“You might be the daughter of the eclipse, Yujin, the prophesized mediator.”

The keyword was the word ‘might’. Bora and the rest were not sure. Yujin wanted to hold on to that. However, the thought was not enough to get rid of that dreadful sensation in the pit of her stomach. It made her want to throw up. She was terrified, horrified even. If what they said was true, she wouldn’t know what to do with herself anymore.

“Will you be all right?” Mingyu turned to face her.

“Focus on the road.” Yujin pointed out. On the way home, they did not bother to make her cover her eyes any longer. They also made her sit on the shotgun seat right next to Mingyu who was driving. That did not mean that the female was taking note of the way though. She was more disturbed with the fact that she might become one of them.

Mingyu shrugged before turning his focus back to the road without saying anything else.

Because it was already past six, the skies were growing darker. For the first time, Yujin felt terrified of seeing the moon. Perhaps, she just really did not want to be what they assumed she was. It freaked her out, in all honesty. What was she even supposed to do? Her shoulders were tensed.

“Why did you tell me this now?” She asked, somehow finding her voice.

“Because we need to prove something—a theory, per se.” Mingyu replied, not bothering to explain any further.

Yujin would have opened to ask more if not for her own body quivering in fear—how would she explain it to her mother? How would she be able to live her peaceful life? Everything was not making any sense to her. It was one of those moments when she felt the urge to cry and to laugh at the same time. What was she supposed to do? What was going to happen to her? Anyway, if there was anything everyone hated the most, it was surely the feeling of uncertainty. At the moment, Yujin already felt like she was standing on the edge of a cliff, trying her best to not fall.

“When you get home, I’m pretty sure that you’ll get a better explanation.” Mingyu uttered, pulling Yujin from her train of thoughts. His words were supposed to give her answer yet all it did was to confuse the female even further. At the same time, it made her worry—about her past, about how it could really play a big role on what was happening around her.

Finally, the female started to question the events that were experienced firsthand by her. Since the beginning, were things not a coincidence? She wondered. “Was it all planned?” She voiced out her question out loud. “Our meeting, I mean. Was it not a coincidence?”

“I don’t know. For sure, it was not planned. Perhaps, your destiny is pulling you close to where you are supposed to be—to the Realms.” Mingyu replied, eyes not once leaving the road. Without another word, he pulled up in front of Yujin’s house. That was when his eyes met hers once again. “Do you think your mother is home?” He asked, unbuckling his seatbelt.

Yujin, albeit confused, unbuckled hers as well before replying. “Maybe yes, maybe no.” She said. “It shouldn’t really matter to you.” She added, getting off of the car. As she did, the gate of her house burst open, revealing her worried mother. “Mom, what’s wrong?” She did not get a reply.

“You—you’re… why are you with my daughter?” It would take no genius to conclude that something would terribly go wrong, Yujin was certain the moment her mother spoke.

Mingyu smirked. “I did not expect that it really is a fugitive. How have you been, Alicia?”

To say Yujin was confused was an understatement—not only did Mingyu call her mom a weird name, both looked like they recognized each other. “Why are you calling my mother a foreign name?” She bluntly blurted out. She felt two pairs of eyes on her and unknowingly, a shiver went down to her spine. Maybe it was her imagination but it somehow felt like destiny did try to lead her there.

“Why are you with him, Yujin?” With shaky hands, Yujin’s mother pulled her away from Mingyu. Her eyes were teary and she looked so terrified. “What have you been doing? What are doing with a demon?!” Her trembling voice echoed.

Mingyu’s expression turned grim. “You’re a traitor and a fugitive, Alicia. And you dare to hide such an important child. Do you have any idea what you have been keeping from the Realms?”

Yujin assumed that her mother already had a hint on what was happening, judging the fact that the latter knew who Mingyu really was—not everyone did. Yet seeing her mother’s confused expression, Yujin concluded that although the elder woman knew some things, she was still not aware of some things—such as the possibility of Yujin being the daughter of the eclipse.

“Mind if I come in for a tea?” Although Mingyu asked politely, Yujin could almost hear the deadly nature of his question.

“Come in,” To Yujin’s surprise, her mother replied. “Yujin, go to your room.”

“But—”

“Just do as I say.” Her mother replied sternly so Yujin had no choice but to go to her room.

Even if she wanted to act nonchalant, Yujin was concerned. What was actually happening? She nimble on her thumb fingernail as she paced back and forth inside her room. Even if she tried to eavesdrop, she still failed because her room was soundproof. She had no super hearing of some sort. It had already been fifteen minutes. She stopped pacing back and forth and decided to head downstairs to see if the two suspicious beings were finally done talking. Just as she was about to head to the door, her white door opened, revealing her mother with Mingyu standing behind her.

“Mother, what was that about?” Yujin immediately opened to ask.

“I want you to train under the demons.” Her mother finally replied after a second or two of silence. “Finally, I understand the will of fate when it brought you to me—it is to protect both you and I. This time, fate is once again working its way to protect everyone.”

Yujin ignored the twisting and churning of her stomach, she felt so nauseous due to her own nervousness. With her eyebrows furrowed in confusion, she chuckled bitterly. “What are you saying? I understand nothing. This must be a joke.”

With cold hands, Yujin’s adoptive mother held her hands. “My name is not Minjung—it’s Alicia. I came from the Spheres of Heaven which makes me a goddess. I wasn’t a gifted goddess, just someone who is able to cast a spell with her voice, but I worked for the rulers or the council of the Sphere. Everything was fine, Yujin. Everything. Yet all the good things must come to an end.”

Yujin did not utter anything, just listened to her mother—to Alicia who suddenly seemed like a different person. From her peripheral vision, she could see Mingyu standing idly by the door, his face showed no emotion as he watched the two women.

“I heard that some of the members of the council wants to wipe off the Earth because they want immortality. I didn’t know who but I know that the Spheres is no longer safe. Somehow, I made a stupid mistake of making my presence known by a loud gasp. I flee from the Spheres, fearing for my life. Escaping, I managed to slip into the Cavern of Demons—in an illegal way. I knew they would kill me if they found me yet I still entered their land, hoping to find help.” Alicia paused, her eyes were filled with tears as she tried to recall the painful memory inflicted in her. “I was caught by some demons and brought in for questioning. It was terrifying so once again, I escaped and that was where I met you.”

“Me?” Yujin whispered, her head was started to spin.

“Yes, you. I was about to head to the portal to Earth when I saw an injured nine-tailed fox with a six or seven-year-old child. The fox forced me to take the child—to take you with me in my escape, told me to never let you get caught. I promised the dying fox that I wouldn’t. Even with hesitation, I took you with me. I brought you here with me despite not having anything. Finally, after two days of roaming around with you, I brought you to the orphanage—where I later took you back from when I finally settled down.” Alicia continued to tell the story. “Still, I don’t know why you can’t remember everything.”

“Don’t you remember anything? Nothing at all?” Mingyu finally spoke.

Instead of replying, Yujin remained frozen on her spot, stomach churning. Teary-eyed, she looked at Alicia then to Mingyu. Her head started to spin as if lulling her to sleep. Her hands started to shake as a shiver went down to her spine. Closing her eyes, she saw the big bright moon staring at her and calling her to come closer.

Then, she fainted.

In dramas and fantasy novels, the female lead would faint and right after waking up, she would be able to recall every important thing that she needed to know in order to bring peace to the world. Yujin was not a female lead in a drama—she was just living her own m