The Stranger in the Mist

NATHAN

I thankfully found her in time.

Strangely, Bishop Matthew wasn't in the room with her and she was seated on the only chair in the room, staring blankly into space. Nothing seemed to be wrong but I didn't let down my guard. I called out to her.

"Winifred."

She turned her head to me and an eerie grin crept on her face. My magic began building up in me as I thought of ways to save her without hurting her. If this entity was as strong as I thought, it wouldn't be easy.

"Did I scare you?" she suddenly said. She burst out laughing as I let out a sigh of relief.

"You made my heart jump. Please don't do that again."

"It would be hard not to. Your reaction was so entertaining."

"Try not to get used to it," I said, keeping my eyes on her. She stood up, dragging a dark aura with her as she walked. When we walked out of the tent, there wasn't a single person in sight. She took the lead like she could see the path clearly. My instincts told me this is the Winifred I knew yet it didn't add up.

"This better not be an illusion," I mumbled to myself. She suddenly stopped walking and turned around to face me.

{When one is wrong, one is right. When one is destined, the other is chosen. Where do you think the true path lies?}

Her eerie words echoed in my head. Her pose, her breath, and the dark mana swarming her weren't normal. Even the world around us wasn't. Illusion or not, Winifred was not to be harmed. But it looked like she knew the way.

"I think...the true path lies in the way your eyes can see. As far as your vision stretches."

"Excellent answer, Nathan."

The ground beneath us began to tremble. It bubbled up from beneath and spread evenly across the surface. Yet, with all that commotion, not a single scream to be heard. Rather than that, the sky began to darken.

"Having that much darkness mana can kill you," I quietly said in hopes that she would stop before it became worse. Her eyes stared directly into mine, unflinchingly. Her lips moved but not a single word could be heard. It was like it was being absorbed into the darkness that was slowly beginning to surround us like a tornado.

The speed of the wind sweeping past picked up, the tornado slowly isolating us from the rest of the world. I did hear that the eye of a tornado was the safest but I never thought it would be so calm. It was so eerily quiet and calm, like sound could not exist in this vacuum.

"You isolated us in an illusion, right? Do you have something to say?" I said, even though my voice couldn't reach her. The sound of silence...is unpleasant. I had to deal with it for thousands of years, stuck under that tomb.

There was another change happening right before my eyes. The tornado that seemed not to harm us started to darken. The little light that filtered in from outside slowly disappeared and with it, my vision of Winifred. I called out to her without a voice, hopelessness creeping up my throat.

If I were the type to believe in a god, I would've prayed to reach her.

The darkness completely obscured my sight. Walking felt useless, like I was spinning in a circle. This illusion was nothing like Succubus's illusion. It was so ridiculously powerful, it was like my magic was meaningless.

I couldn't lose her. Just when my life was starting to gain meaning again, they were going to take her from me. They were going to steal my heart from me again.

"GIVE HER BACK, YOU COWARD!"

I had no idea who I was yelling at or what I was fighting against. But that desperate cry revealed something. I could not only hear my voice but it echoed harshly against the chaotic silence. In a swift moment, the dark shroud that disguised her from me cleared.

Her limp body lay in the pale hands of a stranger shrouded in a dark mist. It was a dark hood I couldn't see beyond. The stranger cradled her like a baby and a strange sound echoed in the silence. It suddenly became calm.

I could hear the voice of a woman crying. It was shrill and discomfiting. If she wasn't holding Winifred, I would've attacked her just to shut her up. I watched her, poised to attack.

{My...child}

It was the same voice that gave the riddle. It sounded like Winifred's voice but it was so different. The pitch was lower and more mature.

"She is not your child," I responded, wanting answers.

{Daughter of darkness, blessed by the gods. She is mine.}

"Are you a goddess?"

{I do not...hold such a low title any longer.}

"Low title?!"

I couldn't hold back my surprise. The title of a goddess was the highest achievable yet this stranger called it a low title. But if she says she no longer held the title, it meant at some point, she used to be a god. I could recognize the aura of all the current gods. But for some reason, I couldn't recognize hers.

There wasn't a single living god that could make me tremble so much with a single look. Her eyes were empty, swirling with endless darkness. All the dark mana around seemed to emanate endlessly from her. It was like she was the origin.

{Human? No...god? No. A higher power. You...possess talent.}

Her pale finger pointed to me. She tilted her head to the right, now looking at me.

{You...value my child. You wish to protect her. Do you dare...brave the world on her behalf?}

"She is more important than my life."

{But you do not know what she is. You are incapable of protecting her. You possess talent but you are far too weak.}

It was the first time in such a long time that I had been called weak. There wasn't a single god that could defeat me if I went all out. But this entity was calling me weak. She made me shiver so much that my knees instinctively moved to bend to her. How terrifying.

"Who are you?"

{You are too weak to know now. If my daughter hasn't told you who I am yet, then she has not judged you powerful enough.}

"Then why are you here?"

{My daughter...she has been trying so hard. Her soul called out to me and I responded. Regrettably, our time is short. When the time is ripe, we shall meet again. But until then, I shall leave you with a gift, immortal.}

The tornado began to shift. It reversed the direction it was flowing in and was slowly compressing. This meant that the wind inside the eye was getting stronger. It was strong enough to try to blow us away. The darkness congealed, obstructing my view of Winifred once more.

I heard the strange voice for the last time.

{Try to survive, immortal.}