When we reached the village, the air changed.
It wasn't the soft wind that carried the scent of earth and smoke. It was the silence.
Dozens of eyes turned toward me.
Faces half-lit by the setting sun froze in wonder and fear, as though the wind itself had brought something unnatural into their midst.
Some stepped back, clutching their children.
Some fell to their knees.
Others just stared, mouths open, whispering words I could not understand.
I wasn't sure if I should wave or run.
"Ha-neul!" Hye-jin's voice broke through the heavy air. She was beaming, bright as morning sunlight. Her tiny hands clutched mine and pulled me forward with excitement, as if dragging a reluctant goddess to meet her worshippers.
The villagers had gathered in a circle at the village square. Torches burned low, their flames bending with the evening wind. I felt every gaze follow me, piercing through my bones.
Was this gathering for me?
God, I hoped not.
They must have heard what happened in the forest, the blood, the fight, the impossible speed. I could still see the terror on their faces that night, when the assassins fell like shadows cut down by something unseen… by me.
Maybe they didn't feel safe around me anymore.
And honestly?
I didn't feel safe around me, either.
What the fuck what?!
They spoke rapidly among themselves, gestures sharp, voices trembling. The air around me hummed with unease.
An elder woman, old enough that time itself seemed to cling to her, stepped forward. Her face was lined like ancient paper. She said something softly, her eyes never leaving mine.
"Who are you really?" she asked in her tongue, her tone wavering between reverence and fear. "A god… or a woman? Or a ghost?"
I blinked, not understanding the words, but the question hung in the air like incense.
I wasn't sure whether to laugh or cry.
If only they knew I couldn't even pronounce half their words properly.
I managed a nod, though I had no idea what I was agreeing to.
Hye-jin appeared at my side, moving her hands in wild gestures, buzzing like a bee, pointing at me, then clapping her palms together as if imitating lightning. Whatever story she was telling made the crowd gasp and murmur.
Then, the elder approached again, slowly this time, and embraced me.
ohhh, that felt warm, I thought.
Her arms were thin but strong, her scent earthy and warm. The murmuring softened into a hush.
For the first time since I'd woken up in this strange land, I felt something shift.
Acceptance, maybe?
Or surrender.
But not everyone was pleased.
A man spat near my feet, his eyes sharp with disgust, his frame small enough that I could've flicked him across the square. I raised an eyebrow, hearing Mama's advice reply in my mind to "be the bigger person", had never been so literal.
Days passed. And with each one, the line between fear and faith blurred.
People came to me with their troubles.
A crying mother begged me to scare off debt collectors.
A group of children followed me everywhere, whispering, "Ha-neul, Ha-neul" like a song.
Men who once doubted me now asked for my help against bullies and bandits.
They called me a protector.
Some whispered goddess.
But I was just bluffing my way through survival, fending off drunks and show-offs with the moves my dad made me learn.
Turns out years of karate, taekwondo, boxing, and a lifetime of cheerleading flexibility really pay off when you're mistaken for a divine warrior.
But when night fell and the fires died down, I'd sit alone and wonder.
Why did I react like that in the forest?
Why did my body move faster than I could think?
Why did my blood sing at the scent of danger?
Was it adrenaline… or something else?
And who was he, that man with most innocent but yet fearful eyes, who'd looked at me as though he'd seen something ancient and terrible inside me?
Every time I tried to forget him, his face came back, haunting, blooded, calm, but deadly beautiful.
Maybe I was losing it.
"Kat warned me about this," I muttered to the sky, laughing softly. "Pretend you don't notice a man, and he'll live rent-free in your head for days."
The laughter didn't last long. It was swallowed by the stillness of night.
The villagers treated me like a miracle.
I helped them, smiled with them, ate with them…
But deep down, I knew the truth.
I wasn't divine.
I wasn't a savior.
I was just Bella, a college girl from L.A and New Yorker who stumbled into a land of myths- and didn't know how to get home.
I whispered it to myself that night as the moonlight washed over the wooden walls of my little hut:
"I'm no god."
But the world had already decided otherwise.
The next morning, Hye-jin came running. Her cheeks flushed, her breath ragged.
"Ha-neul!" she cried, pointing toward the edge of the village.
Behind her, men in royal robes approached on horseback, armor glinting like silver fire, swords hanging at their sides. Their presence bent the crowd into silence.
My pulse quickened. I recognized one of them, the same man who had fought to protect that young noble in the forest.
He looked at me for a long moment unsure whether to speak or stay silent. It was obvious he hadn't seen anyone like me before as he looked at Hye-jin and then back at me before speaking.
His voice was strong, rehearsed, formal:
"You are summoned to the royal palace—by the order of His Majesty, the King."
I understood a few words but some were unclear as I turned to Hye-jin, but his tone was strong that it prickle the skin of all who heard it but mine.
Every villager turned to me, eyes wide in disbelief and awe.
I looked to Hyejin for translation. Her face broke into the widest grin I'd ever seen.
She took my hands, jumping slightly in excitement.
"Ha-neul!" she said, her words tumbling through laughter and joy, "We've been summoned, to the palace!"
I stared back at her, speechless.
The crowd parted around me like ripples in a lake.
Dozens of eyes watched in reverence, curiosity, and fear.
And as I stood there under the bright morning sun, dust rising, hearts pounding.
I couldn't shake the feeling that something immense had just begun.
Something I wasn't ready for.
Something no god could prepare me for.