The Return of Destiny

      As was lightly mentioned in the previous chapter, there was only one Neopet in all of Neopia who knew of the existence of the Faerie of Mist. This Neopet was the perfect model of an anti–hero: too tall and thin, badly dressed, with bad humour and a curious beauty.

     But let's not be so picky about him. After all, Moltara is a tough place to live, even if you are a fiery Xweetok like he was.

     For Fawse it was a night like any other (although due to the continuous light, in Moltara it is never really night). Peacefully, he was sitting on a rock, reading a black book neither too thick nor too thin. It was the book The Secret Stories of Neopia, which contains the story of Kadriya (the only record of its existence.)

     Fawse was a very special Neopet. He possessed strong connections to magic, and the people he performed it on. This Xweetok was responsible for sending Kadriya to the World of Three last time, thus a particular connection was created with the faerie. The moment Kadriya cast the spell to enter Atsibra's mind, Fawse sensed it.

     The Xweetok was dumbfounded. In just one second, he received a vision of a light faerie held by Kadriya; of the same dark faerie sailing through clouds, of Kadriya glimpsing... A necklace! And then nothingness.

     – No... – Fawse whispered– It can't be!

     Not daring to do anything else (and with an annoying headache), Fawse adjusted his baggy cloak... and disappeared (this sounds like something to me...).

     ***

     The dark Neopian seas are not only inhabited by creatures of the waters. These seas are continually crossed by brave (and sometimes a bit stupid) Neopets, although this is not the case of the honorable Darigan Ixi in pirate attire named Osorium, who on that night of discoveries, was navigating the Fourth Neopian Sea.

     Well, sailing is one way of saying. The truth is that the very lazy slept while his crew did the hard work. It's the benefits of being a Captain on a quiet night, I guess.

     – Os.

     – Mom, I don't want butter anymore!

     – Osorium!

     – I'm full, woman!

     – OSORIUM!

     The third time's the charm. Os rose from his soft bed and with his reddish but beautiful Darigan eyes, detected the presence of an orange light.

     "Mom...?" Asked the Ixi, doubting his sanity.

     "No, I'm your brother," Fawse whispered wearily.

     – Mmm... no, I'd rather you be my mother.

     – This is not a dream, silly, it's me, period! Wake up, I have something very important to tell you.

     – Oh, so is it really you? What's up, are you finally getting married?

     Fed up with the inconsistencies this half–sleepy Ixi threw up, the Xweetok simply grabbed him by the ear and dragged him off the bed.

     – You're going to listen to me.

     ***

     "In the Lost Desert?" Merlin and Sheyn exclaimed in unison.

     – That's how it is. The kind Atsibra revealed the location of the necklace to me. However, I can't go there yet, friends. The jewel is protected by a very powerful guardian, and to defeat it, I need the life energy I have told you about.

     – But... we have already given you a bit of our energy... – Sheyn commented uncomfortably.

     – That's not enough. –said Kadriya coldly– I need all of Neopia as a minimum to strengthen me. And you will help me prepare the spell I need. It is discreet and not complicated, Oridel prepared it in a matter of days the previous time, and the other one was more complex.

     "Umm... Kadriya, what did you do to Atsibra?" Merlin inquired full of doubts.

     The dark faerie gave the Wocky a tender look.

     – Now she is in the whiteness.

     And that was true. The world of The Three had a new inhabitant. As a resident of that world for so long, Kadriya acquired the ability to send people to that place at will. And all that, for only the modest price of a bloodcurdling headache, which painted Kadriya's face into a wince.

     "I feel sore," the faerie whispered. "I'll go to sleep shortly." But first, I have to tell you a few things that you can do tonight.

     ***

     – So, you, me, a weirdo named Xandra and a Uni magma defeated an evil dark faerie two years ago?

     – Yes, Os, that's right.

     – And after defeating her, a curse was activated, and we all forgot about it?

     – Exactly.

     – And why do you remember, Fawse?

     – Because I'm cooler than you.

     – Ahhh... Hey!

     ***

     – Really, I feel a bit silly.

     Sheyn was walking through the forest with a lantern in his hands, illuminating the thick book that Merlin was trying to decipher.

     – Shut up, you wouldn't understand the book. You should be grateful that you can participate in this, and that we can cooperate with something so simple.

     – Oh, sorry, sorry to complain about being your secretary. Anyway, where did you get that book?

     – It is a forbidden book in Neopia, but easy to get in the black market of the Forest. It's full of black magic, it's disgusting...

     "Who is there?" Inquired the voice of the Esophagor in the distance.

     "What is there to be done now?" Sheyn whispered.

     "I have to have a secret conversation and say a magic word," Merlin replied nervously.

     – Who is there?

     – Me.

     – Who are you and I?

     – I am me. You are you and we are both surrounded by suffering.

     ***

     "So I defeated Oridel, the faerie maid?"

     – That's how it is.

     – Well how good.

     – Aren't you going to say anything more than that?

     – Well, I've done better things. But, hey, this story is very curious and all that, but... Why are you telling it to me?

     – Because Kadriya has returned... again.

     Osorium's expression of interest changed to one of horror.

     – What did you say?

     ***

     – Suffering what?

     – Suffering grey, like the clouds that surround the sky.

     – What sky?

     – The sky of neoplastic hearts, which hide many secrets.

     – What secrets?

     – Those that you will reveal to me. Rebeliantow.

     The monster's muddy voice was no longer heard. A tremor shook the Forest floor, as several unknown petpets howled in the distance. The two Neopets were startled when a crack opened in one of the nearest trees, and black sap began to flow from it.

     – Very good, Neopet. I hope that the spell that you propose will have a good end.

     – It has... I think. Sheyn whispered as he collected the black sap in a bottle.

     Merlin didn't say anything. His eyes were dull.

     ***

     – Then she came back... But why? And what are you looking for?

     – Obviously, someone is helping her. One or more Neopets were probably very naive, and believed all the lies of that deranged faerie. And as for what she is looking for, I think it is the necklace that I saw in my dream.

     – Maybe she wants to get more power through the necklace, right?

     – I don't know what she wants. But I'm sure what's good for her is bad for us... and for the rest of Neopia.

     ***

     In the Forest, the branches and leaves rustled in an unearthly melody, resounding in both ears and minds. Souls were owned by the icy sighs of the wind and hearts were overcome by the vastness of the unknown.

     This is how Merlin and Sheyn felt by the great bronze door in front of them. It was a gate ravaged by time and the cruelty of the Forest, but ancient engravings and symbols could still be seen on it, by inference from the Lost Desert. But the most terrifying thing about this door is that it seemed to lead nowhere. It was just nailed to the earthy ground, framed and all, and behind it... there was nothing, just more trees.

     "It's impossible for this door to take us anywhere," Merlin whispered, trembling with concern. "There is no room, nothing behind it." It is a false door.

     "Kadriya wouldn't send us to a ridiculous place, Wizard... or maybe yes," Sheyn doubted.

     – No, this spell is too important for her! – Merlin exclaimed, shaking his silver hair – There must be something we are not looking at...

     But there didn't seem to be anything else to see. The two Neopets circled the door several times, examining its two ends (both exactly the same). And they failed to discover anything. Of course, they hadn't tried to open it yet, but that possibility was extremely terrifying. Sheyn expressed that idea by saying:

     – An impossible door at the bottom of the Enchanted Forest... if we opened it, who knows what the hell, ghosts and ugly bugs would attack us. Maybe... Wizard, maybe this is the home of the Meepits!

     At that horrible thought, Sheyn began to tremble without being able to contain himself.

     – Enough of this madness! I want to go, Wizard! I'm not willing to risk my life, or my soul... or worse, my beauty to help a faerie I've known for a couple of hours.

     – You know? I am!

     And without warning, Merlin took with one of his soft hands, the cold agony of the bronze doorknob.

     – No, don't do it, Wizard!

     Very late. Merlin pulled the knob with all his strength (which was already weak, poor man). And although with effort, he opened it in less time than Sheyn had to react (his Darigan training was forgotten, obviously).

     At that moment, the door was open, revealing behind a horror as unimaginable as it was egregious...

     Nothing. Nothing, simply. Behind the door, only the trees that were seen before were visible. The door frame looked like a decorative rectangle.

     Merlin couldn't understand it. Again, I wish you could have seen his face. With that expressiveness, this Wocky could have had a good future as an actor.

     – No, I do not understand. When the door is closed, there is nothing behind it, it is only stuck in the Forest. But when it's open, ALSO?

     – Don't despair, buddy. We tried. Sheyn sighed in relief.

     – I can't believe it... I feel cheated.

     – It's like when you try to solve an exam for which you didn't study anything. The effort just doesn't make sense. Do you understand?

     – No, that has never happened to me. I have always studied for exams. – Merlin commented naively.

     – You know? At this point, I don't understand why you are my friend. "Sheyn replied, rolling his eyes." Let's get out of here.

     But what Sheyn hadn't realized was that in the Forest, things tend to happen behind your back. As soon as the two Neopets turned to go back the way they had come, they felt a presence behind them.

     – Obviously, the current inhabitants of the Forest do not know what education is. As soon as they turn their backs on me, first, who woke me up, annoying me enormously?

     After that preamble, and with the feeling that their stomachs had filled with lead and their throats with ice, Merlin and Sheyn turned to contemplate the voice that had called them.

     And what they saw was...

     To be continued...