THE SEERESS

Chapter V

The guards were closing in on Nova with their sharpened spears as the clock was ticking. Nova retreated backwards, folding the tent once more with her power and tucking it under her robe.

In response to the king's impulsive acts, she couldn't help but chuckle and said, "My king, killing me won't change your destiny."

Her comment received no response from the king, who then let his guards force her back towards the shut doors. In addition to not wanting to harm the guards, Nova did not want to die here. One of the soldiers swung his spear in her direction as soon as her back touched the doors. When the spear pierced the golden doors, Nova dove. After the failed execution attempt, the other guards launched an assault. Despite being covered in long robes, Nova was still able to avoid being struck by their spears when they were pushed in her direction. She was the one and only seeress and could readily predict their future movements. Pure magenta flared in her eyes as she glared at the king for a few moments, having the audacity to try to eliminate her from existence without a proper reason. The magic sounds reverberated as she created a radius explosion in her hands and forced it out across the throne room, which threw everyone off balance. With the constant onslaught, Nova was unable to take a breath because the commotion in this enormous castle had undoubtedly aroused the other soldiers. A hundred or so footsteps were already getting closer, so she moved back away from the doors. As soon as she turned to face the doors, they burst open, revealing roughly 20 armed guards who were ready for bloodlust. They were indignant and started to charge towards Nova when they saw their king hopelessly lying on the ground as a result of the radius blast. While remaining motionless, the seeress observed many of the guards' movements, but there were just too many for her futuristic eyes to track. A terrible headache struck and she felt as though her eyes were going to burst from the weight of the futures of too many guards in her head.

SHING.

The once-enchanting sound of Nova's screams became strident as she gasped in despair. When she looked down, she discovered that she was being pierced through the abdomen by several long swords. Her mouth had already started to spit blood, and the radiance in her eyes had dimmed. Once Nova had fallen to the ground lifeless, the guards withdrew their swords from her bloody body. Her body was rapidly reduced to ashes, and her long robe was left mounted on the ground. The remaining robe was surrounded by guards when the king arrived to investigate. He pushed past the clamoring, armored guards and ended up in the front row to see Nova's remains. One of the guards poked the robe using his sword, there was no sign of her body, proving that she had vanished into thin air. The king's terror subsided as he began to rejoice that his alleged curse was no longer in effect because she's gone for good. Once again feeling safe, he thought he could live as long as he wished. He gave the guards orders to throw away the robes and hurried to his bedroom.

The canopy that covered his bed frame caught the king's gaze as he lay flat on his bed. He was slowly falling asleep as the room fell into darkness, but regrets suddenly invaded his mind. "You cannot escape your destiny." "Your fate is sealed till death.." Her enchanting yet threatening voice repeated in his mind, "Killing me won't change your destiny." "You cannot escape your destiny." "Your fate is sealed till death.."  "Killing me won't change your destiny.."  The king hurriedly sat up from his bed as his heart began to race and he flicked up his eyes, searching his room for the two shadows he had seen on the globe. He fixed his attention on the ticking clock that was hanging in the corner of his bedroom. It was already 11:58 p.m, two minutes remained until midnight. What made him afraid? The problem comes to a close with Nova long dead and his seal of fate already broken. At 11:59 p.m, the King's labored breathing and the ticking of the clock were the only sounds emitting in the entire room. The right side of the king, which was facing a window, made a slight creaking sound. The king swallowed and put his pillow over his face, convincing himself that all of this unplanned fear will pass eventually and he was just overthinking everything at the moment. At 12:00 a.m, the clock finally struck midnight. The king clutched his pillow tightly which still rested on his face. He held his breath, tensed his body, and maintained a statue-like stillness. There were no sounds other than the ticking of the clock and no trace of any footsteps. As soon as he knew he wouldn't die, a wave of relief swept through him. The king shifted his pillow away from his face as the seconds seemed to drag on mercilessly and looked to the left and right, but there was no trace of any shadowy figure. A quick, stinging pain shot through his abdomen accompanied by a regretful sigh. Looking down, he could make out a silhouette of a hand holding a dagger that was piercing his heart in the shadows. He couldn't believe it because only moments earlier, he had believed there was no shadowy figure. When he attempted to grasp its hands and nearly yelled, a second shadowy figure appeared out of nowhere and punched him in the head, knocking him out cold, allowing him to sleep forever. The final words, "I don't want to die," slowly faded away from his weak breath as he continued to curse the dead seeress..