Destinies: Separate Ways

9th Fate: The Muted Banshee

Ayu POV

It all started with the fire-the fire that destroyed everything, the fire that wiped out everything, the fire that ultimately separated us all. When the fire broke out, I actually realized that Adzima wasn’t with us. I immediately tried to tell the others about it, but unfortunately, my voice was too soft, drowned out by the chaos of panicked voices. By the time I managed to tell the others, it was already too late—the café was engulfed in flames, and we couldn’t find a way to get back inside. What I didn’t expect was that Fadli still insisted on rushing into the burning café to save Adzima, sacrificing himself in the process.

Honestly, I admired him so much for that, but it also made me start to hate myself. If only I had tried harder to tell the others, something like this wouldn’t have happened. If only my voice had been a little louder, they would’ve heard me when I told them. Sadly, it already happened, and there’s nothing I can do to change it. A month has passed since that day, yet I remain the same as I always was. My voice is still often drowned out by the noise of the crowd, and no one can hear me.
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A few weeks have passed, and now I am in Athens, the capital of Greece. I often heard that this city is incredibly beautiful, which made me interested in visiting. When I arrived in Athens, I was astonished by the sight of the ancient buildings scattered throughout the city. It truly is as beautiful as people say. Even the ancient cemeteries here are breathtaking, completely different from the ones in my homeland, which are eerie and have a sacred aura.

Another reason I came to this city was to escape my problems. I wanted to run away from my weaknesses and find some peace for my cowardly self. After I had my fill of admiring the ancient buildings of Athens, I bought some street food like souvlaki, moussaka, and my favorite, baklava. I enjoyed my meal near the ruins that appeared to be an old cemetery. As I was finishing my baklava, I suddenly heard music and singing coming from the direction of the ruins. Curious, I decided to approach the sound, and it turned out that the music was coming from a stone that resembled a tombstone, engraved with intricate Greek patterns.

When I touched the stone, without realizing it, I found myself in the middle of a forest, and the music and singing I heard grew louder and closer. As I reached the source of the singing, I saw a beautiful woman dressed in ancient Greek attire, singing beautifully while playing a musical instrument whose name I couldn't recall. Near her was a basket filled with tempting fresh fruits. She stopped singing when she noticed me, smiled, and waved for me to come closer.
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I sat down near the woman, and she glanced at the baklava I had brought.
???:"Is that baklava? It's been so long since I last ate something like that"
The woman closed her eyes, smiling as if she were reminiscing. I then offered her some baklava.
Ayu:"Would you like some? I bought quite a lot earlier"
???:"Oh, really? Thank you"
She happily accepted the baklava I handed her and devoured it eagerly. After we finished what was left, she invited me to chat.
???:"Thanks again for the baklava, um..."
???:"Sorry, we haven’t introduced ourselves yet. My name is Calliope"
Ayu:"My name is Ayu"

Calliope:"What brings you to this place, Ayu?"
Ayu:"I heard your singing while I was eating earlier, so I got curious and wanted to see the owner of the beautiful voice I heard"
Ayu:"Your voice is truly amazing, and your music is so beautiful too"
Calliope:"Thank you for the compliment"
Calliope:"But that’s not what I was asking"
Ayu:"Huh? Then what?"
Calliope:"I can sense doubt, hesitation, even fear within you"
Calliope:"Why did you choose to come so far just to run away from your problems?"
Ayu:"How do you know about that?"

I was immediately shocked after hearing her words and began sharing my problems with her.
After listening to my story, Calliope simply smiled. She picked up an apple from the fruit basket nearby and handed it to me.
Calliope:"Eat this apple. It maybe won’t solve your problems, but I’m sure this apple can help you"
At first, I was confused, but I followed her suggestion and ate the apple. After I swallowed it, my throat suddenly became extremely hot, and I felt like I was choking, coughing several times. Even as I struggled, Calliope continued to smile and then walked away, leaving me. Just as she left, I suddenly lost my consciousness.

When I woke up, the burning sensation in my throat was gone, and I felt much better. Strangely, when I regained consciousness, I was no longer in the forest but on a quiet road at night. Not only that, but I saw several people approaching me with terrifying expressions, and they tried to touch me.
Ayu:"NOOO!!!"
I screamed at them out of sheer fear. To my surprise, my scream was so loud that it created a sound wave, throwing those people far away.
Ayu:"Huh?"
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One month has passed since I met Calliope and gained this screaming ability. I’ve been trying to use it to help people in trouble. However, instead of thanking me for saving them, these people were terrified and ran away when they saw me. Not only that, but they even started calling me “Banshee,” the name of a monster with a horrifying voice that roams around cemeteries, hunting and scaring humans. Honestly, this shocked me, and a few times, I almost cried whenever people called me that.

Since that incident, I began to revert to my old self—perhaps even worse this time. I always cover my mouth whenever I meet others, and I’ve stopped speaking altogether. This seems to have made people even more afraid of me, to the point where they had me admitted to a mental hospital. Strangely, when they did this, I didn’t feel sad or angry; instead, I felt a strange sense of happiness. Maybe I truly have gone insane. I was quite surprised when I met Desi and Arga inside the mental hospital. Even though they looked a bit different, I was still glad to see them again.

The three of us spent our days peacefully in the mental hospital. Desi and Arga told me about their abilities, and it turns out that people also saw them as monsters. That’s why they ended up here, just like me. Because of this, the staff were extremely afraid of us, so they allowed us to do whatever we wanted. However, our peaceful days suddenly ended when the Soul Devourers attacked. The three of us had no choice but to use our abilities to fight the Soul Devourers. I had no option but to use my voice again, even though, honestly, I would have preferred to remain as the Muted Banshee.