Selay and Nikola walked along a narrow path that was carved into the side of the mountain. Nikola followed closely behind Selay, looking up and around.
"Where are we going?" Nikola asked, glancing at the horizon. "Looks like we are almost at the top of the mountain."
Selay looked back at him and smiled faintly. " Be careful… we are almost there. Trust me."
"Okay… I trust you. " Nikola replied.
They kept walking until Selay suddenly stopped. Nikola caught up and stood beside him. His eyes widened as he looked down at the village.
The entire village spread out below them with thousands of houses scattered across the land like stars in a night sky.
"Told ya… I know a spot," Selay said with a proud grin.
"Wow… I can see the whole village from here. " Nikola said softly clearly amazed by it.
"Yup, and this is why I love this place. But we've gotta be careful. One wrong step and most people wouldn't survive a fall from here," Selay said, then sat down on the soft grass. "Come on, sit. Don't worry, you won't fall."
Nikola kept his eyes on the village below. "I heard there are other villages around here. Where are they?"
"Oh, the other villages?" Selay said, pointing to the thick jungle surrounding the village. "See those narrow paths inside the trees? They lead to different villages. Each village has its own people, different kinds of people. But here...this village....it's mostly folks who train to be warriors or risk their lives in battle."
"Oh… yeah, I heard that. That's why I decided to stay here," Nikola said, sitting beside Selay on the grass.
"Cool. So, you want to be a warrior too?" Selay asked.
"Yeah… By the way, you said this place is in the middle of the Grand Sea, right? But I thought there's nothing out there. Some people say there are fish-people underwater."
Selay nodded. "Well, there used to be no land in the middle of the Grand Sea. But five years ago, this place was made by Diana's father I mean Uncle Douzen. He's the one who created this whole island. And yeah, those fish-people? They're real. They're called mermaids. They live way down, deep under the water beneath this island."
Nikola turned to him, confused. "Wait… What do you mean he created this place? Did he bring land here from somewhere else?"
"No. He created this land with his power," Selay said. "He has this ability… he can make dimensions from his imagination. He imagined this place and shaped it like a real world, then brought that dimension into reality. I don't really understand how his power works, but that's what he told me."
"I see… That's a really cool ability I guess.. " Nikola said.
"It sure is," Selay nodded. "But I don't know much about it either."
Nikola frowned. "One more thing. You said this place was created five years ago, right? But I don't remember anything happening five years ago. And most people say it's been 15 years, not 5."
"Oh… yeah, I totally forgot," Selay said, scratching his head. "Yeah, to us it feels like five years. But for everyone who came after us, it's been 15 years."
"How?" Nikola asked, staring at him.
"I don't really know either," Selay said, shaking his head. "All I know is… somehow, we skipped 10 years of real-world time."
"What? Time skip?" Nikola's eyes widened. "How did you guys skip 10 years?"
Selay looked off into the distance, his expression unreadable. "I wish I could tell you. But I don't really understand it myself. That's just what happened."
"Uncle Douzen said that dimensions have different time flows," Selay explained. "Time doesn't work the same in every dimension. When he saved as many people as he could and brought us into his dimension, we only stayed there for a few hours. But during those few hours, ten years passed in the real world. And when Mr. Douzen returned the dimension to reality, it was like we skipped ten years. He said it had to be done....otherwise, Nios would've found us. By skipping through time, we avoided being noticed."
Nikola blinked. "I don't really understand all that... but wait a minute...now that this place is part of the real world, how come Nios still can't find us?"
"That's because the place we're in is covered by a force field," Selay said. "It makes everything inside invisible from the outside. And it's all thanks to the Queen of Atlantes. She gave us permission to stay here. Basically, there's a radius of Atlantes around this land where Nios or anyone else can't enter. The force field is strange… no one really understands how it works, but it hides everything inside. So as long as we're in it, no one can find us."
"That's a lot of information to take in," Nikola said, scratching his head. Then he sniffed his clothes and made a face. "Anyway… forget all that. I've been meaning to ask... where do people here even take baths?"
Selay chuckled. "There are a few options. There are pond-like spots in the village where most people bathe. Some rivers run through the villages too. People with water element powers can clean themselves at home using their abilities. Others carry water from the river or public water spots to use at home."
"Oh… I was trying to figure that out myself but couldn't understand such a simple thing," Nikola said, laughing softly. "I actually need a bath… haven't had one in days."
"There's a spot where I usually go," Selay said, standing up and brushing off his pants. "Come on, I'll take you with me."
Meanwhile…
Cara lay on her bed, her face buried in her hands. Her room was quiet, filled only with the sound of her breathing.
"Doulong… why did you say something like that?" she whispered to herself. "You should know that it's not possible…"
She spoke as if Doulong were in the room with her. But the room was empty. Then suddenly a knock on the door broke the silence. She sat up quickly.
"Is that Doulong again?" she muttered. "No… I don't think he'd come back so soon. Not after I kicked him out of my house."
Fixing her clothes, she walked to the door and opened it only to find Mr. Douzen standing right in front of her.
Her eyes widened in surprise as thoughts rushed through her mind.
"Mr. Douzen? What is he doing at my house in the middle of the day?"
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Selay and Nikola stood in front of a cave with a wooden door at its entrance.
"We've only known each other for not more than a day, and I already started thinking of you as a friend. That's why I'm bringing you here," said Selay.
"You think I'm your friend?" Nikola asked curiously.
"Well, yeah, I guess," Selay replied, opening the door. "I don't really have friends except Doulong, Diana and there is a girl who lives in a different village. I never really wanted to be anyone's friend in that way… but for some reason, I genuinely feel like you're a good person, even though we haven't known each other for long."
He stepped inside the cave and added, "Come on in."
Nikola entered and looked around. There were a few small wooden tables, a bed, some scattered papers, and a wooden closet.
"This looks like a room," said Nikola.
"Yeah, it is," Selay confirmed, walking toward another door on the opposite side. "We used to hang out here… we still do."
"Oh," Nikola said, nodding.
"Why did you ask that?" Selay suddenly asked.
"Ask what?" Nikola replied.
"I mean when you asked if I see you as a friend?"
"Oh, that," Nikola said as Selay opened the second door. He continued with a slightly sad face "It's because… I never had a friend."
As the door opened, they both stopped. In front of them, Diana was bathing in a lake formed by still seawater. She was nearly unclothed, sitting on a stone and pouring water over her body. Hearing the sound of the door, she turned and her eyes widened in shock as she saw Selay and Nikola.
She screamed in embarrassment, immediately covering her exposed skin with her arms. Nikola quickly covered his eyes with his hand.
"Ahh! What the hell are you doing here...and why is he with you ?!" Diana screamed.
Selay looked away from her and asked, "What are you doing here at this time?"
Diana quickly grabbed a towel nearby and wrapped it around herself. "What do you mean?"
"I mean, you don't usually bathe at this time, so I thought the place would be empty," Selay explained.
Diana glanced at Nikola and then back at Selay. "Don't you remember? We're going to the Stone Village this afternoon! What made you think I'd bathe at the usual time today?"
"Sorry," said Selay, looking a bit embarrassed. Nikola echoed quickly, "I am sorry too... "
Diana gave them both a sharp look as she walked past Nikola, saying to Selay "Come home when you're done," before slamming the door shut behind her as she entered the cave.
The lake rippled gently behind them, its surface calm beneath the soft glow of the cave's ceiling. There was a small patch of land near the edge before the water began.
Nikola slowly took his hand away from his face, visibly blushing. "That was… embarrassing. I'm really sorry."
"That's alright. It's not your fault," Selay said casually. "I totally forgot we had to leave for the Stone Village today. Good thing you reminded me...I really needed a bath." He began removing his top.
"The water must be cold, right?" Nikola asked.
"Well, yeah," Selay replied as he took off his shirt. "But don't worry. Nothing's going to happen."
As Nikola watched Selay's bare back, his eyes narrowed. There, just along Selay's spine, was a symbol which was white, faint, but clear and shaped like wings.
"Wait… what's that on your back?" Nikola asked.
"Huh? My back? What is it?" Selay said, trying to turn his head to look.
"There's a symbol on your back," Nikola said. "You didn't know that?"
"No… I've never seen anything like that before. What kind of symbol is it? Where exactly?" Selay asked, confused.
"It looks like wings. Small, white-colored. One on each side of your spine...left and right," Nikola explained.
"What? That's strange…" Selay said.
Nikola then pulled off his own shirt. "I have a similar symbol on my back."
"Really?" Selay said, surprised. Nikola turned around, revealing the same type of symbol but one wing white, the other black on his back in the exact same position as Selay's.
"I've seen something like this before," Selay said, stepping closer to the lake. He leaned over and looked at the reflection of his back in the still water. His eyes widened. "This… this exact symbol… my mom had it. Not just her my dad also had symbol like this. They had wing-like symbols. My dad's was golden. And Mr. Doulong… he has a wing type symbol on his back too, exactly in the same place as mine and yours."
"What does this mean?" Nikola asked, both amazed and confused.
"I don't know… Wait...how long have you known you had that mark on your back?" Selay asked.
"Ever since I was born, I guess," Nikola replied. "My mother... I mean, The woman who raised me always made sure to hide it from others. She wasn't my real mother, but she said that this symbol is the key to saving the world."
"Did either your real mother or father have this mark too?" Selay asked.
"I don't know. I've never met the woman who gave birth to me, and I've never seen my father, so I can't say," Nikola answered honestly.
Selay said softly, "Oh... I'm sorry…"
"Well, my mother… I mean, the woman who raised me, she was everything to me. The reason she was killed was because she hid this symbol from the rulers," Nikola said, his voice heavy with emotion. "That day, she told me to run as far away as I could. I didn't want to leave her… but I promised her I would. She was taken by the rulers, and when I returned to the village a year later, I found out she never came back. They probably killed her. I want to know what this symbol means… and why she was so desperate to hide it."
"They should pay for what they've done to humans… and all the innocent lives they're torturing," Selay said, his tone hardening with anger.
"Yeah... That's why I want to become a warrior. So I can fight them," Nikola continued. "My mother told me this symbol is the key to saving the world. If that's true, then it's my responsibility to do it. But I know nothing about it...except for what she told me."
Selay looked at him with determination in his eyes and said, "I'm sure Uncle Douzen must have the answer to this…"