The Particle Thief

Purnama transformed into a pink cloud with delicate, thin hands and legs. He sported a pinwheel toy hat, black and white long striped socks, red boxing gloves, and yellow boots.

Walking out of the motel, Purnama ran fast headed towards Santu-Bong.

He arrived at a Dessert Cave filled with people selling, eating, and mining desserts—a bizarre sight.

The air was heavy with the aroma of spun sugar and candied fruits like a carnival exploded in a candy factory. Stalactites dripped with caramel, and tables were laden with towering cakes and shimmering jellies.

Miners, their faces dusted with powdered sugar, chipped away at giant blocks of fudge, while vendors hawked their custom desserts with booming voices. The cave itself was full of colors, with rainbow sherbet walls and pools of chocolate lava bubbling gently in the corners.

The upward path diverged into three major routes.

Purnama had been here before. He knew there were only two routes: the straight path leading into Santu-Bong, its entrance shrouded in mist, and the right path leading to the Sky Theme Park in Le-Dang, marked by a floating signboard.

Knowing where he needed to go, Purnama rushed to the left—a path that shouldn't exist as it only appeared when a rule had been broken: the path to the Prison of Needed.

He was stopped by raven guards, clad in black armor and wielding spears, standing guard at the prison entrance. Purnama opened the gold chest he had brought and showed its contents to the guards.

"I'm going to return this to where it belongs on behalf of Belang. Please let me see him before I do that," said Purnama.

After inspecting the chest's contents, the guards granted Purnama permission. One of them guided him to an interrogation room and left him alone there. The prison was dimly lit, with only a flickering light illuminating the area.

Chained hand and foot, Belang was a grotesque figure—a man fused with the red of a grasshopper. Four raven guards, their faces sharp and dark like the birds they resembled, marched him from his cell to the interrogation room and secured his chains to the table before Purnama.

The guards then left.

"And who might you be? It's not easy to get permission to meet me after what I've done." Asked Belang while looking at the pink cloud before him.

"It's amazing seeing you remain in the same form when I left Rona. I thought you're wiser than me, Belang," Purnama remarked, dropping a hint at his identity.

"Huh... ? Wait... is that really you, Purnama?" Belang questioned. "How did you know where I am?"

Purnama placed the miniature gold chest on the table before him. Upon seeing the chest, Belang's face contorted in fury.

"Purnama, why would you bring it here?! I left it there for a reason!"

"Whoever made you steal this... is not worth it. And for your sake, I'm going to return it," replied Purnama.

"Don't!!" Belang pleaded, his antennae drooping and his usually vibrant red skin seemed to darken. "I helped you before, Purnama, for the same reason!"

Purnama narrowed his large eyes, gazing intently at Belang.

"...And losing you in the process? Remember your own words, Belang."

Without any further conversation, Purnama rose and took the chest. Belang lowered his head in sadness.

"Purnama! You! You, out of all people, should understand!" Belang shouted, seeing Purnama walk away with the chest.

Clutching the chest tightly in his thin hand, Purnama paused briefly before making his way out of the prison.

"Purnamaaaaa! Damn you!!" Belang's furious shouts echoed through the prison, reverberating off the stone walls like trapped birds.

As soon as Purnama stepped out, the prison was bathed in the natural light from outside. His memories returned to haunt him.

In Rona, a restless, blue-skinned lizardman, clad in overalls over his muscular frame, rushed into a house seeking help.

"Belang! You need to help me! She's dying!" he shouted.

"I said NO, Purnama! And that's final!"

Belang, in his cyclops dwarf form, clad in cowboy apparel, strictly advised Purnama.

"The land will not only curse you because of that. We should never interfere with the gods' will!"

"Where is your heart, Belang? She took care of me here in Rona. Because of her, I came back to my senses from the horrors of the white hell experiences. She just wanted to return to her family on Earth—that was her wish—but she's dying here!"

"Forget it, Purnama! The last person who stole it vanished, seen neither in Rona nor on Earth! I will not let anything bad happen to my fellow Celestrias" Belang replied.

"Then I'll do it myself. I need your tools to retrieve the particle. I can't leave her like that," explained Purnama while shaking Belang's shoulder.

Belang brushed Purnama's hands away.

"You want to turn her into a Celestrias? Are you crazy?! Is that your plan all along?! Do you even have the slightest idea about the consequences of doing that?!" Belang's anger flared.

"I'm very sorry, Belang... but I need to borrow this."

Purnama knocked out Belang and took his steampunk gear—a rod with delicate gears and a glass chamber on the top, built by Belang—and walked away.

Belang, lying on the floor, looked at Purnama in disappointment.

"Why... why does he have to be a tough lizardman today? I would have taken him down if he were a bug or something tiny... uhuk..." he sighed.

According to legend, powerful particles lingered in Rona, hidden beneath the city's monument. Meant to remain hidden, they could unleash chaos in Rona if placed in the wrong hands.

Those who died in this mystical land became one with the particles that energized it. They were reborn into an entirely new existence, living for eternity without any memory of their past. For this reason, Purnama intended to keep the woman alive and bring her back to Earth—a fate Purnama was determined to prevent.

Upon arriving in Le-Dang, Purnama searched a narrow alley near the monument for the right spot. He waited for the right weather—dark clouds and purplish petal rain to conceal his actions. He waited patiently, watching as purple petals rained down.

Making sure nobody was around, he used the transparent elongated rod to reach the top of the World Tree monument. Holographic beetles, butterflies, and bees buzzed joyfully around the tree of life, which pulsed with a swirling white aura, visible even in the dark.

Extending the rod to the top of the monument, Purnama pressed the button on the handle. It released steam, and a holographic gripper emerged from the glass, passing through the World Tree and sinking deep beneath the monument.

Like fishing, Purnama felt the rod snag a catch. He rolled the gear on the rod, pulling out the particle and encasing it inside the glass.

As the particle was removed, the tree monument wilted, and all the holographic life disappeared.

DUNG! DUNG! DUNG!

A big bell began to ring loudly in Le-Dang. Purnama rushed back to Belang's lab to make use of the particle. Unbeknownst to Purnama, because he extracted the particle, a new place magically appeared out of nowhere—the Prison of Needed.

Purnama arrived back at Belang's house and went to the basement, where he placed the orb particle in a machine Belang had built to extract energy and produce potions. Belang was already seated in the basement, watching as Purnama arrived.

"Whoever she is, it's not worth it," said Belang. "I don't know if this is going to work or not. Anything happens to her, it's on you."

The particle floated between two mini turbines. The gears moved, and the particle vibrated as it extracted power. A yellow drop dripped into the smaller tube in a few seconds, indicating a positive reaction.

"Never did I doubt you, Belang. You're a genius. I owe you one," Purnama said. "Once I give this to her and bring her back to Earth, I'll be back to return the particle."

After thanking Belang, Purnama took the potion and headed towards Santu-Bong.

Belang removed the particle and placed it inside a miniature gold chest on his desk to contain its power. He then brought it to the living room above, waiting for Purnama to return.

Beyond the Dessert Cave lay the entrance to Santu-Bong, a settlement on a verdant plateau where many florists lived. Purnama climbed one of the houses built into a spiraled giant beanstalk and gave the potion to the mysterious, ailing woman.

As she drank the potion, she woke up in a healthier state.

Purnama hurriedly took the woman to the lake on Santu-Bong's eastern side, where he'd first entered Rona. At that moment, Purnama didn't know the gateway would transport him to a different location on Earth...