Before I knew it, it was morning. Keia had already gotten up, and it looked like everyone was waiting on me. I stood up and stretched. I looked around the room, and instantly felt an atmosphere of grave silence.
"What's going on? Why does everyone look so serious?" I asked.
"We've been abandoned," Alea said and sighed.
"Huh?" I asked sleepily and yawned. "Abandoned?"
"Rona left without us… I was the first one awake, but Rona was already gone," Alea proceeded to explain.
"Any clue where he may have gone?"
Vegance held up Rona's mask. "I've tried already… Not even the faceplate is responding."
"Great… Just great." I started pacing around the room. "If I were an ex-Darkling leader, and I were just invited to kill my least favorite person in the world… Where would I go?"
"Perhaps he got a head start?" Ceae suggested. He was sitting in the middle of the room. Everyone turned to look at him. "See, if I were persuaded to kill someone in particular… And I were evil… I would go off alone and wait for the others."
There was a long silence. Then, Keia spoke. "I think he's right." Everyone now turned to face her. "Rona's likely to go off and fight… He may have headed off alone, so that means we have to go and find him. Agreed?" Ceae nodded.
Vegance tilted her head to the side. "Agreed." Around the room, everyone else followed suit. Alea mustered a quick smile.
"Agreed," I said. "Alea, can you lead us?"
"We're not far from the edge of the FoxWoods… I can take you that far, but that's it. From there, you guys are on your own," Alea replied.
"Just take us as far as you can." We all gathered our equipment and hurried out of Rona's house. Alea led us, but many of us stumbled over tree roots as we went. Pretty soon, we saw a ray of light shining through the trees.
Keia stopped. "I thought the Dark Lands were right on the border of the FoxWoods?" she asked.
I stopped next to Keia. "What's wrong?"
"There's light… If the Dark Lands were this way, wouldn't there be no light?"
"We'll see." Keia and I continued running until we came to the edge of the Woods. Everyone else had already stopped and were gawking at a large wall of dark clouds.
"There's a small boundary separating the Woods and the Dark Lands," Alea explained. Closer to the cloud-wall was a tall figure.
"Rona!" I went alone over to the figure. Rona had not turned his head, but I knew I had his attention. "Rona… This is it?"
"Yes… Beyond this wall is dangerous territory… I know there is one town, but that's it. Inside the Dark Lands… Darkness will corrupt," Rona said.
"'Darkness will corrupt…' What exactly should we watch out for on the other side?"
"Quite possibly Darklings… Some creatures that have been mutilated by the power of dark ether in the air… Necril's Keep… And I hope your eyes are adjusted to the dark."
"How dark is it?" I asked in curiosity.
"Oddly enough, inside the Dark Lands, you can see a full moon in the sky… So we have some light. But the environment is twisted… Grass grows black, and the only way you can tell that it is actually night is that some patches of grass will light up. As we grow closer to Necril's Keep, his Necromantic powers will be a major concern… Over the years, there is no doubt that his power influenced the surrounding deceased. And one more thing…" Rona turned his head and looked down at me. "Keep an eye out for a white fox… He is the reason I woke up so early."
Keia walked up to us. "A white fox? What exactly happened?"
"I sensed movement," Rona said, "so I opened my eyes. I saw his figure outside of the window. When he saw me, he ran. I hurried out the door to catch him… He led me here and disappeared through the clouds. I couldn't pursue him because I had actually promised to lead you to Necril's Keep… So I let him go. I have a feeling we will run into him."
"Mr. Rona?" Ceae asked as he came to Rona's other side. "This wall is bigger than the gates we have back home…"
"Get used to it, kid. Necril's Keep is definitely bigger," Vegance said as she walked up to us. "You're bound to see some things you never imagined could ever exist… I hope you're ready to fight."
"You know, Ceae, I think it would be better for you if you went back with Alea," I suggested while looking back at Alea. She was still waiting for us to leave.
Ceae looked back and forth between Alea and the cloud wall. "I don't think I'm ready to give up just yet… Lemme see what it's like first, and then I'll think of going back."
"You can't change your mind… Once you're in, you're in. Now's your chance to go back," Keia explained.
Ceae again looked back and forth. He hesitated, and then said, "I'm going."
"Then in we go," Rona said and took the first step forward into the cloud cover. Vegance followed with Ceae. Keia looked to me, shrugged, and went in. I looked back at Alea once more and waved. She waved back, and then I stepped into the clouds.
Inside the cloud cover, it was like walking through fog at night. I drew my sword, just in case, as I fought to the other side. When I came out on the other side, everything appeared as night, and the full moon was shining in the sky. I nearly ran into Keia because she was standing near the cloud wall. Then again, so was everyone else, minus Rona. Rona was further ahead, katana in hand, screaming out into the darkness.
"Show yourself! I'm here! What do you want from me?" Rona shouted.
"What is he doing?" I asked Keia. "We're not there already… I know that much…"
"I don't know what he's doing…" Keia replied. "He's lost his mind…"
"He disappears for nearly twenty years, and he totally goes out of it," Vegance said.
We watched Rona for a while as he checked all around himself and swung his sword through the air. He stopped for a second, and then everything was silent. Rona looked straight ahead, and a white figure appeared in front of him.
"Rysta?" Ceae asked. When the light around the figure dissipated, we could all clearly see that it was not Rysta, but the white fox Rona had spoken about earlier.