Volume 3 Chapter 24 Finale

Chapter 24 Finale

I

In the afternoon, the three arrived back at the Dream Forest.

Thanks to the Rain of Regrowth, the Dream Forest had completely recovered from the scars left by Master Mortis’ necroplane.

Now it was a beautiful place full of life. Birds were twittering happily around the trees and the air was brimming with the fragrance of blooming flower.

There was a river going through the dream forest. This river used to have been polluted by the Grey Factory, but now the Rain of Regrowth had purified it. The water was clean now and fishes were swimming carefreely.

After realizing how beautiful the world was right now, the four knew that they had done the right thing. They had chosen the lesser of two evils … Aisling’s sacrifice worthed it. The world would definitely be a more beautiful place in the future.

“The smell of the Dream Forest was really refreshing … If … If Aisling were here, she would want me to start a new life, right? ”

“That’s a silly question,” giggled Floria.

It was the first time of the three to feel happy after Aisling sacrificed herself.

Life had to go on.

Leaving the Dream Forest, the Camp of Wildshadow Tribe came into their sight.

“Home, sweet home,” Stasha breathed a sigh of relief.

It was at dusk now, and bathed in the twilight, the tents looked as beautiful as a painting. The three went into the camp of the Farseer. When the Farseer saw them, she smiled.

“You’ve succeeded. You’ve done it. The world is a more beautiful place right now. I am so proud of you three …” the Farseer smiled.

“Yeah,” agreed Stasha.

“I’m sorry about Aisling, but to be honest, it’s the best ending for her. I have chatted with her a lot and she always feels painful that one day you three will pass away while she will always still be young until after centuries …” the Farseer reassured them.

“That’s true,” consented Yanni.

“And Yanni, she loves you heartedly … I know you love her too. If she were still alive, she would want you to be happy. So cheer up, my boy,” the Farseer reassured Yanni.

“I will cheer up,” promised Yanni.

“Mom, it’s a little sad that every story has an end,” expressed Stasha.

“Yeah. It’s said, but generally, your story has a good ending,” summarized the Farseer.

“Do you know that many cities have lost order, Mistress Farseer?” queried Yanni.

“For sure I know, and in fact, I have been thinking whether to talk with it about you three. Anyway, you have to choose between letting Trigon rule this world or bringing the Rain of Regrowth to this world. It’s a hard choice because both of the choices cannot make the world perfect. However, the world without Trigon is definitely better than a world with Trigon,” commented the Farseer.

“That’s true,” Yanni nodded.

“Don’t blame yourselves too much,” proposed the Farseer.

“Mister Berg said it too,” replied Floria.

“See, great minds think alike. Anyhow, I am certain that you three will live a happy life. So don’t worry about the future. I’ve seen no friendship which is as hard as the friendship between you three. You three are really like a family,” whispered the Farseer.

After the last ray of the orange twilight, the world drowsed into the dark night. Stars were shining, sending messages from the far corner of the cosmos.

“By the way, I want you to see something … Do you remember the remaining of the Mother Matrix that Aisling took back?” revealed the Farseer

II

The Farseer took the four into her room, inside which there was a glowing ball of light.

They could feel immense power inside that ball of light.

“So that ball of light is … the Matrix,” murmured Yanni.

“Yes. Macchina Gloriosa had input all the books they could find into the database of the Matrix so that it had become a collection of nearly all knowledge of humans. In the past, only mechanists knew how to invoke its database, but now, after reacting with the Rain of Regrowth, it has turned into a form which everyone can learn knowledge from,” answered the Farseer.

“Wow, that’s fantastic …” commented Floria.

“I have learnt a lot from it. Unluckily, my brain is not a machine so that I cannot remember all the knowledge inside it. It is like an infinite book,” drawled the Farseer.

“Now I know why Aisling said that there was power of life inside the Matrix. It was because it contained nearly all the knowledges discovered by scientists, adventurers and explorers. Those knowledges are the essence of the civilization of humans…” murmured Stasha.

“By the way, I want to tell you something that I learnt from the Matrix. According to the research of a woman called Nahuala, that Altar of Life built by the high elves was in fact a way to communicate with Luna Nera, the second satellite of earth,” revealed the Farseer.

“So the earth has two moons?” asked Yanni excitedly.

“Yes, the normal moon is bright and pure, while Luna Nera is dark and ominous. When using the altar, Aisling gave her body and power to Luna Nera, while Luna Nera created the Rain of Regrowth to destroy Trigon and his secretion. That’s a trade,” narrated the Farseer.

“Aisling is alive! We can save her! There’s infinite knowledge inside the Matrix and we must be able to learn how to travel to Luna Nera, right?” questioned Yanni anxiously.

“It’s impossible to travel there. If there’s still machinite in this world, we may build a spaceship. But all the machinite has been destroyed by the Rain of Regrowth, hasn’t it? Besides, I can search in the database of the Matrix with keywords, and there’s almost nothing concerning ‘Luna Nera’,” sighed the Farseer.

III

Floria and Yanni said goodbye to Stasha and the Farseer.

On the way back to their own tent, they stood by and enjoyed the night scene for a minute. Everything was tranquil now, and bathed in the moonlight, all the tents in the tribe were rendered silver.

…

The siblings went back to their own tent. Their parents had all passed away and Aisling was gone, so that the Floria and Yanni had to live alone together now.

After entering their tent, Floria lit the fireplace, and it illuminated the whole tent.

Floria sat down on her bed, and Yanni sat beside her.

“Finally, we’re back at home,” Yanni breathed a sigh.

“It’s a lonely tent now, with only you and me,” Floria pointed out.

“Yeah. It’s a lonely tent,” consented Yanni.

“I feel like … I want to … I think I need a good cry right now. Crying in front of Stasha is embarrassing but now there are only you and I,” stuttered Floria.

“I understand. I want to … I need a good cry now too,” replied Yanni.

“For sure,” giggled Floria, tears began to stream down her cheeks.

Tenderly, she hugged her younger brother tightly. She felt safe inside Yanni’s arms. No wonder why Aisling had fallen in love with him incurably … Then, the siblings started to cry unrestrainedly in the arms of each other.

…

When their tears were dried, the two lay on the bed together, holding each’s hand.

“You’re thinking about Stasha, right?” asked Yanni.

“Yeah … The love between girls was forbidden … But I really … When I saw her, I couldn’t resist my feeling,” admitted Floria.

“You’ve hidden it well. Stasha won’t realize your feelings for her … She is not an insightful girl,” Yanni encouraged her.

“That’s true,” Floria nodded.

“I think you can … You can tell her how you feel for her,” advised Yanni.

“What if … What if she thinks that this is an incest?” asked Floria worriedly.

“So do you want to hide your feelings from her for your whole life. You only live once, sis. Be brave!” encouraged Yanni.

“You’re right. I only live once … What about the Farseer, will she get mad if she knows that I … I have fallen in love with her daughter … Maybe she wants to have a granddaughter, but I am a girl. Stasha and I cannot have a children,” whispered Floria, her face flushing.

“You can adopt one,” proposed Yanni.

“But that’s … Whatever, I am going to find Stasha, right now. Yanni, if I … If Stasha and I are together, will you be lonely and embarrassed, you know …” murmured Floria.

“I won’t. You have been taking care of me for more than ten years. Now, it’s time to pursue the thing that only belongs to you,” Yanni smiled.

“That’s right … But … I am a little scared, Yanni. Give me some bravery,” demanded Floria.

“How can I give you bravery?” queried Yanni.

“Hug me!” answered Floria.

Yanni gave Floria a warm hug.

Floria then left the room and ran towards the tent of Stasha and the Farseer. She and Stasha would go on a perfect date tonight.

After Floria left the tent, Yanni went upstairs to the room that used to belong to Aisling.

Gently, he opened the door. For a moment, he thought that Aisling was inside her room, waiting to give him a surprise.

But she was not.

In emptiness, Yanni lay on the bed that used to belong to her. There was her smell on it, the smell of flowers and grasses of the wilderness.

He wanted to cry again but he had run out of his tears.

“Aisling …” he whispered. He couldn’t remember when did he begin to have feelings for her.

When he was 12 years old, he met Aisling in the Dream Forest for the first time. He was a little afraid of her at that time, thinking that she might be some sort of demonic spirit wandering in the forest. But soon, he found out that she was only a lonely girl eager for friends …

Gradually, as he grew up, he began to have those feelings for her …

Thinking about those memories was useless right now. Aisling had left this world forever …

Sighing in vain, Yanni got out of Aisling’s empty bed.. Since even the database of the Matrix contained no methods of saving Aisling was impossible, there was no way to save Aisling.

The worst ending of this story was not that Aisling had sacrificed. The worst ending was that Aisling was not dead but there was no way to save her. It was the darkest despair …

IV

Heart thumping wildly, Floria walked into the tent of Stasha and the Farseer.

“Hello, Mistress Farseer … Can I take a walk with Stasha,” stuttered Floria, her face reddening.

“For sure you can. Won’t Yanni come with you?” replied the Farseer.

“He is … He is tired and now he is resting in our tent right now,” explained Floria.

“OK, since that, you two can enjoy the girls’ night. By the way, you and Yanni may feel lonely in that tent, so that Stasha and I want to move into your tent. Is that OK?” queried Floria.

“That’s great! We will love that!” exclaimed Floria, flushing.

“Aisling is gone and you three are going through a hard time. Sticking together can make you three happier,” added the Farseer.

“That’s true, Mistress Farseer,” consented Floria.

“Stasha is in her bedroom now, and you can find her there,” revealed the Farseer.

“Thank you,” expressed Floria gratefully.

Floria went upstairs to Stasha’s bedroom.

Stasha was happy to see her.

“Hey, Floria,” greeted Stasha, smiling.

“Can we take a walk? Just we two. Yanni is resting in the tent,” invited Floria shyly.

“Poor Yanni … He must be missing Aisling right now,” sighed Stasha sympathetically.

“He is, and he needs some time to get over his grief,” replied Floria.

After ten minutes, the girls arrived at the Dream Forest, which was immersed in tranquillity right now. Wrapped by the darkness of the night, the forest was dark and spooky. Holding hands, they were wandering in the forest carefreely.

One hour later, the girls arrived at Moonkiss Waterfall.

It looked beautiful like night, with fluorescent fishes swimming inside its water. The waterfall was glowing too, reflecting the silver moonlight.

“It’s beautiful,” commented Stasha.

“Yes, it is … Stasha … I,” stammered Floria.

“What’s up?” asked Stasha, confused.

“I want to say something to you … It’s my biggest secret,” announced Floria.

“Have you told this secret Yanni?” queried Stasha.

“Yeah, I have, now I am going to tell it to you … It’s that … Stasha … I …,” stuttered Floria.

“Your face is so red now! I guess … Have you gotten a boyfriend secretly?” speculated Stasha.

“No! Stasha, I … I love you!” revealed Floria.

Stasha’s face stiffened.

“That is … Well … I love you too,” replied Stasha embarrassedly.

“It’s not normal love … It’s like …” blurted Floria, with her face nearly as red as her hair. Then, she hugged Stasha tied and gave her a surprising kiss on her lips.

Stasha didn’t say anything after that. She looked at Floria in a daze.

Floria buried her face in her hands because of shame.

“I know this love is twisted … But I cannot hold it back,” whispered Floria.

“I am surprised that you love me … romantically. Floria … Please give me some time to think about it … I like you too, but I am not sure if it is … love … Oh … How could you … It’s my first kiss, Floria! You should have asked for my permission first!” complaint Stasha.

“I’m sorry, Stasha,” apologized Floria, lowering her head.

The girls stayed beside this Moonkiss Waterfall for about half an hour, and they headed back.

Both Stasha and Floria didn’t talk about their relationship along the way. They just talked about their childhood and other shared memory.

When they arrived back at the Camp of their tribe, Stasha asked a tricky question:

“Floria, have you had any feelings for Aisling?” queried Stasha.

“She is not my type,” answered Floria,

“Not my type either,” agreed Stasha suggestively, “I really wish that we could reunite with her.”

“So do I,” nodded Floria.

“I am thinking about that kiss. Since that’s my first kiss. You shall be responsible for that and I think I can try … I don’t know … I … Altogether, we can try to date for several weeks and we’ll see whether we can get on well with each other as … lovers …” proposed Stasha.

“That’s a good idea. Oh my heavens … What have I done today …” breathed Floria.

“You’ve done the right thing,” Stasha patted on Floria’s shoulder, “I’m tired and shocked so … Goodbye for now.”

“Goodbye … Stasha,” returned Floria. 

(The trilogy finished)