[30.4] A Fortune No One Asked For

Realizing I was being left behind, I quickly skipped off after Cyrus. As we walked, I saw another game I recognized from my own world.

My eyes lit up, "No way! It's a Ring the bell game!"

I ran over and pointed to the hammer, "Can I play?"

He grinned, "One copper piece, Miss."

I gave my plush to Cyrus to hold and picked up the hammer. I was a bit shocked by its weight but tried to pretend it wasn't too heavy. I forced it over my head and swung it down, "DIE BELL!"

The indicator barely moved up.

Cyrus broke out into laughter behind me.

I pursed my lips, "It's rigged."

Zephyr pushed me aside, "Move, dummy. Let a real man show you how it's done."

He took the mallet and swung it down. The indicator barely moved just above mine.

Zephyr clicked his tongue, "It's rigged."

Hazel grabbed the mallet, brimming with excitement, "I wanna try!"

She swung it down so hard, the target split apart, sending the indicator soaring to the top. The force of the indicator hitting the bell was so strong, the bell was sent flying into the distance.

We all stared at her slackjawed.

She looked at everyone and awkwardly cleared her throat. She calmly put the mallet down and brushed the hair from her face, "I-It's definitely rigged."

Felix forced a smile, "S-Shall we play another game?"

The game master shouted, "No way! You all are BANNED!"

After getting kicked out of the game section, we wandered around aimlessly until we found ourselves in the kid's section.

My lips curled in disgust as the children ran around us, not caring if they ran into us or not. Cyrus noticed my discomfort and asked, "Do you really not like children?"

I stared at them with contempt, "I loathe them. Such filthy creatures. Who would ever want them?"

He blushed, "I-I wouldn't mind…"

I looked at him in disbelief, "Seriously?"

He blushed more, "I-If a certain someone did… I would consider… Having… A few…"

I raised an eyebrow.

What is he going on about?

"Reika! Miss Reika!"

I looked at the voice to see the children from my class run toward me waving. I took a step back with a scowl, "What are you brats doing here?"

The little girl pointed to her cheek, "We just got our faces painted! Look! Mine's a lion!"

Priscilla's eyes shimmered, "I want my face painted! Brother Felix! Come on! Let's get matching ones!"

Priscilla quickly dragged off Felix leaving the four of us behind. I watched the children in aversion as they all jumped around from an obvious sugar rush. Even one of the little boys was still shoving his face full of candy.

I crossed my arms, "Where are the adults? Who is watching you?"

The pudgy boy popped another candy into his mouth, "No one."

My eyes widened, "What!? No one!? What if something happens to you!?! You could get kidnapped!"

Cyrus raised an eyebrow at me, "Didn't we also go into town without adult supervision at their age?"

I waved him off, "That's different. I am an expert magician and Felix was always stalked by his family's bodyguards."

Cyrus clicked his tongue, "And what about me?"

I replied matter-of-factly, "You got kidnapped."

His expression darkened.

The little girl spoke up, "It's okay, Miss Reika! My brother is working tonight to protect us against any nefarious criminals!"

"Is that so?"

"Yup! He's the best! We are super safe! OH! Look-" She pointed to a man dancing with fire despite not using any magic to do so, "That guy is juggling fire without using magic! LET'S GO WATCH!"

Zephyr's eyes lit up, "I wanna see!"

He ran off with the children and Hazel skipped after him happily, "Wait for me!"

I watched them in disbelief.

They have magic here, yet they are that interested in someone dancing with fire?

Does that make sense?

I turned to complain when I realized I was suddenly left alone with Cyrus.

We both stood there awkwardly not knowing what to say.

He eventually cleared his throat, "Do you want to go watch?"

I shook my head, "I don't really like being around fire."

Especially if it's being controlled by a man without using magic.

"Then should we… Go on a walk?"

I forced a smile, "Sure."

As we walked in awkward silence, I noticed something out of the corner of my eye. My face lit up, "No way! Fortune telling!"

He frowned, "You know that's a scam, right? The people who do that aren't even astrology attributes. If they were, they wouldn't be working in a tent at a festival."

"Who cares about that?" I grabbed his hand with a carefree laugh, "You don't go because you believe in it. It's just fun."

He followed behind me while staring at our hands, "W-What's fun about spending money on nonsense?"

I made a face, "Fine. Don't come with me then."

I released his hand and walked into the tent with my nose held high.

Immediately I was met by darkness.

A voice spoke to me from the shadows, "Enter, child of chaos, and have a seat."

A light suddenly shined, illuminating a table with only two seats. A woman sat in one of the seats, hidden completely under a long dark cloak. The lights were so dim, I could only make out her pale arms. I raised an eyebrow and sat across from her.

Her hand beckoned to me, "Palm."

I gave it to her.

Her finger traced the lines on my hand, sending a ticklish sensation over my skin. She spoke in a soothing voice, "What do you wish to know?"

I thought for a moment, "Will I become wealthy?"

She traced my palm and spoke, "You will encounter many setbacks, but you will eventually have enough money to live comfortably."

Ugh. That's boring.

"Okay… And what about my love life?"

Her hand paused, then continued tracing over my hand, "It's not clear. Your connection is unstable."

I rolled my eyes, "Right."

She spoke quickly, "Oh! I see it now. You are neither lucky nor unlucky in love. I see a chance encounter in your future. If you give the person a chance, you may be surprised."

What a generic response.

"So what's my future look like?"

"Let me have a look… Ah… I see a girl who wears another's face. She doesn't belong. Yet, she attracts others to her like bees to flowers. Her power is strong but deadly… Oh…"

I gulped, "What is it?"

Her voice turned grave, "Death."

"D-Death?"

"There is a smoke permeating your body. It's destroying you. It's destroying everything around you."

My eyes shrank back.

Does she know?!

Is this lady actually legit!?

She spoke, "It left darkness inside you… And that darkness is consuming you."

Wait… Darkness?

Ugh. What am I thinking? I'm just falling for her tricks.

I narrowed my eyes, "I think that darkness is from this room."

She continued, "You carry resentment so heavy that it has tainted your mind with darkness. Chaos pulses through your veins, but your feet do not touch this Earth."

I clicked my tongue, "Why does that matter?"

Her voice was ominous, "It means you aren't from this world."

My eyes widened in shock.

Okay. This isn't fun anymore.

My voice shook, "W-What are you talking about?"

She ignored me, "Only the Holy Light can save you now. If you do not allow the Holy light in, destruction and death will follow."

"I'm done. I don't want to hear anything else."

Her grip tightened on my hand, "The time will come for you to cleanse your soul."

I jumped out of the seat and tried to pull my hand out, "Let me go!"

She continued to hold on as she spoke, "Do not run from your fate!"

I grabbed my hand and pulled on it crazily. However, the woman was somehow so strong that I couldn't get free. Bruises started to appear on my skin as she clenched down harder.

What the hell is wrong with this woman?!

In my panic, I took a deep breath.

To my horror, a black hole surrounded her and started inching toward me. As it got closer, it felt as if it was consuming me.

I screamed out in fear, "CYRUS!"

Cyrus ran inside, "What's going on?! I heard shouting!"

The fortune teller released me and pointed at him as she shrieked, "YOU! YOU SHOULDN'T EXIST!"

I fell back into his arms.

He stared at the woman completely confused, "What is going on here?!"

She shoved her finger at him, "YOU SHOULD BE DEAD! YOUR FATE WAS DETERMINED AND NOW YOU ARE RUINING EVERYTHING! YOU HALF-BLOOD MONSTROSITY!"

I pushed him out of the tent still reeling in fear from what I had seen when I smelled her, "Ignore her! Let's just go!"