KAI

"We’re following her, right?” I asked Baekhyun furtively as we made our way to the front door. Chan Yeol already left, having made plans to go to the forest with his Flame Herald while Suho and Kyungsoo decided to go to the village with Chin. I didn’t know where Sehun went after he left which leaves me and the Light Noble.

He nodded at me, smiling mischievously. “We couldn’t be too complacent. I know this is bad, but we’re not sure what she’s up to. She might be stumbling down another cliff or being chased by wild animals for all we know.”

Chan Yeol had given her directions where she could find some sturdy sticks and even gave her two, small daggers which she unsheathed in front of us, testing the blades with such precision. That made her even more suspicious. After that, she left as well, bearing a strange, box-like thing that hung on a sling around her neck. She had been carrying it since coming down for breakfast. I was surprised that no one even dared to ask what it was.

As we walked off towards the forest where she had disappeared to, I asked Baekhyun about it. “Do you have any idea what that thing she was holding is?”

He frowned. “I’ve never seen such a thing before,” he answered. “Chin told me that she came along with such odd contraptions including that item. Maybe it’s form her world.”

“I’ve figured as much.”

“There’s just one way to find out.” He chuckled. “Come on. Let’s teleport to the thickets.”

“Alright.” I laid a hand over his shoulder and we transported by the edge of the thicket and sure enough, we found Shinhye there, Sehun’s shirt slung across her shoulder. “There she is,” I whispered.

We watched as she went around, limping through the moist forest floor while holding one of the daggers, testing the bamboos. Before long, she bent down and snapped one of the thin ones with her bare hands.

“What do you think is she doing?” Baekhyun asked.

“She said she would be gathering sticks,” I answered him thoughtfully. “That’s exactly what she was doing.”

As if on cue, we heard another snapping sound echoing through the forest. She took several more and then carried them near the clearing, leaning them on one of the oak trees.

Baekhyun made a face. “She’s doing nothing out of the ordinary.”

“Not yet. What do you think is she going to do with those sticks?” I asked.

“I don’t know.”

Suddenly, she raised the odd box she was holding, removing what seemed to be a circular covering from the protruding cylinder on its front side. “Would you look at that?”

“I think she’s going to use it now.”

She lifted the thing up, positioning one hand on its side while the other one was under. She began twisting the cylindrical tube, bending down as she focused on the flowers on the earth and just like that, we saw a bright light flashing from the box. It made a strange clicking sound and soon, the light was gone. It was as if it never happened at all.

“Did you see that?” Baekhyun gasped.

I just nodded. “Whatever that thing is, it surely bears you power.” We exchanged meaningful glances. “Maybe she’s not as she claims to be. Is she a Light Noble as well?” I asked.

 He frowned. “She’s a different sort then if that’s the case. The light she had just emitted from that piece of equipment was different. It’s unnatural. It resembled the qualities of a lightning.”

“Quite blinding if you ask me.”

“Why does she have the ability to produce light and what is she trying to do?”

“Annihilating flowers?”

“That’s definitely odd.”

We continued to observe her, following her wherever she went and she continued doing her business with the light-producing box she was holding. I went to the spots she had directed her device to, but I didn’t notice anything out of the ordinary. The flowers didn’t wilt nor was there any noticeable change in anything. She suddenly stopped and directed her device towards the sky. The same thing happened, but this time, the light flashed everywhere, producing the same strange clicking sound in succession.

“Shield your eyes,” Baekhyun hissed.

I eyed him in panic. “What is she doing?” I demanded and he shook his head.

Suddenly, someone spoke from behind the tree. “Did you see that?” the person asked. We both turned around and saw Sehun standing there. “Oh. I knew you were here,” he said. “What were those flashing lights?” he asked Baekhyun curiously. “Have you discovered another property of your powers?”

We both shook our heads at him. “He wasn’t the one doing that,” I told him.

Sehun turned serious. “What are you talking about?”

I pointed at Shinhye’s direction. She was still on it. Sehun followed that direction, sneaking behind the tree to have a closer look.

“What in the world is she doing? Is she a native of Lumina?”

“I don’t know,” Baekhyun said, a bit distressed. “I was also considering Electrius.”

Sehun looked disoriented at the mention of the place. “Electrius? You mean the country of the Lightning Nobles in Meropia?”

“You couldn’t be serious!” I spat. “It’s impossible.”

“The mere prospect of a Meropian noble prowling about Korinthia is quite farfetched. There’s no way she could have made it through the Elyxian River,” Sehun argued.

“I know, but her power, whatever it is, manifested both properties of my power