*San's POV

It all happened so quickly.

I grabbed the oil lamp from Seon’s hand, imagining the fortress built in the main field, and my body was suddenly pulled somewhere. In an instant, the scenery around me changed. I was now in the middle of the fortress, the walls that once stood strong were now completely destroyed. Shouts echoed, mingled with the desperate cries of a Weaver mourning a friend’s dead body. The number of Nien was more massive here. Even though the main field was brighter, it seemed that Seon also cast a barrier spell in the forest. A spell that didn’t specifically block the Enigma aspect, perhaps a stricter barrier to prevent anything from entering.

There were many corpses. Some were faces I had seen that afternoon. They lay in various horrifying conditions. The only similarity was the black smoke slowly appeared from their bodies. Some Weavers were still alive, their eyes weak as their bodies were slowly eroded bit by bit.

I remembered Layla once talking about turning into black smoke. An intensely painful death because they didn’t die immediately. Every eroded part felt incredibly painful. But they no longer had the strength to move or even scream.

The remaining Weavers fought in vain. A fire Weaver threw flames while running away from the chasing Nien, but the enormous numbers made the effort seem pitiful. An earth weaver desperately tried to destroy several Nien, yet only a moment before the beast could resurrect and attack again.

An air Weaver saw me after throwing himself away from the chaos. His body trembled as he dragged his broken leg towards me. He grabbed my shirt and started crying, “Please...” he whimpered. “I don’t wanna die...”

A shrill scream sounded next to me. A Nien floated rapidly towards us. But it didn’t attack me. I felt a strong pull from his hand before he was thrown by the Nien’s attack. His screams continued as the Nien transformed into sharp thorns that repeatedly pierced the Weaver’s body.

I fell, breaking the oil lamp Seon gave me, and could only watch with a trembling body. My chest still felt hot, and it was getting worse now. Moments later, the Weaver’s screams slowly faded, and the Nien stopped attacking. It reverted to its original form and turned to look at me.

My fate might not be different soon. However, it's just turned and left. Screaming and starting to chase another Weaver it saw.

My breath caught for a moment before everything moved in slow motion.

***

About this power, I don’t know how to explain it.

One day, when I woke up in a different place from the last I remembered, somehow I knew I could move from place to place in a wink. As if I recognized how to do it like breathing. At the time, I kept trying to return to the previous place, but my memory was blurry, so I couldn’t imagine the place clearly.

One thing I was sure of was that I had done this many times before.

When Layla trained with me at the human facility, after watching her combat style, somehow the movements felt familiar. My body instantly adapted and seemed to move by instinct. My muscles remembered all the movements, making it easy to perform them.

Because of that, I wasn’t too worried when facing dangerous situations. I was confident I could defend myself well. But... despite these skills, the guilt couldn’t be dismissed.

The eroded bodies, the empty gazes of those who could only wait until their entire body vanished, the muffled groans as they desperately endured the pain. All these deaths... my hands might not be blemished with their blood, but that didn’t change the reality.

This was all my fault. My presence ruined everything. The sanctuary that had stood for decades was destroyed in one night. Now there is no reason to call this place home anymore. There was no safe place here anymore. They would all die, and it was all my fault.

Because of your selfishness, everything will disappear, I heard Vena’s voice again. I could imagine her face looking at me with hatred and sadness.

This is not your fault, but you have a chance to fix it, Also, Seon’s voice from before. They kept echoing in my head. Alternating as if judging me for everything that happened.

What should I do? How do I save them?

I don’t know.

I don’t know.

Layla... she must know. She always knew what to do. Where is she now? I have to find her. She can help me.

I’m sorry... for all the deaths I saw, both directly and indirectly. Forgive me because I couldn’t do anything.

***

I imagined Layla. Her snow-white hair, her colored blue eyes just like the beautiful morning sky, and her sharp yet kind gaze. Then I saw her, standing amidst the forest shadows, wearing a Calmora outfit blemished with blood and soot.

My body was pulled to that place. I moved behind a thick oak tree, not far behind where Layla was standing.

“—as we agreed!” Layla shouted from her place. “I said I would resurrect him only if you didn’t touch Calmora!”

Someone stood in front of Layla. Someone familiar. Orion... what was he doing here? Did he bring the Nien here?

“The deal still stands, little girl,” Orion answered calmly as if all this chaos wasn’t his business—which might be true. “Maybe you forgot that Nien is no different from animals. They move based on instinct. And a place with plentiful Atma like Calmora is a feast for them.”

“But you can control them. You can keep them away from here.”

“Indeed. But I didn’t bring them, little girl.” Somehow, Orion realized my presence. He glanced directly at me while smiling. My hand was already holding a sword, I just needed to move and slash him. But something held me back.

Somehow, I wanted to hear him.

“Maybe you forgot that your friend is also a strong magnet for Niens.”

My body tensed again. Why did that make sense? If Nien were created from an Enigma fragment, didn’t that mean they were indirectly connected to me?

No. I didn’t want this. It was bad enough if my presence broke the protective magic, I didn’t want to be the reason for the Weaver attack too. But the Nien didn’t attack me earlier. Why?

I felt cornered without saying or doing anything. Everything seemed to converge on me without a gap to even make excuses.

“Don’t look at me like that, little girl. I’m someone who values the deals, which is why I came here to make sure. If you want, expelling all the Nien away is effortless for me.”

“Then do it!” Layla yelled in desperation.

But Orion didn’t do it immediately. He was still smiling. A smile I had decided to hate forever.

“Little girl, is that how you beg for something?”

I could see Layla’s unstable breaths through her shoulders. I could tell what she was feeling from her trembling voice. At this moment, she seemed like someone hanging on the edge of a cliff. She could do anything to stay alive, even if it meant losing everything.

“Please...” Layla said stiffly. “Save us.”

She also sounded disgusted. I realized what that meant and why it felt so heavy. Orion was Solaris’ enemy, the only person aiming to destroy this world. Asking him for help was the most senseless thing ever.

“Not too bad, right?” Orion raised his right hand and snapped his fingers. “They’re gone, at least for now. I can ensure they won’t return for the next few days. So, you owe me now.” Then he looked at me again. “No, because I'm full of pleasure now, I won’t consider it a debt. Instead, you will resurrect that man in Minerva.”

Orion stepped back, “Four days, right at the eclipse, I will destroy the kingdom. I hope you can be there because if not, the night curse I planted will kill you.” Then he looked at me again. “We will meet again. I hope you'll show something interesting.”

Then Orion vanished into a swirl of shadows. Leaving Layla and me alone. The ambiance became silent. No more distant chaos or even the sound of the night wind and animals. Only Layla’s heavy, trembling breath was.

She slowly turned and glared at me. Showing a face I had never seen before. She looked... scared. “How long have you been there?”

I didn’t answer. My mind was too messy to make sense of everything.

“San...”

“Did you know this would happen?”

Layla was silent, her face looking like she was about to cry. She pressed her lips, squinting her eyes as if trying to swallow something. “Yes, but—”

“You knew and that’s why you made a deal with Orion to prevent him from attacking this place. Did you think Orion brought the Nien here?”

“San, I—”

“Layla, I saw them die. Seon said my presence broke the protective magic. Orion also said I was a magnet for Nien. You knew the consequences. Then why—”

“You think I wanted to do this?” she snapped. “Do you think I was willing to go to the human world, letting them capture and study my body for free? It was because of you... I was willing to do anything for the sake of meeting you, but what did I get? An amnesiac coward teenager who's too scared to do anything! Do you think I was satisfied to just meet you? No! I didn’t know you at all. So don’t look at me like all of this things is my fault! You think I like it? Destroying a place I considered home and causing everyone in it to be killed! You think I like this?”

It felt tightness. Unconsciously, my hand was also clenched. I looked down, avoiding Layla’s angry gaze. “Then why did you bring me here?”

“Because it was better than letting you be taken by the Council! And you already know about Minerva. Yes, I brought you because I hoped you could save the kingdom. I thought in the end you would find a way to change fate and save us all. Another reason is that we’re already cursed! Do you understand? If we don’t go to Minerva in four days, we will die!” Layla gritted her teeth as if she was on the verge of weeping. “I had no choice...” then her tears poured. “I don’t know what to do...”

After that, there was silence. Only the sound of Layla’s restrained sobs. Her head was now bowed, and her hands were tightly clenched.

“You just had to say it,” I said softly. Making Layla look at me again with swollen eyes. “All this time, I’ve been searching for answers to the questions I didn’t even understand. When you came, I thought you would show me the way. If from the start... if from the start you also had your own goal, you just had to say it.”

Then I imagined the night sky again. Hundreds of stars spread out beautifully. Then Layla faded along with the sensation of pulling my body. I saw Layla reaching out her hand, about to say something before my body teleported again.

I don’t know why the sky became my destination now. The gusts of wind from various directions hit as my body floated down. Watching the same scenery I saw with Layla yesterday night.

Now I understand. The reason why I always ran away. Not because I was afraid that all those things were my fault.

I just hoped it was someone else’s mistake.[]