The 10th Generation War | Daerin

Starting point

"So, you're telling me that I've slept for two years?" Haerin asked, still trying to process the information.

"Yes, that's right." Danielle responded calmly.

"Oh, God." Haerin remarked. She couldn't believe that she had slept for that long. She never realized the danger that the Phoenix energy could bring her until now that she woke up from her deep slumber.

"Well, I guess I could do nothing about it." Haerin mumbled with a sigh.

"Moving forward, how are things going?"

"Well, the village has been at peace for two years—" Danielle got herself cut off by Haerin's interruption.

"I'm not asking about the village. I'm asking about you. How are things going? It's been two years, and I know we have a lot to catch up on."

"Well, uh, I've been great, I guess." Danielle replied, slightly flustered.

Suddenly, the door swung open, revealing two familiar figures panting heavily: one with splattered paint on her clothes and the other covered in a bit amount of mud and dust.

"Fudge, you're really awake, Kang!" Hanni said, a smile lighting up her face.

"What happened to you? You look like a mess." Haerin remarked, eyeing Hanni.

"Well, I got a hobby—painting." Hanni responded with a grin.

"Woah, Haerin unnie, are you feeling okay?" Hyein asked as she approached Haerin. Haerin nodded in response.

"You looked like you've fallen down from a cliff and landed at a mud bath." Haerin said, half-jokingly.

"Well, when I teleported, I actually did land in a mud bath." Hyein admitted, laughing.

As soon as the laughter ended, a familiar figure suddenly entered the room, revealing Jang Wonyoung, who looked more stressed than ever.

"We have no time to waste, folks. Something's definitely wrong. Some of the villages canceled trading for different goods, like vegetables and fruits. This has never happened in our village's history—oh, you're awake, Haerin."

"What happened?" Haerin asked.

"Well, you should explain it, Danielle." Wonyoung said.

Danielle looked down, her expression's filled with guilt. "The news of me bursting out Phoenix's energy two years ago spread around the villages. Now, trades keep getting canceled this year for no reason."

With a deep thought, Haerin mumbled. "They are trying to cut their connections on us."

"I think the villages are conspiring something against our village," Wonyoung added. "I went to Bradenton to gather information, and they are seeking alliances."

"If that's what the other villages are doing, it means they're preparing for a battle, a war." Hanni said, her fists clenched.

"And for sure, they are coming after me," Danielle said, her voice filled with worry. "Can't blame them, though. The Phoenix is a threat."

"We have to gather as many allies as possible. We don't know when they'll attack, but we must be prepared." Haerin said decisively.

"I'll talk to the village chief about this," Wonyoung said, turning to leave the room.

The room fell into silence as soon as the door closed.

"Who's the village chief?" Haerin asked with curiosity written on her face.

"Jang Taeoh, Wonyoung's brother." Hanni responded.

"We've got no time to waste in this room. We have to do something." Haerin said to all of them, causing them to glance at each other.

"What? You just woke up." Hyein mumbled, her face filled with worry.

"We can't talk about this kind of thing in this room. We should talk about it somewhere private." Haerin insisted.

"How about Danielle's and my room? We can talk about it there." Hanni suggested, causing Danielle to look at her in disbelief.

"We can't just let her leave her. Haerin needs to recover." Danielle voiced out her concern about Haerin.

Haerin gazed at Danielle before she proceeded, saying, "I'm fully recovered, Dani."

Danielle couldn't mutter a word. She couldn't even find the right words to describe what she felt upon Haerin's gaze at her. She felt like her words got stuck inside her throat.

"Fine." She mumbled, looking away from Haerin's gaze.

"I will use my teleportation to take us into your dorm." Hyein suggested, receiving nods from her unnies.

The three girls held onto Hyein's shoulders as she transported them into Hanni and Danielle's dorm.

When they arrived at Hanni and Danielle's dorm. The appearance of the room made Haerin surprised on how spacious it was. In Haerin's point of view, it looked more like an apartment.

"That's Hanni unnie's room," Hyein said, pointing at a door. "And the room on the other side is Danielle unnie's."

"Okay, now that we're here, what should we talk about?" Danielle asked.

With no clear idea, Haerin looked at Hanni. "We need to form alliances with other villages. Right now, forces are what matters the most. We're completely outnumbered by our enemies." Hanni said before sitting on the sofa. "Let's discuss about the people that we can talk to or convince to be our allies."

"Thinking of it, Ahn Yujin should be part of our team. We're on the frontline, mostly protecting Danielle from enemies and from the Phoenix itself." Hyein suggested.

"But, she's in prison right now servinv her sentence. Is there something we could do to get her out of the prison?" Danielle asked her friends.

"Illegally, there's a way," Haerin suggested.

"Haerin, that's a bit dangerous. We'd be the ones going to prison if we did that," Danielle cautioned.

"I think Wonyoung can make it work. She could convince the village chief," Hanni said.

"When I woke up, I have someone inside my mind. Someone I was hoping to see." Haerin mumbled, catching their attention. "Is Minji unnie dead?"

The room fell into silence at Haerin's question, the weight of it hanging heavily.

In that moment of silence, Haerin realized the answer.

"Moving back, let's talk about our starting point." She said, breaking the silence.

Hanni sighed before proceeding, "Maybe we should start by training ourselves and gathering allies."

"It would be better if Danielle unnie trained to control the Phoenix's power," Hyein suggested, receiving glances from her unnies. "But she should only do it one step at a time. Training too hard could make her lose control."

Danielle eacknowledged her concern. "You're right, Hyein."

"Meanwhile, we should look out for potential allies." Haerin said.

Hanni added, "Let's also make a list of trustworthy people in other villages who might support us."

"Agreed," Danielle said. "We need to prepare on all fronts."

"This is our starting point. Remember that."