The sky was dark and there wouldn’t be anyone from the capital coming to pick them up until morning. The tents were pitched, and they had a campfire going.

For now, the party returned to retrieve the bodies of Ly Angs they slew. Most of the bodies had gone missing, others were left with only scraps, perhaps scavengers got to them, but they were able to retrieve one perfectly untouched carcass.

Kihet skillfully carved his knife under the monster’s hide. Materials harvested from monsters were often crafted into armor as ores were better suited for weapons. Sure, one could integrate a monster’s fangs, claws, or spikes onto a weapon, but metals could be smelted, and their properties could be manipulated. Materials of monsters had to be hunted again if a part broke off.

“You’re good at this.” Lily leaned over as she studied his quick and precise movements, skinning the creature.

“It’s a must to learn this basic skill to survive.”

He worked around the meat, letting the blade glide around the bones and separated the pieces the poisonous gland touched. The meat contained very little fat and felt slightly rubbery.

“Where should I put the pieces?”

“I have a pile of leaves you can put them on.” Martha answered. “Lily, could you help me cut them into sizeable chunks?”

“En! Is it skewers on the menu? I heard Ly Ang meat is very gamey and is an acquired taste. I can’t wait!”

“It’s almost done. Wait just a bit longer.”

Martha threw a cube of lard onto the heated slate to oil it up and laid portions of meat on it. She sprinkled spices and herbs prepared before hand to add flavor. She’d flipped them over occasionally to let each side cook evenly and prevent them from burning.

When she forked one with a skewer, the meat oozed with more fat even though there weren’t any when Kihet separated it from the bones. He could smell the savory rich aroma carried from the wind.

“It’s ready!”

“Yay! Food!”

Lily lunged at the cooking slate, devouring her plate. Her behavior was the opposite of a dignified priestess who performed important rituals to the Sacred Tree. Kihet wondered how people would react if they saw her stuffing food in her mouth.

“It’s so good!”

“Leave some for Kihet.”

“You two can enjoy yourselves. I’ll put some over the fire later.”

For him, he’d be content as long his stomach was filled. The lack of tasting a meal made him lost the appreciation of food, but he could watch others enjoy their meal in his stead.

Kihet wedged stones between bone joints and separated a claw from toe. He repeated this a few more times until a handful of skewers dangled in front of him.

“Lily’s going to eat it all at that pace. You should take these while they’re freshly cooked.”

“Later.”

“It’s not poisonous. All those parts were taken care of.”

“Why would it be?” Then something clicked in his head when he watched Martha took a big bite from one in his face. “Wait. Were you imitating me?”

“So you do remember.” She giggled. “If you don’t take one, I’ll be sure to put a big debt on you and take advantage of that.”

“Those last two parts were your words. Not mine.”

“You haven’t been eating as much as you did. You’d go at it like Lily. Is it because you don’t like my cooking?”

“Pass me a lemon and I’ll show you.”

Confused, Martha dug through her bag for a lemon and chopped it into portions for him. She watched Kihet plop a few slices in his mouth, chewing them like candy while she puckered her lips even though she wasn’t the one eating it. Her tongue simulated the sourness just by watching him wolfed down the rest, unfazed.

“W-wow… I never thought I’d see anyone do that.”

“I can’t taste anything.”

“But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t eat with us. Here, eat these before they get cold or I’m really going to make you indebted to me.”

Due to Martha’s stubbornness, Kihet heaved a sigh as he set his knife down and took them from her hands. He briefly inspected the skewers then took a bite. Despite the lack of flavor, he admired the food’s texture. The meat was juicy. It wasn’t too firm but not the kind to melt in your mouth. It was a bit tougher to chew than steak. Nonetheless, he welcomed the warmth of the food running down his throat in this cold weather.

“How was it?”

“It’s good, I guess. I can’t comment about the flavor.”

“That’s good enough for me. I won’t bother you any longer. Someone needs to stop Lily before she gets a stomachache.”

“I’ll be lookout. I don’t plan to sleep tonight with this much to do.”

“If you want to get some shut eye, I’ll take over. Don’t hesitate to wake me.” With a huge smile on her face, Martha turned back to the campsite.

Kihet shook his head a little when Martha confronted about Lily’s eating habits. He couldn’t help but worry about his trip to Vivrus if Lily acted like.

----------------------------------------

Earlier, Lily’s Shikgami successfully delivered word back to the capital and notified of their success in liberating the forest from the Tower’s control. When they returned, preparations were in place for Kihet to light the flame in the Sacred Tree’s shrine.

“Ahh… home sweet home!” Once Lily jumped off the carriage, she spread her arms wide apart and gave a great stretch, loosening her muscles. “That was quite exhausting, but we did it!”

“Yes, we did. I couldn’t believe I got to encounter an Ikaga on my first adventure. It looked a bit scared back there. I feel bad for it.”

“The Screecher on the other hand gave me chills. To think the whole world is infested with them. Kihet, you better do your best!”

“It’s part of your responsibility to defeat them too.” Kihet narrowed his eyes at Lily.

“But the one you defeated was gross and icky.” Lily stuck her tongue out.

“Enough complaining. You better get your act once you head off to Vivrus, alright?” Martha scolded. “I’ll be off to report to her highness while you two head for the shrine.”

The road to the underground shrine was woven of a tunnel from the Sacred Tree’s roots. Its roots provided light as it pulsed with energy.

Lily explained that access to the shrine was forbidden during the contamination removal process. During passive nights, this path would be sealed as the Sacred Tree siphoned the land’s miasma. The entire shrine would be flooded with poison fog until the next dawn. The glowing roots were a sign all the current stored poison were converted, and it was transporting purified energies back into the earth.

As for the underground farm, it was located levels above the shrine where it was safe from the process.

“We’re here!”

“And the Altar?”

“It’s inside the main ritual chamber. Before we head deeper, we have to change our footwear. Here are spare sandals.”

Kihet set his muddied boots near by the opening then went after Lily unlocking the temple entrance. He inspected the wear of the walls and guessed most of Xu’s architectural influence must’ve came from this style. He could tell the place was built before he was born from the form of symbols carved on a large wooden plaque above the gates. There were similarities, evidence of Xu’s modern characters evolved from these symbols, though he couldn’t read most of these ancient words.

Past the gate was one large garden of sand and boulders. As he crossed the bridge to the shrine, he wondered how the sand was arranged perfectly around the stones. Kihet felt strangely at peace the more he looked at it.

The building on the other side of the bridge was where the altar was located. At first, he thought it was a water well, but as he got closer it was a tiny house like sculpture in the middle of the room. Similar to the gates above ground, it was red with brown roof-tiles and had a stone bowl decorated with Xu’s ancient letters. As he walked closer, he heard a slight lullaby only his kind could hear. Magic seemingly emitted from this bowl.

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“I imagined the altar to be much larger than this.”

“You’re not wrong to think that.” Lily agreed. “I thought the same thing when I first performed my duties.”

“Then I’ll light the flame. Keep an eye out for any changes.”

“En!”

Kihet reached for the bowl with an orb of the Oracle’s fire conjured at the palm of his hand. As soon as the flame’s flickering tail entered the small shrine, the ancient characters on the bowl lit up. Glowing lines of light grew in a spiderweb pattern, scattering in all directions for a second before dimming.

“Did you see that?! It reacted!”

“Is this normal when you gave your offerings?”

“When I did it, the whole bowl glows. It was entirely different than what we saw just now.”

They kept their eyes peeled for any changes. Other than the split-second light show, nothing else happened. Kihet struck another flame and put it on the altar. The lights scattered in the same behavior before vanishing.

“Nothing. Did we miss something back at the dungeon?”

“I don’t think so.” Kihet answered, pulling out the manuscript he copied from the tablet. “From the tablet I copied, I only understood the word absorption. I think the altar needs more of the flames, but I can’t keep shooting at it.”

“Hmm… oh!” Her ears perked up. “Try to gather as much as you can and throw it at the altar.”

“You want me to destroy the place?”

“No, no! Besides, the Oracle’s power is only harmful to anything relating to the Towers. I figured if you can’t shoot a continuous stream, why not just make a big one and wait for the altar to absorb it?”

“Are you… Lily?”

“What’s that supposed to mean?!”

“Nothing…”

As per Lily’s words, Kihet prepared himself to strike the altar. He began stocking up power to be unleashed all at once. When the boiling sensation in his arm reached its peak, silver flames ignited and ran wild. A seemingly uncontrollable burst of fire spread across the temple grounds was quickly sucked into the altar.

The bowl in the small shrine glowed aggressively, pumping light through the Sacred Tree’s roots and into the tree. The underground temple was painted in blinding white light as Kihet brought his arm at eye’s height.

He felt the air changed. Rather than rigid cobblestone tiles, he heard his feet stepping on a wet floor.

Wh… what is this?

The scenery changed and it was bright in here as oppose to the underground temple he was in moments ago. He found himself standing alone in the middle of nowhere, the reflection of the blue and white sky stretched beyond the horizon.

“Killer…”

A bead of cold sweat ran down his cheek. His heart nearly stopped when he heard the voice. He turned around with his weapons up but couldn’t find a single soul. Lily was nowhere present.

“You damned murderer. You think you heard the last of us?”

“Our lives, our dreams, you robbed them from us!”

“Give them back! Give back everything you stole!”

Just when he got separated from Lily, the voices slowly drilled into Kihet’s mind. His hands grew uncomfortably wet and warm only to find them slathered in blood. Then, he lost balance and sank to about his knee as if he stepped into a swamp, but with something yanking on his ankle.

He took a glance downwards finding ghastly hands on him. The reflective surface around him had turned into a tar like substance, with faces of those he killed spawning on the surface.

“The dammed deserve to be lynched! We shall have your soul!”

“Dammit, let go! Leave me alone!”

He kicked and waved his sword. Every time he destroyed a hand, a new one emerged from the ground and latched back on him.

“You’re still riddled with guilt. Breathe, Oracle.”

A hand brushed past his view. Seconds later, he found himself on all fours, breathing ragged. His hands were full of cold sweat as if everything he experienced was an illusion.

When he looked up, Kihet was greeted by a floating ball of light with a flaming tail flickering at the top. It looked like a soul.

“I don’t blame you. The past is hard to forget-. Eek! What’s with that glare?! I-I’m not your enemy!”

“What… are you?”

“How rude! I’m a person, but I suppose I will forgive you since it’s our first meeting.”

“A person?”

“Oh, so that’s the reason. You can’t see my actual form?” The soul’s tail pointed straight up. “In that case, I shall borrow the form of your friend who was next to you.”

It condensed into a singularity then expanded to a humanoid forum. Color poured down from the top, imitating Lily’s appearance. Her black hair, emerald eyes, her height all matched in a white dress.

Testing her voice with a song, she twirled around, looking down at the reflection at her feet and felt around to be accustomed to a borrowed appearance. However, she felt a slight discomfort aching in her chest which she began trying to figure out.

“Lily…?”

The soul noticed the immediate change of expression on Kihet’s face before putting his guard up again.

“This girl’s name Lily? Are you close with her?”

“…”

“Don’t be like that. It’s been so long since I had someone to chat with in here.”

“Where am I?”

“This place is the hallow.”

“The dream world?”

“This place isn’t only for dreams. Those who have visions are also connected to this realm.”

Kihet slightly felt relieved knowing he hadn’t died, but he was concerned why he arrived at this place. Who was this person?

“Your name.”

“I suppose you are entitled to it.” The soul grabbed the ends of her dress and did a little curtsy. “Elenora, the Saint of the heroes’ party. Please to be your acquaintance, Oracle.”

At the mention of the Heroes’ party, Kihet let out a murderous gaze. He reached behind to draw his sword, but then he noticed he was suddenly weaponless. Instead, he felt something sway behind him and looked down at the reflection at his feet.

Baffled, he recognized his appearance had become himself from twelve years ago. He regained his tail and the feathers grown by his ears. The bags under his eyes were gone and the complexion of his skin were smoother than just a moment ago.

“So, this is what an Enui looks like. Everything about you looks Human, with a dash of Beastkin and a bit of elvish charm. And your angelic ears are something else. Can I touch them?”

“No.”

“A shame. I understand why you’re cautious, but I’m not with the other seven.” She pouted. “My instance is different than theirs. If I was like them, I would’ve attacked you.”

That part he could believe. As he examined the figure imitating Lily’s appearance, he couldn’t read any malicious intentions off her.

“Then why am I meeting you?”

“To tell you of the Oracle’s role.”

“I know what I am expected to do.”

“Indeed. It’s just that, you see, lighting this beacon of hope from other countries won’t be as easy as this one. It was fortunate [••••••]’s corrupted soul was sealed before a barrier was put up around this altar.”

[••••••]?

He believed the censored name Elenora referred was the Shadow Knight sealed by Henrick back at the Tower near his village.

However, Kihet wasn’t able to ask her to repeat the name. In one dramatic motion, Elenora raised her hand to the skies. The lake rippled as the shape of world materialized beneath. Levels of terrain rose and dropped, matching the landscape of the world with a glassy appearance. Along it, Sacred Trees from all but Rozzosea’s and eight towers sprouted out of the ground from each respective country.

“Oh my. This world looks different than my own.”

Now he had a lot of questions he wanted answered.

“Your world?”

Elenora ignored Kihet’s question and casted another spell, blackening the landscape. The entire map was almost painted black. Only small patches of white ice remained. Among the eight countries, Xu regained more lands from the Towers than all other countries. Kihet was certain the altar had absorbed sufficient Oracle’s powers to regain its ability to perform its task.

“O’Oracle. Do you know of the origins of your role?”

“I’m supposed to recruit and lead the heroes.”

“That is your role, but not its origins. Do you what it means if the title of the Oracle is bestowed on a person?”

“Doesn’t it mean there was always someone that gathered Heroes as they were instructed to. My kind had myths, legends about the Oracle.”

“It was misinterpreted through time and Oracles were meant to be handouts for those who closely connected to worshipping the Creator. As a Saint, I would constantly receive them. There are cases archbishops from churches would call upon a hero using the most appropriate method, giving a task to gather companions and fight the rising evil.”

“Then if I am the Oracle, what does that mean?”

“For you to be the Oracle, you are the Creator’s last will in mortal form.”

Kihet recalled why the Elder was unable to speak with the Creator. It was because the Creator was slain, the powerful barrier supposedly protecting his village back home was dispelled. It was also why there was no form of help when he secluded himself for the past twelve years. Surely, if the Creator existed, a miracle would be performed in front of him.

He now realized the enemy was more sinister, more powerful than the Creator itself. To think he had to go against an enemy like that sent chills and shivers down his spine. The more he thought about it, the more he was unsure how his journey would go.

“Why me?”

“Why not?” Elenora bounced his question right back. “I do not know why. For you to be chosen, you must’ve done something that gained the Creator’s trust.”

“Bullshit. More like the opposite.” He mumbled. “You mentioned you were part of the Heroes’ party?”

“I am the Saint in the Heroes’ party.”

“Whatever. Couldn’t you do something?”

“It would be my wish. Unfortunately, I cannot interact with the material plane. My prayers only extend to the hallow.”

“So, useless.”

“Your words hurt, Oracle. It’s true I am unable to join your fight against the enemy, but I can provide guidance. I’m aware your next destination is Vivrus so I shall give you an important advice. The one there can move freely out of its tower, but it is confined within its influence. I suggest you avoid diving into dungeons and all encounters at all costs until you return with more heroes.”

“Like I didn’t know. You’re not giving any useful information. Don’t waste my time and send me back.”

“Oracle, I’m serious. I know you’re seeking revenge for your friends, but I am familiar with the heroes strengths and capabilities. If you would not like to watch others die, I suggest you heed my warning.”

“Send me back.”

Elenora knew she ended on a sour note with Kihet. Nothing she said would reach his ears.

“Very well. I bid you farewell until our next meeting. Do take care of yourself. You are the Creator’s last will.” Deciding to not worsen the mood she complied with his demand.

She cupped her hands together and held them close to her chest. As a prayer was being said, the world map was washed away and replaced with a magic circle. Elenora kept Kihet in her sight as a bright light flashed underneath, sending him back to his world. From this side, she could only give out her prayers hoping they’d reach charitable entities and deities who would give Kihet their blessings.

If any were still alive.

----------------------------------------

Kihet slowly opened his eyes looking the underground ceiling. He let out a grunt, touching his forehead to ease the headache. A silhouette of a head quickly leaned into his view. The backlight made it hard to see, but he knew it was Lily as she was the only person with him down at the Sacred Tree’s shrine.

“Ugh… Lily?”

“En. It’s me. How are you feeling?”

He wasn’t sure if Elenora actually sent him back. For all he knew, she could’ve transformed herself into Lily and casted an illusion on his surroundings. His thoughts were scrambled, making it hard for him to think and just accepted it as it was.

When he tried sitting up, every string of muscle in his body ached. The cause must’ve been from overcasting the Oracle’s fire. He wasn’t able to move.

“I feel terrible.”

“After a spectacle like that, I’m sure you are. The clog in the Sacred Tree has been removed. It’s able to absorb and purify the miasma without any issues now.”

“That’s… good to hear.” He took a deep breath. “Sorry, Lily. Let me lie here for a while. I’m feeling tired.”

“En.” Her fingers combed his hair. “Stay as long as you like. You haven’t had a wink of sleep for almost a week. You earned some rest.”

“Your leg’s going to get numb.”

“That doesn’t matter. You saved the Sacred Tree and Xu. I think you deserve a good long rest sleeping on my lap.”

“Not much of a grand reward.”

“Then maybe you want me as the reward?”

“I’m sleeping.”

“Boo...” She pouted as she turned her head towards the tree. “You know, it feels like we actually won one of the many battles ahead. This is the second time I felt we’re making a change in this terrible decade.”

“Not the first?”

“The first time was when I found you. I don’t think I would be alive if you weren’t the Oracle.”

“I’m going to sleep now.”

“Aww, how cute! You’re embarrassed.”

“Sleeping.”