Chapter 21

walls will crumble

Auntie tried to pull away but Yongsun held her wrist tightly. Auntie looked horrified, disgusted even, but Yongsun did not care. She was furious. Smoke wafted through the air, wrapping around them like a thick blanket. The room grew warmer, and Yongsun’s fury burned bright. The pendant in her pocket shone red and Yongsun did not care if Auntie saw.

Auntie struggled, writhing against Yongsun. «Do not run from me!» Yongsun seethed. «I want to know why you think I am cursed!»

For the first time ever, Yongsun stood tall and mighty above her Auntie. But Auntie looked neither afraid nor nervous. She was as furious as Yongsun and scoffed in Yongsun’s face. The pendant in Yongsun’s pocket shone brighter and brighter as her rage piqued, her grip around Auntie’s wrist tightened.

«Wicked Child! Your Destiny lies here at Sunfield Hall!» Auntie cried out, trying to pry herself free from Yongsun’s grip.

«My Destiny lies elsewhere, far beyond these walls!»

It was then that Yongsun let go of Auntie who fell heavily to the floor. Auntie looked up at Yongsun, expression full of disbelief, but Yongsun could not care what Auntie thought of her. They stared at each other with disdain, both disappointed at what the other had become.

«I am Vega.» Yongsun said, voice steady. «I am the Vermillion Bird.»

Yongsun’s rage had settled somewhat, but if she searched deep within her soul, she found a bird with body, wings, and feathers forged by a raging fire. And now that bird wanted to spread its wings and fly.

«You think you are Vega? You have pulled a curtain over your own eyes, you are not Vega! Look at you!» Auntie screamed, pointing at Yongsun’s feet where flames had wrapped around her ankles like a chain. «By the Stars, you are cursed, yet you tell yourself otherwise!»

«The only curse I have is that I was ill-fated to have you as my aunt.» Yongsun whispered, looking away. She was ashamed of those words, indeed, but they were the truth and she could not hide it any longer.

Auntie stared, eyes wide, mouth open in shock. «The Stars will punish you for your cruel words!»

«They have already punished me! But I have prevailed! I have endured every hit and strike aimed at my heart! But I am tired of living like this, tired of living with the fear of not measuring up to others expectations! I am tired of being told who I am! I long to feel free!»

«Fool! You can not defy the Stars! You can not bend Fate to match your own wants and wishes!»

«And neither can you!» Yongsun ran her hands through her hair. She could feel it; the flames at her skin, devouring her. «Who said I was cursed? Who made you believe? Who was the one that put such a dangerous thought in your head?»

Auntie dared not speak. She stared as Yongsun shifted and changed in front of her. Flames danced up Yongsun’s legs, circling around her stomach, running along her arms which were devoured as feathers of fire soon appeared. Auntie was speechless, was it even Yongsun who stood before her now?

«Tell me, Auntie! I must know why you have tormented me for so many years!» Screamed Yongsun with as much might as her lungs allowed.

«Tormented?» Auntie whispered, breathless. She was afraid, so scared that her legs trembled too much for her to stand. 

«Do not test my fury or my anger any further! I no longer know what I am capable of conjuring!»

Yongsun turned away from Auntie, leaning her head against the wall, slamming her eyes shut as the flames at her flesh. The pain ached and burnt, and Yongsun thought she would die from it.

«I was only told you were cursed!»

Yongsun whipped around. «By who? Speak! Tell me!»

«It was a Destiny Seeker!» Auntie wailed, shielding her eyes from the Light that blazed from Yongsun’s skin. «I do not know his name, nor do I know if he still breathes! Do not take your anger out on me!»

«A Destiny Seeker?»

«Yes! He predicted your Destiny! He said: Buildings will crumble, aircrafts will fall, fields will burn— »

«But you will walk unscathed through it all…» Yongsun said. «It… It does not make sense…»

«See? No Being would able to do such things unless they were cursed! And look at you! I was correct!»

Auntie managed to stand and backed away from Yongsun, trying to reach the door. She held both hands out in front of her, telling Yongsun to keep away.

«You are wrong. You were wrong this entire time… I am not cursed, I have only been gifted with the art of magic.» Yongsun said, but it was not her tone; it was all the voices of the people who had been Vega before her combined into one. «All this time, all these years, you were wrong about me.»

«I am Vega.» Yongsun declared, proud.

«Impossible!»

Auntie reached the door, hand gripping the handle tightly, the other clenched over her chest in fear. She tried to unlock the door but dropped the key. She cried out in fear as Yongsun neared her, fire trailing behind her.

«You tormented me because you misinterpreted my Destiny! All you had to do was think before you spoke and everything could have been avoided!»

The door burst open, Auntie threw herself to the floor like the coward she was and hid her head in her hands. Yongsun was caught off-guard, falling to the ground as well. The moment her hands struck the wooden floor to brace herself flames sprung from her fingertips, crawling over the floorboards towards Auntie and the doorway.

Moonbyul and Heeyeon stood by the threshold, faces pale with shock. Yongsun backed away as the fire slithered its way towards Moonbyul, Heeyeon and Auntie.

The rage in Yongsun subsided, she felt her heart ache in ways it had not done before, she felt it twist and turn, and Yongsun cried out in pain. It is a heavy burden to carry secrets, but it is an even heavier burden to live the truth of the World and be at peace with it. Yongsun’s chest had never felt heavier than it did in that moment of honesty.

Tears sprung from Yongsun’s eyes, sliding down her cheeks, hissing when they met the fire which was wrapped around her like a cloak.

«You have to control it!» Moonbyul shouted, taking a step forwards. «You are overwhelmed, don’t let the flames steer you, you must steer them!»

The fire acted like a wall between them, and Moonbyul could only glimpse a worried and frightened Yongsun through the dancing flames.

«I can not!» Yongsun cried, her voice had returned to her. She shut her eyes tightly and pulled her hair out of frustration.

«Try, Yongsun! You have to try!» Moonbyul shouted above the loud crackling.

Heeyeon grabbed Auntie, making her stand. Auntie did not protest, yelping as she was forced to take cover behind the witch.

«Moonbyul!» Heeyeon said with urgency. «The ceiling is going to collapse. We have to get out, or else we’ll be buried along with the building.»

«No, I can’t.» Moonbyul said, turning to Heeyeon, then turning back to where Yongsun sat backed up against the wall. «I’m not leaving.»

And so Moonbyul leapt through the flames, the fire attacking her skin and clothes. She grunted as she fell, landing beside Yongsun. Moonbyul cupped Yongsun’s cheeks, despite the flames that slid up her arms.

«Moonbyul!» Yongsun gasped, reaching for Moonbyul’s hands, but Moonbyul winced as the fire touched her skin.

Yongsun did not know what to do with herself and wrapped her own arms around her stomach. «What am I doing to you?» She whispered, frightened.

«It doesn’t matter!» Moonbyul cried and stood. «We have to leave!»

She tried to make Yongsun stand as well, but Yongsun would not budge. Yongsun stared, devoid of hope, up at Moonbyul, and only shook her head.

«Yes, it does!» Yongsun shouted, inching away from her. «Moonbyul! I am hurting you!»

Moonbyul bent down and flung her arms around Yongsun, holding her tightly. She bit back the pain as the fire scorched her, but still she did not pull away, as if to prove a point.

«Do you know what you do to me? Truly?» Moonbyul whispered through gritted teeth. «You turn my world upside down, you take my sky and turn it into ground, you take water and turn it into fire, the stars above me are out of balance, my world is in disarray, in chaos, but I wouldn’t have it any other way if it meant I couldn’t be with you! It makes no difference if I can’t hold you like this!» Moonbyul tightened her arms around her. «I am not giving up on you, Yongsun!»

«I would not be able to live with myself if I killed you with my fire.» Yongsun whispered.

In that moment Yongsun wanted to kiss Moonbyul, not on the cheeks, or her forehead, but on the lips. She imagined Moonbyul’s lips would be soft and sweet, the kiss would be tender and gentle: A merciful ending, a kind beginning. But the fear of hurting Moonbyul any further scared her so much that Yongsun wriggled free from Moonbyul’s grip.

«Yongsun!»

Moonbyul could not hold on for much longer and eventually pulled away. The ceiling collapsed around them, the wooden beams crumbling, and Yongsun was fully engulfed by fire. She could not resist it. She became what a star was; the warmth and light in a never ending abyss of darkness. 

«Yongsun!»

At that moment Yongsun embraced the beauty of destruction and flourished by illuminating all around her. She burned brighter and brighter, not because she had to. It was a choice to let the fire consume her, she gave in to her anger, her rage, her fury, and did what stars do best…

…It was only a matter of time until the World eventually yielded to Yongsun’s light…

Little bird, fly, fly, as fast as you can, past blue sea, green fields, and yellow sand.

Little bird, fly, fly, as fast as you can, without looking back at the past if you can…

When the World was still young, the mountains grey and tall, the hills emerald green and the rivers glistening blue, farmers and nobles alike told tales and sang tunes of Altair and Vega. They feared the mighty beasts, yet they also worshipped them, for they were believed to be blessings from the Stars.

It was a common belief in Lands such as Couronne and Nordfjord that Altair and Vega had been knocked out of the sky to find a purpose in the World and to inspire Life and the Living. To do so Altair and Vega had to walk as Beings and live as Beings, they had to feel the same joy and love that Beings felt, but they also had to experience Death and parting just like any other.

When another Star by the name of Antares was consumed by Demise and fell from the sky, the World was shrouded in darkness. A