Fate In the Classroom

Chapter 7

+Jade was walking down the street right near the college. It was nearly sunset when she started getting tired and hungry.

Jade: I need to get home now. I need to find him, to warn him. I need his help. I can't do this on my own.

When she got home, she looked around and saw nothing amiss, so she went to cook dinner. A weird beeping sound started, and her eyes widened. Bolting out of her apartment, she got to the sidewalk when-+

BOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

John jerked awake, covered in sweat, and jumped out of bed. He looked at the clock. 6 am.

John: What the heck was that about?!

He went for a walk to calm down, and the sun started rising as he headed back to his dorm. Checking his clock, he saw that he had an hour left before math class, so he went to walk the campus for thirty minutes. At that point, he went to the classroom and sat down, putting his earbuds in and his head down on his desk.

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After math, John went straight to his Korean class and promptly fell asleep. After what seemed like just a few seconds, he heard a voice in his ear.

Voice: John, wake up. We need to talk. Wake up!

Jerking awake, John looked around, but he saw no one. Finally, as he blinked the sleep from his eyes and his vision cleared, he saw that his professor was there.

Professor Kim: Hey, John, how are you doing?
John: I'm alright. I just... didn't get much sleep last night.
Professor Kim: I'm sorry to hear that. I need to talk to you.
John: Okay...?

Professor Kim came to sit next to him and grabbed his hand. John recoiled from the touch.

John: Professor, we're in a classroom. Please be professional.

Professor Kim: I'm sorry; just the mem-
John: I know, but please, not here.

Professor Kim: S-sorry...
John: It's okay. Now, what did you need to talk to me about?
Professor Kim: Well, do you believe in... legends?
John: Legends, Professor?
Professor Kim: As in legends of old meant for the modern day.
John: Well, if I understand correctly where you're going with this, I don't put much stock in those housewives' tales, even if there's one that involves this college.

Professor Kim was shocked.

Professor Kim: How did you know about that??
John: I always do research about new places that I visit and move to. It honestly wasn't hard to find the "Legend of Kell", and I didn't even know to look for it.

Professor Kim: Do you remember what the legend said?
John: Bits and pieces. Like I told you a moment ago, I don't put much stock in legends, so I don't bother to remember it. All I do remember is that it said something about a sorceress, a key, and a door, and that somehow they're all linked. That's about it, though.
Professor Kim: Would you like me to tell it to you? I think you might find it informative.
John: And why is that?
Professor Kim: Well, you're gonna have to listen to find out.

John: Whatever. But first, doesn't class start soon.

Professor Kim: Yeah, it'll start soon, but we still have about thirty minutes left until then.
John: Okay, so you seem hell-bent on telling me, so get on with it already.
Professor Kim: Okay.

She took a deep, shuddering breath.

Professor Kim: The legend goes thus,

"In the days of yore, there lived a sorceress who was very well known all over town.
 She was known simply as "The Doctor". You see, she was always using her sorcery
to heal people. However, one day, the townspeople started getting deathly sick and
dying left and right, and it was only the people who she supposedly healed of their
sicknesses. When the townspeople finally realized what was going on, they ran the
sorceress out of town. She tried to reason with them, telling them that her sorcery
wasn't the cause, but they wouldn't listen. When they finally succeeded in running

her out, she was left with nothing. The next few years were dark and desolate for

her, and she changed because of it. Thus, her sorcery changed from healing magic

to elemental magic, and she went completely mad. Then one day, she went back
to that town and slaughtered everyone. Whether man, woman, child, or animal,
she killed them. However, the elder of the town finally came out and said to her,
'Young lady, you are cursed by the gods, and you will never find solace. Unless...
unless you find pure love.' He then put up a magic shield around himself. The
sorceress chuckled and smote him, even through his shield. As he lay dying, she
left in search for somewhere that would accept her. She finally found it, or so she
thought. When they found out what she could do, they were terrified and also ran

her out. Finally, as she was on her last bit of life in the woods, barely able to move,
when suddenly a young man of common ancestry happened across her and tended
to her wounds. This was the first time someone had ever done this for her. For days,
he tended to her, barely eating or sleeping, and she would tell him about her lot in
life so far. He didn't judge her or ridicule her; he didn't even run away when she told

him what she had done to her townspeople. Feelings for each other quickly surfaced,
and they roared furiously. Finally, when she was back to good health, he took her

back to his home to rest. Their relationship was unstoppable, and they eventually
married and grew old together. When she was on her dying bed, she said to him,
'You gave me a life again, and I will ever be grateful for that. Even when I was telling
you about all of the horrible things I did, you still stuck by me. Such a pure love broke
the curse that the gods had placed on me.' She smiled at him as she breathed her last
breath, and he sighed, tearing up. She was gone, and he was alone. He said to himself,
'The curse isn't gone yet. One day, when the moon meets the sun, the curse will spring
forth, and one of our descendants will have to make a choice. That choice is going to be
the hardest one he's ever had to make in his 28-year life. I just hope that he's ready for
it.' A few days later, the widowed husband dies in his bed, but not before saying to his
beloved children, 'Don't let hunger for power, greed, lust, or want get in your way as
you strive to do right at all times. Keep each other close, and you will never lose your
way. Lose each other, and you lose everything.' As he died, the tales of his life were

alive and well in the hearts of his children, and were passed down through the

generations."

Professor Kim: And that's the legend of Kell.

Just as she said that, the other students started filing in, almost as if they had been waiting for that exact moment. They looked at John and Professor Kim, and it was almost as if they knew what had just happened.

And they didn't realize just how much they would regret it...