Resonance

XXXIII. Way Back - Side 1

The quiet Naturo Forest glistened in the sunlight. The soft wind flew through the leaves, giving off a peaceful vibe that contradicted the events that just happened to it.

"I was at the medical offices at the Giant Tree," explained Chroma, "At about the time the deer's neck was getting repaired, we felt an earthquake rumble.

"An earthquake?" asked the doctor, Terrence Matthews, "We don't get much earthquakes this time of the year."

"You don't get earthquakes in the summer?" curiously questioned Chroma, "That felt like an earthquake to me."

"Must've been one of those early ones then. Now hold on," responded Terrence, performing his surgery on the deer's neck using a Premium Healing Scroll."

"Premium Scrolls?" asked Korudo as he trailed behind Chroma, "I've heard about Basic Scrolls around the market, but not Premium Scrolls."

"Premium Scrolls are scrolls that anyone can use, just like a Basic Scroll," defined Chroma, "The only difference is that they sometimes contain as much power as Family Inherited Scrolls. However, with that much power, they're worth more and are sometimes even rarer to find than Family Inherited Scrolls. However, although the Healing Scroll, which uses magic to heal wounds, is a very powerful Premium Scroll, it's very common in multiple medical hospitals around Desmoni."

"Ah, I see.. I should ask Kirin about those more."

Chroma continued, "After the deer's neck was repaired, she coughed a little. We got to have introductions, her name being 'Haley Ferna.'

"Wait!" yelled Haley, remembering something important and panicking, "I forgot to tell you!"

"Yes," responded Chroma, "What happened to you in the first place?"

"I was returning to the Giant Tree after visiting my friend in the Empire," explained Haley, "But suddenly, I was ambushed! I couldn't see his face, because he covered it with a mask and this eyeball plastered on the cent—"

"The Oculi?" asked Chroma, concerned, "Why was an Oculi member out there?"

"I was bait.." cried Haley, "He cut off my vocal chords so I couldn't warn you all! He was planning to lure one of you away! The really strong one!"

"The really strong one..." thought Chroma, thinking back to his actions.

"Chroma," asked Terrence, "Are you alright?"

"I trust you in her care, Mr. Matthews," announced Chroma, handing him the Lokas for the treatment and rushing out of the door, "I've got urgent matters to attend to!""

"And so you rushed to the battlefield.." said Korudo.

"It was a good thing you all could handle yourselves against that Oculi member. I didn't expect you all to be ambushed like that. Despite two out of three of you all being knocked unconscious, you managed to prevent death: the usual result of an Oculi ambush."

Korudo looked at Zander and Yuma, who were being carried atop their backs. If it weren't for Zander's anger and eagerness to take the Oculi member down, they probably wouldn't have deducted a part of the Oculi member's abilities. If it weren't for Yuma and his tricks, Korudo wouldn't have been able to charge up his attack to knock the Oculi member down. And if it weren't for Korudo, the three of them could've died before Chroma could've arrived.

"Keep up with your teamwork," announced Chroma as the view of the Empire's high castles came into play, "You'll always have to depend on each other."

—

Chroma and Korudo sat on some chairs in the hall outside of Zander and Yuma's medical hospital room. Chroma had already sent Sona a letter to meet there. Soon, Sona, Kirin, Diablo, and Milo arrived at the medical hospital, returning from their own travels.

"Greetings Chroma," smiled Sona innocently, "How were your package deliveries?"

Chroma and Korudo looked at Sona with bagged eyes.

"Didn't do too well I assume," commented Milo, his half-cloak missing as he entered the room, "We got into some pretty bad stuff too. However, it doesn't seem as serious as you all."

Kirin and Diablo finally entered the room, holding the luggage of food. They fell to the ground, almost passing out from the heavy weight.

"What's with that huge amount of food?" asked Korudo in awe.

"They were rewards from helping the orcs in the Frostern Mountains," mumbled Diablo as he struggled to lift the luggage and stand up, "We had some trouble happening over there too."

"Was it the Oculi?" asked Chroma, staring at the struggling duo.

"Why yes," smiled Sona, "I assume you were ambushed as well? Hopefully you didn't make the same mistake as I did!"

"Mistake? What mistake?"

"I left the students alone for a while in order to help someone. Had I known it was bait, I wouldn't have left them."

"Same here. The Oculi are always using deceitful tactics to try to get to their targets. We have to be careful not to get caught off-guard like this again. We're being targeted by the Oculi now."

"What happened to Zander and Yuma?"

"As you know, the Oculi member got to them. Their wounds weren't fatal, but they were beat up pretty badly."

"I hope they're okay," commented Kirin as she dropped the heavy luggage on the floor, "Compared to your conditions, it seems like we got off easy."

"Chroma," smiled Sona, "Please tell us what happened during your journey in the Naturo Forest."

"Go ahead and tell your story about the Frostern Mountains first," responded Chroma, not moving from his chair, "I'm pretty tired from the events that just occurred, so I'll need some rest."

"Very well."