"Right, I can help with that," she said, drifting closer in her hydromancy bubble.
Her attention drifted back towards the tablet, putting off answering giving herself more time to think by instead looking over the hunk of rock for any symbols, words, or other notable features she might recognize and consider useful.
After a few moments, regardless of what she found (or did not find), she sighed.
There it was, in all its monolithic glory. A wondrous slab crafted out of a black iridescent mineral, which the more rock-savvy teammates might identify as a mineral similar to obsidian. White speckles glowed from underneath its smooth and polished surface, like a cluster of tiny suns ascending from the base of the slab toward the top. Archaic runes adorned the frontal surface, and even though the language itself was unrecognizable, the group would be able to read the words as if they were written in their respective mother tongues.
Three simple words had been chiseled in the semi-translucid surface, with an technique and expertise not unlike that of an experienced sculptor.
𝕬 𝖄𝖔𝖚𝖓𝖌 𝕻𝖗𝖔𝖒𝖎𝖘𝖊
Hmm. A quite vague statement, and yet the blue flower-welding Floette seemed intrigued by it. But the slab didn't have those words a while ago, did it? So
where did those words come from?
One by one, the Wayfarers began pouring their hearts to the slab, unconsciously looking for a connection with the dungeon.
"My time here is short and fleeting. I'm here... so I can at least save one reality from darkness. And maybe, when I return home, that good deed will carry over... and I can help save mine next.
"I already saved it from one kind of darkness. But I think there are still more to defeat... even if they hide behind the light."
Once again, the stone shook. The garden was filled with more lights, bathed by the heartfelt words of the Sceptile, and more delighted mimicries erupted from the swarm of Flabébé. The
yellow petals heeded the call of
someone who wished to shine a light into a foreign world, armed with the hope of carrying some of such light back into her own world, too.
When the glows faded, yellow speckles flowed alongside the white sparks, and new words appeared underneath the first three words, way before anyone could see how they had materialized.
𝕬 𝕻𝖗𝖔𝖘𝖕𝖊𝖈𝖙 𝕺𝖋 𝕷𝖎𝖌𝖍𝖙
And the cycle repeated again, with the dungeon as a millenary listener who didn’t judge the nature of its guests’ wishes.
"Truthfully? I came here to... escape the reality of what's going on back home. I didn't think anything could be worse than the ghost crisis, or that it would be just as... difficult a problem to handle. Hell, I hadn't even been entirely sure that the plea I was answering hadn't just been some weird dream.
"But in the time I've spent here... I've discovered a few things about this place, and myself besides. And I've come to care about it - the sights, the people I've met, both those native to this world and those without - as much as I do my actual home. And if there's still a way I can help save this place, I want to do it. I agreed to this arrangement, and I mean to see it through."
"You enjoy looking out for people," Alex added, putting an arm around her. "That's why you're here. And, for the record, why I'm here, too. Once I heard you calling for me, I mean, you know I couldn't let that go."
Blue petals awakened their dormant energy as they resonated with the desire of
someone looking for a reprieve from her problems. From tiredness of a hostile situation bloomed a caring spirit who wished to help another world.
But they weren’t alone as
orange petals joined the call,
equally helpful, and turned the energies of both wishes into a vibrant chorus.
Complementary forces, giving strength to each other. Two interwoven streams of
blue and
orange suns traveled through the stone. Synergy.
𝕬 𝕱𝖗𝖊𝖘𝖍 𝕾𝖙𝖆𝖗𝖙
𝕬 𝕭𝖑𝖔𝖔𝖒𝖎𝖓𝖌 𝕱𝖚𝖙𝖚𝖗𝖊
Lyra looked at the stone in amazement, enthralled by the strange phenomenon. She had read so much material and trivia about mystical objects doing all kinds of unnatural, supernatural and anything-but-natural stuff, but to see such a phenomenon happening in real life? Oh, how much she wished she had her Pokégear to record the moment! (But would the dungeon or the fae get angry at her for trying that, she wondered? Maybe it was for the best that all her technological gadgets had remained home.)
"So, I guess it's my turn now?" Lyra asked tentatively, suddenly aware that the fae were staring at her in anticipation. As she looked down to gather her thoughts, she saw a small bent flower. She knelt down to caress its petals, like a mother comforting her child.
Alright! She could do it. All she needed to do was to speak from her heart. Be frank with herself.
“Well, um, I’ve been in this world for roughly… oof, I dunno, a few hours at best? And admittedly, the main reason I came here was because I heard my friend's plea for help. He isn’t someone who normally asks for help, so… I-I couldn’t ignore it! No matter what, I knew I had to do something. I
wanted to do something. For him at first, but now also for… others, too.”
Lyra glanced around her, at the new friends she had met in such a mysterious place. Many of them had been dealing with a lot, hadn’t they? Darkness, greedy organizations, conflicts between opposing sides of the same world…
“I’m still not sure how I can help, but… if there is something I can do, if only to bring a smile to someone who’s hurting…” She patted the flower one last time and stood up, a determined expression painted on her face as she pumped her tiny fists. “Then I’ll do it! Whatever it takes, I wanna do my part, so that this world can be brighter and kinder!”
The
red flower absorbed the words of the kind bunny towering it.
Someone with great hope in her heart, who only wished for others to be happy. Perhaps that was a daunting task for a young girl, but maybe, with the help of others, more could be done?
And as if by magic, the last few words embedded in the obsidian.
𝕬𝖓 𝕴𝖓𝖓𝖔𝖈𝖊𝖓𝖙 𝕯𝖗𝖊𝖆𝖒
Joined by the new red pulsations flowing in the stone, the multicolored streams converged into a miniature sun at the top of the slab, then turned into a blinding beam of light that aimed straight at the waterfall. Overcharged photons crashed into the water, sending a shockwave that sent the shining petals from the floor and into the swirling pond.
The waterfall began splitting into two halves, and through the wild droplets, the group could see some kind of… cave, or passageway, hidden behind the wall of water. As the dungeon opened the way to the Wayfarers, they would be able to hear the wishes of creatures that reached that shrine before them.
Red Basculin MUST WIN against Blue!
Blue Basculin WILL WIN against Red!
White Basculin wants Red Basculin and Blue Basculin to stop fighting…
I hope my babies will grow strong and healthy.
A sign! I only need a sign! Only one sign!
plants grow!!! flabébé become big big big!!!
The Floette with the blue flower smiled wistfully at the last wish, but she immediately dismissed that desire from long time ago to float idly by the slab, just as the waterfall had fully opened. All words on the stone had vanished, leaving a blank slate for future wishes, as their own desires had been carefully tucked into the depths of the heart of the dungeon.
She motioned to the new passage with her flower and smiled warmly at the group. The Flabébé joined their leader, waving their goodbye and cheering with countless squeals and trills.
“Good luck!!!”
“Leave?!? Awww…”
“Hungry!!!”
“Happy travel!!!”
𝔐𝔞𝔶 𝔶𝔬𝔲𝔯 𝔥𝔢𝔞𝔯𝔱𝔰 𝔩𝔢𝔞𝔡 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔴𝔞𝔶 𝔱𝔬𝔴𝔞𝔯𝔡 𝔞 𝔟𝔯𝔦𝔤𝔥𝔱 𝔣𝔲𝔱𝔲𝔯𝔢.
