Aami woke up from a deep sleep to the sound of a powerful, haunting howling. For a moment, looking around, she didn't even realize where she was. Reaching out her hand to grab her phone, she checked the time... it must have been around one o'clock in the morning. Using the light from her phone to scan her surroundings, she realized she was inside a tent and remembered exactly where she was.
Looking through the small window of the tent, she saw Alex. He was lying on his stomach, completely covered in a blanket, fast asleep.
Even though she was wearing a thick woolen sweater, there was no relief from the biting cold. As if her sleep had vanished entirely, she sat there, exhaling breaths of mist into the air. That howling sound returned. She didn't know what her heart was feeling at that moment... she only knew that the sound was strangely attracting her.
Aami pushed aside the blanket wrapped around her body and put on her round glasses—something she used only occasionally. Her eyes were aching terribly, likely due to the extreme cold. She slowly stood up, quietly opened the tent, and stepped outside. She wondered how she was able to do all this, even after everything that had happened.
She didn't even know the answer to the question of "Why?"...
She only knew one thing... curiosity. An uncontrollable curiosity. And then, there was something else—something that was either controlling her mind or drawing her closer...
Because of the bandage wrapped around her leg, she found it a bit difficult to walk. Looking around, she saw the yellow glow of the campfire lights set up throughout the camp. Though the mist wasn't as thick as before, the cold was still intense. The sky was clear... filled with pure moonlight. Aami looked up... In that moonlight, the stars had faded away, leaving the moon to stand alone, breathtakingly beautiful.
As she exhaled Her breath emerged like smoke from her mouth due to the biting intensity of the cold. As her gaze reached that distant island, her eyes widened. A blue light seemed to swallow the entire island, as if the moonlight from the sky had fallen directly onto the earth. She was suddenly reminded of a dream... the forest she stood in within that dream was just like this.
She stepped forward once more and looked intently. Suddenly, that light vanished. However, as if to signal a human settlement, there were yellow lights from torches or lamps visible in several places.
"Is it actually real...???"
Asking herself this, she rubbed her eyes and looked again... Yes, it was real. There were yellow lights scattered throughout the woods. Her breathing quickened... her face was a mixture of bewilderment and wonder.
What was the mystery of that place?
Even if there was a human settlement, to think that people lived there despite the various problems surrounding that island...
She moved further forward for more clarity, but the area slowly began to be shrouded in mist, as if it were disappearing from her sight.
"Shit!..."
She spoke with disappointment. Then, as if thinking of something, she looked around as if searching for something specific.
"Perhaps if there is a portal to that place, it might be right here on this mountaintop..." She searched several spots in that darkness... past clusters of rocks and thickets. But she couldn't find anything there to confirm her suspicions.
Because of that, she slowly moved forward from where she stood. In her mind, she was searching for a place that stood parallel to that island. She reached a spot that seemed roughly like what she was looking for.
There wasn't anything particularly special there—just piles of rocks. Yet, driven by some inner urge, she pulled herself up onto them. Then she stood straight.
Under the moonlight above, she scanned the entire area. Suddenly, something caught her attention. In amazement, she reached out and looked closely...
"I didn't realize when I saw you this morning that you were crazy enough to climb a massive rock like this in the middle of the night..."
Suddenly, a familiar voice struck her ears. Ami was startled and turned toward the source of the sound. In the darkness, she could only make out a figure and a pair of glowing blue eyes. Her body shivered with a sudden, intense trembling. Along with it came a wave of fear brought on by this person's unexpected arrival. Aami tried to step back to climb down in her haste, but her foot slipped and she began to fall.
But before she could hit the ground, someone caught her carefully and pulled her close to his body. Out of fear, Aami buried her face in his chest, her hands tightly clutching his shirt.
"Don't be afraid... nothing happened..."
As he spoke, Aami lifted her face and looked at him. Those same blue eyes were right in front of her. Because he had stepped into the moonlight, his face was now clear.
"Devi..." she whispered his name, her heart racing, her voice filled with a mix of wonder and joy. By then, he had helped her stand upright.
"Yes, Devi... Aris David..." he said with a certain rhythm. what business does aamika Jagannath have on top of this rock in the middle of this night?" he asked dramatically.
"I... I just came to check on something..." she replied with embarrassment.
"And what is so urgent that you're searching for it here... Hmm...?"
He became serious. Aami didn't know what to say. Should she tell the truth or a lie? If she told the truth, he would surely think she was insane. But what lie could she possibly tell about something so important that she had to come here at night to see it? As she looked at him from the corner of her eye, his gaze was fixed intently on her face.
"Don't lie..."
His words hit home. He had sensed that she was about to tell a lie. Aami let out a long sigh...
"Don't say that I'm crazy..."
She sought a bit of advance insurance.
"I'll think about it..."
His reply came instantly. Aami had already realized in their short time together that this was exactly how he spoke.
"I was looking to see if there was any way from here to get to that island...???"
As she said it, his brow furrowed.
"Which island...???"
His voice turned suspicious and harsh.
"It can't be seen right now... but I saw it earlier... The Mystic Shadow... that is the name of that island..."
As she finished speaking, Devi stood there staring at her in shock, unable to believe what he was hearing....