Nazira rummaged through the magic food basket. She smacked her lips, face lit up like those children waiting to run after an ice cream van. Then there was a wide grin when she pulled out something that she had been surviving on for the past few weeks.

"Ooo, yum," she murmured, looking down at the bunch of grapes.

"You are going to bleed grape juice one day," I gibed.

Today, the plan was to kick back and relax. However, the disturbances from outside wouldn't let me to. A group of baby rabbits passed across the threshold, purring and making squealing sounds. Far upon the trees, beyond the recuperating waterfall, showy peacocks gathered and screeched noisily. I felt a slight twinge of annoyance. The realm of Vrishabha was all majestic and seemed imposing at the beginning, but these never-dying sounds of the friendly furry animals were starting to drive me up the wall.

Nazira shrugged at my comment. "I love grapes so much that I can marry it."

My heart made a dramatic leap. "You can't! I mean...er..." I was out of my mind for a second. Glad the second was over and I was back. "It's very unlikely and preposterous."

"No, it's 'posterous'." She grimaced. "You are so like Shourya, not even letting me live in my imaginations."

"Well, you see, there's a common knowledge widely spread across the world that the minimum requirement to get married is the involvement of two people."

"I wish this grape is a young handsome knight in shining armor. I can just..." she popped one swiftly into her mouth and chewed it in an abnormally slow rate, her chin moving up and down, round and round as if chewing bubble gum. Yeah, just the bubble gum.

A mocking smile spread across her lips and eyes twinkling mischievously. I bent my head, rubbing my nape and hiding my embarrassment. Never had known that watching someone eat could be so awkward, especially when that person is someone you like the most. "I don't know why they say it, but you ain't no innocent."

She giggled. "You were the one who told me to be more outspoken."

"I take my words back. Let's get back to be in-spoken."

Her giggles turned into a formal chuckle. She shook her head and said, "Funny, how far I've come. Never been this way before. I think I've started to feel more comfortable talking with you."

I looked up and stared.

"And with Pruthvi and Leena," she quickly added. "I miss them."

"That's not all of us," I said, lowering my tone, "You gotta meet Tyrell and Celina too. You'll love hangin' out with them. They are like...life and soul of the group."

"I don't know about Tyrell but, now that you've brought this up- I think I'm desperate to meet Celina," she said, her eyes brightening, "Leena used to talk about her every day. And after what you've told me this morning, it's making me more desperate. I feel as if I know her already. And the Moonstone that she owns...there's something about it that really intrigues me. Does that make any sense?"

"Sorta. You sound really curious. As if you are long-lost pals wanting to get back together. You never actually saw her, have you?"

"No. Never," she replied, keeping her face straight. "Never met Celina. And don't I wish?"

Ashwant stopped in his tracks midway. His sudden gasp with a hint of horror made me jerk as well. The rustling whispers of the trees on the hills and the birds quietly crooning, sounding like a cry of a cat, brought me completely back to the present. Ashwant was gazing down with a deadly serious expression. He dropped his bag, bent down and picked up an object hidden in the powdery snow. He dusted the snowflakes off. Soon we realized that it was a hexagonal shaped box. Its silver lid shimmered under the murky purple shade of the surrounds. It was the  Samavek- the magical object used for storing our stones.

"Don't ask me where it has come from," he said, sounding a little tired, "But...let's take it back with us when we leave this place, alright?"

I nodded numbly. He put it in his bag and then stared sharply at me, his eyes dark with concerned.

"What?" I asked, my mind still lingering on many instances that had happened in Parallel Universe, only now beginning to make sense.

"We've almost reached," he said, "I just want to know if you are okay. So...are you okay?" He spoke with a forceful gruff voice to keep up in this frosty weather, or perhaps trying too hard to hide his mounting tension.

I frowned at first and then peaked about his shoulder. Ashwant had mentioned that our final destination shall lie across the fell that marked the end of the eastern Uttarameer. Not quite the distance from where we were standing was the thick foliage of the pine trees. Beyond that the mist was cloaking the hillside, also blurring the image of the lighthouse, its pinnacle obscured in the passing dark clouds. I dared not put up the binoculars and search for him. Not this time. But that lighthouse and the thing called the Blade that was in there, gave the impression of a treasure hidden at the end of the rainbow.

"Yes," I said, gazing at the opened window that seemed like a tiny dot from here. "I'm okay. And ready as well. Let's go."

"Hayden," he said, gently placing his hand on my shoulder, "Since we came out of Pizaca's castle you've been way too quiet. I've given you enough time to settle down, almost ten days. But I think we need to talk. I told you before and I'm telling you again- there's nothing to worry about..."

"Alright!" I interjected, "I get it. And I don't want to talk about it. Ashwant, I absolutely fine."

"Fine don't talk, atleast listen," he said, "He is as powerful as Matsyasvi. I cannot understand that you were able to tackle her but not him. Everything that comes out of his mouth is nothing but a load of crap, a cheap technique to fool people. He must be laughing at you right now. Hayden, I can see you are getting influenced..."

"Please, let's just drop it. My purpose with Pizaca is over, I've got nothing to do with him anymore. I just want to see Almourah through, take the last piece of the dagger and get out of this place. Whether Pizaca lied or not, I don't care. I'm running out of time, alright? Today's the tenth day. For now, I'm trying to keep my focus intact, just like how you've asked me earlier. So please, please, let's just go and finish this off."

He nodded, grimly. We lapsed into silence for a few minutes before he took the map out to study and then got back to me. "You better forget about Tyrell's warning," he said, "It might take another hour or so to cross this fell. Beyond it, there's a wide open space, that might take another hour. And then we shall reach his island."

"And we gotta cross the stream too," I added, my mind's eyes squinting through the vague image of the island that I had seen a couple of weeks ago.

"Yes," he said, thoughtfully.

The wind gave an eerie whoosh. A wave of dreaded anxiety surged in my veins as I took my pace forward. We resumed walking and were now trying to pass through the mist. There was this sudden feeling, a horrific nerve impulse. This night might amount to become a long-term memory. Up until now, I had been positive, the way things had gone through with Lady Matsyasvi and Sir Pizaca, had only pushed me towards the victory. But now that I was approaching the closure, my thoughts seemed to be getting a little pessimistic. The more I walked towards him, the more I got absorbed in my brooding contemplations. It was in the air, I could feel it in my bones. My fighting spirit was somehow dwindling. Something was starting to make me feel resolutely negative.

I shook my head and constricted my heart to not to let the negative energy impede my progress.

"Son," my father's voice resonated in my head, "Always remember - you'll fly high if you stay in your limits. But if crossing those limits means letting your loved ones fly a little bit further, then it's totally worth it. Go for it."

Tyrell's expressionless face and his last-minute question were the next- "You have other friends. You have other people to care for. Why hang on to me? Why not let just one go?"

To which had I not replied - "I'm going to put everything out of my will in line to bring you back. This is my promise to you."

Above, the sky was heavy with clouds and suddenly split with a disjointed zigzag of lightning. I thought of Nazira and that pleasing look that always helped me soothe my nerves. "We need someone capable to clean the garbage, " she had said. But the talk with Pizaca suddenly changed the meaning of it. "Cornelian user, you are. He wants to fight you. Would you not dare it, because I want you to?"

A strong revulsive spirit in the Almourah's domain was getting under my skin. There was no earthly explanation but the shift was rather nerve-wracking. The dimness began to fade gradually and the world seemed to have gloomed down with the beastly atmosphere. The noises of the birds died, just a sudden hoot of an owl piercing into the silence. The leaves rustled, a small piece of bark fell off the branch. I wondered if it was one of the beasts that had come out smelling our blood. Nothing was really clear though and I couldn't care less about the puny beasts when my main target was big Almourah.

The wind was stable as it could be during the month of February. Although the stench was hard and reminding metallic rust. Ashwant waved his hand in front of his grimaced face. I took a step ahead and watched through the mist at the reflection of the lightning falling in the water of the stream. The water of the stream- my foot- it was the blood.

"Clan of Matsyasvi's blood, it is," Ashwant said sadly, "Misdirected and misled Matsyasvi are always murdered by Almourah."

The slope past the trees was slippery scree with ice rocks. There were thin trials of water passages running from the foot of the lighthouse, allowing the blood to flow down to the stream. Ashwant explained how the Matsyasvi were hanged alive in gibbets and their blood was drawn away in pools. I cringed at first but then gritted my teeth. Why must a clan suffer because of the blunders done by the originators?

"We have to swim through stream filled with blood?" Ashwant mused. "Are you up for it?"

I raised a brow. "Forgot about being the owner of the Diamond? The stream isn't that wide. Just create a route. We are walking."

But we had to run through the wet grounds of the stream, blooded water held tight up in a form of waves ready to pounce from either side.

The smell of blood mixed with the profound reek of dead fishes made me huff. Nausea made my stomach churn. My senses felt assailed. Aside from the stench, there was a hypnotic effect. For real. My eyes began to burn and felt heavy on forcefully having them open. The effect was still there, wanting me to go sleep. It was as if the air was injected with sedatives but with a feeling of doom. Ashwant standing beside me was swaying already and before I could look at him, he fell on his knees gasping for air.

"Ashwant, no!" I shrieked. "Wake up!"

I caught him by his shoulders. His full weight fell over me, but he had his head tilted and eyes closed. I was a drunkard, alright, plain and simple, I was used to this feeling. But the situation with Ashwant worried me. Watching him go sleep at this time was a dreadful sign that no one but I was allowed to step inside the lighthouse.

I squinted batting my eyes and inspected the area. Flickering moonlight radiating from behind the lighthouse and clouds was barely allowing me to look around the enormous island. It was like a dark football field, only a hundred times bigger. A quiet graveyard, waiting for the unburied. Ground, slick and marshy with droplets of blood under-boots. Far at the other side of the island were the familiar trees, Vrindahina, surrounding an arc of the island. The crooked bridge from where I had seen Almourah must be beyond that.

I pressed my droopy eyes and shook my head. Holding the sleeping Ashwant straight was getting difficult. But I put the effort and wrapped his hand around my shoulder to keep him stay steady. Nervousness began to etch on me hearing Ashwant's moaned in his sleep. I needed to find a place. I kept looking around, just anything would suffice. Finally, I spotted a rocky area about a hundred paces away. Without thinking no more, I began to walk towards it, pulling Ashwant, the two bags, and the food basket with me.

Getting closer, I realized there was a tunnel widened out into a cave. The small maw opening leading downwards. It seemed like Pruthvi's Formation, that bent the rocks to form a dilapidated shelter for a temporary use. Being desperate and panting, I walked deep inside until it was completely dark. There was the sound of water droplets and surprisingly the waft of a sweet odor of fresh air that negated the nasty smell of the dead fishes.

I gently lay Ashwant down on the ground and immediately lit my fingers. My shadow fell on the jagged and uneven walls of the rocky cave. It was peaceful here, except for the sound of the water droplets. There was a sense of discomfort though. I spotted broken rocks huddled together and seemed darker than the rest. I ran my fingers to feel the difference and spot on! - it was dried blood. Something really really bad had happened here.

Ashwant snored, while I filled my stomach to gain my strength back. His eyes tightly shut and lips wobbled every time he breathed out. He seemed fine, the place was peachy enough to sleep.

And I couldn't wait to get started.