(Book 4) Hayden Mackay and The Fest of Vrindahina

10. Gate 1 - No Rose without a Thorn

I was inside the world of Constellia.

Vast darkness, hillsides scorching with lava of a great volcano, spooky resonating sounds,  foul stench of the dead-Parallel Universe was par sinister than I had envisioned....My foot! I sagged my shoulders down, embarrassed, realising how foolish and worse my imagination could be. Now I was grounded to a mocking reality,  stating that I have a serious problem of over analyzation.

I was actually standing in the middle of a dry meadow- wide as an ocean, interspersed with flat terrains of beige colored grass, rough and shaggy like uncombed hair. To whatever direction and to how far I extended my sight, I found nothing that possibly marked its end. This meadow was too flat to the horizon, except there was one tree stood to my farthest left, with small golden yellow flowers blossoming like dots between the laurel leaves. Weather- neither warm nor cool, it seemed to be the tail end of the summer, yet my skin was getting sun-soaked with the afternoon rays.

With my tension easing, I turned around to check on one thing I already began to worry about. Neither the silver rock nor the cave was visible anymore. Everything had instantly disappeared right after we walked through it. It was only the dry grass all around. I bit my lips with a thought crossing my mind. If everything went well as planned in the end, how was I supposed to get out of here if the Silver Rock was nowhere to be seen.

And then my conscious shifted my focus to the soft, delicate hand that fit perfectly in mine. I loosened my grip, yet unsure to let her go. I furtively glanced at her only to see if she was still as tensed as earlier. Her eyes were widened and moistened. But somehow it wasn't out of fear or uncertainty. Her lips were stretched into a small smile as her eyes strolled back and forth. She seemed to be in a delightful awe. Catching my eye, she cracked down with a sudden chuckle I wasn't expecting.

I grinned with her, butterflies escaping from the pit of my stomach. The laughter I was hearing in my mind indicated that she as well  had pictured this universe as scary I had, just because I and Leena had been telling her that it was going to be dangerous.

"Fire of Vengeance!"

A voice boomed across the sky. I stood straight, startled, now unwillingly leaving Nazira's hand. I looked around at all directions but yet none came into the picture. I was sure I had heard that voice before and stormed my brain to comprehend. But in vain.

"Welcome!" The voice vocalized again, echoing with power and command.

"Who is this?" I asked, knitting my brow, unsure if the person could hear me at all. I still kept searching for the source of the voice, ignoring Nazira's confused expression.

"Naag!" The voice responded immediately.

"Naag?" I cried, involuntarily taking steps here and there, "What..where are you?"

"Unfortunately I am just a voice for now. I cannot travel outside Arena. My ways are already blocked."

I gulped, understanding the inner meaning his statement. My discomfort, the sort of restlessness returned to me with the vengeance. That invisible demon who killed my parent has already arrived, waiting for me in the Arena. All of a sudden, before I could think of it anymore, I felt my stone burn. Instinctively, I pulled it out when it began to prick my skin, burning abnormally for the very first time.

"Now listen to me carefully," Naag said, as I rubbed my stone in an attempt to cool it down, "You have directly stepped into the realm of Kanya, where this game is chosen to commence. Kanya shall be here any moment. You win the challenge, you get to the pass through Gate number one. The first two Cornelian users were successful in defeating her, but only just. Brace yourself, Hayden Mackay, this is not a child's play."