Dara was surprised by Jaejoong's rejection of the throne. More so by further endorsing Donghae as the future king of Haldor. All this time, she thought that he would gladly grab the opportunity to become the future king again. She was forced to admit that she had misjudged Kim Jaejoong. He was more complicated than she thought.

After Jaejoong threw his sword into the waters of the spring, Dara decided to silently leave the temple. In minutes, she found herself on the streets of Solaris.

Dara grew up cloistered in the temple, but her visions allowed her to roam the streets of Solaris and the other cities and towns of the five regions and see into the everyday lives of people. Most of the streets, walkways, shops and buildings in Solaris were familiar to her. But this was the first time she could say that she saw everything so clearly. Her visions often showed her hazy pictures and fleeting glimpses.

She was expecting the streets to be almost empty at this hour.

Usually, the ones abroad at this time were street merchants and shop owners who had to prepare their goods for their morning customers. One or two street sentries could also be seen patrolling the streets to prevent petty crimes from happening in normal days.

Yet today, there were a lot of people walking, talking, and huddling on every street and corner. After what had just transpired last night and was still happening in the temple, the rumor mills of Solaris were in full swing. Most of the people were soldiers. Some were citizens of Solaris who had decided to stay in the city. Dara lowered her head to hide her face from everyone. She strode quickly to avoid being recognized.

She became aware that she had been walking for hours around the city when the sky had begun to lighten in the eastern horizon.

She decided to head down to the eastern gate. There, she was met by the sight of people flowing back to the city. Men, women and children were going back into the city. All were carrying baggage, pulling carts or riding carriages.

Everyone was talking excitedly to each other. From their conversations, she soon recognized them as citizens of Solaris that had left the city before the 'siege' and hidden in nearby hills to escape the Lord of Darkness. Some had heard the news through carrier pigeons sent by relatives who remained in the city. Others have encountered messenger soldiers sent by King Won Bin. The news that was being spread all throughout Haldor was the same. Solaris was now safe and the Lord of Darkness was no more.

All were eager to go back to their homes and know what had really transpired last night. Dara could answer all those questions. But that was not her place. King Won Bin and the other regents have people to attend to those duties. She had no place here.

She was also no longer needed in the temple. A new Oracle now resided there. An Oracle that would only give Destiny’s vision of possible futures.

Dara was now safe and had been accepted back by his father. He now knew what to do with his own life and what future path to take. Donghae could remain the future king of Haldor or he could go back to his hunter’s life in Ferrest depending on his decision. Han would probably remain by Dara’s side until he had found what he had once lost.

Only she had nowhere to go. Her family who had given her to the Oracle would not know what to do with her now. She might cause added problems to her family once news of what the Oracle had done and the true nature of the Fireshadow began spreading all over Haldor. And as a former Oracle, people might have a hard time accepting her for what she had become. A lot of people knew her face as Wisdom of the Oracle. Some might still respect her, others who felt betrayed by the deception of the Fireshadow might hate her.

There was also the fact that she was now a warrior. A warrior woman was unheard of in Haldor. It would take some time for people to adjust to what she had become. She could even start a new trend or movement in regard to future careers for women in Haldor. But as a warrior and former Oracle, she would now be unqualified to become a wife. No man would ever take her for his wife. Not that she ever wanted such a life for herself.

She had become like this because of Jaejoong. But still, she couldn’t give back Jaejoong his fighting skills even if he finally managed to master the power of foresight and learned how to give back her powers. She would need these fighting skills in order to survive on her own in the new world that Haldor would become. Even without her powers, she knew that Haldor would start changing and evolving. It would become a new world.

A sigh escaped from her lips. She felt sadness and at the same time feared the coming new world. She felt alone, and she couldn’t see what her future would be in this new Haldor. She didn't even know where to go from here.

The only thing she knew right now was that she had no place here in the City of Solaris. She needed to find a place where she could have a quiet life. A place where no one would ever recognize her as the former Oracle Wisdom. Maybe it was time she had a change of hairstyle. She grabbed the long braid of hair behind her back. She hadn't cut her hai