Siku : The Unimaginable Life

Chapter - 9 : Muga Part - 1/3

“Hey!! What are you two doing?”

I called out, heading toward them after finishing my report.

But then, something strange stopped me. A heavy, eerie sensation washed over me, like invisible figures brushing over my skin.  It came from the left side, what is that feeling?

“Szgayqur–”

a woman's voice echoed in my head, soft yet unsettling, like a whisper from a half-remembered dream. I couldn't understand what she was saying.

And then—

“Stop!” Jeniff shouted behind me, trying to stop me.

But my legs had already moved. I was sprinting before I even realised it.

The night around me felt unreal. Moonlight spilled through the treetops, scattering pale patches of light on the road. A cool breeze stirred fallen leaves, making them dance across the ground. I heard distant shouts from the rescue team and the hum of engines as they attended to the injured.

I jumped over a muddy patch, my shoes splashing through the edge. Rounding the corner, I saw a figure—wrapped in darkness.

It was a woman—or at least, she had the shape of one. I couldn’t make out her face, but two glowing red eyes stared back at me from the shadows.

She turned toward me, her gaze locking onto mine.

“Yo, Siku,” she said, her voice calm and familiar, like an old memory brushing the edge of my consciousness.

The same voice—when I was drowning in the ocean… and again at the library.

It felt impossible. I had never seen her before, but somehow, I knew her. The way she said "Siku"... It sent a chill down my spine.

Why is she calling me that?

My legs wobbled, and my hands trembled uncontrollably. Cold sweat trickled down my back as my mind raced. Was she connected to that attack?

I opened my mouth to speak, but my throat felt dry, and the words barely made it out. "S-Siku? Who...?"

“Ohh, sorry, now it's Max.”

What is she saying I don't have any idea? Siku? The title in that book too. Why is she calling me that?

As she looked at me, she said “Well then.”

The clouds move slowly, covering the moon, casting shadow of the clouds.

After a pause, she spoke again. "Looks like you’ve finally awakened your Muga." Her words hung in the air, cold and deliberate. "That’s what I was waiting for."

I took a shaky step back, confusion swirling in my head. Muga? The word sounded strange, but something in me stirred at its mention, like a part of me recognized it.

She continued, her voice calm, like she had all the time in the world. "In your terms, it’s what you call latent power. Something that only awakens under very specific conditions." Her eyes glinted, like a cat toying with its prey. "And I made sure you met those conditions."

Her words hit me like a punch to the gut. She planned this? From the beginning?

"Now," she said, her voice dropping to a whisper, "give me your power."

The clouds shifted again, and for a moment, moonlight spilled across her face. But just as quickly, darkness surged back, swallowing everything.

The world turned pitch black, like I’d fallen into a void. The air grew thicker, heavy with tension. I couldn't see a thing, but somehow, I could still feel the light brushing against my skin, faint and distant, like the flicker of a dying candle.