Chapter 422 - 422: It's Everywhere
Chapter 422 – 422: It’s Everywhere
Luna stepped out of the house, her brows scrunched in confusion. After the second howl, she had heard numerous howls echoing it- as if the pack was answering their alpha's call. But as soon as she had opened the door, it had ceased, enveloping the forested settlement in an eerie calm.
The night was still young, and the moon was still shining high above the trees with its midnight charm. The goddess narrowed her eyes at the trees that surrounded the lone hut. There was something not right about the place, she thought, looking for at least some sign of life around. But there was none.
"Strange," she mused aloud, "Not even a cricket."
Closing the door behind her, she stepped out of the house, wearing little but a coarse cotton dress that they had provided her earlier. The tip of her nose started to become red as she walked down the pebbled footpath leading out of the house.
For some reason, the temperature had dropped drastically in the past few hours, to the extent that she was starting to feel cold. Her eyes adjusted naturally to the dark of the night- a skill that she had passed on to the wolves ages ago. The trees were awfully still, with not even the slightest of winds passing through them.
It was a pity that she had been too preoccupied when she had arrived to notice the dead calm of the forest. But unlike the morning, the air was now dense with something dark, bubbling with soft whispers that seemed to hang heavy on every leaf that she passed by.
'Master, do you feel it?' The Tohar Sehlah's voice echoed in her head.
"Hmm," Luna said with a nod. "Dark magic. It's everywhere."
'How exciting!' The Dam Sehlah exclaimed, its voice rising with excitement.
The goddess chuckled at the response, shaking her head as she stepped out of the forest path into a narrow footpath leading to a few huts placed in a row. Her footsteps made no sound at all as she stepped on the wet grass, placing a foot in front of the other gracefully, striding through the overgrown vegetation gracefully.
It was the first set of houses that was nearest to the alpha's abode. There were too many things that made her curious about the place at the moment, but since it was the perfect opportunity to begin her search for the shard, she didn't want to miss it.
Luna placed a hand on the stone that hung around her neck as she stopped right before the first hut. The Destiny stone remained cold to her touch. With a shrug, she moved on to the next and the next, until she came to the last house. Seeing that the stone was unresponsive, she sighed, giving up.
But something else caught her attention. The goddess frowned, placing her ear on the wooden door. Apart from a single, steady heartbeat, she couldn't hear anything else from the other side. As her weight pushed against the door, it creaked open, revealing a sparsely decorated house.
Luna staggered into the room, barely catching her balance before she almost tripped onto the floor. She took a deep breath, straightening her back.
"That was almost a disaster." She muttered under her breath, looking around curiously.
There was only a single room in the house, with a partition made of wood separating two cots- one bigger than the other. It was quite evident that the house was inhabited by a family. Yet, there was only a sleeping child inside the hut at the moment. She quickly stepped out, closing the door behind her.
Without any hesitation, she retraced her steps to the forest path, checking out once again, one hut after the other. All of them were in a similar state. None of the houses were locked, and apart from sleeping children, there wasn't a single soul in any of the buildings. Her frown deepened as she stepped out of the house nearest to the forest path.
"They have left their children unguarded and their houses wide open." She mused aloud, "Where do you think they all went?"
'Master, I think we should go back for now.' The Tohar Sehlah said, interrupting her line of thoughts. 'We can look into it in the morning. If they spot you wandering around..' It trailed off, its worry apparent in its voice.
'What nonsense!' The Dam Sehlah exclaimed, shoving the white stone out of its way. It quickly lowered its voice, making it as sweet as possible as it pleaded, 'Master, let's keep going forward. I'm sure there's something exciting right ahead.'
'Master, don't listen to this troublemaker!' The white stone shouted, resurfacing in her mind. 'You have suppressed all your powers and are still recovering. We cannot risk it.'
'Tch.' The red stone said, teasing its counterpart. 'Scaredycat.'
Luna rolled her eyes. The stones were more like a bickering couple rather than the two halves of her soul. Though she appreciated their company, sometimes it was quite annoying to deal with the push and shove of their conflicting consciousness in her head, especially when she was trying to think.
"Will you two shut up if you're not going to say anything productive?" She asked, keeping her voice low as she walked ahead through the forest path. "You're giving me a headache."
'Master, this could be our chance!' The Dam Sehlah raised its voice, trying to get her attention. 'If all adults are gathered somewhere, don't you think it would be easier to search for the shard at that place?'
The goddess nodded in agreement, splitting her attention between the stones and the forest. The more she walked, the denser the darkness became, settling in the air like fog. She looked around in confusion. This was not the path that she had taken in the morning while being dragged by the alpha to his house, she thought, straining to see ahead.
'How do you know that the shard is in the body of an adult?' The Tohar Sehlah retorted.
'You-'
"Hussh," Luna said, tapping her temple in irritation. "Stop talking."
She stopped right in front of an enormous building that reminded her of the mud temples constructed for lower deities in some parts of the world. The dark magic seemed to push towards the direction for some reason. Luna stepped forward, the corners of her lips pulled down to a frown.