Moreira's lips were tightly sealed, his hands gripping his trousers firmly. He did not know what to answer and thought that the answer currently in his mind would not be immediately believed by him.
After thinking for a moment, and feeling uncomfortable because Zavi and the girl sitting beside him kept staring at him, Moreira was forced to open his mouth.
He exhaled slowly, then spoke in a calm tone. "S-So, earlier I was sitting on a bench and looking around the station. I saw her coming down the stairs and staring at me with a terrifying face, as if a wild beast had found its prey. Then she came toward me. I don't know how she could know my whereabouts. I immediately asked about her purpose for coming here. But she didn't answer."
Zavi did not immediately believe those words. To make sure, he asked the young girl directly.
"Is what he said true?"
The girl slowly turned her head. Behind her cold expression, there was a certain depth when she looked at Zavi. However, she tried to remain calm. Her current human form must not fade, because that would be fatal. Calmly she answered the question to conceal the horror within her.
"Yes," the girl replied, taking a breath before continuing. "The man beside me is very unique. I want to stay with him longer."
Moreira's brows furrowed. He did not know what was inside her mind and felt frightened when he saw her strange behavior.
"But... may I join this journey?" the woman asked to confirm.
"Do as you wish," Zavi replied reluctantly.
"Okay," the woman murmured while raising her thumb.
As the two of them already knew, the woman, who was actually a third level evil spirit named Nammeridya, had been wandering across Moran, passing through seven districts without any clear reason.
Until she finally arrived in the Chapena district, walking calmly along Street 12. Arriving in Vica. Not long after walking, she felt a strange sensation that she considered very unusual for being in the human world, which made her decide to enter that café.
She sensed it, saw it clearly. There were two. One felt faint yet strong, originating from a Phantom, and the other was overflowing spiritual energy that filled the entire room and surrounded the whole café building. The two of them.
The door opened, and an unpleasant sight immediately greeted her.
'Impossible. Level five, Mastering, is here?'
Those words crossed her mind when the two of them glanced at her after the doorbell rang, indicating that the door had closed by itself once she was fully inside the room.
...
After passing through the city of Minehold, located in the southeast of the kingdom, and stopping from one station to another according to the city's standard operational procedures, they finally arrived at a region with a small stop station that looked quiet in the afternoon. The station stood in the farthest village, directly bordering a vast forest named Xinahiru, which served as the boundary between Minehold and Greysia.
This afternoon.
Traveling through that forest was not as easy as imagined. The forest, rumored to be filled with terrifying monsters, wandering spirits, and strange creatures roaming everywhere, created an atmosphere that felt very different, heavier, colder, and pressing on the heart.
A coachman had previously been involved in selling herbal potions in Minehold, potions meant to improve the body's health. The transaction took too long that he did not realize the day had grown late. Those goods were not his. He was only working for someone else.
Without money to stay overnight, his determination grew stronger. He planned to pass through the terrifying forest, even if only along its edge, armed with nothing but a knife and his courage. His child and wife were waiting for him at home, and that was the only reason pushing him forward.
Until finally, he met the three of them at the border of the village, offering protection with one condition: a free ride. The coachman considered the offer. No one would be harmed. In fact, it would benefit both sides. Without hesitation, he immediately accepted it.
'Thank you, Goddess Nagreitta. You helped me,' the man thought in relief.
You can add divine details without making it too long, simply through attributes, symbols, and religious influence. This makes the world feel more alive and realistic.
God Auneron and Goddess Yarandrela have their main churches in Moran. Their cathedral towers rise high above the central district, where bronze bells ring every dawn and dusk. Priests and worshippers often chant hymns of praise to both of them. Auneron, the guardian of order, bringer of fortune, and light of wisdom, and Yarandrela, the compassionate mother believed to protect wandering souls.
Stone statues of the two stand in prayer halls. Auneron is depicted holding a long staff crowned with a ring of light, while Yarandrela is portrayed with open hands as if calming the restless world.
Meanwhile, Goddess Nagreitta holds great influence in three main provinces of the Kingdom of Norn. Unlike the two deities in Moran and other cities in Havanuheta, worship of Nagreitta is quieter and more cautious. She is known as the goddess of night, hidden fate, and unspoken secrets. Her followers believe that every shadow carries whispers of her will, and that human destiny is often woven long before they realize it.
In provinces under her influence, small altars for Nagreitta are often found in the corners of houses, illuminated by black candles burning throughout the night.
The presence of strong spiritual energy within the forest caused some animals to transform into monsters of tremendous power. Among them were creatures capable of breathing fire, water, or wind from their mouths, and they often attacked humans if they felt their territory was threatened.
Throughout the journey, the three of them witnessed several strange occurrences. Fruits were thrown toward the carriage, screams echoed through the forest, trees collapsed, and cries for help could be heard from wandering spirits dwelling in the forest.
However, those disturbances never escalated into serious attacks. The wandering spirits seemed aware that among those humans there was a third level spirit.
Among those spirits, they wondered why she was together with humans. What was she planning?
It was not only disturbances that made their hair stand on end. Their hearts pounded when they had to face a group of fox monsters, creatures that had transformed into monsters called "Chalog", capable of launching fireballs from their mouths.
However, thanks to the presence of that woman, the group of Chalog was subdued within seconds, even before their fireballs reached their targets.
The woman's goal was simple.
To protect them.
Or perhaps... because of her interest in Moreira? Which became the reason behind that action.
"Wow. Miss, you are amazing to defeat a group of Chalog!" the man said, unable to hide his admiration.
Zavi and Moreira began showing expressions of surprise.
"Thank you," the woman replied indifferently.
About twenty minutes after passing through the terrifying forest, and facing an unexpected situation while fighting a group of passing Chalog, their destination was finally in sight. From afar, the bright lights of Greysia welcomed them, causing the tension and fear they had felt earlier to fade away.
'Phew... I can't imagine what would have happened if I hadn't taken that woman with us. Thank you Moreira, for your cooperation.' Zavi thought, unable to erase his panic, remembering the earlier moment when a Chalog, shaped like a wild cat, tried to pounce on him but failed, although it managed to bite off his little finger.
After entering the city, they were finally able to breathe in relief after what had happened in the forest.
"Ah, damn it," the man said while pounding his chest. Then he turned, looking at Zavi with his pale face.
Because he was worried, feeling pity, and uneasy to ask about his condition directly.
"Sir... are you alright?"
Zavi's jaw tightened as he recalled the incident.
"It's nothing. Just a little pain from losing this finger," Zavi replied, his lips trembling heavily.
"Don't pretend to be strong, sir," the man said. "Chalog will attack anyone who enters its territory with powerful force."
Zavi widened his eyes, turning his head and staring deeply at the man's back. His mind drifted into the sentence the man had just spoken, not knowing whether he was simply pretending to be strong to hide it from them.
The atmosphere turned gloomy.
Realizing that, the man quickly added, "Huh. If you don't mind, would all of you like to stop by my house? As a way to thank you for protecting me, and I want to treat that wound." After saying that, the man's mind felt relieved.
Moreira and the woman sat side by side, looking at Zavi who was sitting in front of them, lowering his gaze with a bandage on his left hand that was still seeping blood. Waiting for the answer that would come out of his mouth.
Zavi slowly raised his head. His feelings were mixed between sadness and annoyance at the sudden attack.
He realized it right after leaving his house, directly testing the uncontrolled level four ability on people passing by on the street while he moved toward the outskirts of Vica.
As expected, the ability did not activate if there was no one who intended harm toward him.
'But why wasn't that creature affected by the attack? Didn't it intend to attack me?' The question kept spinning in Zavi's mind.
After thinking about it carefully, he could not reveal the truth about the Prisoner ability.
He chose not to accept the man's invitation after realizing that his ability did not work according to his expectations, or perhaps something was blocking that ability. He remained cautious in case the man intended to kill him and the two people sitting in front of him who were waiting for an answer.
Zavi glanced at both of them, then spoke in a deep tone. "No. Thank you for the offer."
The man only glanced back, his hands focused on holding the horse's reins.
After saying that, Zavi clicked his tongue, not expecting that this wound could burden both his body and his mind. Several minutes later, in the Luand district of Greysia city, on Street No. 10 Kirei, which was still near the forest area, the horse carriage they were riding suddenly stopped.
It stopped beside a row of warehouses with a wide yard, warehouses belonging to the man's boss. He came here to place the horse in its stable and feed it. After doing that, he tried to unload the remaining wooden crates containing herbal potions.
Before leaving the place, the two of them, Zavi and Moreira, thanked him for the ride to this place. While leading the black horse into the warehouse, the man raised his left hand, and his figure slowly disappeared into the dim light cast by the gas lamps outside the warehouse.
They turned around. Their gaze was fixed ahead, walking through the city streets at night with one goal, searching for information about herbal potions in this district, and one additional goal, finding a way to make Zavi's nightmares disappear and the strange sensation that Moreira felt at night, which prevented him from sleeping normally, vanish from his body forever.