The people from Dyrsa's village found them before Meera could recall Onyx. She heard some rustling to her right, and she yanked on Onyx's hair, and he stopped. After all, he was a fully trained war horse. Luckily, he didn't ask why.

Meera pulled off a regular chakram and hurled it at the sound of the rustling leaves. The man appeared a second later. She stopped her chakram just short of slicing his neck open. To his luck, he froze. She wasn't sure if it was the threat of imminent death at his throat or the shiny steed.

"Who are you?" Meera asked.

"I-I…" He gulped. His eyes were wide, and his eyes affixed on Onyx and the people he was carrying.

"Meera, please don't hurt him," Dyrsa cried. "That's my uncle, Unathir."

Unathir nodded. "I'm just out here looking for the girl. I heard the sound of someone talking, so I came looking."

Meera recalled her chakram. "Sorry, couldn't be sure."

She held Dyrsa tight and jumped off Onyx, patted his side, and gave him a nod of thanks. He neighed like a real horse, nodding back to her. Then she recalled him. Immediately, the woods grew dark. The only light was of the small lamp the man was holding.

Dyrsa ran to her uncle, who took a step forward and embraced his niece.

"Dyrsa, where have you been? We've been looking for you all night."

The little girl lowered her head. "I was playing by the edge of the woods. Then I saw this pretty bird, and I really wanted to catch it, but it just kept going in and in. By the time it flew away, I was so far into the woods that I didn't know which way was home. I cried and called for Ma and Pa, but no one heard me. Then I just roamed around until Meera found me."

"It's okay, child," Unathir hugged her again. "You're safe now. I suppose I should thank you, miss…"

"Meera," she provided her name. "And no thanks is necessary. I was coming to the village anyway, as I needed to use your Gateway Mirror. Oh, and I also want to have a chat with Ingdis."

Realization dawned on him. "Oh, you're the warrior that showed up during the blizzard. Ingdis is probably sleeping, but the commotion in the village might have woken her up." He looked down at Drysa. "Let's get you home, little one. Your mother is beside herself with worry."

Meera followed close behind uncle and niece as they headed to the village. Dyrsa was telling her uncle all the cool things Meera could do, like fly and summon a ghostly horse. The uncle just passed that off as the girl's overactive imagination. Meera didn't bother confirming the truth.

It didn't take them long to reach the village. And nearly half the town seemed to be out and about, searching for the little troublemaker.

"Look who I found," Unathir called.

A woman gave an exasperated cry and ran for Dyrsa. Meera figured it to be the girl's mother. There was quite a resemblance between the two. She fell to her knees as she embraced the girl, with tears in her eyes.

"Oh, where did you go?" Dyrsa's mother cried as she hugged her tightly.

"I got lost playing by the woods—"

"You're never playing far from home again," she scolded. Then, she looked at her brother-in-law. "Oh, thank you, Unathir. A thousand times, thank you."

"Wasn't me that found her," he said. He hooked a thumb towards Meera. "It was Miss Meera that found her deep in the woods and was bringing her back when I happened to come upon them."

Dyrsa's mother held Meera's hands and kissed them. "Oh, thank you, Miss. Bless you. A thousand times, bless you."

"It was no problem at all. I was coming this way anyway." She looked at Dyrsa. "Now, you stay out of trouble and listen to your mother, okay?"

"Okay. But we're going flying, aren't we?"

"Flying?" Her mother perked up.

"Only if your mother is okay with it."

Now that the initial relief of finding her daughter had passed. Dyrsa's mother turned on her. "First, you get lost in the forest, and somehow, by the grace of the gods, you don't get eaten, and now you want to go flying. You'll be lucky if I even let you out of the house, missy. Go straight to bed."

Meera winced. She was reminded of the scoldings she would get from her own mother. Truth be told, Dyrsa was let off relatively easy. She looked to Meera for help.

"It's okay. I'll take you flying some other time. I have a feeling I'll be coming back here sometime soon."

Her eyes lit up. She ran and hugged Meera before slinking away home.

Her mother looked at Meera. "If there is anything we can do for you—"

"It's quite alright. Oh, which one is Ingdis's home?" Meera asked.

She pointed out the second-last hut down the lane. It was the only hut which didn't have any lights on.

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"Thanks," she said and made her way to Ingdis's hut. She almost knocked but decided against it, as it was still dark, and the older woman looked like someone who needed her rest.

She plopped down outside the woman's hut, waiting for sunrise. She saw the people who were out searching for Dyrsa return to their houses, and their torches went out. Soon, she was the only one out and looked up at the stars and noticed the rings of Mirithia.

The dragon's body encircled the massive planet. How is a person supposed to defeat something that encircles an entire planet…

At the sound of the crow's crowing, Meera jerked awake. She had fallen asleep. She couldn't have slept for more than a couple of hours, but she had a horrible stitch in her neck from sleeping in an odd position.

She wiped her face with her hands, and a few moments later, the door to Ingdis's house opened, and the woman's eyes widened upon seeing Meera sitting on her doorstep.

"I would say I'm surprised to see you, but that would be a lie," Ingdis said. "I always figured you would come around to see me on your journey home."

"Then you know that I've had a chat with our mutual friend," Meera replied.

She held the door open. "Come inside, child. Let's talk where the morning chill is still kept at bay. I don't know how you're not cold in just that armor."

Meera smiled and followed her inside. "This armor is more than meets the eye."

"I could say the same about you, Champion's sister," Ingdis said when they were inside and Meera had closed the door.

"So, you know," Meera said. "Aren't you going to bow and call me Reverent Lady and offer me the clothes off your back?"

"You must've mistaken me for a Varshan zealot." There was a hard tinge in the older woman's voice. "Those sun-backed imperialists would worship a dog if it were related to the Champion."

Meera frowned. "Aren't you part of the Varshan Empire?"

This was part of the Varshan Empire, as per the map that Munral had provided her. She doubted the Chamberlain to the God King would get allegiances wrong on a map.

"We were conquered," Ingdis said. "On a map, yes, this is part of the Varshan Empire, but we're not Varshan."

Meera held up her hands. "Neither am I, but that's not what I came here to discuss."

"You wish to know how do I know the Cult?"

"And more precisely, why Lainor asked me to come to you if I want to get in touch with him."

She heaved a heavy sigh. "He's my grandson."

Meera raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"

"He ran off when he was young, at a time when the village was facing hardship," Ingdis said. "My foolish grandson ran off to make money in one of the big cities but eventually ended up joining that blasted cult. Somehow, that bastard Elrasil ensnared him with his cunning words, so much so that he doesn't want to leave no matter how much I plead."

"Does the rest of the village know?" Meera asked.

Ingdis laughed. "If you plan to blackmail me, then forget about it. There's someone from each house that's run off to join the cult, especially in the recent years since Aetheron has been waking."

"It's waking?" Meera asked.

Ingdis nodded. "It's been coming closer and closer each year. The ice walls have been encroaching more and more on our lands. The game flees from this cold region, and nothing grows in this frigid land, so we're left with no alternative. The youth gravitate towards the only choice left to them. They think if they worship the dragon in the sky, it won't destroy them when it rises." She scoffed. "Ignorant fools don't realize that Aetheron's rage will be indiscriminate when it wakes."

Meera found herself agreeing with the woman, even though she had no intention of sticking around long enough to find out. But still, on the off-chance her plan of escape didn't work, she would agree with the woman.

"And here I was thinking there was some conspiracy at work here," Meera said as she stood. "That you were working with the Cult."

She snorted. "Only if it were that simple. Though, he kept saying things would change for the better once you decided to work with him."

She shook her head. "Like that will ever happen. Goodbye, Ingdis. Don't know if we'll see each other again."

"Farewell," the woman said. "Till our next meeting."

Meera said nothing and walked out of the meager hut and went straight for the Gateway Mirror. There were a few villagers who were up at this ungodly hour, but none of them bothered Meera. She went to the Gateway Mirror, selected Varitsa, and stepped into the mirror.

She hadn't touched the mirror at the palace, or if there was one, it was hidden. So, she ended up stepping out of the mirror that she had stepped out from when she first came to this world.

It took her eyes a moment to adjust, but given that it was still mostly dark, it didn't take long. The guard was the same as the one who had checked in last.

"Your business in Varitsa?" he asked without even looking up.

Meera coughed. He didn't look up. She coughed again, louder this time.

"If something is wrong with your—"

He stopped mid-sentence, shot to his feet, and bowed at the waist. "R-Reverent Lady. Welcome back."

"Thank you. I'm heading to the palace," Meera called.

"As you wish, Reverent Lady."

Meera smiled and shot off into the sky, blowing away all the papers on his desk. His mouth dropped when he saw her zipping away into the distance.

Meera grinned. I can get used to this Reverent Lady business.

It didn't take her long to arrive at the palace. She had half a mind to go straight to the University, but she was deadly tired. Just because she was an Ascendant, it didn't mean her body didn't need sleep at all. She had hardly slept a couple of hours in the last two days. Her body wanted nothing more than to crash in that soft bed, hoping she still had one.

She was going to go straight to her bedroom window but decided to land at the gates. She didn't want to give everyone the runaround and make them think the palace was under attack. She landed before a pair of bewildered guards, and before she opened her mouth to say something, someone materialized out of the shadows.

He wore black robes and had the same dusky shade of skin as the rest of the Varshans. By the looks of him, he didn't look anything special, and she wouldn't have given him a second look if he hadn't materialized out of the shadows.

[Reaper – Level 312]

Meera's mood soured at seeing one of them again. She wanted to smack him in the face and tell him to tell his master to shove it. She had a feeling he would gloat about Meera's failed venture south.

"Reverent Lady," He bowed at the waist. "You've returned just in time. His Divine Majesty is about to make an important announcement concerning his successor. So, he has called all his children and important noblemen to the imperial court."

"I don't fit in either category," Meera stated.

"Yes, but he has asked for you to attend by name," the Reaper replied. "We've been awaiting your return quite eagerly. If you would please follow me."

Meera sighed. I just had to come back now.

"Lead the way, I guess."

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