The Sleepwalker (english ver.)

The Seer

The dense forest was waked by sneaky owls, preparing for the nightly hunt under the full moon. Dami was browsing the aged pages of a huge book, showing a very concentrated yet apprehensive expression.

The Clan leader had just prepared the circle with some magical items for the ritual, where they would cast a spell never tested before.

- I found it, JiU! - Dami called from the other side of the circle. - I found the spell!

JiU immediately answered the call, heading to the center of the circle.

- Where is Siyeon? We need her...

- I found her too. - Gahyeon arrived followed by a woman wearing dark robes. The deep black color in her clothes made it seem like she was wearing the night sky itself. A hood partially covered her silver hair, which turned purple under the crimson aura of that night.

- Do you think it will work? - JiU addressed Dami, a little nervous.

"We won't know until we try..." the girl answered. The leader turned to face Siyeon, who nodded softly, showing confidence.

The other witches arrived, one by one, taking their places in the magical circle. The girls gathered around, all of them barefoot and dressed in white. Five of them were positioned at the ends of a pentacle, traced with salt on damp soil. Among them was Dami, holding in her hands the heavy and ancient grimoire inherited from her ancestors.

Right in the center were two girls holding hands, staring at each other. JiU squeezed Siyeon's cold hands who smiled slightly, trying to calm her down.

- I ask for the permissionof the spirits to start the bloody moon ritual... - proclaimed JiU. - I grant Sister Dami the right to lead the ritual. Oh Goddess, bless her sacred words.

"Oh Goddess, bless your sacred words" - the others repeated in chorus.

Soon after, Dami's voice resounded in the circle:

- I invoke the presence of fire, which burns in the heart of the Goddess.

At that moment, a flame ignited in the candle that Yooheyon held in her hands, reflecting the crackling light on the hair waves falling on her shoulders, like a pinkish brown cascade.

- I now invoke the earth, womb of the Goddess who willingly nourishes Her daughters.

Following the circle, Handong was positioned at the other end holding a ceramic vase. The clay contained a small amount of soil and a bud, from which a white flower had just emerged.

- I invoke the sacred water that bathes us with grace and fertility, in the name of the Goddess.

SuA was at the next tail of the star. Water gushed from the ground up her legs and running down her arms, until it filled a small bowl in her hands.

- I invoke the air, breath of the Goddess that fills our lungs with life.

Gahyeon was next, holding a wooden instrument - a kind of pinwheel - which began to spin faster and faster. Her hair moved wildly, as well as her white tunic.

- Finally, I invoke the Spirit of the Goddess. May it guide us and bless us.

That said, Dami was now hovering about a meter away from the ground. The white circle of salt shimmered and reddened in the moonlight.

- The celebration of the Blood Moon has officially started. May the ancestors' spirits help us to rescue our sister Siyeon's soul. Blessed be.

The others held the items above their heads: the candle, the flower, the bowl of water, and the pinwheel. They all began to sing a ritualistic chant as Dami spoke the complex spell she had found earlier in the pages of her grimoire. A strong wind blew through the grass, lifting the leaves off the ground and making a tiny tornado around the two girls in the center of the circle. Siyeon was a little scared, but decided to close her eyes and tighten JiU's hands, repeating the chant sung by the others. The leader was entering a hypnotic state. Her eyes were filled with sparkling white and her mind, which was already focused, was finally starting to work.

JiU had the gift of visions, if you could call that a "gift". She often thought of herself as a burden due to her premonitions of pain and suffering. This time it would not be different.

She saw an unknown place in the middle of the forest, next to a small waterfall. A woman was kneeling in the grass, her head covered by a dark hood. "Siyeon...", she noticed by the gray hair falling over the black dress. In her lap, she held a girl in her arms. As the image zoomed, she realized that Siyeon was biting the girl's neck, creating a huge pool of blood below. Her hooded face lifted to the sky, in tears. The teardrops ran down her pale cheeks, mingling with the remnants of blood on her fangs. Finally JiU recognized the unconscious girl on her lap. It was her body lying on the bloodied grass.

JiU had just predicted her own death.