『So, you even dare to spy on me. I knew you would survive, but I didn't anticipate you to recover so quickly.』The Kraken spoke as it caressed Noah's face with a tentacle.

Noah woke up suddenly in a cold sweat to sit upright. He was prevented from doing so as restraints pulled him back onto the bed. It seems that he had been bound while unconscious. The old crone was muttering while leaning over a table nearby. Noah effortlessly snapped his bindings with a tug of both arms. The child was watching him cautiously from the corner as he stood up. Noah's shirt was unbuttoned, exposing his chest. His body was battered and bruised. Strangely there was also a long shallow cut above his heart. It looked like someone had made an incision there. The child hurried towards him in a crouch while making a shushing motion.

"Granny Yaga is reading your fortune. She will wake up soon. She plans to turn you into fertilizer to make magic plants. She's a real-life witch, not one like you. She's one like in the bedtime stories. Please leave here and take me with you!" The child whispered urgently. Noah realized from the child's voice that it was a boy.

"What's your name?" Noah asked.

"Lyn. I know how to shoot a bow. I can help you," the child introduced themself.

"Well, Lyn, my name is Noah. I can take you with me, but you will have to lead me through the forest to the beach," Noah replied.

"Alright! I can do that!" The child said excitedly.

"What did you mean when you said that she would use me as fertilizer to make magic plants?" Noah asked.

"The white glowing plants are mostly safe to go near. But if a plant absorbs a witch, it steals its powers and becomes magical. Granny Yaga fed my little sister, Maddy to the ivy outside after she disobeyed her and ate a poisonous berry. I couldn't stop her. Granny told me that she would do the same to me if I misbehaved," Lyn said as tears welled up in his eyes.

"I know you couldn't. We won't let that old crone do it to anybody else," Noah comforted the boy while thinking about the information about plants with abilities.

"We need to leave before she wakes up, or she will punish me when she sees your ropes broken," Lyn said while wiping snot from his nose.

"We will, I promise," Noah said.

Noah took the opportunity to examine the room properly. It was a small cottage with antique furnishing. The fire was burning in a large hearth that had burned to a smoulder. The deer carcass was still slowly roasting above the embers. The old crone sat at a rickety table with her back facing Noah, in front of a dust-covered window. She had a deck of cards on the table with four cards drawn in front of her while she spoke to herself. An open vial was filled with blood alongside a slender bloodied blade with a vine wrapping the handle was beside the deck of cards. Noah moved closer to inspect the cards over her shoulder. The old crone didn't react.

"A nightmare from the depths waits as it sets a trap to ensnare its prey. The stone giant slays the world serpent," the old crone spoke. This time Noah was able to decipher her raving mutterings.

Three of the cards had pictures, while the fourth was blank. The first card depicted a detailed illustration of an octopus. There was a label below the image that stated 'The Kraken'. The second card showed the colossal python from the twin islands, labelled 'The World Serpent'. The third card held the image of the warhammer with the kneeling statue from Noah's vision, but without the handle. It was labelled 'The Giant'. The fourth and final card was blank. Gaining confidence, Noah walked around the table to wipe the dust from the window to look outside. It was blocked by overgrown vegetation, which glowed with blue lifeforce, leaving Noah feeling cautious.

He stepped away from the window, turning to look at the old crone. He hadn't noticed before, but her appearance was similar to Ronan's from the vision. The old crone's skin was unnaturally smooth, the colour and texture of white porcelain. She had colourless white hair that draped past her shoulders in a knotted mess. Her features held a subtle difference from ordinary people. Her face held unnatural angles, giving her features an alien cast. The most unnerving characteristic was her eyes. They glowed with purple lifeforce, indicating that she was using an ability that required her to see, but the unsettling part was that the whites of her eyes were black. Giving her the appearance of a natural predator.

At the edge of his vision, Noah noticed movement from the blank card. He walked to stand behind the old crone to peer over her shoulder. An image was revealed, like playing an animation of fog clearing. The illustration was of the old crone in front of him, labelled 'The Oracle of Misfortune'.

"The nightmare has seen me! I must use the remaining heart-blood to perform another Fortune Telling," the old crone spoke to herself.

The old crone reached instinctively toward the blood fill vial and slender knife as her eyes regained clarity. She didn't seem to be aware of Noah standing behind her, reflected in the glass of the window. She hurriedly reshuffled the cards into her deck before dipping the slender blade into the vial. She held the knife up to inspect it before grunting in satisfaction. She carefully hovered the edge over the cards as a large drop of blood dripped onto the deck. The old crone's eyes filled with purple light as her ability was triggered. Suddenly, Noah heard the voice of the System inside his mind.

[Resonance detected. Do you wish to activate a Union ability?]

"What's a Union ability?" Noah asked out loud as the child, Lyn, looked at him in confusion.

[Another User has activated an ability that is compatible with one of your own. Do you wish to activate a Union ability?]

The System vaguely explained before repeating the question. Noah chose to accept. His eyes were reflected, glowing purple in the windowpane as a resonance was formed with the old crone's [Fortune Telling] ability with Noah's [Battle Instinct] ability.

[Union ability: Prophecy activated.]

The old crone drew another four blank cards from the deck and placed them faceup on the table, utterly oblivious to her surroundings. Noah was drawn into a vision. The first illustration of the cards appeared. It portrayed the image of a child.