The Cycle

of Power

It's a new day, but for me, it's a new life. The necklace lived up to Hephaestus' tale. I was much, much more handsome, and I had a magnificently youthful glow. My hair went from dark black to light brown, and my overall skin became purer, in a sense. All of my blemishes were gone and I seemed to radiate light. My eyes had a sparkle to them comparable to the stars, as if they had once been a part of the celestials. My body became stronger and filled out, and my shoulders were broader. I grew a bit more, and I was slender, yet fit. But most of all, I had confidence. People began to gaze a bit longer at me, stare at me with wonder. They all knew I was the same Wu, but I had just changed in terms of appearance. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but no one can deny that I had visuals that far surpassed anyone on Khunh Inh Nea.

However, Hephaestus' tale does not simply stop there, oh no. I was struck with misfortune wherever I went. I would wake up late for classes, I would nearly get trampled by horses, I would trip on nothing and anything, I would forget the answer to a question I had been called on to answer, and nothing went right for me. The first few days were absolutely miserable. I slipped in mud near my school and it got all over my clothes, but because of my beauty, my face was intact. I would trip and fall into people and sour their impression of me, I would somehow be called on for everything I did not want to do. People began to blame me for everything, simply because ninety percent of the time, it was in fact my fault. Nobody liked me, but everyone admired me. It was the strangest feeling of power and hatred at the same time. I cursed this pendant for leading me to that book, and I vowed to learn something new to benefit me.

I made my way to a different library. Similar to the last one, it had an ancient aura to it. However, unlike the previous one, there were no pillars and it was simply a building with various engravings and bricks. There were no images, but there were various scriptures that no one could understand. If you touched the walls, they felt like they would crumble apart, but somehow no force would reckon with it. Dust would be left on your hand but it easily blew away with a gust of wind. Once you walked into the library, an air of warmth enveloped you as your muscles relaxed and you felt at rest. The inside was vast and slightly more modern than the outside. It was lined with bookshelves but there was one fountain in the middle with tables surrounding it for students to study.

There was one aisle I was determined to find: the Buddhism section. I knew for a fact that Buddhists rarely ever curse things, and it was the safest bet to find a new ability. However, with my misfortune, I was deathly afraid of what was to come. Even while making my way to the section, I tripped and knocked over tables as angry students cursed my existence. And just my luck, the Buddhism section was the farthest from the entrance. As I muttered obscenities to myself, the elder at the help desk threw a pencil at me for saying such vulgarities. I can't escape this misfortune even inside my mind.

I finally trudged my way to the Buddhism section, with about seven aisles. My necklace began to resonate, and I knew I could find something. However, I was in a small conflict. If I followed the resonance, would it be the bad luck speaking, or the base power of the necklace? I hesitated. My palms began to sweat as I cleared my throat, and turned back around, opposite of the direction the necklace willed me to go.

The resonance went softer and softer as I walked towards the third aisle. It eventually stopped and I searched manually for any book. The problem was that there would never be a novel titled, "Necklaces! All That You Could Have Ever Asked For!" I had to trust my instinct, and who the hell knows where that will take me. I flipped through books, feeling that the gust would come eventually to let me know I found something.

And it did. After a couple hours scavenging for a novel, I found a torn up journal with half the amount of pages a normal story would have. Without notice, the gust came again and blew hard enough to tear out a couple pages. Guess I have to pay for that.

"Buddhists do not typically indulge in materialistic items. However, in today's era, many people who practice this religion make items as a reminder of the Buddha's teachings. They often come in the form of bracelets or charms, and they have symbols with meaning. Depictions of the Buddha, the lotus, and other typical items represent the path that Buddhists take to reach Enlightenment. Often times, these charms are everyday spells or reminders to follow the Eightfold Path.

Bracelets and necklaces are worn to dispel evil and protect against demonic forces."

Flower petals danced around me as lotuses began to bloom beneath my feet. The sphere before returned as the petals whirled around, creating gales of wind. Books toppled over and flipped through random pages, but I felt calm and serene. I could only imagine a lake in front of me, with a single, large lotus on top of a lilypad. I saw it plant its seed, grow, bud, and blossom, all on top of mud and scum. No matter what animal tried to dismantle it, something would push it away, leaving the beautiful flower intact.

The wind calmed down, and the flowers gently floated to the floor. But of course, with my misfortune, nothing was cleaned up this time. Numerous petals were at my feet, as if I had just walked down the aisle with my bride by my side. Books lay open, some were torn. The shelves were intact, but my sanity was not. I let out a frustrated scream as I furiously put everything back. Even with a barrier from evil, nothing can get this stupid bad luck away.

My necklace began to resonate and glow rapidly. What did I do? Shouldn't this have happened before? No, it must be my newfound power settling into my necklace. Either way, I had to get out before someone realizes what exactly is going on. I rose to my feet and took a few steps out of the aisle, into a girl and smashing my face against her head.

"Ow-ow-ow-owww... M-my head.. Can't you see where you're going mister?" the girl angrily snapped.

"Mister? I'm not 30 years old, girly. We're like the same age." I sneered back, rubbing my head. I had to get out before this girl saw my chest glowing like Rudolph's nose.

"What do you want me to call you then? Teenager? Kid? Scumbag? At least apologize!" she yelled.

"Scumbag is just fine, if I can call you a whiny b-"

"Shut the hell up, not one word in that sentence was 'sorry'. Say that first, then you can spew out all the crap you have pent up." she interrupted.

"Whatever, sorry. Are you okay?" I responded, cooling down.

"...Yeah I guess. I came to check what the hell was going on. I was like ten aisles down and I hear a bunch of things falling and you screaming like a child." she explained.

"U-um... I just, uh, accidentally tipped some things over..." I stuttered nervously. I was still clutching my chest trying to cover the light that reflected from my necklace. I felt like a police siren.

"Yeah, right. How did— Wait, what the hell is that?" the girl suddenly stammered.

My necklace was now glowing extremely brightly, a golden hue took its once pearl white. My heart beat rapidly and my chest felt extremely tight. I didn't have a crush on this girl, what the hell is going on? The resonance began to resound loudly, but outside of my body. Sweat beaded on my face, and my hands trembled as I desperately tried to cover my chest. My breathing was heavy and I felt drops of perspiration falling into my eyes. My mind was racing with thoughts and images but all I wanted to do was just scream. There was no pain, but for some reason, I faltered. I weakened my grip on my shirt, realizing that it was too late to hide my Jyn. Whatever power I had just received must have been important. I let out one last breath, that echoed in my mind before my breathing returned to normal. Then, a gong sounded between this girl and I. And it clicked in my mind. This wasn't my power that my necklace was signifying.

In the girl's pocket, was a hand mirror that shone a golden hue just as brilliantly as my necklace.