Chapter 8. The Priestess

On the 21st day of the eighth month of the year of the creator, 2,020.

(Present day)

Vishwum, Aesos.

"You have come a long way, Child."

A white-haired old woman draped in simple white robes made of cotton sat on a low stool, counting the brown, glass beads on a necklace with fingers that were weathered and crooked, and had seen better days.

However, the aura of power that exuded from her in waves convinced Nerina that she was no ordinary old lady.

"And yet, Indah is afraid you have journeyed all this way for nothing," She continued, shaking her head as her attention was focused on the necklace in her palm.

Nerina hoped that she had suddenly developed a hearing impairment and perhaps had misunderstood what the old woman had said.

Plastering a fake smile on her face, she asked. "W-what do you mean by that? How could I have come all this way for nothing?" 

The journey by sea had taken more than a fortnight and had been extremel