Continuation of Chapter 22: A Whisper Behind the Veil (Part 2)
As the music played, Grandma Kiku stood tall — taller than anyone had seen her in years. Her voice sliced through the festival like a sharpened blade.
"Silence."
The drums stopped. The flutes went still. The dancers froze mid-spin.
Every eye turned toward her.
"I have given you your fortunes," she said, her voice deep and heavy, as if the wind itself carried it. "But this one… is not for the curious. It is for the people of Sujin. I have sacrificed my soul to bring it to you."
A hush, breathless and cold, swept through the crowd.
"This message comes from beyond our world… Beyond Zeraphis… And beyond our galaxy Valtherion."
Yue's heart skipped a beat.
All around her, the villagers murmured.
"The heavens have spoken — and I listened. A force shall fall upon our lands. A power older than our empires. One shard of it will land… here… in Sujin."
Gasps. Wide eyes. Someone dropped a sake bottle.
"I do not know if it is a blessing or a curse. That will depend… on how we use it."
Kiku raised her hands toward the dark sky.
"But I say this now — peaceful times are ending."
Thunder cracked — not just a rumble, but a jagged, ear-splitting tear across the heavens.
The once starry sky of Sujin turned dark.
Pitch black.
Storm clouds churned, gathering like a hungry beast above the village.
"Soon, men shall not only tend to homes — they shall march beside their wives. They will fight. They will bleed. They will rise."
The silence was suffocating.
Yue clutched her mother's hand tightly. Even Shan Yue, fearless and stoic, looked shaken.
Kiku's eyes glowed faintly.
"Most of you call me crazy. But you know my words… are never lies."
She turned slowly, facing all sides of the square.
"Five years," she said. "That is all. Train your minds. Train your bodies. Prepare your hearts. What is coming will test everything."
Her gaze narrowed.
"To those who came from the cities — return. Quietly. Don't speak a word of this prophecy to outsiders. Do not invite the eyes of the outside world to Sujin."
A second thunderbolt struck — closer this time. The bonfire blazed high as if ignited by divine force.
And in that breathless moment… Grandma Kiku smiled.
"The next festival," she whispered, "won't be the same."
A wind rose up. Swirling around her.
Louder.
Stronger.
Her robes fluttered. Her long gray hair lifted. The blue lantern she always carried shattered in her hand like glass.
And then—
She turned to dust.
Right before their eyes.
Gone.
Not a scream yet — just stunned, stunned silence.
Then a child wailed.
Then another.
Then panic erupted.
"She's gone!"
"She turned to dust!"
"What does it mean!?"
Chaos.
Children clung to parents. People fled from the square. Some dropped to their knees, whispering prayers. Others tried to find any trace of her — but there was nothing.
Only ashes on the ground, glowing faintly.
Yue couldn't move.
She stared at the spot where the old woman had stood. Her heart beat like a war drum. Her breath came fast and shallow.
Her mother didn't speak, didn't comfort — not yet. She just stood with her arms folded, processing everything.
Because this wasn't just a warning.
It was the beginning.
The true beginning.
And deep in her bones, Yue knew…
The next five years would change everything.