Stars Of Memory

Chapter 47

She's trapped in her memories again like with the Kindashi, and she fights the urge to panic, or scream, or cry, or even just curl up in a mental ball and wait for the torment to end. All her memories flash through her mind, from the one of her mother stroking her egg to the ones that are only a few moments old. They stop for a second - or maybe not, is time passing differently in her mind? - before the cycle of memories starts up again. It stops, and Jīvitaya is left standing there in the dark room inside her mind where the memories had flitted around her only moments before. There is a faint sound from behind her and she turns, to see a young girl. She frowns. The girl almost seems to be sparkling.

She frowns and is about to ask the girl about it when the girl speaks, her voice light and musical. "Why have you come here?" Jīvitaya looks at her in confusion, and she elaborates. "Why did you come to the crystal forest? Only the Correllia and the Correll can enter the forest."

"I was told it was dying, and that I was the only one who could fix it."

The girl frowns in distress. "I haven't felt it, but that doesn't mean it isn't there. Will you show me what you were told and by whom?"

"Yes, but didn't you just go through my memories?"

The girl shakes her head, emitting a slight tinkling sound, then pauses. "I only skimmed them, searching for if you were a Correllia or Correll. I wouldn't go in-depth, that would be an invasion of your self."

Jīvitaya smiles in gratitude. "Thank you, I've had some horrible experiences with that. How do I show you?"

"Just think of the memory, that's all you need. It will play here."

Jīvitaya nods and thinks of her two conversations with Chiarina, and the girl turns back to her. "I will let you pass, but stay close to the Correll. You do not know much about the crystal forest and I will not help you more, especially if you hurt me. If you speak the truth and help, then you will be granted passage, like the Correllia."

"Thank you." The girl smiles softly and is about to turn away when Jīvitaya speaks again. "Who are you?"

"I am the voice of the forest, and once long ago, I was named Rynsta by a Correllia."

Jīvitaya blinks, and is suddenly out of that memory room in her mind, standing in the entrance to the crystal forest. Iyokú looks at her in concern.

"Jīvitaya, are you alright? You're crying."

She wipes at her eyes with the back of her hand and they come away wet. "When Rynsta went through my memories, it reminded me of the Kindashi, of when I was being kidnapped, despite her not impeding on my privacy."

Iyokú frowns. "Who's Rynsta?"

"The voice of the forest. She essentially had me explain why I was here in order to clear me because I wasn't a Correllia."

Iyokú nods. "Okay, let's go." She pauses. "How do you figure out what is wrong?"

Jīvitaya frowns. "Well, what are they supposed to look like? Let's start with that."

Iyokú approaches a tree and points to one of the crystals on it. "Do you see how this one is shining really brightly? They all should be like that."

"Okay . . ." They look and look, but they don't see anything but brightly glowing crystals. Then Jīvitaya catches sight of one flickering. "Iyokú, should they be flickering?"

Iyokú frowns, still looking at another one. "No, that's bad." She suddenly gasps. "I just saw one flicker!"

"I did too."

"What do we do now?"

Jīvitaya doesn't answer but instead shifts into her nature sight. She gasps in sorrow and fear at what she sees. The crystal trees are filled with a throbbing black light that is slowly swallowing the colored light pouring out of their crystals and into the world.

"Iyokú, you need to see this."

Iyokú stays silent, and Jīvitaya glances over at her to see tears pouring down her face. Gently, Iyokú cradles one of the crystals in her palm and speaks softly. "What is happening to you?" She turns to Jīvitaya, her voice sorrowful but fierce. "How do we fix it?"

"I don't know yet, but I can try to figure it out. We need to know what is causing the problem first."

Jīvitaya sits beside one of the trees, and cradles a crystal into her hands, being careful not to pull it out of the tree. She watches the darkness leaking in, trying to find a source. The crystal's light dims slightly, and the darkness grows even darker. She pulls away, gasping.

"Jīvitaya?"

"It's something with the energy flow, it's pulling energy and power out of the crystals, leaching it away. Give me a moment, I'm going to try and stop it."

She wraps her hands back around the crystal and pushes against the dark energy with her own. It resists and she pushes harder until there is a slight crack and the darkness recedes. She releases it at last and takes a deep breath.

"I can do it, but can I even reach all of the crystals?"

Iyokú shakes her head. "If you have to get to each and every crystal, then no. The largest and most important ones are too high and nestled in a web of other crystal trees. We call them the life crystals, they sustain La'Vi'Ai itself."

Jīvitaya frowns, deep in thought. "Okay, I'm going to try something, I don't know if it will work."
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Will whatever Jīvitaya is about to do work? Tell me what you think and tell me if you have any questions! Happy reading!

~Goddess of Fate, signing out.