*San's POV
Since Layla met me at that facility, I knew something was wrong with my memory. It wasn't that I had forgotten her; the memories of Layla weren't fading in my mind. It wasn't as if I felt this wasn't the first time I had been in Solaris. There were no feelings of déjà vu or guilt. It was as if everything Layla and I went through six years ago had never happened to me.
The last thing I remember is that village. The villagers were so friendly to the point of being unnatural. They treated me, a child, like a god. But those memories are incomplete. My life seems to have jumped far into the future, into a completely unfamiliar environment. It's not like all the places that ended badly after I started to feel comfortable after thinking of them as home. That village slowly faded from my memory. I can no longer see the faces or the shape of the place in my mind. It's impossible to get there by teleportation. If only that memory wasn't fragmented, maybe I could go back there. Perhaps I could learn more about this power. I remember they always talked about destiny, although I never really understood what they meant.
One thing worries me now. I don't want Calmora to end up like the orphanage and the research facility. I don't wish for this place to disappear like before. Even though Calmora has protective magic and Seon's presence, which I'm sure is experienced enough to handle various big problems, I don't want to take any chances.
Maybe I do need to leave someday. I can't make Calmora as home.
The rain is getting heavier outside. I sit leaning against the edge of the bed, staring at the sword I took from the armory. Half an hour has passed since Layla left. As the rain still fills the silence, my mind is in turmoil, wondering if there's a way for this to end differently this time. I know this place is in danger if I stay here, but where should I go? What should I do?
"Why are you here?" asked a voice, echoing in my head.
I didn't see her arrival. She was already standing at the tent entrance, looking at me with a fearful face. Her curly brown hair cascaded over her shoulders. Her skin was slightly dark, her face round with deep green eyes. She wore a thin brown jacket over a dark green shirt.
I stood up stiffly. It felt awkward. Did Layla show me the wrong tent, and this woman is its owner? Maybe I should apologize and leave immediately.
No. Where did she come from? If she came from outside, why wasn't she wet?
Maybe magic. That makes the most sense. But... why does her body look transparent?
The woman furrowed her brows, clenching her fists tightly. "What are you really doing, Seon?"
Then hundreds of voices echoed in my head. Overlapping and competing to dominate. They were shouting, crying, cursing me. Those voices pressed on my head like a heavy boulder. My stomach immediately churned, and I fell to my knees, vomiting onto the tent floor.
The voices began to subside. I knew them. I recognized them. The people who have perished. The ones I killed. The ones I cursed.
"Is that not enough?" said the woman, her voice echoing again, drowning out the other voices. "Is all that blood still not enough for you?"
"I don't understand what you're saying."
She now looked at me with a face full of disgust, as if I were a rotting animal carcass. "You're pathetic." Then she turned around, walking through the rain that passed through her body, heading into the southern forest and disappearing.
Just like Layla said when we first met. She also called me pathetic. What's wrong? What did I do to them? Are they so pure and righteous that they have the right to say that?
No. Layla said that because she was disappointed in me. Different from that woman. She doesn't know anything. She... who is she really? How could she bring out those voices?
I tried to stand up, looking far towards the southern forest. I must make sure of something. If that woman truly hates me, then I need to know why. I immediately ran out of the tent, following the direction she went.
The cold from the raindrops began to sting. I kept running, passing the large tree roots protruding from the muddy ground, going deeper south without clues or traces left behind. I just felt the need to keep running forward. Something was calling me there, waiting for me.
My pace slowed as I reached the heart of the forest. A faint golden light pierced the dimness from the overcast clouds and the canopy above. Upon arrival, my labored breathing was silenced by the scene before me. I remember Layla mentioning something about protective magic planted on a giant tree. I think this is what she meant.
A giant banyan tree. Towering as high as the buildings I've seen in the city, with thick foliage above reducing the intensity of the rain. Its diameter is perhaps five times larger than any portal I've seen. Arm-sized gaps or cracks are running all over the tree like veins. From these gaps, golden light emanates, pulsating brightly and dimly as if the tree were breathing. Around the tree, there are four stone braziers connected by strange patterns carved into the ground. There's no fire burning, but the patterns seem to flow with the golden light from the banyan tree in the center.
I walked hesitantly closer, stepping onto the strange pattern and stopping just a step away from the giant banyan tree. From that distance, I could hear a faint hum from within and a cold wind blowing from there. My right hand lifted, slowly moving to touch the tree.
"Look," said the mysterious woman beside me. But before I could turn, a bright light and a shockwave took over my consciousness.
***
I'm not sure if this is a dream or something different.
Everything feels real. My body seems to be there. I can feel the gusts of wind and hear the rumbling and shouting clearly. I see a kingdom with dozens of white pillars supporting the sky, surrounded by walls tens of meters high. It's night, just as the lunar eclipse occurs. A giant black pillar rises from the center of the palace. I see it from a high cliff. The entire kingdom is covered in black smoke.
But I also see a big ice wall in one corner. That wall glows blue and breaks the surrounding black smoke. Soon, from that area, red light dots begin to appear. Dozens to hundreds, flying into the sky like blood-colored lanterns.
Someone walks up from behind and stops right next to me. The mysterious woman. Her gaze is sad and full of sorrow. But I don't know what she's looking at. The red lanterns, the black pillar, the moon, or everything. Her curly hair dances in the wind. Her face doesn't look younger or older than mine. Pale and tired, but also calm and friendly.
"The Minerva Kingdom," she said. "A land blessed by the gods. While other kingdoms were racing to strengthen their Element's power, everyone in the Minerva Kingdom vowed to never use Elements. A peaceful and beautiful land."
As she said that, other visions appeared in my mind. I could see the state of the land before it was destroyed. Busy streets, giant white pillars supporting a transparent canopy, and a wide clear river flowing through the kingdom, splitting it into two parts, then entering the palace area and ending in a waterfall that leads to the open sea.
The mysterious woman stares at me. "This is why they brought you here. They think with your power, you can change the fate of this kingdom. Because if everything you see here happens, we all will face an unwinnable war."
I still couldn't fully grasp her words. The scene before me looked so real. What could I do to prevent such a disaster?
"Maybe you'll just destroy everything. Both the Minerva Kingdom and Calmora. Because of your selfishness, everything will disappear. Isn't that all you can do?"
"What do you mean?"
"Does all those sins not make you realize that you'll only sacrifice them all?"
As the tension between us rose, the voices started coming back. My ears began to ring, and my head started to ache. I grabbed her shoulders. "I don't understand what you're saying! Who are you really?"
Amid the wind and my shouting, the woman stopped murmuring and looked at me sharply. "Everything will burn. But... only you can set it free."
Again, a phrase I didn't understand. But this time she didn't give me a chance to speak. She pushed me away, along with a crack separating the ground between us. My footing began to crumble, and without being able to do anything. I fell.
I know this isn't real. After all, whatever happens, death won't come to me that easily. Just before the vision ended, I saw the mysterious woman's face. An expression I had never seen from her before. A look of despair and frustration. As the distance between us grew, I was sure the last thing I watched from her was a tear.[]