The two of them fell silent the moment they learned the truth. The unease pressing against their chests grew heavier, accompanied by thoughts of the people they had left behind, and of the misfortune that now left them no choice but to accept it.
"Don't worry," Moreira said with a bitter smile, trying to ease the atmosphere, though even his own voice sounded forced.
The blue-eyed man's jaw tightened. His fingers clenched unconsciously, and his heartbeat quickened with each passing second.
"Huh," he scoffed quietly. "You don't understand. I have a family and a business I can't just abandon." His tone was heavy, his expression clearly showing the arrogance he used as a shield.
"Hey, you damn man," Shuisa cut in. Her voice was cold, almost devoid of emotion. Her gaze locked onto him without blinking. "I don't care what kind of business you have. But looking at your face right now, I really feel like venting my emotions."
The corner of Moreira's lips twitched slightly, "Alright, alright. Do you think I'd just stay quiet after being dragged into this place? No… hahaha."
Both of them immediately turned their gaze toward him. They waited, as if believing Moreira was the only hope capable of bringing them back and understanding how Northerlheim worked, the white fog spreading in all directions.
"I'll go first," Moreira said calmly. "There's no point staying here."
'Yeah, there's no point standing still. It feels like my soul is being torn out of my body,' he thought, forcing a smile.
Without waiting for a response, he turned around and walked toward an unclear direction. In his mind, one possibility kept spinning, a way to escape this place. A way that would surely demand a price.
The two of them remained silent as Moreira's figure was gradually swallowed by the white fog. His form faded, leaving behind a faint silhouette, then vanished without a trace.
'That man… I don't even know his name.' Shuisa thought.
But one thing was certain. He was not walking without purpose. He was searching for a way out of this white fog world, Northerlheim.
With no other choice, Shuisa finally stepped forward to follow him.
She left the blue-eyed man without a single word, her face showing irritation.
"Ckk." The man clicked his tongue softly. "Do I really have to follow that man?"
He cleared his throat. "No. It's better if I stay here. Moving without direction will only put me at a disadvantage."
He sat cross-legged on the cold ground, preparing to draw a sword from the storage ring relic wrapped around his ring finger.
The fog around him slowly crept closer, touching his skin like damp air that pierced through. The cold spread from his legs to his chest. He took a deep breath, then coughed lightly.
"Hkk..." He covered his mouth, rubbed his itching nose, then sneezed once. "Damn… my nose feels strange."
The fog grew thicker, enveloping his body, yet he remained still, as if it would not slowly kill him.
…
Meanwhile, Moreira continued walking without a clear destination.
He knew what was right and what was wrong. He also knew that getting out of this place was nearly impossible, unless he was willing to do something that would once again demand a price from him.
Something felt strange about his hearing. It was not his ears catching sound, but his mind. Footsteps, steady and rhythmic, yet carrying depth, were clearly heard from behind him.
He glanced to the side before finally turning his head. "Why are you following me?" he asked flatly.
Shuisa turned her face away. The corner of her lips lifted slightly. "Who said I'm following you? This is just a coincidence, you know."
"Tch…" Moreira clicked his tongue. "You think you can fool me?" His brow furrowed.
Shuisa's eyes widened slightly as she stared at Moreira's vague figure behind the thick white fog.
'Wait… something's not right. Isn't the language in the eastern continent different from the western continent? How can he understand me?' Shuisa realized something. She did not truly hear Moreira's voice like usual. The words seemed to enter directly into her mind.
"This… isn't normal. Right."
That realization made her both shocked and amazed.
She inhaled, then exhaled slowly. "There's something I want to ask," Shuisa muttered. Her black eyes were fixed on Moreira.
Moreira shrugged slightly. "Go ahead. I'll answer as long as it's not a strange question."
"How can you understand my language?" Shuisa held her chin, exhaling slowly before continuing. "At first I thought I was affected by something strange, but thinking about it again, this must be related to this fog world. Right?"
Moreira's eyes widened slightly, not out of shock, but because he had only just realized it after Shuisa pointed it out.
He let out a small laugh.
'Even I didn't realize it. Yes, the language we use is different, but it doesn't matter, because in Northerlheim, hearing doesn't function the way it normally does.' Moreira nodded, then turned his body and made a small gesture with his thumb.
He stepped forward, his posture straighter than before, each step seeming to carry something indescribable.
'Equivalent exchange?' Moreira lifted his head. His brown eyes fixed on a figure floating in the air, a transparent eagle, without skin, without flesh. Only a pale gray aura forming its silhouette, like a puppet controlled by the white fog behind Northerlheim.
"Miss," he said softly, his tone restrained, "could you stop for a moment?"
Shuisa followed the request without asking anything. Her silence felt strange, as if her head was filled with something unspoken.
"Alright," she replied in a low voice.
Neither of them moved.
Moreira's gaze remained directed upward. From the corner of his eye, he glanced back, confirming one thing: Shuisa had never been involved in things like this. And that made the eagle's presence feel even more… out of place.
In Moran, he had never seen a creature like that, perhaps only in symbols or myths and fragments of knowledge. And what floated before him was clearly not a living being. There were no flapping wings, no flesh sustaining it. Only aura, condensing on its own, as if the world itself decided what form he was allowed to see.
Then, without warning.
The scent of cloves slipped into his nose. Followed by cinnamon. Vanilla. Warm, fragrant, yet piercing. It touched his nose, then struck sharply into his skull.
Moreira held his breath. He recognized this scent. Not from a clear memory, but from something that should have long been buried.
'Isn't this the scent from the station…' Moreira remained silent, thinking about the sudden appearance of the eagle in Northerlheim, a place where thick white fog spread in all directions.
But a few seconds later, both of them saw silhouettes behind the dense white fog, several men and women suddenly appearing before them, as if someone placed pieces of bread into a jar, put them inside, then sealed it tightly.
"Hah!?" Both of them spoke at the same time, reflexively.
'New arrivals? That should be impossible… Is someone performing an exchange? Or perhaps high-level Receivers are being drawn into Northerlheim and struggling desperately to escape?' Moreira thought uneasily, sweat beginning to form on his face as he realized the situation had changed and he had no idea what Northerlheim would do next.
"Damn…" he muttered.
Shuisa, curious and hearing the mutter, could not hold back her thoughts. "You're irritated? I can see the veins in your neck tightening."
"No. My neck just suddenly stiffened. Maybe because I slept in the wrong position last night," Moreira muttered with a faint smile, ignoring her words and lying again.
'Huh, you think I'd be fooled by that kind of strange way of speaking?' Shuisa thought irritably, staring at him with a suspicious expression.
Realizing her gaze, Moreira rubbed his neck and massaged it slowly, just to shift the atmosphere. But his attempt failed; his eyes caught Shuisa's reddening face, and a laugh slipped from his lips before he realized it.
"Alright, alright," he said with a faint smile. The smile did not last long, his tone lowering. "You see it too, right?"
"See what?" Shuisa asked to confirm, her eyes now reflecting not only the eagle. Around them floated about nine other forms.
A wolf, a hunting dog, a killer jellyfish, a cat, a leopard, a snake, a rat, an orca, and a polar bear. Without skin. Without flesh. Only gray aura pressing, condensing on its own, forced into those shapes.
"Sir… it seems the situation is getting worse," Shuisa muttered in panic. Her hand reflexively grabbed Moreira's shoulder.
But from Moreira's perspective, the view was different. He did not see those nine animals. Only a single eagle floating silently before him, staring straight ahead, its beak slightly open, as if about to release something.
"Not moving is a good idea," Moreira said while wiping the sweat dripping from his temple. "This… someone is triggering a reaction in Northerlheim, and releasing something like what you see."
Strange. This was truly strange. His fingers tightened around the dagger in his coat pocket, ready to draw it at any moment.
And… without giving him time to think, the silhouettes of the men and women he had seen earlier began to move. At the same time, the eagle floating before him disappeared. But the nine gray auras remained, still condensed, still forming those animals, floating around them like circus puppets pulled by strings, controlled by an unseen clown or puppeteer.
"It looks like those people are already conscious and moving toward us," Shuisa said, drawing her pistol and standing close beside Moreira, her body clearly in a ready stance.
'Yes. It seems they're not ordinary humans. Hahahaha. Damn… even in a situation like this.'
Moreira still managed to laugh at his own fate, before his thoughts returned to his three companions, and Zavi. Whether they were safe… or had already fallen into a condition far worse than this.