Celestial Tree

Sanctum City appeared virtually burrowed in the Seraphs' feet. The citizens did their daily chores, but many Seraph Guards and troopers searched the city for suspicious foreigners.

They were all in unison with Hywel despite being an island above his hideaway. They thought repairing Yerachmiel's heart would finally put a stop to the god of wind's absurdity.

To them, Hywel seemed the all-mighty, the one who could fully erase Ivione's punishments and restore peace. But none knew the real motive behind his attendance to help them.

They believed in his capability. They believed in his skillfulness. However, would it really be enough for the Sanctum Islanders to become chargeless and independent? Would they finally be purged of death?

It was chaos.

Kyora's group, consisting of Yumiko and Ralphie, reached their destination. They were hiding in a secluded area of the city where not many attackers roamed.

Worried that something could've happened to Tarot became the primary thought they couldn't ignore or forget. Yet they couldn't stop and needed to proceed, hopefully earning more intel concerning Ivione's antagonism.

"Seraphs are looking for us all across the upper islands. I don't think showing ourselves to them would be a good idea. What do we do?"

Kyora couldn't come up with a solid point. She didn't have a reasonable idea to answer Yumiko's question, but one of them needed to come up with something to get around their adversaries.

They could easily use the backstreets and waste more and more time. But that wouldn't be sufficient. It wouldn't help them locate the person behind the "Stolen Privacy" scheme.

"If we can expose the person who tampered with the knowledge chip to Ivione, we can stop this nonsense. And maybe then the people won't need to deal with the god of wind's horrendous deeds. But..."

"...To do that, we need to find the convict and reach the highest peak of the Sanctum Islands. I assume that Ivione's domain lies someplace higher up than the city."

Kyora had a strategy, but it was incomplete. It was a solid one, but it would require an incredible amount of hard work to achieve it. The Seraph Guards had no intentions of stopping their search and would continue hunting them down for as long as it would take them to find them, even if that meant hours and days.

"Kyora-princess. Yumiko-cupcake. Look."

The two girls followed Ralphie's finger, which directed them toward an immensely oversized tree behind the city in the forest. It expanded even further into the skies and above the clouds whose shrubs they couldn't see. It had wide and long vines growing along the massive trunk.

"That must be the Celestial Tree, the only pathway toward Ivione's citadel. We'd have to climb it, but it's impossible. If we can't fly, it would take us more than a week, and the closest wind current to the top is in a month."

Yumiko was perplexed about Kyora's knowledge. She couldn't comprehend how she knew so much information about the Sanctum Islands and asked about her at her first thought.

"Kyora... How do you know so much about the Sanctum Islands?"

She expected a simple answer but instead received the opposite.

"Oh, right. I'm sorry I didn't tell you this sooner. I didn't tell you the exact truth. I immediately read the chip when I saw it, so I have all its data collected in my head. I knew there was something fishy about Hywel, so I didn't want to expose myself just yet. "

Yumiko's squinted eyes narrowed in bemusement, and she couldn't believe her own crewmember fooled her. "It was for the greater good," she said to herself, gently rubbing the side of her cheek with her fingertip, "But you could've told this to everyone when on the ship."

Kyora winked and showed them her pinky tongue. She apologized as sincerely as possible and turned to face the Celestial Tree to form a solid plan to reach the upper island, the highest leash in the sky.

But Ralphie concluded.

"We might not be able to fly, but do you know who can?"

"...Tarot."

-

Timothy's group, hundreds of feet beneath the Sanctum Islands, united with Shanya and appreciated it. Stuck there, far away from the rest, they ran and followed Olishia to the upper islands, apart from Chiaki.

Before they left, Chiaki chose to split up with them and hunt down Hywel, who was on his way toward Yerachmiel's resurgence podium.

It wasn't too far from his hideout, so Chiaki still had a chance to catch and stop him before he could fulfill his wish. And this time, she exerted a small portion of Timothy's power he shared with her at the battlefield. It was evident through her blue-glowing pupils.

She ran as fast as possible, sprinting without any intention to stop or take a break. She was on a mission, knowing the others were dependent on her. She couldn't let them down and continuously repeated that to herself.

"I know we can retrieve peace and correct the Seraphs' view on their divinity. Especially now that we have the Scanara Tribe and Shanya on our side. I have to trust that their service will be enough to get through this. But I should concentrate on my task. All I need to find is that podium Olishia told me about. I should be hot on his trail if I keep going this way..."

"...Everyone's counting on me to stop Hywel, and I don't have any discretion to disappoint them. If Hywel wants to revive the first-ever Seraph born and overtake Ivione's leadership, then I have no choice but to step in and trust that the others can locate Ivione..."

"...I'm not useless anymore. I know I can stop him!"

Chiaki's solemn face didn't dissipate. With her blue-beaming eyes, shining out like the sunrays, she picked up her pace and ran as fast as she could, knowing that Hywel could call upon Yerachmiel soon.

It was now or never.

To be continued...