I have been walking and walking and walking....non-stop. I am surprised more by my stamina than this never-ending corridor. There are doors on both sides with locks. Each keyhole is shaped differently. There are glowing runes painted on each door. It's not as scary as I thought it to be.

Still, those kids shouldn't have done that to me. Is the original owner some kind of pushy girl? They have been relying on her a lot. Then, they decide to push her inside like she is the answer to everything.

After I find this person, I will throw him to them and run to the other side of the world. I will find a universal gate and the key to my world. I will return to planet Earth. It's not impossible. There is hope.

I didn't pay attention to where I was going. I hit a hard wall, falling on my butt. My nose is bleeding. Argh! I want food.

"Master!"

I am frozen in my spot. Its voice is deep and echoing. It's strange. This thing even bigger than the universal gate. Black as coal and slimy, the creature is flailing his arms in all the directions. It has too many eyes to count.

"I have been waiting." It leans toward me. "You smell different, Harbinger."

The strangest part is the language. I have already noticed that the language of this world is different from my world. But, I can understand everything. I don't know why. Right now, this monster is not speaking in the language of Beggar City. I can still understand him.

"So, she died." Some of its eyes close. Some of its eyes are blinking. A few are staring right at my face. "The soul is replaced."

"It doesn't matter to me, Master." The monster opens his huge mouth and yawns. I can see countless canine teeth that are as long as my arms. It has bad breath. "I only serve the harbinger. Even if the soul change, my master is the harbinger."

"You..." I can't feel my legs. "You know that I am inside her body. It doesn't matter to you?"

"Master, you are the harbinger," he tells me like it's a fact. "Before you, more than three thousand harbingers was born and killed by the Renasir and the vessel of the holy fire. However, this is the first time when a harbinger is born in the body of the previous harbinger. It's rare, but not unusual. If the body is intact, the heart doesn't need a new body. It only needs a new soul."

What?

"For the time being, you are the harbinger." The monster opens all of its eyes and grins widely. "I will only serve you."

I put my hands in my pockets to hide my shaking. "So, harbingers are born frequently. There is someone who kills them whenever they are born. The person who killed the previous owner of this body is..."

"The vessel of the holy fire." The monster moves back a bit. I realize that I can breathe now. "My old master commanded me to kill the vessel and then, she sent me here to wait."

"Sent you here to wait?" I widen my eyes. "She could already open the gate to this place?"

"Of course." The monster sounds like he is puzzled. "All the harbingers can open the gate to this place. But, she was an extraordinary one. She could actually break open the prison too. She was the first harbinger to set me free from my prison cell. I didn't ask her though. It was better if she chose someone else. I was resting and minding my business. Suddenly, she appeared and summoned me out. She ordered me to eat the vessel. She freed the holy fire and made way for it to choose the true wielder who is supposed to stop the harbinger from freeing the dark lord."

What does that mean? Anything with the word 'dark' is bad in the stories. So, the original owner was from the good side or bad side? Am I in danger or not? Was she really thirteen? If she could open it, why did she teach opening the universal gate to Raye? What was that key about?

In case something happened to her, she might have wanted Raye to open the gate with the key. The key could be summoned by anyone and anyone could enter this place. Raye and Quinn fooled me.

I remember their expressions. They might not have fooled me. The original owner might not have shared the whole information. She might have died before she could. It doesn't matter anymore. I am here in her place now.

"She has been hit with the holy fire once before she summoned me. The vessel can only wield a minuscule part of the holy fire. Still, the holy fire is detrimental to the harbinger." It looks at me strangely. "When she was hurt, the bond between the soul and the body was weakened. The body didn't die, but the soul did. You replaced her at that time."

"Why did I replace her soul?"

"You were chosen as the harbinger like many before you...Master. Your soul is compatible with the heart of our God."

Compatible, my foot! I want a normal heart. Where can I get a heart transplant in this world?

"You said that I am the first one who is born in the body of the previous harbinger." My beginning is already unnatural in this strange world.

"I don't know why you are like this, Master. But, you are here. You are the harbinger." He flails his arms up and down happily.

I take deep breaths. Calm down. Let's just finish what I have come here for. "Do you know where the thirteenth god is?"

He turns around, but he keeps his eyes on me from the back of his head. Literally. "Master, the night of the union isn't over yet. We can free the dark lord tonight."

"Yes, I am here for that." Not sure whether I am going to do that or not. I want to check out this dark lord first. If he is a good person, I might help him break his prison. Some people are meant to stay inside the prison forever.