Summary

Vasya wakes up in darkness and meets Lady Midnight who welcomes Vasya to her realm - also called Midnight - where time is irrelevant. Vasya asks about the lake, but Midnight says Vasya will have to find it herself and leaves. Vasya walks through the dark for an unknown amount of time and crosses many different realms. She thinks of her family and wonders why the winter-king would lock himself away for her. After speaking to a swamp-demon, she finds meets the firebird - a golden mare - that she freed in Moscow. The mare says she wanted to kill every man for enslaving her and leaves, but Vasya follows her and finds an abandoned house on the edge of a lake. She lights a fire in the oven when a hand reaches out...