NOVEL NEXT Chapter 4: What is my destiny?
Mika didn't exist. But she could feel the nothingness surrounding her. The emptiness slowly expanded and contracted, lightened and darkened. Mika was not frightened. She couldn't have been frightened, because she didn't exist.
Next, there was a very distant sound.
The sound of nothingness? No, the sound of the air, the light wind. No, the sound of a voice. The sound that was gradually becoming intelligible, with syllables and then words forming from the ether.
"The winds… the winds…"
Is that what the voice is saying?
The voice slowly became clearer.
"By the winds of the mountains, by the rivers and the trees…"
The words were weaving through the emptiness, forming strings of invisible energy, slowly reeling and winding and forming shades of grey and black.
"To the spirits that walked this path before you…"
A woman's voice.
Mika existed again, after all. She could feel and think. She could hear the voice that sounded more and more familiar.
"They reach across the veil of time, seeking the one who is destined…"
The witch! It's the witch's voice!
A smell of candles and incenses slowly faded in, and Mika felt her own pulse, followed by breath, shallow at first – then deeper, and deeper, and deeper.
Suddenly, with a loud thump, the universe snapped back into focus. Mika could sense the room she was in and the light of the candles that flared nearby, which forced her to open her eyes, and her heart began pumping as though it had been reawakened from a deep sleep.
Mika groaned. Her body felt heavy and tired, but her mind was racing and emotions were overflowing.
The witch!
Mika found her gaze locked on the witch's, who was waiting silently now, only her fingers slowly moving over the fizzling and weakening liquid in the oddly shaped dish.
"Am I alive?" Mika whispered with effort.
"You are, child," nodded the witch.
Mika looked around. She was back into the dim room with the table and the witch. The swirling air in the room was still thick, but steadily growing clearer.
"But how is it possible?" mumbled Mika.
"What is?"
"I was just there, in the forest with Aiko. It couldn't have been a dream. It felt so real."
The witch's head barely moved, but as she spoke, the candle shadows began to subside. "Some dreams are more real than you think, child."
More real? Was I really there? Impossible!
Out of nowhere, the face of dying Kaito flashed through her memory.
"He died," Mika breathed. "Oh no, he died! Tatsuya killed him."
"Who died?" asked the witch.
"The man they called Kaito. I was trying to get to him." Mika suddenly felt soreness in her hand, where Tatsuya grabbed her. "He saved the mountain princess."
"A man saved the mountain princess?" repeated the witch.
"Yes. He allowed her time to escape. He was honorable and brave."
The witched hummed and nodded. "That's the way of the living world. It kills the honorable and the brave before the dishonorable and the evil."
"No!"
Mika was astonished by her own exclamation. The witch's hood lifted a little, also in surprise. "What is it, child?" she asked.
"It can't be! He can't die! He shouldn't die!"
Mika felt the witch's stare locked on her. "What can you do to prevent it?"
She's right! What can I do to prevent it? I don't even belong in that realm; how can I possibly save him?
"I have to go back," Mika half-asked.
The witch's cloak shook. "You can't," the witch said. "At least, not now."
"But it will be too late!"
The bubbling of the liquid in the dish finally died down completely. The witch moved the dish aside and rubbed her thin hands lightly one against another.
"Remember, what you saw was a long time ago, child," said the witch. "Time and space are relative. You need to get stronger and get to know yourself first. If you don't, you won't be able to even help yourself, let alone Aiko–or Kaito."
Get stronger? What does she mean by that? What should I get stronger for? How can I possibly influence the past?
"Do you think I could help Aiko?" asked Mika.
"I sense a great upheaval ahead of you," the witch answered indirectly. "Universe doesn't send us visions like yours without a reason or a cause. There is a connection, a destiny."
The witch seemed to contemplate something. She reached behind the curtain falling down onto one side of the table and searched for a few moments. Finally, she pulled out an object that at first Mika couldn't see well, until the witch placed it on the table, under the light of the candles. Then Mika saw that it was an amulet, a delicate pendant strung on a thin, silver chain. The amulet was small but intricately carved with symbols that seemed to shift and shimmer in the candlelight.
"This," the witch said, her voice low, "is for you, if you're ready to fulfill your destiny."
The words sent shivers down Mika's spine. "What is my destiny?" she whispered.
"That's not for me to tell you, that's for you to discover," replied the witch, her voice growing more insistent, more melodic as she spoke. "You stand at the threshold, child. The door to your destiny is open. It's up to you whether you step through it, or turn away."
The witch slid the amulet across the table, and Mika felt a strange sense of unease.
"What is it for?" she asked feebly.
"The amulet has the power to change the minds of those around you," the witch explained. "It will make them see what you wish them to see. If you wear it, they will believe in you and listen to your command. Almost as if you were the mountain princess yourself."
Mika hesitated but something inside her urged her to take the amulet. Almost involuntarily, she reached out for it. The moment her fingers touched the cool metal, a jolt of energy surged through her, like an electric current running through her veins. She gasped, her breath catching in her throat.
"Aiko is not just a role to be played, child," the witch continued. "She is a spirit, a force, a living presence. Your dreams are part of the journey you must undertake. The amulet will help you on your quest to find your ultimate destiny."
Mika felt a knot form in her stomach. The weight of the amulet felt heavier than it looked, as though it carried a burden far greater than she was prepared for.
The witch's voice grew quieter, almost a whisper. "Your path is set. Take care of this gift, child. Use it wisely. And remember: some dreams are more real than what you call reality."
Mika stood, feeling a strange resolve settle over her, even as a part of her screamed to turn away, to leave this strange, dark room and never come back. But the amulet felt warm now, pulsing with a life of its own, and in that moment, Mika knew she had no choice but to continue forward. To discover her destiny. To become one with Aiko.