"However, I know a secret. Want me to tell you?" asked the blind elder, baiting the twins with a conspiratorial tone.
"Yes! / Mmm-hmm, tell us, Grandpa!" the children answered in unison, clearly falling for his little provocation.
"There is a legend," the old man began, lowering his voice, "so ancient it's been forgotten even by the gods themselves."
"Once, during my travels around the world, I met a scholar—an academic from a wealthy family who had devoted his entire life to research, defying his noble bloodline. He showed me ancient cave engravings—primitive yet striking depictions that revealed a single, enormous landmass."
"We studied the shapes and contours together and realized that all eight continents must have once been part of one immense, unified supercontinent. But then we noticed something strange—there was a massive section of land in those drawings that no longer exists. A piece of the world that had simply... vanished."
"Where did it go? What happened to it? No one knows. But we concluded that once upon a time, there was a ninth continent. And that it had sunk beneath the waves after a cataclysm so devastating, even the gods turned their eyes away."
"Not even the merfolk have found its traces. And believe me, I asked."
"Wow!" the twins gasped together, their imaginations already firing on all cylinders.
"Grandpa, maybe a giant monster dragged it under?" Grace suggested, her eyes wide with the mental image of such an event.
"Ahahaha! Only the legendary Eternal Turtle could manage such a feat. But that's just a fairy tale beast—like dragons and phoenixes. I've never seen real proof that they exist. Probably, long ago, people just mistook wyverns for dragons or mistook flame pheasants for phoenixes before they learned how to wield power. Still, where there's smoke, there's usually fire. Who knows? Such a creature might very well exist somewhere."
"What does the Eternal Turtle look like?" she asked, leaning forward in fascination.
"According to the old tales, it is a majestic blue beast, the color of ocean depths. It is vast beyond measure and exists outside the flow of time. They say the entire planet of Eridania is just a part of its shell."
"That's so cool!" Grace exclaimed.
"Ahahaha, yes it is. But remember, it's all just legend. Still… who doesn't love a good story? Anyway, we've spent too long chatting—let's wrap up for today."
[Already?] the twins thought in perfect sync.
"Your homework for next time: talk to the village elders and learn everything you can about the inhabitants of each continent. Their rulers, their political structures—if you want to travel the world someday, you must understand it."
"Thanks for the lesson, Grandpa! We'll do our best!" the twins chirped as they dashed out of the elder's hut.
Classes were over for the day, and finally, the siblings had some free time to do whatever they wanted. Unsurprisingly, the dusty old library built for their education was the last place they wanted to visit.
Their destination, naturally, was the barn—home to their ever-energetic pet, Lucky.
In recent months, the pup had grown quite a bit. No longer just a wriggling little thing, he now resembled a three-headed pit bull with powerful limbs and an imposing frame. Though he hadn't reached his full size yet, the ferocity in his features clearly marked him as a wild beast… or at least, he would have been, had he not completely lost his composure every time he saw Grace.
Whenever the three-headed dog caught sight of the white-haired girl, he would forget all dignity and bounds of decorum, bounding toward her with all the grace of a living battering ram. And though Gray played with him just as much, Lucky chose Grace nine times out of ten. Only when the girl forgot to feed him did he sulk his way over to the more reliable brother.
Now, the dog was perched with two massive paws on Grace's shoulders, licking her face from every angle with three enthusiastic tongues, his tail wagging wildly.
"Heehee, Lucky! Enough, enough! You're drooling all over me and ruining my hair!" she giggled, half-scolding, half-laughing. "How am I supposed to follow Grandpa's teachings when you're this sloppy?"
"What should we do now?" Gray asked, slightly exasperated, having been left out of the cuddling frenzy.
"I've got an idea!" Grace declared, eyes sparkling. "Let's paint Lucky blue! That way, he'll be just as majestic and noble as the Eternal Turtle!"
Lucky froze. His ears perked up. Though he didn't understand exactly what his little mistress meant, a sense of impending doom coursed through his furry soul.
It was a sense he chose to ignore—after all, his beloved Grace was with him.
"Sounds fun! But where are we going to get blue paint?" Gray asked.
"And you say I never pay attention during lessons!" Grace huffed. "Grandma Cornelia told us how to make blue dye using crushed blueberries, dried with fire magic until they become powder!"
"I remember now! But… where are we going to find that many blueberries? In case you haven't noticed, Lucky's gotten pretty big."
"Then we go into the forest! There are still four hours until sunset—we'll find enough."
"All right, you win," Gray sighed.
With that, the trio set off toward the forest. The outer trees were familiar, safe—no wild beasts wandered this near the village.
The woods were beautiful and strange. Shades of violet dominated the landscape: violet moss beneath their feet, violet leaves above their heads, all shimmering softly in the filtered twilight. The thick canopy of ancient trees formed a dome of intertwined branches, casting mystical shadows over everything.
The air was cool here, filled with the rustle of leaves and the scent of herbs. It was a place of adventure, of secrets, and the twins loved every inch of it. This was where they came to escape, to pretend, to play.
"We need to go deeper—past the Crystal Waterfall. That's where the best berries are," Gray noted, already scanning the forest with a practiced eye.
"You're too slow, little brother. Take Lucky's leash—he'll help you run," Grace teased.
Gray muttered something under his breath, but took the leash.
The Crystal Waterfall, when they reached it, was breathtaking. A cascade of perfectly clear water tumbled down shimmering stone, barely two meters high, yet somehow majestic in its purity.
Just beyond it, a grove of glowing blueberries awaited them—tiny sapphire lights dancing beneath the leaves.
The twins paused for a moment, stunned by the surreal beauty. Then they fell to harvesting the berries, tossing handfuls into a pile—though plenty made it into their mouths too.
The berries were cool on the tongue, bursting with freshness. Each bite felt like a breeze on a hot day—light, clean, and oddly satisfying.
Once their baskets were full, Grace began drying the berries with a low-level fire and wind spell. Gray, having nothing to contribute magically, squatted beside her, mashing the berries she hadn't dried yet and adding to the growing pile of pulp.
The drying took time. The pulp needed to be crushed again, ground into powder, and then rehydrated into paint. But eventually, the dye was ready.
Lucky, blissfully unaware, was about to pay the price for his unwavering loyalty.
"Gray, now you grind it up with the dagger. I'll fetch some water from the falls," Grace ordered.
"Can't you just conjure it?"
"Silly brother, I used up most of my mana drying the berries. Using two elements at once isn't easy!"
"How would I know? I don't have magic, remember?" he muttered, but did as she asked.
Once the paint was mixed, the twins dipped their hands into the blue paste and smeared it across Lucky's back. He twitched but stayed still, ever obedient.
The dye was thick. It took effort to work it through his fur down to the skin.
They painted his sides, his neck, even his legs—until he looked less like a majestic beast and more like a wet, sloppy canvas after a toddler's art project.
"This doesn't look anything like what I imagined…" Grace said, her brow furrowed in disappointment. "Should we wash him off?"
"We don't have time. Let it dry and check tomorrow. We need to get home—Mom's probably back and waiting for dinner."
"Oh no! I forgot!" Grace gasped, grabbing Lucky's leash. "Run!"
And the painted trio dashed back toward the village, leaving behind a magical grove and the blue-drenched evidence of their summer mischief.