A few years later…
"Taren."
Arın turned when he heard the voice of his master, Veyra. She was looking at him with concern.
He had begun sensing emotions now, too. He could even feel them. But… there was only one person he couldn't feel.
Where was she?
"Are you all right?" Veyra continued.
Was he all right?
What did it feel like to be all right?
İlyara had left him in the dining hall. She had betrayed him, hadn't she? Was betrayal something like this… Was this what it felt like?
Arın brought his hand to his chest, to where his heart was.
Why did it hurt?
Veyra approached Arın and placed her hand over the hand he had pressed against his chest.
"Does it hurt?"
Arın nodded.
Veyra looked at Arın for a while without saying anything. Then she withdrew her hand and turned away.
"You love her," she said quietly.
Did he? Was this what love felt like?
"How do you know?" Arın asked.
Veyra turned to him again. There was a faint smile on her face.
"The heart doesn't lie," she said. "I know from my own experience."
Did Veyra feel this way toward Arın, too? It must have been painful.
Arın felt guilty toward her. But was it his fault that he didn't love her?
"Don't feel sorry for me," Veyra said. "I'm used to it, and I've accepted it by now."
Then she placed her hand on Arın's chest.
"Find her," she said.
Arın furrowed his brows.
"Is that an order?" he asked. It didn't really matter to him whether it was an order or not. He had already been secretly searching for her for several years.
"İlyara seemed like a good person," Veyra said. "Perhaps you can save her from being lost."
---
İlyara
As the full moon illuminated the darkness of the night, İlyara walked deeper into the forest. Several times, she encountered the strange, humanoid creatures known as Yargars. But something was strange. It was as if they were afraid to approach İlyara. Then again, everyone had begun to fear İlyara. They feared her even more than the Morhenas.
İlyara continued through the forest in the dim light of the moon when her foot caught on a tree root. She stumbled but didn't fall. How much further could she fall?
We're getting closer.
Closer to what?
Almost there.
Almost where?
Ahh!
Who was screaming?
Let me go!
Who?
I'm going to kill you!
İlyara would never kill anyone.
Forgive me.
It was difficult to forgive, too.
The voices wouldn't leave İlyara alone. It was as if she had become one with them. The memories of the ancient emotions she had taken from Elna kept speaking inside her mind.
Help!
Who are you?
You're so beautiful.
Was she beautiful?
"Ah!"
Her foot caught on a tree root again. But this time, she couldn't keep her balance and fell to the ground.
Loser.
Incompetent.
You're good for nothing.
Die.
"Leave me alone!" İlyara shouted. Her voice echoed through the forest, causing the birds to flee in fear.
When she slowly raised her head, she saw it… the cursed thing.
It had spread all its roots throughout the forest, hiding itself in this beautiful place. It was very selfish. It only cared about itself. Not a single living thing could survive around it. Yet nothing happened to İlyara.
"Am I cursed, too?" she murmured.
Cursed.
Shadow.
İlyara smiled. Then tears began to stream down her face. A moment later, she giggled.
"The Ancient… the Ancient's shadow," she murmured to herself.
She placed her hands on the tree's broad trunk. The trunk trembled slightly beneath her black, smoke-covered hands.
"You're cursed, aren't you?" she asked the tree. She ran her fingers over the deep scratches in the tree's trunk.
"How many people have you imprisoned here?" she continued.
Prison…
You can't get out.
Stay.
No, she couldn't stay. She had to return. But where?
"Let me leave this place. Otherwise, I'll transfer these cursed emotions to you," she threatened the tree.
Ahaha…
İlyara closed her eyes and tried to transfer the emotions she carried toward the tree. But the moment the emotions reached the tree through her fingers, she was violently thrown away from it. A force whose origin she couldn't determine had pushed her away from the cursed tree.
After floating in the air for a moment, İlyara fell hard onto the roots on her back, knocking the wind out of her.
She fainted.
She can't do it.
Then she closed her eyes.
---
İlyara opened her eyes with a groan. The sun was trying to illuminate the forest, avoiding the leaves of the cursed tree.
As she pushed herself up from the ground, she cursed in pain. Her back hurt terribly. She had definitely broken something.
Broken.
Clumsy.
She began to get up, holding onto the roots. The roots trembled with every touch. This was very strange. The last time she had come here, the tree hadn't reacted this way.
It doesn't like you.
Why would it?
As she stood up, she heard a sound coming from the bushes.
Don't come any closer!
Who was it? An animal?
It will kill you.
İlyara narrowed her eyes and looked toward the trees. She was inside a circle formed by large roots. In the center of the circle stood that cursed tree… the Mother Root.
As the sound drew closer, first a black leather boot appeared, followed by a man in uniform. His hair was black. His eyes, however… were a bright gray.
Gray.
Bright.
The man began to approach her.
İlyara quickly raised her hand, signaling him to stop.
"Don't come any closer," she said.
The man stopped for a brief moment, but then started walking again. He wasn't listening to her.
No one listens to you.
You are no one.
But they had to listen. Otherwise, they would die.
Let them die.
Why would İlyara care whether someone lived or died?
You're evil.
Was she evil?
Perhaps.
The man continued approaching İlyara, careful not to step on the roots. İlyara took a step back.
Coward.
Why should she be afraid?
Stranger.
Yes. Strangers are dangerous.
İlyara took another step back, bringing her closer to the cursed tree. If the man continued approaching İlyara, he would be subjected to the tree's curse. Just like the rotting bones among the roots.
Cruel.
Devil.
It was the man's own choice. Why was he following İlyara?
"İlyara," the man said.
She had heard that name somewhere before.
İlyara.
İlyara!
She cursed as a sudden pain shot through her head. This body didn't like her either. Perhaps she could use this stranger.
"It's me, Arın," the man continued.
She had heard this name before, too.
Arın, Arın, Arın…
At the sound of a bone breaking, İlyara looked at the man. How could he still keep approaching her? By now, this cursed air should have suffocated him. The tree only spared İlyara.
Poison.
Death.
İlyara giggled. That man would die, too. Her heart ached at the thought.
I don't want him to die.
Why?
"Why aren't you dying!" İlyara shouted. "If you keep coming closer, I'll transfer these cursed emotions to you."
The man stopped where he was and shrugged.
"Do it," he said indifferently. "I'm dead. Nothing can happen to me."
Dead.
Angel of Death.
İlyara's eyes widened in fear. Had he come to take her life?
"Are you…" İlyara said, swallowing hard. "…are you the Angel of Death?"
Angel.
Handsome.
İlyara shook her head, trying to push the voices in her mind away. They wouldn't stop.
The man smiled at İlyara.
"No. I'm not the Angel of Death," he said.
İlyara let out a deep breath. She wouldn't die today.
"I'm a Morhena," he continued.
Morhena.
She knew what a Morhena was.
Danger. Danger.
İlyara pointed at the man with a trembling finger.
"You… are you a Morhena?" İlyara whispered.
"Yes."
Run!
İlyara turned around and started running toward the forest.