Chapter 26 - The beauty of evening.

This... is all unbelievable... There are no clouds, no stairs, but we're still going up. We've been going on for quite a while now but I still can't believe it!

"Kaoru?"

"Yes?"

"How is this possible?"

"Hmmm... That's quite hard to explain. Hmmm... Uhmm... Aha! That's it!"

"What is it?"

"It's magic!"

"Magic...? I don't get it."

"It's magic that makes all of this possible."

"Magic..."

"Yes. Its magic that makes everything light and holding it up high in the sky!"

"Ahh... If it's magic, then, I completely understand!"

Even though I don't know how magic works.

"Good! Now let's continue our journey!"

"Okay!"

As we got higher and higher, everything got dimmer and darker. The whole sky also changed its color, from orange to violet...

"Uhmm... Kaoru...?"

"Are you wondering why everything's violet?"

"Yes."

"I'll explain. You see Lionel, we're in the Tiermyosfir."

"Tiermyosfir?"

"Yes. Tiermyosfir. Everything in this place is violet because of Ultraviolet."

Ultra... Violet...? What on earth is that?!!

"You're maybe worrying too because it's getting dark, right?"

"Yes... To tell you the truth, I'm getting nervous. I don't want our parents to scold us..."

"Don't worry. They'll let us slip if we told them the whole story and showed our star crystals!"

"I guess so..."

"Let's continue without any worries then, shall we?"

"Sure!"

After an hour of tiresome walking and climbing, our whole surrounding has now become dark, and windy, and cold...

"We're really, really close now, Lionel. Don't give up now! Let's keep on going!"

"Okay..."

We continued move in silence.

"Lionel, look!"

"Whoa..."

"It's a sign that we're almost there!"

"It's beautiful... and wonderful... What is it...?"

"It's called Aurora Borealis."

"Wow..."

We watched as it swayed and change color... It's so amazing; I can't even say its name!

"It's like a curtain but it's made of colorful lights."

"Cool..."

I could stand here and watch it for a long time...

"Can I get some?"

"It's made of light, Lionel. It's impossible to touch."

"Oh..."

Even though I can't bring it back home, it will always stay in my memory.

"I'll be back, you hear?! Just wait and I'll return here someday! Okay! That pumped me up! We can do this, Kaoru! Let's go!"

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"I know it's night time already, Lionel. And I know you're getting pretty nervous about it. But it's all part of the plan."

"Huh...? What do you mean, Kaoru?"

"Sigh... The curse of oblivion is still active... Oh well, I'll explain. During the day, you cannot see the star crystals because the sun is too bright."

"I get it! You can only see the star crystals at night!"

"That's why it is very important that we reach Exosfir at night."

"So we can find the star crystals!"

"Yes. That's correct."

"But..."

"What is it?"

"How can we get down from there and go back home?"

"That's easy. When you've filled your bag with star crystals, it'll get heavy. With that, we can get down from Exosfir and go back home."

"I see... Gosh, I got all of that planned out?"

"Yes, but with a little help from me, of course."

"Yeah, I don't think any of this would be possible without you."

Silence...

"Uhmm... I think we should go..."

"Yeah... I think we should..."

Another awkward moment... What am I saying?!!"

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Everything's pitch black now...

"I can't see anything!!!"

"Don't be afraid, Lionel. This is natural!"

"Natural?!! What do you mean by that?!!"

"We're in the Aiyonosfir now, the night sky."

"Ha?!!"

The what?!!

"Don't panic! Just do what I say okay?"

"Okay..."

"Walk up north!"

"Ahhh... I don't know where north is..."

You've got to be kidding me! Its pitch black! How can I know where north is?! I don't even know what north is!!

"Oh... Sorry about that. Uhmm... Move forward!"

"Are you sure about that?!"

"Yes! Trust me!"

"How can you even see in this darkness?!"

"I have eagle eyes, remember?"

"Oh... That's not fair!"

"Just move forward, okay?"

"Okay..."

I walked forward, straight into the unknown...

"Now, stop!"

I stopped... Suddenly, I began to float...

"Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! What's happening?!!"

"We're in the Aiyonosfir, Lionel, the second highest point of the known world. We are very, very light now."

"The second highest point... That means..."

"After this, we'll be in,"

We said it together.

"The Exosfir!!!"

"Yes!!! Finally!!! But wait..."

"What is it?"

"How can we know if we're truly there?"

"When our floating stops, we're there."

"Oh... Okay..."

That's quite hard to understand.

"Just wait and you'll see."

"Okay."

This is so exciting!

Even though I can't see anything, I can still feel that we're getting higher. Gosh, this is so amazing! I'm not walking or climbing but we're getting there! I can finally have some rest! So, I lay down and waited.

"I'm hearing something... Hey! It's piano music!"

I don't know what the title of the music is but it's really nice. It's slow and smooth and old but it's okay. For me it's a welcoming song to Exosfir!

"Well, we're in Aiyonosfir, so it's natural that we have radio waves here. In simpler words, it's Music."

"Cool..."

In this darkness, it's really nice to have music and a friend with you. It takes your worries and fears away. I'm not that scared anymore.

We waited patiently and silently for many minutes as we went up and up. I'm really nervous and excited at the same time! What would Exosfir look like? Will we walk again just to gather the star crystals? How big are those star crystals anyway? I can't wait!

Suddenly, the music and our floating stopped. I stood up and waited...

Slowly, the blackness turned into blue. I can see now! And Kaoru! She's just in front of me!

"Kaoru!!!"

She smiled.

"Lionel."

Gosh my heart would melt!

"This is it, right...?

"Yes. We're here."

I held her hand and entered the Exosfir.

"This is so unreal..."

My eyes opened wider.

"The blue starry night sky of Exosfir. After all that trouble, we finally made it, Lionel."

"Gosh..."

There're so many stars!! Around us! Below us! And above us!!!

I'm so happy that I released my hand from Kaoru and ran laughing! Arms wide open!

"HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! YES! YES! YES! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA!"

I spun round and round! THIS IS THE HAPPIEST DAY OF MY LIFE!!!

"Are you seeing all of this Kaoru?!!"

"Yes, yes. I can see them all. But I bet you'll be happier."

"How?"

"The star crystals are not that far apart! In fact, they're clustered here! Let's pick it all up!!!"

"OH YEAH!!!"

I ran to the nearest star crystal...

"Man, I can't believe how small they are!"

"But they're sure plenty! Pick as many as you can! The more the merrier! But be careful. We wouldn't want it broken now, would we?"

"Aye! Aye! Kaoru!"

I gently picked the small star crystals and filled my big bag. Gosh, what a wonderful color they have! Bright blue-white! Just the way I see them in the night sky! Gosh! They're so cute and beautiful! It would make wonderful jewelry! When we return, I'll make a necklace out of this and give it to Kaoru. A thank you gift for all her help in this adventure! Oh my gosh! She would be overjoyed!

After a few minutes, I collected all the star crystals in sight. But my bag is not yet full...

"Let's get a bigger one, Kaoru!"

"No problem!"

We walked and looked around...

In no time, I found something...

"Kaoru, look!"

"Woah... Now that's a big one!"

It's a very bright, red, star crystal. And it's as big as a basketball!

"Look! There's three more there!!"

"That would surely fill my bag!"

And my pockets too!

"Go and get it, Lionel!"

"Aye! Aye! Kaoru!"

I slowly walked towards it. After a few moments, I'm in front of it... Gosh... It sure is a big red crystal!

I placed my hands around it... Wow... It's warm!

"After this, I'm gonna get the other three!"

I lifted it up...

"Man! It's heavy!"

I tried to lift it again but... A bone hand covered my face... It happened so fast... I don't understand... Why...? I tried to resist but... Everything got hazy... My eyes are closing... And then... Everything went black...

"Kaoru... No..."