The two-headed entity and the man stood a little away from the forest, on a grass field.

  The man had a big white beard. His eyes had no spark, as if life had drained from them. His face was covered in wrinkles. His white hair was long, and he carried a warhammer on his back.

  “Are you ready to kill them, Halden Oakfall?” the two-headed entity asked.

  The man paused for a while. He was sitting on a rock beside the monster. He looked up at the clouds, then ahead of himself.

  “When will they reach this village?” he asked.

  “About ten days later.”

  “Tell me, Salamander, what do you gain from killing all humans?” the man asked the monster.

  Salamander paused a bit, then answered, “You know what the worst and best things about you humans are? You are so persistent. Your race will not stop until it gets almost everything.” He looked toward Halden, then continued, “That is why our Lord hates them. And he wants to wipe your race out.”

  “But why did he spare me?” Halden asked.

  “You will be quite useful to us. You are the first human to cross the Sea of Stars, the first human to break the barrier of hell, and the first human to reach the Valley of Whispers.”

  “But the power rejected me,” Halden said.

  “And that is why you are the perfect pawn our Lord can use,” Salamander said.

  “Enough of all this talk. Tell me, can you kill your own son, Tarin Oakfall?” Salamander asked Halden.

  Halden stood up and walked away from the village. “Let them come. I will make sure they don’t go any further than this,” he said, disappearing into the distance.

  “If he fails, then I will have no choice but to confront them myself," Salamander said before vanishing into thin air.

  — — —

  “The weather is so nice today,” Lyra said, feeling the breeze around her.

  “Yes. Winter is near. I hope we reach the village soon, or this cold air will be a problem at night,” Arix said, looking up and feeling the wind.

  “Winter is the best. We get snow and everything feels so nice. Do you like winter too, Meilie?” Lyra put her hand on Meilie’s shoulder.

  Meilie started at Lyra's touch. After looking at her, she nodded.

  “Look. There’s a house,” Tarin said, pointing to a lonely house in the middle of the fields.

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  “Who lives there all alone?” Arix asked, looking at the house. It was a small wooden hut with only grass around it.

  “Let’s find out,” Tarin said as they all walked toward it.

  Not long after, they reached the house. The wood looked darkened by rain and time. The planks were cracked on the outside.

  Arix knocked on the door and shouted, “Hello? Anyone here?”

  Nobody answered.

  “Does anyone live here?” Lyra shouted from beside Arix. Still no reply.

  Arix pushed the door, and to his surprise, it opened. The house appeared abandoned. They went inside and found cobwebs in the corners and dust covering every surface.

  Arix started coughing as he inhaled dust. Lyra, Tarin, and Meilie covered their noses to protect themselves from it.

  The house was empty. There was no furniture. It had only one window for the sunrays to enter.

  “This house looks abandoned. Maybe we can make it our camp for today and tomorrow,” Tarin said.

  “Why tomorrow? Aren't we walking ahead tomorrow?" Arix asked after recovering from his coughing fit.

  “No, we have to collect food first before marching ahead,” Tarin said.

  “Let’s clean this place up.” Lyra took out an old piece of cloth from her backpack to wipe away the dust. Arix and Meilie helped her, while Tarin went outside to look around for any danger that might harm them.

  He found nothing. In the distance, he saw clusters of trees, and to his right, a grass field stretched out.

  “Such a boring day," he sighed, walking toward the trees.

  He brought back a few chickens from near the trees. They had never seen a chicken before.

  Arix brought more wood while Lyra cooked the chickens over the fire outside the hut. After a while, they started eating the chicken, which they found delicious.

  “This tastes amazing. What are they called?" Arix asked, chewing.

  “No idea,” Tarin said.

  Lyra also had no idea what they were.

  Meilie watched them curiously. She knew what chickens were, but couldn't tell them.

  After eating, they went inside and soon fell asleep.

  - - -

  In the morning, Tarin and Arix went toward the trees again to find more of those creatures for food, while Lyra and Meilie stayed behind to rest.

  “Look over there, there are more of those creatures,” Arix said, pointing toward the chickens.

  Tarin rushed toward them and managed to catch three. The chickens flapped and clucked, trying to escape, but couldn't break free.

  Arix caught two of them. They brought the chickens to the hut for Lyra to butcher and store in their backpacks for future use.

  After several trips, they'd caught fifteen chickens total.

  The day passed, and night fell. After dinner, they sat outside talking about the island and their homes.

  “My mom would have loved these chickens,” Lyra said, looking at the stars.

  “My mom too,” Arix added.

  Tarin stayed silent through the conversation.

  “I wonder what the people of the island are doing these days,” Arix yawned and asked.

  “They are probably going through their usual routine,” Tarin said, breaking his silence.

  “Yes, probably,” Arix replied.

  "Let's go to sleep. We still have a long way to walk before reaching the village," Arix said, standing up and brushing himself off.

  “Yes. Let’s go,” Tarin said, also standing.

  Lyra and Meilie followed them inside, and they went to sleep soon after.