Eirin's forehead creased. "Burden? I told you not to think like that. You're not."
"Shade must still be out there. He's the only chance we could all escape from this place," Coleen fiddled with her fingers. "But for that to happen, you must meet him. And if I go with you, we'll just get in trouble together."
Eirin bit her lower lip. Coleen's logic was valid; a bitter pill she was forced to swallow. Yet, the thought of Coleen believing herself a burden twisted something in Eirin's gut. She reached out, her fingers hovering near Coleen's clasped hands.
"I'm going to follow what you said not because you're a burden," Eirin approached her with a smile. "It's because if they caught us again, I don't have the strength to protect you."
In the end, Coleen watched Eirin slip out of the underground prison alone. As Eirin passed Link's cell, she saw the young man lying unconscious on the floor. A cold dread settled in Coleen's chest; their survival now rested solely on Eirin.
'Where did he go?' Eirin thought, tiptoeing her way out. Finding Shade Cromwell would be incredibly difficult with all the people desperate to get their hands on her.
Head still fuzzy, Eirin couldn't stop wincing due to the aching at the back of her neck. Although painful, the thought of meeting Shade was the only thing that kept her moving forward.
"What about the Phoenix?"
Eirin immediately hid behind a pillar after rising from the underground prison and into the village chief's house. She covered her ragged breathing as she leaned on the wall.
"Do not pay her attention. The chief has accumulated enough miasma to finally fend her off."
Eirin's forehead creased. Those words reminded her of what she heard from Coleen before. Miasma are not only dangerous to humans but ligmas as well. How come these beings are exposing themselves to it at their will?
The men passed the huge pillar near the stairs laughing, unaware of Eirin sneaking out. She soon found the door leading outside, but as soon as she grabbed the door knob, the voices of people talking caused her to immediately run to the opposite end leading to a huge window.
No hesitation, the adrenaline rush caused the teenage girl to climb up the window and jumped outside towards the forest. She ran as fast as she could, feeling like a part of the wind, charging into the trees, swift enough that the people inside didn't notice.
A fierce grin touched her lips. The wind seemed to push her onward, a silent accomplice. The ache in her neck hadn't vanished, but her resolve to find the man who could change their situation was stronger than ever.
Shade Cromwell—a name whispered with fear among those villagers. Surely he could help Coleen and Link escape. Then, maybe, the four of them could finally leave this dreadful place.
Eirin searched the entire forest, subtly calling his name, but despite her attempts, she found no trace of him. It was odd. How could someone just disappear like that? Exhaustion began catching up, but a swift gust of wind blew in front of her, causing her to stumble back.
"Call my name, master."
Eirin inhaled. "Feya!"
A small whirlwind of green leaves appeared out of nowhere in front of Eirin. As it vanished, her little pixie friend appeared. Her blonde hair bathed in the sunlight, and her amber eyes twinkled with excitement.
"What shall I do for you today, master?" Her bright smile and luminous eyes had a calming effect on Eirin.
"I need to find my companion, but I also cannot let the villagers know that I got out of the prison cell," she said, her gaze scanning the forest.
The pixie gasped, placing both hands on her cheeks. "Are you perhaps… a prisoner, master? Did you do something bad to the people?"
"No! It's nothing like that," Eirin grew flustered, her voice rising. "The people here are the bad ones, and they held me and my friends captive."
The pixie gasped again. "Oh no! I shall do everything that could help you, master. How about changing master's appearance so you won't get caught?"
Eirin nodded, and in a flash, her amber eyes transformed into a deep black color, and her long brown hair turned into a short black bob. A pair of soft brown wolf-ears popped out of Eirin's head, and a matching brown tail grew from her lower back. Her clothes shifted, becoming a brown hoodie paired with black pants.
"Whoa, I look completely different," Eirin gazed at her reflection in the mirror Feya held before her.
Even though the last thing she wanted was to encounter her captors again, Eirin took deep breaths, steeling herself before walking back to the village. Her forehead creased as she sauntered, observing the transformed landscape.
'What the heck? The village looks different—no, different is an understatement,' Eirin thought with her mouth wide open.
Colorful flaglets hung everywhere, strung across village streets and draped over houses. Small banners fluttered from the streetlights she passed.
Eirin flinched as she heard laughter and celebration. Goosebumps pricked her skin; everything felt unsettlingly wrong. The four students had not received such a warm welcome when they arrived. What kind of celebration could this be in the hidden village of Dalry?
The teenage girl straightened her shoulders and walked among the people, trying to blend in. She approached the village plaza, where an eerie, rhythmic chanting drifted on the air. When she arrived, she was astounded to see villagers dancing barefoot in the middle of the plaza.
They danced as if they had forgotten all their worries, only laughter escaping their lips. Eirin's brows furrowed. While their mouths stretched into wide smiles, their eyes remained chillingly empty, devoid of any genuine emotion or thoughts. The same people who had once confined themselves in the comfort of their homes were now partying as if there was no tomorrow.
"This is dangerous, master."
Eirin moved closer to her floating pixie. "Why? What's the matter?" she muttered as they continued to blend in.
"These people are brimming with miasma. I cannot fathom how they could survive at this point, but they must have lost their minds."
Eirin gulped. If the pixie didn't know, there was no way she could ever truly understand what was happening to these people. She couldn't control her frown as she noticed the blisters covering the villagers' feet.
'How could they continue dancing while bleeding like that?' was what the teenage girl thought.
"Could you help me find Shade?"
Feya smiled and nodded. "The wind shall guide us." Eirin's eyes glowed, and the wind began to swirl, taking the form of a luminous line pointing towards something. The corner of Eirin's mouth perked up in amusement as she followed the traces of the wind, that was until she realized where it was leading her.
Again, to the front of the village chief's house.
"W-Why are we here? Are you sure this is the right place?" Her hand trembled as she pulled her hoodie up to hide her face.
"Even I do not know the truth, master. But the wind does not lie. If it is what the wind says, then it must be real," the pixie said without further explanation, her conviction unsettling. How could she be so sure about the wind's truth?
Eirin took a series of deep breaths. Sneaking back into the village chief's house was a far greater hurdle than leaving it. It would make her struggle to escape feel utterly futile, re-entering of her own free will.
The creaking sound of the door made Eirin wince as she peeked inside. Perhaps it was the louder celebration outside, but every sound made Eirin flinch. Even the sound of her own breathing made her anxious. Her eyes adjusted to the sudden darkness as she entered the underground prison.
It was too hard to see anything. She stumbled on the last step of the staircase, bumping hard into someone.
Eirin immediately pulled a punch at the man in front of her. It was the old village chief, now lying on the ground. Seeing the old man like that brought a pang of guilt to Eirin's heart, but she knew hesitation would be fatal for their group.
"That hurts."
Punching an old man was certainly not on Eirin's bucket list, but if she hadn't acted, who knew what the chief might have done?
"Stay back! I'll hurt you even more if you try to touch me again," Eirin said, her hands clenched into fists, ready to throw another punch.
The village chief raised both his hands in front of him. "Calm down, Eirin. It's me!" Eirin's forehead creased.
'Yeah, right? You're the village chief,' she thought, backing away.
"It's me! Link! Don't you recognize my voice?" The village chief pointed to his neck. That only made Eirin warier, and the village chief—Link—saw it. "It's my flair, Possession."
Possession: the ability to control living beings by entering and possessing their bodies. It's a rare flair, making it difficult to control.
"I'll explain later. For now, we should meet Miss Jenkins."
Though hesitant, Eirin allowed the village chief to guide her deeper into the underground prison. They passed by Link's actual prison cell, where Eirin saw Link's body still sleeping on the floor.
They took another path she didn't know was there. The teenage girl gulped, staring at the hand holding her arm. The absurdity of believing this person in front of her was Link Patterson was overwhelming. Yet, in this world, anything is possible.
As they walked deeper and deeper underground, Eirin felt something surge into her body. It was like electricity, but more exhilarating—pure energy seeping into her, bringing shivers down her spine as her body began to warm.
When they finally reached the lowest level, the deepest part of the underground prison, Eirin looked around. Everything appeared different. Unlike the medieval-like prisons above, made with stone and metal, this place was constructed entirely of glass.
And in the middle of that strange place, a woman with fiery red hair stood still.