《Ningen no Tenshi》Vol 1. Chapter 8 - Following the Path

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Sunlight spilt through the half-opened window as morning had long since come by. The group had finished eating their breakfast, as they had eggs and toast.

It was already nearing the time for their departure as Nightingale and the others had begun packing their belongings.

Nightingale was downstairs, sipping his tea at a table as he waited for the boys who he shared rooms with finished packing. He was the last among the boys to start packing the bags as he wanted more privacy, sorting out his equipment.

When he saw the boys and the girls walking down the steps, he quickly gulped down the last remains of his tea, finishing it.

He went past them without giving a glance and went straight upstairs towards his room.

The room was empty all except for his belongings that were left untouched. He lifted his bag up from the floor and set it on his bed. He pulled his long coat off from the drawer and dusted it before donning it again.

He went ahead and started organising his things. He pulled out the equipment that he asked his colleague to retrieve, two handguns and gadgets that he used during his work for the organization.

He inspected his handguns, making sure that it was loaded before storing it away within his coat.

He pulled out a couple of magic stones from his bag, stuffing it in his pockets along with his other gadgets.

Nightingale was unsure of what dangers they might encounter. And it was best for him to be prepared for any hostilities.

He zipped his bag as he had finished sorting out his stuff before pulling it over around his shoulder and proceeded back downstairs to rejoin the rest.

Heading downstairs, he saw that the others were waiting for him outside of the inn. He waved goodbye to the innkeeper as he rushed towards the door.

“Have a safe trip, lad!” The innkeeper waved back at him with a cheerful smile as Nightingale smiled back and continued out through the door.

Stepping out, he felt the fresh air and the breeze wind blowing onto his skin. He looked around and saw his crew ready as they all came to gather around him, waiting for their leader's orders.

“So where to now?” Shuen asked.

“We head out, back towards where we came from. And head deeper into the forest.” Nightingale replied to her as he went past them, heading west, back towards the forest.

"You think we might find something there?" She asked again.

"We'd definitely find something there," Nightingale assured her as he began following the path back to the forest.

“Well it’s a start, I guess.” Pee Aun shrugged, with Darren nodding in agreement as they went on to join the others who were following behind Nightingale.

Their journey continues on, as they went past the dungeon they came from and followed the path that led deep into the forest.

They were amazed and in awe as the trees around them were over centuries old as their branches twisted through the air, forming a thick canopy. Light barely penetrated through this dense net of branches, hindering their vision significantly.

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They heard tweeting and chirping of birds all around as the forest was filled with life. There haven't encountered any wild boars or docile animals. As they continued hoping to not encounter any in their way.

It felt almost as if an hour had passed since they had been following Nightingale who seemed to know his way through the forest. But Nightingale was a stranger to this forest as he was following his gut. But it was more than his gut as he was being drawn onto the path.

"Are we there yet," Telvinder asked with a breathy and tired voice.

"We'll get there when we get there." Pee Aun replied, irritatedly.

Nightingale looked over his shoulder and saw their faint faces as they were worn out and tired from their trekking through the forest.

"Hang in there," He thought as he continued on deeper into the forest, hoping to reach the forest's end sooner.

Fifteen minutes went by as sunlight finally began dawning on their path ahead.

They had finally found their way out of the forest as they stepped out, welcomed by the bright sun and together saw a small, lake, with a large waterfall from above that surrounded a portion of the lake in the shape of an arc.

The water was clear and pristine, uncontaminated by mankind, yet with no signs of marine life. The ripples from the falling water continuously interacted with each other, forming a pleasing atmosphere. The very air felt rich and invigorating, like an immortal spring.

“This place is beautiful.” Alicia gasped with the rest as they were astonished by the sight of a paradise.

They ran ahead closer towards the lake, excited by the calm atmosphere. They checked out the lake, amazed by its purity. The girls began dipping their hands in the waters, exclaiming softly.

“It’s cold!” Darren commented as he slowly stepped into the water.

Telvinder and Pee Aun, on the other hand, were dragged along by their curiosity. They had apparently reached a unanimous agreement as they went by the banks of the lake, heading towards the waterfall.

“It's too beautiful to be true. How can such a place be hidden away from mankind? It wasn’t on the map the last I checked.” Shuen stated in concern.

“Actually, even the forest wasn’t on the map.” She added in realisation as the others too were baffled.

“That explains it all then,” Nightingale said.

“Explains what exactly?” Shuen asked, turning to face him.

“Everything. The disappearance of the lost isle; Avalon,"

"And this paradise." He said as he closed his eyes to feel the air.

"I could feel the essence of magic still lingering in this paradise. Magic that might have been used to keep visitors away. I was sceptical at first, but now I realised that the magic called to me. Asking for me to come home."

"To come home?" Shuen asked, confused as the others were.

"The magic I possess." He informed them.

"Like all things have an origin, and magic first originated from Avalon."

"And it seems that we're on the right track," Nightingale stated before hearing a familiar voice calling out for them from afar.

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“Guys! Over here, we found something.” It was Telvinder who had called out for them from afar, his voice was filled with excitement as Pee Aun stood next to him, both waving for them to come over.

Following their trail, they headed towards the sides of the waterfall where they stood. Upon their arrival, both Telvinder and Pee Aun immediately pointed towards the back of the waterfall where a large cavern was behind, high above from the ground.

“Good job, you two. Now let’s go and take a closer look.” Nightingale said, praising them for their efforts.

Nightingale circled around to behind the waterfall, revealing a grassy cliff. Although not too high, it would still be a challenge.

“We might be able to pull it off. There are small holes for us to grab on.” Darren stated from his observation of the cliff.

Shuen shrugged as she replied, “Well, we have to climb up anyways. It’s not too bad.” Since no one could disagree, they all accepted it.

Using the grass and tiny shrubs as handholds, they began shinnying up the cliff side. Slowly but surely, they headed towards the waterfall, where they began climbing towards the cavern. Thankfully, the waters were not too fast as it only hindered them a bit.

“Be careful,” Nightingale warned. “The rocks and grass here are slippery, so don’t be too hasty.” With him leading the group, they slowly headed up towards the cavern.

Nightingale was the first to reach the top, entering the large and open cavern. There was a large double stone door built into the walls of the cavern just ahead of him. The door had an archaic air to it, exuding a domineering aura.

There were torches beside the door, its light revealed carvings of ancient Welsh on the door. The torches had already been lit, seemingly with magic as the cold breeze from the waterfall had not erased it.

“Well, would you look at that! Looks like we finally found something.” Pee Aun exclaimed with excitement as he and the others finished their climb, joining Nightingale as he stared at the door.

“This must be an entrance that leads underground towards Avalon,” Nightingale said, at last, his voice slightly raised with joy.

The others were already celebrating as Pee Aun and Telvinder were hugging each by their shoulder.

“We did it!” They exclaimed together, showing their strong bond as brothers as if their fight previously during the day never happened.

Nightingale did not join them but instead took a step closer towards the large stone door. He placed his hand on it, checking if it was another illusion. But to his surprise, it was not. He tried pushing the door with both hands but it did not budge.

“Well looks your celebration was a bit too early, we still have to find a way to get in. And firstly, by opening this door.” Nightingale said as he took a step away from the door.

“Well just do your thing, like how you always do.” Pee Aun suggested, making Nightingale's face into a frown.

“Well let’s see if this works.” Nightingale went back to lay his palm on the door as he took a deep breath, channelling the touch of his magic through his veins.

“Open.” He ordered the door with a loud, stiff and solemn voice that echoed within the cavern they were in.

Nothing happened as the large stone doors remained closed, as his order having absolutely no effect on it. Nightingale had a dumb look drawn on his face as he had already known such a thing would not work. But even then, he decided to give it a try.

“Doors not opening!” Pee Aun informed Nightingale who he thought to be frozen still but instead was too embarrassed to see their expressions.

“I know!” He scowled angrily.

“I think you got the words wrong. How about saying it in Elvish.” Telvinder suggested trying his best in being helpful.

“I swear, if I hear another pop culture reference from you, I'm throwing you back down the waterfall,” Nightingale growled at him before facing back at the large stone doors. His eyes stared at the carvings on the door.

“The King’s Path. The pathway to Avalon, the gateway to home.” Nightingale said as he read the texts carved on the door.

“Well, very helpful,” Nightingale said, letting out a sigh as he slowly sat down on the ground, thinking of a way to open the door.

The others did so too as they decided for a break, resting their bags and backs on the ground. Some of them fell into thought as the others began conversing about the lake that they had found.

After several minutes of waiting for an answer, an idea had sprung into Nightingale's mind. It was a ridiculous idea, but he had to try.

He went up to grab one of the torches from the door. Taking a step back away, he gathered all the air and blew straight into the torch in its direction.

The others were surprised by Nightingale's sudden action as they quickly stood up, grabbing their bags and headed towards him.

“Will that even work?” Pee Aun asked. To his immense surprise, only the texts carved on the door were blazing in flames whereas the door remained untouched.

They felt the ground shaking as the large double doors slowly swung inwards. It was pitch black inside before the torches started lighting up, almost as if in reaction to the door opening.

It revealed a corridor that leads deeper into the ground. Polished stone covered the pathway, like that of a castle. However, it still exuded an aura of ancientness. Bright flames blazed in the golden torches as they lit up all the way in.

“Well then, looks like I found a way in,” Nightingales said as they all stood amazed by the pathway beyond the door.

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