Prismatic

Sacrifice

We were out in this open field just like in my dream. They all rose from their slumber. Lutin was there waiting patiently for all of us to awaken. Tyke took a big yawn. “Welcome, champions!” the same enthusiasm came with it, “I hope you had a good rest. This area is called Vielbota. The requirement for passing this area is to provide a symbol for the forest guardian.”

“Be warned”, he implied. “Do not harm the living, only eternal death awaits such atrocity.”

“You should have warned us before snatching us from the house”, Aina was irritated.

“Yeah… Where’s our stuff?” Tyke doubled in.

Suddenly, our things came falling from the sky. Bry prepared his void pocket to catch all that has fallen. When he emptied the void, we rummaged through the things that laid there. Not that I had anything aside from the meat. Bry agreed to put some of the things inside the void. We ventured on after we had settled our things.

“That last phrase bothered me”, Bry pondered.

“About what…?” I asked.

“About the living part…”

“Does it include the grass that we step on?”

Everyone stopped on their tracks upon hearing that.

“Maybe…”

“Wouldn’t there be some kind of guideline to say what is living and what is not?” Tyke cut in.

“Can’t we ask the Lutin for clarification? He can be lazy at these things”, Aina concluded.

“I don’t see why not”, I replied to Aina. That seemed sensible. Will he answer? One way to find out…

“Who’s gonna do it?” Bry asked. Our eyes were on him. “Alright, I shouldn’t have asked”, he grumbled.

“Should I go with ‘O great Lutin, provide us with your guidance’?” Bry suggested with a spike of sarcasm.

The sky above opened and revealed Lutin falling down gracefully toward us. Bry was bewildered. “How may I be of service my champion?” the tone was a pure benevolence.

Bry tugged Tyke. “Oh. Umm”, he stuttered, “We would just like to have some clarifications if you don’t mind.”

Tyke’s eyes were facing away, avoiding any offence but Lutin answered calmly, “I would not mind. I have some time as do you.”

“Okay, man. What did you mean by living? What kind of death do you mean?” Aina stepped up to the Lutin.

“It is what it means”, Lutin smiled at us, “Every living thing in this forest including the grass and every kind of death possible. For example, if you hurt a hundred steps of grass, it will emit poison that kills you instantly.”

Aina stepped back shuddering at the thought. “If there is no more, I must go back”, he was impatient.

“One more thing”, Bry interjected, “How will we know what the guardian looks like and what it needs?”

“I think you will know”, he looked at Bry while not changing his expression. “The symbol has been prominent since you entered the tower. That is all.”

He left to the sky at the speed of light. We were left the puzzled at his words. My mind found it hard to process every word he said. Bry hovered to my side. “Don’t think too hard, its simple.” he said as if he knew the solution.

“What?” it made me more confused.

“Just leave the thinking to me”, Bry assured me.

“Okay”, it hurt my pride a bit.

“Hey smart guy how do we walk the forest?” Tyke asked.

“Hold on”, he concentrated and casted, Levo Aera. We started floating midair. The movement was so sudden that I couldn’t get a grip of myself. “Just center your core and focus”, he directed, “Be careful not to touch anything.” He went on ahead and we followed his lead.

We were flying a few steps from the ground, careful not to touch the grass. The straight path became a fork and there were three paths, left, middle and right. We saw the other teams go ahead of us. All of the six teams split equally and went to the respective paths. One team of slate and iron went back running from the left side, we didn’t hear from the team that went ahead of them. The teams that went to the middle were trapped in a constant loop. They didn’t seem to notice us or the repetitive action. The last two teams had a ferocious beast behind them. We hid among the trees from their presence. They trampled the retreating team from the left as if the beast possessed them. When the possessed team had passed, we returned to the path.

“This is getting crazy!” Aina looked frightened, “I can hear them.”

“What do you hear, Aina?” Tyke was shaking a bit.

“All the living… They are dying”, she looked agonizingly at Tyke.

“What do they want?” Bry asked unfazed by the horror.

“They want a sacrifice”, Aina’s voice was trembling.

“What sacrifice?” I asked through my teeth.

“Your life.” her face was very tense, “They only need a part of yourself.”

“I don’t want to walk out of here with half a leg”, Tyke was tense.

“No need for exaggerations”, Bry rolled his eyes, “They do not mean physical part of you.”

“What?” we were all confused.

“I will explain later”, he turned his attention to Aina. “Ask them to guide us to the guardian.”

Aina nodded out of her will. She seemed possessed by the living around us. She revealed a new path on her own. She raised her hand to the right. It was another path but it crossed all the forks. It was a snake path starting from the right and ending at the middle. We followed the path she led and we were flying fast and only stopped when we reached a door. The door was a solid rock formation that formed a triangle pointing upward.

Possessed Aina touched it and it rolled to the left. We flopped to the ground upon the movement. A green mossy light greeted us. The living let go of Aina, she felt dizzy and confused. We sat her for a while before approaching the giant stone statue ahead of us. It was half as tall as the tower. It had a ram head facing left, a sheep head facing us and a goat head facing right. It wore a military armor and held a sword downward rested with both hands. The eyes gave an earth green gaze. “Greetings mortals, I have been waiting for you.”

“Greetings, guardian”, Bry took the front, “We ask for your guidance to pass this floor.”

“Ah, yes. The requirement, I have been informed”, the guardian’s voice was commanding but pleading, “It was a request from me. I think you have what I need.”

“Is it because the living floor is dying?” Aina interjected.

“Yes, that is the reason. I must do what I can as the guardian.”

“Tell us exactly what you need”, Aina stood up barely recovered, “I heard the cries of the living here. They are dying.”

“My point”, he paused, “is that I request a small sacrifice from you.”

“What kind of sacrifice are you talking about?” Tyke cut through.

“I would need only an item or a part from you”, the guardian pleaded.

“Would it be alright to discuss this matter first among ourselves?” Bry requested.

“Of course… Have all the time you want”, the guardian fell silent.

We formed a circle and started the meeting. “Now that it has been cleared out”, Bry looked at us. “What can we offer to the guardian?”

“I am thinking of something valuable”, I suggested. “I think the guardian was asking for what we value about ourselves. That might be a sufficient sacrifice”

“I guess I should go first”, Tyke hesitated for a while. He took something from his pocket, “This piece of cloth was a gift from the villagers, I treasured it ever since. I hope they forgive me.”

“I’m sure they will understand”, Aina comforted. “My turn”, Aina grabbed something from her hair, “I have cherished this feather since I was a child, it was a memory from my parents. I’m sorry, mom and dad.”

I patted her back and she started crying. She let it all out before Bry decided that it’s his turn. “I will promise to cut the dramatic part. Here it goes”, he brandished a small vial with powder in it, “This, here is my very first potion. Believe me, I tried. My parents died in an accident. I grabbed some of their hair before resting them in peace. In my effort to resurrect them, this was all I got. I gave up and decided to keep it. The end…”

I was a leaking faucet after hearing his story. Bry hugged me and patted my back. It made me feel quite better. I felt that it’s time for my story. “Sorry. I just feel emotional when I hear sad stories”, I thought for a while, “Well, I guess there’s nothing I can tell you. I don’t remember anything about me. I just woke up like this. I was just glad to have met Bry and you guys.”

“I think all I can offer is my meat”, I continued, “I love making food for the ones I love. I felt like we’re family now.”

We all gave hugs to one another. I felt much better after that.

“I think you have already decided”, the guardian prompted us.

“Sorry to keep you waiting”, Bry stood up, “We are ready to give our sacrifice.”

“Place the sacrifice on the stone plate before you”, the guardian commanded.

A stone plate raised in front the guardian. Tyke put his baby blue cloth, next was Aina with a black and white colored feather, Bry put his small vial of powdered hair and I put all the meat I had left. Forest green lights gathered around the plate. Our valuables diffused when the lights came together. The room shined a bright green and life started to flourish around us. We were transported out in a flash.

The flash carried us out to where we started. Lutin was already there and ready to greet us with good news. “Congratulations, champions!” he exclaimed with jubilee, “You have passed this floor. You managed to save the forest in time. With that, you are rewarded with legendary items and extra currency.”

“You are entitled to rest”, he smiled, “Please wait for the announcement of your departure.”

I looked at the rewards. I received Armageddon’s Blessing, a blackcurrant scepter with a sapphire crystal for an eye. It provided extra boost in magic attack. Bry received Yggdrasil’s Tip, an ice blue crystal cape that was slightly bent forward. It gave extra boost in magic defense. Tyke received Ymir’s Nourishment, a mint blue crystal ring that provided extra boost in health. Aina received Creator’s Hand, a soft blue crystal glove that provided extra boost in critical hit. An additional boost was given to all our stats.

“It is time to depart, please prepare yourselves”, a voice said from above.

We were scooped by the flying machine of stone and moss. Outside, it had a gigantic blade above it that was made with the same materials. Inside, there was a seat fit for four people. The machine was surprisingly clean despite its composition. Aina and Tyke closed their eyes when they felt the machine flying off the ground. Aina kept screaming all the while it happened. In response to the annoyance, Bry casted a spell, Togen Perpaco and her screams were silenced. It helped the trip become more bearable.

We were flying a hundred steps above the ground. We braced ourselves for the fast ride. Behind us, I could see the forest fade away in the distance. I saw a familiar crystal shine before it disappeared in sight. We were met by an open blue ocean below. The flying machine had no pilot driving it. We were plummeting at an accelerated pace. We all braced for impact.