" It should have been right here... "
Braze was digging through the cave like a mole.
They were back to the Mountain of Forgetfulness, but without any fruitful results.
They had been going around in circles around the place. They looked inside every crook and creek, went around every bend and corner. But it seemed like all their attempts were futile.
" This was the cave... wasn't it Xen? Tell me... why are you not helping? Don't you care about Mira? "
Braze was on the verge of losing his sanity. Xen didn't mind him pouncing on him and punching the air.
" Yelling and shouting is not going to take us anywhere."
Xen pulled his hand away from his collar.
" Do you care about her or not? Time? Who knows how much time we even have... don't tell me you believe the shit that Watcher spewed. He looks like a psycho. He is waiting for a dead woman to come back to life... What is she? Jesus? Like...that psycho looked very capable of killing her... I don't trust him ... not even a little bit. "
Despite Xen trying to defuse the tension, Braze insisted on pulling his collar and shaking him.
" I don't think you understand what I am going through... You have no idea what Mira means to me... "
" I don't think you want to go there, Braze. What Mira means to each of us, let's keep it in our hearts. It's more important that we work together instead of fighting amongst ourselves. Let's split up. I agree that we have limited time. Let's not waste it moving around the same spot. Let out a whistle or a howl if you get anything worthwhile. "
They nodded with acknowledgement before dispersing in the woods.
Braze went further down the cave where they had already been looking, while Xen went around the other side and Kian climbed up further.
Call it fate or coincidence.
Their sleeping memories tingled and threatened to awaken.
The further they went near the core the more their heads started to ache.
" Damn this throbbing... "
Xen sat down on the ground and grabbed the ground for support.
As he closed his eyes to contain that pain, images flashed in quick successions. Images that rolled like negatives. In sepia and black and white.
Disturbing images of giants and their lands. Xen grabbed his ear and sat down because it had started to ring with a familiar hymn.
He had heard it before. He had heard it when they had encountered the unearthly light condition inside the cave the last time.
Xen scurried his way forward.
" This is it... that's the place... that sound... it's the same sound... " He sounded triumphant despite his pain.
Kian on the other hand kept walking down the dark tunnel as voices whispered in his ear.
He was familiar with those voices in his head but they never made any sense.
This time around he felt like they were dragging him in somewhere.
" Master Kian... you are on the right path... keep moving... you need to keep moving till you see the light that's sapphire. "
Kian thought he saw his nanny in his head but the image quickly changed and her golden tooth began turquoise and her body bloated up and floated away.
" Dang it! These visions... "
Kian pulled a torch from out of his pocket and kept moving further down. It was getting darker than pitch black and it was difficult to tell anything apart.
" Stop right there... "
Kian heard the voice of a girl from nowhere.
He moved the beam of the torch to find a face staring down at him. She didn't flinch even when the beam of the torch hit her on the face.
" You look familiar... " Kian took a step forward, figuring out where he had seen her.
" Shit! You were also an exchange student, along with Mira... weren't you? "
Kian was on guard. Whatever she was, she wasn't a normal student. No ordinary human would be roaming around deep inside the earth's crust.
" I did go by the name of Razzak once... yes... but I am not that girl any longer. Go back. This is your final warning. If you take another step forward, you will be dealt with consequences... The choice is yours. "
Kian grabbed his head with shock.
" Blimey! Looks like nobody around us was normal... What are you? I mean who are you and why are you here and stopping me from going further? "
" I have taken over this responsibility after the untimely demise of my only living relative. My uncle. Our families have been guarding these mountains from time immemorial. I am just doing my job."
She replied.
Kian frowned. " We have been on these mountains plenty of times. Never saw any protector... stop your gibberish. I need to look for what I came here for... "
Kian tried to dismiss her claims.
" We have always been in here but we never interfered until and unless the sacred artifact was actually disturbed. You are too close to the core and we can sense your intent. You cannot take what is not yours. Leave before I strike. " She roared.
" This is good news, "Kian laughed. At Least it was confirmed that he was on the right track.
" By the way... if you can sense my intent, you might as well know that I am here to retrieve the Heartstaff but it's not for myself. I need it to save Mira. Her life is in danger. I thought you and Mira were friends... guess it was part of your fake identity... "
The dilation in her eyes disappeared at the mention of Mira.
" Mira? What happened to her? " She asked, her voice laced with concern.
" She was abducted and is about to be sacrificed... by extraterrestrials." Kian measured his words.
Suddenly the dilation came back in her eyes and she shoved Kian with a spear that suddenly appeared in her arms from nowhere.
" Do not try to manipulate me. You were sent on this planet with the sole mission of retrieving this Staff. And I am not going to let that happen. Not on my watch. "