The next leg of the journey was once again through dense forest, the pirates seemed more cheerful after they found the chalices.
Elizabeth held them, observing with evident curiosity. The other pirates also looked at the chalices with evident greed. Fortunately, the effect of the hat was still active, but even without it, they knew that Rigel was not known for his mercy, trying anything now only meant being swallowed by the demonic serpent (Diabolus).
The group walked carefully through the jungle, but one of the pirates was unlucky, as he passed, a colorful frog landed directly on his cheek. He thought it was just any old frog and picked it up with his hand, throwing it aside.
Some pirates saw it, but nobody paid any attention.
Too bad, because it was a poison dart frog, it didn't take long for the pirate to fall hard to the ground.
Rigel finally realized something was wrong. He turned back, frowning, and asked, bending down to take a look. "What happened to him?"
The man was still alive, but his breathing was getting weaker and weaker, his body rigid as if he had been petrified.
The pirates seemed confused, they backed away, thinking it was some kind of curse.
Rigel rolled his eyes and asked. "Did anyone see if an insect bit him?"
John, not far away, seemed to remember something. "A bluish-green frog hit him in the face, maybe it bit him."
Rigel frowned, sighed, and looked at the pirate with irritation. He picked up a detoxifying potion, glancing at the pirate's stiff body, there was no way he could drink it.
Looking at one of the pirates, he pointed at him. "Put some of this potion in his mouth and blow on it."
The pirate's eyes widened, and the other pirates quickly moved away from him, afraid that Rigel might suddenly change his mind and point at one of them.
"C-captain, I..." He tried to speak, but Rigel's furrowed brow froze him. Finally, he sighed, his face filled with disgust. He did as Rigel commanded, at first, he only blew without touching his mouth, but Rigel rolled his eyes and lowered the man's head.
In the end, it took several minutes for the poisoned pirate to finally get up.
His expression was a mix of happiness at having been saved and disgust at the "passionate kiss."
The other pirate glared at him with obvious hatred, if he could, he wanted to stab the poisoned idiot several times with his sword.
The other pirates found it funny, but tried to hide their smiles.
Rigel didn't care anymore, taking the rest of the potion, he continued onward, not without leaving a clear warning. "Beware of the animals here, most of them may seem harmless, but they are extremely poisonous."
In the end, the group continued to move forward, it took them several hours to reach where the compass indicated.
Rigel felt the difference as soon as he arrived.
Gravity... seemed 'lighter' here.
The next moment, Rigel looked around and saw the water flowing slowly upwards, he knew he had arrived at the right place.
Looking towards the cave entrance not far away, Rigel took a deep breath, walking forward quickly, closely followed by the pirates.
Calypso looked around with some curiosity.
They advanced through the cave, Rigel illuminating the path with a Lumos spell, but as they progressed, he saw extremely sharp stalactites. "Don't touch anything." He told the pirates. "if one of those things fell, it would kill someone instantly."
Of course, whether it's him or Calypso, it wouldn't be enough to kill them.
Elizabeth quickened her pace, drawing closer to Rigel, her excitement giving way to caution in this dark and dangerous environment.
Rigel was even a little surprised to see that the woman finally showed some fear, although Will looked sad when he saw that Elizabeth had approached Rigel and not him. If Elizabeth could hear his thoughts, she would say one word directly: "Magic!"
At the end of the cave, there was nothing. The pirates were surprised, there was no way out. Was the fountain of youth a lie?
Calypso looked at Rigel curiously, she knew how to get in, but again, she didn't want to get too involved.
"Elizabeth, the chalices." Rigel requested.
Elizabeth was slightly startled, focused on looking around, glancing at Rigel, she quickly handed over the silver chalices she held in her hands.
Rigel gazed at the chalices as he read the inscription on them. "Aqua... de Vida (Water of Life)."
As soon as he spoke, water began to flow across the floor between them, quickly rising towards the walls, surprising the pirates. The water continued flowing to the ceiling, more and more accumulating as Rigel frowned. He took the crown from his bag and put it on.
The next moment, his vision changed, the flowing water had gained a strange layer of energy, very much like Rigel's own divine energy, but there was also something more, something intangible, Rigel couldn't define what it was.
Calypso looked at Rigel from the side, her eyes blinking slightly as she saw him wearing the crown, but she set that aside for now and spoke. "It's nothingness, the source is here, but it's also not here, only by opening the passage is it possible to reach it."
Rigel looked at her, his black eyes now blue due to the power of the crown, an ethereal aura enveloped him, leaving the pirates swallowing hard as they stared at him, at that moment, Rigel seemed much less 'human'.
Rigel ignored them, instead, he began to ponder what Calypso had said, genuinely curious to learn the mechanism behind it.
"Do you know how to do something like that?" Rigel asked hopefully.
Calypso simply shook her head. "No, I never learned that sort of thing."
Rigel sighed. It was a pity, if he could create something like that, he could make a very good hideout when he returned to the Wizard world.
Finally, Rigel removed the crown, the passage had been formed, the water took on a hazy appearance, as if clouds were drifting within it, probably the "nothingness" that Calypso spoke of.
"Okay, let's go." Rigel finally turned to Will. "Help me climb up."
Will nodded, bending down slightly to support him as Rigel stepped on his shoulders. Then he jumped and went straight through. There was no ceiling, instead, it felt a bit like riding in an elevator, that nervous feeling in your stomach from a sudden, unexpected climb.
When Rigel came to, he was in a misty cave, not far away, a stone arch lay silently, the fountain of youth.