The monstrous creature exploded into a thousand pieces, leaving only its hind legs on the ground. Everyone present froze as they saw an unmoving figure before them, radiating a golden energy that seemed to vibrate in the air. The glow slowly faded, revealing Paltio.
No one could believe it. He was alive. They looked at each other, wondering how he had managed to survive and, even more so, what that energy surrounding him was.
Paltio raised his hand and gave a weak wave, but before he could say anything, his legs gave out. He fell forward, but Mok rushed to catch him just before he hit the ground.
"Master! What joy to see you're safe and alive!" exclaimed Mok, but Paltio didn't respond.
Mok pressed his ear to the boy's chest and heard his heartbeat.
"It's only fainting," he announced with relief.
The others relaxed as well when they saw the copies of the monster begin to disappear. Pax took the opportunity to pull out a knife and extract the claws of the Oboros before the creature's body vanished completely. He carefully stored them in his belt.
Everyone exited the cave. Mok carried Paltio in his arms as they descended the hill and returned to the carriage. Once there, they laid the boy down on one of the seats and patiently waited for him to wake up.
Meanwhile, in Paltio's mind, someone was calling out to him insistently.
"Hey! Are you okay? I think I might've overdone it…" said an unfamiliar voice.
"Paltio! Get up already, brat."
"Huh? Where am I?" asked the boy as he opened his eyes.
"Apparently, you're dreaming because you passed out, or we're inside your mind. I'm now part of you, so I suppose this is real," explained the voice, which belonged to Golden.
"So… is this real?" Paltio extended his hand and touched Golden. "I guess I can touch you."
"Wow, I didn't think that would be possible in this world without your seed," commented Golden, surprised.
"And… who's hiding behind that armor?" asked Paltio, curious.
"Well, I'd make a joke about it, but I can't take it off. I've tried," responded Golden lightly.
"I see," murmured Paltio.
"And well, what do I look like?"
"I'm a living being, though you can't see me for now. When I find Avocios, maybe he'll be able to remove my armor. But anyway, I have two ears, blue eyes, and I'm taller than you," replied Golden.
"We all have two ears," retorted Paltio, smiling faintly.
"Ha, ha, I know, but that's all I've got. Well, it's time for you to wake up. When you open your eyes in the real world, we'll talk, and we'll see if I can train you to master my power while we're connected," said Golden before vanishing.
Paltio's eyes shot open, and he saw his friends gathered around him.
"Paltio!" they shouted in unison, hugging him tightly.
"Who's Golden? You were delirious for a while, even until just now," asked Alita, frowning with concern.
"It's my seed; that's its name. I think being inside that monster made you delirious, buddy," Ron remarked with a sarcastic smile.
"Ha! No, that's really its name," Paltio replied, slightly annoyed.
"Sure, of course…" Ron said, still mocking him. "Mine is named Roldan, and it doesn't say a word to me."
"Master, I think you should keep resting," Mok suggested, his expression bright with happiness at seeing Paltio safe.
"No, absolutely not! You have to believe me!" Paltio insisted.
"Talking seeds? Sure, why not!" Pax exclaimed incredulously.
"Hey! The kid's telling the truth," interjected an unfamiliar voice.
"Who just spoke?" everyone asked, startled.
"That would be me, Golden," responded the knight from the hologram projected by Paltio's seed. "Paltio was telling the truth," he confirmed as everyone looked on in shock.
The hologram revealed the figure of a knight clad in golden armor. Everyone was left speechless, especially Ron, whose astonishment was palpable.
"Of course," Golden stated confidently, addressing them from the projection. His visor concealed his eyes, hidden behind the imposing armor. Then, he fixed his gaze on Pax. "You're quite an intriguing person. I admire how you guard such a big secret, little warrior of the Red Shadows."
"Hey! What are you talking about? I'm not hiding anything!" Pax retorted, visibly uncomfortable.
"Golden! I tell you not to go reading people's minds without permission. That's rude, as you'd say to yourself," Paltio scolded him sternly.
"Don't you want to know who's traveling with you, boy?" Golden asked, momentarily ignoring the warning.
"No, not for now. He'll tell us who he is when the time comes," Paltio answered firmly.
"Very well, then, my prince. I apologize. It won't happen again… unless it's necessary," Golden said, bowing slightly within the hologram.
"Good, I expect so," Paltio replied in an authoritative tone.
"As always, compassionate and noble, my lord Paltio," Mok commented admiringly.
Ron leaned toward Alita and whispered, "I wanted to know what secret that guy Pax was hiding."
Inside his armor, Pax sighed deeply. What secret was he talking about? Could it be about my true self? I hope not, he thought. Thank goodness the prince said not to reveal anything.
"Alright, stop fooling around," Pax interrupted, trying to shift the focus. "Instead of this, we should be looking for the scepter piece."
"He's right," Paltio agreed. "Hey, Golden, you know how to find it, don't you? Since you're close to Avocios."
"Finding the piece of the scepter containing my lord's magic is child's play, boy," Golden replied calmly. "But I don't feel like doing it."
"Please, help us. It's extremely important," Paltio urged him.
Alita and Ron also stared intently, waiting for a response. Mok stepped closer and added, "Please, sir, assist Prince Paltio in his mission."
"I don't know…" Golden said thoughtfully. Then, he turned his gaze back to Pax. "How about if the armored figure in the red cape, that 'Red Shadow,' begs me for help? Maybe then I'll do it."
Paltio looked at Pax, who returned his gaze. Recalling how Pax had saved him from revealing his secret, Paltio said:
"Lord Golden, could you please help us with the search for the pieces?"
"Very well, I'll think about it on the way to the palace," Golden replied, making a sound that resembled a suppressed laugh.
"But I didn't retrieve the Oboros claw! How am I supposed to face that villain, Tertrol?" Paltio exclaimed, distressed.
"Oh, calm down, little prince!" Pax interrupted, holding up two large, sharp claws. "I got them before the beast disappeared. I'll give you one and keep the other. Does that work for you?"
"Hey! But Paltio defeated that thing," Alita interjected, glaring at Pax with annoyance.
"Yes, he did defeat it," Ron added, backing Alita.
"Well, I defeated it with Golden's help," Paltio said, shrugging humbly.
"Alright, if you give me one, you can keep the other," Paltio finally agreed.
"Deal," Pax responded.
"And what do you want that claw for?" Mok asked curiously.
"It's for when I see a blacksmith. They'll be able to forge me a good sword with these hard claws from the beast," Pax explained with determination.
"As far as I'm concerned, you can keep it, but you won't say anything about Golden to anyone, not even Tejod," Paltio warned seriously.
Pax looked at him and replied:
"Agreed. We have a deal." He extended his hand to seal it, and the prince shook it, closing the pact.
Everyone climbed into the carriage and headed toward the palace. Before arriving, Paltio said to Golden:
"Don't appear in front of the villains. We couldn't fight all of them alone—just the four of us—and obviously, Pax isn't going to get involved in the battle."
"Fine, I'll stay inside your seed as usual," Golden responded, slightly frustrated at not being able to intervene.
Upon arriving at the palace, Tertrol feigned surprise upon seeing Paltio and his friends alive.
"How is it possible that you're still alive? I thought the beast would devour you," Tertrol commented with a mocking smile, hiding his true face of rage beneath a mask of false calm.
"So, do you have what I asked for?" Tertrol inquired with feigned interest.
"Yes," Paltio replied, pulling the Oboros claw from one of his pockets.
"Well done, boy," Tertrol said, though his gaze fell to the prince's feet. But I see you lost your shoes during the quest... Look at you, just wearing socks, Your Highness. Now you won't feel superior to me anymore, foolish child, Tertrol thought to himself, concealing a malicious grin.
"What a shame," he added aloud, pretending compassion. "Now you can go in search of what Tejod requested."
At that moment, the glowing orb floating in the sky, created by Tertrol, began to darken.
"Oops! Looks like the day is over," Tertrol said with a sinister laugh.
"We won't be able to search for the piece without light," Ron said worriedly.
"But we have Pax's blue fire," Alita quickly pointed out.
"Not much left, brats," Pax interjected, crossing his arms. "It'll only last for one more stretch of travel. I'll need to send a message to Lord Tejod with the firebirds to get more."
"Well, then do it," Alita said firmly.
"Fine, I will, but it's going to take time," Pax replied, irritated. "And let me remind you—you follow my rules. One of them is that no one gives me orders."
"Took you long enough… I thought you'd forgotten," Paltio remarked sarcastically.
"Huh, I thought you were clueless, but not entirely," Ron quipped, prompting laughter from everyone.
"Well, I see you can't keep searching in the dark. Perhaps tomorrow I'll raise my fiery sun again," Tertrol said with a frigid smile. "But if you find the piece tomorrow, you'll have to show it to me."
"Agreed, it's a deal," Paltio responded seriously.
Tertrol stared at him intently before adding:
"This time, you'll spend the night in one of these abandoned houses."
"If there's no other choice…" Paltio said, shrugging. This made Tertrol look at him with disdain, thinking someone of royal blood would never stoop to staying in a humble dwelling.
"Very well, little prince, you can stay in that house, and your helpers too," Tertrol said with a mocking smile before turning and heading back to the castle.
In one of the houses—a small, two-story structure that appeared half-repaired—the four entered. Pax headed to one of the rooms and announced:
"I'm going to check in with Tejod and, while I'm at it, request more blue fire."
With that, he locked himself in a room on the second floor.
"So, I can come out now, right?" Golden asked from within Paltio's seed.
"You already did," Paltio replied as the golden knight emerged, casting a faint glow over the room.
"Well then, what do you want to do today? You're losing another day," Mok asked curiously, looking at Paltio.
"We should investigate what happened to the citizens of this place and figure out what that 'mysterious room' is," Paltio suggested.
"Ooh! A bit of intrigue, I see," Golden commented playfully. "But if you're going out, first you'll need new shoes. Didn't you pack an extra pair?"
"I don't think so," Paltio responded, quickly checking his bag.
"Then I'll have to give you some," Golden said, placing his hands toward Paltio's feet through the hologram. Suddenly, a pair of sturdy brown boots materialized.
"These boots are indestructible," Golden explained proudly. "Plus, they have something else that'll help you on your journey."
"Boots that do more stuff?" Ron asked incredulously.
"You'll see. I don't want to spoil the surprise," Golden replied with an enigmatic smile.
"Alright, let's go," Paltio said decisively.
The four slipped quietly out of the house, carrying small lanterns Mok had brought along. They walked silently through the pitch-black night until they heard noises coming from what seemed to be a basement. Carefully, they opened the door, and their shock was immense at what they found inside.