Chapter 53: Into the Hidden Village of Dalry
As the mist turned darker, they saw a ray of light coming right in front of them. Desperate for an escape, the two chased the ray of light. Their heavy breathing filled Eirin’s ears as she tightly held Shade’s hand. They reached the blinding light, hands clasped together, huffing and puffing. Eirin slowly opened her eyes, and a familiar face greeted her.
Eyes swollen and legs wobbly, Coleen’s mouth turned upside down as she suppressed her tears and ran towards Eirin, pulling her into a big hug.
"I thought you guys were a goner."
Eirin caressed Coleen’s back after hearing her hoarse voice as she bawled in Eirin’s embrace. Her eyes soon landed on the young man standing before them, holding some logs.
"What took you guys so long? Was it that hard to find Eirin?" Link sighed in relief and turned to Shade, but Shade only clicked his tongue and never answered. Shade walked towards the huge rock in the middle of what seemed to be a savanna while Coleen continued hugging Eirin, leaving the teenage girl confused.
The situation caused the teenage girl to wonder how long they made the two wait.
As Shade sat atop the huge rock, he roamed his vision. The huge rock stayed in the middle of the vast land with nothing else to see but trees at the edge. He raised an eyebrow, questioning Coleen why she continued to cry as if someone died.
"You can’t blame us. You two have been gone for five days," Link explained after putting down the logs. "I was about to call the academy for help if you guys didn’t arrive earlier," he added, leaving Shade and Eirin speechless.
Five days? It didn’t feel like more than a day for them, but it’s already been almost a week. Knowing that gives Eirin shivers down her spine as she looks back. She could still hear the eerie voice inside the forest calling out to her.
A bird then flew out of the forest, making them stare at it as it got farther away. Eirin blinked thousands of times after a thought flashed through her head.
"What about the Phoenix? We still need to bring it to the academy, right? To stop the plague." It was her first mission; she could not let herself fail drastically. "I think we should just continue with our mission. The school needs the cure, and I think no one got hurt anyway."