Once Ahqi was a good distance away, Hadassah went straight to the statue, her anticipation growing with each step. This was it—what two weeks of searching had led her to. Reaching the stone platform, which was at eye level, she noticed something hiding beneath the moss—writings in Emerian. Her heart raced with excitement at the discovery of something so ancient, left behind in such a distant place.

  Carefully, she brushed away the moss, revealing the inscription beneath, and as she uncovered the words, she began to read.

  “To my dearest Queen, whose grace and wisdom once led our kingdom to greatness. By the earth and sky, by stone and blade, Your legacy, my Queen, is reserved. I miss you dearly and long to be with you. And soon, my love, I will be blessed to meet you again.”

  She winced, deeply uncomfortable with how sappy the writing sounded, feeling as though she was intruding on something deeply personal. Still, it was admirable how a king could write such heartfelt words and leave them for anyone to read. Her eyes lingered on the word ‘legacy.’

  Her fingers lowered in an attempt to trace the inscriptions, but as soon as her skin made contact with the cold stone, a strange energy surged through her, like electricity flowing through metal. She withdrew her hand swiftly, her brows furrowing in confusion.

  ‘Did the stone just heat up?’

  She wondered if she was imagining it. How could a statue be warm? Cautiously, she placed her hand on the stone again, but it felt cold. She sighed, though she wasn’t sure if she should be relieved or not.

  Just as she started to pull her hand away, another sharp, intense wave of energy shot through her skin, radiating deep into her bones. Gasping in shock, she tried to yank her hand away, but it was stuck—like it had been glued to the stone.

  ‘Shit!’ She pulled desperately, but her hand wouldn’t budge.

  The writing on the statue began to emit a faint blue glow, and to her horror, the statue began to rumble. The ground beneath her feet started to descend, slowly lowering her into the depths of the earth.

  Panic set in as she was dragged downward into the dark.

  Hadassah found herself standing in pitch blackness. Terror gripped her; the underground chamber was eerily silent—no breeze, no rustling leaves, not even the faint hum of insects. She pressed her back against the statue’s platform, as if afraid that the darkness itself might consume her.

  Her heart pounded in her chest, too fast and too erratic. How could she calm down in a situation like this?

  A faint ripple echoed from the shadows, like something stirring in water. She froze, unwilling to make a sound. She stayed like that for what felt like an eternity, waiting for confirmation that nothing was moving towards her. Only after convincing herself there was no immediate danger did she let her heart begin to settle. Her knees buckled beneath her, and she slid to the floor, sitting as though she were winded.

  ‘This is too much excitement for one human,’ she thought, though she wasn’t sure excitement was the best term to describe the fear she felt. Dropping into an underground dungeon wasn’t something she’d anticipated, and yet here she was, sitting in a small circle of light, surrounded by what seemed like an endless abyss. She couldn’t make out any structures, not even the walls of this dungeon, and she couldn’t just sit there either.

  Well, she could—she should.

  But deep in her heart, the part of her that itched to find something shiny and beautiful stirred to life. Her fingers began to itch. This was a human-made dungeon, and to her, that could only mean one thing; treasure.

  People only concealed what was valuable, and right now, it seemed as if something precious had been carefully hidden under the statue.

  Standing up, her fear merged with a growing anticipation. Treasure hunting was what she loved the most.

  ‘Considering the size of the statue, this dungeon is way too big,’ Hadassah thought as she glanced up at the statue’s head, now fully submerged in the hole it had descended through. She circled the statue, brushing away more moss until she found another set of inscriptions. Just like the front, the back had fresh lines of text.

  She pressed her fingers against the lines but felt nothing. She tried again—still nothing.

  “Am I missing something? Are these just ordinary inscriptions?” she wondered. Then it hit her — ‘read.’

  Quickly, she began to recite the words aloud. “In accordance with your wishes, in your tomb, the soul of the abyss. I will mourn and I will weep, forever until the ends of time. The gap has widened, and the destroyer has stood.”

  As expected, her fingers clung to the words once more, and they began to glow. The statue groaned, dust falling as the sound of stone grinding against stone echoed in the chamber. The colossal woman began to rotate on the square platform, turning a quarter way to the left.

  Suddenly, the hilt of her sword, reflecting the sunlight, began to glow. The light was redirected—a beam piercing through the darkness, stretching to the other end of the chamber, far beyond Hadassah’s sight. She waited for a moment, and soon enough, the far end of the dungeon lit up. Two parallel lines of light illuminated the chamber, revealing the sheer scale of the place.

  Hadassah’s eyes widened in delight.

  ‘This place is magnificent!’

  She had never seen anything so grand. Pillars held up the dungeon on both sides, thick with dust that had settled over the years. The walls were lined with faded pictures—once vibrant, now worn down to mere fragments of colour. The floor beneath her, from the statue to the far end of the chamber, was dyed red, almost as though a carpet had once been rolled out along the length. The chamber was empty, but she could imagine humans standing in masses on either side, in beautiful gowns and dashing armour.

  Hadassah tried to envision what it must have been like to live in such grandeur. If this vast, forgotten place was merely a memorial to a fallen queen, she could hardly imagine what her dwelling might have looked like. Surely, even the Fae Queen’s palace couldn’t compare to the wonders that humans had built.

  Her heart swelled with pride, lifting her spirits so high that she felt as though she were floating. She hummed to herself, her father’s tune, and twirled in the grand hall, imagining herself dancing through the ages.

  Soon, she reached the end of the room, where a door stood. The pale light from the statue’s beam circled faintly around it. It was a simple stone door—no handle, no inscriptions, just a solid barrier between her and whatever lay beyond.

  Hadassah wondered how she would open it, but she didn’t have to. The moment her palm touched the cold stone, it felt as though her heart yearned to walk through. The stone, as if moved by her will alone, began to shift. Slowly but steadily, the door pried open. She stood still, looking into the dark space beyond. The light ahead of her moved, casting into the chamber and illuminating the room.

  What she found inside was small and unimpressive compared to the grand hall—a pool sat in the centre of the room, circular and plain. At first, she thought it was a pool of water, the sound like that of gently moving liquid. But as she approached, she realised it wasn’t water she was hearing.

  The black surface before her was so deep and impenetrable that her reflection did not exist within it. It repelled the light, an endless void.

  She didn’t touch it—she wasn’t foolish—but she watched it with keen interest. ‘How curious.’

  Circling the pool, she searched for some clue, some inscription, and finally found one on the opposite side. She read it silently, but as she did, her face twisted in confusion, her eyes narrowing.

  ‘That can’t be right.’

  She found the wording strange, not for any fault of her own—her Emerian was flawless, so there was no way she had mistranslated. She looked again at the pool, pondering its meaning. ‘This is… a soul?’

  The inscription had been clear - ‘Here lies the soul of the abyss. Rise to serve, and die.’

  In Emerian, the word “soul” had multiple meanings. However, in this context, it could refer to either a ‘living being’ or a ‘living weapon’.

  “Then, is this it?” she whispered.

  The possibility that this pool contained a person recontextualised the instructions her father had given her. Was this what he wanted her to find? No, was this who he wanted her to find?

  He had told her to wait.

  But she had already come this far.

  By her father’s words, if this was meant for her, wouldn’t it have come to find her if she decided to wait at the statue?

  That seemed logical, but still…

  She glanced at the pool again. If this was for her, shouldn’t she just take it?

  No, I should just wait.

  And wait she did. She spent her afternoon searching for anything that tickled her fancy, but found nothing of value. So she merely sat by the pool, waiting until the light beam from the statue faded, slowly replaced by a soft blue beam of moonlight.

  Only then did something happen.

  The flames that had lit the room flickered, shifting from red-orange to deep blue. The warmth of the room was sucked away, leaving behind a chill, and the golden hue turned to a cool, beautiful moonlight.

  And as expected, the pool rippled once, then again, and again.

  From the black depths, a hand reached out, gripping the edge of the pool.

  Hadassah’s eyes gleamed with fascination. The hand that emerged from the pool was clearly that of a beast, though she couldn’t tell what kind. It was black, and despite rising from the strange liquid, it appeared dry. The long, claw-like nails made her wary, knowing that with a single slash, her neck could be gone. For a moment, it seemed as though a demon from the abyss was rising.

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  Another hand followed, and then slowly, a head of black hair emerged, attached to pale skin. She saw his gold eyes glow in the blue-tinged room, followed by his pale lips, then collarbones, and eventually his torso. The darkness coating his arms faded into his pale skin halfway up his arms, while the darkness of his feet faded at his knees. He crawled out of the pool, hands against the floor, inching towards her.

  Hadassah didn’t know what to expect, but she felt something strange—a pull, as if her soul was calling for him, summoning him to her.

  He looked up at her as she stood on by the pool, and he crawled closer.

  “Ha…da…ssah.”

  He knew her name. But she didn’t know his. Had he always known her?

  Either way, it confirmed what she had suspected—this was who she had been waiting for.

  She extended her hand, trembling slightly despite her excitement. Fear still lingered in the back of her mind. What if she was wrong? What if this creature killed her?

  Proving her worries futile, he reached out in return, his icy black hand grasping hers. His claws, though menacing, didn’t scratch her. He pulled her hand to his face, pressing it against his cold skin.

  The soul of the abyss.

  His golden eyes watered, and gold tears slipped down his cheeks. “Hadassah…”

  She hadn’t said a word, still taking it all in. Was he a living being, a living weapon, or both?

  A Harbinger.

  Her father had left a Harbinger for her. He created this creature, just for her.

  How long had it been locked away here? How long had he waited? The more her thoughts spun, the wider her lips stretched. But before she could fully comprehend all that had happened, the pool behind her stirred. The black liquid wasn’t liquid at all—it was a pool of darkness—shadows moving, enveloping her, pulling her down into its depths.

  She fell, unable to react, her eyes closing instinctively as if she were sinking into water.

  But that was a mistake.

  As soon as her eyes closed, she fell into deep slumber. Deprived of her senses. It was as if death had embraced her, bringing her into the abyss. But she did not sink, for the beast was holding onto her.

  As he would do for the rest of his life.

  ˋ?-?-?ˊ

  Waking up, her eyes were flooded with daylight, and she took in the bright blue skies above her. Her view was soon obstructed by the face of a man looking down at her. He had a plain face, but compared to Ahqi, most faces would seem plain to her. She reconsidered—he was handsome, but strange. His skin was devoid of colour, and his hair was long, reaching past his feet. And, to top it all off, he was naked.

  A naked man was staring at her curiously. She figured he wouldn’t have any clothes considering he lived in the dungeon.

  His arms and legs were still black, and he had a finger pressed to his lips as if he were deep in thought.

  “What happened?” she asked groggily. The last thing she remembered was falling into the strange pool, but how she got out—well, she could only assume he had pulled her out. The whole situation felt surreal. A Harbinger, living in a pool of shadows.

  “I saved you,” he said slowly, as though speaking wasn’t something he was used to.

  “Did you? You did good then,” she smiled. “What’s your name?”

  “Name?”

  “Yes, your name.”

  He was silent, his eyes eerily lifeless, as if they were actually made of gold. After a moment, he spoke. His voice was lower than Ahqi’s, less energetic—monotone, quiet, and oddly calming.

  “My name… you said… Rahn.”

  “I never said that,” she clarified.

  “Rahn,” he repeated, as if that were final.

  She propped her upper body up, expecting him to lean back, but he didn’t, so she scooted against the grass to create some space. She was lucky the sun was out today instead of the usual grey clouds and rain, though she wondered how long that would last.

  “You know my father, right?” she asked.

  He dropped his hands, pressing his palms against the ground, and nodded quietly.

  “Then, what am I meant to do now?”

  Having a Harbinger seemed like a huge advantage—it meant she would be able to survive a little easier now.

  “Leo left… instructions.”

  “With you?”

  He nodded again, slowly.

  She waited expectantly, assuming he would brief her on what was supposed to happen next. Was there a safe place for her to go? Did he have connections? Perhaps other humans? But he said nothing.

  “What did he say?”

  Only after she asked did he respond.

  “Go to Veres; find Arcadia.”

  “And?”

  “That is all.”

  ‘That’s all?’

  Once again, she found herself battling confusion. ‘Go to Veres? Didn’t he specifically warn me about Veres? And Arcadia? What?’ Her eyes narrowed, her gaze sharp.

  “Do not lie to me.”

  “… I cannot.”

  Her gaze softened. That’s right, he couldn’t lie to her. He was a Harbinger. She just needed to be sure. She had to go to the seemingly very dangerous ravine and find a dead person, not strange at all.

  She sighed in resignation. “If that is what he wishes, I suppose there’s nothing else I can do.”

  ‘Perhaps he had a plan for me,’ she thought. Her father always knew what to do, so there was no point in hesitating now. She should head to Veres.

  The only issue was that she didn’t know where Veres was.

  ‘I really should have made Ahqi buy a map… Even then, I can’t navigate.’

  She sighed and glanced at Rahn. “You can wear my clothes. You’re skinny, but they shouldn’t be too big on you.”

  He hesitated for a moment, then nodded.

  ˋ?-?-?ˊ

  Clothes were uncomfortable for someone who had spent most of his life naked. Rahn didn’t enjoy the strange sensation of fabric sticking to his skin, but since this was the first thing Hadassah had given him, he resisted the urge to tear it off. His height was greater than hers, so while her pants—loose as they were—fit around him, they didn’t cover his legs completely. The sleeves of her top weren’t long enough either, leaving him looking like a lost orphan boy who constantly had a clueless look in his eyes. Even with clothes on, he seemed out of place, and his hair, which was still far too long, only added to that.

  “Should I cut your hair?” she asked, eyeing it critically.

  It was simply too long to manage, even in a ponytail.

  “If you want to.” He didn’t have an opinion on his hair; it was just something he had in excess.

  Hadassah pursed her lips, took out a dagger from her sling, and squatted down. She cut his hair to his waist, making it more manageable.

  “You’ll be able to take care of it easier this way,” she said as she tucked away the dagger while standing up, and motioned for him to sit at her feet. He obeyed, and she gathered his hair into a ponytail.

  “There you go. Feels better, doesn’t it?”

  “…Yes.”

  He didn’t have much to add, but he had to admit, it was better not to have his hair constantly surrounding him. Though in his years of waiting, all he did was sleep in the serenity pool, so he never considered cutting it off. She didn’t have shoes for him, so she made sure they walked on grass, avoiding any dirt paths, only stopping when she got hungry.

  Hadassah wasn’t great at catching wild animals. Ahqi had done most of the hunting before; she had just handled the cooking. But now, with Rahn, there was someone else capable of doing the hunting.

  “I need to catch a rabbit,” she explained.

  He paused momentarily. “What is a rabbit?”

  She hummed, thinking of how to explain it. After searching the grasslands for a while, she pointed at something small and fluffy. “That’s a rabbit. But—don’t confuse them with rabbit beastmen. If you try to kill one of those, we’ll get into trouble.”

  He nodded, watching the rabbit hop into the grass. His vision was stellar, so he didn’t need to move much. With a flick of his wrist, the shadows beneath the grass stirred. An animal wouldn’t feel if the shadows beneath them shifted, but in seconds, black spikes shot out from the earth, killing the rabbit instantly. Blood stained its white fur as the shadows dragged it back towards them.

  Hadassah was impressed. Rahn could manipulate shadows, but only the ones around him—he hadn’t created them. It explained why the chamber had been pitch-black; it was his domain.

  Hadassah wondered if walking under sunlight was uncomfortable for Rahn. His pale skin seemed juxtaposed to the bright sky. She roasted the rabbit meat with the few spices she had left in her satchel, thinking how they should soon come across a settlement where she could buy more supplies.

  ‘I really should’ve extorted Ahqi for more shells,’ she thought with a sigh.

  ‘On second thought, I didn’t see him use any shells, so how did he pay?’ She pondered over it for a moment and decided it was either Celestials were exempt from currency as one of the five great tribes; or he used compulsion. Either way, she felt jealous that she didn’t have such an ability.

  “Here, try this,” she said, handing Rahn a stick of roasted rabbit.

  He took it from her, holding it awkwardly. “What do I do?”

  ‘What kind of question is that?’

  “Eat it,” she replied.

  “…How?”

  She raised a brow. ‘Has he never eaten before?’ How did he sustain himself? She demonstrated by blowing on her kebab before taking a cautious bite. It wasn’t great, and she struggled to chew and swallow it, but it was edible.

  Rahn, however, didn’t bother with caution. He put the entire stick in his mouth, but the heat was too much. He hissed in pain, throwing the stick into the fire, his face twisting in agony.

  Hadassah wanted to laugh at his misfortune, but before she could, scorching pain seared through her tongue, and she screamed, dropping her own skewer. She stuck her tongue out in anguish. Rahn watched her alarmed, while Hadassah’s face burned with shame. He tried to help but didn’t know what to do.

  ‘I should’ve remembered.’

  Only now did she recall something crucial—when a human is bonded to a Harbinger, their lives are connected—they share each other’s pain, sorrow, and happiness. The burn Rahn had felt on his tongue, she felt too.

  After that, she took teaching him how to eat much more seriously and made sure to rack her memories for her father’s teachings on Harbingers.

  Rahn had a big appetite, which made sense considering his size. After hunting down three more rabbits, Hadassah found herself cooking them all. She turned skewers until her wrists ached. And after eating all three, Rahn looked at her, clearly wanting more, she snapped.

  “No! Just because your stomach is bottomless doesn’t mean I have to cook more!”

  He looked hurt by her words, his gold eyes widening and his lips turning down in a pout. Feeling guilty, she quickly softened her tone. “I’ll make more later, okay?”

  That seemed to satisfy him, for now.

  ˋ?-?-?ˊ

  In the few days she spent travelling with Rahn, Hadassah learnt three important things: never start eating around him because he won’t stop; his strength was monstrous; and he absolutely hated being left alone.

  To Hadassah, these quirks were a small price to pay for the benefit of his abilities, though she noticed they were drastically reduced during the daytime.

  Some days, Hadassah wished she could skip eating altogether just to avoid spending hours cooking. But after walking all day, she had no choice—her body demanded food. Meanwhile, Rahn seemed to be enjoying himself, almost like she was dragging around an oversized dog.

  By the third day of walking, Hadassah had to confront the strong possibility that she was terribly lost. No settlement in sight, no path for miles, just endless grasslands and small streams stretching as far as she could see. She was sleep-deprived, irritated, and overwhelmed. At this rate, Veres seemed like an impossible dream.

  Travelling alone was now out of the question, and the Harbinger trailing behind her was good for little else except hunting. When they stumbled upon some stone ruins, she decided to stop and think of a way out of this mess.

  ‘I can’t turn back the way I came. Ahqi mentioned there was another rabbit settlement nearby.’ Hadassah wanted to slap herself. She should’ve asked Ahqi for more details, but how was she supposed to know she’d end up in this mess? Frustration welled up inside her, and she felt like screaming. It didn’t help that Rahn was wandering around, touching everything like this was some sort of fun adventure.

  ‘Though,’ she supposed, ‘for someone who had spent years locked in a dungeon, this must all feel new to him.’

  Hadassah realised she hadn’t even asked Rahn about his past yet. She took one glance at him, now staring at a boulder as if it were the most fascinating thing, and decided not to vex herself any further, instead deciding to sit down and rest. Just as she gave up on talking to him, he spoke instead.

  “I don’t think you should sit down.”

  ‘What?’

  “What?”

  He turned fully to face her. “It’s not a good idea… to sit down.”

  ‘…’

  “Is there a reason?” She finally asked.

  “I mean, you can. If you want to.”

  Her eye twitched, and she decided to abandon sitting entirely, leaning against another stone column instead. Rahn wanted to stop her, but her actions were quicker than his words. And as her back touched the stone, the ruins began to shake, startling her.

  Rahn sighed and gave her an incredulous look as if he were the one doing the babysitting.

  “What’s happening?” she asked, backing away from the column.

  “I said don’t sit,” he replied calmly, walking towards her.

  “I didn’t sit.”

  “… It’s the same thing.”

  Now she really did want to scream. His communication was terrible—but it wasn’t really his fault—so she didn’t even know who to be mad at.

  “Hang on tight,” he said as he wrapped an arm around her torso. The boulders began to lift, breaking through the dirt as a massive creature started to rise from the ruins. The grumbling was soon overshadowed by the sound of bones breaking and flesh tearing coming from behind Rahn.

  Hadassah turned to see a pair of bloodied black feathered wings protruding from Rahn’s back, still with bits of skin and flesh handing off the edges. As the stone rose, forming what looked like a giant, the both of them found themselves standing on its head as it rose, taking them into the sky. When the creature became fully formed, Rahn, flapping his wings, lifted them off their position.

  Hadassah was dumbfounded. As impressive as the rock monster was, she found it absolutely egregious that Rahn had never mentioned he could fly. If he had known that from the start, why had they been walking for days!?

  She stared at him in disbelief. “You can fly… and we’ve been walking this whole time?!”

  Rahn looked at her, clearly confused by her frustration. “You never asked.”

  She wanted to say something but he moved suddenly making her shriek as she grabbed on to him, “don’t let go!”

  “I won’t.”