Winter

Following the events after Bronn defeated Russo, the places were left devastated. The morale of the people was down, and the children were traumatized.

In an effort to lift their spirits, the leaders of each place came up with a plan to make gardens. In the heart of each town, a beautiful array of flowers would be found.

Various designs brought out what the place was known for. It was a symbolic act, one that unified all the people who had been alive in that timeline.

Gradually, these gardens were moved to different places as normal life resumed and technology progressed.

For Kashjai, the garden was moved close to the school. It was a quiet place to hide or sit with a book.

I had done both; for the most part, Winter was with me.

Her delighted laughter would always get us in trouble whenever she found something interesting in the garden, or if she enjoyed the book I would read aloud to her.

We just sat there in silence on the day she was to leave.

I could vividly recall the goodbye. The pain of our parting remained with me.

"Hey, Eli?" her sweet voice called out, disrupting my chaotic thoughts and internal debate.

I remembered curling my hands into fists, turning to face her, and flashing a grin to hide my riotous feelings.

A soft wind then caressed her hair, sending her rosy scent to waft through my nose. Even before she could leave, I was already missing her.

She had sat against the afternoon light, illuminating her pretty face. There were evident tears forming in her eyes as she held my gaze.

"Promise me that when you get to Harrith, I'll be the first person you try to find, okay?"

She raised her right hand, curling the rest of her fingers except for her pinky. Her pleading eyes made it hard for me to refuse.

Interlocking my pinky finger with hers, I sealed the deal.

"I promise."

The memory faded, bringing me back to where I was at the moment,

I couldn't even use 'present' because that sounded wrong. I was thrown into the past where things had already been set.

Except, I'm here to change things.

The sound in my surroundings died, though. At the very instance when my eyes landed on her familiar face, everything around me disappeared.

I was brought back to that memory.

Winter and I were in the middle of our pinky promise of finding each other if I reached Harrith. My heart skipped a beat, and questions flooded my mind.

This meeting seemed to have a different impact compared to the one we had back at Harrith.

Something was wrong in this picture.

Restless, I struggled to stay seated and watch the rest of the game. I couldn't care who was going to win.

On the big screen, the gamblers were given access to have a closer inspection of how the game was going. Their cards were hidden from the screen but judging from their body gestures. I had a feeling that Dorax didn't have the upper hand.

He was slouching. Although his face was devoid of any expressions, one of his legs hidden under the table would occasionally move back and forth.

It was only my observation.

But whenever Bronn presented a better set of cards in his hand, Dorax would move his feet back.

When it was otherwise, he would move it forward.

The score was 1-1. They both won one round. There were three more to determine who was the real king of poker.

My interest wasn't in the game.

Winter sat beside Dorax. Her hands would fidget whenever Dorax's hand would brush by her bare shoulders.

From what I could read, she wasn't very comfortable being there with him.

In contrast, Ysabel had one hand on Bronn's shoulder, her head lying on top of it. She was watching Bronn's cards with fascination and would dab his forehead with a napkin from time to time.

I was itching to do something. I wanted to get Winter out of there, but I was aware that causing a commotion right now wouldn't be in my favor.

"Whatever you are thinking," Fifi murmured. She was keeping her gaze locked on the game. "Focus on what matters the most. On Nirvava's name, I hope you choose well."

I was perplexed, mad, and wanted to curse Nichen and the entire Nirvana.

"I can't just sit here and watch."

Rising to my feet, Fifi was quick to grab my hand. The people close to us turned our way. Some were curious, while most were irritated for disturbing their concentration.

I shook my head at Fifi, expecting her to let my arm go. However, she only gripped it tightly.

[Don't do this, Exo]

Fifi and I had a stare-me-down contest. Since I couldn't see her face and she couldn't see mine, it was easy to keep this going until she gave up.

If we weren't wearing any masks, I would have given in, unable to refuse Fifi's pleading look. I knew she would pull that one off.

Fifi knew that, and she would shamelessly use it to her advantage.

"I'm sorry," I gently pulled my hand away, shaking my head vehemently.

Winter looked more pale and uncomfortable the longer she sat there. It was making me furious watching her getting tortured like this.

I don't know how she got here or what she was doing, sitting beside Dorax, but I can no longer sit still.

Her expression was clearly screaming help. Everyone else easily ignored it because they were busy ogling at the game, making bets on who would win.

No one cared about anyone but themselves around here, period.

Taking a deep breath, I had no fixed plan in mind. All I could think about was pulling a terrified Winter away from Dorax.

[Exo!]

Startled by Fifi's sudden scream in my head, I turned in the direction where she was still sitting. She was waving her hand and had her hands make the X sign.

'Sorry, Fifi, but you can't stop me.'

[Not that, you idiot! There's—]

Her words were cut off by a loud explosion, leaving a rain of dust in its wake.