The journey toward the north continued. The air grew colder, and the sky looked darker even in daylight. The trees were taller here, standing like stone guardians watching every step.
Orion and Liora didn't speak much. They were tired, cut by branches, and still shaken by the strange creatures. But they didn't stop walking.
After hours of silence, they reached an old stone bridge stretching across a river. The water below was strangely still, not flowing — as if time itself had stopped inside it.
Liora whispered, "Something is wrong here. Rivers don't stop."
Orion stepped forward cautiously.
Before they reached the middle of the bridge, a soft voice broke the silence:
"Turn back. The north will destroy you."
A man stood at the end of the bridge, wearing a black cloak. His face was hidden under a hood. He did not carry a weapon, yet the air around him felt dangerous.
Orion raised his hands, showing peace. "We don't want to fight."
The hooded man didn't move. "Everyone says that before they become a threat."
Liora frowned. "We're searching for the truth. For the Heart of the World."
The man lifted his head slightly, showing a glimpse of sharp gray eyes.
"You should not speak that name," he said. "Many died just for whispering it."
A chill ran down Orion's spine."So it's real."
The man didn't deny it.
He walked slowly toward them, each step echoing on the stone bridge. "You have power inside you. I can feel it. A rare power… born only once in a thousand years."
Orion clenched his fist. "What do you know about it?"
The man stopped only a few feet away.
"You are changing," he said calmly. "Your strength is not human. Your light is not from this world."
Liora reached for her weapon, but he raised a hand.
"If I wanted to kill you, you would not have reached this bridge."
Orion's heart raced. "Then what do you want?"
The man paused, and his voice turned heavy with warning:
"The north is not a destination. It is a test. And every traveler who seeks the truth is forced to pay in blood."
Orion stared into the man's cold eyes. "What about you? Did you pay?"
For the first time, emotion flashed across the man's face — grief, quickly hidden.
"I lost everything," he answered. "And I don't want you to make the same mistake."
He turned to leave, but Orion stepped in front of him.
"I made a promise to protect the innocent. I won't turn back."
The man considered Orion for a long time.
Finally, he reached into his cloak and pulled out a small object — a silver pendant shaped like a star with a crack running through it.
"Take this," he said. "If the Heart of the World recognizes you… the star will shine. If not… you will die before sunrise."
Orion held the pendant tightly.
The man stepped off the bridge, ready to disappear into the fog. But before he did, he said one last thing:
"Remember this: the Pond of Stars is not a place. It is a choice."
Orion stood frozen. Liora whispered, "What does that mean?"
Orion didn't know. But the words felt important — like they would matter later.
He placed the cracked star pendant around his neck.It was cold — painfully cold — but he didn't take it off.
They continued north again.
And for the first time since this journey began, Orion felt something stirring inside him—not fear, not courage, but something harder to describe:
destiny.