Chapter 1
I don't have wings to fly
The grand Curved Mountain, the splendid Butterfly Mountain, was Melly's hiding place.
Whenever she could, she would climb to the summit and sit there, feeling the gentle evening breeze and breathing in the delicate scent of the flowers.
She cherished the precious company of her butterfly friends, who flew freely and carefree through the mountain's magical gardens.
There are times when I wish I'd been born a green, hairy, disgusting caterpillar... Burning everything that gets in my way...
At least then, I would turn into a butterfly with beautiful wings. I would finally be free... I would live in peace, without wars. After all, why are there wars?
This was one of the thoughts that troubled Melly's little mind the most.
Even worse was never having met her father and knowing that, at that very moment, he was far away, caught up in one of those senseless wars that seemed as though they would never end.
But his small portrait was still there, in her little room, resting on the small dresser beside her bed.
Though time had left its marks on it, the photograph remained one of her most treasured possessions. There wasn't a single night when she didn't stop to look at it.
And it was in those moments that the longing grew stronger.
Although she had been nothing more than a baby in her father's arms when the photograph was taken, it didn't change the fact that the longing was there. Quietly occupying a place in her heart that never seemed to grow any smaller.
But now, none of that really mattered, because all that remained was the memory.
She had put the portrait away long ago.
Not in a mysterious chest...
But in a place far deeper, inside her little heart.
And speaking of that chest, there really was a large mysterious one hidden among the belongings in the basement.
But by now, of course, she already knew what was kept inside it: old photographs, medals from the days when her father had served as a soldier; love letters that her mother protected with such care and affection; and jewelry she had not worn in a very long time.
Yet all of that was nothing compared to the four great mysteries hidden within that chest.
The hiding place of its only key was no longer a secret.
And just like the old stork story, which no longer made much sense to Melly, everything started to seem much simpler after she caught her mother hiding the key beneath the chest itself—with considerable effort, of course, since it was very heavy.
I think Fluc is the only one who understands me... He's always with me. I know he understands me. The way he looks at me says so.
That was what Melly believed about her little black dog, Fluc.
Suddenly, a fascinating little butterfly drifted through the air and landed right on the tip of her nose.
It tried to keep its balance, tickling her and carrying with it the fragrance of countless different flowers.
Before long, it was gone.
"The mountain seems sad today... Its grass isn't as soft and green as usual, and the plants aren't as beautiful as I know them to be. Even the little birds don't want to sing... The butterflies are gone..." she whispered to herself.
Then she felt something very familiar: fur brushing against her face.
When she opened her eyes, everything was already dark.
The moon rose like a true queen, wearing a splendid black gown adorned with shining stars.
As for Fluc, he was almost impossible to see in the darkness, except for his fascinating wide blue eyes.
She realized that Fluc wanted to show her something extremely important.
"No, Fluc, I want to stay here forever."
At that moment, voices could be heard in the distance. Far away, Melly saw the small flames of approaching torches.
Fluc was growing impatient. He bit the hem of her dress and tugged at it.
"They’re looking for me all over the mountain..."
Melly thinks about hiding, about finding a place to stay forever. But no. She can't. Then, in a sudden moment of clarity, she quickly changes her mind.
"It's Lorde the hunter and his friends from the village."
"I'm here, Lorde! I'm here!" she tries to shout as loudly as she can, but her voice comes out weak and choked. Even so, the distance between them is already small.
"Little Melly," he called. "You need to come back now. Your mother is very ill."
"What do you mean by 'very ill'?"
He's talking about my mother...
Very ill...
That means something really happened.
Even so, Melly takes a deep breath and waits silently for an answer.
"Don't waste any more time, girl! Hurry!"
"What happened, Lorde? Can you tell me? If not, I refuse to leave this place."
She sits down on the ground and crosses her arms, waiting for a clear and direct answer.
"The cursed serpent, girl. The venomous serpent has just bitten your mother."
Without hesitation, he delivers the terrible news.
"Come on, Fluc!"
Clutching little Fluc in her arms, she ran back home.
"Don't waste any time, girl! Don't waste any time!"
Lorde the hunter's powerful voice gradually faded behind her, echoing across the mountain as she ran in desperation.
As soon as she stepped through the door, Melly found nearly everyone from the village crowded into the rooms of her small house.
The air felt unbearably heavy.
No one spoke.
Some kept their heads lowered, while others exchanged silent glances, as though they didn't know what to say.
The smell of damp earth and the villagers' sweat filled the room, and even the house itself seemed smaller than ever.
That was when Melly felt a strange tightness in her chest.
Something was wrong.
For some reason, without anyone saying a single word to her, she knew that unlike the other rooms in the house, her mother's room was empty.
Empty except for her mother herself, bedridden after being bitten by the vile serpent.
"No one can go in there, child. Doctor's orders."
She heard someone say it, but couldn't make out the voice among the crowd.
And then she went in.
Closing the door behind her, she approached her mother, feverish beneath thick blankets draped over her already frail body.
At that moment, it felt as though every step, no matter how small, stretched into an eternity.
"The news isn't encouraging, my daughter," her mother said, sadness evident on her face. "I was bitten by the venomous viper of the Shadowlands."
"Mom..."
Those are the only words Melly can manage to say.
She feels embarrassed and awkward. At that moment, an unknown emptiness takes over her little girl’s heart.
“You know what that means, my little butterfly?” her mother asks her.
But Melly, even though she knows the answer very well, has no strength to respond.
“The venomous serpents of the Shadowlands are the most poisonous in the world,” her mother says. “There are no antidotes. There is no cure. There is nothing that can be done.”
Melly rests her face against her mother’s chest and cries like she has never cried in her life.
She cries for her father, for sadness, for pain, and because things seem like they will never work out for her.
No. None of this was supposed to be happening to me. Why me? What did I do to deserve so much suffering?
She cries because it is a very, very sad day. The saddest day of her entire life.
I know she won’t have a chance. No one has. How much time does she have? she asks herself in her thoughts.
But she is too afraid of the answer. Too afraid.
“Three days…”
A deep, firm voice breaks the silence, and then it falls again.
But this time, it is not an ordinary silence, light like the others. This one seems to hover in the air. It is heavier.
Melly feels as if she is being transported to another dimension.
Now there is no sound at all, no whispers.
Nothing.
Only silence.
A thick silence.
It lingers...
She realizes she is still lying on her mother’s chest. Then she opens her eyes.
She is not in the room.
She looks down and understands where she is.
The bed is floating among the clouds.
And it is truly floating...
“It’s incredible.”
In the distance, still looking downward, she can see the village, the house, and people leaving it.
Night has taken over the sky.
The moonlight turns the clouds into smoke around the bed.
“Ah! You scared me! Who are you?”
She is startled by an old man with a white beard who appears from within the clouds and stops right in front of her.
“Are you God?” she asks.
“No, no. Far from it,” he replies with a smile. “But don’t worry, it’s not the first time I’ve been mistaken for that. After all, God should be taller than this.”
With a slight gesture, he indicates his own height, laughing as if he would never stop.
He bursts into laughter.
But even so, his eyes remain very serious.
“Anyway, let’s move on to what really matters,” he says, regaining his tone. “I need to explain your mission. Correction… your very important mission.”
“My mission? What mission is that?” she asks.
“Don’t ask questions. I don’t think it’s time for you to be asking yet.”
He takes a very old watch from his coat and stares at it for a long moment as he says:
“If you ask, I cannot ask. If I cannot ask, I get no answer. If I get no answer, my question becomes useless, which in the end wasn’t even asked, because you asked before I could ask. What did you ask?”
Melly realizes she is completely confused.
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“You’re talking about some kind of mission…”
“The time is now! Yes, the true mission. The most excellent mission. The inexorably inexorable mission! Wait a moment… what does that word even mean, ‘inexorably’?”
“I don’t know. You’re the one who’s supposed to know.”
“Indeed!” the old man says, straightening his posture with full authority. “I must ask you: do you wish to save your mother?”
At that moment, for the first time, she notices her mother is motionless, in a deep state of unconsciousness due to the deadly venom that has slowly spread through her bloodstream, bringing exhaustion and weakness.
“Of course I do! That’s all I want!” she says.
“You truly do?”
He asks again.
“Yes!” she replies firmly.
“And why do you want it?”
She wasn’t expecting a question like that and answers almost without thinking.
“Because I love her.”
“Well then. There is your mission.”
The old man pauses briefly.
“And therefore, there shall be another purpose for you.”
“Now I’ll also have a purpose in addition to a mission?” she asks.
“Of course you will.”
“Well… that’s something…” he smiles, though this time more calmly and restrained, yet no less sincere.
“If my mission is to save my mother, then what is this purpose?”
“Ah, ah… that I shall never reveal.”
The old man adjusts his coat as he speaks:
“You will discover your purpose on your own.”
“So just tell me what I need to do. I’m already getting impatient!”
He clears his throat and straightens his posture.
“I will explain your mission… or I won’t.”
He pauses for a moment.
“Again I made the same mistake. I must say: your very important mission.”
Melly rolls her eyes.
“Yes, pay very close attention to what I’m about to tell you,” he continues. “This part is extremely crucial.”
He now walks a few steps across the clouds before continuing:
“There is a king who reigns in a very distant kingdom. So distant that even human thoughts cannot reach it.”
His voice grows deeper.
“That kingdom is dark.”
“And this king is known as…”
The old man pauses dramatically.
“The King of the Seven Eternal Lives.”
“Therefore, this wicked king is called the Proud One of the Fifth Dynasty.”
He points toward the horizon as he continues:
“He resides in a palace that is, in truth, a terrible castle, whose extremely tall towers can touch the dark clouds.”
At that moment, Melly interrupts him:
“Why are the clouds black?”
“Oh yes! What an excellent question! They are constantly charged. That is why they are black.”
He strokes his beard as he speaks:
“But the clouds above the castle towers are always charged because there is a storm there all the time.”
Then he opens his arms dramatically.
“That is why it is called the Wet Castle.”
He pauses.
“Dark and wet.”
Another pause.
“Mostly wet.”
Melly remains silent.
“Now then, let us continue without further interruptions,” he goes on.
“What was I saying?”
“Oh yes! I have much to say!”
The old man looks almost offended.
“Did I already say the king is a cat?”
“I don’t think so,” Melly replies.
“Well then. And not just any cat, but a proud cat.”
“Really?” she asks, intrigued.
“Oh yes! Of course! Everything I say is serious. But don’t be fooled. I know that white, soft-furred little beast very well.”
“Wait a moment,” she interrupts before he continues. “Is this cat… actually a cat?”
She raises her small hands like claws, adding a playful wink.
“Well, at least cats are cute,” she says.
“Hahaha! Don’t be fooled, little butterfly! As I told you, there is nothing cute about that beast.”
He waves his hand in disapproval.
“Then just tell me already! Spit it out!” she gets annoyed.
“Very well! I shall tell you at last!”
The old man fires words like a machine gun:
“Mad! Evil! Fierce! White! Annoying! And proud! That is why he is known as the Evil, Proud, and Wicked Cat!”
He takes a deep breath.
“In the name of all kindness, do not ask me about him again. I do not like remembering that species.”
“So the kingdom is known as the Cruel Kingdom of the Seven Eternal Lives…”
He suddenly stops.
“But did I already say that? It seems endless… wait a moment, didn’t I already say this just now?”
He places his hands on his forehead as if trying to remember.
“But how can it have no end? Doesn’t everything that exists have an end?” Melly asks.
“Sometimes, my dear little butterfly. Sometimes. That is where the great mystery arises, my little one.”
“On top of all that, there is still a mystery?” she asks.
“On top of everything, a mystery? Of course! A mystery! No, not just a mystery. A great mystery!”
“Then tell me already and stop dragging this out! What is the great mystery?”
Finally, in a whisper, he says:
“Oh…”
The old man steps closer.
“He possesses the Magic Stone.”
“The Magic Stone? I’ve never heard of it.”
“Of course you haven’t. Because this mystery is a secret.”
He pauses and thinks…
“Or is this secret a mystery…”
Another pause.
“Or would it be the other way around?”
“Oh yes! I must say what the legend says!”
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