One month ago...
"Let's take a break here," Mihile told the expedition party.
One of the knights lay down a mat. Cygnus and Irena sat on the mat under a tree, taking refuge from the scorching sun. The expedition consisted of ten Cygnus Knights lead by Mihile, Irena and Cygnus, disguised as Oz. It was the first time The Empress insisted on tagging along. Neinheart had reluctantly allowed her to do so. To avoid unnecessary attention, Neinheart made Cygnus wear Oz's outfit. She could then cover her face with the hood, if anyone got near.
"Irena...don't behave so unladylike," Cygnus said in a soft voice.
"So hot...gaaah..." Irena was lying on the mat with her arms and legs stretched out.
The rest of the expedition party were giving weird looks at her.
It was about a year ago when The Alliance found The World Tree, aka Alice. They managed to free her from The Root Abyss and brought her to Ereve. Alice then mysteriously disappeared. Cygnus sought the power of The World Tree. She ordered expeditions to be carried out, to search for Alice. Neinheart was against the search at first. But without any clue, her knights could only wander around Victoria Island aimlessly. He realised how low the chances of finding Alice was. He then treated the search as a military exercise. The search became a monthly event where a group of Cygnus Knights would hike around Victoria Island. Cygnus used to be weak and frail, but she miraculously grew stronger within the pass few months. Strong enough to leave Ereve and join the expedition.
They continued their hike towards Kerning City. Cygnus bumped into Mihile, who suddenly stopped in front of her.
"Sorry," Cygnus promptly apologised.
Cygnus felt disoriented by the sudden change of colours that she saw.
"Mihile?"
She touched Mihile's back to gain his attention. It was then she realised that Mihile had turned to stone! She looked around and saw the sky had turned to twilight, as if someone had flipped a switch. The rest of expedition members had also suffered the same fate as Mihile. Cygnus was so shocked, she couldn't even scream. She walked away from her fossilised companions, aimlessly into the eerie silent forest. Stone birds were floating in midair as if time had stopped. It seemed to only affect animals and humans. The trees were still the same. Cygnus wondered if she was just having a bad dream. Her thoughts were interrupted by loud thunderous noises from an unseen part of the forest. Out of curiosity, she walked towards the sound. She peeked from behind a tree. She saw a monster she had never seen before. It was a huge two storey tall purple slime. It had moss covering his upper body. The creature jumped and continuously threw itself at a girl it was fighting against. The girl was Alice. Alice was leaping all around the monster, dodging it's attacks and firing orbs of light at it with her staff. The orbs of light exploded on the slime's body, doing no damage to it. With each jump, the massive slime shook dead leaves off the trees.
For a moment, Cygnus felt joy that she had found the person she had been looking for. But the tremors quickly reminded her of the situation she was in. She couldn't possibly call out to the girl who was busy fighting a dangerous creature. She couldn't lend a hand even if she wanted to. Cygnus had no fighting experience or training. All she could do was hide behind a tree and watch. The battle was unfortunately moving closer towards her. The huge slime knocked down trees and Alice continuously dodge its attacks, unknowingly retreating towards where Cygnus was. Cygnus moved to change her hiding spot to avoid the destruction creeping up towards her. The creature seemed to have detected Cygnus' presence, and suddenly started charging towards her. Alice paused for a moment, confused by the creature's change of behaviour. Cygnus realised the creature's intentions and started running. That was when Alice saw Cygnus. She tried her best to stop the monster by increasing her attacks. The monster was unfazed. Cygnus panicked and tripped herself. She struggled to get back on her feet, but it was too late. The slime was airborne and was about to land at where she was. In a split second, something suddenly pushed her out of harms way. She was thrown a few meters away. Cygnus looked back at the slime. To her horror, she saw the monster sitting on top of Alice. Alice's lower body was merged with the blob. The monster stood still, slowly absorbing Alice into itself. Cygnus could see through the monster's translucent body that Alice's lower body had already started to dissolve.
"R-r-run..." Alice said in a weak voice.
Cygnus had no choice. She ran. As the monster wasn't moving while it was absorbing Alice, Cygnus managed to create a big distance between her and her predator. When she lost sight of the monster, she stopped and leaned back against a tree to catch her breath. She began to regret leaving Ereve. She realised how powerless she was and how much she relied on others. She felt tremors as the slime started moving again.
"How did you managed to get pass my barrier?" Alice suddenly popped up beside her.
Cygnus let out a short scream before quickly covering her mouth. Cygnus took a good look Alice's transparent body before realising she was now a ghost.
"What barrier?" Cygnus asked.
"Stone barrier," Alice replied.
The tremors grew stronger.
"Anyway, can you defeat that corrupted slime for me?" Alice asked.
"Ehh? I've never even killed a monster before..." Cygnus looked down, displeased with herself.
"Huh? Aren't you The Empress of the Maple World?"
"I am...but..."
They were interrupted by the tremor's increasing strength. Cygnus looked behind the tree and saw the monster heading straight for her.
"Looks like it found us. Follow me." Alice floated away.
Just as Cygnus dashed after the ghost, the monster crushed the tree behind her. Cygnus didn't dare to turn back to look. She just ran with all her might. Alice had led Cygnus back to where she was defeated. Alice stopped far ahead of Cygnus. She pointed to the ground, to the staff she was using earlier.
"Pick up my staff," Alice instructed Cygnus.
Cygnus didn't have time to question. The monster was closing in on her. She dived at the staff. There was an explosion of light the moment she held the staff. Cygnus felt a gentle warmth that engulfed her whole body. She levitated off the ground for a few seconds, as her clothes transformed into a sailor outfit. She could feel immense power flowing though her whole body. Cygnus was not afraid anymore. The monster behind her shrieked as the explosion of light had somehow damaged it. Cygnus turned around to see the slime slightly melted.
"Point the staff at it. Focus your energy at the tip of the staff," Alice instructed her.
Cygnus did as she was told. She held the staff in front of her with both hands. There was a brief moment when the staff charged up. Then, there was an explosion of light as a huge laser fired off the tip of the staff. The monster was obliterated in an instant. Cygnus still held her pose, watching the traces of the monster on the ground evaporate.
"Wow! You're amazing!" Alice praised her.
Cygnus' clothes reverted back to their original form as she fell to her knees. Her attack had drained quite a bit of her strength. There was a loud ringing noise before the sky reverted back to the midday sky. The animals that had turned to stone were alive again. The only thing that changed was the fallen trees.
"What is happening?" Cygnus asked.
"It's my stone barrier. It protects everyone from the corrupted monsters while I dispose them," Alice explained.
"Dispose!?"
"Erm...Have you heard about the tower in the sea: Tower of Oz?"
"Err..no..."
"A long time ago, I created that tower to preserve the creatures of the Maple World from being destroyed by the Black Mage. However, the Black Mage manage to corrupt the tower, and the monsters in it. Sometime ago, some corrupted monsters in the tower suddenly evolved and managed to eat through the tower's barriers and escape to the Maple World. These corrupted evolved monsters are very different from the usual monsters today. They cannot be defeated by normal means. Which is why I have taken the task to personally dispose these monsters."
"Such an important task...I'm sorry...I caused you to get killed..."
"Don't worry about me. I can regenerate a new body. I just need some time to regain my strength."
"But who will get rid off these dangerous monsters now? I know. We could ask the Alliance for help."
"No! Can you imagine what would happen if this news goes to the public? There would be chaos! The Black Mage's forces would surely use this situation to their advantage. Besides, these monsters cannot be defeated by normal means. Why don't you do it?"
"Me!?"
"You managed to get pass my stone barrier and defeat an evolved monster so easily."
"But..."
"Please help me. Until I regain my strength. You have the power to do so."
"Eh..."
"The staff you are holding. Is the Staff of Hope. It holds great power. It will help you defeat these monsters. I will guide you, help you get stronger."
Alice had said the exact words Cygnus wanted to hear.
"I can get stronger?" Cygnus asked.
"Of course you can! You have so much potential."
"Alright! Lets do this!" Cygnus nodded cheerfully. "But...what about the knights that were with me? They were turned to stone?"
"They were in the stone barrier? They should be returned to normal now."
Cygnus and Alice went to look for the expedition members that were petrified. When they found the knights, it appeared that they just woke up and were very confused.
"What just happened? Is everyone alright?" Mihile asked.
"E-e-everything is fine!" Cygnus spoke up with a shaky voice.
"Everyone, this is Alice...the World Tree..." Cygnus explained.
"They can't see or hear me. Only you can," Alice said.
"EHH? Erm...I met The World Tree...everything is fine...so we don't need look for her anymore..."
"Ah! That would explain everything. That was why we lost consciousness suddenly. It was because of The World Tree presence. And only our great Empress was able to meet her," Mihile made his deductions.
The other knights all nodded and agreed.
"Ehhhh..." Cygnus was surprised by their reactions.
"Ah!...Lets return to Ereve and celebrate. We shall have a feast," Irena suggested.
The other knights all nodded and agreed with delight.
"Ehhhh..."
Author's notes:
Ehhh...
To be continued-
(07 FEB 2015)