"So, a crystal of light and darkness… I like that name," said Ludra, gazing with fascination at the object before her. Its dark glow pulsed with latent energy, as if it were alive.
"Lady Ludra, what do we do with this thing now? Should we destroy it?" asked Dall, his innocent tone revealing both his inexperience and curiosity.
"Well, I don't know what we can do with it. The best thing would be to contact the professor or Karpi to figure out our next move," replied Ludra, crossing her arms as she examined the dark crystal carefully. Her tone was practical, but there was an undertone of uncertainty in her voice.
"And how exactly are we supposed to do that?" asked Jock, frowning. "I doubt any signals will reach us here." He looked around, assessing the rocky walls and low ceiling of the cave. "Besides, how are we even going to get out of here?" he added, letting out a frustrated sigh.
Ludra took out her communicator shell and tried to establish contact, but all she heard was static. "I think you're right, Jock. We can't rely on outside help, and we don't know how to get out of here either. We'll have to search the room."
Ludra instructed Jock and Dall to each take a glowing stone to better illuminate the area. With the rocks in hand, the three began meticulously inspecting the chamber, searching for something that could help them escape or understand the purpose of the crystal.
The place seemed to have been used recently; everything was in good condition, as if someone had abandoned it in a hurry. Ludra found some papers filled with drawings depicting the crystal. Though the information seemed valuable, it wasn't useful at the moment, so she decided to store it carefully to share with the professor or Karpi later.
Jock, on the other hand, discovered a computer with blinking lights moving erratically. It appeared to be connected to the room's system, but he couldn't decipher how it worked. Meanwhile, Dall, ever clumsy, tripped over something on the floor. As he got up, he noticed a kind of slit in the wall, as if that section were slightly displaced.
"Hey!" called Dall, pointing to his discovery. Ludra quickly approached and, upon examining the slit, found a small hidden control panel. Without hesitation, she pressed the button, and the wall slowly opened, revealing a massive elevator.
"This might be our way out," said Ludra thoughtfully. She observed the inside of the elevator and considered that they could use it to transport the crystal out of there. However, she had no idea where it led. It was a risk, but they didn't have many options if they wanted to leave this place.
Without further deliberation, they searched for tools to transport the transparent box containing the crystal. Jock found a metal cart that seemed sturdy enough. The three attempted to lift the box, but although it didn't appear heavy at first glance, it proved extremely difficult to move. Finally, Ludra found a metal bar they used as a lever. After several minutes of effort, they managed to hoist the box onto the cart and pushed it toward the elevator.
Once inside, they noticed a panel with numbers for entering a code. "And now what do we do?" asked Jock, crossing his arms in frustration.
"Well, I don't know the code," admitted Ludra, looking at the panel with uncertainty.
"Me neither," added Dall, nervously scratching his head.
The three exchanged glances, unsure of how to proceed. At that moment, true to his clumsy nature, Dall tripped again, this time over the cart. As he fell, his hands accidentally touched the panel, randomly pressing numbers. To their surprise (and luck), the elevator doors closed, and it began to ascend with a slight tremor.
"That boy is something special," Jock wondered aloud to himself, watching Dall with a mix of astonishment and confusion. For his part, Dall was lost in thought, internally berating himself: What an idiot I am. I need to be more careful.
"How strange, but how did this kid do it?" murmured Ludra, glancing back and forth between Dall and the elevator panel. Despite his clumsiness, there was no denying that his accidental intervention had saved them.
The elevator continued its rapid ascent until it reached the initial entrance, where the large rock that had previously blocked their path slid aside, allowing them to pass. Without wasting time, the three pushed the cart carrying the transparent box—and the dark crystal inside—heading back toward where the others awaited.
Meanwhile, Ban was visibly worried. He had never been apart from Ludra for so long, and anxiety was beginning to weigh on him. Rodelos, noticing his unease, placed a calming hand on his shoulder. "Relax, they're coming back. Besides, there are no enemies in the area now that the monster scared off the forces of the black shadows."
After a long wait, Ban spotted three figures approaching in the distance. They were pushing a large transparent box mounted on a cart, and inside it, the dark crystal glowed with an unsettling energy.
"Ludra!" Ban shouted, rushing toward them with urgency. His breathing was ragged when he finally reached her. "My lord, what's wrong? Why are you running like that?" asked Ludra, surprised by her leader's reaction.
"I was worried. I thought something had happened to you," Ban replied, catching his breath. His voice revealed a mixture of relief and frustration.
"No, sir, calm down. We were delayed due to some issues," explained Ludra, quickly glancing at Dall, who seemed too preoccupied trying to keep his balance. "But well, we found the crystal. Though it looks different from how we saw it in the village."
"Did Dall behave himself?" Ariafilis asked Jock, arching an eyebrow curiously. Jock hesitated for a moment, unsure whether to attribute the boy's contributions to luck or his usual clumsiness. Finally, he responded: "Well… somehow, he helped in finding the artifact."
"That's good," said Ariafilis, smiling faintly as she watched Dall. At that exact moment, the young man tripped over a rock again and fell to the ground. "Or not," Ariafilis added, stifling a laugh.
"And now, what do we do, sir?" Ludra asked, turning to Ban.
"What if we destroy it?" suggested Rodelos, frowning as he studied the crystal.
"No!" Ban interrupted quickly. "We can't just destroy it like that. If we do, the same thing that happened to me will happen to them." His tone was firm, making it clear that this was not a viable option.
"Then there's no other choice. We'll have to ask the professor," said Ariafilis. "Though he must be busy with the relocation of the other two realms."
"Let's call him," proposed Ludra, pulling out her communicator shell. When she activated it, Karpi appeared on the screen, and they quickly showed her the encapsulated crystal inside the transparent box.
"I have some notes about this thing. Maybe they'll be useful to you," said Ludra, pulling some papers from her backpack. "How can I send you the information?"
"It won't be necessary," interrupted Professor Kuang, who had been listening to the conversation from the background. "I'll send one of my Kbots to you in a few minutes. It'll arrive soon," assured the scientist, adjusting his glasses with enthusiasm.
After a few minutes, one of Professor Kuang's robots arrived at the camp. With a swift and precise motion, the Kbot inserted the documents into its internal compartment and disappeared as quickly as it had come. Everyone watched in awe as the document Ludra had handed over vanished before their eyes.
"Calm down," said the professor's voice through the connection. "The document is already on my computer. You can review it, Karpi."
Karpi, ever efficient, began examining the information on the professor's system. Her eyes sparkled with excitement as she read each line, analyzing the data with scientific precision. "So this crystal... it feeds on light and converts it into darkness, as pure energy," she murmured, visibly impressed. "That explains the color change: from light to absolute darkness." She paused before continuing, her tone now more serious. "But then... we won't be able to destroy any of these, will we?"
Ludra lowered her gaze, visibly disappointed. "I don't know, but if we can't destroy it, what do we do?"
"I wouldn't say that so soon," interrupted Professor Kuang, adjusting his glasses while holding several devices in his hands. His expression was one of absolute concentration, but there was also a mischievous glint in his eyes. "What did you say, sir?" asked Karpi, leaning closer to the screen.
"Well, listen carefully," replied the professor, adopting a didactic tone. "Energy cannot be destroyed, only transformed. So instead of destroying the crystal, we're going to purify it. If we can reverse its corrupted nature, we might be able to free that region from the perpetual dark sky."
Rodelos frowned, confused. "And how do you plan to do that, Professor?"
The professor grinned widely, almost mischievously, as he held up a small device in his hands. "Well, how else? With the help of my Kbot by your side and an invention I installed some time ago. I've always wanted to use the Energy Cleanser!" His Machiavellian smile elicited a mix of admiration and apprehension from the others.
"Let's begin Operation Darkness Cleanup!" exclaimed the professor, clearly thrilled to put his idea into practice.