The smell of the water lily was fading. The petals had become limp and discolored.

Wavern savored one last time its sweet smell tinged with sulfur and smiled. She could almost see the bright green eyes of the Pyrrian, Draco. Who knows if even at that moment he was bringing her a flower to the great willow.

Her face became hot with embarrassment.

She had returned to her old home the night before to find a small pile of withered water lilies among the roots. One for each day they hadn't seen each other.

With her claws she stroked the pink petals, careful not to detach them. That was the most luxuriant flower she had found. The last one Draco had left for her ...

Her heart throbbed harder in her chest. The warm, caressing voice of the Pyrrian echoed in her mind and she almost thought she heard him beside her, licking the wound on her now healed neck. Perhaps she could have waited for him at the willow, in one of those days ...

A low rumbling carried her back to her cave, in the darkness scratched only by the little rosette of blue lichen.

She squashed the water lily between her paws and turned around. The three heads of Ydrano occupied almost all of the space under the arch. The central one soared above the other two, its neck fiercely arched to show thorns and shielded plates.

"Excuse me. I didn't mean to bother you," they muttered in chorus.

Wavern buried his present in the dust and stood up. "No disturbance, Ydrano. I had just finished resting. "

In fact, she hadn't slept since she came back from the willow.

The central head grunted and spoke to itself. "Is the… the cave to your liking? Do you feel comfortable? "

The lateral heads gritted their teeth as if to hold back their voices. How much effort did it cost him?

"Yes, thanks for asking."

The hydra nodded and looked down at his paws. For a few moments he said nothing and tapped the floor with his claws.

A little hesitant, Wavern took a step towards him. "Is Everything alright? Did you want to tell me something else? "

"Yes!" the three heads answered in chorus. The dragoness jumped slightly and Ydrano clenched her jaws. Its tail hissed nervously in the air. "Forgive me," he said with only one head. "I brought you this."

He raised a paw in front of her. In his claws he held a clump of translucent purple crystals, reflections of light changing between their sharp points.

"Oh, it's beautiful!" She grabbed it gently to keep it from falling. "Thanks, Ydrano. You shouldn't have bothered. "

He made a slight growl. All three heads looked down again, but the tail swayed happily like a puppy. "I'm ... glad you like it," he murmured.

A feeling of tenderness made its way into Wavern. She never imagined that an obscuriale could be so caring. She thought the same thing about Pyrrians ...

Footsteps echoed from the end of the corridor. "Wavern, are you awake?"

Instinctively she sat upright and the next moment the angular muzzle of Naga appeared. His vermilion eyes darted from her to Ydrano with a questioning air. "So, are you ready?"

"F ... for what?"

Naga shot a serious look at the hydra, who immediately took a step back.

The next moment, Wavern found herself enveloped in her brother's torn wing.

"Don't you remember, you silly?" He held her close and licked her forehead. "Today we leave for the Sanctuary of the Cores."

King Dharak entrusted them with an escort, in which Ydrano also took part. They flew at night above the clouds, thickened in a fluffy cloak. A full moon shone in the sky, silvering the landscape around the Bakugan.

Wavern kept her eyes cast down for glimpses of the landscape, but there seemed to be nothing but deep darkness below her. The only thing he knew was that they were heading towards the heart of the Sacred Land.

His brother, at the head of the group, dictated the rhythm of the flight. With each beat, the air whistled against the membrane of its wings.

How did he remember the road at that altitude?

"Is there still a long way to go?" muttered an obscurial from the escort next to Wavern. His flattened snout was imprinted with a doubtful look, and his whole squat body appeared as taut as a lute string.

Naga didn't even turn to look at him. "We should see it very soon."

The obscurial let out a snort. He gestured to Wavern with his bull horns. "You there! Do you confirm what your brother says? "

The dragoness hesitated for a few moments. She looked at Naga, not knowing what to reply.

"I asked you a question. Should I pin you to the ground and ask you again?"

Ydrano blew at him from the other side of the flock.

"Only I know the way to the Sanctuary," the white dragon growled, eyes blazing. "Now leave my sister alone and get ready for the descent."

He folded his wings and dived into the sea of clouds, followed by the rest of the bakugans.

The sparkling steam tickled Wavern's snout and the next moment a wind that smelled of resin and wet leaves hit her. Below them stretched an immense dark valley and right in the center, a couple of leagues in front of them, rose a huge wall of pale rock. A mesa, not a huge wall closed in a ring, which stood out like a lighthouse in the middle of the sea.

"Happy now?" said Naga.

The obscurial growled softly, but did not answer.

Thick bushes and small trees covered the edge of the rock face. Inside, there was a tangle of towers, buildings and walkways on several levels, now devoured by vines.

The group spiraled down to the lower levels.

A bitter cold crept deeper and deeper under Wavern's scales, until little shivers began to run through her body. Her own breath condensed into a mist.

Naga slowed down. His muzzle darted from side to side among the imposing buildings, as if looking for something.

He veered right. The spikes on its back touched a walkway and it had to close its wings to pass through a narrow passage.

His sister started to follow him, but the obscurial just before cut her off. The tip of his tail lashed her muzzle. "No tricks now. Or neither of you will see the new dawn. "

He followed Naga, nipping at his heels, with his teeth well exposed and ready to shoot at any moment. He seemed not to give any importance to where he was.

The bluish stone, decorated with square bas-reliefs, emerged in flashes among the vegetation. Bluish veins wove strange patterns, perhaps words from a forgotten language. The Ancient Tongue, of when Vestalia was not yet divided into the six realms.

Wavern felt like a pressure on her chest. The bulk of those buildings and their significance crushed it.

They shouldn't have been there ...

Her brother, however, proceeded swiftly, further and further down among the sacred ruins. He didn't even check that he was being followed.

Had he been there before?

The light of the moon and stars became more and more distant. A couple of times the dragoness slammed her leg or wing against something.

Ydrano was immediately beside her with an apprehensive air. When there was enough space, he made sure to fly next to her, or above her. He was her shadow.

The darkness became more and more dense. Wavern could barely see Naga's outline. The sense of oppression grew stronger and stronger. She wanted to go away from there.

Finally, an ephemeral light came from below, even paler than the moon's.

The buildings opened into a large circular space. Two globes the size of a bakugan floated above a vine-free floor, decorated with a web of hieroglyphics. One was pure white like diamond, the other golden.