Fifteen minutes later
"Is it here?" Orion asked as he and Greta entered another section of the farm, which was under the care of Caretaker Nala. According to Greta, this was the place where the Village Chief was currently resting, and where the Village Chieftess wanted to meet him. Orion didn't know who Caretaker Nala was since they hadn't bothered to introduce themselves to him the last time they met.
"Yes," Greta replied, looking at Orion. "Although you were supposed to meet her at the Village Chief's compound during the day, there's no need to worry about it since you weren't around. Just tell her that you were asleep and had only just woken up after feeling better if she asks why you arrived late, okay."
Orion nodded his head in understanding, acknowledging Aunt Greta's words. Since he had been sandwiched between Grandma Vivian and Grandma Derry throughout the day, there were a lot of villagers who hadn't bothered looking in their direction, so he was at least sure that the Chieftess wouldn't be able to find out whether he was lying or not unless she didn't assign anyone to actively watch and follow him around.
"Are you ready?" Greta suddenly asked, observing Orion's silent and thoughtful expression, wondering if he was nervous about meeting with the Village Chieftess so suddenly.
Orion nodded his head in affirmation, "Yes, I'm ready. I was just clearing my head a bit," he responded while looking at the hut they had just arrived at. "Just follow my lead and you'll be alright, okay?" Greta said, as she stretched her hand and knocked on the door.
After a while, a loud yet calm voice passed through the door, "Come in."
Giving Orion one last reassuring smile, Greta pushed the door open and walked in, with Orion following closely behind her.
As they entered, they beheld the Village Chieftess sitting on the floor, indulging in some kalna fruits from a wooden bowl, while a toned and muscular female guard stood to guard behind her. Meanwhile, the Village Chief remained in his previous position, appearing sound asleep.
"Don't worry, I sent Lola away to take some rest," Chieftess Zara reassured Greta, noticing her searching gaze as she looked around the room for her companion, the Village's second-best healer, Lola.
Greta let out a tired sigh, realizing that Lola might have indeed grown exhausted and decided to take a rest.
Observing that both Greta and Orion were still standing, Chieftess Zara turned to Greta and said, "You may leave as well. I'd like to have a private conversation with the boy." With a beckoning gesture, she invited Orion to sit beside her.
As Greta watched the Village Chieftess turning her head towards the guard and instructing her to leave the hut, she wisely refrained from saying anything that might get her into trouble.
Instead, she replied, "If that's the case, then I'll be waiting outside in case you need anything, Chieftess," noticing the Village Chieftess giving her a scrutinizing look with a raised eyebrow. With that, Greta turned around and left the hut, standing outside with the guard.
Now, with Greta and the guard outside, Orion was left to have a private conversation with the Village Chieftess. The Village Chief remained unconscious and lying on the mat by the side of the room. The first words that escaped Chieftess Zara's mouth were, "Stretch your hand forward."
She set aside her half-eaten Kalna fruit and grasped his outstretched right hand firmly with her left hand.
"Close your eyes," Chieftess Zara commanded. He followed her instruction, slightly curious as he could already guess what she was about to do and the results that would follow soon after.
As she activated her gift, a sudden warmth enveloped his hand, and the room filled with an overwhelming radiance. He had to squeeze his eyes even tighter to shield himself from the brightness, feeling as if he were being plunged into a pitch-black abyss. It was as if every attempt to open his eyes was futile.
But then, a hand yanked him forward, seemingly pulling him out of the darkness. Unlike before, instead of slamming into what he perceived as a door, his body came to an abrupt halt, and a loud banging sound echoed around him, far more intense than before.
"BBAAAMMM!! BAMMMM!!"
"BAAMM!!"
Once the intense banging abruptly ceased, Orion's vision cleared up, and he felt a brief pang of dizziness before it quickly disappeared. The Village Chieftess released his hand from her firm grip, and he observed as she took a hidden rag to wipe the beads of sweat that had accumulated on her forehead.
Once she finished, she dropped the rag onto her lap and turned her attention back to Orion. "Did you see anything?" she asked, her gaze locked onto his.
Orion shook his head and responded, "Nothing. Just like the last time, I didn't see anything."
The Village Chieftess let out a deep sigh and turned her gaze towards her sleeping husband. Then, she refocused her attention on Orion and said, "I just wanted to make sure, because after what had happened, I decided to look into the Village Chief's future, and can you guess what I had witnessed?"
A sense of foreboding washed over Orion as he braced himself for her answer. "What did you see?" he asked, trying to hide the uneasiness in his voice.
The Village Chieftess smiled wryly, her expression tinged with concern. "Several weeks ago, I glimpsed into his future, and what I saw was him handling the village's issues as usual, solving problems among the villagers, and having meetings with either the caretakers or the stronghold leaders. However, after yesterday's incident, I decided to look into his future once more and see when he would awaken and if such a dangerous event would ever take place again..." She paused for a moment, her eyes fixated on Orion, "I didn't see anything."
She stared at him in a daze, before abruptly shaking her head, "There was no door that led me to a specific path in his future. There was no light... Just like yours, the only thing that I could see was pitch-black darkness at every corner, sealing all the doors, locking them shut before they were ultimately consumed."
