After ensuring that Tae Hyun was safe for the moment, they slipped out of the hospital. The storm outside had grown harsher, rain hammering against the streets of Velaria, as if the heavens themselves raged at their secret.
They traveled through winding roads until they reached the monastery on the hill where the old monk resided. Uncle B Vallayi, the spiritual guide of their family, was already waiting.
"You came," he said gravely, his eyes reflecting centuries of wisdom. "I sensed the disturbance in his spirit."
The father swallowed hard. "Is it… is it the curse again?"
The monk's expression was grim. "Yes. As I warned you twenty-one years ago, the curse does not fade. It lies dormant, waiting. And now it has awakened."
The mother's voice shook as she stepped forward. "But he was never supposed to be born. We knew the prophecy. Still… still we prayed for a miracle. And he came to us."
The monk lowered his gaze. "A miracle, yes, but one burdened with destiny. For centuries, your family has carried this shadow. The boy's life will forever be haunted by it."
"Is there no solution?" the mother pleaded, tears spilling down her face. "He is our only son. We can't lose him like this. There must be something."
The monk hesitated before answering. "There is no cure. No ritual can erase what is written in his blood. But…" His voice dropped lower, grave and heavy. "There is one path. His partner—if chosen by fate—can act as his shield. She can protect him from the curse's strikes, absorbing the misfortune in his place."
The father stiffened. "And the risk?"
The monk's eyes darkened. "For the girl, it is death. Sooner or later, the curse will consume her life instead of his."
A horrified silence fell. Thunder crashed outside the monastery, as though sealing the monk's words with divine finality.
The mother clutched her chest, struggling to breathe. "You mean… his salvation demands another's sacrifice?"
The monk nodded solemnly. "Yes. That is the fate tied to your son. His partner must walk beside him, knowing that each step may lead her closer to death."
The father's hands curled into fists. "Then no girl must ever stand by him. Better he suffers alone than doom another."
But the monk shook his head. "Destiny cannot be defied so easily. The shield will appear, whether you wish it or not. And when she does… she will decide how much she is willing to give for him."
The rain poured harder, echoing their despair. Inside the quiet hospital room miles away, Sita sat by her window, guilt still gnawing at her heart, completely unaware of the prophecy that had already chosen her.
The house was quiet when Sita sat at her desk, the faint glow of a candle flickering across the open pages of her diary. The ink bled slightly as she wrote, her hand trembling from the weight of everything that had happened.
"Today was unlike anything I've ever known. His wounds—so deep, so merciless—yet they closed as if time itself obeyed him. Or… was it me? Did I cause that aura? Did I do something to change him? I don't understand…"
She paused, staring at the sentence, the quill trembling above the paper. Her chest tightened. The image of his blood, the fragile rise and fall of his breath, and the fear of losing him came rushing back all at once. She bit her lip, pressing her hand over her heart as if to calm it.
"All I know is… I was terrified. Terrified of what might have happened if he hadn't opened his eyes. And yet, here I am, questioning whether I was the reason he did."
Her eyes blurred with tears, a droplet falling onto the diary page, staining the word terrified. She closed the book softly, as though the truth she had written could no longer be faced.
Meanwhile, under the sterile white lights of the hospital, Tae Hyun stirred. His lashes fluttered, his chest rising with a deeper breath as his consciousness slowly pulled him back. The steady beep… beep… beep of the monitor tethered him to reality.
He turned his head slightly, wincing at the heaviness in his body. For a moment, confusion clouded his mind—he remembered running, the clash, the pain tearing into him. Blood. So much blood. And then…
A girl's voice. Trembling. Calling out. Hands clutching his, refusing to let go. Her sobs echoing through the haze.
His brows furrowed as he whispered hoarsely, "A… girl?"
The ache in his chest was gone, replaced by an unfamiliar warmth coursing through him. He raised his hand and touched the bandages, astonished by how little pain remained. How…? he thought. How did wounds like mine heal so easily?
His eyes drifted toward the glass window. Outside, Min-seo stood with her arms crossed, speaking to the doctor in hushed tones. Her expression was calm, measured, as though she had orchestrated everything.
Was it her? he wondered, bitterness flickering through his thoughts. Was she the one who saved me…?
The door creaked open. Min-seo entered, her heels clicking softly against the tiled floor. She carried her composure like a veil, but her eyes scanned him with a mixture of curiosity and calculation.
"You're awake," she said, her voice smooth, almost too smooth.
Tae Hyun swallowed, his throat dry. "Did… you bring me here?"
A small smile touched her lips. "Does it matter who did? You're alive, Tae Hyun. That's what counts."
He tried to push himself up, but weakness chained him to the bed. "I remember… someone crying. Someone calling me back." His voice broke slightly as he searched her face. "Was it… you?"
Min-seo's gaze flickered—just for an instant. She shook her head lightly, brushing invisible dust from her sleeve. "You must have been dreaming. Trauma plays tricks on the mind."
But Tae Hyun wasn't convinced. The voice he heard wasn't cold, or careful, or distant. It was raw. Trembling. Desperate. And Min-seo's tone now carried none of that.
His heart pounded as another thought clawed its way into his mind. If not her… then who?
Min-seo stepped closer, placing a hand lightly on the railing of his bed. "Rest now. Questions can wait. The doctor says your recovery is… remarkable. Almost unnatural." Her eyes lingered on him with unsettling intensity, as if she were studying more than simply his health.
Tae Hyun turned his gaze away, his chest tightening with the memory of that other presence—soft, warm, filled with fear and hope all at once. The memory was hazy, but the feeling was clear.
And somewhere across the city, Sita pressed her diary against her chest, whispering into the silence of her room, "Please… don't remember me yet."
TO BE CONTINUED...