The next day, I made breakfast. Oatmeal. I had packed enough for six months. We could survive off that and chunky soup if we had to. We set the tent down and rolled the sleeping bags before the others rose. We were leaving without them. It was easier on us, and they treated me like I had leprosy, so it was best we went our separate ways.

  We had no idea where the oracle could be at this time. We figured she might show up at any shrine. We headed for the closest one, which was about two days' walk from where we were, due east, or that’s what Jonah got from a fishing Kin we came alongside.

  At first, we were prepared to fight, but the Kin only wanted help catching some fish. He was terrible at it. So was Jonah. I ended up catching the fish with a runic net I made of Jonah’s Ether that transported all the fish in the small lake to the fishermen’s shop. I ought to have specified the amount, but the fisherman was over the moon for his catch. The old man thanked us and told us about the shrine and the appearance of the oracle. We thanked him and went on our way.

  On the second day, it rained. The weather was constant from what I remembered; if it rained, it was bound to pour. We were trudging up a muddy hill. I had already slipped once, getting mud into my cuts. We had to stop and wash them out. So far, they hadn’t gotten infected, and we had supplies to last us a couple of months, but I hated that we had to waste them so quickly on me.

  Maybe I should have left the rings on? But if I had then, I would have been a sitting duck with the Morgans, and more importantly, that kid Isma would be at the mines right now. It was better to have the rings off then. At half past noon, we came upon the others as muddy as we were. We weren’t making great time, so it should have crossed my mind that the others would catch up. It didn’t, and I felt kind of guilty. Jonah glanced at me and rolled his eyes as Datha marched over to him.

  You left us!” she screeched.

  “Say that a bit louder,” Jonah muttered, rubbing his ears, and I remembered his sensitive hearing and winced. That had to feel excruciating.

  “You gave us no choice, Datha!” Jonah replied, crossing his arms.

  “I’m your sister! I’m first not her,” she pointed at me, and I winced.

  “You’re not acting like my sister, you’re acting like my own antagonist. My has been with me for the six months that have passed on Earth. She’s my friend, crazy and all. She helped me change a little, but you’re about to see just how mean I was before, Datha! Don’t make me choose because I will choose her!”

  “You have no idea what I’ve been through! What we’ve all been through because of her!”

  “Last time I remember it was me who was in charge of the group, not Myra. I followed Myra, and you followed me, so the blame rests on me! You’re just blaming Myra because she’s a good scapegoat.”

  He sighed and scratched his cheek. “I know because I saw that too, but she’s not. She’s loyal, and she worried over everyone while we were away. She wanted to find all of you and make sure you were fine, and this is how you treat her?”

  Jonah took a deep breath and glared at all of them. Only Nero met his gaze, and he quickly gazed away.”Like she has done something evil? When all she has done was rescue us from the Human Alliance last time?”

  “She led us to Ice Temple and left us to rot!” cried Niran angrily.

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  “You followed me. I followed her, my best friend. I gave you a way out back then. I’m not apologizing anymore and neither should she. You condemn her for showing you her weakness? Get the hell away from us! Some friends,” he said, turning around and walking away.

  I turned to follow, but before I did, I saw Datha sniff. Maybe she had gone through a lot? No one changes so drastically over nothing, but she was going about it the wrong way.

  “I’ll talk to him,” I said as I passed her, and she looked up, sneering.

  “I don’t need you to!”

  “I’ll do it anyway,” I said and turned my back to her and the others, who looked cowed. They should be, but I didn’t have time for them. I followed Jonah to the shrine. There was a torii gate like on Earth, and then some stairs. A lot of stairs. I headed for them, but Jonah pulled me back.

  “Oracle, we want to speak to you!” he yelled.

  The stairs vanished to show a large wooden cottage, with one large front open window. It was much like the one Jonah and I had been to the first time we were here. A small woman in grecian robes and swirling obsidian eyes appeared. They were like galaxies. Galactic eyes. Datha’s were the same but dimmer. Her beautiful face was pinched into a frown.

  “I thought I told you to never trespass by me again,” she said, glaring at Datha.

  Datha fidgeted. “I wasn’t the one to call you great one,” she said, head bowed.

  Jonah glanced at the oracle and back at Datha. “Weren’t you with the oracle while I was gone?” he asked.

  Datha shook her head. “No, I’ve been with Jason all this time.”

  “We had an agreement, did we not, Datha? You wouldn’t seek me out unless you were ready to open your eyes...correct?” asked the oracle.

  “Yes?” said Datha.

  “And have your eyes opened to the truth yet?”

  “But I can’t be the savior!”

  “Wait, Datha is? But I thought…” said Jonah, glancing at me. I shrugged. Maybe this is why my powers were gone? Because I wasn’t the savior anymore.

  “Who says there is only one? The one who wisens up to her destiny shall claim what is rightfully hers,” said the oracle. She turned to me. “I know of what you seek. Come, let us take care of those wounds, and I shall tell you a story about the first savior.”

  We followed her into her cottage, which hadn’t changed much from the first time. It was a bit bigger with a sitting room, and a bigger storage closet where we headed. The oracle rummaged through her drawers and pulled out a bright blue potion, which she mixed with some big green leaves in a pot. She stirred until the potion turned violet like most other potions around.

  “Here, drink. It is not a nerve potion or any other. It is strictly for closing those wounds of yours,” she said.

  I believed her and took the potion, drinking it. I gasped as my cuts healed before my eyes. The skin knitted back together. It was kind of gruesome to watch, but fascinating all the same.

  “There now. Come and sit by my knitting chair while I share my story,” she said, walking over to a big armchair and pulling out some purple thread that glowed. It was made of light! With it, she weaved several images together. They were moving! I couldn’t see what they showed, but it held me entranced. Then she began to talk, and that took all my attention.

  “Two hundred years ago, the savior’s name was Tasha. She was like any other human, except she was strong-willed and resilient, and she was smart, very smart. She took what she could of what she knew of elemental magic and found a way to transcribe it to her people. She had no magic powers, just a will to get things done, and so she created a form for her people to fight back in the Great War, and slowly humans became more adept at this new magic.”

  “You’re talking about runes,” I said, smiling, and she nodded.

  “She became the savior not through power but through ingenuity and playing to her strengths. The two of you can coexist and lead the forces that be to Sapherine’s betterment. Myra, if you want your powers back, you must visit the great temples of Sapherine, but a warning. If you do gain your powers back, what happened before will happen again, and your sanity is not insured this time. It is a decision you must make, however.”

  She turned to Datha. “You, princess, will need to embrace your gift of prophecy if you want to get somewhere. Refusing your lineage because what it showed you was unfavorable is nonsense dear. You must come to your senses while you can still prevent it from happening.”

  “But if I do that, then I have to accept…”

  “It is your legacy and not such a terrible burden as you think. There is someone who may help you control the downside of your gift, but you must open your eyes first.”

  Datha shook her head, and the oracle sighed. “The blindest man is one who does not want to see,” she said and went back to her knitting.

  I thought about what the oracle had said. Visiting the unknown temples, was it truly worth it? Did I truly need my powers to defeat the council, or could I do it as the first savior did through ingenuity and smarts? Did I want to become unbalanced again? With eleven voices instead of just four?

  I didn’t know the answer, and that scared me. Did that make me a coward like Datha, or just a weakling?