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That night I lay in bed, sleepily thinking about who we'd find next.
Why not choose? Viraa chided inside my head.
"If I had to pick, I'd choose...Joy," I said with a yawn aloud. "I want someone with a lighter mood to be our next comrade. Tymon is...well... and Za'Fia can be difficult to approach sometimes. Having someone who can spread a little gaiety would be refreshing."
Well, why not search for Joy right now? Through me, you have a connection to each of them. If you found a way to use it, you could get a hint of where to find Joy, like the vision you once received of Tymon.
"All right," I said as I closed my eyes.
I concentrated on sensing Joy, feelings of happiness, anything I could think of, trying to tap into the connection I had. Initially, I thought it was pointless and wouldn't work, but as I drifted off, I felt a distant ping in my head.
Then I was asleep.
The next thing I knew, I was standing in a large flatland covered in snow. No, not snow. Ice. Ice was everywhere, as far as I could see. Above me, I could see multi-colored rays of light ripple across the night sky.
About 30 feet in front of me, I could see a faceless little girl. She was squatting over the ground playing with shards of ice. When she noticed me approaching, she turned and darted toward what I could only describe as a fortress made of ice.
After she shut the doors to the fortress, I watched her make her way to the top of the fortress. I swear, as she climbed, her body grew, so she was an adult by the time she stood at the fortress' top.
Then that was it.
I couldn't make sense of any of the dream, but I did get a sense of where to go. The next moment, I felt my consciousness being jerked back to reality as I woke at 5 AM the following day.
"I wish there was a gentler way of ending those," I groaned as I sat up.
I am sure it will become more fluid once you have gained mastery over it, Viraa commented.
An hour later, I was eating breakfast as everyone made their way to our private dining room. I told them about my dream that was supposed to help us find Joy.
"Based on the surroundings, I think we'll find Joy somewhere in the Arctic," I said through a bite of pancakes.
"That's over 3,000 miles," Trik mentioned as he scarfed down some boiled eggs. Shells intact.
"I know. I'll try to maintain a speed of 500mph to help us get there in 6 hours," I stated after finishing my orange juice.
"You sure you have that kind of stamina?" Trik commented smugly.
"Of course," I said confidently.
"All right, well, we should probably get going then," Trik suggested.
We all agreed and left HQ shortly afterward. Then, we were high in the sky, headed north.
It took over 7 hours before we finally landed in the Artic Polar Desert. The extra hour came from my needing to rest after 4 hours. It turns out that going that fast for a long flight was way more exhausting than I thought it would have been. At one point, I was tempted to ask one of them to carry me the rest of the way, but I refrained.
A little over halfway into the flight there, Trik had begun to pick up Joy's energy signature, which prevented us from having to guess what part of the Arctic to go to.
Considering we were still over 1,000 miles away when he told us, we each found his improved sensor impressive.
"Even we can't sense that far unless they're putting out a lot of energy," Za'Fia stated after complimenting him.
Once we were within a couple of miles of Joy's signature, a blizzard picked up out of nowhere, causing us to land.
We continued by walking, but as we pressed on, my body started to numb from the cold.
"Z-Z-Za'F-Fia...h-help...p-p-please," I pleaded through chattering teeth.
"Oh, sorry," Za'Fia said as her body started radiating warmth.
It wasn't long before the cold grip of frostbite lessened, and I could feel my limbs again.
"This blizzard doesn't seem natural," I stated as we closed on Joy's signature.
"Because it's not," Tymon remarked. "This is Naomi's doing."
Naomi.... I think I saw that name on the list of each of their true names.
We were now basically on top of Naomi, but all we could see through the blizzard was endless ice.
This kind of reminded me of the dream.
There should be something ahead..., I thought.
Sure enough, just ahead, we started to see something. As we approached it, I realized it was a cave.
Not exactly a fortress, but okay.
As we stepped into the cave, the weather outside went still as the blizzard weakened until it was no longer present.
Looking around, the cave was covered in ice, but more interesting, beneath the iced walls were hundreds of pieces of what looked like armored chest plates.
Some were splendidly crafted and in good condition, while others looked beaten and worn out. Some were made of gold, some with diamonds, and even some with rubies. It was like a hidden treasure of some kind.
"Now, let's see if we can get her to come out," Za'Fia said suddenly, ignoring the display before us. She sent a wave of heat through the cave that instantly melted everything. The cave walls were now steaming, making it feel as though we were standing in a sauna.
Then a blast of frigid air quickly refroze everything, bringing us back to the harsh temperatures of the Arctic.
Up ahead, there was a large, shaded area of the cave. In the darkness was a silhouette with a pair of glowing frost-blue eyes.
Before anyone could react, the figure disappeared, and I felt a breeze blow past us. When I looked over, I saw that Za'Fia was gone too.
Suddenly, squealing could be heard from outside the cave, so Trik, Tymon, and I rushed to see what it was.
We exited to cave to see Za'Fia on the ground 50 feet away, with Naomi lying on top of her, hugging her.
"Hi, Naomi," Za'Fia said happily as they both stood.
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