For four hours, this ballet continued relentlessly. Time loses all meaning, carried away in the dance of the heavenly flames. Then, everything goes out as abruptly as at the beginning. Silence returned, but a vibrant silence, as if the Mount itself was catching its breath. The leaves still shone with luminous residues, and the wind was carrying a new scent, a mixture of moist earth, heated resin and burning metal.
"Let's go see where they fell," Yuto said in a firm tone.
They left the protective barrier and ventured into the thickness of Mont Mathieu. The ground, full of moisture, absorbed their steps; the roots, similar to motionless snakes, drew uncertain paths. The nocturnal birds sang strange melodies, almost unreal, as if the meteor shower had awakened in them forgotten songs.
Yuto observed everything carefully: split trunks, blackened moss, small cavities in the earth. Sometimes a residual glow still persisted in a crack, like an ember refusing to go out. The metallic smell of the fragments mixed with the sweeter smell of the soaked earth.
Then, suddenly, a voice echoed in his mind. Cold. Metallic. Without warning. The system.
Ding! - "Three meters on your right is the entrance to the miniature world. "
Yuto stopped sharply. Ju Won, surprised by his immobility, looked at him without asking questions. Slowly, the young master went to the indicated place. After a thorough excavation, he discovered a rock with a particular relief. His fingers, with almost ceremonial caution, touch her before detaching her. In a discreet gesture, he opened his sleeve and slipped two small heavy objects into it, hiding their brilliance from Ju Won. The miniature world was in his hands. And he knew he had to stay hidden, at least for now.
Fatigue, like an inner fog, began to envelop them. Ju Won then proposed:
- Let's rest here, under the shelter of the giant trees. Tomorrow, we return to the Meng territory.
Yuto nodded. Together, they returned to the landing site. The place was calm, almost soothing, despite the power that had been unleashed earlier. They set up an improvised camp. The forest, now silent, offered its intimate noises: the distant crackling of the branches, the discreet breath of the wind, the wet crumpling of the leaves. All this formed a nocturnal music that rocked their tired bodies and their still agitated thoughts.
Dawn eventually pierces the darkness. A soft, almost golden light filtered through the foliage, tracing rays that illuminate the suspended droplets. Each leaf shone as if set with liquid gold. Mount Mathieu woke up slowly, majestic, indifferent to the secrets buried in its bowels.
Yuto stood up, his gaze still veiled by the mystery he carried in his sleeve. The miniature world, silent and heavy, remained an enigma. Ju Won, on the other hand, simply observed the forest, as if to engrave every detail in his memory.
Their march resumed towards the Meng territory. Every step on the wet ground seemed like a sentence written in this green chapter. Behind them, the forest closed its embrace, as if nothing had happened. In front of them, other secrets awaited them, but the one hidden under Yuto's sleeve was already big enough to change the course of their destiny.