Winter woke up, seeing the familiar ceiling of her own room. She sits up from her position and looks around, the sky was still dark and seeing the time, Winter realized it was still 5 in the morning. Just then, she heard footsteps outside, familiar ones - light and soft, the kind of footsteps where someone is too comfortable as they dragged their feet slightly on to their floor.

"Unnie?" She calls out and jumps out of her bed, opening her door to see Wendy looking at her with a surprised look.

"You're up early, are you okay?"

Without any hesitation, Winter hugged Wendy tightly, sighing as she felt the older girl hugging her back. She doesn't know what happened, was everything just because of some kind of sleep paralysis? But she couldn't care right now, all that matters is she's awake and Wendy is here.

Winter is here.

"Now, where is this coming from?" Wendy laughed when Winter pulled away, "are you okay?"

Winter nodded her head, seeing that Wendy is already freshened up. "I'll take a quick shower, maybe we can grab some breakfast here?" and before receiving an answer, Winter quickly went to her room.

There was a rush in her, she feels that she needs to be quick - afraid that this is just a lie, a hallucination. The steam of her shower fogged up the mirror, wiping it with her hands as Winter looked at her face - she remembered being slashed on the arm, but there was nothing there. She lets out a shaky breath, leaning over the sink as she washed her face.

Somehow, Winter felt the need to tell it to Wendy - to let her know what happened in that weird dream of hers. Was it really a dream? It's been a week and a half, and everything felt so real - the emotions she felt, the loneliness and overbearing sadness, and the pain and fear she last remembered before darkness consumed her.

Walking down the stairs, Winter could smell the familiar scent of her favorite coffee making her smile. She greets Wendy with a smile who simply looks at her, "Can I have some coffee?" she asked the older girl.

"No."

Winter blinks, looking at Wendy to see if she was joking, but the older girl was simply eating her own breakfast as if she did not harshly reject Winter. "What?"

"You can't eat here." Wendy said, sipping from her mug as she raised an eyebrow, "Get out."

Winter took a step back, seeing how Wendy's eyes darkened as it stared at her - the older girl pushed her chair back as she stood up, approaching Winter slowly. She could only walk backwards, not entirely sure what was happening - she looked around to see if there was anything weird, but Wendy's approaching her in a way that has a dark intent.

"Unnie, you're scaring me." Winter stutters out, her eyes looking away from Wendy.

"You're not supposed to be here," Wendy said and pushed her harshly, "you're not from this world!"

And just then, Wendy's eyes glowed blue and everything vanished around them. Winter was frozen as she watched everything change, just like that, she felt her arm being slashed - like that night. She hissed as she looked at it, blood dripping as her breathing quickens. She panicked, looking at her older sister only to see the very same guard that night.

Winter screamed, pushing him away but she was caught by the arm, pulling her back and slamming her against the wall. She felt it, the deep cut on her back and the piercing scream as she felt her skin being burned, the tears falling from the pain as she tried to kick off the guard.

And in a second, the guard was raising his sword - all covered in blue aura, and Winter could only scream.

She jolted awake, screaming out in pain as she moved her body - she opened her eyes, she was in an unfamiliar place. The high ceiling was all covered in intricate markings, and paintings, but she couldn't care as she tried to move only to feel excruciating pain on her whole body. "Ahh!"

Winter cries out, laying on her side, the pillow being wet with her tears.

"Winter, you're awake!"

She could only open her eyes a little bit, she could see Ryujin at the side of her bed, all bandaged up. Winter cries out because of guilt, "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have - ahh!" she couldn't finish her words as she felt the pain again, all from her back. The burning sensation crippling her from all over.

"Win, don't move," It was Yunjin's voice, and she felt two pairs of arms holding her gently in a position, "Your back, it's not healed yet."

Just then, someone entered and Winter couldn't see her face clearly as her vision started to get blurry again, the pain was too much for her and she just wanted to sleep. The writhing pain clouded her vision, and she couldn't hear much clearly what the others were talking about.

"Did you wa.."

"... she just woke..."

"..in pain.."

"The sword has..."

"Magicaes..."

And for the second time, Winter felt her eyelids getting heavier - the sound of her friends calling her name, all echoed as silence engulfed her senses.

**

Winter could hear murmurs beside her, squinting her eyes open - compared from earlier where she jolted awake from her nightmare, she felt sluggish as she opened her eyes. Her vision all clear, she was welcomed by the sight of Ryujin and Yunjin - just like earlier, all bandaged up with their worried looks. She moved a little, getting a clearer look at the two - she felt guilt and worry bubbling inside her.

She could see the small wounds on their faces, as well as some bruises on their arms. "Are you..."

"Win, we're fine," Ryujin quickly said and assisted Winter's body, "you're the one who's all wounded here, you need to lay down." she said and gently laid Winter down properly.

"How," Winter frowns, looking around at the number of beds in that room - the intricate paintings of people she doesn't know. She tries to remember everything that has happened, and from her memory, there was no explanation on how they ended up there, "how did we survive? What happened?"

That's when she noticed everything in that room, the high ceiling that she saw earlier was indeed covered in painting and inscriptions she couldn't understand. The painting showing as if, or was it actually a painting? Because as she squinted her eyes, she could see it moving - as if the ceiling was moving itself. She realized it was something of the night sky in that world, the milky way - swirling as if Winter is being pulled in.

Then on its edges were the inscriptions, different ones compared to the books that Ryujin and Yunjin have.

She looks at the paintings in the room, all of it giving a story of what seems to be curing people. One painting shows a man being held by a woman rather softly, caressing his bloodied face. One painting showed armies reaching up to a blinding light, with their arms all clean of blood except for their bodies that are not being hit by the light.

"Someone arrived," Yunjin gulped, her eyes going from Winter to Ryujin, "we don't really know what happened as well."

"Where are we?" She asked and looked at the two, then suddenly the large door opened which revealed a girl. All dressed in clean clothing, of white and brown with linings and expensive satin. Winter watches the girl, she could tell that she's from that place, as her aura just screams that she belongs there.

Compared to the battered up clothes that the three of them were wearing, it was an obvious sign that the girl is made up of wealth.

The girl has black hair all tied in a neat bun, except for the few pieces falling, framing the shape of her face. Winter raised an eyebrow, curiously, until she saw the girl's eyes - purple. "Her eyes..." she whispered to the two.

"I see, you're awake," the girl said with a smile, "I was quite worried about what happened earlier, what are you feeling right now?"

Winter can only stare at the girl, specifically her eyes - the second person she saw with purple eyes, and she suddenly remembered. Right before she lost consciousness, she caught a glimpse of the same colored eyes as well. Was she there?

She was nudged by Yunjin, nodding her head for Winter to answer. Winter cleared and looked away, "I'm okay now, I guess."

The girl smiles, and rather for Winter to be weirded out, she finds it quite warming and light.

"That's great to hear," the girl said and towards Winter, checking her closely, "I'm afraid that the wound on your back would take time to heal, I can only do so much." she blinked and Winter felt her face getting warm, the way the girl leaned closer to her, as if looking for something.

Ryujin and Yunjin can only watch from the side, not sure what was happening.

"I," Winter clears once more, leaning away and smiling slightly, "then thank you, may I ask where we are?" she said and looked directly at the girl, she could see the latter's eyes unwavered with their distance.

"In the kingdom," the girl simply answered.

Winter frowns, glancing at her two friends for answers but they just had their mouths hanging open, as if in disbelief with the girl's words. "Where exactly? I'm not quite sure - "

"Minju!"

A short haired girl approached them in a quick manner, her face looking stern with her furrowed eyebrows and scrutinizing eyes. Her eyes glowed the same as the girl earlier, purple. Magicaes.

The number of high magicaes were increasing the longer Winter stayed there, she looked at the girl beside her, assuming that her name is Minju given the way she looked up the moment she was called. The newcomer, the short haired girl dressed rather tamely than Minju, wearing a plain white dress, with simple linings with intricate designs in color black, swirling from the waist down to the sleeves of her dress. This one felt different compared to Minju, the latter exuded a warm and friendly approach, all soft and gentle. But the short haired girl was rough, the way she looked at Winter felt too sharp, strict - it feels like being in front of someone with a high status, judging every movement even to the way she would breathe.

With a raised eyebrow, "I see, you're awake." she said and stared at Winter for a moment before turning away, looking at the girl, Minju.

"I was looking for you," the girl said in a tone that demanded an answer.

"You found me," Minju sighed and gestured to Winter and then Ryujin and Yunjin, "I needed to check on them, I am the head nurse after all."

"We were tasked - "

"Chaewon," Minju cuts the girl off with a pointed look, "I don't think this is the right place to discuss this, I have patients to tend to."

Chaewon, the girl with the short hair sighed, and Winter quickly looked away the second she turned at her. "Can we excuse ourselves for a moment?" she asked, rather nicely than before, which surprised Winter that she could only nod her head.

The three of them were left there, watching the two girls whispering as if there was a problem, their figures vanishing the moment they closed the doors. Winter quickly looked at Ryujin and Yunjin, "Where the hell are we, and why do they have purple eyes?"

"We're inside the kingdom of Asteria," Yunjin said, letting out a breath that she was holding for a while, "I didn't expect that."

"What?"

"Kingdom of Asteria, Win," Ryujin repeated, as if still in dazed from everything that they've just witnessed. "The high magicaes, the heart of Asteria."

Winter frowns, trying to recall how they got there, "Do you remember what happened?"

The two shook their heads, "We passed out when we tried to run to you," Yunjin said and clicked her tongue.

Winter tried to sink everything in, processing the fact that no one remembered anything after passing out - only Winter could remember the purple eyes she saw before everything went dark. She closed her eyes trying to recall everything, even for a little bit - a small detail, then she remembered the sound of boots walking to her, then the purple eyes. Purple, not blue - that means it was a high magicae.

"I remembered someone looking at me before I passed out," Winter mumbled, her head starting to throb, the stinging pain in her back started again making her grunt, her arm trying to touch her back, "It's hurting again," she breathes out, brushing her hair through her fingers out of frustration - trying to compose herself.

"Win, we're in the kingdom," Ryujin repeated as she helped Winter check her wound, grimacing at the sight of the blood staining Winter's clothes, "There's a chance that you'd see the old woman you told about us."

Then it clicked, Ryujin's right.

Ning, the old woman, the key for all her problems.

Suddenly, there was something growing inside Winter, that small hope starting to light again - she was one step closer to going home. Winter forgot about the stinging pain on her back, as she looks around, Ryujin and Yunjin gently holding her and mumbling about her to be careful and not strain herself, but she couldn't help it.

Just then, the door bursts open once again revealing the two girls earlier, Minju and Chaewon - the former approaching them with worried looks as she directs her gaze at Winter, and the latter with a stressed glance. Winter did not hesitate and wasted another second, the moment Minju was by her side helping her, cutting the girl's words with a question.

"Do you know someone called Ning here?"

"Who?"

Surprisingly, it was Chaewon who asked that, as Minju could only look at Winter in surprise.

"Ning, just Ning. An old woman, I really need to meet her," she said in a desperate tone.

Everyone saw the way Chaewon's eyes glowed a bit brighter, narrowing her stare at Winter, "And why is that?"

There were suddenly whispers near Winter, making her glance at Ryujin and Yunjin, checking to see if they were talking but the two girls were only looking at Chaewon, then to Winter. She then looked at Minju, the girl staring directly at her, as if watching her every move - but they are not whispering. It was the same sensation that day, the familiar feeling of being pulled in, her words crawling out of her with no control, as she sees the way Chaewon taking a step closer to her - the whispers getting louder, she repeated questions.

"Why is that?"

Winter felt it getting stronger, the truth of her not being from that world, that she was looking for Ning because she was the last person she saw before waking up in the woods. It was about to spill out, clenching her fist against the sheets and biting the inside of her cheeks - another step closer, and Winter's voice echoed in the empty large room.

"So, she is here!" She managed to croaked out, gasping for air as she looked at Chaewon, "She's here? Ning?"

It took a few seconds before Chaewon could answer, "I don't know who you're talking about."

Then footsteps were heard, echoing in the large room, not the huge footsteps and heavy like those of the guards, but these are light and yet firm. As if they were w