"EMI!"

Everything slowed down in Emi's mind as she felt herself falling into the sea. She observed Kris scrambling to the edge of the cliff, where she was moments ago. Seeing the wretched look on Kris' face, a tiny smile flitted past her lips.

I wonder if he looks like this because he lost his mission, or because he genuinely cares for me.

Hearing waves crashing deafeningly against the cliff, Emi reacted hastily. Maneuvering to a diving position, she plunged into the sea and she winced, the water seeping through her bandage, touching her wound.

Landing on my back or face would result in more injuries.

I prefer not to have another injury.

"Emi!" Kris' shouted her name once more, eyes staring intensely at the spot she landed. He was standing dangerously at the edge, his face not showing a hint of fear at being at there.

"! Goddamnit!" Bartholomew cursed, sheathing his dagger as he said scurried to his horse.

He halted abruptly when he heard a sharp ringing sound, something glinting at his neck. Yun narrowed his eyes at Bartholomew, while Zak stood beside his horse, none of them planning to let him go.

"Where are you planning to go?" Yun questioned in a sinister manner.

Bartholomew immediately felt disconcerted by his tone, gulping nervously. Regaining his courage moments later, he gritted his teeth, glaring at Yun.

"This isn't the right time, Emi Winters, she-"

"She isn't surfacing. She isn't surfacing! Why is she not surfacing? She'll drown to death at this minute!" Kris interrupted their conversation and Bartholomew closed his eyes, sighing heavily.

"I don't remember her knowing how to swim." Bartholomew took a step forward and Yun's eyes widened in anger, a dangerous glint in his eyes.

"Don't move."

Kris became still, his heart coming to a stop at those words. His eyes searched the sea wildly, the moonlight providing limited light, his mind just couldn't comprehend Bartholomew's words and he couldn't bring himself to believe them.

Impossible.

What--what did he say?

What did he just say?

"I don't remember her knowing how to swim."

No, that's impossible.

His breath was caught in his throat, still not seeing any signs of her resurfacing after her submerge. He heard the waves crashing continuously against the cliff, letting out a shaky breath.

Emi.

Emi!

No, not again. I'm not going to lose anyone precious to me again.

I'm not weak anymore, I'm not weak like I was in the past.

I can save her, I have to. I'm stronger now, I'm stronger!

I won't lose anyone again.

Not again!

Hurriedly taking off his clothes, Kris prepared to jump, his calm demeanor long gone. Yun withdrew his sword away, quickly restraining Kris while Zak remained beside Bartholomew's horse, knowing he can't let him go no matter what. Zak threw a worried glance towards them as he took over Yun's position, aiming his sword at Bartholomew.

"Kris! Kris! You have to-"

"Let me go!"

"Kris! Calm down! Are you trying to kill yourself?!"

"Let me go, Yun!"

Yun ground his teeth together, punching Kris in the face to quell him. A surprised Kris stumbled back, glaring at Yun with fierce eyes.

"What the hell!"

"You bloody idiot! You'll kill yourself if you jump down, don't you understand? The waves-"

"The waves are too strong, you'll be swept away, you wouldn't be able to do anything. It'll be highly likely that Emi would end up the same way. If she's really lucky, she'll end up being swept up to a nearby beach." Bartholomew explained, speaking quickly and he sighed again, his eyes meeting Kris.

"Since I've been here numerous times, I know of a small town here, with a beach. Head towards the northeast, it'll probably be a four hours ride on a horse."

Halfway through his explanation, Kris wore back his clothes messily, dashing towards his horse and riding off. He didn't have any second thoughts about Bartholomew's words, fortunately, Yun and Zak were still in the right state of mind.

"How do we know you aren't lying?" Yun asked, his tone threatening.

"Because that's where I'll be heading. I may be a rotten thief, but I'm not a murderer, and if I really end up killing her..."

"If you really end up killing her...?" Zak repeated his words, probing him.

"...damn, let's just go."

"Hah, how do we know you aren't lying about that either? You just said it yourself, you are a rotten thief." Yun scoffed, his eyes holding a wicked look.

"Look, I just want to confirm whether she's alive or not. Here, tie my hands up if you want, just hurry up and head northeast with your leader."

"Alright, if you say so."

 

 

******************************************

 

 

They all caught up with Kris in the end, a pregnant silence surrounding them. The galloping of the horses only being heard in the uncomfortable silence as their hoofs hit against the gravel. All of them having similar thoughts, along with Bartholomew, whose hands were bounded.

Please be alive, Emi. I don't want to lose another family member.

Emi, you have to be alive and safe, no matter what.

Even if you are barely alive, as long as you are still existing, I'll be relieved.

Kris clutched onto the reins even tighter, clenching his fists until they were slightly white.

"Without my permission, you aren't allowed to die."

That's right, Emi.

You don't have my permission to die, I won't allow it.

I definitely won't allow it.

"Please, don't disappear from this world like my parents." Kris whispered to himself, his voice cracking a little.

 

 

******************************

 

 

Somewhere else in a town, most of the town awoke due to the ruckus outside. It was a group of fishermen fussing over someone in their arms.

"She's beautiful, how did a woman like this end up here? And her clothes, it's very uncommon. It seems like leather, a city folk?"

"Stop wasting time and hurry up! She's unconscious, that's a bad sign!"

"Goodness, look at that deep wound on her leg, she's losing a lot of blood."

"Stop her bleeding for now! That may be the reason why she's so pale and cold."

"She's barely breathing!"

"Where's the doctor?"

The fishermen carefully carried a woman into the local clinic, while the doctor attended to her. Fortunately, the doctor was a female and she tutted disapprovingly at an abundant number of scars on the woman's body.

She has such a nice skin, what a pity.

She's lucky to be alive too.

"Hmm...looks like this might leave a scar too..." The doctor tended to her wounded leg, stitching the wound up after cleaning it. Despite the bullet just grazing leg, the wound was still deep enough to leave a small scar. In addition, due to the strain she placed on her leg, it led to worsening her injury.

"You are a very lucky lady."

 

 

*******************************

 

 

Emi moaned softly, her eyes slowly blinking open, instantly assaulted by the sudden brightness. She groaned, eventually adjusting to the brightness and she heard a shuffling noise. The noise was accompanied by a kettle whistling, with a woman humming happily to a tune.

Who...?

No, where...is this?

The place she was in resembled a house, with beige coloured walls and opened windows. The sunlight entered the room, explaining the sudden brightness she experienced just now. The house she was in was cozy but small, with a small dining table in the middle of the room, cheap furniture adding a vibrant atmosphere to the apartment. The kitchen was in the same area too, and if she listened carefully, she could hear the creaks of the wooden floor as someone stepped on them.

Sitting up on the comfy bed, Emi cried out in pain when she felt a piercing pain in her leg. It startled the female doctor so badly, she almost dropped her plate of food, though, she brightened significantly at Emi finally waking up.

"You are awake! Oh, be careful of your leg, it's still in the healing process. How are you feeling, by the way?"

Emi winced, looking at her bandaged leg before glancing at the average-looking middle-aged woman in front of her. Still disorientated, she couldn't register the doctor's words properly.

"What? Uh...where is--where am I?" She asked, utterly confused and the doctor placed her food down. She approached Emi, checking up on her pupils and any signs of amnesia or any complications she might have.

"Wh-what? What are you asking--stop! What are you doing?"

Emi struggled, swatting the doctor's hands away but the doctor managed to overpower her. She was still in a weak state, she almost died after all.

"Stay still. I'm a doctor and you were brought here by our local fishermen. If they weren't there, you could've died. You are lucky to be alive."

"Huh? I-I could've died? But I was-"

A sudden wave of memories played in Emi's mind and she gasped, freezing in her spot.

"Do you finally remember what happened? It looks like you don't amnesia, that's great. How did you end up in the sea? Where did you fall from? The fishermen said saw a big splash, says it was you who fell from somewhere."

"I...fell off a cliff and I remember struggling to swim up to the surface because of the huge waves..."

...and then in the distance, I saw a light before another wave devoured me again.

I was drifting out of consciousnesses at that point, coughing profusely. In my blurry vision, I realised the light was from someone's lantern.

The people carrying the lantern was on a boat, and they threw their net at me. They dragged me closer towards them and at that point, I fainted. The last thing I remember was feeling hands pulling me out of the water.

The doctor's eyes could have popped out from Emi's explanation, she choked on her saliva, coughing violently.

"Wh-what?! You fell off from a cliff? You are really lucky to even be here!" The doctor spoke hoarsely, tears in her eyes due to her coughing.

"Miss...doctor, how long have I been here?"

"You slept for two days straight. You were over-exerting your body and your leg especially. It's a miracle you didn't collapse from overexertion earlier. And please, call me Shelly."

 

Emi's head snapped towards Shelly, the information shocking her greatly. She opened her to ask another question, only to be cut off by someone knocking on the door. Shelly called for the person to come in and the door opened, revealing a short, elderly man as he stepped into the house.

"Ah, I see that she's awake now. What a relief. How are you feeling, young lady?" The elderly man asked, smiling kindly at Emi who was baffled at this point. The wrinkles on becoming more evident at his smile.

"I've been here...for two days?" Emi mused to herself, however, the both of them could clearly hear her.

"Yes, two days. They were some people looking for you, you aren't just a common city folk it seems." The elderly man stated, nodding his head thoughtfully.

Emi kept silent for a few seconds, complimenting internally on his acute awareness.

"Mayor. I understand your suspicions, but I won't allow you to hurt my patient, she's still very frail, she won't be able to do anything."

Mayor?

Hm, I see. He's been keeping a watchful eye on me, just in case I woke up and tried to harm any of townspeople.

"...yes, I'm not a typical city folk. But I don't mean any harm, you can call the authorities if you aren't willing to believe me." Emi admitted, gazing right into the mayor's eyes. She was making a bet here, if the authorities were called here, no doubt she would be exposed for who she was. However, she somehow knew the elderly man wasn't going to do that.

The elderly man regarded her with suspicion, a tense atmosphere in the air. Eventually, the mayor broke out into an amused smile, shaking his head. "No, I won't. I always have a good judgement of people, and I believe you. You are a good person in some way, but you have a broken soul."

Blinking furiously, Emi turned away, slightly surprised at his perceptiveness.

He's sharper than I anticipated.

What a shrewd old man.

"Can I ask a question?" Emi said, directing her eyes back at the mayor.

"Go ahead." The mayor gave her a friendly smile, there was no longer a hint of doubt present in him.

"Those people that came looking for me, how did they look like?"

"Three of them wore strange earrings on one ear, along with having the same intricate tattoos on their arms. One of them was dressed differently, but it seems that he was held captive by them. His attire looks similar to yours."

Kris, Zak, Yun and Bart.

They came looking for me as expected, but what was Bart doing with them?

Frowning in contemplation, Emi gasped, shooting her head up. "What did you tell them about me?"

"I told them we haven't seen anyone like you in this town or on the beach and..."

"And?"

The mayor hesitated, an unreadable look in his small eyes. "I told them you are probably dead."

She struggled to catch her breath at the mayor's words. She stared at him, seeing the sincerity in his eyes.

He isn't lying.

Since he's smart, he'll think of them as dangerous people and not involve his people further.

"...one of them had an extreme reaction towards the news." The mayor admitted, a knowing look in his eyes. He noticed the surge of emotions present in her eyes as he spoke.

Emi bit on her lower lip, she already knew who it was but she needed confirmation. She needed to know if her assumption was the correct one. Her eyes remained on the mayor as she asked.

"How did he look like?"

"Well, he looked like-"

"Was he tall?"

The mayor nodded.

"Dark-brown hair? Pretty eyes? With a fierce stare?"

The mayor nodded again and Emi's lips held a hint of the faintest smile.

"A lean build? Handsome yet with a constant frown?"

The mayor knew where she was headed, nodding yet again. Shelly just chuckled to herself, noting how a smile suited Emi; her smile was growing bigger and bigger.

"Did he have a stiff stance? Man of few words? Always having this intense look in his eyes?"

The mayor gave out a short chuckle, nodding to her every sentence. A huge smile was plastered on her face now.

"Without my permission, you aren't allowed to die."

"I'll ask the questions later, Winters."

"Emi Winters, you are an exception."

Without warning, Emi burst into a fitful of giggles, a bright smile on her face. It was a rare sight to see, the sunlight shining on Emi's hair, a slight breeze causing her messy hair to sway as she beamed at the sky.

Kris.

Don't worry, I won't die.

I won't die until I answer the questions you have about me.

This time, I won't run away.

I'll make sure to come back to you, I promise.

"Why would you want to go back to him?" The rational part of Emi questioned and Emi remained smiling at the sky.

I just want to.

 

 

*******************************

 

 

Somewhere in a harbour, a large ship docked while an endless stream of passengers gradually alighted from the ship. A boisterous atmosphere filled the air, with cargos being shifted from places to places.

A man hurried to the large ship, his hazel eyes lighting up in recognition when he spotted someone. It was a man dressed in an expensive coat, his posture regal, it was apparent that he was a noble.

"My Lord! Welcome back, let me help you with your luggage." The servant quickly carried his luggage, guiding him towards a luxurious carriage on the road.

Everyone gave way to the noble, no one daring to oppose him, knowing it could result in dire consequences. The servant assisted the noble, opening the carriage door for him.

"Lucas."

"Yes, milord?"

"Any response?"

"Pardon? Oh! Yes, yes--there is a response."

"What is it?"

"He agrees to it and I have already notified him."

"Good."

 

 

***************************

 

 

Sergi's mind was in a state of chaos, a crushed letter in his hands as he paced up and down. His steps were heavy, which was a strange behaviour to see a man always filled with confidence.

The rendezvous.

It's in two days, at ten in the night.

If Bart doesn't have Winters by then, how do I face him or her?

He could only patiently wait for the news from Bartholomew's mouth, he could only await his return.

"Only Winters knows of the necklace location." Sergi whispered to himself, narrowing his eyes at the fallen chair in his room, kicking it in frustration.

It skidded across the floor noisily and he immediately regretted kicking it. At that second, someone slammed his room door open, barging into his room.

The person panted heavily and Sergi recognised his face. Sergi's face was void of any emotion as he braced himself for whatever news it might be.

"How was it?"

Bartholomew panted, a guilty look on his face as he finally regained his stamina. He inhaled in deeply, gazing right into Sergi's eyes.

"She's dead, Sergi."

Sergi froze, unmoving, like a statue. After a few seconds, he frowned, an incredulous expression on his face. "What did you just say?"

"She's dead, Sergi! Dead, gone from the world!"

"How is that possible? She was running away from me just a day ago! Don't give me that bull!"

"I have the evidence of her death, Sergi. Evidence don't lie, she's really dead. Why would I lie about this kind of topic?"

"Bloody hell..." Sergi cursed, collapsing onto his bed, appalled at the news.

With just a few days left until the rendezvous, for both sides, there was no hope for either.

Emi Winters is dead.

Timeless Necklace is nowhere to be found.

 

---

 

Hello dear readers! I'm sorry for going on a hiatus for a very, veryyy long time. I'm really touched by the encouragement you guys gave me, it gave me the inspiration to continue this story again. Thank you so, so much <3. I love you all <3<3. I only roughly edited this chapter, sorry for any mistakes in advance ;x!