Pandora's Box

Chapter sixty-three

His muscles stiffen under the weight of the water.
His skin continues to shrivel as time ticks by.
The water becomes colder and colder
And yet he won't move.

Kai sits in the icy water in his bathtub, praying for the cooling down of his restless mind. The tub is filled to the rim so that every movement is mimicked by the water. The water is completely calm.

The red ruby necklace is slung around his neck where it has been from the moment he retrieved it. He feel compelled to keep it on him, as if taking it off would mean hell to those around him. He is plagued by the fear from his best friend's near death experience as his mind constantly replays the image of Sol's bloody body and the cold feeling it radiated. He remembers the sick feeling in his chest when he heard Sonii's heart wretched scream when her spell brought hell onto herself in the form of wings. The sound still haunts his ears.

He slowly tips his head back and  sinks further underneath the comforting blockade the water provides for him. He can feel it drowning out every memory; every ounce of fear and stress seems to float above the water leaving him in complete numbness underneath.
And for once, he feels at piece.

He opens his eyes underwater, hoping to reminisce in his feelings of ease but is caught with an unfamiliar sight. He sees fire. Bright burning flames so close, he could almost feel the heat on his tender skin. Then his vision zooms out as if it is a camera setting the scene for a movie. The flames shrink into nothing but a small ornament in a claustrophobic room. The room sitting at the highest point of a black marble tower.

The building seems haunted by every chipped brick. Staring at the tower alone, one is lured to seek what is hidden behind its walls. However, witnessing the entire castle warns the onlooker with a sense of horror that paints the outside.

Kai's eyes are glued to his vision. The water seems to hold him down forcing him to witness the vision from beginning to end. Then his vision finally focuses on the words "Far, far away" written on a placard at the castle entrance. Then water finally loosens its grip and he emerges gasping for air.

He rubs his palms over his eyes and pushes his matted hair out of his face. His quick movements to leave the tub leaves water spilling over the rim but he isn't bothered about the mess he is leaving behind. His body tingles across every inch of skin and he feels uneasy knowing that this could possibly be the vision to the last object.

He grabs a towel and wraps it around his waist. It doesn't nothing to relieve the sopping wet mess he is as he walks leaving the water stain of his footprints as a trail behind him. He doesn't seem bothered that he's only wearing a towel as he rushes towards the single passageway Sol boasted about weeks ago. The passageway to the door that allowed him to communicate with the man who seemed have knowledge flowing through his veins.

"Aldwin?" Kai stands before the mirror in the dimly lit room. The cold air hits his warm skin but he still takes no notice of his appearance. His mind is preoccupied with millions of questions. His matted wet hair sits in all directions and his torso is laced with the condensed droplets of water.

"Umm...Kai? Is something wrong?" For the first time, Aldwin seems confused. This is probably his reaction to being caught off guard by a half naked Kai standing before him. Kai proceeds to tell him about his vision in striking detail and Aldwin listens attentively. From his expression, it's easy to tell that he's intrigued.

"Mmm...interesting. From my knowledge, I know that the flame is most likely the everburn flame. All you need a a candle which you would light with the flame and bring it back. It's an everburn meaning it will never burn out. As for the 'Far far away' part, it baffles me. I'm not acquainted with the location so I'm guessing that's the tricky part." Aldwin's voice trails off as if he's loosing his train of thought along with his ability to mutter his ideas aloud.

"Hang on a second." Aldwin abruptly scatters away from the screen. Sounds of clattering books echo as he scavenges for whatever he thinks might have an answer. abruptly ends the call once he finishes talking. Either because he has important things to do or because he's not as interested as his expression conveyed.

"Okay, I think I know where this might be. There's a man known as the storyteller. He's rumored to have written magic into being. According to the resources I have, the location is a certain shooting star. I'll be sending you the co ordinates, check your email." Aldwin says as he continues to rapidly turn pages of a book.

"Thank you so much Aldwin!" Kai smiles and marches out the room in content. Behind him, Aldwin looks as if he is about to say something but then dismisses his concerns.

Kai retreats back out into the passageway where he finds June walking past. She stops in her tracks and scans him from head to toe with a confused but amused look. At this moment, Kai realizes that he is only wearing a towel and proceeds to cross his arms over his chest trying to attempt to be modest.

"I swear it's nothing weird, I can explain." Kai stutters, he can feel the rising heat of embarrassment creep over his face and redden his cheeks.
"No, I don't want to know what you're doing walking into a communications room in a towel. Just don't bring any creepy people home." June holds her hand up as to stop Kai from continuing. She speaks speaks with a judgmental tone and walks off before Kai can get another word out.

He can hear sounds coming from the further down the passageway. He can't help but feel scared that everyone else will have the same mindset as June. He's not going to get embarrassed more than once in one morning. He sprints off in the other direction before he can see who was the cause of the chatter.

Thankfully he missed the heated conversation between father and son.
Thankfully he didn't give himself time to interpret what they were saying because if he did, he would be feeling sick to his stomach.