Thanatos's Curse

Two: Depart

As Kaida was led by Aunt Li, she quietly walked along, gazing at the ancient tapestries and ornaments hung on  the walls and wooden tables. Soon, they walked into a room full of space. It was quite empty, with nothing but a charred fireplace in the middle. She saw a single scroll set on the side. It looked very different from the ones she and Grandmother used. Perhaps the scroll was simply meant for fortune telling.

"Please, sit and make yourself comfortable." She smiled warmly. "You are probably wondering why you are here."

As they both sat on the soft cushions on the floor, Kaida paused. "Yes. Grandmother just sent me here. She told me that I would find my destiny here today, but I don't quite understand."

Aunt Li simply lay out her supplies, pulling out an ink dish and brush. "Today we will do an oracle bone reading. I will take pieces of a turtle's shell and burn them in the pit. Then, I'll read the cracks and interpret them for you on this scroll.

Kaida wondered if this really worked. She had always been wary of things like this. Even though almost everyone believed in this fortune telling, she wasn't sure if she did herself. Almost everyone who came out of Aunt Wu's pagoda never had their destiny read the way they thought it would. Yet, there were a few who did have accurate readings, but she assumed it was all luck. Would she be one of those lucky few?

"Are you ready?" Aunt Li asked her.

She hesitated. "Yes," was all she could manage.

Aunt Li took a deep breath. With a gentle wave of her hand, a small fire started in the charred wood. Then she quickly set the broken turtle shells onto the flames, swirling her hands to rid of the smoke.

Suddenly, a burst of violent fire erupted. Kaida jumped back in surprise. Did that normally happen when people wanted their destinies to be read?

The turtle shells cracked with a loud pop, each one getting larger by the second. Aunt Li's expression was one of shock.

As more smoke arose from the fire, Kaida swore she saw images swirling within them. There was a warrior, fighting amongst thousands of monsters. The warrior dutifully slay all of them, until a giant one emerged from nowhere. The black smoke clouded the image, and Kaida could hardly see what was happening. She squinted, looking to see what she could find, until suddenly everything vanished.

With another rapid swirl of the hand, Aunt Li dispersed the smoke with a heavy sigh. She almost sounded concerned. Kaida was confused. What could possibly be the matter?

"...Is there something I should be aware of?" She asked tentatively, wondering if that question treaded dangerous information she shouldn't know.

Aunt Li said nothing, only writing her message on the rice paper scroll. Her hands shook with each stroke of the brush. "Here," She handed her the scroll to read. "Tell this only to your grandmother. It is sacred information."

"...On the twenty-first of December, A warrior shall be the one to slay the master demon who terrorizes the world. But to slay the demon comes a price to pay." Kaida read, her brows furrowing in confusion. "Wait, I don't understand. Why must there be a price to kill a demon? Who is the warrior that slays the demon?"

She sighed sorrowfully. "That, I cannot tell you. You must find the path that will lead you to this destiny. But you must go on the strike of midnight. Otherwise, misfortune will only follow you in this village. You must leave immediately."

Kaida paused, trying to absorb the information. "Why must I leave? I've grown up here. I can't just simply go and pretend as if nothing happened!"

"Show your grandmother this scroll, and she will understand. She would tell you the same exact information I am telling you. You must hurry. " Aunt Li stood up, giving her the scroll and motioning her to the door.