I didn’t know what time it was, but I saw that Hepf and Piet were ready for the journey. They were holding their wands and each of them stepped forward to give Ruthorn a hug, and their affection for each other seemed like that between a father and his sons.

When they had finished saying their goodbyes, Ruthorn turned to me and opened his arms, inviting an embrace, so I went up to him and hugged him too. When my body was pressed against his, I felt an energetic vibration that sent goosebumps all over my body. He hugged me so tightly as if he was transmitting something to me, and it felt like there was a low electric current circulating throughout my body.

“I wish you to be everything that you are,” he said after letting me go.

“Thank you again for everything, Master Ruthorn,” I replied, bowing my head to show my respect.

Then the three of us walked out of the room together and headed to the deck where the spaceships were parked. I walked behind Hepf and felt as if we were now a team.

“Is it already time to go?” I asked Hepf in a whisper.

“Not quite yet,” Hepf turned to reply, “we still have an hour left.”

“Oh, I see,” I said, “but why do we then have to take off this early?”

“For two reasons,” Hepf replied. “Firstly, Master Ruthorn asked me to show you around the ship before departure and that I get acquainted with flying with a passenger. If we take off at the exact time when the portal opens, I might make a small mistake and not resolve it in time, since the portal will be open for a few minutes. That’s why I have to do a dry run by flying around the planet at different speeds for a couple of times before settling into a waiting position at portal 16. The second reason is that Master Ruthorn wishes you to see the whole planet Tuengra from above before you return to your world. So please let me know where you would like me to take you for the final round?”

“Well, we can’t talk during the flight, can we?” I asked to verify.

“Yes, that’s right,” Hepf confirmed, “but when we are flying at a low speed, that won’t be a problem because if my concentration is interrupted during the flight at that velocity, the spaceship won’t be in danger. You can talk to me when the ship is hovering in the air, or when we are flying very slowly, and while we are parked.”

“But how do I know when the speed is low enough so I can talk?” I asked him.

“I’ll tell you when it is safe to talk during the flight,” he replied.

We had almost reached the spaceship when Hepf stopped. Then he stepped forward and touched the spherical wing of the ship with his wand and a door on the side, which had been invisible before, opened. Hepf bent his head slightly and entered the ship.

“Please come in,” he invited me to follow.

When I entered, I touched the outer surface of the ship. It was smooth and shiny as if it had been polished with a luxurious car wax. A warm yellow glow emanated from all around the spaceship which was made from gold. I tapped on it lightly and it gave off a hard solid sound, like tapping on a big piece of rock.

“The hull seems to be quite thick,” I remarked to Hepf after stepping inside.

“Yes, the only hollow spaces of this spaceship are the cabin and the area that houses the elements and mechanism installed under the spherical base; the rest of the ship is entirely made of solid gold,” Hepf explained.

“Oh wow, that must make the ship extremely heavy,” I commented.

“Yes, it’s very heavy. To build this spaceship, 42,400 kilograms of gold were used. The vehicle has a massive structure,” he confirmed.

“That’s impressive! But if it’s this heavy, how can it fly?” I asked.

“The weight isn’t an obstacle because in the state of zero gravity, every object has zero weight; whether it is a feather or a huge rock, they both weigh the same.”

I crouched into the ship as the space was so small and narrow that it barely allowed its occupants enough space to sit; standing was simply not possible. The first thing I noticed was a white round disk made of stone which was almost transparent and looked like a crystal. Its smooth and shiny surface looked as if it had been well-polished. The disk, which was around eighty centimeters wide, was installed in the centre of the ship. In the middle of it were two tiny holes, approximately twenty centimeters apart. To the right and the left of the disk were two seats with small backrests, each facing away in the opposite direction. The two seats were made of shiny gold as well and they seemed to be molded together with the entire vehicle. The surface of the seats was lined with a soft cloth that looked like a red flannel.

“Please take a seat,” said Hepf, pointing to the chair opposite to him.

When I sat down, my hand automatically searched for the seat belt but I couldn’t find it. I bent back to look for it at the rear of the seat but there was nothing there either. All I could feel was the bare golden backrest.

“Isn’t there a seat belt?” I asked Hepf.

“No,” he replied, “we don’t need that here.”

“Really?” I asked, a bit surprised, “a spaceship that flies at such high speed but without any safety belts? That sounds quite dangerous.”

“We don’t need them because as soon as the ship starts to move, it will automatically go into a state governed by different physical laws. This means that things won’t be as they normally are,” Hepf explained.

“This is truly amazing.”

I looked around to explore the ship more. Everything I saw was made of gold, the walls, the floor and the ceiling were seamlessly connected without any corners or edges, and there was no indication that we were actually on a spaceship.

“So, this spaceship doesn’t have any monitors or buttons?” I asked Hepf.

“No,” he answered, “we control everything with this wand.”

As to demonstrate that, Hepf raised his wand and inserted it into a panel hole next to him. As soon as the wand was in its position, the stone disk in the centre began to light up gently. At the same time, the door closed slowly and it became dark inside, except for the dim light emitted by the stone disk.

“We’re ready now,” Hepf said, but that instruction seemed to be directed more to himself.

I didn’t see any windows and I couldn’t imagine how it would be possible to steer the ship without crashing into something. Also, there were no instruments, no compass or any buttons or other controls for flying, not even a single monitor that would have allowed us to navigate. Nothing reminded us of the fact that this was actually a high-speed spaceship. And our seating positions made me feel more like sitting at a dining table than being inside in a flying vehicle.

“Hepf, are you sure you’re ready?” I quickly asked while I still had the opportunity to talk to him.

“Yes, absolutely,” he replied confidently.

He grasped the top of the wand firmly, and a few seconds later the light inside the cabin turned gradually brighter, while the golden walls, the floor and the ceiling of the ship slowly became increasingly clearer until they were as transparent as glass. Now we could see everything outside. I saw Ruthorn standing about twenty meters away, the ground of the landing strip, the sky and every detail of our surroundings in all directions.

 

“Wow! What happened?”

“The particles of the gold have been accelerated to the highest frequency which turned them into a bright light,” Hepf said.

“But why doesn’t it look extremely bright like when you landed your ship last time?” I asked.

“Right, if we look out from here, we’ll see everything at the usual and normal brightness,” Hepf explained, which made sense.

“So, this means that we’re ready to take off now, right?” I asked, no longer able to contain my excitement.

“Yes. Are you ready?”

“One more question before we proceed,” I added quickly, “Why can’t I hear any sounds or feel any vibrations? It’s so quiet as if the engines were turned off.”

“Well, that’s because our spaceship uses the mechanism of elemental objects which I have activated with my mental power; that’s why you don’t feel any vibrations or hear any sound,” he explained.

“Alright, we’re taking off now!” Hepf said and gave me a sign with his hand.

And then the most exciting moment arrived. The ship began to slowly rise higher and higher until the landing dock down below seemed as small as the palm of my hand. When I looked around the cabin, I only saw Hepf and myself sitting in our seats with the round stone disk between us. Everything else had become transparent, which made me feel like I was sitting on a flying chair.

“Where would you like to go now?” Hepf asked.

“I’d like to see my Koharu, if that’s okay with you …” I suggested.

“Sure, but we can’t land, I can only hover above her,” he cautioned me.

“Alright, that’s fine,” I said, knowing that the sight of her alone would still warm my heart.

As soon as I finished the sentence, the spaceship suddenly dived down in a matter of seconds. I could feel its lightning speed, and yet at the same time, it was an extremely smooth and silent maneuvering. I couldn’t even feel the slightest shudder during our steep dive. We were now hovering at around thirty meters over the ground. I could see a group of people at the foot of the mountain, who were all looking up, waving and cheering joyfully at our surprise visit. I leaned out over my seat and strained my eyes, desperately looking for Koharu.