Choisiara

Chapter 13

A start of a new journey,
To find the key that will unlock a mystery.
Will they be able to find it,
Or will they have to accept defeat?
••••••••••

Xyther and Xia stayed at Jeom's house to spend their night. They decided to set foot on their journey tomorrow morning when they already have enough rest. As what have Jeom said, their expedition won't be easy. It'll be a long and tough one so they need to rest to obtain all the energy and strength they could get.

When they woke up, the absence of light is there. Only darkness is present. It's their second day. They still have five more days, if that was really true, as what Kyrine have said. And they have no time to waste. They quickly prepared the things they will need along their journey. They brought plenty of food that'll be enough for their 2-day trip. Jeom said that it'll take them a day to get there and half of the day to get back and the other 12 hours will be their rest or the time they will eat. So all in all, they will be back after 2 days.

They will go to the Sea of Broken Melodies, the Forest of Walking Trees, the Cave of The Riddle Master, and lastly, the Mountain of Light and Darkness.

They've been walking for three hours when they decided to eat and rest for a couple of minutes. "I've never walked like that before." Xia said and the guys agreed too. After eating, they rested for awhile and continued their way. It seemed like they were getting near the Sea of Broken Melodies because they could now feel the sea breeze.

The Sea of Broken Melodies is a sea where along your way to its other end, you'll hear off-tune notes and once you've encountered them, don't let it get to you. It'll make you crazy and once you are crazy, you'll think of drowning yourself and won't be able to cross it. Plenty of men died and only few succeeded.  "Whatever happens don't lose your sanity." Xyther said making them nod.

They set sail to the sea, as they get farther and farther to the seashore, the broken melodies became louder and louder. Xia saw Jeom cringed and si did Xy so she came up of an idea. "If there's another thing I'm good at, that is singing." She got the attention of the guys. "Why don't you listen to my voice instead of the sound of the sea?" She suggested and they agreed. So she started singing until her voice got tired and eventually, they reached the other end without anyone of them drowning.

When they went off the boat, they sat on the sand, taking a short break from all the exhaustion they've gone through. "Thank you for singing. If it weren't for you, we would have been dead by now." Jeom uttered. "You're welcome! As if I'll let the both of you drown yourself." She replied, making them all laugh. They ate the sandwich they made and abide their journey.

It was a long walk before they reached the Forest of Walking Trees and darkness was evident here too. The trees there are gigantic and they really are walking. Before they entered the forest, they thought of a strategy, because if they entered without thinking, they will get squashed by the walking trees. "Since we cannot continue by ground, maybe we should try the sky." Xia got confused at Jeom's statement. "How are we going to do that?" She bafflingly asked. "Jump from branch to branch. More like swing from branch to branch. We have a rope and a hook right?" Xyther understood what Jeom meant to say so he continued. "Yes, that's right." Xia was having second thoughts wether she'll continue or not but she chose the first one.

They climbed up the tree nearest to them and tied a rope on its branch. Jeom went first, then Xia and Xy was last. They double-knotted the rope at the sturdiest part of the branch and they successfully swung to the next one, and tied another rope. They continuously got from one branch to another when Xia lost her grip of the rope, Xy did what he had to do. He jumped towards the rope and swung towards Xia, catching her. Jeom was waiting for them on the other branch, and helped them get off of the rope.

"For a moment there, I thought I was going to die." Xia heaved a sigh of relief. "And I thought I wasn't going to make it." Xy said as he was heavily breathing. They both ended up laughing, even Jeom.

After healing the cut in Xia's palm, they set off again. Their next destination was the Cave of the Riddle Master. Their first destination tested their endurance. The second one tested their reflexes and the next destination will test their IQ.

It took them a couple of hours before they reached the cave and by the time they reached it, they were all exhausted. They were startled by the loud voice echoing in the cave. "Who goes there?" Said the voice from somewhere in the cave. "I am Xia and I'm with my friends Xyther and Jeom." She confidently spoke. "Only if you answer the two questions I have, I will allow you to enter my cave." His voice was deafening because of the loud echoes if has brought.

"My first question is, what is the key to remember what was forgotten?" Xia knew the answer to that question since it was said to her a couple of times. "Curiosity. Curiosity is the key to remember what was forgotten." Xia proudly answered.

"Correct. My second question is, what was neither lost nor found?" Xia didn't know the answer to that question so she turned to the guys but it seemed like they also do not know the answer. "You only have ten seconds left to answer my last question." Xia quickly thought of what could possibly be the answer. Then she recalled the meeting she overheard. "The Choisiara." Unsure of her answer, she still chose to speak. A moment of silence until a clap was heard all over the cave. "Well done. You may now pass." And they hurriedly continued their way.

The mountain of light and darkness is black, gray and white in color. This mountain was said to have a keeper but when they reached the mountain, there was no sign of anyone except for them. They climbed the mountain, it was a long way up, and as they were getting higher and higher, the colder it gets. The absence of light made it hard for them to hike but it's a good thing they knew how to make light.

At the top of the mountain they saw a lady with black and gray hair, and white eyes. "Are you the light keeper?" Xy asked, making the lady giggle. "No. I am Mennaly, the keeper of the Mountain of light and darkness." Mennaly said with her angelic voice. "It's a pleasure to meet you milady." They all said.

"We've come here to find the keeper of light. As you can see, Dreaux is filled with darkness and we thought maybe she could return the light until the Choisiara are back." Xia said hesitantly. Then with a wave of her hand, a block of ice containing two bodies appeared and Mennaly disappeared all of a sudden.