Kai's POV:

I watched in awe as my body ignited, intense heat radiating outward as I channeled out my power. The flames surged around me, forming a protective barrier and enveloping Choo-Choo in an inferno cocoon.

I laughed watching the Lykainas falter, the swarm hesitating while the light from my fire pierced through their ranks.

The frantic beating of Choo-Choo's wings reminded me that danger was still imminent. I focused my power on the griffin, trying to calm its erratic flapping and stabilize our flight. As we descended, the griffin's feathers caught fire, shimmering in a brilliant array of reds and oranges.

Despite our descent, the swarm of Lykainas continued to pursue us. The heat from my flames singed their wings, driving them back.

Choo-Choo squawked in distress, its flapping sending a gust that dispersed the remaining ranks of the swarm.

Seeing that the threat was gone, I gradually extinguished my flames, the warmth on my skin dissipating, leaving behind a faint smoky scent as Choo-Choo landed us safely on the ground, his feathers ruffling softly.

When we dismounted, Jaeger clapped me on the back, his eyes gleaming with excitement. "Not bad, Kai! You're a natural!"

"Thanks," I said, wincing from his strong pat.

Jaeger's enthusiasm was infectious, but Myrrha's expression remained skeptical as she supported Benkrat, who was now waking up.

"Took you long enough," she said, and I ignored her.

Benkrat slumped to the ground, still disoriented. "What happened? Where are we?"

Myrrha responded first, "We're at the plains of New Mexico, and Kai scared awa-"

"Scared?!" Jaeger interrupted. "He did more than just scare them. Dude burned those creatures!"

I tried to hide the pride in my voice as I asked, "I thought you said Lykainas can't be burned by fire."

"Yeah, that's what I thought. But look at this." He raised a finger to my face, and I saw a powdery substance on it.

"Is that... ash?"

"Yeah! Look at Choo-Choo; you can see some of it on him."

The griffin let out a tired sound, a mix of a yawn and a squawk. Myrrha walked up to it, dusting the ashes off its fur.

"I think Choo-Choo is tired," she said.

"Yeah, I can sense it," Benkrat agreed from the ground.

"Forget about Choo-Choo for a sec. Don't you guys see?" Jaeger asked, his excitement palpable.

A series of murmurs from Benkrat and Myrrha followed. In the few hours I'd known him, I'd never seen Jaeger this excited.

"You didn't notice the way he kept his fire around us without burning us? And I couldn't see it, but I could tell he used his flames to calm Choo-Choo down and help him balance. That doesn't happen every day, right? And most of all, he burned Lykainas! Come on now, tell me this isn't a sign that he's actually the Mark of Eldorem. Myrrha, you know what I'm talking about. We've tried burning Lykainas with fire before, and it only stalled them, not burned them."

"Maybe it's because it wasn't Eldorian fire," Myrrha said, turning around to pet the griffin as it pecked under its collar.

I couldn't say I wasn't hurt a little by their reluctance to accept what I did as cool, but even I still had my doubts.

"Yeah, I kinda agree with Myrrha. My flames are different since I have Eldorian blood."

"Fine, whatever. But you have to admit, that was pretty cool," Jaeger said.

"Meh," Myrrha said, still backing the rest of us.

"So, I take it I missed a lot then," Benkrat said, lying flat on the ground now, hands clasped behind his head.

I laughed. "Yeah, kinda. But weren't we supposed to be leaving? The Lykainas were gone, and we still had a mission to complete."

"Not yet. Choo-Choo needed to rest," Jaeger replied, collapsing to the ground.

I chuckled nervously. "Not like I was being inconsiderate or anything, but weren't we already in New Mexico? The distance shouldn't be that great, right? He can rest when we get there, don't you think?"

"How about we try flying on your back to see if what you say is true?" Myrrha retorted, and the griffin squawked in response, turning to face me.

I took a step back. "Okay, chill. It was just a question." I sat on the ground, backing Choo-Choo while facing Jaeger and Benkrat.

"So, where in New Mexico were we headed exactly?"

They both shrugged.

"What?!" I heard Myrrha snort behind me. "Don't tell me you had no idea where we were going? Searching for the girl could take more than a day."

"Yeah, so?" Jaeger asked.

"So? So...it meant I was going to get grounded!" I yelled, and they all burst out laughing. "What? What's so funny?"

"Your expression. Oh, Ikzar would have loved this," Benkrat said, wiping his eyes.

"Come on, guys, it's not funny," I said.

"Right, sorry." Jaeger snickered. "Myrrha had an idea where we should start looking, and with Benkrat, we could sense them when we were close."

Well, that didn't make me feel better. Benkrat was as useful as a magnet that only attracted within a certain range. I sighed.

"Myrrha, what was your estimate? Did you think we'd make it back in time?"

"Don't talk to me," she responded, walking to the other side of the griffin to sit.

"Okay, what's up with her? One minute she was friendly, the next minute she was pushing everyone away-"

"Whoa, speak for yourself," Benkrat interrupted, rolling over to his side.

Jaeger yawned. "She was just like that. It's not that she didn't like me; she just didn't like being too friendly with guys."

"Huh." I got up and dusted my pants. "I'd go scout out the plains. I was bored."

"Kai."

I turned. "Yeah?"

"Don't worry, we'd get you back home in time."

"Thanks."

Benkrat was already snoring softly when I passed him, his exhaustion evident. "Yeah, this was going to be a very long mission," I muttered, shaking my head.

With my hands shoved deep into my pockets, I wandered away from the group. The endless plains of New Mexico stretched out before me, a vast expanse of land dotted with scattered rocks. Each step took me further from the others, and I welcomed the solitude.

"Shouldn't have come on this stupid mission," I grumbled, kicking a pebble. The pebble rolled away, striking a larger rock that hummed with a strange energy. Intrigued, I approached the rock and touched its surface, feeling a faint vibration beneath my fingers. Something was etched into it.

Tracing the markings, I looked up and realized the plains were littered with similar rocks, each bearing its own set of carvings. I moved to the next rock a few meters away, ran my fingers over the designs, and felt another pulse of energy.

"This can't be real," I murmured.

As I squinted at the carvings, something resembling writing caught my eye. It was crude, like a child's etching.

Moving on, I crouched beside another rock and noticed a carving that looked like a human figure. It reminded me of ancient art I had seen in movies, the kind that told stories through stick figurines.

A realization hit me, and I stumbled back, landing flat on my behind. What if this was some kind of Eldorem thing?

I scrambled to my feet, my heart racing. Giving the rocks one last glance, I turned to leave but suddenly felt a strange pull.

I should have been freaking out or calling the others, but I didn't. Instead, I continued walking deeper into the field of rocks, as if something was calling to me.

This place felt oddly familiar, though I knew I had never been there before. As if in a trance, I walked until I noticed a lone rock in the middle of the others. From where I stood, I couldn't make out any of the drawings etched on it, so I stepped closer. With each step, the humming energy grew stronger. Just a few feet away, the drawings began to shift and scatter.

I tilted my head, trying to guess what it was piecing together, but it stopped. I could see it was a puzzle, but I couldn't wrap my head around it. One piece looked like a rectangle, another like a square, a third like a trapezoid with a sharp narrow edge, and the rest in different shapes I couldn't begin to describe.

I tried to trace each shape, but as I dragged my hand along them, they shifted under my touch. Freaking out, I withdrew my hand. "Okay, time to call someone."

I backed away slowly, refusing to leave my back facing the rock out of sheer paranoia. As a matter of fact, this place was wide enough to be attacked from any direction.

Entering full panic mode, I threw caution to the wind and made a run for it. I was barely a few feet from the rock when I heard something falling from the sky. I ricocheted just in time as a smoking black arrow struck the ground in front of me.

Backing away, I watched as the arrow dissipated into a cloud of black smoke. Lightning flickered within the smoke, and before I could react, it surged toward me, stopping inches from my face, blowing my hair like a mighty gust of wind.

A hissing sound filled the air, followed by a gruff, sonorous voice.

"What's your name?"

Taken aback, I swallowed hard and said nothing. The cloud circled me, then stopped in front of my face again.

"What's your name?!" the voice demanded, louder and more menacing.

"Kai!" I blurted out, sweat beads forming on my forehead.

"Kai," the voice repeated, "Take off that stupid necklace."

"What?" I asked, my voice barely above a whisper.

"I said take off the necklace!"

"Why?" I repeated, scared to death but somehow feeling the urge to refuse.

Without another word, the cloud began to drift away, then suddenly it dissipated. I let out a sigh of relief, only to hear a hissing sound behind me. I turned around immediately.

The voice cursed in a language I couldn't understand but before I could react, it dispersed.

I turned in circles, unsure whether to relax or stay on guard. Then, distant footsteps and a shout caught my attention.

"Kaiiiiiii!"

"Over here!" I screamed back, waving my hand frantically.

Seeing they were still some distance away, I collapsed onto the ground and folded my legs around me, waiting until they were within close range.

"Come on, guys, you need to see this," I said, getting up as they approached.

I turned, expecting them to follow my lead, but instead, they walked past me.

"Hey, are you guys mad at me?" I asked, trailing behind them.

I didn't get a response. Assuming they were ignoring me on purpose, I walked up to Jaeger and touched him on the shoulder, but he didn't react.

"He's not here. I thought you said he went straight ahead?" Myrrha asked, turning to Jaeger.

"Yes, he did. I saw him leave. He had to be somewhere around," Jaeger said, turning in circles.

I could feel his shoulder blade under my touch, so why couldn't he feel my hand resting on his shoulder?

"Jaeger," I called, but he didn't answer.

"I have a bad feeling about this," Benkrat said, scanning the area.

I quickly moved from Jaeger to Benkrat. "Come on, man, if anyone could see me, it would be you."

I placed my hand on his shoulder, waiting for him to say something, but he didn't. They all stood there, turning in circles, oblivious to the fact that I was right in the middle of their group.

"Guys," I tried again, panic creeping into my voice. "If you're pranking me, stop it. It's not funny," I said, but they ignored me.

I moved toward Myrrha and pulled a lock of her hair.

"Ouch!"

"I knew it, liars!" I exclaimed, but their expressions didn't reveal that they'd been caught out.

"What the hell was that?" Myrrha asked, spinning around.

"What?" Benkrat and Jaeger asked simultaneously.

"Something pulled on my hair."

"It's probably just the wind," Jaeger said dismissively.

Panic set in as I realized this mission was becoming increasingly strange. I heard Choo-Choo squawking as he flapped his wings. Maybe he could see me.

I approached the griffin and held out a hand, hoping he'd nuzzle it, but he walked past me and settled beside Benkrat.

This was bad-very bad. What if they decided to leave without me?

"I'm getting tired," Myrrha said.

"Me too, but we can't just leave without him," Jaeger said, walking into the field of rocks.

That was it-those rocks. Maybe I had touched something I wasn't supposed to. I went back to the first rock I had touched and traced around it, but I didn't feel the hum of energy like before.

"No, no, come on, you've got to be kidding me."

I moved from rock to rock, almost running between them, trying to feel that hum of energy, but I found nothing until I reached the lone rock.

I crouched in front of it. "Maybe if I can fix this puzzle."

Suddenly, I remembered that Myrrha was good at solving puzzles. I just needed to get her to this rock. That should be easy.

I picked up a pebble, distanced myself from the rock, and threw it from an angle where the others could see. The pebble bounced off the rock silently.

"What?!"

I was ready to give up when I heard footsteps approaching.

"This is weird," Myrrha said, her eyes narrowing at the rock.

"Yes, please! Somebody notice me!" I yelled, but she walked past me and touched the rock.

"What's wrong?" Benkrat asked, coming up beside her.

"I saw a pebble bounce off it, but we didn't hear a sound."

"Could have been the wind," Jaeger said, walking up to them.

"Shut up, Jaeger!" I screamed.

Why weren't they talking about the weird carvings? I turned as Choo-Choo let out another squawk. The griffin seemed uneasy about this place.

"Hold up a sec," I said to myself. I rushed to the rock and started rearranging the pieces of the image, trading a square for a rectangle.

"The trapezoid looks like it belongs here, and whatever this is should be..." I turned to look at the griffin again. "Oh."

I had barely finished the puzzle when I realized what I was piecing together.

"A griffin!" I shouted as the broken image became whole and started glowing bright yellow.

"Kai!"

I heard Myrrha's voice. I was crouched between her and Benkrat.

"Wait, you can see me?"

Benkrat pushed me to the ground. "Don't you ever play that trick on us again. Who taught you that invisibility spell?" he demanded, already on top of me, fist raised.

"Get off me," I tried to push him away, but he didn't budge. "Please," I added.

He grudgingly got off me, and instead of standing, I lay flat on the ground.

"You have a minute to explain yourself," Jaeger said, cracking his knuckles as he towered over me.

I stretched out a hand to hold him back. "Wait, I can explain," I laughed nervously.

"It's not funny, Kai. You scared us. What would we have told everyone if we'd gone without you?" Myrrha scolded.

I knew I should apologize, but a strange feeling began to wash over me. It was different from what I had felt earlier. It felt like being hit with electromagnetic waves, each one stronger than the last.

Noticing the expression on my face, Jaeger offered me a hand to stand. "What's wrong?"

"Do you guys sense anything?"

"No," they replied in unison.

"I felt like I was being hit with different levels of vibrations. Each one got stronger."

Jaeger snickered. "You're probably just paranoid, bro."

"Jaeger, has anyone ever told you to shut up?" I said, starting to walk out of the field of rocks.

"Hey, don't talk to my cousin like that. You-"

I raised a finger to stop her. "Hold on one sec, something feels... right?"

"What is it?" Benkrat asked, already moving toward his mount.

"Let's just go," I said.

Benkrat climbed onto the mount, I followed closely behind, and Myrrha followed after me.

"Jaeger, what are you waiting for?" I asked, seeing he was the only one left on the ground.

"The next time you talk to me like that, I'll make you sorry," he growled.

"Fine, just come on." I could feel the vibrations intensifying now. It felt like this was how it should be, but at the same time, I had a nagging feeling that we should leave immediately.

"Jaeger, come on!" I yelled as he stood there sneering at me.

I tried to calm myself down as I saw him making his way out of the field of rocks. Suddenly, I got a jolt. My heart pounded in my chest.

"Kai, are you okay?" Myrrha asked, and Benkrat turned to look at me.

I saw Jaeger about to mount the griffin.

"Oh no."

I knew what was coming, but I couldn't stop it.

"Benkrat, g-"

Suddenly, I was thrown off the griffin, and the next thing I knew, I was flying across the vast expanse of land. I heard the screams of the others before I hit the ground.

I tried to blink as darkness threatened to overtake me. I knew I should get up, but I felt so comfortable lying there.

Remembering the others, I tried to call for them.

"Ben...krat,"

I managed to say before letting the darkness envelop me.