"Our island is just one of Eldora's hundreds of islands, and I'm sure every single one of them has something waiting to be discovered. I dedicated my entire life to exploring the island where I was born. Back then, of course, it wasn't so easy for people to just leave their birthplaces behind. So, I tried to suppress my inner desire to explore this island instead."
"There isn't much here. You can travel across the entire island and maybe only find a few ruined huts or an old temple. It has never had a large population. But there is one thing that makes it different from the others. The highest peak among the islands is in Pirene. Sometimes my wife and I would go up there and watch the islands under the moonlight at night. When she passed away from old age, I knew my own time was running out, so one night I climbed the peak alone."
"People think that when they spend a life together, they've grown tired of each other, and when they finally face death, they won't feel regret anymore and won't be sad. But that night, I cried more than I had ever cried in my life when I thought about my wife… And while I was crying, something happened suddenly. A bright light started to emit from a rock. It was for the first time I saw something like that in the place I had been going to all my life... Then the light faded and a door opened before my eyes. Thinking I had died, I stepped through that door with a peaceful heart, a door that shone as bright as the moon. But what I saw inside was an enormous place. I had once entered a cathedral of Goddess Isla when I visited Valdor, it was kind of similar to it but even more enormous than that."
"That was where I saw the worms. They are called worms—you might think they would look disgusting, but they were so beautiful. Each one of them glowed with a divine light. When one of them approached me and asked why I had come there, I couldn't answer at first. Then, I told it that I had come because I had died."
"The worms laughed. Well, they made a sound that resembled a laugh. They told me that I was still alive. Then, they asked who I was shedding tears for, and I told them that my wife had passed away. 'No human has ever found this place before,' they said. 'There must be a reason you have found it. Do you agree to help us? If you do, the Goddess will reward your wife with blessings in her next life.' So, I accepted. Then, they gave me a powder—a golden-colored powder. They told me to inhale it. They said they would grant me a long life just so I could tell this story."
"Why did they want you to tell the story? Do you know?" Arsh asked. This story made him feel like he had come to the right place. However, it didn't make much sense to spread the location of something that was supposed to be hidden from everyone's eyes. Even so, Old Milor's story didn't seem to have attracted many adventurers to the island.
"I don't know... How could simple people like us ever hope to understand the intentions of gods…Anyway, that's the end of the story. After that, I must have passed out. When I woke up, I was back on the peak. Dawn was just about to break, and there was no trace of the door. At first, I thought it had all been a dream. Still, I told others about it from time to time. But I've lived so long now that I know what happened that night was real," the old man said.
"Will you take us to that peak?" Arsh asked.
They could actually go on their own, but even if it would slow them down, he wanted to find out exactly where Old Milor had seen the door.
When they got ready to leave, the child was still clinging to Arsh's leg.
"Is he coming with us too?" Juan asked. "The kid won't be able to walk all the way up there. This place is safe. We can leave him here for a while."
But as if the child understood what they were planning, he tightened his grip around Arsh's leg even more.
"It's okay. I'll carry him on my back," Arsh said.
After Old Milor stepped outside, they began making their way up the mountain along the path in front of the house. Arsh had no idea what was waiting for them up there. Perhaps it was just the delusion of an old man, or perhaps it was a cure that could save Ezra... maybe even more. But whatever it was, they had to find it before time ran out any further.
...
The path to the peak was steep and thorny. They followed Old Milor along the narrow trail as he cleared the way with the sickle in his hand.
Even though the child didn't want to leave Arsh's side, this time Juan carried him on his shoulders. The child clung tightly to his head as they walked ahead of Arsh.
"If I were on my own, I would have reached there by now. These days young people are so slow. Let's wait an hour for the sun to go down a bit" Old Milor said.
They stopped to rest by a stream, washing their faces and grabbing a bite to eat. Arsh and Juan had collapsed onto the ground in exhaustion, but the old man didn't look the least bit tired.
Finally, after hours of walking, they reached the peak of the mountain. It was a flat, green meadow, with no sign of the thick brush or vines they had fought through to get there. Tall rocks stood around, looking as if they had been placed there by human hands. The view was breathtaking. Before them stretched a vast blue sea, with green islands scattered across it and white-sailed ships drifting between them.
"Old man, the view is beautiful, but did you really make your wife walk all the way up here?" Juan asked.
"Ah, she was faster than me. She was the one who always wanted to come here."
"Do you remember where you saw the door?" Arsh asked.
"Of course. Follow me," Milor said.
They walked between the stones until they reached the cliff. There was another stone standing at the edge of the cliff.
"It was right here. I still remember that night. I was sitting at the edge of this cliff, crying. Then lights started coming out of this stone," he said.
Arsh and Juan stepped closer and examined the stone, trying to see whether there was anything different about it. But it was just a stone standing upright.
"So, what's the plan now?" Juan asked.
There wasn't much they could do. At least, not while Old Milor was still here.
"We stay here for the night," Arsh said.
...
By the time night fell, Old Milor had already left.
The weather was warm, so they weren't cold. They lay back on the grass, using their bags as pillows, and watched the view together. Before the sun went down, they had examined every single stone around them, but they hadn't found a thing. For now, their only choice was to wait for midnight, just like in Old Milor's story.
If this really was the meeting place of the goddesses, Arsh could completely understand why they chose it.
As night fell, the sea and the sky blended into each other, looking like an endless darkness. Yet, the tiny yellow specks of light coming from the small villages on the islands and the white stars in the sky made him feel as though they were drifting in the universe. It was far more beautiful, far more enchanting, than the view during the day.
When midnight passed and still nothing happened, Juan went to sleep. Before that he said once morning came, they would have to leave this place and find another solution. Although Arsh agreed with him, he could feel that what he was looking for was right here. Even if his siuni hadn't worked until now, he believed it was an instinct it gave him.
After a while, seeing that Juan and the child had fallen asleep, he lay down as well.
"Can you hear me?" he muttered.
This time, he knew he could speak to the girl. Ever since they had started climbing the mountain, he had been hearing her whispers inside his head from time to time. Before long, golden threads appeared around him, wrapping him up like a cocoon once again.
As he was pulled into the depths of his mind, what he didn't notice was the green-haired boy watching him with a smile.