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.
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“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…288Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvxbrbraf09
“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.288Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVe93bLRqgZ
It was night. Stars hung in the sky, luminous and glorious.288Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqAIqcRqb41
“Come on. We don’t want to be late,” Star said. Crystal meekly nodded.288Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ01pzIE6wxV
They turned and saw Jasmine catching up with them. She ran up and joined them.288Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFMMMv90718
“Hey! If memory serves me right, the purpose for us to gather there—” Jasmine started, but Crystal interrupted her.288Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡag3Bk0oguG
“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.288Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNwsqSS9btb
“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.288Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXmN2hYzmVT
“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.”288Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTjHkx0cLsi
A paw rose in the crowd. A small brown cat opened her mouth.288Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKURTwcvaZ7
“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.288Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx76HFWIoyu
“And this is where you will part. To your own paths…” Ruby said in a mystic voice.288Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZuMdkXHbl9
Crystal turned. She heard faint voices like clock ticking. She went closer to Star.288Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJboXY8QyuJ
“Is that your pocket watch?”
Star shook her head.288Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKJEDMWQvE3
“My pocket watch is at the tent. Did you forget?” she replied.
Crystal leaned closer.288Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPnmtvbdeDS
“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.288Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO3BMRFrrkc
“You’re right. And it’s closer to us than where our tent is,” Star murmured.
“Tick-Tock-Tick-Tock.”288Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡInw72J9MKH
It grew louder.288Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvqmOKNgYJC
Ruby paused.“Whose clock is that? Please lower the volume,” she said gently.288Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVa7SwYPhIX
Everyone looked and stared. They all knew the camp had clocks but no one wanted to bring one.288Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpKtnMJbOCW
Soon, a grey and white-furred cat spoke.288Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdlqzKi18X1
“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.
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“Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock.”The ticking grew faster.
Crystal’s eyes went wide.“What if… it’s actually a bomb?” she muttered to Star.288Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUaFk5dRbdK
As the ticking grew louder and faster, Ruby understood everything.288Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR7kJs4aTiM
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“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.288Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyXM75TIe4o
It was a whole stampede.288Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqVqQcWoSEM
Crystal grabbed Star’s paw.288Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnWWjnTjv4k
“Let’s go! What are you waiting for?!”
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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.288Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuksp6KA3Bw
Then, without warning, vines burst from the earth, coiling around Jasmine and hurling her beyond the camp’s boundary with a violent snap.288Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ47yMGVwmRb
“Jasmine! No — you’ll die! What are you doing?!” Crystal’s voice tore through the roar of battle.288Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLwPrY1am56
Jasmine’s smile was calm, almost luminous.288Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRvSfRVkzTU
“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.288Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1KkTIkIbud
The explosion thundered across the night, swallowing the camp in fire and shadow.288Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbbuDV0JznJ
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Jasmine’s face was the last thing Crystal saw—smiling.
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“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.288Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0RMj4i2bCa
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Star was nearby. She stayed silent, eyes wide and unmoving.
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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.288Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡB9xUR0UfLj
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“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.288Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNTFERR4xZr
They walked.288Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmnR9CoS2YD
And walked.
And walked.
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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.
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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.288Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQWJ8FgFPDL
The unmistakable sound of cats chattering grew loud enough she could no longer ignore.288Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVXFKe8SLqI
“Any discovery?” Crystal asked.288Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtO4slTPezH
Star pointed toward the torches and faint light in the forest.288Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4eZfEtqQ07
“I think that’s a camp. Maybe we should ask for food there,” Star suggested.
Crystal immediately objected.288Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWmvJqv7Amf
“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.288Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfHfWPObWN7
Then the black figure flashed in Crystal’s mind. It haunted her, whirred and jarred her.288Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFHXdXkg8JH
She remembered what ancient texts said about black mysterious figures.288Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEbAnh4tr1n
Death. Destruction. Sins.
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The faint glow grew brighter as they inched closer. The chattering grew louder. They were mesmerized by the peaceful scene in front of them.
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But before they could get up, a dart shot toward them—but hit a trunk.
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The trunk immediately got consumed in shadows when the dart hit it.
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A crowd of cats appeared. All armed with weapons. All wore a crystal necklace around their necks.
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“How dare you invade Camp Starclaw?!” one hollered.
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But before he could continue, someone stopped him.
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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.288Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡE6vGYLyTeZ
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Crystal and Star stopped breathing.
Camp Starclaw.288Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7Q3CkT7QSa
“Isn’t it supposed to be dead at BFG 100?!”288Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrmPOr9vhak
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.288Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡArGMXJsj1R
“Yes,” Star replied weakly.288Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKxK7UzkH0E
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Crystal nodded her head in agreement.
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“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.
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“Say it. Loud,” she stated, as if daring them.
Crystal and Star read:288Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDzBWkhtaz5
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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.
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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.
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So swear I this, with voice and breath,
In life, in death — beyond the rest.
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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.288Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX6bJlYHEIf
She turned and welcomed them to Starclaw.288Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZHPidUEGQd
It was dimly lit. Treehouses stood high up in the trees.288Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡok38casVVe
The lanterns flickered once… then every light in Camp Starclaw went out.288Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHTzdRqO3sW
and then Add to home screen.