The time was 4:28, and the sky wasn't the only thing shrouded in darkness. Deep beneath Emrys' bandages, beneath his repairing vision, somewhere devoid of light, turmoil brewed.
"Say, big brother Emrys, where are we running to?" Lysia asked, her voice a whisper in the eerie silence. She clung to his hand, her pajamas fluttering as they ran.
"Athena's," Emrys replied, eyes fixed on the pitch-black horizon ahead.
They moved through an expanse so dark that their reflections appeared below them, as if they were running on a surface of stagnant, shallow water.
"Wasn't it Dionysus' earlier? And now Athena's. Where after Athena's?" Lysia's voice was fatigued, filled with confusion.
Emrys glanced at her, his eyes wide open. "We—"
Before he could finish, Lysia screamed and sank into the ground, vanishing into the darkness.
"Lysia!" Emrys yelled, frantically trying to pull her out. But she was gone, leaving only her terrified expression burned into his memory. He withdrew his arms, feeling nothing but emptiness, and realized with horror that his arms were gone too.
The world shifted. He was now kneeling in a small, burning wood, flames consuming trees in slow motion. An ominous laugh echoed from the flames, eerily resembling his own voice.
Emrys looked up, and a rampaging figure emerged— Bhung with a metal bat, charging at him.
"Can you satisfy me?" Bhung roared, swinging the bat. Emrys dodged, the bat crashing into the ground, bringing forth dust and debris as Emrys ran. The scenery morphed into a burning Dionysus', explosions tearing through the landscape. He dodged debris and Bhung's massive swings, which sent bricks flying in all directions.
Stumbling, Emrys fell and rolled. As he looked back, he saw the metal bat descending toward his face, which followed a sudden blackout of his vision.
"Emrys," a soft voice called. He blinked and saw Luna, her white hair glowing and floating, lighting up the darkness. She held his cheeks, her smile warm and comforting. Green grass began to sprout beneath them.
"You'll be fine," she whispered soothingly. Emrys' heavy breaths slowed, and he closed his eyes, finding solace in her presence.
"Emrys, Emrys, Emrys," voices chanted faintly. He opened his eyes to see a man and woman in the distance. Though blurry, he could tell.
"Emrys, please forgive us." they pleaded. They disappeared as quickly as they had come, leaving behind a scorching breeze that sent shivers through him.
The yellow hue of fire illuminated his and Luna's faces, and giant tornadoes of flames advanced, devouring everything in their path. Knowing they couldn't outrun the whirl flames, Emrys felt his legs give way, but Luna held him up.
Holding hands, they ran, pushing beyond their limits until they reached the edge of the grassy expanse. There, they found Aeron, Hector, and Corsair. But the flames had gotten ever close.
As Emrys reunited with his friends, Luna stepped back. She pulled a glowing strand of hair from her head, plucking it out.
Emrys turned, "Luna," confusion and worry etched on his face. He opened his palms to receive the strand. As it touched his palms, the ground split apart, creating an unbridgeable chasm.
"What's wrong? Luna. Jump, I'd catch you!" Emrys shouted, watching the distance between them grow. Luna smiled, her hair glowing as the whirl flames consumed her.
"Ahhhhhh!" Emrys screamed, jolting upright from his bed, his breaths as heavy as his heart.
"Goddesses!" Aeron, Hector, and Corsair sprang from their deep sleeps.
"What happened? What did you see?" Corsair asked gently.
"A bad dream, was it?" Aeron asked, his voice soft.
Without answering immediately, he looked at them, "Where are we?" his voice trembling.
"Still where you were the last time you woke up," Aeron answered. "A hall that lies between Gaia's and Athena's."
"Where's Luna?" Emrys inquired, his voice barely a whisper, standing hunched with fatigue. His head turned slightly toward the sound of Aeron's voice, breathing heavy and labored. The weight loss had left him gaunt, his thick clothes hanging loosely on his diminished frame.
"She's with the other girls and the children in a different dorm," Aeron answered, his voice tinged with concern.
Emrys lowered himself onto the bed, his movements slow and deliberate with his blindfolded face angled downward. "Why did we leave Dionysus'?" he asked with a confused voice.
Aeron exchanged glances with Hector and Corsair, their expressions mirroring his confusion. It was Corsair who finally spoke. "Do you remember Sage? He instructed us to flee to Athena's for safety."
Emrys raised his head slightly. "What about the big guy with the bat? What happened to him?" His voice gained strength as he relaxed his back and neck.
Hector responded slowly, eyes downcast. "He was defeated by an unknown guy right after… our battle with him." Aeron and Corsair shared his somber mood, the gravity of the situation evident.
"Is he an enemy?" Emrys questioned, his voice laced with uncertainty.
"We don't know yet," Corsair replied, his tone calm. "That was the last we saw of him."
Emrys lifted his trembling right hand from the bed, the pallor of his skin stark against the dim light. "I'm completely famished," he scoffed.
Aeron's eyes twitched involuntarily at the sight of Emrys' frailty. "He's healing slower than expected," he thought. "Without proper nutrients, there's no way for him to recover quickly. It's like what happened with that guy, Huragus Setpiece. I really shouldn't have given that guy my last ration."
"I'm thirsty as well," Emrys croaked, his hand clutching his throat as he grimaced.
Aeron rummaged under his bed, retrieving a bottle of water and placing it in Emrys' palm. Emrys drank greedily, draining the bottle in seconds and immediately requesting another. He downed half of the second bottle before wiping his mouth.
"Take me to the others. I need to show them I'm getting better," Emrys declared, struggling to rise from the bed.
Aeron and Hector rushed to his side, supporting him as Corsair opened the door.
Meanwhile, in the girls' dorm, Luna's voice was a mixture of frustration and whimsy. "The water was so cold, at a point I thought my blood would freeze. Bathing in this season is the worst," she whined, eliciting giggles from Melany, Vic, and Runette.
"But isn't it strange that it never snows here?" Vic mused, pinching her chin thoughtfully.
"It probably did a few years back," Melany said, her fingers combing through her deep brown hair. "My sister took pictures here two years ago in December, and there was snow in the background."
Runette sighed in disappointment. "I had plans to build a giant snowman that would last the entire season."
Luna's expression turned serious as she looked at the children. "It's probably for the best. If it had snowed, we might not have made it here so quickly. Some of the kids won't be so tolerant of it."
A sudden knock on the door interrupted their conversation.
"Who's there?" they called out, receiving no reply. The girls froze, fear creeping into their eyes. Luna moved silently, retrieving a katana from her bag. She unsheathed it with a quiet hiss and approached the door cautiously, while the others shielded the sleeping children.
Taking a striking stance, Luna flung the door open.
The katana clattered to the floor as her eyes widened in shock. "E-Emrys," she gasped, covering her mouth.
"Hey," Emrys greeted, a faint smile on his pale face. Aeron, Hector, and Corsair stood behind him, ready to catch him if he faltered.
Melany, Vic, and Runette rushed to the door. "It's really Emrys!" they exclaimed.
"Yeah. I wanted to see how you guys were doing and let you know... I'm... reco—" Before he could finish, Emrys collapsed forward, but Luna caught him.
Aeron quickly explained Emrys' condition to Luna, detailing his lack of nutrients and subsequent slow recovery.
"I understand. Let's get ready to leave for Hestia's. It's time," Luna said.
In the soft blue light of the morning, Luna at the center, they began their journey to Hestia's Hall.