Two months after Astaross's mother was buried, life started to return to normal. But even so, the Veylarins and Caldavarns still harbored suspicion toward each other. Astaross, meanwhile, was slowly getting his spark back. One afternoon, he and his friends were hanging out at a park on the edge of the village, chatting and playing like old times.
Cashew: Astaross, you don't seem gloomy anymore lately. Are you finally feeling better after what you… saw that day?
Astaross: I'm not sad anymore. That doesn't mean I've forgotten what happened. I'm just trying to stay positive and enjoy my days like before, hanging out with you guys. 😁
Cashew: I'm really glad to hear that, Astaross. 😄
Lucien: Yeah man, you gotta keep moving forward no matter what. That's life.
X: Alright enough talk, let's enjoy this evening before it gets dark. You know our parents will start hunting us down if we stay out too late.
Siro: Yeah, we don't have much time. Since that new policy from the security council, we barely get to play in the morning or afternoon. 😔
Tiber: Honestly, I think this park sucks. Why don't we just go swim at the river near the livestock farm?
Astaross: Not a bad idea. Let's go.
Cashew & X: Let's move!!
Lucien: Wait… we haven't told Emrik and Dario yet.
Siro: Ugh, the slowpoke duo again. But yeah, we can't just leave them. They're our friends too. Let's find them first.
Astaross: Yeah, we'll look for them on the way to the river.
Cashew: Can we just go already? Y'all take forever 🙄
They started walking together toward the river, planning to play in the water—and to find their two missing friends. But as they approached, they suddenly saw Emrik and Dario running toward them, panicked.
Siro: Yo! There they are—
Cashew: Wait, why do they look so freaked out? And why are they running?
Astaross: No time—let's chase after them!
Lucien: Hey! Why are you running?!
Emrik: Just run first! We'll explain later!
Dario: If you wanna stay alive, then RUN! 😫
X: Ugh, instead of running, why don't we just hide first? I'm exhausted already 😩
Dario: Everyone run toward the river and split up! We'll hide there!
Astaross: Alright, sounds like these two found something big 😂
Emrik: Just keep running… I looked back and I think we lost them. I'll tell you everything soon.
Five minutes later, at the river…
Astaross: Finally! We made it 😓
X: Yo, Dario, Emrik—spill it. What the heck happened?
Cashew: I hope it's not something terrible 😁
Emrik: I don't even know where to start… Dario, you explain 😅
Dario: So, we were actually on our way to meet up with you guys. But near the village market, we saw a bunch of steam trucks from the village security heading toward the center of town—like, a lot of them.
Dario: It's super weird. They don't usually roll out that many trucks just for routine patrols. You guys know what I mean.
Emrik: Lemme jump in here. So basically, out of curiosity (blame me), we followed those trucks all the way to the village center.
Emrik: We hid behind some houses and waited until they all entered what looked like a meeting hall. After that, Dario and I decided to sneak closer to find out what was going on.
Emrik: It just didn't feel like something normal.
Cashew: Okay not gonna lie… this story's kinda juicy 😁
X: Cas, zip it for a sec!
Dario: Astaross—just so you know—since your mother's incident, weird stuff has been happening in the village. Especially with security.
Emrik: That's why we decided to check it out.
Astaross: Don't worry. I don't mind.
Lucien: Just keep going, what happened next?
Emrik: So, we circled the building but couldn't find any way to peek inside. But luckily, Dario found a wall where we could clearly hear what the guards were saying.
Dario: Do you want me to just tell you what we heard, straight up?
X: Yeah, probably best 🤔
Tiber: Don't drag it out 🙄
Dario: Alright. Rik, take it from here—I couldn't hear everything clearly.
Emrik: Okay… so the guards were talking about some "ancient culture" stuff or whatever. They said something like:
"That recent event will eventually destroy Cryverra. We must silence all witnesses by any means necessary, so the old traditions can continue as usual. Don't let anyone ask questions. They don't need to know. Even I was shocked—after 2800 years of peace between Veylarins and Caldavarns, why must there be a murder now, and in our era? This is a ticking time bomb. Do everything you can to silence those witnesses."
X: Astaross… I think I know what they're talking about 😅
Astaross: Yeah, it's okay. I figured it out as soon as Emrik started the story.
Lucien: This is serious… is there more?
Emrik: Yeah. I remember more of what they said:
"We need to enforce new policies so the old culture can survive. Even though it's a bit late, we must restrict citizen movement. Anyone wanting to leave the village must report it—no exceptions. No one is allowed out after 10 PM. Kids will be re-educated with new lessons, teaching that Cryverra is—and always has been—a peaceful place."
Tiber: That… sounds like tyranny 🙄
Cashew: Okay, this is actually serious now. But wait—were you guys being chased?
Dario: Yeah, after we decided to leave, we didn't notice the guard dogs near the exit. They ignored us at first, probably not well-trained.
Dario: But Emrik—you know him—he accidentally kicked a rock into a metal gate and, of course, the dogs went berserk.
Emrik: Heheh 😅
Dario: So yeah… the dogs went wild, more guards poured out of the building, and we ran. Eventually, we found you guys and ended up here.
Lucien: Did either of you hear when those new rules start?
Dario: Uhh… I didn't catch that part.
Emrik: I did.
Lucien: When?
Emrik: If I remember right… they start tomorrow. 😁
Astaross: HUH!? TOMORROW!?
X: Okay, we're lucky we found this out before anyone else thanks to Dario and Emrik. But after hearing all that… don't you think we should do something crazy?
Astaross: Like what, X?
X: Like… run away from the village. 💀
Cashew: 😶
Tiber: That's an insane idea… but kinda exciting 🥶
Siro: Eight of us. Four with magic, four with brains. Planning to escape into the outside world? Are you guys sure?
X: Would you rather stay here under a government that makes up wild rules on a whim?
Astaross: Hmm… I agree. We need to act. All of us together—because we're friends.
Cashew: But… what about our parents? Are we just going to leave them?
Astaross: We're not leaving anyone. If we succeed, we'll find the answers to the questions no one has dared to ask. 😐
Siro: 😳😳
Emrik: But Astaross… we don't even know what your real magic power is yet.
Astaross: That's not a reason to do nothing.
Dario: Hey hey hey—look! Guards are coming!!
Lucien: Crap, it's almost dark! We stayed too long!
Cashew: Ughhh… we didn't even get to play in the river 😔
X: Looks like it's time to run again. Let's meet at the treehouse tomorrow—we'll plan everything there!
Astaross & Friends: Alright! Stay safe, everyone—see you tomorrow!