"Kilibur?" everyone echoed in unison. "Can a guardian really be a child?" Ron asked, his tone tinged with doubt.
"Of course not," Toco-Toco meowed, swishing his tail with an air of mystery. "He only looks like a child. He's far older than he appears."
"Then we must save him," Paltio declared with determination.
"It won't be easy, boy," Paris warned, crossing his arms.
"It doesn't matter. If he's a friend of our friend Golden, we'll do it no matter what," Paltio affirmed firmly, his eyes gleaming with resolve.
"Yes!" the others chimed in unison, following Paltio's lead. Golden looked at him with admiration and said,
"Thank you, everyone."
Even the cat was taken aback by Paltio's response and how readily the others had agreed without hesitation.
"He's not as foolish as I thought… meow," Toco-Toco murmured to himself.
After that, Golden proceeded to show Paris the images of Paltio's experiences. Though he couldn't read minds in this realm, he did have the ability to project visual memories. When it was over, Paris exclaimed,
"Oh! I'm so sorry, young prince. After all you've been through…"
"Yeah, welcome to the club," Lukeandria quipped with an ironic smile. Paltio simply returned a warm, grateful grin.
As everyone began devising a plan to rescue Kilibur, Paris continued deciphering the writings in the book.
"I think I felt something when we were in the underground canals," Paris murmured, focusing intently on decoding the symbols.
"Is this a letter or not?" he wondered aloud while reviewing the documentation.
"May I take a look?" Golden interjected, studying the symbols closely. After a few seconds, he added,
"This is an ancient language, used only by the guardians."
Golden now understood exactly what it meant and helped unravel the hidden message.
"It says what we seek lies beneath the ground," he explained, completing the translation of the book's message.
Once everything was decoded, Paris asked,
"Would you teach me the ancient language?"
"When we finish this mission, I'll consider it," Golden replied, leaving the answer hanging in the air.
The problem now was how to leave without being detected by the guards. For this, Lukeandria had an idea:
"We could use the underground canals. Almost no one uses them," she suggested confidently. Fortunately, there was an access hatch in the house where they were staying. Everyone decided to leave immediately, though they feared the soldiers might return and search the place again.
"There's no time for trivialities," Lukeandria urged. "We need to go as soon as possible."
Without further delay, they all began descending into the canals. The underground tunnels were wide and branched off in multiple directions, forming a labyrinth of paths. Paltio thought this might align with what he'd seen on the mental map during his search.
"It's possible…" Golden murmured, nodding slowly.
Everyone stopped in front of the labyrinth of paths, uncertain which one to take.
"Maybe Toco-Toco can help us with this," Ron suggested aloud.
Toco-Toco stepped forward and began inspecting the tunnels with his glowing green eye, trying to detect any clues. However, he found nothing useful.
"I know what to do," the cat declared, and with a leap, he began racing along all the paths at breakneck speed, leaving trails of dust behind him with every back-and-forth dash.
"That cat always does things like that. That's why he's so slippery," Chiki muttered, a mix of irritation and exasperation in his voice.
After several runs through the tunnels, Toco-Toco discovered a massive door covered in symbols deep within one of the passageways.
"That must be it!" Paris exclaimed, comparing an image from the book to the door before them.
The cat had led them down the right path. What could have taken an eternity due to the maze of possibilities was reduced to mere minutes thanks to Golden's companion.
They pressed onward until they reached the door. It was immense, with inscriptions in the ancient language that appeared to be hand-carved. The structure resembled a vault, but there was no visible lock or mechanism to open it.
"Leave it to me," Chiki declared confidently. With a punch charged with brute force, he attempted to knock it down, but the door didn't even budge. The dog growled in frustration and began battering it from every angle, unleashing a flurry of furious strikes. Yet the door remained unscathed, resisting each blow without a single scratch. Only a small section glimmered momentarily before fading back into obscurity.
"Foolish dog, things aren't done with brute strength," Toco-Toco meowed mockingly.
"Oh, of course! And you'd do better, wouldn't you, you colorful-eyed cat?" Chiki barked, glaring daggers at him.
"Oh no… Here they go again," Nakia sighed, rolling her eyes. "Always fighting like cats and dogs ever since I've known them for decades."
"Calm down, guys, calm down," Nakia interjected, attempting to diffuse the growing tension between them.
Meanwhile, Paris noticed the brief glow on the door and pulled out his book. Upon closer examination, he discovered that the inscriptions followed a specific pattern. He consulted Golden, who confirmed his theory.
"Leave it to me," Paris said with confidence. He stretched his fingers, preparing himself, then placed his hand on the symbols, following a sequence indicated in the book. As he touched each one, the symbols began to emit a faint light, sinking gently into the surface of the door.
"Great. So I need to start here," Paris murmured, focused intently.
Paris repeated the process seven times, moving from left to right, top to bottom, with Golden's help, who levitated him to reach the higher sections. When he touched the final symbol, located at the center of the door, everything began to spin. The symbols are interconnected, forming an intricate design: a spade, resembling the emblem of a deck of playing cards.
A flashing green light erupted from the door, radiating with such intensity that it blinded them momentarily. Slowly, the door started to dissolve, leaving the entrance completely clear. As the brilliance finally faded, everyone opened their eyes, astonished by what they had just witnessed.
They blinked away the spots in their vision and, when their sight cleared, they saw a vast chamber filled with machines and cables sprouting from every direction, all converging at the center. Looking down, they spotted a young fox seated on a chair, connected to all those devices.
Golden stepped forward and exclaimed,
"It's you, Kilibur!"
The boy lifted his gaze toward Golden, though his helmet prevented their eyes from meeting.
"Golden… Is it really you?" he asked in a weak voice, brimming with wonder and confusion.
"Yes, it's me. We've come to free you," Golden replied, approaching with determination.
"We?" Kilibur repeated, but his tone immediately shifted to one of panic. "No, Golden! You must leave right now, or they'll capture you!" he shouted, his trembling voice laced with fear.
"Why?" Golden asked, pausing for a moment.
Before Kilibur could respond, the walls began to stir to life. Several glowing spheres emerged from them, projecting enormous eyes that stared intently at the group. Suddenly, the eyes unleashed beams of energy toward them, illuminating the room with crackling flashes of electricity.
"Oh no, Golden!" Kilibur screamed, desperation rising as the sound of the blasts echoed through the chamber.