vicky froze after hearing her name. the woman just continued to smile.


    she looked normal, like any regular human. her smile was normal too, but somehow it really unnerved vicky.


    "how... h-how do you know my name?" she asked in a trembling voice.


    the woman just shrugged and stared into the small campfire. the flames danced to the rhythm of the bitter wind. it was mesmerizing to stare at, and for a moment, vicky thought the flames were alive. read new adventures at empire


    "why don''t you come closer? i don''t bite. not unless you are a marshmallow... are you?"


    "am i what?" asked vicky, already losing the tread of the conversation. the woman chuckled again and said, "are you a marshmallow?"


    vicky stared at the woman with uncertainty, then just shook her head.


    "see, then you have nothing to worry about! come, sit on the opposite side of the fire!"


    her fear grew, and she looked around for an escape, but she was about a dozen kilometer away from the town. if it came to fighting, she would die really fast.


    with no other choice, vicky moved to the campfire while keeping the woman in her vision. she sat on the opposite side, just like she told her.


    she was a bit surprised by the fire. she felt no warmth radiating from it, but somehow it melted the white stuff at the end of the woman''s stick.


    the snow melted around them too, which she also didn''t understand.


    "now, isn''t that much more comfortable? we can finally talk!"


    suddenly, the woman slapped herself on the forehead. "oh, i''m so stupid! i haven''t even introduced myself!... huh, what name should i use... this is always so hard, making up names on the spot..."


    "hmm... you people really love using titles, so what would fit me... ah, fuck it! just call me the huntress!"


    after saying her name or title, she looked very satisfied with herself, like she just solved one of the world''s greatest puzzles.


    "that''s a strange title," said vicky in a whisper. the huntress''s smile froze and her brows furrowed.


    "hey! i thought very hard on that!... by the way, you have no right to talk shit about other people''s titles, miss soul keeper!... ridiculous..."


    vicky couldn''t hold herself and giggled a bit at the woman''s rambling. the huntress just leaned back and ate her other marshmallow.


    neither said anything for a few minutes. the woman was content with the silence, but vicky was uncomfortable. she still didn''t know who this person was, or why she brought her here.


    "come on. ask away... i know you want to!" said the huntress, while smiling cunningly at vicky.


    a shiver went down her spine, but she pushed through her discomfort and fear.


    "why did you lure me here? how do you know me? who, or more like... what are you?"


    she just sighed and looked at the huntress with defeat.


    "and why exactly do i need to use this creature for evolution? how does me becoming an ascended help us get back to earth?"


    each moment spent with this stranger caused vicky to turn more annoyed. her fear had already gone away, leaving only anger behind.


    she just wanted to spend her time slowly fading away, and now some random person brought her here. vicky didn''t care about anything she had to say, but there was something keeping her stuck to the stone ground... hope...


    there it was, deep in her soul...


    about one and a half year ago, she lost hope of returning, of seeing her mother again. but now, with this new revelation, the small ember came to life, illuminating her dark hopelessness.


    now the question was, should she keep grab this small flicker, or let it die out...


    "oh, little girl. you people do not know about what evolution is! even most of the gods, the so called empyreans, are mostly clueless..."


    "what''s happening right now, in this universe, is nothing special. right now, you all walk the path of higher beings. they play with your life like little chess pieces... but, they aren''t omnipotent either..."


    the stranger stood up from the dead flames of the blown out campfire and began walking away into the snowy wind.


    as she faded from existence, she let her words echo through the world.


    "the world you know doesn''t exist. you can become free from their control, but with freedom comes duty. if they realize you aren''t under their control, that you aren''t following their plans..."


    "then you will turn into their enemy. keep your hand close to your chest, little girl. don''t let people you don''t trust get a sneaky peak. also, keep our conversation to yourself, or don''t... i don''t really care..."


    with her last sentence, the woman fully disappeared, and suddenly vicky found herself standing knee deep in the snow.


    the campfire, the melted circle, the stick the woman used, nothing was left of the sight. it was like the place never even existed, like it was just an apparition. or maybe everything happened in her imagination.


    vicky stood in the cold, shivering. her mind raced, unsure of what to do.


    she took looked at her watch, and saw the town on the map. it was 15 kilometers to the south.


    with a sigh, she put the watch away, turned towards the south, and was about to take a step.


    in the snow in front of her, a single sentence was written...


    ''if you truly want to help your mother, head north!''


    vicky watched the writing for a few minutes. she didn''t look away until an additional layer of snow covered it up.


    afterward, she lifted her leg and took her first step. it was hard moving through the snow, but she struggled and took another, then another, and a fourth.


    with each step, she moved closer to her goal... saving her mother...