Chapter 165 - Visiting Aunt Vora (Part 9)

[Music Recommendation: "Interweave" by Chewie Melodies (Genshin Impact OST) - available in Youtube or Spotify] ~ Please listen to it in a loop while you read this part to experience the utmost beauty of this chapter ~

[Please note: We're still in Hora's POV - continuing their discussion about Senara and the world's balance…]

A moment of silence passed by. Aunt Vora gave me time to calm my heart and ease my mind, even though it seemed impossible at that moment. But I did my best—for Senara. We still needed to discuss what I had to do to help her.

Once calm, I asked Aunt Vora, "I'm ready. What do I need to do?"

"First, we need to identify what exactly caused the disruption," Aunt Vora started. "Which of Senara's actions caused the deviation from the original path it was supposed to take. Let's say, from the time that her dad was saved. Do you know anything that happened last year which may have caused that?"

"How am I supposed to know which one? A lot happened back then."

"Tell me all the events that you remember."

And so, I told Aunt Vora everything I knew about those scammers that threatened Sena's dad, up to that day where Sena was suddenly called by Sir Greg from class saying her dad was waiting for her, and the news about a large company suddenly caught from doing illegal business—which was were those scammers worked for. That's how Sena's dad was saved. "Somebody" worked to catch those bad guys. But who? Sena wouldn't be able to do it.

"Wait a minute… what if, it's not Sena who disrupted the balance but instead, that person who caught those bad scammers and brought their evil deeds to light? Those bully big whales?! If that's the case then nothing should happen to Sena, right?"

"If that's true, then that's really good news," Aunt Vora smiled. "But knowing Fatum Praeses, they will dig deep into the issue and look at the root cause of the disruption—the catalyst. We have to make sure that Senara did not contribute to the disruption in any way possible. Anything at all that may have triggered the change. Is there anything else you remember? Even really small details. Sometimes, those small details we tend to overlook are the source of it all."

I tried hard to think further about what else I could be missing. It was then that Verrill finally spoke and gave his thoughts on the matter.

"There is one thing I have in mind," Verrill said, his face furrowed. "If there was anyone who could easily step on those big whales that you mentioned, it would be… Kaiden. Just one word from him and he can dispatch a group of experts or anyone needed to catch those people. If it's too complex for him, he can ask his dad, Mr. Ma. So maybe, they're the ones responsible for catching those bad guys."

My face began to pale up.

'What he's saying… I think I know where this is going.'

"This Kaiden that you mentioned, who is he?" Aunt Vora asked.

"He's one of my best friends and childhood friends. We're the same age and currently study at RDIU as well. The only son of Mr. Ma, owner of Red Dragon Holdings."

"I see. Red Dragon Holdings… Ma—the richest family in the east. I heard about them in the news. But if he's the same age as you kids, why would he suddenly fight with those people? Maybe it's his dad. They might have angered Mr. Ma. And if that is so, then Mr. Ma is the catalyst."

"No. It's not him," Verrill disagreed firmly. "Kaiden has a motive. Last year was when he… befriended Senara. They met online, inside a game called Armageddon."

'Ahhh… and there he said it. My suspicion. I will admit… it really is highly possible. After all, when all of those bad things were happening to Sena, Kaiden was the only one she shared it with. And Kaiden is kind so there is a high possibility that he took pity on Sena and helped. No… in that case, then Sena really is the catalyst. No no no!'

Aunt Vora's face turned grim. "Were they friends when the things were happening? And did Senara tell him of the situation for him to learn about it and take action?"

Verrill shook his head, "Yes, they've been friends before that moment. But I'm not sure if Sena told him about it or—"

"Yes," I interrupted, "… Sena told him about it. Back then, she was so depressed and she couldn't bring herself to tell me or Ken of what's happening for fear we might be targeted as well. So when she badly needed to talk to someone, he told Kaiden—someone from far away and those scammers probably wouldn't be able to trace."

Aunt Vora gasped in shock. Verrill looked at me with sad eyes. And my heart… sunk deeper and deeper into despair. If all of our theories were proven correct, then… Sena really was the catalyst. But it's so unfair! How would she know that she wasn't supposed to tell Kaiden or which action of hers would lead to certain events to happen? It's not like she's a witch and she knew what would happen in the future so she avoided it!

"Auntie, y-you said that there's still something we can do, right? You said we can still stop the Fatum from taking action, right? As long as the balance is not disrupted again? W-what should we do?"

"Hmmmm… Kaiden Ma. I'm sure I didn't see him in Senara's fortune back then, when you were kids. When pure blooded witches read someone's fortune, we can see glimpses of what their future holds. But I didn't see him or anyone in his family. I also didn't see her going to the Land of the Red Dragon, or studying at RDIU."

"You mean, she wasn't supposed to meet Kaiden? B-but they're… they're together now and they're so perfect for each other. They love each other as if they're destined to be together!"

"No, my dear. He's not the one. Senara's destined person was supposed to be another—not him."