Amidst the thick clouds beginning to take on the hues of twilight, and upon the back of that legendary creature cleaving the sky with its wings, a strange silence prevailed for several minutes. It was not a silence of fear, but of absorbing the magnitude of what had transpired. Atheria, the state that once embraced the stars, was now nothing more than dust behind them.
Picos was the first to break the barrier of silence, clinging to the bird's feathers with all his might, his eyes shut tight.
Picos (In a trembling voice): "Can one of you tell me if we've reached the ground? Or are we still in the 'appetizer' phase before the great fall?"
Darius (Laughing): "Open your eyes, Picos! The view is incredible. We're flying over the ocean, and the clouds beneath us look like tufts of cotton."
Picos: "Thanks, I'll settle for your description. I don't want to see the ocean unless I'm standing on a beach with a fishing rod in my hand—not riding the back of a giant blue chicken!"
Nirar (Adjusting his glasses, one lens of which was shattered): "A chicken? Picos, you are riding the greatest source of vital energy in the history of the galaxy, and you call it a chicken? If not for this creature, you'd be dust particles floating in the orbit of ruined Atheria right now."
Nikos (Looking back gravely): "Enough joking. Ortinus, do you think we did the right thing? We left Kayan, and we left Meres... Meres, who sacrificed everything."
Ortinus (Sighing deeply, wiping his fatigue-laden face): "Nikos, Meres didn't sacrifice himself so we could die with him. He sacrificed himself so this bird could live, and so we could live to tell the tale. Kayan knew the collapse was coming; he wanted us to be the 'record' that doesn't burn. If we had stayed, the truth would have died with Atheria."
Romulius (Bandaging a minor wound on Meron's arm): "What do you think about Meres before we separated? Do you think he's alive?"
Meron (In a broken voice): "I don't think so... but I wanted to get him out. I wanted us all to return and eat 'Picos's Earthquake' again in a real world. Meres never saw the sea; he always dreamed of seeing a real wave, one not moved by a Heart Stone."
Picos (Opening one eye): "He deserves a hearty meal cooked in his honor."
Darius: "Meron, do you think Ragus, Laura, and Pionel perished in the explosion?"
Meron: "The fortified room they entered was strong, but the explosion of the Black Heart Stone leaves nothing behind. Even if they survived, they fell with the debris toward the ocean. No one survives a fall from that height... unless they have wings like ours."
Nirar: "Or if they have the 'Mysterious Man' with the stars. Ortinus, have you thought about that person's identity? He destroyed the palace and saved the bird at the same time."
Ortinus: "I don't know, Nirar. But the stars he launched were not a technology familiar to us. It felt like energy from out of this world. Perhaps Atheria was being watched by powers beyond our imagination, and when the heart became corrupt, they decided to amputate the body entirely."
Picos (Feeling his pockets): "Friends! I have great news! I saved something from the lab before the explosion!"
Romulius (Hopefully): "What? Is it rare seeds? Or medical samples?"
Picos slowly pulled out... a large wooden spoon.
Picos: "My favorite spoon! I was afraid it would get lost in the collapse. How would I cook for you without it?"
Darius (Bursting into laughter): "We are in the middle of the sky, fleeing an explosion that destroyed an entire nation, having lost our dearest friends, and you're worried about a spoon?!"
Picos: "My boy, kingdoms fall and kings die, but hunger remains and expands! The spoon is the first line of defense!"
Ortinus (Smiling for the first time): "Perhaps Picos is right. We need to hold onto the small things to remain human. Atheria fell because its kings forgot the small things... they forgot the value of the bird, the value of bread, and the value of mercy."
Silence fell once more, and the Blue Bird began to descend slowly toward the horizon, where the outlines of a vast landmass appeared.
Meron: "Ortinus, what is our next step?"
Ortinus: "We will live, Meron. We will build a simple life, and we will set this bird free to live in forests that know no cages. We will tell people the story of 'Atheria'—not as a legend of power, but as a lesson about greed. And our most important goal remains: reaching Ashiel to return to our real world, so I can save my father's kingdom."
Nikos: "Darius, get ready. We are approaching land. Make sure you hold your bag tight."
Darius: "I've got it, Father. And with it, enough memories for a thousand years."