Chapter 48: A Trip Down Memory Lane

Pygmy leads the three towards a huge tree covered in bushes and vines with moss and mushrooms on it. Thenea was happily taking in the different environment that she felt it came from fairytale books, but the other two, Serene and Lance, were skeptical and wore grim faces, afraid of what's waiting for them inside.

No matter how Thenea is sure that the tiny creature with them is Pygmy, she could still be easily copied by the enemy. Who knows?

Pygmy stopped and smiled brightly, "WELCOME TO PYGMY HOUSE!"

Thenea's eyes shined, "ooooh~"

Lance shook his head as he chuckled quietly, he couldn't believe how fast Thenea's mood changed. She was just crying a moment ago, and now, she's ready to catch up with a friend with genuine enthusiasm.

Serene gulped, still being cautious, "can't we just talk here? outside?"

Pygmy turned to Serene and looked at her seriously, her eyes trying to tell her something, "it's dangerous. The others might hear us."

Shudder.

They have forgotten that the one in front of them is one of the Four Elemental Guardians, and on top of that, she holds the power of Earth. She has the advantage of knowing where things are, with the Earth on her side, nothing escapes from her.

All sorts of energy would instantly be felt by her as long as it's on the surface of the Earth.

All of the Elemental Guardians are like her, wherever their elemental power is, they can feel, see, and hear what was going on in there if they wished to.

The Water Guardian, Nymph, is in charge of the waters. She lives in the East where the vast ocean is located. She's worshiped at the Land of Siren. Whenever fishermen would leave at dawn to catch fish, they would always pray to her before leaving and keep a relic of her on the boat for protection.

The Air Guardian, Sylvertris, is in charge of the air. It is him too who they would pray for good weather. And although he is worshiped everywhere, the stories have it that he lives in the West as the Trouvians find the breeze there relaxing.

Lastly, the Fire Guardian, Vulcanos, he's the most intimidating out of all. He lives in the southeastern part of the kingdom despite having the southerners built a shrine for him. With his strength and power, they needed him to protect them in battle.

The four elemental guardians do not have a good relationship with each other, but for their job, whatever they do, they must not disrupt the other guardian's job. No matter how the people need it. This is for the natural order to keep flowing.

"What do you mean?" Lance asked.

Thenea became serious and spoke, "let us get inside."

It is the first time they have ever seen Thenea wear a serious face, whatever the situation and however the situation is, there will always be a smile on her face. She doesn't let everything get to her, she shields herself well.

But at the moment, she's showing them a different version of herself. It stirs a lot of emotion within them.

The group went inside with no expectation, but when they stepped inside, their jaws dropped at how beautiful it was. It was very different from how relaxing and peaceful the interior was. The fact that they entered a huge opening of a huge tree was completely erased when they saw the beautiful plants decorating the insides.

Just like the Land of Scorpion's Council's Hall, the illusion is uncanningly the same. Once you enter, it's not a narrow space, instead, Thenea thought its size is the same as the Ember Manor. Their main house.

"We're finally inside Pygmy house!"

As soon as the guardian finished talking, Thenea inhaled deeply and let out a scream.

"WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

The other three felt like their ears were bleeding as her piercing scream penetrated from one ear to the other. Their faces also looked pale.

"Pygmy, your house is so pretty! Everything is here, even the rarest kind of plants are here! They're greener and more vibrant! How does everything fit in your house? I want to live here!"

Lance and Serene blinked, 'is this the same Thenea they know?'

Thenea is making a fuss and is checking everything out, her walls and floor are all covered in nature, it is like they're still outside. Even her furniture is all part of nature that was just molded into something that can be used for home.

Lance slightly leaned to Serene and whispered, "I think I now know how she's close with Viv."

"Yeah," Serene gently bobbed her head in agreement.

The four of them sat at Pygmy's glamorous dining area, as her living room was designed for her only and she finds it a hassle to redo everything, she thought it'd be best for them to talk at the dining area. After Thenea's fuss, they all are now focused on the reason why they had come to find her.

And although sitting on a mushroom with a table of gigantic leaf, and on it are cups that resemble a tulip that have a beautiful and sweet aroma of a flower tea, gets them distracted, they have to free their mind from everything. Even the teapot she has is of a lily that has not yet fully bloomed.

Pygmy transformed to her human self and sat in front of them, clasping her hands on the table.

'Spirits are amazing,' Serene noted.

"What are you guys here for?" she asked, not wasting a second.

"We are assigned by the capital," the mention of both assignment and capital by Lance brought back memories to Pygmy, "they want us to investigate the matter with the stone slate and that we must find you."

"What does the stone slate have to do with me?"

Pygmy's mood suddenly changed, the once cheerful and bright creature grew darker and her house was affected as well. It was just warm and cozy when they got in, but as soon as the topic was brought up, it became colder.

'Why the hell is it so cold?' Serene wondered, trying to rub her palms discreetly under the table.

"What do you know?" she asked again. But before Lance could answer, Pygmy turned to face Thenea, "What do they know?"

Thenea moved her chair forward and prompted her elbows on the table, looking at the guardian with a straight face, "we have speculations that the stone had something to do with what happened at the Land of Scorpion."

"The Land of Scorpion," Pygmy repeated as she tried to recall the energy she felt, "where was the priestess you're with that night?"

"You know about Lithea?" Lance asked. Serene kicked his foot, she does not want to reveal information of their teammates, not even to guardians. She's very overprotective with them.

"How did you know about her?" Thenea asked as well.

"I felt your energy, but what's strange was, I can't feel what you were pursuing at that moment."

"What?" Thenea was surprised, she knew of Pygmy's capabilities, "so it is like that."

Both Lance and Serene were confused with her words, it is like there was something they knew even before all of this happened. They also have no idea why a guardian would help them if the legends are true, guardians can't interfere with human problems.

But they didn't know that if Thenea weren't sent to check things out in the forest years ago, Pygmy would have died. She's doing this to show her gratitude towards her saviour.

"Do they know?" Pygmy asked Thenea.

Thenea shook her head, "they don't."

"And Viv?"

"He doesn't know either."

Pygmy looked at the two and studied them, "do you think they can take it?"

"They have to."

"All you need to know is the stone, right?" Pygmy asked to confirm, she doesn't want to keep on going back to fetch her memories.

"What's going on?" Lance asked, confused.

"Are they even with us?" Serene asked Lance, the two seemed to have their own world.

"Very well."

Pygmy closed her eyes and steadied her breathing, not a moment passed by, she slowly floated and when she opened her eyes, her light pink eyes became white. This is an indication to all guardians that they are using their powers.

"Wow," Serene uttered. They all can't take their eyes off of Pygmy.

All of a sudden, some light seemed to get sucked in front of Pygmy and it formed a crystal ball. After the light formed the ball, Pygmy moved her hands, it seems like she's doing some patterned movements for a certain skill. And when she's done, the ball grows bigger and clearer.

The crystal ball is what the guardians uses to store important memories, just like an archive human beings use to store confidential records.

"Brace yourselves," she said. After she said those words, the ball seemed to release a strong force.

The three grunted and held on the table. It was quick but it felt long, they knew if they accidentally lost their grip, they would fly away seeing how Pygmy's furniture slammed on the walls.

"Now," Pygmy loosened herself as the ball sucked her in.

Lance and Serene blinked as they couldn't believe what happened before them. The guardian was just sucked in a gigantic ball. But before they could react, they were sucked into the ball too.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA-"

In a snap, everything inside Pygmy's home was all a mess, and her and her visitors were all gone. Even the crystal ball disappeared, or one would think it disappeared. Instead, the crystal ball is still where it was, it had just become invisible.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!"

Both Lance and Serene were hugging each other, screaming on top of their lungs. They were still screaming when they landed on Pygmy's memory years ago.

"We are here," Pygmy said to stop the two. And when they looked at their surroundings and realized that they were hugging each other, they pushed the other person off of them.

Thenea could only shake her head, she sensed they care for each other like how they care for everyone but because they constantly bicker, they can't just let go of their pride.

Pygmy looked around and found her past self going towards where the stone slate was located and pointed at it.

"We should follow my past self," she said and the others nodded since this is her memory.

"Can't we be seen?" Serene asked.

"No, only we can see what's going on in the kingdom at this time."

"The kingdom only?" Serene asked again.

"More specifically, this forest."

Pygmy chose the date where she felt a presence of a normal human being going to the part of the forest where she rarely visits, the one where there was a cliff.

Since the area is filled with wild plants and since every time she visits the area, there's not much of a difference and they are growing beautifully, she thought it won't require her to keep checking. And with a human presence, she thought she would go check if something was plucked and replace it to keep the land's beauty.

The next day, she went over and saw something hidden behind the tall grasses, 'did that human leave it here?'

Pygmy moved a little closer when she noticed a person was leaning on the stone slate.

"What in the world?!"

She doesn't know what to do, if she interferes with the human world, she'd break the most important rule for them as guardians. But she can't leave a person to die.

In panic, she went to check on the person. There, she found out it was a lady but the way she dressed up was different from those who she sees around the kingdom.

"Did she cross the border without an escort?"

Pygmy used her power to check her heartbeat but it surprised her to hear two heartbeat. One was loud and clear, while the other seemed faint and new.

"Is she pregnant?"

Pygmy put two fingers on her forehead and pressed, as she concentrated, she hauled some people towards the cliff by hypnotizing them. She has to save these people.

"What does that pregnant woman have to do with all this?" Serene asked, she can't find the point of having to concentrate on her.

The ground shook after she asked the question and the memory changed to years later.

"Are we–" Lance got confused.

"This is now years after what was shown to us," Pygmy explained.

"So it was the first time you saw the slate," Thenea said.

"Yes."

The area seemed to have changed, the wild flowers surrounding the cliff were gone and only the tall sharp grasses were left. But this time, the stone slate was on full display.

"When is this?" Lance asked again.

"This was probably decades later," Thenea said, her eyes busy with what she can find in the surroundings.

"What are you doing?" he can't help but wonder as she wore such an expression that can't be described.

She's focused, and angry, and sad.

As they were trying to figure out why they're still there, Pygmy heard footsteps and yells. She whipped her head towards the entrance of the forbidden area and lo and behold, a bunch of Jade Soldiers appeared.

"This was the beginning of the mysterious disease," Pygmy's mouth hung open.

"What's going on here?" Serene watched the soldiers as some forces were making them fly back and cannot enter a few feet where the slate is located. Not only that, they can see how the bodies that were touched by the invisible barrier were all blackened, weirdly enough, they can't see it.

"What?" Lance watched carefully, "why is–"

"How are we standing here?" Serene asked, "shouldn't we be not allowed here since this can't be entered from when the memory is taken?"

"Because it is a memory, it is possible," Pygmy said.

They all were desperate, they needed to look carefully at what the invisible barrier is made of. Or could it be, it is done by the stone slate itself?

As they were studying the possibilities of the barrier, Thenea curiously went over to the stone slate to check if its energy can be taken and kept safe even though it is only from a memory. She wants to take some of it and have it examined.

But before she could touch it, a sudden sense of bloodthirst covered the area.

The four of them were hammered by fear, it is as though something is telling them to get out and leave the area for their safety. But for some reason, they can't move.

They're frozen.

The air was cut off and the surrounding became hot, just like what the rumours were saying. The heat from the slate broke free.

'How?' Pygmy could only think of how it is possible to happen in her memory.

A blast threw the four out of the forbidden area and was back to where the safe area is from the year it happened. As the years pass by, the heat surrounding the stone slate keeps growing.

They were coughing and sweating hard when they landed, they also felt wounds and cuts from their body due to the impact.

"What was that?" Serene closed one of her eyes as she tried to feel her cheek's cut.

"I have no idea," Lance answered but his eyes were on Pygmy.

"What?"

"Did you do this? Are you trying to set us up?" Lance stood and towered over her.

Pygmy growled and stood but he was so tall, "Pygmy did not do anything!"

"Then what the hell was that?"

"Pygmy–urk!"

The guardian couldn't finish what she was about to say as she felt a pressure around her neck, choking her.

"Pygmy?"

Thenea panicked, she can't have Pygmy experience another near death situation. Not in her care.

Pygmy was already on her knees when the other three were also being wrapped by something and choked them.

Cough.

The four of them were coughing, trying to breathe and find ways to break free. But their concentration was broken by a piercing laugh that started as faint and eventually got louder.

"Is this what the famous ruby adventurers are capable of?

Their eyes widened at the sight of an enemy. There's only one question running in their mind as they saw her, how was she able to enter Pygmy's memories?