“What is she carrying?” Kars asked in a low tone. He looked at Mira not with full anxiety but with curiosity.

  “Like a ball… black.” Mira held her head with both hands, the memory of the dream still flickering in bits and pieces, not in order. “I don’t know,” she continued softly.

  The resonance in every part of her felt throbbingly intense in the brain, the hum of the aurora still echoed in her ears, and the suffocating lungs from the dry ice wouldn’t let the pain go either. Everything felt real. This was no longer the brief flashes she had seen before; it was truly different.

  Kars furrowed his brow; he didn’t understand what it meant either. He tried to dig into his farthest memories, but to no avail. He really had no idea what the black ball meant.

  But… regarding the other part, Kars tried to guess. “The bear you saw is probably Ursa, the god who guards the northern gate.”

  “Why is he there? Is he evil?”

  “Good or evil depends on perspective.” Kars adjusted his sitting position and also Mira’s until they were now facing each other. “But if he appears, there must be something else going on.”

  Kars picked up the fallen cloak and coat, then draped it over Mira’s bare body. “The black figure you mentioned… judging by the features, he is Eaver.”

  “Eaver?” Mira asked, lowering her hands. Now both hands reached for the ends of the cloak, pulling it to cover almost her entire body.

  “They are priests rejected by the gods.” Kars grabbed his clothes not far from where they were.

  “Rejected?”

  “They meditated at the sacred mountains, but the gods rejected their meditation. That’s what made them turn into that kind of beings,” Kars said while putting on his clothes one by one. “I don’t understand why they’re after you. They should have been extinct hundreds of years ago,” Kars continued with a confused expression.

  “But the fact is, he was also there during the attack on my city.” Mira’s gaze might have been directed at Kars, who was busy with his clothes. Yet, far from that, her eyes were vacant. That dream had overshadowed the reality of the world.

  “That’s what I don’t understand. Eaver is a free being, not bound to anyone’s will. If he was involved in that attack, there must be another purpose.” Kars had finished what he was doing, and his clothes were now fully on. “And if he appeared in your dream just now, it means he came to target you.”

  “Target me? What does he want from me?” Mira stared intently into Kars’ eyes. That man also seemed clueless.

  "We'll know when we've returned there." Kars stared at the sky, now bright, then looked around, at the clusters of trees that stood still, and shifted his gaze to the river, which was starting to calm, as if it would freeze in a few minutes. "Or maybe it will be the one coming to us."

  "Are you scared?"

  "Me? Of course not." Kars said honestly, Eaver was not a complicated matter. "But I'm scared of you."

  "Scared of me?"

  "I alone won't be enough to protect you. I'm afraid they'll succeed in taking you."

  "They? Are there many Eavers?" Mira furrowed her brow. She wanted to digest all the information Kars knew quickly.

  “There are eleven of them.” Kars returned Mira’s gaze; the woman looked unprepared to face what was about to happen to her, the same look Kars had seen when he was a child. “Twelve priests went to twelve sacred mountains. Eleven became Eavers, one swallowed by the earth.” Kars quoted a line from the Book of Light and Dust he had once read.

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  “That sounds terrifying.”

  “It is. One Eaver is equal to one Zloth.”

  “Zloth? An ancient god?” Mira tilted her head, unable to believe what Kars was saying. If it were true that Eavers were equal to Zloths, then how could she possibly defeat them? Not even a single chance, right?

  Kars chuckled, laughing at the statement Mira made. "Who said Zloth is an ancient god? They are just messengers from the heaven sent to Earth."

  "Can you?"

  "Can? Can do what? Fight them?" Kars picked up a pebble not far from where they were. "This one pebble is a single Eaver." Then he threw the pebble into the river. "And the river is me."

  "You seem confident."

  "Listen to me. That star magic is limitless. You can use it however you want without needing to recharge the Intian. As long as you reach that point, no one can match you. Not Eaver, not Zloth either."

  "You can, but me?" Mira sighed softly, feeling annoyed that she was still so useless.

  "I will train you much harder than you can imagine." Kars tugged at one corner of his lips. "The important thing is, just don’t complain too much."

  "How long will it take?"

  "What matters is not how long it takes for you to reach that point, but the process itself." Kars didn’t take his eyes off Mira; she still looked uneasy. "And about that silver-haired woman, you said she has the same eyes as mine?"

  Mira nodded slowly.

  “I don’t know who she is.” Kars wasn’t sure either. He only knew one silver-haired woman with gray eyes, but that woman had long been dead. “What about Mara? Who is she?”

  “My twin sister.” Mira’s shoulders tensed as she remembered her sister. “She looked hurt, but her blood was golden. She said something, but I don’t know, I couldn’t hear it.”

  Kars’ eyes widened, realizing something. “After finding your older sister, we have to find Mara.”

  “What does that mean?”

  “I don’t know,” Kars lied. He tried to piece together the various strands of information he had in his mind. That’s it, thought Kars.

  “But your eyes widened as if you knew something.”

  "I realize the threat," Kars spoke honestly about this, but he still couldn't be completely upfront. He had to make sure first.

  Mira knew that Kars was hiding something. If there was anyone who was the worst at lying that she had ever met, Kars was the champion. But she was already too tired to push further.

  "You are really annoying." Mira was so frustrated that she let her cloak and coat, which clung to her body, fall to the ground. She walked toward the blue silk cloth—it was revealing, yet also the only outfit she had left from where Mira came.

  Mira picked up the cloth and wore it as intended. After that, she went back to take the brown coat and returned the gray cloak to Kars. “I’m not cold anymore, thank you,” she said, her tone still sounding annoyed.

  “Typical woman,” Kars muttered after taking his cloak.

  “What did you say?” Mira’s eyebrows knitted together. Her face turned red, and her eyes seemed to blaze.

  “We’ll buy you new clothes when we get out of here.”

  “You don't say that before!” Mira snapped, though her voice couldn’t reach the highest pitch she was capable of. “And is there really something wrong with my clothes?”

  “You wouldn’t be able to survive in clothes that thin, would you?” Kars stood up, brushing off his pants, knowing it wouldn’t help because they would get dirty again anyway. “For now, our priority is the Translator Rune and new clothes for you.”

  “Last night…” Mira's words stopped Kars from taking a step. That man looked at Mira, waiting for her to continue. “That, I can’t forget it. That… was new to me.”

  “So?” Kars raised an eyebrow, his gaze full of questions directed at the woman in front of him.

  “If something happens to me, you have to take responsibility,” Mira said. She could feel her cheeks heating up. She also avoided eye contact with Kars, and her body stiffened instantly.

  Kars didn’t expect that this princess could be that innocent. He could only give a small smile while patting Mira on the shoulder, then he stepped into the forest.

  “In my culture… that’s something not meant to be done outside of marriage,” Mira continued.

  “I know.” Kars didn’t turn around, didn’t stop. He kept walking. “Don’t worry, I’ll take responsibility.”

  Mira watched Kars' back as he walked away. The man, she had just met a few days ago. Yet, Mira gave everything in just an instant. She was indeed saved, but did she really need to do that if it wasn't out of love? If her family knew, how would they react?

  Ah, it's better if they don't know.

  Mira followed the trail left by Kars. She chased after him with quick steps.

  Perhaps this was her destiny. Maybe Kars came because it was meant to be. Maybe the stars brought them together for a reason. Perhaps, this is the way. And Mira, she knew, would face the current without being able to turn away.