Chapter 364: The Search For The Fragment


    Beneath the heavens, the winds are so gentle but if one soars high, lifts their soul up the clouds, the gusts cuts and bellows. It is dangerous yet beautiful. So tempting it is to reach the clouds with our fingertips.


    Moulin was undeniably excited to experience such a thing. He felt pure broiling exhration.


    Slender fingers tightened the buckles of the belts and the borate steel handles for steering. His feet steels themselves on the gears that keep his legs still and tight against the saddle. The only way to remove himself from the mount was by removing a small steel rod that fastened the vital parts of the saddle that kept the rider from falling off the mount.


    "Ready?" Ghana spoke, ncing at her friend as she leaned forward.


    "Mn," Moulin nodded.


    The female maeruthan was riding on her majestic blue-marked eagle. Her eyes were the color of amber, fiery, and full of life. The bird shook her feathers and tilted her head, catching the sight of the white-haired man riding her friend. Ghana noticed the movements of her mount. With narrowed eyes, she turned to look at Moulin.


    "Don''t seduce my ride." She said.


    Silver eyes widened at herment. Amusement glimmered within Moulin''s silver pupils. He could not help tease his dear friend. "Ah, Am I that charming?"


    "Bah! Your pride will blind me to death." Ghana rolled her eyes as she smirked.


    Not long after, the riders settled on their mounts. The beast tamers cleared the area and held up a signal to Ghana and the group. They are ready for flight.


    "Hiup!" Ghana shouted, fingers clenching on the handles. Her bird was the first to run and take off. Giant wings spread out, enveloping the air. Its wed feet beat the ground until they were lifted off the surface. Together they dove down the edge of the tform and rose to the sky with an elegant spin.


    There were stars in Moulin''s eyes as he watched. The rest of the riders took flight, and when it was his turn, Moulin briefly took a deep breath before letting his mount run.


    Moulin felt his body, tight from the restraints, bounce and jump from every powerful step. Then his eyes darted to the sides, witnessing the glorious spread of wings. The wind swiftly brushed past them, passing through every feather, slipping within every strand of his hair. Moulin felt the cold against his cheek, and thrill boiled within him, rocking his heart like a ship afloat within the storm.


    Then the first few beats of the eagle''s wings, and they were lifted off. With a dive and a glide, Moulin''s eyes slightly closed from the fierceness of the air. His heart drummed enthusiastically as though he was in a high, brought to the clearest and most delicious feeling of freedom. His soul jumped when they passed through the clouds, and the softness tickled his heart. Sailing within the never-ending sky, they are surrounded by lightness.


    A shrill cry pierced through the clouds, echoing heavenly. Moulinughed and smiled as the bird tilted, and they flew towards the group of eagles beneath them.


    Ghana shouted when she spotted her friend. "Having fun?"


    "Breathtaking!" Moulin grinned. His hair fluttered behind him.


    Ghana chuckled, leading the group to fly lower towards the second biggest ind of the Sknds. With an authoritative voice, she informed. "The mages and seers discovered two soul fragments each in Auvindeth Ind and Miondir Ind. Our team is tasked to search for the soul fragment of Auvindeth. Once we find it, we are to return it to G''En."


    The men made a sound of understanding. They heard the words loud and clear despite the noise of the wind interfering with their hearing. They wore thick sleeves to fight against the cold of the wind. Only Moulin didn''t, unfazed of the cold, and instead foundfort within it. He loved every single moment of it.


    They reached the ind and hovered above its vast nket of pointy trees, swaying as the flying creatures soared. They aimed to find a location suitable for the eagles tond.


    "There." Ghana, with her head, gestured to a clearing.


    The bird slowly hovered above the area. They pped their wings and gradually lowered their heavy bodies. The men unfastened their saddles and jumped off their mount. Numerous feetnded heavily on the grass.


    Moulin unmounted from his giant eagle. His fingers gently caressed t its huge beak, and the creature nuzzles against his touch, finding it lovely. A smile graced the youth''s lips. He stroked the bird dotingly before removing his hand and followed Ghana and the group.


    "The birds?" Moulin inquired.


    "They''ll stay until we return." Ghana exined reassuringly. She ordered the men to gather around her and spread the map of Auvindeth on the grass. The scroll rolls and opens itself to the numerous eyes around it.


    Ghana''s finger point to a certain part of the map, a forest, Moulin recognizes. Ghana, as the leader of the group, should be well-informed of the location to be so certain. Afterward, she rolled up the map, stuffed it in her satchel, and stood up from the grass.


    Without sparing time, the men marched onwards into a tall towering forest filled with lush nts and thriving life. It was cold, and as they walked, they passed through a dense fog, giving them a spine-chilling sensation as they continued to venture the woods. When the fog faded, relief came short when they faced a dim forest, eerie and filled with mystery.


    Moulin caressed a rough trunk of a tree, feeling the moisture within the cracks of its dark skin. So this was the forest of Auvindeth. It was quite... mystical.


    The group passed a creek and a mossy de, dampened by the cold. There are rocks from a distance which didn''t look so ordinary as normal. They are huge with a face-carved front and longer rocks, appearing as limbs. A rock-type earth titan, Moulin recognized. Only, it was slumbering... fortunately. Although the fog was gone, a soft haze appeared, but it didn''t entirely obscure the men''s vision.


    Finally, Ghana raised her hand, and men followed to a stop. Herpass was acting strange. The arrow spun in all directions oddly. Thepassed worked and sensed mana. Something was interfering with the device. The group began to search the area for any oddities.


    "Over here!" An elf called over.


    He led the group between two massive rocks with a strange opening in the third rock in between. Its peculiarity was the unusual shapes the moss formed, like decorative swirls of avish chalice. Moulin snapped his fingers before the entrance, and the sharp sound echoed endlessly.


    "Hollow, perhaps, the tunnels run deep," Moulin said.


    "How are you sure there are tunnels and not a giant hole waiting for us to drop to our deaths." Ghana raised a brow.


    Moulin gave her an unsurprising look, "Trust me."


    "Well, the little one must go first."


    Moulin narrowed his eyes at her. "You''re bing quite willful."


    "Thank you, young master." Ghana grinned as she and the others parted to make way for him.


    Moulin ignored them and swiftly slipped inside the hole, ducking his head and letting his heels slide down the damp rocks. When he reached the bottom, he looked around silently.


    Opening his palm, Moulin conjured a crystal to illuminate his pitch-ck surroundings. The beautiful glowing ice hovered an inch above his palm, spinning unhurriedly. Water dripped from the roots, varying from tiny ones andrge ones, hanging on the cave ceiling, and beneath it was a pond-like body of water.


    Moulin ambled towards the drier rocky surface of the ground and faced three channels. The mana was strange here. Alternately switching from strong to weak.


    "Moulin?"


    Ghana''s echoing voice reached his ears. Moulin passed and spoke, "It''s clear. There are passages here."


    The rest of the group climbed down the rocky slope. Small rocks rolled down as thest member entered the cave. They sensed the off ambiance of mana.


    "It''s here." Ghana''s eyes brightened. "But it could be in one of these tunnels. Let''s split up."


    The group of ten was divided into three. Four men entered the first cave, Ghana and another two entered the second, and Moulin joined the rest towards the third cave.


    "If you sense malevolence, defend yourselves. The Kron might not have corrupted these inds, but creatures still lurk within thesends." Ghana reminded.


    Moulin nodded and waved at her before he and the two elves with him ventured the third cave. Droplets dripped from the hanging roots above their heads, and in their way through the darkness, they came to pass by patches of glowing fungi, emitting a bright, hypnotic blue. The elves warily avoided the nts. However, in Moulin''s eyes, the scene looked beautifully mystical. The crevices and depressions on the cold ground are all filled with water. Thus, as they walked, the sounds of sshes echoed throughout the passageway.


    Moulin walked ahead, carefully bncing his steps, careful not to trip from the sharp holes on the ground. If they were walking in bare feet, their soles would look like grated fruit, chipped off their skin and flesh. Moulin shook his head, dismissing the thought.


    Suddenly, it was undoubtedly quiet. All Moulin could hear was the sound of his wet footsteps.


    "..."


    The youth turned abruptly and realized that his assumption was true. He was utterly alone. The elves who were walking behind him disappeared. Patiently scanning the area once more, Moulin looked for the two people. He tried calling for them, but all he heard was his own resonating voice. No response.


    He swore he didn''t stray too far.


    Drip!


    Drip!


    Moulin sighed and began to keep advance. If he was going to be alone in this search, then so be it. He hoped the two elves could exit the tunnel safely.


    Drip!


    Drip!


    The sound of sshes echoed along with his footsteps. Time passed and he didnt know how long was he walking...


    Drip!


    Moulin stopped. Cautiously, he narrowed his eyes. The mana here was stronger. Pure concentrated mana wafted out from the pitch-ck passage ahead of him. With a serious expression, the youth quickened his steps, agilely avoiding slippery rocks. The sounds of dripping water continued. They are like the ticking sounds of a clock.


    Drip!


    Drip!


    Moulim heaved. He raised his head to feel the droplets rain down his face. However, he waited but not a single droplet fell on his forehead. Odd...


    Moulin raised the glowing ice crystal from his palm and his eyes widened. Beautiful swirls of silvery mosses gleamed against the light. They shone like the shimmering re of steel under sunlight. Moulin followed the marks on the ceiling and the walls and realized they stretched further down the tunnel.


    Moulin continued his journey deeper, following the trail of silvery moss.


    Finally after minutes of walking, he stopped. His boots paused an inch before a pond-sized puddle. A dome-like interior revealed itself before the youth''s stunned silver eyes.


    A ring of water surrounded a small circr rocky ind and the silver mosses marked the curved walls with beautiful swirls. The silver nts looked as if they were being sucked towards the middle of the dome-like cave.


    And at the center of the rock ind, a single green nt shined once the mana from Moulin''s light touched its trembling leaves. At the sight of the tiny nt, oddly growing on damp solid ground, the youth''s heartbeat quickened.


    It was so simr to Gdin''s nt-like form in the memory he saw. A little green sapling within a cave. Only this time, there was no sunlight.


    And.... a tiny fruit, the size of a walnut, hung on one of the green fragile branches of the nt.