The note wasn’t long and ended with Raymond’s signature, along with a simple drawing of the Golden Lion family emblem.

Kestrel read the letter two times, then put it with Nicole’s letter.

This note was written by Raymond earlier in the day, and several hours have already passed since then. Their travel was stopped again by the sunrise, and unable to move forward, they could only stay below ground and wait, a kind of wait that felt really stifling.

Above ground, the heat kept rising, like a massive fire burning the earth. It felt to the people hiding below like they were being baked alive.

Kestrel’s face, which had started to show more emotion, went back to being expressionless. She sat in a corner, holding her legs, her face looking like a ceramic mask, looking a bit lost as she gazed at the shadows on the floor. Even the flower nectar that Ren offered her couldn’t distract her.

She simply held the petals and kept rubbing them between her fingers until they were crushed, leaving her hands stained with the flower juice.

"We’re nearly there," Ren laid out the map in front of them. It wasn’t a fancy map, but he had marked all the big amusement places they had passed by with a pen.

"We can get there by tomorrow night," Ren showed the final spot on the line he had drawn with his pen, "We’ll find them there."

"Raymond and Rakan are really skilled; even Olivia might be better at fighting than me," Ren admitted. "Nicole is super strong too."

It was super hot outside, but inside the underground cave it was cool and a bit dark, with just a hint of light shining on Ren’s face. He was sitting near Kestrel, holding a pen pointing at the map, looking at her with serious eyes, like he was sure their friends would be alright and they would reunite at the meeting point.

"They’re all tough," Ren affirmed.

Kestrel nodded, feeling a little warmth come back as she ate the broken petals, the tiny bit of sweetness helping her heart settle down again.

Ren reached out to get a petal off her lip, paused, and then kissed her. It was the first time he had initially kissed her, it was soft and quick, but he blushed. 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

"We’re up against a strong foe who’s really good with psychic attacks," Ren’s fingers stayed on Kestrel’s face for a bit, gently touching before pulling away. "So, make sure you get enough rest to stay in top shape."

Kestrel tasted her lips. They were as sweet as the nectar from the flowers, and now she felt full of energy.

Ren was there with her, like a big source of sweetness, like a walking candy, giving off ’alpha pheromones’ that made her feel safe.

So, Kestrel started to feel less scared, knowing that things were already much better than when she was by herself.

Holding the two notes, Kestrel leaned on Ren’s shoulder and shut her eyes.

Slowly, her tendrils became super thin, reaching out to a distant place, touching a strong psychic entity gently with their tips.

Over there, a bright and multicolored castle appeared faintly, surrounded by many skin shells. Somewhere far, a pair of eyes suddenly looked this way with a chilly stare, crossing the space.

...

When Kestrel woke up, Ren was already standing, getting ready to go. It was still blazing hot outside, with bits of sunlight visible far away, and the burning heat hadn’t fully died down, but they faced the extreme heat to move on.

As the final trace of white vanished from the sky behind them, a vibrant castle showed up amidst the flower field in front.

The castle was small and made of stones in various colors, with a swirling galaxy overhead and flowers covering the ground all around it. It had a sharp rooftop that stood tall and pointed into the sky.

That was the Backbone, the very heart of Mantidale. It was like the main support beam that helped form, grow, and even keep this otherworldly space stable up to now. It was the riskiest and most mysterious zone in this little universe.

Around the tiny castle in the wildland, there were either standing or lying skin shells. These large, almost see-through husks showed the final shape before their original bodies left, now standing like statues in the flower field, silently facing the castle amidst the blooms.

Kestrel and Ren moved carefully beneath these enormous shells.

The wind gently stirred, making the flower petals on the ground flutter, with everything else around being quiet. The massive shells didn’t move, not reacting to the two people walking by them. While they were passing, no huge monsters from underground came out to attack.

It was all strangely silent.

Kestrel looked closely at these statue-like figures.

At first, these seemed like a mix of some creature and human features. But as they went further, the cast-off shells started to look weirder, with various insect parts, shells, and limbs combined with mammal fur and limbs. It was like someone from somewhere mixed together all kinds of earth creatures and left them here without a care.

The light, old shells lined the barren land, encircling the castle.

Even near the castle entrance, there were two "statues" with human faces on either side. These large shells had pretty faces, looking at the newcomers with gentle eyes. Both faces were the same, partly broken bodies, empty inside, and Kestrel could sort of tell one was a man and the other a woman from their shapes.

Ren reached out to open the castle’s door. The hefty door made a squeaky sound but opened with no trouble.

Inside the castle was dark, and aside from the creak of the door, it was silent. High up, there were stained glass windows, and moonlight threw colorful, spotted shadows through the glass, gently moving in the dark yard.

After watching for a bit, Ren was the first to step in.

He subtly gestured, signaling to Kestrel. Following his finger’s direction, Kestrel spotted a sign made with blood in an easy-to-miss corner next to the main entrance.

She recognized that mark, having seen it on the letter just a while back — it was a clue left by their friends. This meant that Raymond and the others had visited this strange castle not too long ago.