Chapter 12
"Imaginary World"
As the frigid breeze blew Adrian's ashen hair, a faint voice was whispering into his ears. A masculine voice, indeed. In a slow yet calm motion, he opened his gray-colored eyes and soon found Derron was trying to wake himself.
Adrian then carefully sat on the lifeless ground, a pure horrendous terrain with withered grass. Soon he gained his vision, and saw something baleful…
His eyes stumbled upon a ghastly world, a twisted dreamscape devoid of gold. Numerous dark pillars stretched their bodies to the heavens, where the skies were entirely adorned by a lightless sun.
The sun stood in there, in the heavens, unwavering. The celestial object's movement was like still, it is indeed declaring that the world was darned with constant night.
Adrian soon noticed the sudden changes of their outfits, their styles. Derron was endowed with gray-colored hair, he wore a black coat and grayish clothes along with dark trousers.
While Allie, she wore a plague-doctor-like mask, her gray hair streamed down her back like a waterfall of ash. She also wore a darkish coat, extending until her hips. She stood behind Derron, looking at Adrian in concern.
"Phew!… I'm glad you're fine. Does that girl want to kill us, by sending us into this dark world!? I never expected we're playing this game…" Derron murmured, offering his right hand to Adrian.
Adrian quivered as he tried to stand up, and soon was able to stand by the help of Derron. He looked around in unease, and sometimes followed by an unexplainable fear.
"We're playing the Game of Gold, right? And where's the gold? I'm only seeing a horrible landscape, nothing is yellow here." Adrian asked in confusion, Derron too was unable to explain it furthermore.
"I don't know either…" Derron whispered amidst the howling wind, it is true that the breeze was slowly freezing them to death.
"Um… Derron, I think we must take shelter, it's becoming cold here…" Allie muttered at Derron, her hair furiously blown by the whispering wind.
"You're right, Allie. We must quickly take shelter before the chilling wind freezes us to death. Let's depart…" Derron replied to her, his words levitated with warm steam.
Adrian and Allie were collectively nodded, with Derron guiding them through the frigid wind in search of shelter.
…
As the wind started to become coarse, Adrian, Derron, and Allie began to speed up their steps. Their footprints were left on the ashen ground, and perhaps creating fatal mistakes for leaving trails behind.
When their visions began to blur, Adrian suddenly felt his hair was perched by something strange. He wagged his hair harshly, before mumbling to Derron with a little bafflement, "I think it's starting to rain, Derron… we should quickly find a nearby house or whatever to save us."
Allie seemed noticed about the rain too, she then hurriedly whispered to Derron in peculiar sense, "C-Cadeyrn is right, Derron… it's starting to rain, but I'm also feel something odd for the rain…."
Derron suddenly stopped his steps, withdrawing his left hand and letting the so-called rain to perch on his hand. He then gently rubbed his left hand with the other one, before uttering in an uneasy manner, "It's not rain… it's… ashes."
Soon Adrian and Allie were left baffled by the truth Derron had spoken, they immediately tried to clean their clothes after receiving the fact from the glasses boy. In fear and perhaps… disgusts.
Until one moment when they spotted a wooden cabin in the midst of forming ashes, Adrian immediately pointed his finger toward the sole cabin followed by him shouting, "Derron! Look, a cabin!"
In hurry, they hastily ran toward the cabin, breathing heavily and leaving warm steam behind. As soon as they entered the cabin, Derron immediately shut the aged wooden door in a rush.
Afterwards, Derron instantly asked the condition of Adrian and Allie, caring for their lives too, "Are y'all fine?... We're lucky to find this empty cabin, before that chilling weather sends us to our demise."
Adrian then soon replied to Derron, while carefully observing his surroundings, "We're fine… also it's so dark here. I think this cabin is forsaken by its owner…."
Allie breathed heavily, gasping for air. While Derron was examining the cabin, he saw an old table on the left side, with an unlit lantern on top of it. He then slowly walked toward the table in search of anything useful for increasing their survival rate, he sat on a wooden chair near the table while inspecting the lantern.
Adrian then noticed a closed wooden chest in the opposite direction of the table, he soon stood up and stepped toward the abandoned wooden storage. In curiosity, he tried to open the chest… until he managed to crack it open, and saw a few unknown stuff inside.
His eyes were immediately locked by a black stone inside the chest, he gently picked it up and observed the stone in curiosity. He then showed the stone to Derron, and said, "Derron, look at this…."
He soon walked toward him with the feeling of bizarreness, he right away handed the mysterious object to Derron. With him trying to decipher it, he then remembered something and immediately told Adrian and Allie about it, "Ah! I remember a tale about someone who was searching for an ancient artifact… I think the tale's name is 'the Golden Ring.'"
"'The Golden Ring?' I-is that the name of the artifact?..." Allie curiously asked, her glance was locked at the stone and Derron.
Derron then proceeded to explain the tale furthermore, giving Adrian and Allie new information, "Nameless Bearer is the one who wields the Golden Ring after defeating the old wielder… in their journey, they use a black stone and was put into a lantern, making the stone glows."
"Wait… if we do the same method, does that mean the stone would glow according to the tale?" Adrian raised his eyebrows, his eyes fixed on the stone curiously like Allie.
Derron thought for a moment, then hesitantly answered the query, "I think yes… if no, then we're doomed."
After that, Derron then gently put the dark stone into the lantern while invoking for aid in his heart. Magically, the stone began to shine upon them in gold color, the first yellow too was born. The dark world shall face its first gold.
They immediately cheered in happiness upon seeing that, they glared at the shining lantern in shimmer, while a smile slowly etched on their faces. The lifeless cabin immediately turned into a temporary haven, with its inhabitants delighted by beatitude.
"It's working!" Derron shouted happily, he glared at Adrian and Allie in disbelief. The tale was true.
"It's so beautiful…" Allie whispered gently, she stepped forward and looked at it with a smile.
Adrian looked at it with a pure smile of joy, even in the darkest time hope still reached him. He then slowly sat down, before whispering with a relief, "Thank you, Lord… huh… Derron, how do you know about that tale?..."
Faced with a question, Derron immediately plunged into deep thought, he curled his lips before replying to him, "Well, I'm reading a few books and maybe tales, so that's why."
"Okay… I think we must plot a plan on how to defeat Tyva and Helmond now… and return to the real world." Derron then sat down to respect Cadeyrn, he looked at Adrian and Allie with a smile.
With the group planning on how to defeat their formidable hindrances, Derron acted as a planner while also waiting for the gale to calm and smooth. After all, Adrian, Derron, and Allie were plotting their scheme under the light of gold.