「 episode 19; arc 5.2 」 —umbral axiom//doppelgänger— 「 hyejoo x 」

“Sorry for the wait.”

“It’s alright, Jungeun. Thank you for bringing them here. I’ll be just another moment, everyone.”

On the twelfth floor of BBC’s headquarters, a small convention of elementalists was joined by its final attendees. Quietly closing the door behind her, Jungeun stepped forward into the luxurious open space of the Archmagus’ office. 

Most of LOONA’s forces were gathered in full, scattered across the couches and seats with others standing idly by. As per usual, Heejin was seated comfortably atop Jinsol’s lap in a single seat. Haseul and Jiwoo shared a couch, with Hyunjin and Sooyoung sharing the opposite. Yerim stood with Yeojin at Sunmi’s water cooler, the two helping themselves to refreshments.

A still quiet blanketed the room as the sorceresses waited patiently. Most of the group’s attention was silently being handed to a group of five strangers standing at the far end of the room, all donned with small backpacks and knapsacks. With the exception of a teenager appearing even younger than Yeojin, four distinct shades of color were spread across their odd eyes. 

Smiles were drawn towards a figure pressed against the office’s massive back window. An excitable black-haired sorceress was resisting the pull of her taller brown-haired companion against her shoulder, her sights captivated by the illumination of Mobius’ grand skyline against the night sky.

“I still can’t believe how big that city is! And the phantasmal pathway above it going around in a loop...isn’t that cool, Joy?!”

“Seulgi, you’re embarrassing us…”

Coming to a stop behind one of the couches, Jungeun sighed with due exhaustion. Her mind continued to run laps about the day's events and her encounter hours prior with Jisoo and Olivia. As had suddenly become standard, her thoughts only ever stopped when her wandering eyes chanced upon a spectacled amber-haired sorceress.

Without meaning to, Jungeun found herself yet again unwittingly staring at Kahei. When she felt them resurfacing in her stomach, she grimaced—her butterflies refused to let up, and they only served to worry her for more reasons than she could count.

And, as it had already happened several times since the end of their clash with Hyejoo’s other self, Jungeun was left to clumsily warp her frown into a small smile when Kahei ultimately returned her gaze upon feeling eyes on her from afar. Jungeun looked away before long, awkwardly finding something or other to stare at in the room, leaving Kahei flummoxed as she continued to peer at Jungeun.

All the while, a perceptive Sooyoung was closely watching the exchange in silence, her view settling on Jungeun’s inconceivable atmosphere.

“Okay, with everyone gathered and the data from the affinity and directional bias testing recorded, we can move forward.”

Before the noiselessness draping the room could overstay its welcome, Sunmi’s voice ushered it away.

The clicking of a keyboard came to an end as Sunmi stood up. Closing her laptop, she walked around to the front of her desk and leaned against it, gifting everyone in the room a smile with her hands folded at her waist. “My apologies for the sudden summons, but as you can all see, introductions are in order.”

Shifting her sights to their guests, Sunmi offered a welcoming nod towards the group of five. Invited forward, they stepped closer one by one, the youngest led by the hands of a crimson-eyed woman with a noticeably serious expression on her face. Pried off the glass gateway to wonder which she had lost herself in, Seulgi blinked as Joy motioned for her to follow.

“Ah! Sorry!”

The lighthearted sorceress rushed to her companions’ side, completing the lineup with a smile and inciting Sunmi to continue. “I would like all of you to meet the sorceresses composing LOONA’s newest team: Joohyun, Seungwan, Joy, and Seulgi...”

The four sorceresses smiled each as they were introduced, ranging widely from Seulgi’s beaming grin to Joohyun’s barely perceptible smile. Sunmi’s continuation led Joohyun to gently nudge the adolescent girl in front of her, a movement that was answered with trepid footsteps forward.

“...as well as Joohyun’s younger sister, Yeri.”

Like clockwork, the mood in the room shifted in the blink of an eye. From tense yet respectful silence came an explosion of excitement, chatter breaking free. Heejin and Jinsol bounced from their seats, their exuberance most easily heard above the others.

“A new team? They’re gonna help us out, then?!”

“We’re looking forward to working with you!”

“Is Yeri…?”

Voices paused as Sooyoung’s words climbed to the top of the room. 

Her eyes traversed up from the quiet teenager to her stoic protector, and she was given the clarification she sought as Joohyun answered her calmly. “No, she isn’t. She’s just an innocent girl who’s had to relocate more than anyone ever should. A girl who deserves a safe, stable home, and after being on the run for God knows how long...we’ve finally found it.”

With Joohyun’s words, LOONA’s sorceresses saw it reflected in the five girls’ eyes: deeply rooted enervation showcasing itself through their downcast hues and aged dark circles. Years of fatigue were plainly visible, and—as if it had been forcibly held back for ages so that they might endure their personal struggles—it was now coming forth all at once with their safety secured at last.

“They’ve been filled in on the details regarding our work here. Without hesitation, they’ve offered their assistance with our efforts,” Sunmi explained, restoring the room’s positive ambience. “Yeri will live in fully provided housing in downtown Mobius, quite close to the school district. Meanwhile, Joohyun and her team will join all of you in our dormitories here.

“They will require some basic lessons much like our Neophytes, but in truth, the only aspects they’re missing are the utilization of barriers and understanding mana conversion,” the Archmagus continued. “Though their secondary elements are all at their starting baseline levels, by means of their years of experience, they have already gained levels in their natural alignments.”

Hyunjin’s eyebrows gradually rose in steady surprise, a movement shared by others in the room as she spoke. “You serious? Natural alignments leveled up without grinding out other elements? You guys have been fighting for that long?”

“So then by the standard of the conventional level system, they’re Neophytes, but as far as their primary elements are concerned...they’re technically of a much higher rank?” Haseul pondered aloud, her fast-working mind creating a foundation of understanding ahead of itself. 

“Precisely,” Sunmi confirmed. Seeing that the concept was visibly turning some heads upside-down, most notably and understandably Yeojin and Yerim’s,  Sunmi proceeded to elaborate upon the technicality. 

“Normally, an increase in level with your natural element is only manageable after strengthening the capabilities of your manastream—a development which occurs slowly over time from practiced mana conversion and the progression of leveling your secondary elements.”

Quick nods from Yerim and Yeojin indicated their understanding thus far as Yerim spoke for them. “I remember this from our lessons. Gaining proficiency with your secondary elements and increasing their levels reflects on our overall level. That’s what would then classify us as Intermediate and then Adept magi, right?”

“Neophytes at their baselines start at level thirty-six. When we reach level thirty-nine, we’ll rank as Intermediates. Then, we hit level...forty-one to rank as an Adept, yeah?” Yeojin recalled, lifting her fingers as she counted.

“Correct, both of you. Well studied,” the Archmagus confirmed with a proud smile. “It is usually only after reaching the Adept stage that the manastream will have developed enough to finally see an increase in proficiency with one’s born element. Achieving that level nine affinity with their natural alignment is what allows a magus to claim the title of Master, but it takes time and continued practice. Realistically, a few years’ worth...on top of the few years already spent breaking into the rank of Adept, of course.

“But even if your natural element is all you’ve ever used, your manastream can still develop in the same manner. It’s common in cases where a magus is unaware of or indifferent towards their ability to convert mana, leading to them only ever utilizing their born element. However, it demands noticeably more time. To be frank, well over a decade,” Sunmi revealed. She focused her attention on the newcomers in the room, and it was with interest and respect which they returned their eyes to her. 

“Therefore, though it takes significantly longer and loses the benefit of utilizing secondary elements, the sole focus upon one’s natural alignment can still lead to mastery. Joohyun and her friends here are living proof of it, and it’s quite easy to demonstrate.

“As you know, a magus’ general experience and relative rank is most easily seen by how quickly they can conjure their weapons. That being said, Joy, Seulgi, and Seungwan—if you would?” Sunmi requested politely after shooting them a smile, an expression the three reciprocated as their odd eyes briefly surged with light. 

With speed equivalent to LOONA’s Master line, the combined forces of their hunting knife, half-scissor blade, and submachine gun hurriedly came into rushed existence from a minimal amount of mana. The display resulted in the room sharing a collective gasp of excitement, barring Kahei and Jungeun through their previous knowledge and Sooyoung who suppressed her surprise.

Jiwoo’s impressed shock broke through first as she looked to Haseul next to her. “Goodness...they’re all functionally Masters, then…?”

“As far as their born elements are concerned, yes. To call forth their weapons so effortlessly...they undeniably have achieved level nine affinities just like Kahei, Sooyoung, and myself,” Haseul confirmed with a nod.

“And Joohyun, if you wouldn’t mind?” Sunmi’s voice picked up again, pausing the group’s due amazement as the three presented weapons dematerialized. 

Stepping forward, Joohyun exuded a strange sense of authority as she extended an open hand. The impassive look of her crimson odd eye and the commanding aura her solemn presence radiated called forth Sooyoung’s attention. The sight rang true with the recesses of Sooyoung’s memories, striking an staggering resemblance to someone she could never forget even if she wanted to.

The resemblances continued as Joohyun’s personal concept practically blinked into existence—a vermilion handaxe was in her grasp, its sharpened edge alight with a gentle flame. From an almost imperceptible amount of mana, she had manifested it a few fractions faster than her comrades prior. Though the increase in summoning speed was little more than marginal, the implication it carried was enough to instill a silence of dumbfounded astonishment in the room.

“As it stands, Joohyun is the highest ranking member of LOONA,” Sunmi divulged to a bewildered crowd. “With a level ten affinity for her born element of fire, she is—technically speaking—our first Grandmaster. When the time comes and she develops her secondary elements, she will be one by convention, as well.”

Silently, Joohyun let go of her axe, returning it to dust before it could even be subjected to gravity. The shuffling of footsteps followed, drawing eyes to five figures.

Standing from their seats, Haseul, Kahei, Jinsol, and Sooyoung had all promptly risen to their feet. After setting down her drink, Yerim took her own step forward as well, joining the sorceresses in presenting themselves. Without words, the five simultaneously bowed towards Joohyun, bending over at the waist with their right hands placed over their chests.

“It is an honor, Grandmaster Joohyun.”

As the five sorceresses addressed her with a synchronized greeting, Joohyun blinked.

With Joohyun’s failure to respond to the movement of apparent veneration, Seungwan posed the question at the forefront of her partner’s mind. “Might this be a...tradition of some sort?”

“It’s a show of respect from our timeline.”

Joohyun’s party listened to Sooyoung closely as she explained herself upon standing upright again. Locking eyes with Joohyun, her voice came through as undoubtedly sincere. “We honor those of a higher rank with shows of open courtesy and respect, like referring to them by title and greeting them with a bow. Just part of our culture. It’s in our blood, so to speak.”

“Don’t put me up on some bull pedestal.”

“J-Joohyun!”

It had become Sooyoung’s turn to blink with a startled expression, a move mirrored by everyone save for the smiling Archmagus.

Joohyun let loose an unamused sigh. Crossing her arms, she avoided the looks of disagreement and disapproval being fed to her by her party, most notably Seungwan. With a somber glance, she let her gaze wander the room for a moment before settling it on a perplexed Sooyoung.

“I understand where the sentiment is coming from, but let’s not pretend like I deserve this kind of treatment,” Joohyun sternly declared. “My twenty-something years with one element might’ve bumped me up a small notch above you, but overall, it’s nothing compared to what’s normal here. I’ve seen what Jungeun and Kahei can do, and it’s far and away from anything we’ve managed. I won’t stand here and have the people who I’ll be learning from bow down to me as if I’m better than them.”

Joohyun’s persistent focus on Sooyoung continued as she humbly refused her faux eminence. “I might be your senior, but I’m not your superior. I’m your ally, supposed ranks be damned. If you really have to go out of your way to show me that kind of respect, save it for when I actually surpass you, if ever.”

Sooyoung’s train of thought paused. The speechless surprise she was overtaken with became replaced with fleeting remembrance.

For the first time in years, she found herself once again staring into the steadfast crimson eye of an axewoman refuting her supremacy. Through Joohyun’s denial of the deference that Sooyoung had been raised to give, the resemblances continued to compound and magnify until the two had quickly become synonymous.

Congratulations on your promotion. It is an honor.

Stand up straight, Sooyoung. I’m not your superior. I’m your ally, supposed ranks be damned.

Every word Joohyun spoke made the memory of her clearer in Sooyoung’s mind, to the point where she could’ve sworn it was her voice she was hearing in place of Joohyun’s. 

Most importantly, I am your equal. That’s the truth. No promotion can change that.

The memory of her became so indistinguishable that, for but an instant, her image superseded Joohyun’s in front of Sooyoung.

I don’t care if you refer to me by title, but don’t bow down to me. Not now, not ever. You are my equal, Sooyoung, as I am yours. Do you understand? 

Understood. My apologies, Third Class Major Arcanist Jennie.

“Any issues with that?”

Joohyun’s voice pulled Sooyoung away from distant memories.

Recollecting herself with a quick breath, Sooyoung cleared her mind and shook her head in tandem with the others from her homeworld. “Not at all. Sorry to have forced it on you.”

“It’s fine. I should apologize myself for being a little forward there,” Joohyun confessed, eliciting an appreciative smile from Seungwan. “Thanks for understanding.”

“Um, Archmagus Lee?”

A question from Yerim shifted attention to her. “Where are Chaewon and Hyejoo…?”

“Wait, they aren’t here?” Jinsol responded first with a sweeping glance around her. “They’re usually so quiet that I didn’t even notice…”

“Might they have retired to their rooms?” Jiwoo inquired, joining the movement of scanning the area with the others. 

Her vision gliding across the room, Sooyoung noticed it—Jungeun’s avoidance of any and all gazes. Her eyes were low to the floor, her expression marred by some means of visible gloom. Kahei was equally distant, her silence providing no answer to the question at hand. 

Even more worrying was the reflection of quiet upon Joohyun’s party and the Archmagus herself. As concerns began to mount, Sooyoung was the first to voice hers with an open look towards the one figure she feared most to witness sharing in the disturbing silence.

“What happened?”

The Archmagus didn’t answer. 

With an eerie serenity about her, Sunmi offered no explanation to the pair’s absence. She kept her eyes steady on Sooyoung, quietly absorbing the gradual shift in severity she presented through her darkening complexion. 

The tension in the room grew exponentially with every second spent in mysterious silence. Closing her eyes for a moment, it appeared as if the Archmagus was trying to find the right words to say. Rather, to all but Sooyoung it seemed to be the case. 

Watching Sunmi remain at ease with her eyes shut for what she felt was no reason, Sooyoung knew what she was actually doing.

In the peak of the noiselessness, an anxiety-ridden Yeojin temporarily had her focus stolen by something. From Sunmi to Sooyoung, her eyes traveled back and forth as she chanced upon a stray thought that the sight of them roused in her mind. Although she felt it absurd, the girl of wind simply couldn’t shake the idea.

Ultimately, by a factor of purely random variance which could not have been predicted, Yeojin was left to slowly tilt her head as she noticed it much earlier than previous instances.

“Archmagus Lee, what happ—”

♫ Take that, so what?! I’m so bad! ♫

Loud buzzing and a muffled ringtone from Sunmi’s pockets interrupted Sooyoung. As if she knew it was coming, Sunmi had opened her eyes a second before it went off, a smile suddenly centered on her face.

“Just a moment.”

Lifting herself off of her desk, the Archmagus removed her phone from the back pocket of her slacks. Distancing herself to the side, she answered it nonchalantly, spreading further confusion throughout LOONA’s ranks.

“Hello, Hyuna...ah, of course, Grandmaster Hyuna. My apologies. Has she stabilized? I see. Yes, I’ll speak to you soon then...thank you.”

Ending the call, Sunmi faced the group with her smile still present as she stowed her phone away. She was met with a forward step from Jungeun, eyes glossed over with hope. “Is she awake?”

“Yes, she’s regained consciousness,” Sunmi announced, causing welcome relief to eclipse the atmosphere. Jungeun and Kahei were especially comforted, seeming as if an excruciating weight had been lifted off their shoulders. Through the persistent grave look on Sooyoung’s face with eyes trained on her, Sunmi was quick to explain further.

“During her team’s excursion into Joohyun’s timeline, Hyejoo was incapacitated,” the Archmagus explained. “She is now awake and well. There’s nothing to fear.”

“Can we see her?” Yerim asked. The proposition was well received, resulting in the Archmagus being swarmed by a flock of expectant eyes. To their disappointment, she shook her head with a forlorn smile.

“Given how late it is, it might be best to save it for tomorrow after she’s had a full night’s sleep,” Sunmi suggested. “For now, I was hoping some of you might give Joohyun’s party a tour of the building, perhaps starting with their dorm rooms so that they can drop off their bags.”

Haseul stepped forward, showing the group a welcome smile. “I wouldn’t mind showing them around, Archmagus Lee.”

“I’m sorry, Haseul, but it’ll have to be someone else. You, Kahei, Jungeun, Sooyoung, and Jiwoo will have to stay behind. I’m going to require the five of you elsewhere.”

“For what?”

Jinsol suffered an evasive dodge as she was addressed. “A private matter,” the Archmagus answered her indirectly, her vision drifting between those she called for before finally acknowledging Jinsol. “Something that merely concerns them and no one else. Nothing to fret over.”

The five sorceresses looked between each other for a moment. Jinsol’s brows furrowed as she perceived a collective understanding taking shape in the midst of their quiet acceptance, as if they somehow already knew what it was about.

Sensing her partner’s animosity towards being left out, Heejin stood up from her seat on Jinsol’s lap and attempted to resurrect a fair mood with a smile. “Jindori, let’s show them around!”

“Yeah, alright,” Jinsol begrudgingly accepted, swallowing hard against worries brewing in her mind. Pulled up by Heejin, she gave Sooyoung one final hard stare, her disagreement with hushed secrets made visibly clear.

Sooyoung reciprocated Jinsol’s focus in full, meeting her with a cold, hardened straight face and a resigned hue of regretful cyan.

“Follow us, then!” Heejin exclaimed, doing everything in her power to lift Jinsol’s spirits up. Beckoning Joohyun and her friends to follow her, the group of five left the remaining sorceresses with nods of appreciation before being escorted out the room.

“Alright then. If I’m not needed for anything, I’m just gonna go stuff my face at the bakery before they close. Yeojin, Yerim, you in?”

Their attention summoned by a sudden call from Hyunjin, the Neophytes turned to her. She was standing at the door, holding it open and waiting for their response. “Wanna come with?”

“Ah, uh...okay, thank you,” Yerim politely accepted.

“Yeah, sure,” Yeojin mirrored, feeling a strange energy in the room. Looking at them with patient smiles, the higher ranking sorceresses were simply waiting for them to leave. “Sounds good.”

Quiet footsteps filled the air as they made their way out the room. As the last one out, Yeojin closed the door behind her, her eyes fixated on Sunmi and Sooyoung.

The room now vacant save for her selected group, the Archmagus equipped herself with a small smile as she made her way behind her desk. “Let’s be off, then.”

“Where are we going, Archmagus Lee?” Haseul asked, split between due concern and novel curiosity.

“The third floor infirmary,” the Archmagus shared, lifting a black blazer off the back of her seat. Slipping it over her collared white blouse, she fluffed her hair quickly before making way to the door.

“The infirmary? You just said that any meeting with her should wait until tomorrow,” Sooyoung spoke up. “If we’re going to see Hyejoo now, why can’t everyone else?”

“Because it doesn’t concern them, Sooyoung.”

Sooyoung bit her lip in frustration.

“Then might this pertain to—”

“It does.”

Jungeun’s tone was outwardly weighty as she answered Jiwoo preemptively. She and Kahei shared in a depressive aura as she confirmed the question circling their minds. “We all know there’s nothing else a meeting exclusively between us could be about.”

“There’s much to discuss. Chaewon, Hyejoo, and Hyuna are waiting,” the Archmagus urged, inciting the others to follow her. Holding the door open for them, the remaining sorceresses filed out of the office one by one past the Archmagus. 

Last in line, Sooyoung spoke up in a murmur of displeased contention as she neared Sunmi. “Are you seriously not bringing everyone along for this?”

“This meeting has only ever involved this group,” Sunmi returned near silently. “There’s never been a previous instance in which anyone else has attended. We cannot deviate from history, Sooyoung. As the only other person here even aware of the truth, you are the only one capable of understanding that.”

Sunmi’s tone of voice was distinct with a pressing sense of import which left Sooyoung unable to respond. Disgruntled, the woman of ice buried her grievances and stepped out of the room, only to be momentarily disconcerted as Sunmi closed the door behind them.

“Yeojin, can’t this wait?”

“It’s just a quick question, Hyunjin! Ah, um, Sooyoung, Sunmi...can I ask you guys something?”

Yeojin reflexively took a step back as both sorceresses turned to her in accidentally perfect synchrony. Surprised to see her, Hyunjin, and Yerim still present, the group froze. Their eyes went to Sunmi as she regarded the trio with continued patience. “Is everything alright?”

“We don’t mean to be in your hair. She’s just got a really important question that apparently couldn’t wait,” Hyunjin explained. Her impatience was made clear through the hand on her hip and the exaggerated tapping of her foot.

“It’s fine,” Sooyoung assured. She raised an eyebrow as Yeojin’s eyes seemed scattered between her and Sunmi. “What is it, Yeojin?”

Both of them now standing next to each other right in front of her, Yeojin couldn’t help but find her otherwise wild belief being validated. By her eyes, she could have sworn  she wasn’t looking at two separate individuals, but rather images of the same woman years apart.

Omitting the obvious odd eyes, there were only two  differences Yeojin could truly grasp between Sunmi and Sooyoung—the ever so slight nominal signs of aging on the Archmagus’ face, and her barely noticeable inch of height over Sooyoung. Everything else lined up far too perfectly. Eyes, ears, noses, mouths, hair...the two were practically symmetrical in an almost unsettling manner.

“By any chance, you two aren’t...related or anything, are you?” Yeojin inquired slowly. She scratched the back of her head, unable to even fully focus on one or the other. “You just look really similar. I mean, like, really similar. It’s kind of uncanny...”

For but a fraction of a second, Sunmi felt time itself crawl to a stop as her mind paused.

Hyunjin brought a palm to her forehead. “Seriously? You made a huge fuss over a dumb question like that?”

“It’s just a coincidence, Yeojin. Sunmi isn’t from our universe,” Kahei chimed in, pushing up her glasses. “It’s quite literally impossible for them to be related in any way.”

Yerim backed up Kahei’s words with solid evidence. “She’s right, Yeojin. Remember what Archmagus Lee said the day you got here? Sooyoung, Jinsol, and my sisters and I were the first group of refugees rescued by BBC. Ah, and the woman she spoke to on the phone—Grandmaster Hyuna—she came back with us as well. None of us had ever met Archmagus Lee before.”

“Oh, right,” Yeojin said quietly, her eyes drifting back to Sooyoung and Sunmi. “Just a coincidence, then...?”

“Yeah. Just a coincidence,” Sooyoung answered firmly, delivering Yeojin a particularly noncommittal expression.

“Jeez, I could’ve answered that,” Hyunjin whined. Turning around, she beckoned Yeojin and Yerim forward with a raised hand. “The bakery’s not open 24/7, guys. Let’s get going. Text me later, Sooyoung!”

“We should go. Sorry for keeping you all,” Yerim apologized with one final bow. Jogging forward, she urged Yeojin to follow her through an extended hand and a smile. “C’mon, Yeojin!”

The perceptive Neophyte was slow to answer Yerim’s summons. Rooted in place, she was stuck staring at Sooyoung and Sunmi. The Archmagus gave nothing but a relaxed grin as she reached into her pocket for her keys, leaving Yeojin to nod at Sooyoung.

“Saved by your look-alike, huh...? Okay then,” Yeojin submitted. A forced, almost uncomfortable smile was registered on her face. “Kinda crazy, but I guess this sort of thing is just par for the course now, yeah?”

Yeojin sounded convinced, but only barely. Much like her smile, it seemed as if she was forcing herself to believe the claim. Sooyoung’s demeanor was still bizarrely serious as she left her junior with nothing more than a vague agreement. “Weirder things have happened. Don’t keep them waiting.”

Having little else to add and feeling the ambience between them rapidly morphing into something strange, Yeojin turned around and chased after Hyunjin and Yerim. Sooyoung watched her closely as the rest of the group proceeded in the opposite direction towards the elevators.

With everyone else out of earshot, Sooyoung sighed. She remained next to Sunmi, musing to herself as the Archmagus fiddled with her keys. “Wonder how she’ll respond when she eventually sees your weapons, Archmagus Lee. Funny coincidence that’ll be, too.” 

Oddly enough, the key to her office was in a different spot on her key ring as opposed to previous instances.

“Though you probably already know how she’s gonna react...”

Similarly, also unlike previous instances, the sound of the lock clicking into place was louder than usual.

“...just like you probably knew your phone was going to ring. History and all that, I’m sure.”

A seemingly unbothered grin was painted on Sunmi’s face as she turned to her supposed doppelgänger. “Let’s not keep everyone waiting, Sooyoung.”

Sooyoung watched Sunmi walk down the hall with her standard degree of sophistication and grace, her comments left utterly disregarded. Following behind her at a distance, Sooyoung’s gaze didn’t wander from the Archmagus as misgivings began to stir her mind.

Unseen to Sooyoung, Sunmi’s smile gradually faded. 

Experiencing apprehensive reservations of her own, an uncharacteristically neutral expression void of emotion claimed the Archmagus’ face. An unyielding thought assailed Sunmi’s mind, the severe implications it carried making it difficult for her to pass it off as inconsequential.

It was the Neophyte of wind who had just made a critical observation much sooner than she was meant to, resulting in her asking a key question much earlier than she had in previous instances.

For the first time in a long, long while, the Archmagus had to make an effort to keep her composure. A sickening fear settled in her stomach as she boarded the elevator with her subordinates. With only the low hum of its descent breaching the group’s mutual silence, Sunmi regained herself as she was left to process what she had to accept as reality. There was no denying it. 

By no fault of her own and beyond her own control, Yeojin had just inadvertently sidestepped history itself.