Chapter 5

When Miracle reached home, she slung her bag off her shoulders and marched toward the backyard, to the deeper barrier set within the house compound. She swiped her hand through the air, and within seconds, a shimmering aqueous layer materialized before her. She stepped in. With another wave of her arm, the barrier dissipated into thin air, leaving no trace of its existence.

Perfectly camouflaged.

This was the innermost layer of the barrier Hayden created on the first day she arrived.

Inhaling a deep, long breath, she let it out—the beast she had held captive for days.

Right then, a pure white dragon engulfed the shape of the "human" goddess, taking over the black colors in her eyes. Gleaming carp scales manifested on her body, sending a tranquil touch along her nerves. Deer-like horns, fangs, and claws gracefully emerged, refining themselves as they sensed powerful traces of divinity from the silver fronds—the external protections—responding to her presence. Too thirsty to be embraced by the air, the animal roared and soared upwards as if the air were a part of her.

'Fire, be with me,' she muttered inwardly. It had been a while since she stepped away from her world.

Heat surged through her body in an instant, igniting every fiber of her being. With a sudden jerk of her head, fiery swords erupted from her gaping maw, multiplying into hundreds as they slashed through the barrier with relentless force.

Clearly, the barrier was tough enough. It swiftly repelled the weapons and reduced them to mere ashes upon contact with the small pond covered by water lilies. Wriggling in the air, she then formed a few fiery balls on her eagle claws, all the while exhaling a continuous stream of azure flames into the sky.

'No matter what the price is, I'll end this cycle once and for all.'

When she returned to her disguise and entered the living room through the sliding door again, she saw Hayden on the couch. 

"Miracle, do you have time?" he asked.

"What's the matter?” She wiped the beads of sweat on her forehead.

He flashed her a fatherly smile. "Let's go to the market."

"Now?"

"Yes. Come on."

"All right. Give me a second to change my clothes."

***

They strolled along the bike path, Hayden folding his arms across his chest while Miracle gazed far beyond—into the sky at the other end, its tone darkening. Gray, knobby clouds obscured the orangy sunlight, casting shadows across the tar beneath their feet.

It was a gloomy evening.

"Let's see. What should we have tonight?" Hayden muttered, making his way through the small crowd gathered around the cooler box.

"Raw meat," Miracle replied undertone.

Luckily, Hayden didn't hear her. He was busy flipping the meats and checking their freshness using the shared spatula.

She walked away, leaving him to fend for better cuts among the remaining customers. The mundane groceries that mortals consumed daily—vegetables, dried herbs, processed meats—held little interest for her until her feet unexpectedly halted in front of a butcher stall. Intriguing thuds of the knife slamming onto the chopping board reached her ears. Miracle swallowed hard, watching the blood dripped onto the floor while the fresh meat was sliced into smaller chunks.

Her favorite food was right before her eyes. 

"Yes? What do you want?" the butcher asked, meeting her eyes as he pricked the hook into the chopped slice, hanging it up for sale.

Embarrassed, she shook her head and left. 

What was she supposed to say? 

The rawness of the meat was driving her crazy?

She was still frowning for failing to have the bloody piece when shivers suddenly swam down her spine as if somebody had just dumped her a bucket of ice water.

"What was that?" she murmured to herself, letting the ripe tomato slip from her hand.

After flashing a worried glance at Hayden, who was at the counter, she quickly ran into the dark, to the place her instincts were leading her to.

Hayden dug out a bill in his pocket at once and shoved it at the counter without looking for any change. The cashier was clueless, but he had no time to explain. He quickly dashed out and caught up with Miracle. 

There was nothing unusual along the streets. Yet, an evil, anonymous energy pervaded everywhere, distracting Miracle from finding the right path. Time was ticking away, and her heart was leaping into her throat. As they passed a deserted alley behind the tombstones, they had a sinking feeling that it might be too late.

The victim looked like he was struggling to stand upright, while the beast was enjoying its meal.

"Fire! Come to me!" she shouted at the malevolent glare, drifting its attention away from the poor little boy.

Miracle rushed over and struck the opponent before it could defend itself. She unleashed a powerful beam of fire at the malevolent entity. Green slime splashed onto her face. No, her attack wasn't working. She kneed the wicked creature onto the ground and continued shooting the flames into its chest. Within seconds, its body began to burn, but the demonic soul within remained unscathed. Before her heterochromic eyes, she watched the evil spirit turn into a glaucous whiff and escape with the wind. 

Miracle hurled her hand at it. Silver smoke immediately branched out from her wrist and surged toward the green puff. She had it for a moment. However, it was too fierce. It spun aggressively a few times before breaking free from her trap.

Very fast.

"Ugh! Damn it!" She threw her punches into the brick wall. "DAMN IT!"

Hayden approached the victim lying lifeless on the cold surface. Miracle stood nearby in silence, overwhelmed by a sense of defeat unlike anything she had felt before. A pang of guilt streaked through her when her gaze fell on the vicious wound across his chest. His flesh was torn open, and his ribcage was dislocated, tightening her heart with a crushing weight.

As she crouched, she outstretched her trembling hand to the boy. "What are we going to do about this, Hayden?" She struggled to choke back tears. "I-Is he going to be all right?"

"Miracle..." He sighed. "Let's find a place…”

Right then, the slow yet familiar rhythm drifted to his ears. "Wait." Hayden moved his eyes to the red organ inside the wound. To his surprise, it was beating. "Miracle! Do something! He still has his heart with him!"

"W-What?"

"Fast!" he urged when she wasn't inching to save the boy from becoming the fourth victim.

Jerking out from her state of shock, she hissed to the air, "Be with me."

A warm breeze kissed past her, tingling the fine hairs behind her neck as she leaned closer to the boy and cupped her hand on his forehead.

Hints of white glow escaped through the gaps in between her bloody fingers, casting a faint, ethereal light against the darkness. "Oh, air. Please be kind to this boy and save his heart," she whispered.