Beside the Stone Tablet, Citlali was preparing to return with Lumine and Paimon to report their findings when she suddenly noticed an extremely faint hum emanating from the tablet.
It was like a peculiar vibration, resonating with some grand, cosmic rhythm.
In that fleeting moment of vibration, both Lumine and Citlali felt a subtle yet profound tremor beneath their feet.
It was as if an enormous heart, long dormant deep beneath the earth, had slowly and heavily... pulsed once.
"Huh? Did you just...?" Paimon tugged at Lumine's sleeve, nervously scanning their surroundings. Even the little fairy, hovering in the air, had sensed something unusual.
Citlali's head snapped up, her sharp gaze sweeping across the surroundings.
Centered on the Yohualtecuhtin Stone Tablet, the pure aura it radiated began to slowly intensify, becoming visibly stronger. Like ripples spreading across a pond after a pebble is tossed in, the expanding waves gradually pushed back the encroaching darkness and abyssal miasma with gentle yet unwavering force.
Wherever the light passed, the scorched and cracked earth, once ravaged by the Abyss, faintly pulsed with a dormant life force that had long been slumbering.
It wasn't the sprouting of plants, but rather a sense of... an "existence" being awakened.
The trio swiftly retreated several steps.
The ripples spread beyond the Stone Tablet, and the light surged across Natlan with astonishing speed.
"Wh-what's going on?" Paimon gasped, her tiny mouth agape. She could still see the fiery red ripples sweeping across the horizon.
Lumine was equally perplexed. Together, she and Paimon turned to Citlali for answers.
"I don't know what's happening either," Citlali said, her gaze fixed on the Stone Tablet. "The Lord of the Night is unresponsive. Mavuika must have sensed this massive anomaly too—she might know."
-
Speaker's Chamber.
As the ripple swiftly swept over her, Mavuika swiftly unleashed her Divine Sense to investigate. Finding nothing amiss, she began to examine the anomalies caused by the passing red light.
The answer was... utterly unremarkable!
A commotion erupted outside. Someone entered to report that the red light had swept through the entire Arena, not just her chamber.
Though no one appeared to have suffered any adverse effects, everyone couldn't help but feel anxious.
"Go tell everyone not to panic. We will swiftly determine the source of this red light," Mavuika instructed.
"Yes, Pyro Archon!"
-
Kinich had found the Scions of the Canopy Tribe, but his sister was still missing. He asked the tribe members, who said she had visited yesterday but left soon after. Beyond that, they knew nothing.
He also noticed the fleeting red light but dismissed it, prioritizing the search for his sister above all else.
"Sister... where have you gone?" Kinich murmured, his voice barely audible even to himself.
Why didn't she leave a word? What could have happened to make her leave so silently? Was she forced to flee, or... had she foreseen something and chosen to spare others from being involved?
Pure Soul... Pure Soul. Could that be the reason?
At such a critical moment, Kinich refused to believe his sister would misjudge the situation. She knew her own importance all too well.
If she vanished willingly, under these circumstances, then knowing her as I do, she must have found a better way...
And this method far surpasses the conventional approach!
Kinich returned home to find all the medicinal herbs his sister had left there gone.
A maelstrom of theories churned in his mind, each one sinking his heart deeper. He took a deep breath of the crisp air, scented with Dendro's coolness and Geo's earthiness, forcing himself to remain calm.
Whoosh—
Kinich's figure flickered, leaving his home to continue his search for his sister elsewhere.
-
Three days remained until the Abyss's first full-scale invasion.
Speaker's Chamber.
Kinich, exhausted from searching all night, dragged his weary body back to the chamber, where he found Lumine and the others deep in discussion. Ajaw was among them, and the moment he saw Kinich, he rushed forward.
"Kinich, did you find Sister?"
Kinich shook his head, his expression grim. He turned to Lumine. "Traveler, I remember your sword—the one that can track others with Pure Souls. Could it...?"
Back in the Night Kingdom, Lumine had used this very sword to locate her sister, who had nearly been killed by the Abyss.
Faced with Kinich's pleading gaze, Lumine sighed. "I'm sorry, I've already tried. I can't find her."
Kinich wasn't the only one who had considered using Unrelenting Will to find Ishkab. Lumine had thought of it much earlier. Unfortunately, the sword proved useless this time.
Kinich lowered his head in silence.
Regarding the red light that had swept across Natlan, Mavuika only knew that it had emanated from the Stone Tablet where the Lord of the Night resided, since the light had caused no detectable impact on the region.
Since it was caused by Yohualtecuhtin, Lord of the Night, it posed no threat to Natlan, so there was no urgency to investigate.
The critical issue now was Ishkab's whereabouts. Her disappearance not only derailed the Pyro Archon's plans but also jeopardized Lumine's contingency plan, forcing her to abandon it.
Yet, Lumine's greatest fear was that Ishkab's soul might fall into the Abyss's clutches.
Previous search parties had found no trace of Ishkab; she seemed to have vanished into thin air.
The group's recent discussion had revolved around Ishkab's situation. While they had previously speculated about her connection to the suddenly appearing Stone Tablet, they were now almost certain:
Ishkab was undoubtedly linked to the Stone Tablet's emergence!
Lumine then shared details about the actions of Pure Souls in other nations, leaving everyone present with an ominous sense of foreboding.
Paimon: "So, everyone's guessing that Ishkab was secretly doing something on her own, and that thing she was doing is connected to the Stone Tablet?"
Citlali: "She seems to have convinced Yohualtecuhtin, Lord of the Night, to help her. The Lord of the Night is busy with her matters, which is why we haven't been able to communicate with her."
Mavuika: "We don't know what Ishkab is planning, but since she chose to hide it from us, the price she might have to pay could be far greater than we imagine."
Kinich's lips twitched, as if he wanted to say something, but ultimately it only turned into a faint, almost inaudible sigh.
He stood up and walked, step by step, toward the Speaker's Chamber door.
His back remained straight and tall, yet it radiated an indescribable sense of loneliness and stubbornness.
"Hey, Kinich, where are you going?" Ajaw called out, his mouth gaping.
"To find her!"
Only action, even a futile search, could perhaps temporarily fill the void in Kinich's heart, the void that was about to be completely consumed by panic and grief.