The Oracle

Chapter 49: Yin and Yang

SORA

"So...how've you dealt with that? Like," I rubbed the back of my neck as Miroslava stood in one of the guest rooms, adjusting her armor, "how do you live holding all of who you are inside of you?"

"You get used to it eventually," Miroslava hummed as she traded out her heels for a pair of black combat boots, tilting her head to the side before nodding in satisfaction before she began to lace them up. "I've made an honest living in the sense that I fight for what I know is truly right. It hurts knowing that not everyone is able to understand the difference between doing what you're told is supposed to be right and doing what's actually right, but that's why I have to do it. If I don't do it, I don't know who will, and that's my destiny. I chose it for me. Nobody else did."

"What about your brother?" I asked hesitantly. "What does he think?"

"My brother..." Miroslava pursed her lips before she leaned back, placing her foot down on the floorboards after lacing it up on the edge of the bed, her eyes flickering over to me. "If I'm a demon, my brother is a devil."

"What do you mean?" I asked, my skin crawling at her words.

"My brother wishes for the world to be balanced," Miroslava started. "He wants justice for all. He's an advocate for good, the perfect picture of an angel— but his wings are made of blood and his crown of nightmares. My brother walks the line between what is good and what is evil, able to create and able to destroy. He holds no mercy for anyone or anything. He simply follows his view of what makes the world right."

"Is his view always right, though?" I questioned.

"He likes to think that it is," Miroslava said.

"But, do you?" I asked, Miroslava's expression slipping into a frown.

"That," Miroslava sighed deeply, "I cannot say."

"Sora?" Isabella asks, a frown forming on her face. "Everything okay?"

"Yeah," I shake my head and force a smile, bringing myself out of my thoughts. "I'm okay. Are you?"

Isabella looks taken aback for a moment before she smiles softly and nods.

"Yeah," she says. "Yeah, I'm okay."

"Hey," Shae smiles and claps his brother on the shoulder after he walks up to him, having noticed his gaze lingering worriedly on Kit. "Don't worry. I'll take care of her."

"You better," Sander glances over at his twin and attempts a teasing smile before his eyes flicker back over to his girlfriend, his worry still getting the best of him. "It's not that she needs protection from anyone. It's just...she pushes herself much more than she needs to. One day, I worry it may get the best of her and..."

Shae's hand grips a little harder at Sander's words and Sander trails off with a sigh.

"Don't worry," Shae assures him softly. "She'll be fine. I promise. She may push herself to her limits but she knows those limits. That's what makes her, well, her."

"Yeah," Sander smiles softly, his gaze flickering back over to Kit as she gets ready to head out with her team. "You're definitely right about that."

Shae claps his brother on the back before he wanders over to Kit, Clea, Gambit, and Sekai, Isabella motioning with a nod for us both to head over to them as well.

"I want to clean up our information that we left behind at the cabin before we head out in search for the runestone, just in case," Gambit says and the rest of us nod in agreement. "Once we do, we can immediately head for the runestone. Isabella can transport us to and away from the cabin, so it won't waste much time."