It was still night time when they found their way out of the cave.  The eight of them, accompanied by the woman they have only met moments ago, slowly walked past the trees of the dark forest.  The eight looked tired and disheveled, bearing terrified and nervous looks on their faces. 

Baekhyun and Chanyeol took turns in carrying Tao on their backs.  Lay and Junmyeon assisted Chen, who was limping between them.  Falling to the ground severed the sprain on Chen's ankle.  They walked in silence, following the woman.

“Do you think we can trust her?” Luhan whispered to Minseok, who was walking beside him.  They were at the back of the pack, looking out for possible threats.  Since their encounter with Aoife and her beasts, even the sound of snapping twigs posed as threats to them.

“We have to,” Minseok replied.  “We don’t know where we are.  We need her.”

They arrived at a riverbank.  The woman held her hand up, signaling them to stop.  She crouched down and placed one hand on the ground.  After a few moments of silence, she stood up and faced them.  “We will stay here for the night,” she said.

She took her cloak off and spread it on the ground.  She gestured for Baekhyun and Chanyeol to lay Tao there.

“We have to make fire,” she said.  “Gather wood.”  She looked at them, who looked at each other, confused.  “Unless you want to freeze to death,” she said.

Left with no choice, Luhan, Minseok, Baekhyun and Chanyeol followed her orders.

Lay bent down beside Tao to check on his wound.  He ripped a part of his sleeve, walked to the river and soaked it.  He went back to him and started cleaning the wound.

Junmyeon let Chen sit against the rock near the two.  He sat beside him and closed his eyes, exhausted.

“How’s your ankle?” Lay asked, his eyes fixed on Tao.

“Worse,” Chen replied.  He looked at Tao’s wound.  He grimaced.  “But not as worse as his wound is.”

The woman stood by the riverbank, staring at the still waters.  She gripped her bow as she let out a loud sigh.

“Do you think we’re safe here?” Luhan, who appeared behind her, carrying an armful of dried wood, asked.  He watched her as she looked up at the night sky.  Her silver hair, porcelain skin, and the silver tiara on her forehead shone bright under the moonlight. 

He was feeling cold as he stood beside her, even with his torn polo and slacks on.  He wondered if she was feeling cold as well without the cloak, for all she was wearing a white tunic that looks similar to those worn by the ancient Greeks.  A brown woven belt was wrapped around her waist, and on it hung a small bag and a holster that held a silver dagger.  He realized it was the same dagger she used for Aoife.

 “For tonight, yes,” she answered.  “But we would have to move by dawn.  I need to keep you alive and safe.”

She had her bow slung on her right shoulder, along with the strap of her quiver.  She wore sandals that had straps tied just below her knees.  She looked like a hunter from the ancient times.

“Who are you?” Luhan asked.  “Why did you help us?”

The other three arrived, carrying their share of dried twigs on their arms.  They piled those a few yards from where Tao lay.

The woman turned from Luhan and walked to where the others were without answering his question.  Luhan followed her, dumping the wood he gathered on top of the pile.

Baekhyun dusted his palms off as he looked at the others.  “Who knows how to make fire?”

They all looked at each other, throwing doubtful looks.

“We weren’t taught how to make one in school,” Junmyeon said.

The woman stopped behind Chanyeol, who was sitting on a log, and placed her hand on his shoulder.

Chanyeol looked up at her, confused.  His eyes widened as he realized what she wanted him to do.  “I don’t have a lighter with me.”

“Just do it like they do on TV,” Baekhyun said.  “Like those we used to see before in survival programs.”

Chanyeol scratched his head.  He watched survival programs on TV, but he never took them seriously.  He even made fun of the hosts and the animals that he saw whenever he could.

He took a twig and a thick lump of wood.  He held the twig on his palms, placing its tip on the surface of the wood.  He started rubbing his palms together, rolling the twig in the process.

Moments passed, but not even a spark was seen.  He could see Tao shivering in cold.  He wanted to make that fire for him.  He was growing frustrated as time passed.

“I can’t do this!” he said, tossing the twig to the ground.  “Why do I have to do this?  Why can’t someone else do it?”

The woman sat beside him.  She brushed her hand on his cheek as she made him face her.  “You can do this.  You have to.”  She took the twig and placed it on his hands.  “Think of the fire.  Its warmth.  Its light.”

She stood up and backed a few steps away from him.

Chanyeol closed his eyes and took a deep breath.  He did as he was told.  He thought of the fire.  A blazing fire.  A fire so strong it warmed even the farthest lands from them.  It illuminated all the corners of the forest, driving the darkness that scared Tao away.

He hasn’t even started rubbing his palms together when a blazing fire burned the pile of wood in front of him.  It was so strong everyone, even him, had to back away to avoid getting burned.

“Go easy with the fire,” the woman said with a smile.

After a few moments, the fire grew a little weaker, enough to warm all of them.  They gathered around it, leaving a space to allow the light to reach Lay, who was still tending on Tao’s wound.

“Where exactly are we?” Luhan asked.

“A place the gods have created,” the woman replied, watching the flames as they swayed with the wind.  “A world existing along with yours.”

“So… is this something like a fantasy world?” Chanyeol asked.  “Fairies… wizards… monsters…”

“Fantasy,” she said with a faint smile.  “If you call your wounds fantasy, so be it.”

“Is this ancient Greece?” Junmyeon asked.  “Based on what you’re wearing—“

“This is no ancient Greece,” she said, her smile gone.  “This world is as present as the world you are from.  This is created to protect the human race from the dangers of the ancient times.  All the monsters and magic are trapped here.”

The others looked at each other, confused and dubious.

“That woman,” Minseok said.  “Aoife… what is she?”

She looked at him, a faint smile drawn on her lips.

It was then that they heard Tao groan.  They all gathered around him to see how he was, except Chen who could barely shift positions.

Tao slowly opened his eyes.  His breathing was shallow.  His wound was severely painful.  He rolled his head to the side, his eyes on the fire.  He then looked at the others, who were crowding over him.

“What… happened..?” he asked, his voice weak.

“A crazy woman stabbed you on your chest,” Junmyeon said.  “Must be one of your stalkers,” he joked, earning a faint smile from Tao.

“How are you feeling?” Minseok asked.

“Never better,” he said, trying to laugh.  He bit his lip as his wound stung.

“Don’t move too much,” Lay said.  “Your wound’s still fresh.”

Tao looked back at the flames.  His eyes fell to the woman who was still sitting near the fire.  “Who… is she..?”

She looked back at him and smiled.  “Does the oracle not recognize his kin?” she asked.

He looked back at her.  He closed his eyes.  A sea of memories flooded his mind.  Memories he didn't know he had, until now.  He recalled the voice in his dreams.  “Thera,” he whispered.

Everyone looked at him then to the woman.  She gave them a smile as she walked towards them.

They parted when she approached, giving space for her to crouch down beside Tao, whose eyes were still closed.

Thera brushed the hair off his forehead.  “Forgive me, I have not come in time,” she whispered.  There was pain in her eyes as she stared at his ashen face.

“Ummm… sorry to disturb your moment… but, what did you just call him?” Chanyeol asked, wearing the same confused look as the others.

“The oracle,” Minseok said.  “The seer… the prophet.  However you want to call it.”

“Oracle..?” Baekhyun repeated.  “Like the girl in Clash of Titans?”

Minseok looked back at Tao.  “No.  Much more than that.”

“But aren’t oracles supposed to be...women?” Chen asked.  "At least, that's our world literature teacher said."

“I guess… not anymore,” he replied.

“Wait.  I don’t get it,” Chanyeol said.  “How did he become an oracle?  And how did we get in here?  Who was that Aoife?  And who are you?”  He looked at Thera, who was then holding Tao’s hand with her two hands.

“My name is Thera,” she said.  “I am a Huntress, one of the goddess Artemis’s followers.  Aoife and I… we are both Hunters… and sisters of the oracle.”

“Hold on a second,” Chanyeol said.  “Goddess?  Sisters?  What?”

“The oracle is blessed with the power to see what lies ahead.  Long ago, the oracles used to be a race of women chosen by the gods.  Unviolated, untouched.  But one mortal violated and killed the race of the oracles.  He was then killed by the goddess Athena, the one who blesses the oracles with wisdom.  The gods, then, decided to continue the race of the oracles, but chose not to make their existence known to all, except its guardians.”

She slowly let go of Tao’s hand.

“Aoife and I are the oracle’s guardians.  The oracle’s sisters.  Though we are not related by blood, we are united by our souls.”

“Guardians, you say…” Luhan said.  “But that Aoife tried to kill him.”

“She was swayed by a false faith… and love,” she said.  “Someone promised her a place with the gods.  A seat beside her beloved demigod.”

“If she kills Tao, she gets to be a god?” Chen asked.  “Is that it?”

“No,” she replied.  “If she gives him what he seeks, that only the oracle knows, then she will become a god.”

“That still doesn’t answer my question,” Baekhyun said.  “How did Tao become this so-called oracle?”

“Since the death of the race of the oracles, the gods picked one of the mortals every one hundred years to become the oracle.  It was Huang Zitao that was chosen this time.”

“But why him?” Junmyeon asked.

“Not even the wisest of all creatures knows,” she replied.  She then faced Minseok, who was crouched beside her.  “Has he mentioned anything