The night was separated into four quadrants.
Rising Hour, representing the first six hours of a new night, when the stars begin to brighten.
Early Hour, representing the next six hours of night, when the stars are at their brightest.
Falling Hour, representing the six hours after midnight, when the stars begin to dim.
Late Hour, representing the six hours before the night's end, when the stars are at their dimmest.
A full twenty-four hours represents a complete night, and the time was told by the Starry Sky.
Unfortunately, with the obstruction of mist, Dawn could not tell the time.
It was nearing the night's end of their fifth night when the mist swallowed their group.
She could not gauge the amount of time they had spent within the mist.
Not just because she couldn't see the sky, but because of something assaulting her mind.
Another worry of Dawn's was her impaired sense of direction.
Dawn and the fifty-or-so refugees wandered the wist.
It was still the unfamiliar terrain of the mountains, which was comforting, but their diminished sight was troubling.
There was no telling where exactly they were, and it made searching for the others difficult as well.
The world was still, yet shaking relentlessly.
Dawn paced her steps, stumbling a few times here and there, and she also fell to her knees countless times.
Sometimes, she had to crawl on the ground due to nausea.
Looking behind her, about thirty people followed her, they also carried the same lost expressions on their faces.
Dawn continued to walk, or move in some direction.
Faint breathing could be heard in the mist.
Moments passed, and the breathing fell quieter.
The terrain looked the same, yet felt completely different with each step.
Looking back again, Dawn counted the twenty people who followed her.
She knew something had happened, but what?
Walking again, there was a gradual change in her surroundings.
A sound, not that of faint breathing or rustling leaves.
It rang in her ears constantly, hushed like a whisper, but gradually rising as she moved in a certain direction.
It held a constant position, never displaced by the mist.
It was her sole reason for moving.
Dawn turned to face the noise, then turned around and looked at nothing.
Facing forward, she moved, pursuing whatever the cause of this noise was.
Alone.
...
Sun's vision was blurry.
Pushing himself off the ground, he stumbled around before steadying himself in place.
Surrounding him was dense mist, and close to a hundred of the refugees.
"What happened...? Dawn? Selene?" He called out their names desperately; his voice rang throughout the mist, but no one but the echo replied.
"Damn it all..."
With no other choice, he rallied the other refugees to try searching for the others.
Sun had a weary gaze, he focused on the soil they walked over, the occasional roots that would catch their shoes, or the stones that stabbed into their soles.
Glancing behind him, the refugees were weak and absentmindedly looking around.
Their mental states were weak, and they were further troubled by the mist.
That's when something caught his eye, some of the refugees started to wander away.
Shocked and confused, Sun chased after them.
"What are you doing!? Where are you going!?"
He reached for their shoulders to pull them back, but they never spared him a glance.
Sun was met with unfocused eyes and hung mouths.
They all had blank expressions, except for Sun, who was frightened.
"What... is going on...?"
What had answered him came a mere moment after; his hand was suddenly grasping onto mist.
It had a human-like figure, and was dispersed into plumes as Sun's hand fell.
"What..."
Failing to understand what had just happened, Sun turned around to the other refugees.
Wisps of mist dissipated in the wind, and the number of refugees had fallen.
Dread fell upon his face as he witnessed this scene.
People were lost so easily, and he was unable to help.
Sun pushed the rest of the refugees to move, desperately trying to flee this mist.
As they moved, he would turn around, counting fewer and fewer refugees among his party.
Sometimes, he watched them disappear right before his eyes.
Other times, he would reach out and grab only a fistful of mist in their place.
Just like that, Sun had lost every refugee who was rallied by him.
Hundreds were gone with the wind; it was a sickening fact.
This dreaded feeling shook him intensely, bringing him to his knees.
Shame. Guilt. Sorrow. It all overwhelmed him.
In a desperate attempt at comfort, he hugged himself.
Sun lies sobbing on the ground.
...
The mist shone, pale light reflecting off every droplet in the misty air.
"Be attentive. Bring it to our attention if you spot anything."
That isn't to say that things were easy.
A faint, white light was emitted from Selene's palms.
She was leading the group unwillingly. Rather, they were all following her.
Selene did not want the company, but used them to help her search.
There were a few dozen of them.
Fear and worry ran through their minds, but the light helped to reduce the severity of it.
It was relaxing.
As they explored this mist-covered terrain, the refugees no longer felt fear.
Gradually, they began to fill with emotions.
Some were crying. Some furrowed their brows. Some laughed with manic glee.
A mixed sound of myriads of emotions filled the air.
"What... is going on...?"
Selene couldn't help but mutter under her breath, yet it seemed loud enough to drag all their attention to her.
She met their gazes, their wild eyes, and their inhuman expressions.
Selene couldn't help but flinch.
A refugee with an awfully wide smile lunged at her, but it fell short and dragged itself across the ground to reach her feet. It grabbed the hem of her robes and pleaded through a hysterical voice.
"Saviour!"
He clawed at her legs, as if trying to climb her, or drag her down into his crazed embrace.
With a yelp and a few kicks, she broke free of his hold and stumbled back.
Disdain and a hint of fear flashed in her eyes as she looked down upon the man, watching as that wide grin shut and revealed clenched teeth, his brow furrowed as he accused madly.
"Why! How could you! You are our salvation!"
A few other voices joined in the yelling.
"You can't just leave us behind, Saviour!"
Screamed the violent voice of a man.
"You left them behind! You left them to die!"
Cried the mourning tears of a woman.
"You can help us, yes? Saviour?"
Pleaded the small hands of a child.
Selene met their emotions with wide eyes, unable to retort to their accusations or answer their pleas. Instead, she stood frozen with bewilderment.
She turned to run, but a refugee jumped at her, knocking Selene to her knees.
Her ankle was snatched; before she could kick herself free, another refugee ran desperately at her.
Like a tide of people, the crazed and emotional refugees ran towards her. Some fell and dragged themselves forward.
They clawed and grabbed, her physique was smaller than average, so she could hardly resist.
Falling over onto her stomach, she stopped emitting the white light from her hands. The world dimmed.
The writhing weight pressed against her back and legs faded, the desperate hands clinging onto her had loosened their grips, and the mix of cries and screams fell into silence.
Pushing herself up and looking behind, Selene only saw mist in the place of those refugees.
Although the marks and bruises remained, the people disappeared with the light, she was left alone.
She slowly raised herself off the ground and dismissed the thought of creating more light and continued to trudge through the mist.
...
Selene had spared none of her attention to how much time had passed, it was impossible to tell anyway.
Likewise, it seemed impossible to tell where she was.
Alone, she travelled through this mist and around the forest terrain.
Whatever invaded the minds of the other refugees began to creep into her mind, too.
It was disorientating, stealing her will and emotions.
Her thoughts became discordant.
What exactly was she looking for?
Lost in thought, she didn't notice that the terrain around her had changed.
The trees that were once clustered had opened into a clearing.
There, on the ground, was a lone man sobbing on his knees.
Approaching him carefully, the mist cleared from Selene's mind.
"Sun...?"