“The different phases of the moon determine which God is in control over the year, but because the Gods don’t like to share their supporters, you aren’t allowed to switch which God you worship each year. My family worships Warda, the God of Nature.”

Din took a bite off his jerky after finishing his turn. He was trying his hardest not to move his right arm around too much because of the cut from earlier. He had it bandaged, but the pain was still there.

Tal had shared a piece of jerky to everyone and they ate while sitting around a campfire. Even though the jerkies looked delicious, I felt no desire to eat at all. I was thankful for that since I wouldn’t have been able to touch the jerky in the first place.

Without even having taken a single bite off his jerky, Tal added, “I think our parents worshipped Amparo, the God of Water. But we don’t really worship any God ourselves.”

“Well, it’s not like God will help us become rich just because we pray to them so I don’t see the point in doing so. Come to think of it, Gods are similar to your imaginary friend too, right?”

Mun, who had already finished her jerky pointed out.

“It’s not even close. Lorelei is my friend and someone who I spent time with. I don’t know how I can still see her here, but I’m glad she’s still here with me,” Din said with a smile.

I wanted to say something back, but Mun seemed ready to keep talking.

“Then do you also not believe in a God? I heard people of nobility usually like praying to God for the fortunes they were blessed with, but that didn’t make sense to me since you made that fortune from stealing from others, right?”

A little agitated, Din answered, “First of all, my family didn’t steal from anyone. My dad wasn’t a noble to begin with, but he married my mom, who belonged to a noble family. My mom’s family helped King Leorin during the first war, more specifically, my grandpa did. Because of that, we were gifted with a mansion and a large sum of gold.”

Tal added, “Your grandfather seems to be right in the middle of all that is known about Spirits.”

“What do you mean?”

“From what I heard, the moon phase shift didn’t start until after the first war. There were five total shifts in the beginning, but then it became the four we know of today. Well, it was four until just tonight, now it’s three.”

Din didn’t seem to follow.

“Think about it. You even mentioned it yourself. The moon shifts are based on the Gods that have control for that year and there are five Gods in total. Ede, Alexia, Amparo, Warda, and Lone. They each had a year where they had control, but now, there’re only three moons that it shifts between.”

“But what does that mean now that there are only three phases?” I asked, but Tal couldn’t hear me. Din repeated the question.

“Lorelei wants to know what it means now that there are only three phases?”

“I… can’t say for sure.” He paused for a moment before continuing, “But what I can say is that Spirits are awakened in waves. Tonight was the second time a wave happened. That would explain why Katherine Morrison and Lorelei turned into Spirits today. The first time this happened was a few years back, that was when Mun turned into a Spirit.”

“So that means there’re others that turned into Spirits today.” Din muttered to himself.

“Yes, that’s why the guards in the city were panicking in every direction. I’m sure many will die from being accused of being a demon today, but there’s nothing much we can do.”

Din finished his jerky with a final bite.

“Then if all the story my grandpa told me was true, then there’s one thing that’s still bothering me.”

Curiosity filled Tal’s face. Mine as well.

“He told me that the Spirits and humans lived happily together and that because they didn’t need a God anymore, the Gods left the human realm.”

Mun, who was searching for more food in her bag, added, “That seems like your everyday ‘they lived happily ever after’ type of story.”

“It could be that my grandpa made that part up to create a happy ending, but I’m wondering why there’ve been no mentions of Spirits at all in any of my classes. And why did Grayson and Aydin call us demons?”

After thinking for a while, Din began frantically scratching his head. “Agh! I just don’t get it!”

“I’m not sure why the king would want to hide the existence of Spirits, but one thing’s for sure, the relation with Spirits and humans did not have a happy ending. The Gods did leave the human realm and—” He paused to clear his throat. “This one is something I picked up from rumors. I heard that there were certain artifacts that each God left behind in this realm before they disappeared. And it’s said that those artifacts can grant their worshipper a wish. Did your grandfather tell you any story about that?”

Din thought hard about it, but he shook his head, “My uncle might know though. He used to love talking to grandpa about Spirits as well. It’s crazy to think that those stories might’ve been real.”

“It’s understandable how it might all seem unreal, but you witnessed a Spirit yourself, just look at Mun’s eyes—” Tal paused, but then regained his composure, “Well, I think we should end our storytelling here.”

“Hm? Are you tired?”

Tal glanced around. “No… but I think we might have some visitors.”

Everyone stood up and checked their surroundings. We were surrounded by trees and with the wind being as lively as today, it was hard to hear any type of footstep.

Then, I heard growling.

Many wolves could be seen within the shadows of the forest. Their furs were gray and their sharp teeth clearly ready to bite into us. Their claws were sharp and with the way their legs were positioned, they were preparing to leap towards us at any minute now.

As they slowly closed in on us, I could clearly see the hungry look in their yellow eyes and just how big they actually were. If they stood up on their two hind legs, they would be almost twice my size.

Their low growling terrified me. I could see the grass brush aside as the wolves let out their breaths. As the wolves gazed around, I couldn’t tell whether they could see me or not as we were all gathered in one spot.

They looked like they were trying to analyze whether it was safe for them to attack. I had heard that wolves were smart and they would always think before attacking, limiting the casualties from a fight.

“Mun, this might be a good time to show him your Wish.”

A Wish?

Tal mentioned earlier about artifacts granting worshippers wishes, but he also mentioned that what he had heard about the artifacts had been from rumors so was this something different?

“Better close your eyes for this one,” Mun warned as she clapped her hands twice and then remained in that stance. She closed her eyes, after waiting a few seconds, she released her hands.

A bright light engulfed the area. I could hear the wolves whimper as some even began backing away.

In a matter of seconds, the light was too bright, forcing me to close my eyes at the sight.

I could still hear Din and the others, but it was too bright to look.

“We might get separated but try to find one another when we—” Tal began instructing but was cut short.

By the time I opened my eyes, nobody was around me. I couldn’t even see my own body, the only things around me were three bright balls of light.

Then, as if being pulled by an invisible force, the balls of light were each pulled in the same direction. I was pulled by something as well.

“What is happening to me?!” I called out.

I was being pulled at an incredible speed in a straight direction. The other balls were slowly being pulled at a different angle until only one ball was still in my view.

After a few seconds, I finally dropped to the ground.

I don’t know exactly how far we were thrown, but I was sure we were safe for now.

“Goddammit Mun… learn to control your Wish, for the love of—”

Next to me was Tal, who had landed in what looked like to be manure.