Star Trail

CHAPTER 7 The Memory Tree

Bat River was no ordinary river. Its water was a deep violet, flowing in total silence. No fish. No reeds along its banks. Only smooth stones that glowed faintly with a light that seemed to come from nowhere.

"Do not touch the water," Master Anom warned. "This river carries dreams. If you touch it, you will fall asleep and dream forever."

Rai stared at the river, mesmerized. Water that carried dreams? In the ordinary world, that was impossible. But at the Moonlight Academy, the word "impossible" was rarely used.

They had to cross the river to continue. The only way was a narrow stone bridge that arched over the violet current. It was barely wide enough for one person at a time.

"One at a time," Master Anom ordered. "Do not stop in the middle."

Rai went first. His legs trembled as his feet touched the cold stone. Below him, the purple water slid by without a sound. He kept his eyes forward, focused on the far end of the bridge. Don't look down. Don't stop.

Just before he reached the other side, he heard it. A voice, soft as wind through leaves. And it was calling his name.

"Rai... Rai..."

Rai froze. His feet felt rooted to the stone. The voice was coming from the water. He looked down. The violet surface was no longer still. A face floated in it — the face of a grown man with eyes that were identical to his own.

"Father?" Rai breathed.

The face smiled. The lips moved, but Rai couldn't hear the words. Only the motion. He read them. Don't stop.

"RAI!" Master Anom's shout shattered the silence. "DON'T STOP! KEEP MOVING!"

Rai snapped back. He ran to the far end of the bridge and collapsed to his knees on solid ground. Nara and Dante rushed to his side.

"What happened?" Nara asked, panicked.

"I saw... I saw my father in the water," Rai gasped.

Every face went pale. Master Anom stepped forward, his expression grave. "What did he say?"

"He said don't stop," Rai answered.

Master Anom was silent for a moment. Then he nodded slowly. "That was no dream. The river shows you what you desire most. And your father... somehow, he sent you a message through it."

Rai looked at the river again. His father's face was gone. The water was silent and still once more. But his father's words were carved into his heart. Don't stop. His father was still out there. Still trying to reach him.

That night, the group camped at the forest's edge after crossing the river. Rai sat by the campfire, staring at the stars visible through gaps in the canopy. Dante sat down beside him.

"I saw something in the river too," Dante said quietly. "My mother. Not my mother now. My mother from before — before my father changed."

Rai looked at him. "Changed?"

"After the Crimson Desert, my father changed. He never smiled anymore. And whenever I ask about that trip, he says, 'Never go there, Dante. Never.'"

A chill ran through Rai that had nothing to do with the night air. The Crimson Desert hadn't just taken his father. It had broken Dante's father too. That place had to be something truly terrible.

"But we're going there," Rai said.

Dante looked at him. "We?"

"We," Rai repeated. "We both have reasons. And neither of us can do it alone."

Dante was quiet for a long time. The campfire crackled. Then, slowly, he nodded. "Fine. But if we die, I'm blaming you in the afterlife."

Rai let out a small laugh. It was his first laugh since entering the forest. And for the first time, Rai felt he was not alone on this journey.