Mounori

Securing the door, he ran back to inform his mother before leaving. Although he didn't want to worry her as she was still pregnant; though, he knew his mother had a habit of checking if he went to sleep. If she saw he wasn't in his room, she would be even more worried, Syhin thought.

While passing through the dark empty archway leading to the gate for the courtyard, he heard cloths faltering in the wind behind him. The wind felt colder on his back; his hair stood from the shiver. He immediately turned, peering at the archway entrance; a young woman stood adorned with an elaborate white robe overlaid with ancient glyphs. Strangely, he recognized them. 'A harbinger of death,' the familiarity he felt alarmed him as he had never seen these glyphs before.

The flashing display of the skies lighted her yellowish-green eyes and made the forming arch of her plump cherry lips visual. Raven, a shade darker than the night, resembled her flowing hair. Her bangs on the front parted slightly on the center, with the gradual increase they touched to her shoulders, and her dense hair on the sides and back tied in two low tails with scrunchies reached her knees. This mysterious, alluring beauty was his aunt. Although only five years older than him, she already had the body of a woman.

Heavenly aura enveloped her, drawn by her; her denominator carried a confident yet playful atmosphere. However, he felt her warmth was fading; her pleasant smile felt colder.

"Elder sis Mounori?" Syhin muttered in a questioning tone while his eyes probed her expression. With slight unease, he approached her as he had rarely seen her wear white. However, when he saw her casually invade his personal space to hug him, he felt less worried.

"You are back; I thought you were the cursed soul of the submerged Sacrificial Shrine." Watching her giggle at what he said, his lips formed a bright arc.

"Maybe I am, hehe," she pinched his cheeks. The charming ravine of his dimples, on both sides of Syhin's face, faded, the arch on his lips receded, he became alert. Pinching his face, a habit of Mounori, though, she avoids disrupting his dimples. Instead, she favors the tiny mole underneath his left eye and one more beneath the right side of his lips.

"Syhin... did I scare you?" she asked, keeping her smile.

"Hmm," he didn't deny, " But I am relieved; everyone said you would miss my awakening ritual, but I knew you are more nervous than me." To her surprise, his fingers swept her hair, grazing her cheek, leading to the side of her neck to her embroidered black choker. His leg jolted, dragging the heel of her leg as he tightly grasped her neck, holding her unbalance body against the wall.

"Good evening, gorgeous spirit," unaware, the sclera of Syhin eyes became black, merging with the dark iris and pupil; his eyes resembled a dark abyss. "Would you mind telling me who you are?" Syhin asked in a chilling stern voice.

A bright light formed behind his iris akin to a golden ring of light; Syhin's dark eyes mirrored an eclipse in the dusky sky.

At the same time, An azure ring of light formed on his forehead, as trial akin to tails of lighting formed from it, progressing outward, resembling a sun.

When the woman saw Syhin's eyes, her heart thumped; she felt an indomitable pull.

She immediately struck him, pushing him towards the courtyard. "I am sorry, Mounori," a pale light escaped Mounori's body, apologizing to her before departing.

Pushing his back against the ground, Syhin instantly stood up as he watched the intangible form of a woman sink beneath the dark waters. Syhin held his chest; he felt no pain. 'Aunt has enough power to cave in my chest; the cursed soul had held back. What does she want?'

Seeing his serious expression, Mounori giggled a little as she spoke in a relaxed yet heart-toggling tone. "You are no fun anymore; relax a little. The cursed soul, you wanted to see her since she always avoids you. I used these to let her momentary control my body." she pointed at the intricate glyphs on her robe.

"What power do they have?"

"The soul of the lady said they were magical glyphs used by ancient necromancers to entrap wandering souls."

"Why would she give you something that can harm her? And you believed her? Don't do that; what if she had drowned you to death," hearing the waves of the onyx malted water, he felt an ominous sensation. From his friends from the Lyrhayun Clan and the Death Swamp academy, he had heard tales of Anshi, a rare aquatic wandering soul that drowns its victims to wear their bodies.

The prospect of his family disappearing created unrest in his heart.

Furthermore, a sense of fear arose within Syhin's heart, glancing at the glyphs. Why would he feel this way even though their placement kept his aunt safe and they brought no harm to him? And why did he recognize them without ever learning about them?

'There has to be more,' he remembered the phrase 'a harbinger of death.'

"Don't worry; I asked an experienced water priestess from the Ice temple to make sure they were real." She felt touched by his concern. "Oh right, What happened after you held my neck; I got disoriented. How did you force her out of my body?"

"Who knows?" He touched his forehead and blinked his eyes. He felt something was there, but somehow they had vanished.

"It must be the reason she avoids you. She also said she needed your help, so I think there is a relation; so I had agreed because I wanted to know." Mounori explained her careless behavior.

Syhin glanced back at her, holding the gate. He wanted to express his gratitude; however, he saw a figure pushing the gate open, carrying a bright lantern.