In the throes of vicious winds, Cassidy was thrashed mercilessly, her bones shattered and her ribs splintering under the force. One fragment pierced her heart, leaving her with mere seconds left to live.
Blind and broken, her skin and lips ripped from her face, Cassidy shifted her jaw into a macabre grin. 'I did it…'
Her ruined body felt weightless in the chaos. The winds screamed like wraiths, and the sky boiled. The golden sun-shaped crest in the clear crystal gem gleamed brilliantly in her bloody skinless hands, right before the final crescendo as the mightiest lightning struck her. And with a blinding flash, her body was eviscerated…
"Where am I?" Emily murmured, her eyes opening to a dense expanse of vegetation. Dusting the dirt clinging to her bare skin, she scanned the unfamiliar forest cautiously, her senses sharp.
Towering trees stretched high into the sky, their sprawling branches casting fragmented beams of sunlight across the shadow-dappled forest floor. A faint breeze carried the earthy scent of the wilderness, though Emily barely noticed; her mind was already racing.
"How do I get out of here?" she muttered, her gaze flicking toward the canopy above. The fractured sunlight reminded her of the altar, where she'd been engulfed in brilliant light not long ago.
This wasn't like being atomized into energy and scattered across dimensions, nor the stretching disorientation of the dark portal. Strangely enough, arriving here felt… ordinary.
Emily's thoughts froze as an otherworldly voice, deep and commanding, reverberated through the forest around her.
"Emily… Fated Nature-blesser…"
Emily flinched, instinctively hiding behind a nearby tree, her heart pounding. Before she could steady her scattered thoughts, the voice continued.
"One's destiny resides deep within their heart."
'Is that all?' Emily wondered, her wide eyes scanning her surroundings with mounting unease. She sighed, calming herself as she reeled in her racing thoughts. Only the prince, Angel, and the others knew her name. "The prince!" she exclaimed, her mind snapping back to the dinner table with his highness. 'I saw you all through Great Amun's revelations,' she remembered Statheros saying.
'So, is this Him? The Great Amun?' she thought, the possibility stirring curiosity and unease.
Whatever the truth may be, it didn't change what she needed to do. "I need to find this supposed destiny," she muttered, leaving her hiding spot and turning to the clear blue sky. The sun radiated in all its glory, its position giving her direction. Orienting herself toward the east, Emily began walking.
Having counted the seconds into minutes, Emily realized she had been walking for three hours. Using leaves and dead vines she found along the way, she fashioned makeshift clothing to cover her bare skin. She had also crafted a fishing rod from a sharpened stick and vine, hoping to find a body of water to hunt fish—or perhaps a small critter.
But after all this time, she had yet to find even a sip of water. More unsettlingly, there were no birds in the sky, no rustling leaves, no distant calls—just an unnatural silence hanging heavy over the suspiciously lush forest.
"What am I supposed to do!?" she cried out, throwing the fishing rod to the ground. Her hands trembled as she screamed, letting her frustration pour out into the stillness.
'Calm down, Emily. Panicking won't help.' She took a deep breath, then another, forcing herself to settle. Leaning over, she picked up her fishing rod and straightened her back, her chest rising and falling steadily.
Her gaze shifted skeptically to the trees before her. "Why can I see everything so clearly? I struggle with my near-sightedness without my glasses," she muttered. Looking up, her brows furrowed as another realization hit. That sun hasn't moved an inch in these past three hours.
Taking a step back, Emily reassessed her surroundings. A forest without animals… an unmoving sun… a semi-blind girl who can suddenly see clearly… Her eyes widened. None of this is real.
The otherworldly being's words echoed in her mind: "One's destiny exists in their heart…"
A flicker of inspiration sparked in her bright amber eyes. "Heart… gut… instinct," she whispered.
Emily stood still, forcing her racing thoughts to quiet. Closing her eyes, she opened herself to the world around her. That's when she noticed it—a sweet honey scent drifting to her nose, soft and alluring. Setting logic aside, Emily let the honeyed aroma guide her.
After what felt like a few minutes, Emily felt a disturbance in the air, prompting her to open her eyes.
A distance away, she saw a clear crystal gem floating just off the ground. Flanked by two majestic trees, its golden sun-shaped crest gleamed brilliantly in the sunlight. Her gaze locked onto it, and in that moment, she knew—this was her destiny. She felt it in every fiber of her being as she stepped closer to the gem.
Drop. The air grew heavy and earthy as rain began to fall, the droplets quickly turning the ground into thick, clinging mud. Emily broke into a full sprint, the mud spreading around her as she ran.
Vines and branches erupted from the trees, lashing at her body and trying to ensnare her. Snap! She tore a vine from her arm, its rough edges scraping her skin as she pushed forward. Ten meters away from the gem, she screamed as more vines latched onto her, dragging her down into the mud.
Five meters away, horror and despair marred Emily's face as the mud trapped her feet in place. The vines and branches pulled her deeper, her chin sinking below the surface. Her hands stretched above her head, the last part of her body to remain visible. Steeling her gaze, she roared, "I will not die here!"
With the last of her strength, she gripped the fishing rod and hurled it toward one of the flanking trees. It latched onto the tree as Emily disappeared beneath the mud. Drowning under its crushing weight, her thoughts turned to her family. She never got to say goodbye to her mom. She never even saw her dad that day, as he had left for work early. Her life had changed in a single moment, and now it hung in the balance.
'Mommy… Daddy…' Her consciousness began to slip away.
'I…' She gently tugged the vine end of the fishing rod, feeling resistance from her pull.
Badum! Her heartbeat echoed in her chest as her eyes snapped open beneath the mud. Her amber irises, tinged with blood, burned with resolve. 'I will see you again!' she roared internally.
Gripping the vine end of the fishing rod, Emily pulled herself upward, pushing through the unbearable weight. Her lungs burned, her muscles strained, and her bloody eyes stung as she fought against the mud's crushing force.
"Hah!" She burst through the surface, gasping for air as she grabbed the crystal gem, right before being sunk deeper into the mud. Hugging the crystal gem tightly to her chest, her bones creaked under the strain of the mud. Her lungs collapsed, her organs ruptured, and her body gave out in seconds—as the golden sun-shaped crest gleamed brilliantly within…
End of Chapter 29