226 Floating City In The Sky

Vy and Lycster packed up all of their items and prepared to leave Papillion. Although Sylvy wished that they could stay on for a few more days, they had to go for their next mission. For the Blackfire siblings to get to their next location, they need to find a Sky Keystone Portal. 

"How is it different from the regular ones we've used?" Lycster asked out of curiosity. 

"Well for one, they allow you to traverse to cities that float in the sky. Regular portals are not able to do that." Ramas explained as he walked up to them from behind. 

He had arrived on Sylvy's behalf to bid them farewell. Ramas also had a useful piece of information to share with Vyrena. There was an item she could obtain in order to gain the powers of teleportation. 

This would allow her to swiftly travel from one place to another, even without going to a physical keystone portal location. While it still had its limitations, it would still help them to travel to far off places. 

"How would we go about obtaining one?" Vy asked. 

"You will need to gather five items and a gemstone that's as large as your hand. Bring the items to one of the mirror pools that are usually found deep underground," Ramas explained.

He continued, "Once you're there, there would usually be drazards living close by. All you need to do is to offer the gemstone to them as payment, and they will help you to place the items in the mirror pond to make portal gems."

A drop of blood would also be required, to bound the portal gems to the person who requested for it to be made. Once done, only the bonded person would be able to use them. Ramas listed down the items Vy would need to find should she decide to make it. 

"This is really helpful, thank you so much Ramas." Vy thanked him for sharing his knowledge. 

She gently patted him on the shoulder with a smile, and said, "Take great care of Sylvy."

With that, Lycster and Vy took their leave. Once they were beyond the walls of the Papillion, Lycster asked Vy where they were going next. Based on the map and information Zylphy had provided them, the nearest keystone portal they could use. 

Both of them took to their sky forms and soared into the sky. The portal they were looking for was hidden amongst the clouds, high above the land. 

"Is it a floating portal?" Lycster asked out of curiosity. 

"Nope, according to the information Zylphy sent, it's located near the top of a mountain," Vy replied. 

After flying through the air for a while, they came across three mountains. Vy and Lycster flew towards the third snow-capped mountain and landed on a cliff. The weather was freezing cold but in their sky forms, they were unaffected by the weather. 

It was understandable since not many people could climb all the way here to use this particular portal. Vy was certain there were others that would have been more accessible. Lycster switched to his mountain goat form so that his fur would continue to protect him from the harsh weather. 

Vy, on the other hand, took to her hybrid kyu form. She looked mostly human, apart from her fur covered ears and long fluffy tail. Her clothes were also mostly made out of fur to keep her warm. The harsh winter winds were unforgiving as she tried to sweep away some of the snow to check the letterings written on the portal. 

Once she was certain that this was indeed the keystone portal they were looking for, Vy stepped onto the platform that was buried underneath the snow. She tried her best to push off some of it so that there was enough space for Lycster and her to stand on it properly. 

As soon as both of them were on the platform, Vy closed her eyes to concentrate. With their destination in mind, she whispered the name of the location. Each of the keystone portal pillars lit up as the light travelled from the pillars to the platform. 

Within the blink of an eye, the Blackfire siblings were transported from the snowy mountains to an unfamiliar location. They were no longer in freezing temperatures so Lycster took to his human form as he opened his eyes. 

Sensing the change in temperature, Vy also turned back into her human form as she opened her eyes. Vy had expected lots of bustling noises, which was what you would hear in a typical city. Yet she was now faced with lush greenery and shrubs. 

"Aren't we supposed to be in a floating city?" Lycster asked with a confused expression. 

As far as his eyes could see, they looked like they were in a forest on land, not a floating city in the sky. Vy wondered if she might have sent them to the wrong location. Aether lifted his head and observed their surroundings. 

-We are in the right place.- he hissed. 

"We are? But this is a forest…" Vy commented. 

-A forest in a floating city. Don't you feel the thinner air?- Aether asked. 

If he had not mentioned it, she would not have realised it either. Vy took to her sky form once more and flew up into the sky. As soon as she broke through the canopy layer of the forest they were in, she instantly realised that Aether was right. 

The forest was merely a small section attached to the floating city of Volitar. From where they were, it was only a short distance away from the main streets. With their destination in sight, Vy flew back down and turned back into her human form. 

"This is indeed Volitar, and the city is that way," Vy pointed towards the direction. 

Without time to waste, the Blackfire siblings started making their way towards civilisation. Despite the thin air, they were able to brief normally. What truly fascinated them were the amount of greenery they were seeing despite being up in the air. 

Lucky for them, there were no ledges nearby for them to look over as well. That would have been quite the fright. Upon reaching the exit of the forest, they realised that they were in the middle of an overgrown garden forest. 

Beyond the archway that led to the forest from where they had come from, was a bustling city in the sky.