"One day, under the most abrupt of circumstances, you will meet your person of destiny."
"He will brutally strip you of everything you own. Though you possess a prideful nature, you will ultimately choose to forgive him. All of this will unfold amidst a web of deception and betrayal."
"With a collar fastened around your neck, you will bear the children of your slave master. And that girl, from the very moment of her birth, will be steeped in sin."
"She shall possess sacred white scales; she will be the darling of the world. She symbolizes both rebirth and death, and she will alter the very course of existence."
In a cluttered, filthy alleyway, a simple purple tent stood. And I—the Princess of the Kingdom—sat before her, listening to her delirious ravings. Her entire body was shrouded in a pitch-black cloak; I could not discern her face. Only two locks of golden hair trailing down by her ears remained strikingly visible.
Sensing the disdain in my eyes, she suddenly shoved me out of the tent. Her strength was so immense that I found myself powerless to resist. I cried out for the guards, fully intending to throw this street-side fraud into the dungeon. Yet, the moment I turned around, the alleyway was already empty...
***
*Thud!*
The woman fell pathetically to the ground, a burning sting radiating from her cheek and knees. She did not reach out to touch her wounds, nor did she move the brick that had tripped her. She simply lifted her head and gazed toward the exit ahead, where the pure moonlight lay draped like a carpet.
A little further beyond was a lush greenery tinged with darkness. If she could only flee to that place, she would find freedom—and reinforcements...
"Cough... cough..."
Perhaps from inhaling too much thick smoke, the woman began to cough uncontrollably. Hallucinations began to stir. She saw the funerals of her kin; she saw her own disastrous past relationships; she saw her own worthless self. And then, there was the present... At the thought of the fate that likely awaited her, a single, heavy tear escaped the corner of her eye.
At that moment, the rhythmic thumping of footsteps echoed from behind.
"There she is!" a man bellowed, his voice thick with greed.
The woman's heart jolted. She abandoned the chaotic thoughts in her mind and ignored the agony in her body. Straining every muscle, she pushed herself up and bolted toward the exit, teeth clenched.
However, the moment her foot touched the soft grass...
*Shred!*
A sharp dagger pierced through her calf. The woman collapsed once more. As the footsteps behind her grew louder, her spirit finally broke, cascading down just like the tears from her eyes.
A black-armored soldier reached her. Panting, he drew the longsword from his waist and swung it down with brutal force.
*It's all over...* the woman thought, closing her eyes.
Just as the blade was about to graze her neck, a streak of azure light whistled through the air, cleaving the black-armored soldier in two.
The woman looked toward the distance in shock—at that rapidly receding figure—and etched his face deep into her memory. It was as if she had been transported back to that purple tent, the fortune-teller's words ringing in her ears...
*"You... will meet your person of destiny... and bear his child!"*
In that fleeting moment, the gears of fate began to turn slowly.