Nova was enjoying the cooking process that he started humming as he kept stirring and adding seasoning to a simple porridge dish. The current Souhait’s worries increased the more he saw Nova adding in additional, unnecessary ingredients. In a flash, Nova chimed “I’m done!”

The present Souhait just sighed as he remembered the sort of concoction Nova had whipped up. Whatever Nova cooked, it would become a rainbow-colored slop; this even applied when he cooked something by the book. Souhait would never know how this was possible even for human standards. He then glanced over at the current Ras who was standing next to him clutching his long locks while looking appalled.

“That was what he was feeding me?”

“It looks hideous, but it does not taste like anything, surprisingly.” A baffled Ras could only force out a chuckle. Souhait did his best to not look at him as he knew it would make him laugh.

In the memory, Nova got out a tray and brought the concoction to his feverish patient and placed it on his lap. He got out a spoon and then tried to feed the sleeping man before stopping. Souhait knew it was because he had berated Nova for trying to feed a sleeping man. Nova had realized what he had done, so before feeding him, he tried waking the man up.

“Pardon me, sir. I need you to wake up…”

He nudged the man and the amount of pressure did allow him to stir and open his eyes. He was hesitant to utter a word at the person staring at him from above, but he did manage the strength to sit himself up. The towel fell off of his forehead in the process.

“Who are you?”

“My name is of no importance right now. You need to eat to recover.” Nova handed the tray over and placed it on his lap. In compliance to his words, Ras ate the horrific looking porridge perfectly fine without any complaints or comments. When he finished it all, Nova was happy.

“You ate all of it!”

“Now, can you tell me who you are?”

Nova first took the tray off of his lap and put it away. Once he did, he returned to sit down on the chair. He cleared his throat.

“I’m Fuchsia, a fortune teller of sorts.”

Ras’s eyes widened. “You’re the fortune teller I’ve heard about, then?”

This caused Nova to become wary. He narrowed his eyes. “Heard about…?”

“I heard that you spoke with a Plasmian woman and told her a fortune about her unborn child.”

“Oh, her…”

“She said that your hair is golden and your eyes are like the lavender sky when in twilight. Seeing you here means it’s true.”

The more Ras had spoken to him, the more nervous Nova became. Souhait had remembered contemplating on what they should do with Ras. They had thought about offing him, but Nova was against it as he was curious on his motives for searching for him.

Ras then spoke up. “Are you perhaps related to the man who can grant wishes?”

Nova froze. “Excuse me?”

“I was told that the man who can grant wishes had golden hair and lavender eyes like yours. If you’re his daughter, that must mean the man died long ago…or recently? An Ilacian’s lifespan is hard to determine, after all. We live for several centuries, but the exact number varies.”

“What makes you think I’m related to this man you speak of?” Nova was on his guard. “What if my eyes and hair are just natural?”

“There is no one in this world with eyes like yours.”

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

Nova gathered his hands and clutched the skirt of his dress. “And what is your business with me? What is your purpose in seeking me out?”

“I want you to come to Sirius with me.”

Hearing the name caused Nova’s eyes to bulge slightly, but he still remained composed. He then crossed his arms. “Where’s that? I’ve never heard of such a place.”

“It’s an isolated city in Eternally.”

“Lies. That island is shrouded in an everlasting blizzard. How can there be a city inside there?”

“But there is. I can show it to you.”

“No thanks. It’s a waste of time. Besides, I like living in the forest. It’s peaceful and no one bothers me.”

“But if you can grant wishes, you should use that power for people who want a wish granted, like my wife!”

Nova stood up and glared at Ras. Suddenly, he summoned the dragon tail to wrap itself around Ras and lifted him up. “You are no ordinary person. No normal person would dare go into the Forest of Passing Souls by himself with only a lantern in tow. Who are you? How do you know about me?”

Ras did not seem scared of his current situation as he responded calmly. “My name is Ras Leonis. I am here on the behalf of my wife, Mebsuta Leonis.”

Hearing that surname caused Nova’s eyes to widen. “Leonis…you’re related to Penelope Leonis?”

“Not me, but my wife. I am from the Alhague family.”

Hearing the Alhague name instilled fear into Nova as he rushed towards the door, opened it and threw him out. “You’re a member of the Alhague family? Leave and never come back! I refuse to deal with anyone associated with that name!”

Nova slammed the door to his cottage shut. Before Ras could try to re-enter, a vine had wrapped itself around his ankle and it pulled him away from the house and threw him out of the forest grotto. Ras tried to re-enter, but the path that he took, the grotto was nowhere to be seen. It was as if it didn’t exist.

No, everything that transpired did come true!

This was when Ras realized that the woman he had assumed to be Nova’s daughter wasn’t so. That fortune teller was the man himself, so he knew he had to find him no matter what. Ras Leonis, a usually calm and composed man, suddenly plastered a maniacal grin on his visage. It left a chill down Souhait’s spine as he could tell there was pure desperation coming from this man. He needed to act fast or this opportunity would slip from him.

He dug into his pocket and got out a matchbox. If I cannot find him, then I’ll make him find me.

He put on a fire and then threw the burning matchstick onto the ground. The puny fire started spreading, igniting and incinerating everything around it. The more it consumed, the bigger it grew. Ras did not care about the stench of smoke as long as it brought Nova out.

Eerie wailings flowed into Souhait’s ears, causing him to stagger and shield them with him hands. The more he heard, the angrier he became. He grabbed the current Ras by the collar. The noise seemed to have gone into his ears as well as he started scanning his vicinity in confusion.

“What is that noise?”

“These cacophonous weeping is the sound of the passing souls in the Spirit Realm crying over the fire. The forest is a connection to the Spirit Realm–a place I created to have that function. They are crying like any human and animal would when on fire. Yet, you just caused a fire without any second thoughts. Have you no remorse for your actions?”

Ras stared at him straight in the eyes. “I had to do what I had to do.”

“Did you know that your father could have been one of those weeping souls?”

“I’ll do it again if I must.” Souhait sensed no regrets or remorse within this dead man. It made him wonder if it was worth granting his wish. Why was he trying so hard for someone like him?

The memory continued with the dragon tail reaching out through the burning trees and wrapped itself around Ras’s throat. Nova showed up with the scariest countenance he had on his face. He was someone who rarely got angry not because he was too nice, but mainly due to the lack of energy of producing anger. However, this was one of the rare instances where Nova was truly and utterly furious; his eyes looked as if they were glowing.

“What the hell are you doing?” Nova uttered to the arsonist. He spoke quietly, but firmly.

“It did work! You came out!” The gaunt man had a joyful visage that Souhait immediately hated looking at.

“Answer me. What did you do? Why have you ignited the forest on fire? Are you that desperate?”

“If I burn this forest down, you wouldn’t have a place to hide anymore!”

“Bastard…”

The tail slowly unraveled as Nova turned to the forest fire. He approached the fire and touched it. Using his draconic arms, he grabbed the fire as if it was a solid object and started consuming it as if it was food for him. He managed to do it in every direction until there was no more. He extinguished the fire on his own. The screeching cries of the passing souls died down in the process; they had been calmed down.

“Amazing…” Ras uttered in delight. “You consumed all that fire as if it was a casual lunch. You’re not human at all.”

“Promise me something.”

“Hm?”

“Leave this forest alone and I’ll go with you.”

Those words caused Ras to laugh hysterically. “Excellent…” he muttered through gasps of air. “I’m glad you’re finally compiling…”

This was when the memory ended. Souhait looked at the current Ras in his grip. The sight of him started to exhaust him for he knew nothing would convince him to change his wish. Dealing with this man was an absolute waste of time. Yet, he still had one more memory to show. Since he was someone who would always see things through to the end, he summoned Ras’s final memory.