"The meeting is over for today," the King said at last.
The generals stood and began walking out, some talking quietly among themselves. I followed behind the Prince and General, but my mind was stuck—glued to the image of Emberbrook , to the words I'd heard in the meeting.
I kept asking any general who would stop and listen. Every fragment of information I could get—every hint, every statement—only made it worse. I clenched my fist. What happened in the village? I thought
"Prince," I said, stopping in the corridor. "I'm going. I joining you two in few hours."
He gave a small nod, like he already knew. "All right. But be careful. If you find anything, report back immediately."
I teleported straight to the Prince's mansion as I try find everyone . I saw everyone sitting in the garden with tea and snacks laid out. The peaceful atmosphere was so absurd it made me pause.
Athena was the first to notice. "Your teleporting skill is really something. Saves time, space, everything! But… wait, where's the Prince and the General? Why do you look so serious?"
She started throwing rapid questions as usual, but I simply moved past her, walking straight to Kite and Silver.
"What happened?" they both asked at the same time. Their synchronization made me smile a little. Just for a moment, I felt normal again.
I took a deep breath and explained everything I had learned in the meeting. About Emberbrook. About the attack.
"We're going to Emberbrook. Right now." Kite and Silver both nodded without hesitation.
"We're coming too," Athena and princess also said at the same time as I told both of them to stay here as we started to argue .
"I'm your companion," she said dramatically, placing a hand on my shoulder.
All eyes turned to the Princess. She took a step forward "And I'm your… wife," she said, grabbing my hand.
I blinked then burst out laughing—so hard I fell to the grass, clutching my stomach.
"Wh-what's so funny?" Athena asked, confused. The others just stared.
I wiped my tears, still chuckling. "No, no—it's just... those two reactions! 'Companion' and 'Wife'—it sounded like we're about to go on a death battle."
I stood up , caught my breath, and gently took the Princess's hand.
"Let's go."
Everyone gathered around me. I teleported us to Emberbrook.
We appeared at what used to be the village entrance.
"So this is Emberbrook now..." Athena murmured. Burnt wood, collapsed homes, and ashes filled the air. Even the air felt heavy with grief.
We walked a few steps before I stopped.
"Let's split up," I said. "Kite, switch with me. You go with the Princess. Before anyone could object, I vanished.
The others broke into pairs—Silver with Athena, Kite with the Princess—heading to opposite ends of the ruins.
****
I stood outside the academy's remains, at what used to be the principal's office. The last place left to search.
I reached for the door—but stopped. I sensed someone inside.
I drew my sword, pushed the door open— And froze. Inside stood three familiar faces. My old academy friends.
Zack. Rudy. Emily.
Three prodigies, all chosen by a major organization for their rare "gifts." I hadn't seen them in months.
"What are you three doing here?" I asked, slowly lowering my weapon.
"We're here to recover anything we can," Zack said, still rifling through ruined bookshelves. "Any clues. Anything that survived."
I glanced at Emily. She was crying silently.
"You used your Gift, didn't you?" I asked her gently. "What did you see?"
She couldn't answer. Zack just looked down.
Rudy stepped forward and placed a hand on her head… then on mine.
The moment his fingers touched me, a vision surged into my mind.
I saw the attack. The horror.
Nameless Faith descending without warning. Fire, destruction, death. Then the book. That cursed book. The way it pulsed. The way it brought back the dead. The fog that followed. The way everyone—everyone—was pulled into it.
When Rudy finally removed his hand, I collapsed to my knees, gasping.
I wanted to scream, to roar in anger. But all I felt was… nothing .
'Why? Why wasn't I angry? ' as I simply smiled and mutter things trying to cry
Zack stepped forward, resting a hand on my shoulder. "Winter… it's okay to cry."
I pushed his hand away. "No. Not now. This isn't the time for tears."
I stood up, voice steadier than I felt.
"Nameless Faith is attacking everywhere. Kingdoms are already joining forces to stop them. And we don't even know their hideout." I said -Then it hit me Silver.
Silver had been inside their hideout. How?
I teleported instantly, flickering through the ruins of Emberbrook until I spotted him. He was standing with Athena.
Without warning, I grabbed him by the neck and slammed him into a collapsed wall. Dust rose around us as Athena screamed.
"Silver," I growled, "How did you even find Nameless Faith's hideout? Who gave you the location? What is the organization name ?! Speak—!"
Before I could finish, he gritted his teeth and cast a wind spell, blasting me backward.
I skidded across the ash-covered ground, landing in a crouch. I stood, breathing hard.
The storm between us hadn't ended— It had only just begun. but I regain my senses as I asked for forgiveness as he didn't look at me.
I saw Kite, the princess, and the others arrive. When the group saw the princess and Kite, it took them a few seconds to realize she was the princess. All three of them quickly bowed and greeted her.
A few moments later, Kite was on the ground, crying after seeing the vision too. Athena and the others tried to comfort him. Silver, however, simply said he wanted to see the vision for himself. He didn't cry—but he looked deeply angered.
The princess and Athena kept saying they wanted to see it too, but after they did... both of them vomited.
****
We said goodbye to Zack's group since they had to report the findings quickly. Then we teleported ourselves back to the mansion.
I immediately teleported again—this time to the castle. I started searching for the prince and the general to report my findings , but I couldn't find anyone. As I continued walking down the hallway, I finally saw the prince. I walked toward him, but he didn't notice me and entered a room.
I followed him. As I opened the door, I saw stairs leading down.
I began walking down, casting a small fire spell to use as a torch. The deeper I went, the bigger the place seemed. After some time, I reached a massive underground space. Just then, I heard a loud sound. I turned to the side—and what I saw froze me in place.
There was a cage. Inside... was some kind of creature.
I squinted, trying to make out its shape. The light from my spell wasn't enough. So I made the flame bigger.
That's when I saw it clearly. A snake. A big snake.
But then... I noticed a woman. She was inside the cage too. I focused again.
It was the same woman who looked like the prince.
She was staring at me now—and her gaze sent a shiver down my spine. I immediately teleported myself back to the prince's mansion. My body began shaking uncontrollably, and I started shouting random words I couldn't even understand ,I also couldn't think straight .
Silver, hearing the noise, rushed in and saw me in that state. He screamed for everyone to come.
They all gathered, trying different things to help me—but nothing worked. Then the princess brought the twins.
The moment they saw me, both started casting spells.
Slowly, I stopped shaking. My words faded into silence. And then... I passed out.
Time passed. The twins tried their best to explain what happened to Winter . If I had to put it into words... I'd say he saw a ghost. Or something worse—something his mind couldn't even comprehend.
Later, Isaw that Kite, the prince, the generals, and the princess were all standing around winter bed starting at him .
"Brother, what will we do if Winter doesn't wake up?" the princess asked. "The twins said it might take months for him to wake up ."
Me and Kite were both confused by what she meant. I noticed the prince rubbing his eyes.
"Let's wait a few more days," he said while walking out of the room. "We still have one month. We can figure something out to wake him up."
But as he left with the general, I heard him mutter—
"If he doesn't wake up... I'll have no choice but to make Silver marry you."
What does he mean by "you"? Who is you?
I glanced at Winter, lying unconscious on the bed, and sighed.
Kite, now sitting in the chair, asked, "What do you think? Does the princess actually like Winter?"
I looked at him. "They did say something that makes me think the whole 'liking him' thing is just an act."