Infinite Storm

Chapter 12

The next few days were just as usual. On the second day of the hunt, Cliff and Raven had already accomplished their mission.

That day, it was already late at night, and they were almost sure that they were the only ones that were in the forest. They wandered around, trying to trace even the tiniest bit of light. Raven glanced ahead, and then caught a glimpse of a twinkle. She started to walk towards it, and Cliff got the message. Each step they made, the world seemed to have turned brighter by more than two times.

At last, they had arrived at their destination. The area was probably the only place in the whole forest that had no trees at all. Several torchlights were hung on the surrounding plants, and Raven could tell that the battle that would soon happen would be intense.

"Ah, I remember this place. Brings back old memories," Cliff recalled.

"You sure this is the right place?" Raven inquired.

"Yes, very sure. Unfortunately though, we'll have to return to the city and wait till Monday. I can sense a very interesting battle coming. This new rule really sucks. Why can't we just challenge the bosses at any day?"

"You're getting too excited Cliff. We don't know what's coming. You've read the poem. We still haven't figured out the meaning behind it," Raven told him, letting out a sigh.

"Yeah, almost forgot about that. Now, do you know the way back?"

"Of course," she said with confidence. "Let me see, we went left first, then after a hundred feet we went left. No wait, right."

"You seriously memorized that?" Cliff let out a burst of laughter.

"What do you mean by that? Didn't you tell me to do it?" Raven questioned, her anger slowly boiling up.

"It was just a joke. You said so yourself that you didn't have a good memory. I didn't expect you to do it. Besides, I tied a string to the handle of the bridge." He held up his hand, revealing a thin, white thread which was in his palm.

"Cliff, I'll get you for this!" Raven dashed towards him, but his lightning fast reflexes saved him, and he jumped just in time to dodge the incoming attack.

"Careful, Raven," Cliff warned. You might break the string."

She glared at him with fury. "This isn't over."

Cliff opened his inventory, scrolled down the menu, and clicked on one of his items. A wooden torchlight appeared out of the blue, and he tossed it to Raven. "Raven, take this too," he handed her the piece of string. "Handle with care. Use it to lead us to the bridge. I'll take down our paths in a notebook."

She nodded in agreement.

Two days after the Knights of Destiny returned to town, Sky visited their inn. He knocked on Cliff's door, and the Shadow Knight opened it, a wide grin on his friend's face.

"I see you've found the place too," Sky praised.

"Dude, we found it since two days ago," he sighed and replied.

Sky's body tensed, and he stared at Cliff intensely. With a serious tone, he said, "I believe you already know that something's about to come. You have not solved the riddle, have you?"

"That poem? It is a little strange, but Raven and I are working on it."

"Good luck with that, then," he turned his back, heading the way he came from. Then he halted and looked back. "And be careful," he warned. "I sense something dangerous approaching tomorrow." And with that, he strolled down the long, narrow path as the sun slowly sank through the clouds.