The Veil of Darkness
Chapter 377: In Search of Light (Part Four)

Chapter 377: In Search of Light (Part Four)

The moment that dark shadow disintegrated into the rest of dark energy that loomed nearby, Annalise finally sensed the presence of the hidden light energy. It was soft, almost as the distance between them was too large for her to feel its powers. But the fact that she was now able to sense its presence, meant that it had decided to trust her.

She created another magical barrier to stop the dark energy from immediately following her elements. Then she once again focused on finding the light energy and this time, her powers travelled faster than before.

It spread further into the Seelie Realm, crossed mountains, meadows, dead forests, frozen lakes and ponds, before coming to a stop outside a valley that was located in the northern part of the Realm which lined with the ocean on the other side.

The powerful waves of the Light energy hit her in a strong force, but didn’t harm her. Instead, she felt it welcoming her elements, especially her light.

"Esmeray, how are things at your end?" She asked through mind link while maintaining her connection with the light energy. She couldn’t feel the tremors anymore as she was deep under the ground, and since the dark energy was still outside, she assumed that the wards of the Realm still hadn’t fallen.

"We are still safe, but I don’t think the wards will be able to last more than a few more minutes," came Esmeray’s response. "What about you?" Though he sounded calm, Annalise knew just how badly he wanted an answer from her.

"I think I have found its location. I’m heading there." She answered in response to his question but didn’t expect the silence that she received from him before he finally whispered the word - "Okay". The emotions were clear in his tone even though he tried to stay calm.

Not wanting to press him further, she decided to change the topic. "Esmeray, I can feel Valerius’ presence outside the wards of Seelie Realm. Though he’s trying to keep his presence hidden, I can sense him. Can you please..." She didn’t get to finish her request as the response came before that.

"I will. Don’t worry about him."

"Thank you." She ended the conversation and closed the mind link before refocusing on the Light energy. Without wasting another second, she teleported herself to the valley.

The moment she arrived there, she expected to get attacked by the dark energy but much to her surprise, there was no dark energy seen there. Her eyes quickly scanned the forest that was standing behind her, facing the valley, and she realized that unlike the valley, the forest was completely under the grip of the dark energy.

"What’s going on?"

She walked toward the valley, her eyes scanning the area to see if there was something that was keeping the dark energy away from that place. Looking from the outside, the valley looked just like the rest of the Realm - barren, desolate, gloomy, and gripped in the tight clutches of dark energy. No one could actually tell that something was keeping the dark energy from entering the valley, unless they were actually inside the valley.

She allowed her powers to scan the valley as she wondered if it was the presence of the Light energy that was keeping the dark energy from entering the valley, but she soon ruled out that theory. The light energy was sealed in such a way that even its magical force was hidden as well. The only reason she could feel it was because it recognized her elements and connected with them.

She was already quite deep inside the valley when her eyes finally landed on something unusual. However, whatever caught her attention for a mere second was gone the very next moment. No matter how hard she tried to see it again, there was no trace of it.

"Did I... see it wrong?"

She was sure she saw something glittering but now there was nothing.

She summoned her powers and allowed them to search her surroundings, trying to locate anything abnormal, and it didn’t take long before she finally found the mystery of the valley.

Retracting her powers, she warmed up her expression and tone before addressing her hidden hosts. "How long are you all planning to hide and inspect me?"

She waited for some sort of response but she got none even after several long moments passed. Letting out a small sigh, she crossed her hands and spoke again - "Looks like you all don’t trust me at all, but I can’t blame you for that. In your current situation, it would be stupid to believe a stranger who suddenly appeared in your valley. But no matter how hard I try, I can’t think of anything that will make you all believe that I’m not here to harm anyone, and my only intention is to protect the light energy and keep it hidden from the enemy."

Once again there was no reaction but she knew that they were listening to her every word and watching her every move.

This time, she summoned only her light element and let it fly around the area surrounding her. The light element was her biggest bet for convincing the hidden ones that she was a friend and not a foe.

The hidden light energy was first to react to her element of light and she felt a strong pull coming from the deeper part of the valley. Annalise felt worried that the dark energy outside or the enemy would sense the light energy as well considering how strongly it was reacting at the moment. She just hoped that whatever magic was keeping the dark energy from entering the valley, would also be able to keep it hidden despite its strong force.

Her eyes kept scanning the area, keenly looking for the hidden ones, and after a few more long moments, she finally saw them... or at least, one of them. It was a cute little creature with big round eyes, small body in different blue shades, two hands, two legs, and transparent glittery wings that fluttered as it chased a wisp of her light element that was circling the area.

"What-"

Annalise was completely taken aback by the sight in front of her but before she could react, another little thing, but bigger in size compared to the first one, flew out and caught the smaller one to drag it back to their hidden spot.

"Hey! Wait-"

Annalise stretched her hand out to signal the little pixies to stop and not hide from her, but the pixies mistook her move as a threat. The very next second, three more bigger pixies flew out to block her from reaching the previous two.

"Beware, stranger!"

"Don’t you dare attack one of ours!"

"You better rethink before making your move."

Annalise stared at the pixies with her jaw hanging wide open while her eyes went huge in shock. Her reaction came not as the result of finding out that the pixies were speaking but because of the fact that she clearly understood the ancient seelian they were speaking, a language long lost and she only heard or read about.

It took a few seconds before she was finally able to pull herself out of the initial shock and the words that she muttered next sounded just as silly to her as they sounded to the pixies. "You all are so cute."

One of the three pixies, who looked like a male for some reason, squirmed at her worsa as if it was embarrassed by the sudden shift in the direction of their conversation.

"You-"

Another one of the three pixies seemed just as much flustered as the male one, this one seemed like a female.

Annalise quickly shook her before she spoke - "My apology, I didn’t mean any disrespect. I was just taken aback for a moment by how cute and beautiful you all are. Besides, I believed that your race disappeared a long time ago, so, seeing you all here took me by surprise as well. Please forgive me for my ignorance." She even bowed after finishing her explanation plus apology, surprising the picked further.

"Also, I wasn’t going to harm any of you. My body moved according to my words as I was trying to stop the other two from hiding from me all over again." She explained further.

Annalise realized that the pixies were staring at her with wide eyes as if they were the ones who were shocked beyond words this time and it took quite a few long minutes before she realized the reason. She was not only able to understand the ancient Seelian, but even spoke that language right at that moment to communicate with the pixies.