The Keeper's Destiny

CHAPTER 6 | PHOENIX RISING

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Tree. Twelve. Fire. Bird.

The medallion has been giving you dreams.

Ever since Kai gave it to you and you've placed it around your neck, it's been trying to tell you something. The weekend flew by like nothing and every night gave you the same dream; one that you'd quickly forget when you'd wake up in the morning.

Last night, after it happened again, you decided to write it down in your journal - every detail before it vanished from your memory.

At first, you only scrawl four words down: Tree. Twelve. Fire. Bird.

Then, you expand on it, making sure to write down details you think could be important. When you finish, you go back to sleep, and the second your alarm wakes you up, you text both Kai and Sungji to tell them to meet you in the library. It would be the first time you've ever missed class, but it's definitely for a good reason - and the library has always been a safe place for you. A nice, quiet place to share secrets.

You make your way down the familiar hallways and a welcomed blanket of relief covers you as you approach the library doors.

Pushing them softly so as not to disturb other students, you quietly shuffle your feet towards the back of the library, to the area which Kai suggested would be best to talk without interruption.

As you turn the corner around a wide shelf of books, a small table comes into view. It is positioned right next to a window, with no other tables around and only a few people passing to look at the nearby books. There are four cushioned chairs placed around the table, and seated in one of them is Sungji. 

You saunter over to the table and Sungji's eyes meet yours. "Hey." 

She nods her head at you. "You look terrible."

You grimace at her and heave your backpack onto the table. "I haven't exactly been sleeping very well." You start digging into the largest pocket in your bag and retrieve the journal containing the events from last night's dream.

Dropping your bag onto the ground, you place the journal in the middle of the table. "Where's Kai?" You take the seat opposite of Sungji, closest to the window, and look outside.

You suddenly feel a tingling warm breath on your neck and snap your head away from the window to look beside you.

Kai is seated next you, casually leaning back in his chair and fixing the sleeves of his leather jacket.

"Smooth," Sungji says, nodding. She's been trying to maintain her unimpressed attitude with him, even though you both know that she is anything but that. It doesn't seem to bother Kai either way and he plays along with her game most of the time.

He pauses his movements and immediately looks up from where he's sitting, locking eyes with you for a few seconds. It's hard to tell why he's looking at you, given his usual stoic demeanor. But in that moment, your brain functions cease and you almost forget why you're in the library in the first place.

"Hey, I'm here too," the tiny person on the opposite side of the table whines. You tear your eyes away first, although you can still feel his eyes on you. Turning your attention to the journal, you scoot your chair closer to the table and slide the journal in front of Kai.

"It's on the first few pages," you say, pointing a finger at it. "I think you might understand it better than I do." Kai's eyes haven't moved from their position, but he makes the exception to transfer their focus to the journal. He slowly reaches out and picks it up by the spine, opening the front cover to the first page. "You should read it out loud so I can hear it too," says Sungji as she leans forward on the table, clutching her bag.