Three days.
Three exhausting, wasted days. Kaera and Eira had scoured nearly every corner of Erynport. From the dust-choked temple archives to the darkest rat holes near the harbor, they went through it all.
Eira had pushed her Echo Veins to the point of chronic migraines, trying to trace any lingering aura Vale might have left behind-but the answer remained the same: Nothing. The locket was junk, and Vale was nothing more than a con artist who happened to know a few big names to intimidate people.
"I've checked all the prisoner records at the guard post."
Eira let out a long sigh as she dropped into a wooden chair at a cheap roadside eatery. She looked completely drained.
"No one's even heard of a 'High-Rank Demon Clan' around here in the last ten years. Vale... he's a god-tier scammer."
Kaera, seated across from her, remained silent. She was busy polishing her katana-a habit she fell into whenever her thoughts were tangled. The blade already gleamed like a mirror, yet she kept wiping it down.
"We're wasting time here," Kaera said, her voice low and sharp.
"So? What do we do then?" Eira grabbed a piece of hardened bread and took a small bite.
"That 800-coin bounty... after medicine, room rental, and food... we're down to half. We can't afford to stay much longer."
Kaera slid her katana back into its sheath with a satisfying click. She pulled out an old, worn map and spread it across the greasy table.
Her finger pointed to a spot far to the north.
"Oakhaven."
Eira choked on her bread.
"Oakhaven? You've got to be kidding. That's deep in the mountain range at the edge of the wildlands. And there's no guarantee we'll find anything there."
Kaera met Eira's gaze directly.
"There's never been any guarantee. This journey's been a gamble from the start, Eira. We just place our bet on the table and hope luck sits on our side."
"But if we make the wrong move... we won't just lose money. We'll lose our lives," Eira replied, her tone turning serious.
"I'm used to gambling with my life."
Kaera stood, adjusting her black cloak.
"There's nothing left for us in Erynport. Oakhaven is our last gamble for now. You coming... or finding your own path?"
Eira fell silent for a moment. Her eyes drifted to Kaera's bandaged hand, still wrapped from the injuries she'd taken in their last battle. Then she gave a faint smile-resigned, yet strangely bright.
"A great duo doesn't split up, right?" Eira stood and tidied the messy table. "Alright. We'll go gamble in Oakhaven. But if we get lost, don't blame me!"
Kaera didn't reply, but her steps toward the door felt lighter. She knew the odds of success were slim. Still, at least she wouldn't have to pull the lever of fate's slot machine alone.
----
ECHOES OF THE ALTHEA GRASSLANDS
At dawn, the two figures stepped out through the gates of Erynport while mist still clung to the earth. But before they could be swallowed by the dense Northern Forest, they had to cross the Althea Grasslands-an open stretch that separated human civilization from the untamed wilds.
It was here that their steps slowed.
The sun began to peer through the mountain ridges, casting golden rays that split the morning fog. A gentle wind swept across the vast sea of silver-tinted grass, setting it into rolling waves that whispered as they moved. Thousands of Lumina flowers-blooming only at daybreak-released glowing dust into the air, creating a scene that felt almost dreamlike.
Eira came to a stop. She closed her eyes, spreading her arms slightly as she let the pulse of nature brush against her skin. Through her Echo Veins, she heard no screams, no rage this time-only the calm resonance of the earth.
"You know, Kaera?" Eira broke the silence.
She walked a little behind, letting her fingertips trail across the dew-soaked tips of the grass.
"This place used to be called the Pilgrims' Passage. They say every gust of wind here carries the prayers of those searching for their way home."
Kaera didn't turn. Her black cloak billowed in the strong mountain wind.
"Prayers won't make this journey any shorter, Eira."
"Maybe not. But they make it feel less lonely." Eira smiled faintly, her eyes following a bird of prey gliding peacefully across the clear blue sky.
"It's beautiful..." she whispered. Tears nearly formed-not from sorrow, but from beauty pressing too deeply against her heart.
"Beauty is dangerous," Kaera replied flatly.
"Something that looks calm usually hides the sharpest teeth."
Eira laughed softly, her voice blending with the wind.
"You really are something... Try enjoying the view for once. Oakhaven's still far. If we keep thinking only about danger, our spirits will rot before we even get there."
She pulled out a small pale-blue flower she had picked earlier and blew its petals into the wind, watching them drift toward the valley.
"My Echo Veins... they don't always catch dark echoes, Kaera," Eira said suddenly, her tone gentler.
"Sometimes, when a place is this beautiful, I can hear the world breathing. Like it's saying that even if everything feels broken, it still wants to live. Just like you."
Kaera fell silent. She watched the blue petals grow smaller in the distance. For a moment, her grip on her katana loosened. She remembered sitting on her father's shoulders as a child, staring at a view not so different from this. The memory was bitter-but beneath this wide sky, that bitterness felt strangely lighter.
The morning wind pushed back her hood, letting her dark hair dance freely. For a brief moment, the tension that usually hardened her face softened. Her sharp eyes gazed across the endless stretch of silver grass.
"My father once said..." Kaera spoke quietly, almost swallowed by the rustling field.
"The world is too vast for one person to carry their hatred alone. I think I finally understand what he meant."
Eira turned, surprised to hear Kaera speak of her father without anger. "He sounds wise."
Kaera let out a faint snort-almost a laugh.
"He was just a man who talked too much philosophy."
She pulled her hood back over her head, hiding the emotion that had briefly surfaced. The cold aura around her returned-but this time, it didn't feel suffocating. It felt like preparation.
"Done admiring the flowers?" Kaera asked, her voice returning to its usual flat tone.
Eira grinned, wiping the corner of her eye with her sleeve.
"Yeah. Let's go. I'm ready to face your haunted forest."
The two of them resumed walking, their figures growing smaller within the vast sea of silver grass. Ahead of them, the mountain range of Oakhaven stood tall, its peaks crowned with eternal snow, as if watching two souls wagering everything for an answer that was far from certain.
No clues. No guarantees-only courage and the few remaining coins in their possession as they stepped into the thick shadows of the forest.