Two Paths that Lead to the Land of Death

One day before the official start of the Polaris Festival.

The streets of the capital city of Huntara, Wynteria, were filled with people preparing their trading stalls.

Those who were not merchants walked around with friends and family, observing the bustling city and watching the merchants promote their wares.

In the town square, the kingdom had built a large stage for music and theater performances, particularly one that told the story of Jasper Polaris' heroism as he fought the invasion of demons from Abyss.

Happiness was painted on the faces of everyone in the city. They laughed, chatted, played, and made plans for tomorrow's Polaris Festival activities.

For some people (the government), this happiness was important as it provided a cover for the great conflict that was currently threatening the Huntara Kingdom.

The kingdom's leaders knew of the unrest caused by the Blackwinter's Lord, but the public did not yet know that the city had defected from the kingdom.

Luckily for the kingdom's leaders, the Polaris Festival could distract the public's attention from this issue.

The citizens, especially those in the capital, would be distracted from the current conflict. This would give the kingdom time to solve the problem as quickly as possible before panic set in if the citizens learned of Blackwinter's action.

Amidst this hidden conflict and aura of bliss in the capital, a middle-aged man with long white hair wearing a black suit and robe walked down the street, carrying a large wooden crate on his back.

The wooden crate looked like a coffin, drawing many stares to the man carrying it. People whispered and began to gossip about the man's identity, and some even went to report the suspicious man to the city guards.

However, far from what they had thought, when a guard inquired about the coffin, the man explained that it contained goods he would sell during the upcoming festival.

Hearing this explanation, the guards and those who heard it just looked blank and then gave a strange look at Cien.

This was the first time they had seen a merchant using a coffin to transport their goods. Usually, merchants would carry their wares using a caravan, and if they were small-time traders, they would usually use a wooden cart or a cloth bag.

They truly did not know what was going through the man's mind, who dared to use a coffin as a bag. Was he not afraid of bad luck?

The man himself, Cien, could only cry in his heart. Because he had no other way to transport his goods.

In his shop, he did not have enough cloth to make a bag. Wood was the only thing he had in abundance at the moment.

Cien could only heave a long sigh. The first day he left Death Valley, it turned out to be filled with a thousand suspicious stares from the community. He could only lament his fate.

Before the guards who had questioned him left, Cien asked them about registering as a merchant to participate in the open market. One of the guards offered to lead the way to the kingdom administrative building.

There, Cien queued up with other merchants to register. And just like before, there were many suspicious looks and questions when people around him saw his coffin.

'Goddamnit! I knew using this damn coffin was not a good idea!'

***

In another place, in a city bordering the Kingdom of Westya, lies the city of Lasia, located in the southwest of the Kingdom of Farnodt.

A group of carriages and caravans with symbols of the Kingdom of Westya and the city of Ethyria are parked at one of the large residences in the city center.

Inside the residence, there are dozens of soldiers from Ethyria who came to investigate the issue of cooperation between Huntara and Abyss.

Although the Kingdom of Farnodt had already closed their borders, they could not refuse the delegation from Westya.

After all, the Westya Kingdom was a much larger kingdom than Farnodt and they did not want to make any more enemies, especially as they were currently in a tense situation with Huntara.

Therefore, the leaders of the Kingdom of Farnodt had to reluctantly allow the delegation to conduct their investigation on their land.

However, there was something unknown to the people of Farnodt. Among the dozens of soldiers were a dozen members of Princess Sravati's entourage from their enemy kingdom of Huntara.

A week earlier, when Duke Grenhal received a request from Sravati, he instructed Commander Kataleya to prepare for smuggling and investigation.

For Grenhal, who ruled the city bordering Abyss, rumors of cooperation between humans and demons could not be taken lightly. If it were true, he feared that there were already traitors infiltrating his city.

Now, the troops from Ethyria and the Huntara delegation were gathered in the residence, with Commander Kateleya leading the discussion at a large table in the dining room.

Only Kataleya and Sravati sat while the others stood around them, reporting any information they had gathered from the people of Lasia.

Today marked the third day of their stay in Lasia. Kataleya had no intention of moving on to the next city because of Sravati's presence in their entourage, which could cause problems for them.

She had to assess the level of security in each city before proceeding further. However, they had just arrived in the first city, and their journey had already hit a roadblock.

From her subordinate's report, Kataleya knew that security in cities other than Lasia was very tight.

Not only that, but in those cities, they had started to capture people from Huntara who were in their territory.

Whether they were merchants or those who had moved to Farnodt because of marriage, without exception, all people from Huntara were arrested by the royal army. Until now, no one knew their fate, but one thing was for sure, their fate was not something good.

Princess Sravati, who was listening, was furious. She clenched her fists so tightly that her nails began to leave marks on the palm of her hand.

"What did they do wrong? What did Huntara do wrong? We are not traitors to the human race! The Blackwinter is!"

"I understand your feelings, Your Highness, but please calm yourself for a moment. We should think about our current steps. If we continue to follow the plan, the possibility of your identity being exposed will increase.

"If that happens, not only Huntara but also Westya will have difficulties because we have smuggled you here."

Commander Kataleya said firmly, but there was warmth in her words. Sravati understood what Kataleya wanted, advancing to Huntara was currently out of the question. It would be better to hide in Westya until the conflict subsided.

But...

'When will this conflict subside?'

The Farnodt government's treatment of the Huntara people here had already exceeded the limit. Sravati was not sure if the two kingdoms would embrace each other's hands anytime soon, which meant the way home was also closed for an indefinite period of time.

Even Sravati's heart was afraid that this conflict would go on forever, at least until one of the two kingdoms vanished from the face of Kastia.

Sravati looked down with a troubled face.

"Is there no other way?" she asked softly.

"There is. But I don't know if it's a good idea," answered Kataleya.

Sravati paused for a moment, and understood what the Commander meant.

"Abyss, and the Death Valley..."

"Yes, there are only those two paths. Paths that are closer to the land of death than your birthland."