“A carriage awaits us at the borderline of Portland,” Sven said unenthusiastically. The skies were gradually turning brighter with the presence of weak sunlight. The Sun was peeking over the horizon, marking the hints of dawn.

Borderlines of Portland made up Division VI. Portland—City of Sea Trades—was a city pretty much less developed compared to other cities in their country. The only machines here were steamships or other traveling merchant ships and equipment for sea trades. Other than that, the city ran at a calm, laid-back pace. Melanie’s home was located on the headland of Portland—in Port—one of the smaller villages in Portland.

To reach the borderline, one must first venture northwest across Porthill, a hill forest in Portland, and then cross the air bridge that links Porthill and the town. From there, they would have to go further northwest to reach Division VI and the borderline. It was supposed to be a simple journey that would have taken them a day and half to reach the borderline if it were not for the drastic change in the weather.

It would have seemed that Winter had come too quickly or rather it was forced to be. The cold wind blew strongly against them. Melanie shivered slightly, trying to not let the cold get to her. I must be strong. As if it was all expected, their journey remained silent without a single conversation. Each step she took was draining her energy away and by the time the couple reached the hilltop, she was out of breath.

Sven stopped to let her catch her breath. Vapor formed at where her breath had disappeared to. The coming of winter was no joke, he thought to himself as even his breath was visible. The temperature was taking its own sweet time to drop and not even the warmth of the sun could reach either of them. By noon, they started to make their way down the hill, to the air bridge.

The journey seemed harsh for the sickly girl—it took all her energy to make sure she would not slip and fall. But alas, her fall was inevitable when hail came in the form of large icicles. She could barely avoid the icicles without Sven’s help. Pulling her to his side, she managed to escape with just torn sleeves and minor cuts.

He pulled her by the hand and ran towards the air bridge. The pair rushed over, hoping to get across as fast as they could to safety. Another wave of large icicles came—almost as if they were guided—as if Melanie and Sven were their only targets. They could not escape, followed by a blast caused by the icicles. The wind picked up and the bridge swayed. The swaying grew faster in mere moments, causing the middle span of the bridge to fall apart.

The bridge twisted with the icy wind and broke into pieces of concrete that fell into the water below. Melanie and Sven fell along with the concrete. In addition to the strong hail, they were hit by some small pieces of concrete, rendering them unconscious as they fell into the water.

Melanie woke up in pain, covered in bruises and broken bones. Struggling to stand on her feet, she cringed in pain. She could not move her left leg. Looking around, she found herself separated from Sven. She looked up at where the air bridge was once at. All there was left was a broken bridge, as all the main parts had fallen beside her.

She trudged along the river bank that stretched out below the air bridge. The water struggled to flow, pushing against the pieces of concrete. She had hoped to find Sven somewhere along her path. She was drenched and the cold and pain intermingled with one another.

As she walked on, she heard noises that sounded like someone was talking. “Sven?” She called out, but there was no reply. She walked closer to the source of the noise. Seeing the silhouette of a person—thinking it was Sven—in relief, she called out once more. This time, louder. It jumped and all of a sudden she was surrounded by a group of people in black.

The one she saw earlier jumped onto her and she winced in pain. “Get off!” Her back hit the ground and a knife was held to her neck. The stranger was similarly dressed in black and with a hood shadowing her face. He said something in an alarmed tone but it was incomprehensible. The others in black cloaks replied in the same language. Then, one of them held up a hand and flame was emitted. Melanie watched in fear.

Who are these people? Why was the fire not hurting him?

Her attacker hissed and the flame disappeared. Do away with the flames. This one is special. For some reason, their speech started to make sense to her. I recognize this speech. Melanie watched them and struggled to remain conscious. Her left leg was hurting too much, adding oil to her predicament.  

Her attacker reached for his hood, pulling it back to reveal his face, “You are a Third, are you not?”

Melanie’s eyes blinked in fear and her mouth moved, forming words of the same speech. She did not know how or why but she felt calm all of a sudden. Her pain was forgotten for a moment. “Second, remove yourself from me in this instance.”

Her attacker backed away from her then, noticing a strange glow in her golden orbs. She felt a strange surge of energy flowing in her body as she got up to her feet. The others came closer but the young man stopped them. “Stop. Our powers cannot stand against a Third.”

What was the Third he kept mentioning about? Melanie thought as her body continued to move on its own. “Why are you here?”

“We were hoping you have the answers, Third. After all, it was by your power that we were sent here.” The young man spoke. The rest immediately pulled back their hood. Each and every one of them bore strange markings on their pale faces.

“What are you saying, I did not…” Melanie said, baffled and confused. My powers? What were these strange people talking about? She shakily took a step back.

Creak.

The sound of someone stepping on a branch, made her turn her head instinctively. It was Sven. He was okay, after all. There were a few scratches on his face but he was okay so everything was okay.

“Sven!” She let out a cry.

“What are you doing here, Melanie?” He asked.

What was she doing there, she thought. She turned back at where the group of strange people was at but they were gone.

“Did something happen? Are you hurt?” He asked.

Hurt? She moved towards Sven. Her legs did not hurt anymore and she was cold no more. Was she imagining the pain? She stopped in front of Sven, “I…I…” No words could leave her mouth. She was confused and millions of thoughts filled her mind.

In that moment, she felt her strength slip away as her sight was replaced with darkness.

“Mel!Mel!”

It is our duty to make sure they never meet.