Meera looked to the west, and far off in the distance, she could see an ethereal blue light lighting up a tower. She zoomed in with her eyes and almost halted her descent. The tower was made of ice. Just like the ice of the glacier behind her, probably from the same ice.

The Winter Spire…

It could only be the home of the cultists. That was where Elrasil ruled from. The one responsible for poisoning Akhessai and sparking the centuries-long feud between the sorceresses and the dragons. She knew a pair of brothers who would love to get their claws in him.

If only it could be as easy as handing him over to a dragon. No, she would have to deal with him when the time came. If Lainor were to be believed, then Elrasil and the Cult were still coming after her. If she followed Lainor on an assassination attempt, she knew she would be a prisoner once again, and this time without an ally to get her out of prison.

She landed on the ground with ease and brought out Onyx. It wasn't far to the village, and she hadn't seen her ghostly friend in some time. Besides, she had time to waste.

Onyx came out with a loud, echoing neigh. "Hey Meera…" He trailed off as his neck craned up and up, trying to find the top of the never-ending ice wall.

"Hey, Onyx, enjoying the view?" She asked.

"Where have you brought me this time?"

"The edge of the world," Meera stated calmly, patting his neck.

"Which world?"

"Ealisto."

He snapped his head down to her and gave a long stare. "You can't tell, but I'm staring wide-eyed at you. Why is it that whenever you bring me out, it's always in the middle of a fight, after a big fight, or when some big world-ending dragon is chasing us? So, which one is it this time?"

"None of the above," she replied. "I just wanted to talk to a friend."

"Well, in that case, hope on."

She jumped on his back only to fall straight to the ground on her ass.

"Ow, what the hell, Onyx?" She cried.

"That was for making me carry that wretched thing last time," he huffed.

"You do remember my chakrams can hurt ghosts," Meera said. "Not that I would ever use it on a friend, but I just thought you should know."

"Yes, well, you shouldn't make me carry mass-murdering evil sorceresses on my back. Sorceresses that were the direct cause of my death."

"Okay, fair enough." Meera stood and, this time, patted his back several times before jumping on. "But you know, she had a rough past. I'm not saying that excuses what she did or had Edwyn do. Even though she said, Edwyn went a little out of hand and didn't inform her of all the things he was doing."

"And did you believe her?"

"No, not entirely, but she lost certain loved ones that made her go mad with revenge. And even though she's gotten her revenge, she's still not entirely free of her hate."

This made Meera think of the sorceresses that had taken refuge under the protection of Princess Rehia. Meera had the mirror that Kalrina had given her; she could use it to inform her that the sorceresses were hiding in Ealisto. Kalrina would surely come running and maybe to her death. She had a feeling that the princess would unleash her assassins if Kalrina tried to do anything to her precious sisters.

But she doubted she cared that much for them since she hadn't done anything to Meera. Well, Meera had blasted out of the city almost right away after their meeting. Besides, she believed in the prophecy wholeheartedly and wouldn't do anything to harm the person on whose decision rested the fate of her empire.

"So, what happened with the poor old witch?" Onyx asked. "And what are we doing here on Ealisto beside this ice mountain."

"Let's walk and talk."

Meera nudged him towards the village and told him everything that happened. And by God, there were so many details to fill in. Meera had forgotten she had never gotten a chance to bring Onyx back out and explain to him what happened once he dropped them off at the Glade.

"Damn, you brought down the sorceresses, killed off the cult, and got the dragons to back off all in one afternoon," Onyx exclaimed. "And now, you're some demigod with an advanced form of the system."

Meera chuckled. "When you put it like that, it sounds more impressive than it is. Mostly, back then, I was running from one fight to the next like a headless chicken."

"Well, I was always rooting for you," Onyx said.

"Thanks, horsey."

"Do you want me to drop you again?"

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Meera laughed. "Oh, come on, I had to try that at least once."

"Whatever. What are we doing here?" He asked. "I can probably run up the ice wall, but since we're moving away from it, I figured you've tried that already."

"Oh, that's a whole different story." She told him of her adventures since stepping onto this planet. He couldn't believe her when he told her about the whole Reverent Lady business, but he listened patiently until she finished.

"Oh, course, there is a prophecy," he neighed. "You can't take two steps without getting yourself mired in a prophecy."

"I know! After this, when someone so much as utters the word oracle, I'm taking an about turn and dashing away at full speed."

"Or you can just call on me, and they'll scream witch and take off themselves. Remember Nelees." Onyx laughed a hearty laugh.

Meera laughed along with him but stopped when a little girl stepped out of the bushes and stopped dead in her tracks. She took one look at Onyx's translucent form and paled.

"Ghost!" She screamed and ran back the way they came.

"Well, it wasn't witch this time," Meera commented.

"Do you want me to chase her?" Onyx asked.

"Nah, you better let me do it."

She jumped off and flew to the girl. It didn't take long for Meera to catch her. She floated down to stop before the girl, who crashed into her legs. Thanks to Meera's higher levels, she was able to maintain her balance.

"Hello," Meera said, waving to her.

The girl screamed and backed up away from her as if she were a ghost herself. With the worst possible timing and positioning, Onyx came up behind her. The girl nearly fainted.

"Onyx, back off a little bit. You're going to give the poor girl a heart attack." Meera bent down to be at eye level with her. "Hey, there is nothing to worry about. I'm Meera, and you are?"

"D-Dyrsa," she stammered, eyes glued on Onyx.

"Don't worry about him. He's harmless."

"But he's a g-ghost." The poor girl was sweating bullets despite the cold. "I didn't know you were a witch."

Meera frowned slightly. "Oh, you're from that village I took shelter in last night. What are you doing out here in the cold in the dead of night?"

"I-I got lost," she whimpered as a tear spilled from her eye.

"Hey, don't cry. I promise, I'm not going to do anything to you, and neither is he," Meera said in her most reassuring voice. "If you will let me, I can help you find your way home."

"That is exactly what a witch would say." Onyx pointed out.

Meera gave him a look. "Not helping."

"Oh, right. Sorry."

"Dyrsa," Meera tried again. "Look at me and not at him. Would you feel better if I gave you a weapon?"

She nodded or trembled. Maybe both.

Meera reached into her Belt and pulled out a small shadowsteel dagger. It wasn't a real dagger, and she only wanted the girl to feel secure and not really hurt herself. She held out the blade to her. The girl hurriedly took it.

"Now, you have a weapon, and I don't." Meera stood and backed up. "Okay, let's get you home. It's this way. Come. Your mother must be so worried."

"I can understand how you feel, little one," Onyx said. "I was also stuck in the dark for many years until my friend here rescued me."

Dyrsa edged closer to Meera. "How can he talk?"

"Oh, I'm dead," Onyx said. "The same restrictions as live horses don't apply to me."

Dyrsa got quiet after that. She just kept walking, throwing scared glances at Onyx. Meera would've dispelled him, but he always gave off an ethereal blue light. It was more than enough light to see by, and she didn't feel like holding up a torch. Besides, wherever Onyx walked, the forest grew really quiet. So, Meera figured he was keeping any wild animals at bay with just his presence.

"Onyx, can you turn up your light a little bit," Meera called. "It's rather dark here."

"We're going by the witch's cave," Dyrsa said.

"What?" Onyx straightened.

"A-A witch is said to reside here somewhere." Then she looked at Meera carefully.

Onyx blasted them with enough light that Meera had to shut off Mirrorbound Sight, and even then, it left white spots in her vision.

"Okay, not that much," Meera groaned. "And don't worry, no witch can entrap you anymore."

"Are you sure?" Onyx asked, looking side to side.

"Yes, I'm sure," she replied. "For them to do that, they would have to break our soul bond."

"Oh, right." He neighed and lowered the intensity of the light.

Dyrsa was looking between them as if they were aliens.

Meera smiled. "You see when I found Onyx, he had suffered at the hands of a cruel man who tortured and killed him. Not only that but his soul was stuck in the cave, unable to move on, until I bound him to my soul. So, trust me, he's as afraid of witches as you are. Probably more so since you're being braver than him right now, and he's the size of a…well, a horse."

Dyrsa chuckled at that.

"Besides, if I was a witch, would I have needed shelter in your village's longhouse?"

Dyrsa's mind worked. "I suppose not."

"Trust me, kid, she's really kind-hearted," Onyx said. "Now, can we please get out of here?"

Dyrsa nodded, more relaxed. "Okay."

"Say, Dyrsa, have you ever ridden a horse before?" Meera asked.

She stiffened slightly and shook her head.

"Would you like to ride Onyx?" Meera leaned in. "How many boys and girls in your village could ever boast about having ridden a ghostly horse."

Dyrsa kept looking at Onyx, who must've seemed like a giant to her.

"Don't worry," Meera said. "I'll be right behind you, making sure you don't fall."

"And he won't mind?"

"Not at all," Onyx said quickly. "Anything to get out of places with witches. Get on, and I'll take you on for the ride of your life."

"O-Okay."

Meera gripped Dyrsa around the waist and flew into position on Onyx's back.

The little gasped as she stared wide-eyed at Meera. "You can fly, too?"

"I'll teach you," Meera said. "When you get a little older."

Her face fell. "You'll be long gone by then."

"No, I promise, I'll come back when you're old enough…" Meera stopped herself. Given her impending death thanks to the great prophecy. She didn't know she would live long enough to see through on her promise. On the other hand, Meera's plan to find Neel and get out of these worlds could also come through. Either way, she would not be here to see Dyrsa grow up. "Tell you what, at first light, I'll take you flying. After all, you want to be able to see something if you're high up in the air."

She thrust her hands into the air. "Yay!"

Meera smiled. "Onyx, take us at a slow pace at first. Let her get acclimatized, and when I tell you, only then speed up to a trot, understood?"

He neighed. "Okay."

They took off at a slow pace, and Dyrsa was immediately mesmerized. She didn't say much at first, but excitement got the better of her soon.

She made an excited sound. "Faster, please."

"Okay."

Onyx didn't need to be told twice. Meera held onto the girl, making sure she didn't fall, but she was worried for no reason. The girl was fine. They dashed through the trees, and every so often, Onyx picked up the speed.

They were close to the village, and Meera would have to dispel Onyx or be called a witch by the entire village.

"Dyrsa, do you have a Marid in your village?" Meera asked.

"You must've seen her last night. She's the one that does the magic that protects the longhouse when the Valan comes."

Meera frowned. "But isn't her name Ingdis?"

"It is, but the leader of the village's title is Marid."

"I see," Meera said. "Well, let's get you to your mother."

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