FOURTH BOOK OF THE CHRONICLES OF FANTASILIA SERIES
𝘈 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘯 𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘭. 𝘈 𝘣𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘦. 𝘈 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘲𝘶𝘦𝘴𝘵. 𝘈 𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦.
Xanthiene Vivenca, a fairy with a bounty for her soul, is caught between...
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2412, Iclis 18, Briss
Cirasa stared at the new spike that sprouted from the wall like a plant fast-forwarded. Xanthy edged away from the spikes like they would suddenly spring and skewer her. What was it now? "What did you do?" Xanthy whirled to Cirasa who dusted his robes as he stood up.
"I did nothing!" Cirasa raised his hands in the air. Another spike sprung towards him. He ducked, tucking his head in his arms, just as the point of the rock struck the place where his head had once been. "What's happening?" he straightened and waved his hand at the cave. "Why is this cave trying to kill me?"
"Probably because of something you did or something you said," Xanthy scratched her head and looked around. Without access to the trail dimension, it's impossible to tell if there were spells cast on this cave.
She shook her head and started walking. The faster they were out of this cursed cave, the better.
"What, I can't say 'nothing'?!" Cirasa muttered under his breath as he stalked after Xanthy. After his close calls with the spikes, he kept his hands beside him.
Xanthy shrugged, stepping out of a spike's way before ducking to avoid bumping her head from the one hanging by the ceiling. "Maybe it's just the magic in this cave malfunctioning," she raked her gaze at the cave's garnet walls and floor before jerking her chin forward. "Come on. Let's get through this."
Cirasa nodded and crossed his arms, falling into step beside Xanthy as they weaved between spikes.
"What's a devil, anyway?" Xanthy said after a few minutes of walking. She tapped her chin as she ran through the verse that talked about the Devil's Mouth. "What is the other thing the verse referred to? Angels? What are those?"
"They're literary symbols," Cirasa scratched his head. "Devil is used to describe something foul, bad, or just plain evil. Angels represent something good."
Xanthy snorted. "They make up words just for that?"
"Oh, it's not that made up," Cirasa shook his head, his pale hair bouncing against his forehead. The dim light made the strands closer to white. If Cirasa wasn't wearing white robes or if he didn't have a darker complexion, Xanthy would have mistaken him for June. Her heart twinged at that reminder of what she's here for.
"The first Ancient Virtakiosis are known to have been the source of those terms," Cirasa was saying the moment Xanthy turned back into the conversation.
Xanthy raised her eyebrows. "The first Ancient Virtakiosis? There are those like me?" Indeed, that would be wonderful. Perhaps, they could save the world and not her.
"They're from the World Beyond," Cirasa inclined his head. "Are you?"
Xanthy pouted. "No," she paused as a bout of silence enveloped them. Then, she took a deep breath and turned to Cirasa. "Do you know what the World Beyond looks like?"
