The Moon Symphony

Escape Plan

"Apo, it feels like we are running around in circles." I said.

"How do you say so?" Apo asked.

"Look, I saw this group of Dream Blooms before we took the path you chose. And here we are again, and this is the third time."

"Okay, I feel that something is strange too. The air current, it's getting thinner. A low level means it will be hard for us to breathe." Apo explained.

"We need to hurry, and we need to find my siblings." I said.

"How are we going to find them if we are going back and forth?" Apo asked.

"I have a plan."

I told Apo that I learned to track a person or a thing after fully cultivating my energy. I did not tell anyone about this ability. Apo was shocked that tracking is high based magic, and I learned that quickly.

I told him that I put some of my spiritual energy at Anan and Ester if something happens. This is the time where I can use what I learned.

I closed my eyes and gathered some of my spiritual energy to activate my spell. A marker appeared on my thoughts and revealing the path. I was surprised that the trail was winding, which is why we are running in circles. I saw two red markers, and it seems like the others are below us.

"Found them!" I said.

"Where are they?" Apo asked.

They are below us. I said.

"How are we going to get to them?" Apo asked.

"We are going to teleport to them," I said and smiled at him.

"Did you learn teleportation too? When? Why did you not tell us." Apo said.

I don't want them to know that I was secretly training behind their backs. Since most of my abilities are not that fully developed, that's why I hid them.

"I can only teleport short distances, but it gives my body a toll in return. I can only bring one person." I explained.

"You sure are full of surprises, Yari," Apo said and ruffled my hair.

"Hold on to me, Apo. Let's go!" I said.

Dimension Step!

I opened my eyes, and we are both in mid-air. Apo looked at me and started laughing. We both fell in front of the others.

"Ayari? Apo?" Ani said.

Everyone was shocked when we both appeared in from of them. Anan and Ester rushed towards me and hugged me. They were worried about us.

"How did you find us?" Ani asked.

"Did you teleport, Master? How?" Baku asked.

I just nodded my head and laugh at them. I can still see their surprised faces.

"Okay, guys. That's enough. I'll tell you all about it, okay, but we need to get out here." I said.

I told them that the pressure here was getting intense and the air thinner, and anytime soon, we will have difficulties in breathing. Ani said to me that I should use teleport for us to get out. I explained to them that using that ability has a limit. I cannot teleport them all at once, and we might end up somewhere unknown, causing more danger.

"I have an idea, but this may sound absurd," I said.

"What is it?" Everyone asked.

"We will bust our way out here!" I said, laughing.

"What do you mean?" Ani asked.

"We need to break our way out, and we have someone who can do that," I said and looked at Ester.

"What, me? Are you sure, big brother?" Ester asked.

"Of course, trust me, guys," I said.

"You sure do have crazy ideas, Yari. Apo said."

I told them what we are going to do. Ani will use her wind magic to thrust Ester on air. We will reinforce her fist with our magic so that we can break the ceiling. Ester started to ignite her fist. The rest of us cast a spell enchanting her abilities and increasing them to their maximum level. The spiritual pressure was gathering around her. Ani started chanting her wind spell while Ester moved backward to get ready.

"Three, two, one! Now Ani, use your full force!".

Wings of Dominion!

A strong gust appeared and launched Ester through the ceiling. She aimed her fist on the wall started to break apart. We continued to cast our spells, causing the walls to shatter. The light from the outside began to illuminate the waterway.

"Yes, we succeeded!" I shouted. Everyone cheered. Who would have thought my crazy idea would work.

"How are we going to get out, though?" Anan said.

"Don't worry!" Ester said.

Ester started to cast her spell. The ground beneath us began to glow and formed a platform.

"Big Sis Ani, show them what you got!" Ester shouted.

"Sure thing!" Ani said.

She began to cast her spell and raised her hand. The water from the waterway started to gather, and little by little, the platform went up. We were able to get out of the channel.

"When did you learn those guys?"

"When we are at the Pine Lagoon, we asked Saldang to teach us!" Ester said.

"We want to catch up to you, Ayari," Ani said.

"Thank you so much, you know, there's one thing I realized. We need to work together, and we can successfully finish any trials, whatever it is." I said and smiled at them.

Then all of a sudden, Apo pushed me away from the group. An arrow almost hit me.

"Where did that come from?" Baku said.

I picked up the arrow. It was an ordinary one, but the tip was infused with poison.

"Be careful, guys!" I said.

Another arrow flew at us, but Apo deflected it again. Ester started to cast a barrier to protect us. I took out my dagger and heightened my senses. I closed my eyes to feel the surroundings. I sensed weak spiritual energy coming from the bushes several meters away from us.

I dashed towards that direction and cleared the bushes. No one was there. I looked around, and I saw a set of bow and arrow left in that area. I picked and up, and the quiver was engraved with patterns that look like stars.

I went back to the others and showed the weapon left by the assailant. Who could this be?

"Sorry, I missed the owner of the bow and arrow."

"It's okay, and the enemy must have sensed us," Apo said.

I handed the bow to Baku for him to examine it. We continued to walk, following the path in front of us.

"The pattern, it looks familiar. We must be near Estrella." Baku said.

"Really?

"This sigil belongs to the land of the stars!" Baku said.

"Do you mean the one that attacked us was from Estrella?" Ani said.

"Absolutely!" Baku said.

"But why would someone from Estrella attack us? Are we not welcome here?" Apo said.

"That I don't know. People from Estrella are not like this, attacking someone randomly." Baku explained.

Baku told us what really happened why the people of Estrella hid their whereabouts. Many years have passed, and Estrella was considered one of the most developed tribes in the Orient Seas. Most people from here are geniuses and well versed in battle. Most of the time, they spend on research and discovering new things. They went to a lot of places to gain new knowledge gaining their names as wandering warriors. This had an impact on their reputation, also giving rise to their economy. Most of their inventions are being sold at a lot of places, giving them popularity. As soon as their fame rose, people started to get jealous of them. They began making rumors about them. They said that the evil lord caused the hunger for knowledge from the people of Estrella.

The rumors spread all over the orient seas. Thus people began to develop disgust at the folks from the village of the stars. They started treating the villagers like trash. Some tribes began to attack the town, taking what they can. Fearing that it will happen again, the villagers moved to a different place. They moved to a place where people cannot find them easily. The only thing that remained was even if the other tribes betrayed them, and they did not bear a grudge against those who did them wrong. They were also considered warm-hearted people.

Now, people who tried to search for them were unsuccessful.

"Now I understand why you said that, Baku."

"Yes, master, let's continue".

I pulled out the compass that Saldang gave me and infused some spiritual energy. Great! It's working now. I looked at the pointer, and it was pointing towards the south. I can also sense some wave of energy that was not familiar to me. What could this be? I did not bother about that, and we continued walking.

The surroundings started to change. The trees began to disappear, and some mist appeared. I told everyone that we should stick together for as not to get separated again if something happens. I instructed Ani to use her wind spell to blow away the mist, but nothing was happening. It's getting thicker. I heightened my senses again to feel the surroundings, but the fog was disrupting it.

"Look out!" Anan shouted.

A large stone was rolling towards us. All of us started to run, but the rock was getting faster. We can't make it on time. Ester stopped running and ignited her fingers, smashing the massive stone. Thank goodness Easter was here. We were all relieved.

"What was that?" I said.

"I don't know, but again we must be alert," Apo said.

I took out the compass to check, and it's still pointing south. I started to check on the following markers, and it's still pointing there. I told everyone to follow. For some time, the fog began to clear up. We are still at the exact location where the stone appeared. We continued to follow the compass direction. The vegetation is getting less as we continued. The place was like a dessert, and to our surprise, there are a lot of gigantic stones scattered everywhere. I moved at one stone and noticed that there are crystals attached to it. There were other minerals too. A meteor?

I touched the crystal, and it reacted to my spiritual energy and started to glow. I pulled my hands instantly, and the light disappeared. Everyone was surprised.

"What's happening, big brother?" Ester said.

I told them that the stone was reacting to my spiritual energy. The others were curious and tried too. They look like kids delighted with what they see, not afraid of what will happen.

I asked Baku if he knows what kind of rocks are. Apo said that they are like Celestial Stones, which came from space and hit the orient seas.

"You mean a meteor?" I said.

"Meteor?" Everyone looked at me.

Don't they know what a meteor was? I told them that meteors are the stones that came from outer space. Still, everyone is confused by what I am saying.

"Shooting stars?" I said.

"Yes, we know what shooting stars are," Ani said.

"That's right, meteor and shooting stars are like the same," I explained.

Everyone seemed amazed by what I am saying. I told them that we should continue our journey since the compass is reacting more.

We are getting closer to Estrella.