“Whew, this is the life, isn’t it?” Emile asked. He was lying on his back, his legs kicked out in front of himself. His wings were partially spread, and his posture was terrible. He arched his neck, tilting his head back, and a woman placed a grape into his waiting beak.

“After what we’ve been through,” Susan said and bit into her grape. She let the juices flow down her beak before swallowing the fruit whole. “We deserve this.” She patted the side of the woven hammock she was laying in with her wing, and another grape was fed to her. After finishing that grape as well, she turned her head towards Emile. “Do you think we’re actually holy messengers?”

“Of course,” Emile said without hesitation. “Phoenixes often fill holy roles. Think about it. Whenever people see us when they’re child is born, they think their child is blessed. When we fly over a farmer’s field, they cheer for us. Isn’t that what Mom told us? You don’t think she’s lying, do you?”

“I don’t,” Susan said. She bit on another grape. It must’ve been grown on the river water because this cluster of grapes was the most delicious she had ever eaten. “If we’re the holy messengers, do you think Tafel is the messiah?”

“Probably,” Emile said. “But who knows when she’ll get here? Does she even remember we exist? We’ve been lost for so long, and she hasn’t come looking for us yet!”

“But the prophecy of these people said the messiah would arrive shortly upon the arrival of the holy messengers.”

Emile rolled his eyes. “What are you worrying for? Why do you always ask so many questions?” He sat up and pecked a few grapes, swallowing them down one after the other, finishing off the cluster. “Just go with the flow. You don’t have to be so alert all the time; learn to relax a bit.”

Susan snorted. Before she could say anything, two pale people entered the hut. “Holy messengers, the messiah has arrived.”

Susan sat up, and the two phoenixes exchanged glances with each other. “Well, that was awfully quick,” Emile said. He nodded at the pale people. “Bring her to us.”

The two people left, and not long after, Tafel entered the hut. She glanced at the women standing behind Emile and Susan, eyeing the platters of fruit and drinks they held up. Instead of greeting the phoenixes, Tafel’s eyes shifted downwards towards the woven hammocks they were resting on. Finally, her gaze landed on the plush pillows that seemed to be made of some kind of wool. She made eye contact with Emile and Susan. “Hi.”

“Hi?” Emile asked, raising one wing in front of Susan’s face, blocking her from speaking. “Is that all you have to say to us after abandoning us in a dragon roost? Do you know how many times we thought we were going to be eaten? It wasn’t a lot, but it doesn’t have to happen often to be traumatic!”

Susan coughed. “I told you not to hide in the sleeping dragon’s mouth when we played hide and seek.”

“Shush,” Emile said, glaring at his sister. “I blocked your face with my wing for a reason.”

Tafel cleared her throat. “Alright,” she said. “We’ve all made some mistakes. How about we let bygones be bygones and head home? I’ve seen the land you’ve had to travel through to get here and had to cross through it myself.”

Emile turned his head to the side and closed his eyes.

Tafel blinked and looked at Susan. “Is he sulking?”

Susan glanced at Emile and tilted her head. “I think he is.”

“Holy messengers, messiah,” an aged voice said from outside the hut. There was a knocking sound, and moments later, an old man walked into the room. “It’s great that you’re finally here. We have been waiting for your arrival for many, many generations and lifetimes.”

Tafel’s brow furrowed, but it smoothed over in an instant. Although she wasn’t sure if she was actually the messiah or not, she figured it didn’t matter. “So, a prophecy was passed down saying we were coming to save you. What exactly do we have to do? Were there any specifics to the prophecy?”

The old man blinked. “I didn’t expect you to be so straightforward, but since you are, I suppose that makes things a lot easier.” He nodded. “Simply put, the world has fallen into darkness, and we’re the last survivors. Perhaps other people have survived elsewhere, but we wouldn’t know if they had. It was prophesized that a messiah would appear and cleanse the darkness, helping us return to our rightful place above the ground.”

Tafel slowly nodded her head. “Alright,” she said. “Gather your people.”

Susan flew over and landed on top of Tafel’s horns. “You can remove the darkness? Isn’t the place we went to the southern continent? If it is, aren’t you saying you’re capable of undoing Grimmy’s curse?”

“Don’t sit up there,” Tafel said, knocking Susan off her head. The demon grabbed the phoenix and hugged her to her chest like a plushie. She glanced at the old man. “Well? Go on. Get everyone to come. Do you want to leave or not? If not, I won’t lose any sleep after getting out of this place without you.”

The old man bobbed his head up and down. “Of course, of course.” He rushed out of the hut, and hurried footsteps echoed away from the entrance. “Everyone! Quickly assemble! The messiah will take us away from here!”

Tafel’s horns glowed silver, and she opened a portal in front of herself. She had no idea where it led to since the southern continent interfered with her spacial coordinates for some reason, but as long as it led somewhere without black mist lingering everywhere, then it was fine. Once she was out of this place, then she could worry about finding her way home. Unfortunately, black mist leaked out of the portal, and Tafel closed it as quickly as she had opened it. She opened another portal, hoping for a different result. As long as she opened enough portals, she was bound to find a way off the continent sooner or later.