A/N: Forest of Lumiresia

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She stepped inside and removed the hood of her black coat, her light purple hair almost look white from the sun. "Each of us has their own beliefs," she said, glaring at them. "There's no point forcing them to others." She turned to Zoe, her violet eye emitted curiosity. "I only want to know why I can't reach you."

"Excuse me?" she said, as though the other girl had spoken in alien language.

"During battles like last night, my role is to connect everyone's mind. That way, we could communicate telepathically." She tilted her head while maintaining her gaze. "But you, I simply can't reach you."

"What do you mean?"

"At my level, I should be able to enter another person's mind, with those higher than me as an exception. But in your case, I couldn't even sense you, to begin with."

Zoe swallowed the lump that unknowingly appeared in her throat. "Then how come Darcy could sense my power?"

"Those blessed with the gift of sight are different from Arcanist like me. My expertise lies in sorcery and sensing the soul. On the other hand, those with golden eyes have the ability to see through the souls."

"Is there something wrong with me?" After hearing her own words, fear crawled beneath her skin like vermin. For a moment, Krista remained silent. She moved closer to the girl, removing the soft blanket as her anxiety multiplied faster than bacteria.

"There's nothing wrong with you," Darcy reassured her. "I can see no spell nor magic binding you."

He was lying and Zoe knew it. Yet, Krista didn't show any sign that they were on the same boat.

Could they be hiding something from her?

"That's what I've been wondering about," Krista continued. "He could see your soul, but to me, it felt like you don't exist at all. Or rather, you're like a soul that never wanted to be found. I haven't seen anything like this. However, we can't leave the fact that you're The Heroine. It must have something to do with your dormant powers." She crossed her arms, but never lift her eyes from her.

"I- I see." Zoe wanted to believe her words, although her heart was telling her otherwise. There must be something more to it and if there was someone who knew, it was Darcy.

But why did he lie? Could it be that she was just paranoid?

"I guess you can't clear that too," Krista pulled her from her thoughts. "But how did you make the Serosuriel leave? It's not even possible for the Avalon to wound it."

Zoe shifted her vision on the dirty white wallpaper and tried to recall the events last night, only to shudder at the memory of hideous faces. Then she remembered the mysterious voice of a female, the same voice she heard in her dream.

"I don't know," she admitted, shaking her head. "But when I caught its claw, I suddenly heard a woman's voice, saying "leave". I thought it was that huge monster, but when I see her fled, I realized it was somebody else."

"Strange." The other girl frowned and finally averted gaze outside. "Because last night, I thought I sensed another soul."

"Why didn't you inform me?" Darcy said, meeting the sorceress's baffled expression.

"I might be mistaken since it was only for a split second," she explained. "What's more unsettling is the fact that it's a dark energy much stronger than the ones we encountered before."

The group fell silent and Zoe never found herself so confused. Who was that woman and what she wanted from her? Was she an enemy? Recalling her dream sent her alarm bells ringing.

Could it be a premonition?

"For now, let's stop here and leave it as is," the young bodyguard said, massaging his temples. "We need more information to solve this."

Which you already have, she thought. She would find out whatever he was hiding and once she did, he could never smile with complete teeth.

"By the way, did you get what I asked you?" Darcy looked up to Krista.

"Yes." She fished something in her coat and pulled out a small vial. She handed it to him and said, "It's only good for a day."

"Thank you."

"I'll go now. I'll see what I can find from my... sources." She turned and left before anyone could say a word.

"Drink this," he offered her the vial containing a black liquid.

Zoe slowly scooted towards the headrest, throwing him a disgusted face. "I would never drink that suspicious looking liquid. What if it kills me?"

He shook his head and laughed, the smug smile she had grown to detest was back on his face. "This is used for dying hair. It would make your hair black for a day," he continued. "You'll get killed if someone sees you."

She gasped as panic violently bubbled inside her. "Why is that? Are redheads forsaken or something?"

"It's a long story. But to make it short, it all started when the ruler of Roendal, King Braham, forbid anyone to enter their territory." He said, turning to the horizon. "Their land is known as the home of red-haired people. And because of this, the citizens from other continents don't welcome people with the same hair color. Although the five kingdoms are at peace, any redhead wandering in another continent usually get killed, mostly in the small towns. Still, it's best if we assume this as a threat even though you have our company."

"That's so crazy." She grabbed the bottle and studied the liquid. There was nothing strange about it, aside from its water-like consistency and ink black color. "I can't believe I need to dye my hair just because of some stupid fight. Can't I just say that I'm The Heroine?"

"Even if I defend you, we can't be sure who the enemy is, so it's better if we keep that fact for now."

"Fine."

He sighed and walked towards the door, only to stop halfway and glanced at her. "Krista already prepared your change of clothes. You'll find them in the bathroom at the left side of this hall." He jerked his thumb towards the hallway. "When you're done, take a left turn from there. It should lead you to the upper floor." He turned to leave and added, "I'll wait for you in the dining hall."

Zoe simply nodded and watched the rising sun across the plane of clouds.

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Dedicated to Kiwi_Fun300

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