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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgCcYCw5I1L
“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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5mhJGTT32l
It was night. Stars hung in the sky, luminous and glorious.288Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8ogDMdrTBs
“Come on. We don’t want to be late,” Star said. Crystal meekly nodded.288Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKX4XrgNKV1
They turned and saw Jasmine catching up with them. She ran up and joined them.288Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcvvnENGSrR
“Hey! If memory serves me right, the purpose for us to gather there—” Jasmine started, but Crystal interrupted her.288Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkDMbwFyxKD
“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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSGkLBxovJS
“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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlkgfkzFHB5
“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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpHWBjh1RlG
A paw rose in the crowd. A small brown cat opened her mouth.288Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxDXqWpZy8I
“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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNlLog4CKK6
“And this is where you will part. To your own paths…” Ruby said in a mystic voice.288Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfnxuXEQSXs
Crystal turned. She heard faint voices like clock ticking. She went closer to Star.288Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjPYEVkXVak
“Is that your pocket watch?”
Star shook her head.288Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlglPthgroT
“My pocket watch is at the tent. Did you forget?” she replied.
Crystal leaned closer.288Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfv62RGXmZH
“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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8jgmCWWxIE
“You’re right. And it’s closer to us than where our tent is,” Star murmured.
“Tick-Tock-Tick-Tock.”288Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlU3qtBqNf7
It grew louder.288Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBjpA0dCTgk
Ruby paused.“Whose clock is that? Please lower the volume,” she said gently.288Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJhOZd8VAft
Everyone looked and stared. They all knew the camp had clocks but no one wanted to bring one.288Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLAq1g7QXhx
Soon, a grey and white-furred cat spoke.288Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡimCQyIjqtS
“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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnsG7285yah
As the ticking grew louder and faster, Ruby understood everything.288Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcY381vxeiw
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvHmAod0y2s
It was a whole stampede.288Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡe2UVpanIqU
Crystal grabbed Star’s paw.288Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfI4msd1QGu
“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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP87geSWD8h
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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTC9P5RdNqH
“Jasmine! No — you’ll die! What are you doing?!” Crystal’s voice tore through the roar of battle.288Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡASv6dRnmsf
Jasmine’s smile was calm, almost luminous.288Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj1pHCLNYiz
“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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAuR4OqfcjQ
The explosion thundered across the night, swallowing the camp in fire and shadow.288Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwlOh7faXZD
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvUi9NsASB0
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvw5YjcAiER
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwR7t9aXDlf
They walked.288Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNoQ3YtTxf2
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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡf4021Fn8lH
The unmistakable sound of cats chattering grew loud enough she could no longer ignore.288Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWITL5xnOwZ
“Any discovery?” Crystal asked.288Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEUj0mu2cP6
Star pointed toward the torches and faint light in the forest.288Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtnL1CdXTgJ
“I think that’s a camp. Maybe we should ask for food there,” Star suggested.
Crystal immediately objected.288Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd42e7X4D5i
“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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmLgFbo8qfP
Then the black figure flashed in Crystal’s mind. It haunted her, whirred and jarred her.288Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡE5PHAKfCRx
She remembered what ancient texts said about black mysterious figures.288Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMNIttEHnuj
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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLUpUiFW4O5
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Crystal and Star stopped breathing.
Camp Starclaw.288Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhdedb1wUkz
“Isn’t it supposed to be dead at BFG 100?!”288Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZUEm72SwKI
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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgO5zRRl6Ee
“Yes,” Star replied weakly.288Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqNH43UQH4y
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyaed2vLBvR
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRDf0uK8Yl0
She turned and welcomed them to Starclaw.288Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvZeONxQuwu
It was dimly lit. Treehouses stood high up in the trees.288Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIxVFze1WQ0
The lanterns flickered once… then every light in Camp Starclaw went out.288Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHNgsgiDDBG
and then Add to home screen.