25 Chapter - 25

Peter understood who the Elder was now. He had seen him before somewhere but could not recall exactly when! When he noticed Draven's disturbing appearance, he pushed him behind and faced the Elder with vigilance.

"Oh! Relax Peter! I am not here to harm anyone. I just came to warn you about your friends and family being stuck in Secare forest. If you do not hurry, then I cannot guarantee their safety" Elder laughed.

"What did you do to them? I would never let you hurt anyone" Peter said angrily while blue flames started to arise from his body.

"Peter! Peter! I never said I hurt anyone. It is your mother who is the cause of all the disasters which are happening to this planet. If only she never met Ashes Lord, then we did not have to face such a calamity" Elder uttered.

Peter pulled Draven away and before he could even realize they were ported to Secure forest magically. Peter realized that his power was increasing day by day.

Draven looked at Peter in shock. He had never seen anyone who could teleport without the help of a portal. And not only that, Peter even took Draven along with him…

"Let us just keep this a secret between us and not tell anyone about this for the time being," Peter warned Darven.

Draven nodded his head and looked around. Even though this place looked prosperous, he still felt that it was almost empty. The gloominess surrounding this forest made him shiver.

"I don't feel good about this forest. I have been to many expeditions but this is the first time I saw such a rich forest which is so empty. Something is definitely not right", Draven whispered.

Peter just walked forward ignoring his warning. After walking for almost a mile, they still could not find anyone. Peter started to think if he made a mistake by listening to the Elder and coming here.

They roamed around for a few more hours and they saw a stream floating around. Draven felt thirsty and tried to drink water from the stream but it jumped away.

He tried to hold the water once more, only to be splashed by the stream once again. Peter said some magical words and raised his hands in the air. Then he folded his fingers and tried to lift the dark magic which surrounded the stream.

A reddish dark brown cloud surrounding the stream started to move away from the stream and went into Peter's hand. The stream altogether disappeared and a child dressed in a cloak emerged in that place.

"I am Elino, the king who used to protect this forest. Due to the witch's trick, the forest started to forget about me. Then the witch turned me into a stream and used me to travel anywhere she desired to go. Thank you for releasing me from the curse. I would grant you a wish for saving me from the torturous life." Elino spoke clearly while expressing his gratitude by giving them his magical Grapline knife.

When the child said he was the king, Draven struggled to control his laugh. Peter sent him a warning glare and asked Elino, "We do not have any wish but could you please help us guide to where my mother is?"

"Sure. I would help you in finding your mother. I know this forest inside out. But you must at least accept a welcoming gift from me. I carved this knife with my own hand and it has unlimited magical powers. This knife would never leave you and even if you throw it away, it will come back to you. I hope you will like this gift" Elino affirmed.

Peter took the knife and said, "Thank you"

"I want some water, I am thirsty! Can someone look at my pity self and help me out?" Draven implored.

Elino went near a huge tree and hit the trunk twice, the tree bent itself and in its huge leaf it held water. Elino signaled Draven to come near and drink it.

Draven had never drunk such tasty water before in his life. It made him feel so refreshed and he even felt like he gained some new powers inside him.

Without even asking, the tree bent down once again and gave Peter some water. But this time the color of the water was Ash grey.

"This tree can get water from any of the sixty-eight planets from here. I do not have to tell you, where the tree got its water from?" Elino stated to Peter.

Peter nodded his head and drank the water from Ashes Planet. When the water touched his tongue, he felt something special. He closed his eyes and tried to feel the energy source that was emitting from the water.

He saw the planet's dark side and felt like home. He swallowed the water drop by drop and immersed himself in the pleasure of drinking that water. He felt the land below and the sky above, it finally dawned on him that he missed that place.

Draven looked at his satisfied face and nudged his shoulders.

"I know that water is tasty but we need to go now! I take back what I said before, now I understand this is one of the most wonderful places on this planet." Draven excitedly proclaimed.

"Let us go, find my mom. That will be our first mission comrade, Draven" Peter spoke with a new spirit.

Elino tapped on a rock and the crystal cave zoomed in front of them. They walked for a few minutes into the cave when Peter saw his mother tending to the little Crystalinans. Elly and Robert were gathering food for everyone.