CHAPTER 5: A Sudden Turn
Fox's feet splashed in and out of the rising tide while he was engaged in a moderate sprint across the sands of a tranquil beach. The shoreline was rather calm where he ran as the seawater ebbed and stretched endlessly. He was dressed in a pair of long, green swimming trunks and nothing else, bare-chested and barefooted with his fur damp from swimming in the ocean for an hour or two. His mind was cleared of all things negative as he could only focus on one thing in his path straight ahead.
"Hee hee, I'm sorry, Fox! But you'll have to run faster than that!"
A short distance from Fox was a familiar blue-furred vixen, attempting to run away from him while looking back every so often with a charmingly playful expression on her face. Krystal was in the midst of a giggling fit as she repeatedly teased her pursuer. She sported a deep purple bikini, exposing most of her body to the bright orange rays of sunlight that cast down around the two vulpines from the distant horizon.
The way Krystal ran across the sand of the beach could be seen by Fox as if it were all in slow motion… He noticed her clean, bare backside as her muscles rippled from her shoulders to her waistline because of the swinging motion her arms made, her silky and cottony tail that swished back and forth with every step she took, her alluringly smooth legs that rotated beautifully in her well-formed stride, the tattoo she displayed which marked her royal resemblance to her homeland… Fox, thoroughly enticed, took everything in. When Krystal's face turned around once more, her sapphire locks of hair swished around while her sparkling aquamarine eyes met Fox's in a brief, amorous gaze. Her smile alone was enough to warm a damaged heart, and the rest of her face further contributed to her almost divine elegance.
There was no questioning. Krystal was obviously the most perfect mate anyone such as Fox could come across in any galaxy. Her strong yet endearing personality, her stunning and curvaceous body, her incredible mind and her caring heart… It was so much more than what could be asked for.
As time resumed in normal speed, Krystal turned her head back around and continued to giggle as Fox finally caught up to her, tackling around her waist and gently bringing her down upon the sand. They were both out of breath, tired from the long moments they spent swimming and from their quick-footed chase. It ensued once Fox had leaned in with his eyes closed for a small kiss, instead being greeted by a splash of seawater to his face.
Krystal caught her breath again, jokingly sighing, "Heh… Okay, you got me. What are your intentions?"
Fox, who sat beneath the gorgeous vixen as he held her close, laughed out a reply, "Well, that certainly didn't cross my mind."
Krystal turned her head, a smirk spreading between both cheeks, "Then what was the reason for your pursuing?"
"Aw, c'mon! You know why I was chasing you!" Fox reached up and poked his finger against her nose delicately, mirroring her grin as she let out a ticklish giggle. Krystal turned her body over and proceeded to lie across Fox's front side.
The two found themselves gazing at each other yet again. Krystal's finger began tracing across Fox's chest fur, then she began to lightly feel his chest with both her hands, noticing its physical definition along with the rest of his upper body. In return, Fox brought an arm up slowly to brush his hand across the back of her neck. A blush was apparent in the cheeks of both vulpines.
Krystal whispered in a silky tone, "I wasn't going to let you have it that easily, Fox." Another few seconds passed before the couple leaned their heads in slowly…
Fox closed his eyes as their lips met at last.
When he opened them, however, he was transferred to an entirely different setting. His vision blurred with different colors and silhouettes before everything came into a clearer view. Then, his smile turned into a depressed frown as he realized that he was in the sleeping mat inside the tent which he and his teammate were temporarily residing in from the earlier frozen wasteland.
Fox directed his gaze over to the side. Falco was snoring while leaning against the wall of the tent next to the mat. He took one more look around… but there was no Krystal. There was no beach, no shoreline, no magnificent sunset to liven his optimism. The gust heard from the outside of the shelter signaled that the harsh blizzard was still occurring.
Fox leaned over to the other side and curled his body up underneath the covers, hugging his knees and choking back silent tears as his heart ached with desperation. Krystal was still gone… Everything he once had which made him happy was now gone… Except for being with Falco, he would die a lonesome death here in a barren wilderness without ever seeing his closest companions again.
Fox squinted his eyes shut and tried to sleep through his aching pain.
…
"Who goes there?"
Sky frantically spun around in every direction, fully alert to his surroundings and determined to locate the origin of the voice that had caught him by surprise. The voice seemed to chuckle a little before continuing, "There is no other life form present except you, Poljska. Look towards me again as you did before."
"How the heck do you know all my names?!" Sky realized it was the large blue jewel on the pedestal that was talking to him. He turned towards it again, trying to relax his tension.
"I am Mudarduh, the omniscient spirit that binds Celestia together."
"Wait… What do you mean by Celestia?" Sky tilted his head.
"You have already discovered the truth, Sky. The formation upon which Zelenoa exists is called Celestia."
The young lynx widened his eyes and felt a wave of thrilled satisfaction as the all-seeing spirit before him confirmed his earlier theory that Zelenoa was just a miniscule village located on a larger object with a different name. His excitement faded as the thought of his parents worrying over him returned to his mind, causing him to frown slightly.
Mudarduh must have sensed Sky's dread, adding in the same tone, "Your parents are neither worried nor frustrated. Alternately, they foresaw your voyage long before you had made your final decision to begin it."
Sky blinked his eyes in shock, stuttering in a more quiet tone, "They knew I would be gone?"
The glimmering jewel responded, "Of course. The reason why I know who you are is because of Kuna. The spirits festival was how the pterolark telepathically transferred information towards the temple, and it was secretly held to celebrate you and your epiphany to go out and gather wisdom as the prodigy Zelenoan child."
Sky couldn't believe any of what he was hearing… There was only one possible conclusion to be made from Mudarduh's explanation, but there was no possible way this could be prophesized. His heartbeat steadily increased while his topaz pupils shrunk from utter astonishment, fixed solely on the glowing gem.
"In other words, you are Millennia Sky … The bringer of knowledge and bearer of incredible power."
Sky stammered almost inaudibly, "But I… I don't have powers! I'm just an ordinary lynx!"
"No, you are the opposite. No matter how much you have denied it throughout your life, you possess a special gift. It will grow over time into something truly incredible."
The lynx lifted his own hand in front of his face very slowly, watching it tremble as he attempted to make any sense of the divination that was just described before him.
Millennia Sky… Why is it me? Why not anyone else? There are others who possess the same intellect, there have to be!
Mudarduh's voice began to boom into a much louder volume, causing Sky to flinch slightly, "Your intellect alone exponentially exceeds that of the elders' combined. You are many generations ahead of your own time, and your real journey has only just begun."
"Y-Yes… I know that…" Sky swallowed and stood up straight.
"The very idea of how much change you shall endure throughout the course of your life cannot be fathomed. It will be in your hands to determine your own direction, how you shall cope with this change, where you will travel, and what you place your beliefs in…"
Sky blinked slowly, processing every spoken word carefully with much thought, "Change? What do you mean by this?"
"I'm afraid this realm will not exist much longer… A certain danger approaches that could potentially cause the tides to shift in a violent manner. The spirits of Celestia have been embedded within the essence of your soul."
"So I've been chosen to bear the weight of my whole species? A-Am I supposed to figure out how to prevent this danger?" Sky's voice grew more tense as beads of sweat trickled down his face.
"That is confirmed," Mudarduh lowered his tone again to a more serious one, "And you are thus the embodiment of Zelenoa."
Sky had so many questions… His brain throbbed from the anxiety building inside of him, but he kept his composure and only succumbed to a light shivering. He took deep breaths and contained his emotions, confronting the gem once more and speaking calmly.
"U redu… Is there anything else prophesized?"
The gem remained quiet for a few more seconds before its luminescence began to increase. It responded in a more gentle voice, "That is all I have to deliver to you, Millennia Sky."
The very quintessence of Mudarduh himself seemed to seep out of the gem, illuminating magnificently and brightening the dome while the hieroglyphics on the wall began to shine with a mysterious force. The lights magnified even more and floated seemingly as a large, transparent ghost before Sky before engulfing him fully. The great spirit's voice echoed once more with a much more amplified tone.
"Your power shall be awakened… Your strength, knowledge, telepathy, and wisdom, all bestowed upon you by the great Celestian ancestors, will be your guide. Farewell to you, Poljska…"
The ghost was absorbed by Sky's body as his pupils were set ablaze with an azure flame. Mudarduh and the other spirits had been implanted in his mind while their mystical abilities adjusted to the lynx's mortal adolescent form. Sky lurched over on the ground and gasped sharply while on his hands and knees, straining to control what had just become a part of him.
After a few minutes, the hieroglyphics ceased to shine as well as the once glowing sapphire on the pedestal. It dropped towards the crystalline ground and shattered instantaneously into a thousand tiny shards. The dome was kept lit only by the orbs in the adjacent hallway as everything else became lifeless.
Sky, out of breath and legitimately disoriented, struggled to stand up for a quick second but recovered his balance in time and proceeded to assess his own basic information.
My name is Sky Felis. Millennia Sky. I am ten years old. I live in Zelenoa. I am the symbol of my own village. The fate of my people rests in my hands. I have acquired strange powers. I am no longer an average villager. I am the embodiment of Celestia itself.
…
There was nothing else to discover inside the stone temple, so Sky decided to climb back up the dark stairwell.
He groaned at the fact that he would have to be cautious in the narrow, pitch black hallway while making his ascent, but something quite peculiar happened right when he approached the first step. There was a light that appeared which illuminated the path much more clearly so that he could see at last where his footing would end up.
Where was this mysterious light coming from? It glowed in the same manner as Mudarduh had in the dome… He held his hands out in front of him and observed that the light reflected more off the silken fabric of his long-sleeved shirt. It couldn't have been the remainder of the spirit merge.
He experimented with the source by waving his hand back and forth, determining from the shadow that the light originated from his own face. He brought his palm closer to his mouth, his cheeks, and his forehead… The light was coming from his eyes.
Sky let out another light gasp of surprise, realizing that this could have been a part of the powers Mudarduh mentioned. He didn't know how to control the light coming from his pupils, yet it appeared at the moment in which it would have been useful. How convenient.
And so, he proceeded out of the entrance of the temple and onto the earthy surface of the Zelenoan wilderness. Taking a deep breath, he began his homeward expedition.