[Raw] Colours of Change – Chapter 24

Colours of Change – Chapter 24

Dioris looked back once more, past the huge body that held him. They were no more. The change occurred a little too early, he felt. That change was drastic, but was merely a part of changes that happens daily. He felt angry that it happened to him, but that was irreversible. He could not help it that they were gone. He was then on, alone and would have to be independent, without parents guiding his way. His tears dried, and he remembered the phrase his mother uttered before she saw him last. Stay strong. He had to brave on the journey he had and move on with life.

They continued moving back, before Green stopped.

“Let’s teleport back, the sun is setting. We better treat to both of their injuries as soon as possible too.” Green turned back to look at the rest of the group.

Kierix instantly wanted to throw his knife at the person that spoke. However, his hands were full… They walked so much, from the gate they entered from to the Tree of Worlds and to the other side and Green finally mentioned that they could teleport. He should have told the whole group that he could, and his legs would not have been as tired as they were. He glared at Green.

The oblivious tree just continued to chant the teleport spell. A portal instantly opened in front of them, seeming to have been connected to another within the Tree of Worlds. Green entered immediately, followed by Calidis, Alex and Dioris, then the only ones left was Kierix and the lady on his hands. He dreaded the moment. It was the same scene, and it was as if someone was trying to play a prank on him, forcing him to go last into the portal every time.

He stared at the portal. It was either he walk or enter it. Frustrated, he walked in. His first leg entered fine with no issue, but when his second leg moved into the cylindrical area, he lost footing. He felt nothing when he tried to move his right leg down to touch the ground and get himself balanced. He was going to fall. The next moment, the surroundings changed, it was no longer outdoors, but rather the lobby of the king’s residence. That was the good news, he probably did not have to climb the stairs. Bad news, he fell down. Even worse news, his hands were carrying Snow, and as he fell, she fell on top of him. Fortunately, she was too tired to be conscious, and did not notice his blunder. He could imagine that if she was awake, there would be a really awkward silence awaiting him.

“You still have more to learn, Kierix.” Calidis sneered at him. The serious mood in the air was instantly lifted. Everyone began to laugh at him.

Kierix looked away, ashamed of himself. But either way, at least people began to laugh. He wriggled out, letting himself be free of Snow’s clutch, then kneeled down on one knee, restarting to carry her back on his arms. He looked at Green, who went into the King’s residence. He was probably going to make a report on what happened at the restriction zone. Everyone else just waited outside, patiently waiting for Green to reappear. He looked down at the lady that was sleeping. The peaceful look made him smile.

“I’m done!” Green opened the door such that only he could fit through, before jumping out and closing the door. “Let’s head to our resting locations. To introduce to you guests, the Tree of Worlds is not just a place that the King lives in. As you saw while we climbed the stairs in the early afternoon, there were many lobbies on different floors, and each lobby actually connects to the entire floor’s hotel rooms.” He began speaking.

Wait, those were all places that connected to more rooms? Kierix stared downwards to the other floors from the edge of the entrance that was fenced off. There were countless amount of floors. The whole tree was so tall he could not see the base from his height. He looked back at Green with horror, but his question was soon answered.

“There are an unimaginable amount of hotel rooms, but they were all created for one sole reason. I believe you have seen the marketplace. There are many people of different race, that came from all over the world. The rooms were made for these vendors and customers that visit the Kingdom. This tree was initially ordered to be made into a hotel by the King when the Kingdom was still small. After a few years, it began to function.” He continued to elaborate on the history of the Tree House. He pointed to the stairs and started walking. “Let’s head down. The designated rooms are not too far, only a few floors below us.”

After walking down eleven floors, they finally reached. Kierix began to doubt Green’s words. That was by no means not too far. He stared at Green with horror. Everyone entered the lobby, before walking to a corridor that was full of doors that led to rooms.

“We were designated three rooms, we will be sharing rooms in pairs, except Ms Calidis, who will take a room for herself.” Green passed a key card to Kierix, Alex and Calidis. Kierix held it with his hands, while his arm continued to support Snow. He could not see the card, but turning his head, he noticed the same magic circle that appeared on his magic book appearing on the card. The card had sixteen squares, eight on each side of the card, lining the outer sides with squares. The middle was the symbol of the Kingdom, and on top of it was inscriptions. He assumed the inscription said Tree of Worlds. He could see the glow from the magic circle brightening the area. That was probably his signature automatically inking onto the card.

“These cards are special though, do not lose them. There is no lock on the door, only the handle. Once you have imprinted your signatures, the card recognises you. When the card is within the door’s detection radius of five metres, the people with the signatures on the card will be able to open the door by turning the handle of the door. People that have signatures that are not on the card will not be able to turn the handle.” Green explained the logic behind the locking mechanism. Alex’s eyes sparkled, finding the key interesting. He moved to another’s door turning the door handle. As soon as he touched the other doorknob and tried to turn it, he got a shock and he instantly retreated his hand.

“I forgot to mention that there is a security feature in built to prevent forcing open the door. When the door handle is pressed or if the door is rammed against, the system will create a shock that will hurt but will not kill.” He rubbed his head as he added on. He almost forgotten to say it… But he was already too late.

Alex was shocked. He moved back to his previous position before glaring at Green, who gave a “I’m sorry” awkward smile in response.

“Well, it’s rather late now, I’ll be heading to take a rest, if you need any help, ask any guard that would be patrolling around the area later.” Green turned and walked away, after he explained the details. He left his guests to take their rest.

Calidis pulled on her room’s handle, entering it instantly. She was tired, it was already rather late in the night. Alex still held Dioris on his arms, and while doing so, he entered the room. Kierix was once again the last. He moved his arm without the key card and awkwardly bent down his legs, pushing the handle down without moving his arms. Barely able to open the room, he pushed the door with his legs, creating enough clearance for his body and Snow to enter the room.

He felt awkward. Was there not supposed to be a rule about males and females being in a room together? He dismissed that thought instantly with the excuse that he was no longer in the human world. Moreover, he was not going to do anything to Snow. The door closed automatically and locked behind him after he entered the room. He quickly moved to the nearest bed and set Snow on the bed, allowing her to lie down, rather than on his hands. His hands were very tired, having held Snow up for the past twenty minute or so. He tried to shake off the aching but to no avail. The room was a spacious room, with a window at the end, allowing the room’s user to be able to see the entire Plant Kingdom from above. In the room, there was a showering room, as well as tables and chairs. Further in was two beds, placed next to each other.

He looked at the person that was supposedly his guardian and gave a sigh. Her body was still full of red lines, from the encounter. Some had healed, but most were still around. He looked around the room, finding a first aid kid without breaking a sweat. He instantly administered the special medications that the first aid kid contained that was meant to cure heals on both himself and Snow. If plants were used by the orientals for curing many different diseases and the like, he was not surprised that the plant kingdom were superior in medication and tonic to other kingdoms. After that, he bandaged the wounds together, before keeping the first aid kid in where it was before.

He stared through the window. The lights were bright, the market district was surprisingly still active. He turned around, and jumped on his bed. He had better sleep early, to let his body recover faster. He closed his eyes.