Stars Of Memory

Chapter 46

"How?"

Iyokú gives her a tiny smile. "Jīvitaya, I'm the Correll. Both myself and the Correllia are capable of entering the crystal forests." She looks up at Chiarina. "How much time do we have?"

Chiarina shrugs slightly, concern evident on her face. "I don't know. I only saw the most basic details in my vision. Nothing more has been shown to me over these many years."

Iyokú nods, her face set in determination. "So we don't have time to plan or gather supplies. Let's go, Jīvitaya." She pauses. "Flying will be faster, can you do that yet?"

Jīvitaya frowns. "I can, but I'm not very good at it yet."

"Okay. I want you to try, and I'll help if I see you faltering."

Jīvitaya nods, and rises off the ground unsteadily, wobbling a bit. Once she is higher, she evens out and angles herself onto her belly. Iyokú rises beside her and glances at her.

"Are you ready?" Jīvitaya nods. "Follow me!"

She shoots off over the forest and Jīvitaya follows. She is slower at first, but soon gains speed and catches up to Iyokú. As they travel over the forest, Jīvitaya begins to see a rise in the trees. She frowns and looks at Iyokú, shouting over the wind.

"What is that?!"

"It's the cliffs surrounding the crystal forest!"

"Then why don't we just fly in?!"

It looks like Iyokú is laughing darkly to herself, but Jīvitaya can't hear it over the wind. "There is a roof of stone over the top! The cliffs go all the way and meet in the middle so it's essentially a giant cave! There is only one way in!"

Jīvitaya nods, and they continue on. When they get close, Iyokú dives towards the forest floor and Jīvitaya scrambles to follow her. She sees Iyokú tilt smoothly to land on her feet and tries to do the same. She manages to do so, albeit shakily, stumbling as she touches down to the ground. Once she regains her footing, Iyokú strides towards the cliff, stopping before a small cave mouth that mars the otherwise seamless stone of the cliff.

She turns back to look at Jīvitaya, her face shadowed with worry and fear. "I know how to get in, but I've never done it. Stay close, and don't panic."

Jīvitaya nods, and the pair step into the cave. They only make it a couple of feet inside before roots unfurl from the walls and move toward them. A ball of light appears at the top of one root and it hovers over them, bathing them in light. Iyokú blinks once, and a root grasps at her arms. It digs in, and she hisses quietly as it pulls away to reveal a dot of blood on her arm. It moves to Jívitaya and she feels a sharp prick as the branch touches her arm.

The branches retreat and then falter. Iyokú grasps Jīvitaya's hand and steps further into the darkness. The branch with the light follows them until they reach a mass of vines and roots and branches that block the path. Iyokú kneels on the ground before the roots and stretches her hand out to touch them. Instantly, they shoot out at her, enveloping her. Jīvitaya is about to run towards her and help when Iyokú's words from before echo in her head.

"Stay close, and don't panic."

She takes a deep breath and forces herself to stand still. The branches pull Iyokú towards the rest of the mass, and Jīvitaya's blood pounds through her head as she struggles with her fear and rising panic. The ball of branches around Iyokú melds into the rest of them. A few moments later, Jīvitaya hears a faint sound from the other side of the mass.

"I'm alright Jīvitaya! I'm through. I need you to do the same thing I did, alright? You'll be fine, I promise!"

Jīvitaya swallows, her mouth dry and her voice weak. "Okay!"

She takes a deep breath and kneels where Iyokú had, stretching out a shaking hand to the mass of branches. Her fingertips brush against one of them, and the mass jumps toward her. She forces herself to swallow her scream as the branches envelop her and everything goes dark.

———————————————————————————————-
Oh no, what happened? Tell me if you have any questions, and happy reading!

~Goddess of Fate, signing out.