Chapter 167 - T H E S E C R E T W I T C H

[Music Recommendation: "Dreamy Shards" by Yasunori Mitsuda (Chrono Cross 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 - when she met a mysterious woman by the lake…]

Even if my heart told me that she's not a bad person, I should remain rational. I couldn't risk it—it's Sena's life after all. Maybe she's just a weird passerby, a normal human. And even if she turned out to be a witch, too, how in the world would she know of my situation? It's very suspicious. I should be wary.

"You can... help me?" I asked the mysterious woman standing in front of me. "Do you even know what's going on with me? What my problem is, my heartache, and everything?"

"Yes. I know," she answered. "And I know so much more than that."

"That's easy to say. But where's your proof?" I asked, irritated. "You're just saying general things, like those fake fortune tellers!"

Instead of answering me, the mysterious woman lifted her hat for me to see her face. And when I did… I couldn't believe what I saw. I felt that my whole world stopped, and all the suspicions and questions in my mind… were washed away.

Of course… if it's "her", she definitely would know.

But… how? How in the world could she—

"Hora…" the mysterious woman called me again, "Do you trust me now?"

Gulping my worries away, I sighed and dropped my shoulders. My irritated expression was gone and instead, replaced with melancholy.

"… Yes. But please, tell me what happened."

The mysterious woman let out a deep sigh. Then, she walked towards the bench and sat there. She gestured to me to follow and sit beside her so I did. Looking up at the sky, she tried her best to explain everything to me. From Sena's miserable old life, to how she helped send her back in time so that this time around, she could be happy… she explained it all in great detail. That… plus the fact that she traveled along with her in time to protect her. Because she knew the weight of her actions. Yet, despite everything, she still did it.

All I could do was gasp and be shocked by all of the things she just said. But thanks to that, finally, everything made sense. And I immediately understood what must be done—something that didn't involve separating Sena from Kaiden, or having her give up on her dreams. Something only she and I could do…

"Thank you for telling me everything," I thanked the mysterious woman from the bottom of my heart.

Just telling me all those things revealed the secret of the world and it's equivalent to being branded a traitor or a criminal by the Fatum. And with everything she did, she probably broke hundreds of the forbidden rules of our kind. Yet, I understood why she did all those things. And if I were in her shoes that time, I would probably do the same thing.

"There is nothing for you to thank me about. I only told you that because I need your help and cooperation for my plan to succeed."

"I understand. I will do everything in my power. Just tell me. But first, what should I call you? I can't possibly call you—"

"Hmm… Call me 'master' instead. From now on, I will be training you to improve your skills and magic," she said, smiling as she looked at me. "Hora, you're young right now so you probably don't understand the full potential you have. Especially the special skill you have been bestowed. That in itself is a weapon… that can combat this motherfudger fate."

"Pft! Ha-ha-ha! Yes, you're right. It does hold potential."

"That's why you need to learn early and cultivate your magic early. So you'll grow stronger—even stronger than me."

"Yes! I will do my best, master!"

"Good," she nodded. "It's funny though. This fate that's doing her best to make Sena suffer… it's funny how the same 'fate' handed us the weapon to fight her. Is it mocking us? Or giving us a chance? I don't know. But either way, I'm grateful for the power to protect the people I care about."

"Uhm… that's right. Whether its mocking us, or giving us a chance, let's use it to our advantage. And maybe, beat this darn fate along the way."

The mysterious woman, who's now my master and teacher of magic, rummaged on the side pocket of her skirt. From it, she took a golden pocket watch that was so beautiful that it looked otherworldly. She handed it over to me, much to my surprise.

"Take that," she said, "and be careful not to lose it. Well, not that you'll lose it since it will just go back to you in case you did—since I gave it to you, you're basically its master now—but still, be careful with it."

"Why are you giving me a pocket watch?"

"It's imbued with magic. You can use it to easily communicate with me, just press here or here," she explained and pointed her fingers on two buttons located at the left side of the pocket watch. "I can't get detected by the Fatum or it will be a whole lot of mess so please use that for our protection."

"Oh, right. Of course, I will."

"Good. And that's not all," she added. "In case of emergencies, you can use that watch to activate a 'rewind' or to stop time briefly. Only for 10 seconds though. Once we begin our lessons, I'll teach you step by step so you won't be needing this in the future. But for now, hold unto that."

"Wait, what?! To rewind or stop time for 10 seconds?" I exclaimed.

Time control was a very complex magic! Only those given a specialty in it could use it! And to think she just put that magic into a pocket watch?! My dad would be horrified. He's an adult and that was the maximum amount of time he could control time—10 seconds. It's as if dad's value had been lessened into a watch. Poor dad.

Not only him, the Fatum Praeses itself would be alarmed! They promoted dad in the Fatum just because of his sole ability to control time even if it's just for a moment. What more of this… master of mine who could do so much more! Woah!

"Ha-ha-ha! Don't be surprised. You'll be able to do that in the future, too."

"R-really? Like how you do it?"

"Yes. Even more than that actually."

"That would be so cool. I can't wait to start learning. Why don't you teach me now?"

"I'd love to but you'll need to go soon. They're looking for you. We should be able to meet again soon."

"Oh, wait! About what I need to do for Sena… what exactly is it?" I asked. "If we're not doing Auntie's suggestions, what are we gonna do?"

Smiling confidently, Master answered, "We will protect her—against the Fatum, against the world. They can try their best but together, we're stronger than them."

My eyes twinkled and marvelled in her confidence. She's just so… WOW.

"Even the world?"

"Yes, even the world. After all, I already made a mess out of this fate and destiny, and she still didn't know what I did. Even if she does, we have the greatest power to oppose her. So I'm not afraid. And I'm confident we can win."

At last, hope rose within me. Yes… there was hope. Hope that was created from a way we paved ourselves, not a road dictated by fate. How happy I was to hear those reassuring words. There was nothing I could wish for. Just the power to protect Sena's happiness was enough for me.

And with that, my conversation with my master ended. She disappeared with the wind after bidding her goodbye to me. As soon as she disappeared, people started coming towards the park. Along with them, was Verrill, catching his breath. He looked like he ran after me. But how? I had been in the park for probably two hours already.

'Wait a minute… perhaps, master stopped the time so we could talk? Woah! She's truly incredible! I can't wait until I can do the things she can. And be as mature and awesome as her.'

"Hora…" Verrill ran towards me and hugged me tight. "Why did you suddenly run away? Don't do that again, please."

Verrill's heart beat so loud I could feel it as he hugged me. He must have been worried about me.

"I'm sorry," I apologized and hugged him back.

"Are you feeling better now?"

"Uhm! I'm good. I just needed some time alone to think and calm myself."

Verrill sighed. "That's good then."

"Verrill, let's go back… to Sena and everyone. I know what I need to do now."

"… Alright. Let's go back."

He didn't even ask me what I decided on and just agreed with me. Verrill was really nice. This was one of the things I liked about him.

"Thank you."