The Two Empresses
Onyx Orchids

"Huh?! In there?" peekkik Nero's. "Ah, know that I should have gone there myself."

"Talking to go alone, the plant also has a poison that is harmful to us. He said Oorun, anyway," Saciel complained. Nero was still hearing it. "Maybe Julian knows something about that plant."

"Are we going to his house?" ask Cerlina.

"Yes. Let's go before another priest takes me to fight," Saciel asked as she stood up and walked out, but she almost hit someone.

"Ah, Saciel?" chirps.

"Yes llmol?" reply Saciel. "You're still here?"

"Lao asked me to keep an eye on the condition of the temple, fearing a coup" Ilmol said. Saciel nodded and left as quickly as possible, followed by Nero and Cerlina at the back.

...****************...

"Hello, Saciel and friends. Can I help you?" greet Julian when they reach his residence.

"Have you heard of the Onyx Orchid?" ask Saciel quickly.

"Never. Sit down, I think the story will be long" Julian bargained. "Make tea for our guests."

"It's so good of you. But really you've never heard of it?"

"There's no name for the plant in my family's encyclopedia. Is it because it is a plant?"

"You've got a point, anyway," Saciel murmured. "But the plant is on Earth, and it's in a place that's hard to reach."

"Where?" ask Julian.

"In the Ceshier region, right in the heart of an uninhabited island filled with carnivorous and poisonous plants" Nero said. Julian winked at hearing that.

"Well, it's there, huh? But strangely, they didn't report anything to me" Julian lamented.

"The plant is in a sacred shield" Saciel said. Julian was still hearing it. "Lao Condition?"

"Far from good, yet still possible to be saved. We have to hurry, because I don't know how to process it yet either" Julian said. "We're for duty."

"Me and Nero went to the island, you and Cerlina are here while helping Lau take care of the country" Saciel said quickly.

"Hey, you want to take me to die fast? Forgot that there's a lot of sirens in the ocean?" tangent Nero's. Saciel was grinning to hear it.

"Ah yes, I forgot," Saciel complained. "Ah, fuck the siren. We have to go."

"Let me help you" Cerlina said, blessing Saciel and Nero. "May God Oorun always be with you."

"Thank you" said the two. Nero grabbed the Great Priestess' delicate hand and kissed her cheek gently.

"Go first, honey," whispered Nero. Cerlina's face flushed red, she simply nodded and gave a timid look. Saciel pulls Nero and flicks his fingers, moving the two on an uninhabited island.

"Okay, we're here. Oh yes, to be safe we make a wall using Undine," said Saciel. Nero nodded and called out to Undine.

"Please, Undine, please" said Nero. Undine immediately made a 10-meter-high wall of water and made the water impenetrable. Saciel walked around the island in search of a crack, but there was almost no gap. There was only a small path the size of a cat hidden behind a bush. "You found something?"

"There's a small lane in the north, but it's too small for us to enter" Saciel said. Nero checked the line and thought for a moment.

"What if we burn everything?" ask Nero.

"I was also willing to do it, but because of the many rare plants so I paled my intention. I could have shrunk my body, but I still couldn't control it, stupidly" Saciel said.

"Let's just try it" said Nero. Slowly covered in fur, his tall stout body shrank to the size of a puppy. His half-human physical changes now turned completely into a wolf cub with adorable round eyes.

"...jeez, it's so cute" said Saciel gnashy.

'Let's hurry, I don't want to stay in this place for long, ' said Nero via telepathy.

'Well, cool!' Saciel. He shrank his body to the size of a small bottle and climbed on Nero's back. "Let's go!"

Nero slowly settles into the path, occasionally avoiding transverse spines and small carnivorous plants that are able to engulf his body. The winding and long path, making Nero and Saciel almost give up because of the difficulty of the terrain. Once on the branching track, Nero stopped.

"What road should we take?" lamented Saciel.

'I don't know either. Ah, why don't I just wear her?' reply Nero.

Nero did not pierce, knocked on the ground with his small legs and slowly appeared several ground golems from behind the plants.

'Where is the correct path to the Onyx Orchid?' ask Nero. The golems pointed towards the left, but there was one that pointed towards the right.

"Lho, eh? How do you go to the right?" ask Saciel. That one golem made a gesture, but Saciel failed to understand. "How's uhh?"

'These two paths both lead to the plant, only that each path has its own obstacles. The designated group of golems was filled with poisonous spines, while one contained a carnivorous plant.'

"All options are equally heavy, but I think carnivorous plants are more profitable than poisonous spines" Saciel said.

Nero was silent for a moment, occasionally turning his face away. He took the right path with his small steps.

"You sure?" ask Saciel. Nero simply nodded, then came to a halt as several carnivorous plants stood transverse in his path. "Well, fuck."

'Burn it out, ' said Nero. Saciel flicked his fingers and the fire began to devour the carnivorous plant to ashes. They continued their journey cautiously as carnivorous plants formed fences on both sides, ready to eat anything that passed.

"Don't you have a forest fairy?" ask Saciel.

'It's not easy working with the forest elves. They're pretty stubborn, ' replied Nero. 'And baby I haven't signed a contract with them.'

"What a pity" Saciel complained. Ten minutes had passed, they had now reached the heart of the island surrounded by a strange orange-colored plant. "What plant is this?"

'I don't know either. We should have taken the plantman, ' said Nero. Saciel descended from Nero's back and slowly approached the plant. 'Hey, what are you crazy?'

Saciel didn't bully him. He took out a silver knife and sliced the leaf. Slowly the knife he was holding turned a dark color. "Toxic."

'How do we get over this fence? The plant we need is in the middle, ' asked Nero. Saciel was silent for a moment, trying to find a gap by twisting it. Nero just kept quiet while noticing that the girl was not doing anything reckless. 'How?'

'Free, the fence is too tight. Inevitably we must burn it, Saciel replied. Nero wagged his tail weakly.

'Can't you move the plant somewhere else?'

'Ah, that's right too. Why am I not thinking?' saciel said girang. He marked the plant with a magic circle and teleported it. "Done!"

'Good, let's go, ' said Nero. Saciel restored his size, but he only managed to make himself a 10-year-old boy.

"ah! Damn, I failed!" cry Saciel.

'At least you're still a human being, ' Nero said. He was again transfigured into a man with his beak face. "Let's go, boy."

"Who are you calling a boy, goddamn it?" maki Saciel with a child's voice. Nero laughed at seeing it. "Don't laugh!"

"I'm not laughing. Come on," said Nero as he walked first, followed by Saciel with his small steps. They reached a giant, lush banyan tree, with its roots hanging down to give birth to tree seedlings. "Wow, the big one."

"And that's the plant we're looking for" Saciel said, pointing to the orchid plant behind the root curtain. "I'll pull it out with magic, get ready."

"OK," replied Nero. Saciel tried to pull the orchid with magic, but the shield brushed it aside and instead retaliated by electrocuting it.

"Well!"

"Well, is it hard?" syndical Nero. Saciel stood up and sighed, trying to regulate his emotions. "How is this?"

"Hmm, you have to bring Cerlina," Saciel murmured.

"Hey, don't take him in death" snapped Nero.

"How else do you want? The only person who could possibly open the holy shield was only him," Saciel replied no less fiercely. Nero was about to argue, but he remembered that his brother's life was in the grip of death and decided to remain silent. "If you refuse, I'll take him anyway."

Saciel made a huge magic circle on the ground and slowly Cerlina appeared right above him. Cerlina was a little shocked and looked around.

"Where am I?" cerlina asked after recovering from her shock.

"On an uninhabited island, Lina. Can you ask for a favor? You're able to open the sacred shield there?" cerocos Saciel while pointing at his orchid. Cerlina turned and looked at the orchid with high interest.

"Hmm, it could seem. It's not too complicated," replied Cerlina gleefully. He stretched out his wand and read the praises in a foreign language, making the tip of his wand shine brightly along with the shield that wrapped the orchid. Slowly the light dimmed. "It."

"Easy. Excuse me," Saciel said as she cast a spell and carefully plucked the orchid with magic. After his entire roots were uprooted from that banyan body, he brought him closer. "Well, the black is really thick."

"Right, like onyx. No wonder the name is appropriate" said Cerlina.

"Now we go back," said Nero. The twins nodded and hit the ground with their sticks, then moved them back to Careol.