Soohyun couldn’t sleep that night. She was wide awake as she tried to understand what had just happened. She stayed the whole night on her bed, trying to sort her thoughts and make something out of it but to no avail, she was left with nothing. She still couldn’t understand what the King had meant with his words. Her heart couldn’t stop pounding loud against her chest. The more she couldn’t understand, the more she felt anxious by it.

There was absolutely something wrong. There’s no point in denying that when it’s already a given fact but what was wrong in the first place? That was something Soohyun couldn’t find out no matter how hard she tried to remember everything.

Morning came fast before Soohyun can even realize it. The warm rays of the sun entered her room and filled it with warmth instantly. She almost forgot about last night’s happenings as she was momentarily lost at the warmth the sun has brought her. She shook her head as she stood up and washed her face. She needs to find out what’s happening and what’s wrong.

Soohyun hurriedly ate her breakfast and went back to her room before she could have a panic attack at the presence of the King after what happened. She sat down and grabbed a pen and paper as she wrote the words the King had said last night.

A week and everything will be gone

Her hands continued to scribble the words on the paper.

Soohyun will end it all. Everything will all fall down and I will be the only one left standing

Soohyun dropped the pen right after writing the last sentences. The thought of what those words could possibly mean horrified her in many possible ways. Soohyun tried to calm herself down because panicking will get her nowhere. With a newfound determination inside her, Soohyun tried to think of something that will help her understand what those words meant.

A week and everything will be gone

Soohyun traced the words on the paper as she tried to decipher it. A week? If last night was a Monday, then that meant that everything is ending next monday. Soohyun tried to think of any significant events happening next monday and she couldn’t think of anything. There was nothing special next monday, none that she knew of.

Her hands unconsciously started to crumple the paper as she kept on thinking of what there could be on a monday, especially next week. Soohyun was silent for a while until a thought suddenly hit her.

“Monday,” she whispered. “The King would always call me on the third monday of the month to the towers...to do....” her eyes widened. “No. No. This can’t be happening. No—oh my god—“

Soohyun scrambled through her desk as she looked for a calendar. Her suspicions were confirmed the moment she saw that next week’s monday would be the third one for this month. Horror filled her after the sudden realization. Her hands were trembling as she looked at the paper with the words written on it. That couldn’t possibly happen, right?

Every third monday of the month, Soohyun was summoned by the King to go to the tower. She was made to do something—to release a great amount of magic out of her body. It seemed impossible when Soohyun first heard because she has never done that kind of thing but the King was somewhat prepared for it. He had brought the most powerful spell casters and they had created a ball which was supposed to magic out of Soohyun without having to create a bond with her.

Soohyun couldn’t understand the words they were telling that time and before she could even process what’s happening, her hands were already touching the ball and she could feel the immense power the magic inside her forcibly. Whatever happened has left her unconscious for a few hours until she woke up with a bad headache.

That happened three times, each for every tower the King has built. The King told her that that was his way of strengthening the kingdom’s defenses but Soohyun knew there was something wrong about it. The bright light. Soohyun has never seen any bright lights coming out from the three towers ever since they were built. Maybe she had just missed it because they were quite far away from her room and she wasn’t allowed to roam around freely. Why would the King need a massive amount of magic just for defenses? The palace has been doing great for years without having too much magic to protect it and Soohyun knew that too much of it is dangerous.

It could kill people.

Soohyun’s eyes widened. “...kill people...” she trailed off her words as she tried to make sense of everything. There was no point in gathering too much magic in one place— it was absolutely insane— and all of that just for defense? Who are they even trying to defend the palace from? Almost every high-ranking gifteds are working for the King. Why need more magic? Is the King really planning on killing everyone?

“Oh my god,” Soohyun clasped her hands over her lips. This all can’t be true. Whatever she had just come up with was the on