatural power her Azalea stone granted her, had helped her earn the respect of traveling nomads all over, who turned to her when they needed help tracking and defeating unruly monsters that plagued their area. Kanan had apparently garnered a great deal of respect as word traveled of her skills, which explained how she had commanded the attention from the group of ruffians at the pub those many moons ago.
Her tale of hardship and survival made Dia realize she and the rest of Queen Mari's court had been so closed off to the reality of the world around them. Their small party had been safe inside the remains of their castle, which had been well stocked to feed the masses, and only knew of the world through tales the kingdom messengers and occasional nomads had relayed. Once most of the kingdoms all but fell apart and there were no more messengers, their contact with the nitty gritty details of the outside world had all but ceased.
Dia knew that if it weren't for the power of their Azalea stones, both Hanamaru and herself would never had made it this far.
Absentmindedly, Dia wondered how Hanamaru came to survive traveling to Mari's kingdom, since she had not learned of the power of her Azalea stone until their journey. It must have been easier for a single, small traveler to sneak around and avoid detection, Dia surmised.
The sound of crunching gravel broke Dia out of her reverie. Kanan stood and grunted as she hauled her bag over her shoulders and adjusted it on her back.
"Are you both alright to keep going?"
Dia and Hanamaru nodded and stood to stretch their sore limbs before picking up their packs and following Kanan out onto the path once more.
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"Hey, look!"
Dia pulled her hanging head up at Hanamaru's excited voice. Her blue eyes followed the scholar's finger that pointed straight ahead of them, and Dia felt her exhaustion dissipate at the sight.
It was a crumbled building.
The sight was rather plain, for most buildings and structures had fallen into a dilapidated state, but the strange twitch Dia felt from her stone told her they were quickly approaching something significant.
As the trio crept closer upon the building, Dia's jaw dropped in shock as she looked beyond the lone structure to the dozens of other buildings that lay in ruin beyond.
It appeared that they had come across a broken down ruins of an ancient city deep into the mountain bend.
The gravel underneath crunched loudly as they wearily wandered through the ruined city and marveled at the decaying structures. No material items seemed to be left behind, as the buildings were all empty, save for the rubble from when parts of the foundation had crumbled away long before their lifetime.
Kanan vigilantly scouted ahead as Dia and Hanamaru followed and scanned the dilapidated buildings for any signs of movement.
"Over here!"
Dia's attention was drawn to Kanan standing at the end of the path. It appeared as if the narrow street opened up to a town common square of some sort, and Hanamaru jogged ahead of Dia to reach Kanan first.
At the center of the square stood an lone stone obelisk.
As they padded closer, Dia realized that it was covered in abstract carvings. The stone post rose about four feet out of the ground and had three sides which smoothed inward, creating a point. On each flattened side that bent to lead up to the point, was an engraving of a star, a moon, and a heart.
The rapid pulsing from their Azalea stones let them know this was what they had been searching for.
Hanamaru inspected the marker, running her fingers over the carved designs of the shaft.
Their stones guided them to place their hands upon their matching symbol, and Dia grimaced as she wiped away the thick layer of dust that covered the obelisk.
They exchanged hesitant looks, but placed their hands down on their designated side. Each of their respective colors seeped down into the post, illuminating the carved out designs in shades of red, turquoise, and yellow. The earth began to rumble and crack beneath their feet, and the three girls gasped before ripping their hands off the obelisk and fleeing to take cover in the nearest broken down dwellings.
Before their eyes, the obelisk began to rise out from the ground, bringing with it a magnificent ivory tower that slowly tore away the square where they had been standing.
After the unbearable noise of the building erupted had lessened and the quaking had subsided, they waited a few moments before approaching. Despite having witnessed the ground break open the square, the area around the new building was smooth, making it appear as if the tower had always been standing in that spot. Delicate bright green foliage twirled up the sides of the tower, and the gold and silver embellishments that adorned the structure softly shined in the sunlight.
Their heads tilted back in awe as they looked up.
"Amazing…it looks like something from the future, zura!"
Dia and Kanan stared speechlessly at the structure towering above them, and absentmindedly nodded along at the scholar's winded observation. It looked like a brand new structure, and starkly contrasted against the other run-down buildings around it.
"This must be the gate we needed to find…is the life energy stored inside of here?" Dia questioned, looking to her companions for their input.
Kanan stepped forward and tentatively glided her fingers across the side of the tower, reveling in its beauty. The stone was smooth and cold to the touch. "It must be…but I guess there's only one way to find out for sure."
She stepped forward towards the large gold doors. Hanamaru held her breath as they approached. Dia's crystal blue eyes scanned over the carvings on the massive door.
Just like with the obelisk that brought forth the tower, the door held carvings of their Azalea stone symbols.
A slew of symbols trailed down like a list from the top of the door, but the trio of carvings directly above their own vaguely resembled a teardrop, an eye, and…a cat?
Now accustomed to this bizarre routine, the women reached up to place their stones above their designated symbol. Their colors seeped from their stones to their fingers then through the door, filling their symbols with their stone's colorful essence.
A click was heard, and the door creaked open to reveal the inside of the tower, which held nothing but a long winding staircase leading heavenward.
Exchanging determined looks, they began their ascent. Three pairs of leather boots scuffed against the marble stairs, and it was amazing how bright the tower was inside given that it had no windows.
"I can't believe we're finally here," Dia muttered as her gaze flitted around to take in every inch of the tower they were climbing.
The inside walls were glossy and white, as were the marble stairs they climbed. It reminded Dia of Queen Mari's castle in its prime, long before the world fell to shreds. Her Queen always had an eye for the shiny yet sophisticated.
A small smile found its way to Dia's lips as she mused over her Queen. Her smile faded as quickly as it arrived, however. She felt nervous for what was to come, but also relieved that their journey was almost over and she would be able to see her sister again.
If the release of the purification energy worked out like how the text said it would, their trek back to their homeland would be long, but easier and free of monsters and danger.
After another minute of climbing, Hanamaru gasped from beside her as they reached the summit.
At the top of the stairs was an open room encased all around by large windows. Delicate gold lining, much like those seen on the outside of the tower, decorated the inside, and viridian vines with flowers crept along the perimeter and threaded up towards the ceiling. An arched dome of glass formed the ceiling.
The view down the jagged mountain and into the torn valleys far in the distance contrasted greatly with the beauty and cleanliness of the chambers, and the intense sunlight that filtered inside made Dia feel unnaturally warm.
Kanan was focused solely on the center of the room with a stern look on her face. Three short podiums were arranged in a triangular shape around a pillar housing a large glass orb at the center of the room.
Unsurprisingly, each post housed a symbol that corresponded with their Azalea stones.
Kanan's guarded and weary expression did little to keep the nerves Dia was starting to feel at bay.
"What is it?"
The taller girl just shrugged, but Dia noticed the stiffness in her movements. "Nothing. Just trying to figure out what may happen when we place our hands there."
Dia had pushed Kanan's standoffish behavior to back of her mind for so long, and just chalked it up to the other girl simply keeping her guard up.
Now the counselor started the wonder if ignoring their mysterious companion had been a mistake.
Hanamaru's interest had been peaked, and she approached them from the other side of the room. Her satchel bounced against her hip, making thumping noises as she walked. "Well, some type of healing energy should be released. Then everything will go back to normal!" She smiled brightly, trying to soothe Kanan's uncertainty.
"How do we know that book is telling the truth? That seems like a rather easy fix to a disastrous problem…there has to be a catch, right?" Kanan stared back at the younger woman as Dia looked on.
Hanamaru's brows knit as she racked her brain. "We don't know if the book is telling the truth," she started slowly, "But I do know I have never come across anything else to hint at why we were born with these stones," she held up her hand to show off her amber star-shaped Azalea stone. "It's the only lead we have, and we have traveled all this way to not at least see what lies at the end of the path."
Dia glanced down at her own Azalea stone, its blood-red color contrasting dramatically against her pale skin.
Kanan frowned and all but whispered as she stepped forward to tentatively gilde her fingers across one of the podiums. "But...what if it doesn't work? What if the outcome isn't exactly what we were promised?"
Hanamaru's face mirrored Kanan's as she frowned too.
Dia turned away from her stewing companions and padded toward the podium that was illuminated in a faint red light. The side decorated with an insignia that looked much like her crude heart-shaped stone stared back at her, and she breathed deeply before slapping her hand down and declaring, "Hanamaru's right. We won't know for sure until we try. What else can we really do at this point, except see this through?"
Her podium began to glow brighter with red energy.
Despite the calm demeanor Dia was trying to emit to urge her friends forward, her stomach twisted with hesitancy at Kanan's hesitant words.
What if the outcome wasn't exactly what they had been expecting it to be?
Hanamaru smiled reassuringly and some of the tension in Kanan's forehead smoothed away, though the unbelieving glint in her eyes remained.
"Yeah, I guess you're right. We've come too far to just turn back now."
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A/N: Sorry for the lack of updates as of late! I had a family trip and company staying over for a while, so I haven't really been able to work on uploading!