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Title: Of Cats and Magic

Chapter: 13

Author: Riko Gonzalez

It was slightly before midnight. However, the sky was cloudless, allowing the

beautifully glistening stars to cast ample light for the time. As for the moon,

it shown pitch black --- a new moon. Needless to say, even with the light of the

stars, it was still quite dark.

Complicating vision further was a thick mist which poured forth from the surface

of the lake --- Veil Lake. On all sides, the expansive lake was surrounded by a

thick forest. From a trail leading out of the forest and to the lake, three

figures emerged, the lead figure carrying a lantern. The three figures were

Riko, Ruko, and Timothy. The figure sporting the lantern was Ruko.

"Is this the right side?" Riko asked as the trio walked up to the lake.

"Probably," Timothy began, a hint of uncertainty in his voice. "We took the main

trail leading to the lake."

As the blue cat spoke, he glanced around cautiously. His eyes were sharp, but

his vision was significantly limited thanks to the current conditions. Even the

effective range of the lantern held by Ruko had been significantly diminished

due to the thick mist. Enemies concealed by the mist weren't all that hard to

imagine. Hopefully, the three of them haven't just walked into a trap.

Luckily, as the seconds ticked by, there was no ambush, no army leaping out to

greet them with violence. However, there really didn't seem to be much happening

--- just two catgirls and a talking cat standing in the mist at the edge of the

lake.

"Maybe we should try the other side," Timothy finally commented, breaking the

silence.

It was then that midnight struck. A faint chime sounded from over the lake,

drawing the trio's attention. The sound was in no way loud, but --- considering

how quiet the place was --- it was quite noticeable.

Before the group's eyes, the mist began to part over the lake. As it did, a

series of platforms forming a path that lead out over the lake was revealed.

The platforms couldn't have been more than a centimeter thick and were clear in

appearance. The path over the lake led to a gateway leading to an altogether

different place.

Ruko stepped onto the first of the many platforms composing the path, slowly

shifting her weight to it as she did. The thing had no problem supporting her

weight. Although the platforms were reminiscent of glass, they seemed to be

quite sturdy.

"Should we proceed?" the blonde asked, looking back at her friends.

Timothy answered with an affirmative nod before jumping up to the first

platform. Riko followed soon after. The three of them continued along the

mysterious path, drawing closer to the gateway at its end with each step.

***

The floor, walls, and even the ceiling were black stone. After the trio had

passed through the gateway at the end of the path above the lake, they found

themselves in this obsidian structure. They were currently walking down a wide

hall. Ruko was still in the lead. Riko and Timothy walking side by side behind

her. The lantern, still held by Ruko, had been extinguished. It wasn't needed at

this time. Instead, the trio were lead forward by torchlight.

Along both walls of the lengthy hall were a series of evenly spaced torches. The

torches appeared to react to their presence, flickering on as they approached

and extinguishing as they passed. The flames of the torches did not seem to be

quite normal either. Instead of the typical reddish hue one would expect, these

torches burned a vibrant blue.

In silence, the three trekked forward through the otherworldly hall. In time,

the group found itself at the hall's end. There, the hall opened up into an

expansive but dark room, much too dark for the trio to see. Ruko moved to

relight the lantern but stopped short. As the torchlight from the great hall

flickered out, the room's lighting activated. Much like the hall, the walls of

the room were lined with torches. However, more important for the lighting was a

dazzling blue crystal embedded in the center of the room's ceiling. The

enchanting crystal gave off a significant amount of light for the room. In

truth, the torches alone would have proved rather inadequate for acceptably

lighting the room.

"Welcome to Hidden Point," a beautiful voice called out to them from deeper in

the room.

The owner of the voice sat alone at a table --- a table as black as the rest of

the place. The woman's fair skin shown in sharp contrast to the dark color

scheme of the place. Her long, silky, black hair was beautiful. Her scarlet eyes

were outright bewitching.

The otherworldly beautiful woman had a cup of tea in front of her. Opposite of

her at the table were two chairs, a cup of tea by each chair. There was even a

pad on the table with a bowl of milk by it. Whoever the mysterious woman was,

she had clearly been expecting for all three of them to have come.

Riko, Ruko, and Timothy cautiously approached the table, promptly taking their

seats as they reached it --- Timothy situating himself on the pad. Could this

red-eyed woman actually be the one behind that plant-like creature that Riko and

Ruko had fought?

"Greetings," the mysterious woman said after taking a sip of tea. "My name is

Obscura."

"I'm Riko Ibara."

Ruko and Timothy glanced to one another as the cyan-haired catgirl introduced

herself. They, too, then followed suit.

"Ruko Kisara."

"You can call me Timothy."

With the introductions out of the way, Obscura brought her tea cup back to her

lips.

"Ms. Obscura, why are we here?" Riko asked the question that wasn't only on her

mind but also on Ruko's and Timothy's minds.

"It's quite simple my cute little catgirl. I have a task for you three."

"To put it bluntly, why would we be interested in this task of yours after the

whole plant debacle?" Timothy stated.

"Plant debacle? Oh, you mean that cute little plant?"

"Cute little plant? It was enormous, smelled like rotting flesh, and looked like

something from someone's nightmare!" Riko scoffed at how Obscura had referred to

that monstrosity.

"Cute... Terrifying... Whose to say what's one or the other," Obscura responded

rather dismissively.

"Just what is this task you spoke of anyway?" Timothy queried with a sigh,

giving in to at least hearing the woman out.

"Nothing much. Just the usual. Ferreting out a cult... Stopping an evil god..."

"You call that nothing much," Timothy deadpanned.

This sounded like the kind of thing that they couldn't ignore. Timothy, though,

was uncertain. Were they ready for something like this?

"We'll do it!"

Riko, who had risen from her chair, answered without a second thought. Looked

like it was too late to back out now.

A grin spread across Obscura's face as she stood up. Now that the two of them

were standing, it was quite apparent that the otherworldly Obscura was quite a

bit taller than Riko's 157cm. Actually, Obscura measured in at 180cm tall. For a

second, the two buxom women stared at one another before the taller Obscura

leaned over the table, handing a folded paper to Riko.

"Here's the details my cute little catgirl. Don't disappoint."