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.
280Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbpwvRyCrSd
“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…280Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡE0SkLJAZAO
“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.280Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJgYcFPINgK
It was night. Stars hung in the sky, luminous and glorious.280Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT6fZ3FL6HI
“Come on. We don’t want to be late,” Star said. Crystal meekly nodded.280Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9J3JbfJHFY
They turned and saw Jasmine catching up with them. She ran up and joined them.280Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7BeuSb3SHE
“Hey! If memory serves me right, the purpose for us to gather there—” Jasmine started, but Crystal interrupted her.280Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcHn76377iH
“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.280Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAmYNZYk2w3
“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.280Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3tleluZiKn
“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.”280Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9uYfpiS8R7
A paw rose in the crowd. A small brown cat opened her mouth.280Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBmjGqppvpH
“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.280Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnHSu4eypo1
“And this is where you will part. To your own paths…” Ruby said in a mystic voice.280Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOglJxAOW6a
Crystal turned. She heard faint voices like clock ticking. She went closer to Star.280Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiCA8Wc8e2i
“Is that your pocket watch?”
Star shook her head.280Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeCNvj6HZTP
“My pocket watch is at the tent. Did you forget?” she replied.
Crystal leaned closer.280Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbmsQVcjLRM
“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.280Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSgwK56WDx5
“You’re right. And it’s closer to us than where our tent is,” Star murmured.
“Tick-Tock-Tick-Tock.”280Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3wDxGe6on1
It grew louder.280Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡST5oq3dT53
Ruby paused.“Whose clock is that? Please lower the volume,” she said gently.280Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCxNqGXmiag
Everyone looked and stared. They all knew the camp had clocks but no one wanted to bring one.280Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvklfZ2Uk3l
Soon, a grey and white-furred cat spoke.280Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ535QUCkVxu
“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.
280Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCpKaZVfGif
“Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock.”The ticking grew faster.
Crystal’s eyes went wide.“What if… it’s actually a bomb?” she muttered to Star.280Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXcPLUfy1WP
As the ticking grew louder and faster, Ruby understood everything.280Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhmDsEPUKtd
280Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8CUNZmYGmf
“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.280Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhYPIUpvdCV
It was a whole stampede.280Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdmv1rNE8Z4
Crystal grabbed Star’s paw.280Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIjQvSFUFMx
“Let’s go! What are you waiting for?!”
280Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0561SAmGTh
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.280Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzUqrtu1mLK
Then, without warning, vines burst from the earth, coiling around Jasmine and hurling her beyond the camp’s boundary with a violent snap.280Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfVN6DkoNnv
“Jasmine! No — you’ll die! What are you doing?!” Crystal’s voice tore through the roar of battle.280Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡE6TfoxLCRV
Jasmine’s smile was calm, almost luminous.280Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBV975AKFUX
“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.280Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKg7tTTwSSY
The explosion thundered across the night, swallowing the camp in fire and shadow.280Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMdxtqlLshJ
280Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ0ObMzbrqS
Jasmine’s face was the last thing Crystal saw—smiling.
280Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM58r3EefM8
“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.280Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO50JBIA5fT
280Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEq1gSovKVe
Star was nearby. She stayed silent, eyes wide and unmoving.
280Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡki6FbvF3aG
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.280Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4ocsruEGoV
280Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ25uJ4E8qQs
“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.280Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡADRfzKLfJK
They walked.280Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEpiaGq386J
And walked.
And walked.
280Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtlJOTTu8EZ
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.
280Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyr8icwLhvM
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.280Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU5pu5vvYWS
The unmistakable sound of cats chattering grew loud enough she could no longer ignore.280Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3gWDrhcBwo
“Any discovery?” Crystal asked.280Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQkcUvCIE0q
Star pointed toward the torches and faint light in the forest.280Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOQFAfvGVBz
“I think that’s a camp. Maybe we should ask for food there,” Star suggested.
Crystal immediately objected.280Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKEnooFRv4f
“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.280Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1QGfPxBVmw
Then the black figure flashed in Crystal’s mind. It haunted her, whirred and jarred her.280Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg92ER4N87L
She remembered what ancient texts said about black mysterious figures.280Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgGYWy1zcbF
Death. Destruction. Sins.
280Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDyYZ2La0aH
The faint glow grew brighter as they inched closer. The chattering grew louder. They were mesmerized by the peaceful scene in front of them.
280Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJbBEh4Xxf9
But before they could get up, a dart shot toward them—but hit a trunk.
280Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEO3oCi6sh9
The trunk immediately got consumed in shadows when the dart hit it.
280Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2zPhrt355q
A crowd of cats appeared. All armed with weapons. All wore a crystal necklace around their necks.
280Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL9W6156Wrw
“How dare you invade Camp Starclaw?!” one hollered.
280Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡke5QbBtXkn
But before he could continue, someone stopped him.
280Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpanqvJWocl
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.280Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDQxHnmJRA2
280Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYPrC0FkZrd
Crystal and Star stopped breathing.
Camp Starclaw.280Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTISpQc2utA
“Isn’t it supposed to be dead at BFG 100?!”280Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV6YmyKQTxr
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.280Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdSO5QfEYZb
“Yes,” Star replied weakly.280Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTAzProKZ4g
280Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV1X0noqXg5
Crystal nodded her head in agreement.
280Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhFpOZO0SbG
“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.
280Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVK6v2yy2W3
“Say it. Loud,” she stated, as if daring them.
Crystal and Star read:280Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcvOOvjWPO2
280Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeoHtg8hKsJ
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.
280Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeFbA4P2Mf4
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.
280Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhMCi1rSgi8
So swear I this, with voice and breath,
In life, in death — beyond the rest.
280Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnwl9xOAoB5
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.280Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGMq4VCxnKJ
She turned and welcomed them to Starclaw.280Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡC7Y2QfOT5O
It was dimly lit. Treehouses stood high up in the trees.280Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡezRgGNZCFy
The lanterns flickered once… then every light in Camp Starclaw went out.280Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa0SOh4lfku
and then Add to home screen.