Out of Nowhere

Thea Gailbreeze just came out of a chrysanthemum bud that forced her to sleep for one hundred years instead of helping her improve in battle.

It made her furious. She was about to head home and confront her father when she heard someone coughing. She glanced at the source of the pitiful sound and saw a wounded male fairy vomiting a lot of blood.

She quickly checked on him and noticed the bleeding cut in his chest. She had no skill in mending serious injuries but she had a friend with a remarkable healing power.

She grabbed the weak fairy and carried him on her back. She flapped her wings as fast as she could but before she could pass through the mountain forest, a peculiar monster had blocked her way and attacked them.

Thea planned on escaping because the wounded fairy on her back had to get immediate healing but the peculiar monster damaged her wings before she could fly away.

She and the poor fairy had fallen to the ground and was left with no better choice but to fight.

Her strength remained the same as one hundred years ago but her senses had somehow sharpened and her stamina was overflowing. When she focused all her attention on the enemy, she could easily follow its movements and perform counterattacks. After a few minutes of exchanging blows with the peculiar monster, she finally found an opening and stabbed it at the heart. She thought the fight was over when the peculiar monster dropped lifeless on the ground and faded into dusts but, as she turned to face the wounded fairy, more peculiar monsters had emerged from the shadows of the forest and surrounded them, revealing their sharp claws before attacking.

Thea tightened the grip on her wind blades but before she could make a move, a powerful whirlwind with streaks of golden light had shredded all the monsters into dusts.

The whirlwind vanished as monster dusts faded into nothingness. The whirlwind had also disappeared and revealed the wounded fairy. He dropped on his knees and coughed out a lot of blood. In his hands were sharp wind blades covered with golden light that vanished as soon as his back hit the ground.

Thea quickly knelt beside the wounded fairy and noticed that his half-opened eyes were gold but, when he blinked, their color returned to green.

"Leave…" he weakly whispered. "Before I… kill you…"

"You can try and kill me after your wounds are healed," Thea was about to grab his hand when someone fell from a slit that formed between her and the wounded fairy.

"You're… human…" Thea was astounded that some mortal had entered their realm without passing through the deadly barriers surrounding the entire Fairy Realm. "How did you do that?"

The extraordinary human sat up and checked on the wounded fairy. They seemed to know each other.

"Let's talk later," the human pulled a tiny bottle from the bag hanging in his back. "This fairy needs an antidote."

Thea was dumbfounded and only stared as the mortal poured the green liquid in the mouth of the wounded fairy. He seemed similar to another mortal he met before she entered that chrysanthemum bud.

"How…" her eyes widened with shock when a slit had opened underneath the extraordinary mortal and the wounded fairy. She moved her arms to grab the two but it was too late. The slit had completely devoured the two strangers.

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Asuren vomited a lot of blood and some purple substance as soon as his back hit solid ground.

"Good. The antidote had worked," the suspicious mortal sighed with relief.

"Who are you?" Asuren slowly sat up and stared at the strange mortal with confusion.

The stranger opened his mouth to answer but before he could say a word, he was quickly devoured by the slit that appeared beneath him.

Asuren tried to grab the suspicious mortal but his stomach exploded with more pain and he vomited more blood and purple substance. He looked around and noticed that it was not the same mountain forest where he had encountered the beautiful fairy. He was back at Nightfall Realm, at the depths of the Woodland Forest. He tried to get up but the pain in his stomach had worsened and he threw up more purple substance than blood.

He lay down on the ground clutching his stomach. He wanted to get out of that place before anyone finds him but he already drained his remaining strength when he performed that whirlwind slash.

His heart pounded when he sensed someone approaching. He just got out of that agonizing prison and now he was about to return. He closed his eyes and stopped fighting his dizziness. He should at least get some sleep before suffering under the Evil Witch.

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Thea decided to postpone confronting her father. She just decided to visit her healer friend even after losing the wounded fairy because of that extraordinary mortal.

Despite her worry and confusion, a smile curved on her lips when she entered the wooden gate and saw that the entire yard was still filled with vibrant herbs.

A hundred years ago, before she had been forced to sleep on that annoying chrysanthemum bud, drought was already affecting parts of Daybreak Realm. When she was fighting those monsters in Gailbreeze Forest, some of the trees were starting to wither. She was anxious but somehow glad that her friend could keep her yard safe from the worsening drought.

"Thea?"

Gia Mossjade had stepped out of the front door. Her amber-colored eyes widened with shock when she saw Thea. "You are out of the chrysanthemum bud?" She carefully approached her friend while carrying an empty basket.

"I am," Thea nodded with a smile.

"Since when?" Gia cautiously examined her from head to toe.

"Just a few hours ago," Thea walked across the front yard and examined the vibrant medicinal herbs.

"I heard from Riz that you will be out in a few days," Gia dropped the basket and gazed at her friend with suspicion.

"I woke up and forced the chrysanthemum bud to spit me out," Thea sighed and entered the house.

It still looked the same as one hundred years ago. Instead of couches, there were empty beds lines neatly along the walls and the smell of brewed herbs lingered all over the room.

"Did you get into a fight? You have bleeding cuts and your wings are damaged," Gia closely examined her.

"You don't doubt me now?" Thea raised an eyebrow as she sat on one of the beds.

"A lot has changed since you slept on that chrysanthemum bud. Daybreak Realm became even more dangerous. Fairies are turning into monsters while some are getting good at deceiving others."

"I don't think that wounded fairy wanted to deceive me," Thea was still worried about the pitiful stranger she met.

"You should be careful in helping fairies," Gia mended her cuts.

"He really needs help," Thea let out another sigh and leaned on the headrest. "We are on our way here when an extraordinary mortal appeared out of nowhere and transported themselves to somewhere I cannot sense."

"An extraordinary mortal that came out of nowhere…" Gia furrowed her brows. "Could it be Henry Riverstream?"

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