Crystal woke up and yawned. She walked over to Star’s tent.
“Star, stop sleeping like a log!” Crystal blurted aloud.Star jumped at the loud noise.“Crystal! I nearly thought there were intruders inside! Stop scaring cats someday,” she complained.
Jasmine, who had just woken up too, nodded in agreement.It was the last day of camp. Soon, they would have to say goodbye to each other.
11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvp3BN8SPI8
“In Catlantis, power is everything.” Crystal remembered what her father said, as he raised his paws and hazardous green flames shot out. His fire ability. He was a royal advisor.
“Your ability determines your future,” he had continued in the flashback. Crystal was seven years old then.
Before he died mysteriously when she was ten…11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJS3MqE5mLc
“Crystal?” She blinked. Star was waving at her, trying to get her attention. Crystal realized she had been daydreaming, and the patrols were sending a message to gather at the place where the large purple crystal ball stood.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsPRs07LIqe
It was night. Stars hung in the sky, luminous and glorious.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzkcYDPT8Gn
“Come on. We don’t want to be late,” Star said. Crystal meekly nodded.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq92EWD6W9j
They turned and saw Jasmine catching up with them. She ran up and joined them.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfymR2VtmbP
“Hey! If memory serves me right, the purpose for us to gather there—” Jasmine started, but Crystal interrupted her.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY9k7SVPxPy
“I don’t want to hear long lectures. Summarize everything next time.”Star bursted into laughter.
“Jasmine, you actually deserved that!” she laughed.
Crystal watched as Jasmine and Star playfully fought with their bare paws. She did not forget the black shadow from last night—it haunted her.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3SE0zxXKPK
“Come on. We need to go now,” Crystal urged. “Stop fighting. You don’t want the patrols to come later and take you both away, right?”They stopped and stayed still.
The crystal ball was at the center of the camp, so it wasn’t a long walk. They soon reached it and saw a crowd of cats standing there, with Princess Ruby in front of the orb.
They joined the crowd, and Ruby raised her paw to address them.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjHnlO2BcGS
“Everyone! This is the last day of camp, and after today, all of you must part ways to find your own path! You can choose to train magic—though we will not provide anything—or continue being a healer. It’s up to you.”11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfTBLKzNwRI
A paw rose in the crowd. A small brown cat opened her mouth.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk6TS5meq7R
“But isn’t magic training only for males?”Ruby’s face showed slight shock upon hearing this.
“Um, actually, I think we are running out of magical resources and need them for the army, which happens to be male, as Umbryth, the evil kingdom, is very strategic and currently only males are in the army. So it might create this illusion. But now that I’ve clarified,” she announced.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo48m3vVmOg
“And this is where you will part. To your own paths…” Ruby said in a mystic voice.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcdJZOsrith
Crystal turned. She heard faint voices like clock ticking. She went closer to Star.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡysD9m2ZOh7
“Is that your pocket watch?”
Star shook her head.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxavwVYpV8I
“My pocket watch is at the tent. Did you forget?” she replied.
Crystal leaned closer.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJjpSDmhSKQ
“Did you hear that ticking?” she whispered into Star’s ear.
Star’s eyes narrowed, her head tilted and froze, her ears swiveling. She turned to Crystal.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAOqm2TVVu9
“You’re right. And it’s closer to us than where our tent is,” Star murmured.
“Tick-Tock-Tick-Tock.”11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwXf59syPKu
It grew louder.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡC58FtIKUOH
Ruby paused.“Whose clock is that? Please lower the volume,” she said gently.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKXzq2m3N9C
Everyone looked and stared. They all knew the camp had clocks but no one wanted to bring one.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡw6TWiszA7L
Soon, a grey and white-furred cat spoke.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKrPI33LJM3
“I… don’t think anyone brought any form of a clock here,” he answered quietly, almost a whisper. His ears flattened and his eyes narrowed.
11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtcBomENgcj
“Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock.”The ticking grew faster.
Crystal’s eyes went wide.“What if… it’s actually a bomb?” she muttered to Star.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLgqhL7qvov
As the ticking grew louder and faster, Ruby understood everything.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3X8nfJJrsf
11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡduJe7Dlz2o
“Everyone! Evacuate! It’s a time bomb!” she shouted.
“Time bombs are literally the most dangerous! It’s very fatal! It could kill all of us,” she explained briefly.Everything descended into chaos.
Thunderous screaming and panic erupted. Some ran fast. Jasmine immediately turned and helped escort the injured with her plants.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTNZw2L8lZl
It was a whole stampede.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMRVa2rn1te
Crystal grabbed Star’s paw.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdCt0s5u8MV
“Let’s go! What are you waiting for?!”
11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaIzxD3AOp4
She looked back at Jasmine, who was busy helping others.“Jasmine! Come on! What are you thinking?!” Crystal hollered.
“I’m saving these cats. No one else is. And I think that’s unfair!” Jasmine replied, summoning a thick vine.The ticking grew louder.
Crystal concluded it would explode soon. Jasmine had just finished saving the injured.
Crystal dragged Jasmine and Star through the chaos, each step heavier than the last, knowing in her heart it was a futile struggle.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5w4RKvV70I
Then, without warning, vines burst from the earth, coiling around Jasmine and hurling her beyond the camp’s boundary with a violent snap.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyTo6u2uob6
“Jasmine! No — you’ll die! What are you doing?!” Crystal’s voice tore through the roar of battle.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7nqdqmrprn
Jasmine’s smile was calm, almost luminous.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8Yt9N3JsFc
“Crystal, promise me. Become the brightest star the world will ever know — for me.”
Crystal froze. No, her mind whispered. She summoned her moonlight power, desperate to break free, but the final seconds bled away.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDLh9ZdXzvn
The explosion thundered across the night, swallowing the camp in fire and shadow.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVyK5giKzDd
11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQlMPm5kZTY
Jasmine’s face was the last thing Crystal saw—smiling.
11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡclpAxaHiBo
“Jasmine… I will carry your dream to the end,” Crystal murmured, as silent tears carved warm trails down her cheeks.
She had never wept for anyone before. Somehow, Jasmine had been the first.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1SaswfNiXd
11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1fGfkXemwO
Star was nearby. She stayed silent, eyes wide and unmoving.
11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNhThtvZgnZ
Crystal stood first.“Let’s go…” Star mumbled, getting up from the ground.
Crystal nodded. They had forgotten the way home, and their only hope was to wander. Without the camp or Ruby, they couldn’t find their way home.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAAuIDeODLg
11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo191d43yqP
“Let’s go to Wanderer’s Haven first. There’s plenty of resources there,” Crystal suggested.
Crystal and Star stepped into the forest in utter silence, hoping to lurk only in the outskirts. They had no map with them.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJUWXvR9Iub
They walked.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmjSEyagSLK
And walked.
And walked.
11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtS4gtCHbzJ
For days and nights without food.
It was like a maze. A tricky labyrinth that seemed endless.They couldn’t tell where they were now, only hoping they weren’t in danger. That was their last hope.
11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2IREAwTcT5
Leaves fell from the trees as nightingales sang. The crunch of leaves sounded as Crystal and Star took yet another step.
The animals were sleeping now, and they had no food to eat. Starving, Crystal caught a fish from a pond and ate it without hesitation.When Star turned, she saw a torch.
She walked forward. More torches.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDTORBrFywV
The unmistakable sound of cats chattering grew loud enough she could no longer ignore.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkYPNUrkvlF
“Any discovery?” Crystal asked.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLEtdWu4q7O
Star pointed toward the torches and faint light in the forest.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXxgxCYZMvC
“I think that’s a camp. Maybe we should ask for food there,” Star suggested.
Crystal immediately objected.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnEIods8rmq
“I’m not a beggar,” she explained.
“But I think we should check it out. In case it’s abandoned and there might be loot, considering no one came here before.”
“Great idea,” Star commented.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtDmcrNOfab
Then the black figure flashed in Crystal’s mind. It haunted her, whirred and jarred her.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZ60bv9ok7t
She remembered what ancient texts said about black mysterious figures.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡegaudQy4Dl
Death. Destruction. Sins.
11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXxvZryMEII
The faint glow grew brighter as they inched closer. The chattering grew louder. They were mesmerized by the peaceful scene in front of them.
11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDQs8VRiuDI
But before they could get up, a dart shot toward them—but hit a trunk.
11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2MsSXBWgQ4
The trunk immediately got consumed in shadows when the dart hit it.
11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyQlIuY4VBT
A crowd of cats appeared. All armed with weapons. All wore a crystal necklace around their necks.
11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡw8DUXFsP6N
“How dare you invade Camp Starclaw?!” one hollered.
11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCVqOxnb5Ds
But before he could continue, someone stopped him.
11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8dSzFecomA
She walked in front. Her fur was grey and her pupils lilac-colored. Her expression was unreasonably calm and composed.
“Hi. I am Silver. What did you come here for?” she asked.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV2fa7DFFFQ
11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡw2tkGluO5E
Crystal and Star stopped breathing.
Camp Starclaw.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡujGxAM3QkX
“Isn’t it supposed to be dead at BFG 100?!”11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs2YoYzGssc
Silver continued, “Do you want to join the camp?”Star and Crystal stared at each other.
They could only join the camp—or soon, they would die of starvation.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHTb0z635qw
“Yes,” Star replied weakly.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9LO9mIFS9L
11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBYvJgxCBED
Crystal nodded her head in agreement.
11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzdPeePtbWf
“But every member must say this oath out loud, and you must say it sincerely. Otherwise, it won’t work and we cannot accept you,” Silver explained. She took out a scroll.
11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMCFOxBySPJ
“Say it. Loud,” she stated, as if daring them.
Crystal and Star read:11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0XncdB6v5E
11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwHyjFhMnJE
By the silent night and the hidden flame,
I swear my truth, my heart untamed.
In shadows deep, my secrets kept,
With loyalty bound, my soul is wept.
11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6GDYThhZbY
No light shall break my solemn vow,
To guard the code and honor now.
In brotherhood’s cloak, I stand as one,
Until the final dawn has come.
11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQFIyYlDQWo
So swear I this, with voice and breath,
In life, in death — beyond the rest.
11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyFSnIbbpiz
Silver turned and saw crystal necklaces appear on Crystal and Star’s necks, made of thin mist.
“The necklace is what every Camp Starclaw member has after reading the oath. You are officially members now,” Silver announced.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn80iPqde5x
She turned and welcomed them to Starclaw.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjTGWO77qy7
It was dimly lit. Treehouses stood high up in the trees.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfLRuASNVx8
The lanterns flickered once… then every light in Camp Starclaw went out.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP3WUA8gcn0
and then Add to home screen.