Sel and Calix were fighting when Thea and Asuren found them. Asuren grabbed Calix and pinned him down on the ground.
"What do you think you're doing?" Asuren punched his friend in the face. "Do you want to die?"
"I want to check on my sister!!!" Calix looked terrified. "Lilia is in the southern region! She could have gone missing! You know how curious she can get!"
"I'll take you back!" Asuren said and Calix calmed down a bit.
"We will go with you," Thea willingly offered. "It must be better to cross the barrier in big numbers."
Asuren stared at Thea. He finally understood the reason he and his friends stayed alive after crossing the barrier. Even though it was dormant, he still had a seal inside of him. But Thea also crossed the barrier with Riz. One of them was probably a keeper of another dormant seal.
"Let's move," Thea grabbed Sel. "I already told Riz to stay here with Gia, Ayhan, and Juliann. Let's try to find two seals this time."
Asuren nodded. Everyone had spread their wings, wrapped their hands around each other, and then soared towards the deadly barrier.
^#########^
"Is the deadly barrier getting weaker?" Thea wondered because the four of them only got minor burns.
"Let's not talk in the open," Asuren wanted to tell them about the seal inside of him but not in an area that was unprotected. What happened last time could happen again. A silhouette could emerge out of nowhere.
"Let's see Lady Lagoona," Calix led the way but stopped when a tall and beautiful lady had walked out of the shadows.
"Asuren? Is that you?" the stunning fairy scanned Asuren with her dark blue eyes. "The rumors are true. You are out of the Nightgloom Fortress," she cautiously approached him, oblivious of the other fairies around him. "How did you do it? Did you really escape or did she let you out?"
"Lady Lagoona, I will answer all your questions once we get to a safer place," Asuren looked around them with worry.
"Right," Lady Lagoona smiled and spread her elegant light blue wings. "Follow me."
They soared deeper into that forest for hours until they reached a vast marshland. They hurried inside the only cabin in the area. It was floating in the middle of the place, surrounded by plenty of vibrant waterlilies and lotuses.
"Calix, you are also here," Lady Lagoona finally noticed the fairies around Asuren. She closed the door and chanted a spell. "This place is safe. You can stay here for as long as you want. Just be more careful when you walk in and out of this marshland. Make sure that no one is trailing you," she paused and carefully examined Thea and Sel. "I've never seen you two before. But I don't sense any evil intention from any of you and Asuren looks comfortable with your presence. I think you can stay here too."
"You just told us to be more careful but you only noticed our presence after closing that door?" Calix glared at the stunning fairy.
"I was too focused on Asuren," Lady Lagoona looked away from Thea and Sel to lit the fireplace.
Thea remembered that it was a bit cold in Nightfall Realm because of the frequent raining but there in the southern region, the air was chilling.
"Aside from that, my mind is occupied with my missing companions…" the stunning fairy sighed and settled on a chair next to a round table.
"Was one of them Albert?" Calix slumped on the floor near a spacious bed.
"Have you seen him?" Lady Lagoona suddenly looked hopeful.
"We did," Calix let out a heavy sigh before saying, "We saw him at Daybreak Realm… before he faded… into ashes…"
"I told him not to cross the deadly barrier!" Lady Lagoona bolted up on her feet. She clenched her fists and tears welled in her dark blue eyes. "That stubborn warrior! I told him he will die! Now I have to tell his family the bad news."
"We will go with you," Calix hastily got up on his feet. "Albert told us that some of the children in this region had gone missing. I need to check on my little sister."
"Lilia is also missing. Forgive me, Calix," Lady Lagoona looked more remorseful.
"Since when?" Calix clenched his fists.
"Three days ago," Lady Lagoona stepped in front of the closed entrance door. "I forbid her to investigate the perimeter of Snow Mountain. I guess that only made her more curious about the disappearance cases."
"We will check Snow Mountain," Calix was trying his best to stay calm.
"You should," Lady Lagoona agreed despite the anxiety in her dark blue eyes. "But you have to be extra careful. That place is perilous. Bird fairies suddenly became more defensive of their territory. I sent some of my best warriors to investigate that area. Only one of them had survived. I also tried and fought a few bird fairies. I demanded answers from them but they only killed themselves. From then onwards, there was this thick and cold mist that prevents me from reaching snow mountain and keeps taking me back to the edge of this marshland."
"We will be careful," Calix spread his wings but Lady Lagoona stopped him from opening the door.
"You cannot march in that place unprepared," she pulled some fur coats from the cabinet and a huge backpack. "I have more questions but for Asuren but that can wait until you find the missing children. Here," she had given Calix the clothes and the backpack. "I know you can easily make fire but you still need to bring some flint and firewood."
"Thank you, Lady Lagoona," Calix wore one of the thick overcoats and carried the backpack. Asuren, Thea, and Sel had also worn one before leaving the cabin.
^############^
As they move closer to the snow-covered mountain, the air grew colder, the mist thicker, and Asuren less comfortable.
"What's wrong?" Thea held his hand that was trembling. His eyes were wide with fear as he stared at the thick mist. "Is it the Evil Witch? Is she here?"
"I am here," a chilling voice echoed around them and beyond the thick mist, not far in front of Asuren, a silhouette with dark purple eyes had manifested. "I've been here for quite a while, searching for a way inside this annoying Snow Mountain."
Asuren dropped on his knees and held his painful head. He was staring at the ground, terrified.
"What are you doing to him?" Thea summoned wind blades but refrained from attacking. The Evil Witch could hurt Asuren without touching him. He could suffer more if she acts with recklessness.
Sel and Calix also called forth their weapon and surrounded Asuren, protecting him from the Evil Witch.
"I only scratched the seal on one of his locked memories," the silhouette wickedly smiled. "I need him distracted so I can easily do this," she flicked her fingers and Asuren instantly fainted while her body had vanished out of thin air.
"Asuren…" Thea knelt in front of their unconscious friend but stopped when he stirred and opened his eyes. They were no longer green but dark violet.
"Are you scared, Princess?" Asuren had spoken but his voice was that of the Evil Witch. "Don't worry. I will not hurt you. If you let me take this prisoner without a fight, I will even free Lilia unharmed."
^#############^