Posted August 7, 2022.


CHAPTER 46: MOUNT MERU

On the Matter of Mount Meru

Mount Meru is the abode of the Persian fay, atop the highest mountain in the world and the Himalayan range, Mount Everest. In fact, unicorns originated there, upon the mountainous terrain. They were the only creatures in the world that could withstand such cold temperatures and rocky slopes. Over time, the unicorns travelled west to Persia, the Land of the Unicorns. They also went farther west to Europe. Unfortunately, unicorns have been hunted to extinction over the past few centuries, due to the greed of people during this time.

The capital of Meru is the summit of Mount Everest. It is the seat of the Faerie Queen of India.

– from the Book of Fay


Mount Meru, Nepal

Roxy watched as the helicopter flew towards the mountain, towards the summit. Tecna smiled, steering the helicopter. "We should reach the summit in no time." She turned it higher, so it would reach the top.

Roxy remembered talking to her parents earlier. She had told them about what she was doing, where she was going. "Daidí, Mamaí?" she had asked, walked up to them.

"What?" Daidí said, a little harshly. Morgana gently laid a hand on his shoulder, and he said, in a less aggressive tone, "I mean, what is it?"

"I need to go to Mount Meru," Roxy stated. "I received a vision stating that I need to go there. In one of my dreams, actually. I really need your support."

"I'll deploy the Winx to go with you," Morgana answered immediately. Klaus nodded.

"We support you, Roxy," he said. "Just… be careful."

And now Roxy was flying towards Mount Meru, with Tecna at the controls. Suddenly, the helicopter began to falter, and Stella groaned. "What now?"

Tecna looked at the dashboard; her eyes widened. "The helicopter's gonna fall!" she yelled. "Everyone" –

She hadn't even finished her sentence when the helicopter began to plummet to the ground. Roxy cried out in terror as they hit the mountain, the helicopter lodging into the dust. She grumpily stood up, asking, "How many times has this thing crashed again?"

"I'm sorry," Tecna groaned. "I – I guess I'll work on repairs."

"I'll stay back, too," Flora agreed. The rest of them stood up.

"Come on," Layla said to everyone. She, Bloom, Stella, and Roxy walked out of the helicopter.

Roxy swallowed; she could see fairies pretty much everywhere. "How're we gonna stay hidden?" she whispered.

"Just don't transform and be quiet," Stella answered confidently. "It'll be" –

"Incoming!" someone shouted. A Warrior Fairy stared at them, pointing with her staff. "Winx!"

"That's just great!" Stella huffed. Roxy instantly transformed, glaring at the Warrior Fairies.

"Hrahh!" she yelled, attacking them with a blast. The other Winx followed, attacking the Warrior Fairies with their spells.


Krithi walked towards a Gardenian warehouse, her expression determined. She held a stack of unopened letters in her hands, distressed and angry.

They were badly losing this war. So far, the only part of the world that wasn't taken over was Gardenia. Even with the new recruits, it seemed winning this war would be impossible.

There's only one thing to do. She walked up to the warehouse, where two male fairy guards were posted; they bowed to Krithi. Krithi walked in, and gazed around.

Merlin was seated at the visiting table, his hands bound with magic-reducing shackles. This was the prison for their enemies, and Merlin was the chief prisoner. He looked up as Krithi walked into the prison, her expression severe. She slammed the stack of letters on the table.

"I want you to stop writing to me," she announced. "You – I'm not afraid of you anymore."

"So you never opened them," Merlin smirked. "I thought as much." He laughed. "I figured you would show up sooner or later."

Krithi glared at him, his sneer filling the air as he spoke. "You must really be in trouble with Nebula if you've come all the way here to see me."

"How do you know about Nebula?" Krithi demanded.

Again, Merlin laughed. "I read the newspaper." He pointed to a stack of the Gardenia Times, which stood in the corner. "It is well-known that dear Roxy has spent quite some time recovering from the poison."

Krithi's fists clenched. How dare he speak about her like that… "You don't get to talk about Roxy," she snapped. "Nor about me, for that matter. I came here to look you in the eye and tell you that you have no power over me anymore."

In response, Merlin laughed – a deranged, horrible laugh. Krithi backed up in fear as his disgustingly mirthful laugh filled the air. She turned around, heading towards the door.

"This is a mistake," she said. "I never should've come." She was about to leave, but Merlin's voice stopped her cold.

"I know why you're really here." He glared at her. "Nebula is winning. And you need help to stop her."

"I don't need your help!" Krithi cried out furiously. "It's your fault this is happening – don't you realize that? If you hadn't have tried to kill the Paradise fairies, Nebula wouldn't have even risen to power in the first place!"

That struck a nerve with Merlin. He glared at her, and then shook his head. "I regret that, more than anything else in the world."

Krithi halted, staring at him as he continued to speak. "I regret letting that monster rise to power. She is going to kill all of humanity – and then more. This was exactly what I was trying to prevent."

"What do you mean?" Krithi felt sick. Merlin glared at her.

"I've known Nebula for a long time," he said. "Even back in the day, she hated humans. She was always enacting some kind of war or something against them. She wanted to keep humanity in-check so that fairies could rule, supreme and powerful.

"So I fought back. I created my band – the Wizards of the White Circle – and we worked to fight the fay. Unfortunately, that didn't seem to work so well." He let out a derisive snort. "Now fairies are ruling the world, and there is nothing I can do about it."

"You started the White Circle to help people?" Krithi stared at him.

"I am helping people," Merlin snarled. "Getting rid of the fay will help all of humanity. Once they are all rid of, we can live in peace."

He truly believes that. Krithi stared at her father. All along, he'd truly believed that he was doing the right thing, annihilating the fay and raising human supremacy. He'd been so obsessed with this goal, it had twisted him into a monster himself.

All of a sudden, all the anger she felt towards her father disappeared, replaced by one thing – pity. She shook her head.

"This is the problem with this them-versus-us mentality," she said. "One can coexist with the other. If you spent some time understanding the fay – like I do – you wouldn't hate them so much. I used to hate them, too – your Wizards told me to despise all of fairykind and to wipe them out.

"But then I met Roxy. She is truly an amazing person, one I can never let go of. And so that is why I stand to protect both humanity and fay." She stared at him. "And I won't let blind hatred and vengeance take over my heart."

Emotions rose in Merlin's eyes. He stared at her, for once completely taken aback. "You truly believe so?" he whispered. Krithi nodded.

"Then you are a fool." He glared down. "Nebula is going to wipe us all out, and you can't even take a strong stance against her."

"I didn't say that." Krithi fought to keep the irritation out of her voice. "All I'm saying is that you can't hate all fairies based off of what she's done. You need to see the people behind the mask." She frowned. "If you ever truly cared for me, as a daughter, you would understand that."

Merlin stared at her. For a moment, she saw something stir in his eyes – something behind the centuries of hatred. Something more… human. He stared at the ground.

"I care about you," he finally admitted. "Which is why I was so angry when you betrayed me. You joined those fairies, and you let Roxy set them free!" The hatred crept back into his voice. But unlike before, she could hear a note of uncertainty in his tone.

I'm getting through to him. And in that moment, she realized she still loved her father. Even though he'd been absent her entire life, even though he had become filled with cruelty in his heart, he was still her father. She shook her head.

"I can't force you to change," she said. "But I would really love it if we could be a family – you, Amma, and I. Let your anger go, and all your pain will evanesce." Not waiting for an answer, she turned around, heading out the door.


Musa steered a plane forward, heading straight towards India. After her initial escape from the South Pole, she'd found a plane in Antarctica, stealing it and flying it towards Mount Meru. There was no way her own two wings could've made the journey on their own. She frowned, thinking back on what she'd just done.

She had just gone against Nebula. In hindsight, she should've done that much longer before, but better late than never. She had managed to escape, and that had brought her so much of strength. She flew forward, determination in her eyes.

She pulled out her phone, which she'd somehow managed to keep with her all along. It connected to the Internet, and she checked the Winx group-chat. Hundreds of messages. Her eyes went wide as she saw what was going on.

The Winx were all going to Mount Meru. A place which was crawling with Warrior Fairies. Musa knew this because Nebula had ordered her to deploy them there. After all, Valmiki's temple was very sacred, and they were trying to find records so they could win.

She had to find the Winx and bring them to safety at once. It was the only way she'd gain their forgiveness for abandoning them to seek revenge. Vengeance that, in the end, had only destroyed her heart.

I now know that was wrong. She now knew that she needed to repent, more than ever, for what she'd done. She flew forward, feeling the pit of her stomach deepen.

I only hope I'm not too late…


Roxy battled fairy after fairy, knocking each of them successfully down. It felt so good to have some kind of outlet for her anger and frustration. Finally, she was getting what she needed. She attacked them with her White Circle, not even giving them a chance to attack her first.

The other Winx wasted no time in blasting them off the mountainside. When the last fairy was knocked off, the Winx looked at each other, rather shocked at how violent they'd been. Bloom frowned. "Don't you think we were a bit harsh?"

"I don't think so," Layla declared. "Those fairies were ready to kill us." She looked up and gasped. "There's the summit!"

They flew up to the summit, a golden-plated part of the mountain. None of the Warrior Fairies were there; Roxy figured that it was just like the World Tree that Flora had told them about. They flew up to the very peak, and stared forward.

A golden throne was there. A hologram of a woman sat atop the throne. The woman had long brown, wavy hair, green eyes, and light brown skin. Roxy stared at her; the woman's eyes were unfocused. She began to speak.

"I can only be unlocked by the future High Faerie Queen or Princess," she said. "Please, step forward."

Roxy stepped forward, holding her hands up to the woman's. She began to shimmer and glow; her hologram glowed white. Roxy stepped back as the woman began to speak.

"My name is High Faerie Queen Uki Kallik le Fay," she said. "If you are seeking this message, then that means the Heart of the Earth must be active or threatened to be active again. There are so many things I need to tell you, but I cannot tell you now."

The Heart of the Earth? What was this that everyone kept talking about? How would it be important to the world?

The hologram began to fade; Roxy saw that it was getting more and more distorted. The voice came out in bursts and gasps.

"Meet – me – Chamber – of – Visions" – Uki burst out. Then the hologram became silent, and was no more.

Roxy stared, bewildered, and turned back to the Winx. Judging by their expressions, they were just as confused.

"What're we gonna do?" she asked.

A sneering voice sounded above them. "Reach your end, of course."

Roxy whirled around. Nebula was flying above them, her Warrior Fairies at her side. She had a cruel smile on her face.

"That was a cute story," she laughed. "Too bad you won't live to see its end."


Next chapter:

The Winx battle Nebula's forces.

Musa arrives at Mount Meru.

Roxy defends the White Circle.

Krithi mediates between her mother, Merlin, and Morgana.