The view of Verrath's cityscape remained breath takingly beautiful despite all the dangers it held for someone like me. I considered leaving as I stood at the summit of the hill where I train with Yuna and Sullyoon, taking shade in the single oak tree which I assume also serves as an entry to the Lady of Spring's realm.
It was peaceful here — too peaceful, too quiet. The wind seemed to sense my thoughts and started blowing a little harder. It didn't seem to want to blow me away, instead it felt like it wanted to ground me — and the earth agreed. It pulled me down. I felt it shift beneath my feet as I extended my consciousness into the earth. They both seemed to whisper one thing — running away is not a solution.
But with everything that happened — all the "Night Folk shit" as Jimin called it. Why was it all so difficult? Why was it all happening to me? Why to me? Because of my bloodline?
Jieun never spoke of a prophecy — only visions. The hell — what does that even mean? What's the difference? And if there's a difference, does it matter? Will it matter?
Fuck — what do I do? Can I do what I said I'll do? Take the Citadel head-on to keep Minjeong from being taken?
Then after that, what? Jieun spoke of a war — now I'm the target of at least three factions. As if the Wild Hunt wasn't enough, now a fucking coalition, partnership, alliance, whatever the fuck they're calling themselves, between a warlock and a necromancer just revealed their hand — they failed, just because of a factor nobody even saw coming — well, nobody except Jieun perhaps.
Was this it? Was this the war the seer siren spoke of? If so, is this still going to get bigger? Because it's already fucking too big to be honest — and I'm not sure I can handle any more without breaking.
I stumbled back to lean against the tree, and it seemed to welcome my body, creaking and shifting slightly to accommodate my frame and providing whatever comfort it can give. I looked ahead, back at the city, suddenly the cityscape of Verrath didn't look beautiful. It became the center of the clusterfuck that is now my life. Now it seems — it seems like the city itself wants to kill me for being an unholy hybrid of heaven and hell.
Every tower looked like it housed a warlock. Every street felt like a trap waiting to be sprung. Verrath no longer felt alive — no, actually, it felt more alive than ever — it felt hungry — and it's fucking frightening. Makes me wonder if this city is worth fighting for.
Then my phone beeps, I fished it out, the name on the screen pulled a smile out of me despite everything that happened — in spite of even the thoughts I just had. I swiped my phone to read a message from Jimin.
"Hey. Yuna called us. Me, the huntresses, even Yizhuo. She told us what happened. Are you okay?"
The message status changed to "Read", and then an ellipses appears — the three dots moving up and down from left to right like three balls doing the wave. I stared at it absently, waiting for the message to pop out — until it did.
"I'm dying to call you but... I understand if you want to be left alone with your thoughts, I know everything might seem too much, the revelation of what you are, then Minjeong's awakening. But I'm here... always here, should you need me. Our friends are also here, Chaeryoung was trying to hold back tears when Yuna called, Ryujin seemed visibly shaken for once. And Yeji's, well, she's Yeji, she's already thinking of what we can do next to help."
I slid down the tree and sat on the soft moss. The roots moved, encasing my body in a protective circle. The ellipses bounced again on the screen until a third message appears.
"If you want me to cover for your Archives shift tomorrow just tell me. Either way, I'll still go there, so if you choose to work that shift, we can talk."
Then a series of short messages pops out in quick succession.
"Don't be a stranger, Seren."
"I'm here."
"We're here."
"Chaeryoung."
"Ryujin."
"Yeji."
"Sullyoon."
"Yuna."
"Even Yizhuo, gods bless that girl."