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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDhGtZ4T5zt
“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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDf3o9Xv8FQ
It was night. Stars hung in the sky, luminous and glorious.288Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQwy0a9Gp1w
“Come on. We don’t want to be late,” Star said. Crystal meekly nodded.288Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJyC571vx4i
They turned and saw Jasmine catching up with them. She ran up and joined them.288Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHmRJLmAzph
“Hey! If memory serves me right, the purpose for us to gather there—” Jasmine started, but Crystal interrupted her.288Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTwjesqcSsn
“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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy3e9bcco1K
“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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuWarPx57Ra
“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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtBimUso7Qv
A paw rose in the crowd. A small brown cat opened her mouth.288Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡavdjxZ42bg
“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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmympZ2UtTs
“And this is where you will part. To your own paths…” Ruby said in a mystic voice.288Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0JOcHKlawB
Crystal turned. She heard faint voices like clock ticking. She went closer to Star.288Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxKO9SncaNc
“Is that your pocket watch?”
Star shook her head.288Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa3co9Kw3so
“My pocket watch is at the tent. Did you forget?” she replied.
Crystal leaned closer.288Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyVIkLelIRJ
“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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ63DZTTDVpU
“You’re right. And it’s closer to us than where our tent is,” Star murmured.
“Tick-Tock-Tick-Tock.”288Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8r1Lv93fBR
It grew louder.288Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRbhH4rQnaQ
Ruby paused.“Whose clock is that? Please lower the volume,” she said gently.288Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwjxXLnEw30
Everyone looked and stared. They all knew the camp had clocks but no one wanted to bring one.288Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh28c0D8vjT
Soon, a grey and white-furred cat spoke.288Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡydGfYjrc2t
“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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHnRe35pqzx
As the ticking grew louder and faster, Ruby understood everything.288Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKqBqlXVYOW
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7U5T2msutF
It was a whole stampede.288Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnBsUly1vEr
Crystal grabbed Star’s paw.288Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbQDOOIfrdP
“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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhSxjGGTx8W
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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5Qfkmj6PSP
“Jasmine! No — you’ll die! What are you doing?!” Crystal’s voice tore through the roar of battle.288Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡf5ig9VFA6h
Jasmine’s smile was calm, almost luminous.288Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0jgjkRqLFG
“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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIiOfI88esE
The explosion thundered across the night, swallowing the camp in fire and shadow.288Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW6tZLhP4mC
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwAHeS1DQl2
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgYN80nRX6b
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8smBsjzHN8
They walked.288Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqwXUSBiJDr
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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8XCFvWqB16
The unmistakable sound of cats chattering grew loud enough she could no longer ignore.288Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡC2DDP0QFmP
“Any discovery?” Crystal asked.288Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7Hd8HMzIUD
Star pointed toward the torches and faint light in the forest.288Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjvI9q6sybK
“I think that’s a camp. Maybe we should ask for food there,” Star suggested.
Crystal immediately objected.288Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4EBbYvSqpL
“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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcDHifzlsnc
Then the black figure flashed in Crystal’s mind. It haunted her, whirred and jarred her.288Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLGa0wZRDGL
She remembered what ancient texts said about black mysterious figures.288Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ14RSngZnD
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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi4vyOvxiWI
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Crystal and Star stopped breathing.
Camp Starclaw.288Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVwF8bRL6Me
“Isn’t it supposed to be dead at BFG 100?!”288Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpFy6VwhY5e
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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPsFgWOdXpx
“Yes,” Star replied weakly.288Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSxBhuGHe0L
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR1HXE3Yu2U
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaTb0lSMeZn
She turned and welcomed them to Starclaw.288Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS3yFCX8rZH
It was dimly lit. Treehouses stood high up in the trees.288Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgkidq7oqnr
The lanterns flickered once… then every light in Camp Starclaw went out.288Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfUnIXS0sEZ
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