S: Let's hope my guess was right…
Morning in Cryverra, under a dim, gloomy sky.
Astaross: Was what S said yesterday true, or was he just guessing?
Astaross: I guess I should go to Cashew's house to meet the others.
3 minutes later…
Astaross: Cashew, are you awake?
Cashew: Ohh, Astaross! I was just about to take a shower. Just sit on the bench for now.
Astaross: Hmm, hurry up.
Astaross: Isn't that Dario and Emrik?
Astaross: Hey! Dario, Emrik, come here!
Emrik: Oh hey, Astaross. Waiting for Cashew?
Dario: Tiber's already waiting at S's house to start the project we talked about yesterday.
Astaross: Alright then, let's wait for Cashew to finish showering and we'll head over.
Cashew: Hey Emrik, Dario. I didn't know you were here.
Dario: Are you ready now?
Cashew: Yup!
Astaross: Then let's get going!
On the way…
Emrik: Yo look, there's Lucien! Looks like he's headed to S's place too.
Lucien: Hey guys! Let's go to S's place!
Cashew: Yup, that's where we're heading. I brought the stuff S asked for yesterday.
Dario: Emrik, if you didn't come up with that idea yesterday, we'd still be playing guessing games.
Lucien: Haha, true. But Astaross, I wanted to ask—what's the deal with that dream of yours, about a mysterious couple?
Astaross: I don't know. I didn't recognize them. But it felt like I entered the dream myself for a moment.
Emrik: I really hope you're the one who inherited the teleportation power in this era, Astaross.
Cashew: Yeah, especially now that our plan to escape the village is set. That power would make everything easier.
Lucien: You also need to learn how to use it, if you really are the heir, Astaross.
Astaross: Why are you all so sure I'm the one?
Dario: Enough chit-chat, let's get to S's place faster so we can finish building the detector.
8 minutes later, after a lot of talking…
Cashew: Finally, we're here.
Emrik: Hey! Where are you…
Tiber (shouting): Down here! I'm in the basement with S—we're setting up the equipment.
Emrik: Alright, I'm coming down now.
S: Cashew, Astaross—why did it take you so long?
Cashew: Sorry! Astaross, Emrik, and Dario had to wait for me to finish showering.
S: Did you bring everything we need?
Cashew: All complete—let's get to it.
Lucien: I hope this really works.
S: Dario, Emrik, Tiber—you three, come with me. We're going to sketch out the detector.
S: The rest of you can do whatever until we start the main project.
Tiber: Seems like Siro is late again. I wonder what his excuse is this time…
Dario: Don't worry. He'll show up soon.
Cashew: Rather than doing nothing, why don't the rest of us look into the teleportation power's history?
Cashew: We could check books in the library, or ask anyone who might know a bit about it.
Lucien: Not a bad idea. Besides, we still haven't confirmed if Astaross really inherited that power.
Astaross: Alright. Let's investigate while the rest of you work on the detector sketch.
Sound of a door slamming upstairs… CRACKKK
Siro (bursting in): GUYS, BAD NEWS!!
Siro: The villagers are rioting again with the government guards! It's worse than yesterday!
S: What are they fighting about now, Siro?
Siro: Same issue as before—but this time, they've got weapons.
Cashew: I don't think kids like us can do anything about that. Let's just stick to building the detector.
Dario: Siro, did you see my dad?
Siro: Sorry, I didn't notice anyone. I rushed straight here after seeing what was going on.
Emrik: Dario, don't worry. I'm sure your dad's okay.
Lucien: S, get to work. We'll handle the research.
Cashew: Astaross, let's go.
Cashew: S, I've put all the stuff in the storage room.
S: Please, all of you—be careful.
Astaross: Why?
S: I think we're being watched. Maybe even suspected. Especially after Emrik and Dario overheard the village leaders' convo.
S: I'm sure they know we're friends. So be cautious while the riot is happening.
Lucien: We'll do our best. Don't worry.
S: Okay. We'll focus on our part here.
Siro: I'll help out too, S.
S: Fine, whatever.
Lucien: Astaross, let's start digging…
On the way…
Cashew: First stop—the central library. Hopefully we find a book that leads us to the teleportation heir.
Lucien: I haven't been to the library in forever. Hope we find something useful.
Cashew: There it is.
Astaross: Looks really quiet.
Lucien: Maybe because of the conflict. Or maybe not. Just guessing.
Astaross: Let's go in. There's no guard anyway.
Lucien: We made it—the central library.
Cashew: Let's head inside.
Astaross: We should split up—it's huge in here.
Astaross: I'll go upstairs. Cashew, search the front section. Lucien, check the back.
Astaross: We've only got until sunset.
Lucien: Got it, heading to the back now.
Astaross: I'll head up. If you find anything useful, just shout.
Astaross: It's not like anyone else is here.
Cashew: Alright, let's do this.
Everyone begins searching…
Lucien: Damn, this place is dusty. Gotta clean first to even read anything.
Cashew: I need to read more carefully—don't wanna miss anything.
Astaross: I wonder if Cashew or Lucien found anything yet…
Astaross: I've read a lot up here but nothing about teleportation power so far.
Lucien: This book talks about magic that moves objects. Alright, I'll read it.
Lucien: Ugh, I'm halfway through and still no relevant info—even though the title's related to teleportation.
Astaross: No one's shouted—must mean they found nothing. I'll sit for a sec.
Cashew: A farming guidebook? I'm not planning to be a farmer, but might as well skim it—I haven't found anything else.
Cashew: Wow, this book's a full tutorial on farming… Wait—what's this last page made of different paper?
Cashew: It says, "Everything began 3100 years ago," then a weird code: "6-1-18-13-12-1-14-4". What does this mean?
Cashew: This might be something important…
Cashew: Hey! Lucien, Astaross! Get over here!
Lucien: Cashew found something!
Lucien: Be right there.
Astaross: On my way.
Lucien: What did you find, Cashew?
Astaross: What's up?
Cashew: You need to hear this—"Everything began 3100 years ago, 6-1-18-13-12-1-14-4."
Astaross: What does that mean? That code… and 3100 years ago? That's ancient.
Lucien: Sounds important. Let's take it. We've been here 4 hours and found nothing else useful.
Cashew: But it has nothing to do with teleportation.
Astaross: Maybe not, but I think it leads to something bigger.
Astaross: Let's head back to S's house. They're probably waiting.
Inside S's house
Tiber: It's been over four hours since they left. Do you think they found anything out there?
Siro: No idea… but I hope they at least brought back something useful.
Siro: S, how's the progress on the detector device?
S: After eight failed attempts, I can say this time the trial went much better.
Emrik: Yeah, we switched the power source from electricity to blue crystal energy.
Dario: Just a bit more fine-tuning and the device will be 100% ready.
Siro: So… does that mean we can use it right away?
S: It's not that simple. We still have to calibrate it to detect signals from pure Veylarin energy—like teleportation power.
Dario: In short, we took the structure of a regular signal detector and modified it to catch energy-based signals instead.
Emrik: If nothing goes wrong, we can begin testing it tomorrow.
Sound of the upstairs door opening…
Astaross: Everyone, we're back!
Siro: Finally, the ones we've been waiting for!
Lucien: And we brought something that might be useful.
Emrik: What did you bring? Is it about the teleportation power inheritor?
Lucien: We found something different. Cashew, show them.
Cashew: Here. "It all began 3100 years ago, 6-1-18-13-12-1-14-4."
Astaross: A small clue… and a weird code.
Cashew: Don't you think it could be a lead? I found it in a farming manual.
Dario: Are you sure it's not just some random scribble someone left there for fun?
S: Judging from the paper and its texture, this is too perfect to be random. The fold marks show it's been hidden in the book for quite a long time.
Emrik: Siro, this feels like the mystery coordinates your grandfather gave you. Is it the same code?
Siro: Doesn't look like it. My grandpa's code was way longer than this one.
Astaross: Guys, I have to ask—did you manage to complete the detector?
Tiber: They said it should be ready by tomorrow. It just needs some minor adjustments now.
Cashew: We might as well all stay here tonight. I'm getting a bit worried with how tense things are in the village lately.
Cashew: I'm afraid we might become targets by mistake.
Emrik: S, would you mind if we crash here for the night?
S: Why would I mind? You're welcome to stay here anytime.
Astaross: I'll start cleaning up the place a bit.
Dario: S, I really hope all our hard work today pays off.
S: Don't worry. If it fails, we can always try again, right?
Emrik: Cashew, can I see that book?
Cashew: Here, take it.
Siro: Guys, I'm sure this is something important. We have to keep it safe.
Dario: You're right, Siro.
Lucien: And I still hope that teleportation power truly ends up with Astaross… or at least one of us.
S: The real gamble begins tomorrow…