My steps were slow but long one foot in front of the another as I moved between the trees, the darkness has already settled on the world.

  Some of the trees are oak some are birch trees, their presence alone is disturbing with what looks like eyes on the tree trunks, unnatural eye-like patterns.

  A sigh escaped my mouth as I moved forward, I could fly I could run fast but I chose to walk on the ground.

  Mostly because I don't trust an "easy" way, and also because I wanted to take a breath before whatever comes next.

  I have had many questions... even though I rarely ever asked any but in truth I have a lot of questions, but who am I supposed to ask? It's better if I kept to myself.

  For now to move forward matters more... I want to go back home at any cost.

  Still one question I still remember, an 'odd' one perhaps. "Agatha..." I paused, choosing my next words carefully. "Why do you call me Ode?" Agatha rarely ever called me Ode, she rarely speaks and even more rarely calls onto me, but it's still odd that she changed my name seemingly for no reason.

  After a few more steps Agatha spoke. "Ode... well, I guess there is no reason to keep it a secret. The short answer is that "Odd" is associated with bad luck."

  I stilled for a second then blinked. "And... what's the long answer?" 'Bad luck?' I thought to myself. 'That's weird.'

  "The story is... more of a fairy tale. It comes from the underworld, a place of concepts and souls... a place where words aren't so simple. Odd is associated with bad luck... bad 'odds' if you will." Her voice growing distant for a second before she paused.

  "As for the fairy tale. It's old. It says that a calamity named Odd will bring about ruin to the over world and the underworld." Her voice turned deeper, less human for a moment before she let out a sigh.

  Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.

  After a second she added "We souls like to avoid words associated with anything negative."

  I was... speechless. "Odd... ruin... world...?" I shook my head. "I'll pretend I heard nothing."

  I began walking again. "Still, why 'Ode' then?" I asked, perplexed.

  "Ode is similar in meaning to Odd when it comes to souls. Odes are written usually about unusual, but pleasant events. So, an Odd but rarely negative event."

  I sighed. "Anticlimactic." Agatha replied immediately. "Hey! I know I'm not creative, but it's still was clever." I didn't miss a beat. "The 'not creative' is an understatement."

  "Moron!" She yelled. A satisfying sound to my ears, after putting me through the pain of the divine skin.

  .

  .

  .

  After walking for a long while hunger settled quietly deep in my gut like a dull pain.

  Weirdly enough I rarely feel hunger in this world, 'such a weird but convenient thing.'

  Though finding food is still rather an annoying challenge in such a barren place with nothing but trees.

  So as night fell completely on the world, instead of sleeping I was going around looking for food.

  After a while I ended up finding a clearing, a very wide space with almost no trees at all.

  The size of this barren ground is big enough for... I don't know? I'm not good with sizes but it's probably big enough for a ship or two.

  I began walking into the clearing one step at a time, the cold breeze brushing against my hair.

  That's when I finally noticed something wrong. It's hard to see it in the dark but there is a floating sphere a significant but not far a distance above ground.

  I stared at it for one long moment, then I turned around and began walking away without even asking Agatha about it. 'Hell nah.'

  I pinched the bridge of my nose with annoyance before my fingers suddenly snapped away, because of the sudden jolt from the skin to skin contact.

  'Divine skin... I want to kill someone; this shit is painful.' I shook my head.

  'Food food food...' It is what I should think about right now, not how I was getting fried alive just a few hours ago.

  "That was a higher fracture." Agatha suddenly spoke, her voice uncharacteristically monotone.

  "Huh??" Is all I could say, my walking quickened Away from the clearing.

  "That dark orb... it's a fracture." She added.

  What she said is annoyingly vague. "I think it doesn't look like a damn crack! More like... a damn orb!"

  She fell silent for a long time and the silence settled infuriatingly, before she added. "A crack is on a flat surface. That dark orb is... in the world itself... I think."

  I was furious so furious that I stopped walking, but I didn't speak. 'She... THINKS!'

  I pinched the bridge of my nose again, ignoring the uncomfortable sensation of skin on skin. 'Hell with divine skin, and whatever Agatha is blabbering about.'