Chapter 1 - The Snow Pinwheel

Hong Ja Young felt like she was sinking deep in an ocean. She only felt numbness through her body. She couldn’t move nor breathe. Her existence was slowly leaving her and disappearing from the world. However, there was something that was keeping her from dying. She could just reach out for that one reason to resist her passing, but no matter how hard she would try, it wouldn't come to her weakening hands.

Ja Young began to have visions flashing in her mind. She saw memories of her and Hye Young as children, her parents, Kuno; all the memories before the twins gained their argentic abilities. She even saw memories of her punching Kai in the face the first time they met. She saw the Bunshi Death Camp, the Daemen assailant severing her right arm and obtaining an artificial one at Lotis. The last thing she saw was the two Daemens killing her and capturing her friends and her sister. One by one, all the images she could see faded away.

A heavily cloaked figure sensed something strange running amok as he travelled through the rainy night in the Bunshi wasteland. He felt another life force and followed it quickly before it could dissipate, sensing the rapid pace it was deteriorating. After trailing the weak life energy, he stopped at a destroyed camp with a lawn of bright green grass, still untouched and pure. Suspicious, he knelt down on the ground and pressed his palm on the grass. His blood froze when he realized that the fertilizer for the grass was the flesh of those who have fallen to their deaths of the camp. He dashed inside the abandoned building, still tracing the energy.

‘How could this be? The Daemens could not have made their move already, could they?’ The stranger asked himself.

He felt the remains of Argent power and Daemen energy coming from the imprisoning room. It was also destroyed and a large pit was created near the entrance. There was the Daemen Lord laying in the middle of the crater with a broken neck. He was about to inspect the body until he saw a young teenager on the edge of death.

The cloaked figure dashed towards Ja Young and checked for vital damage. He spotted the impalement in the middle of her abdomen. Her mechanical arm surpised him the most. He recognized it from a long time ago. He could not imagine how it managed to make her the new master of the weapon. He cupped her bruised cheek and listened for breathing.

He could only hear a little bit but he could also feel the teenager's life force leaving her. He had to act quickly in order to save her. The stranger tenderly lifted her up into his arms and unraveled a scroll that made them disappear from the camp to somewhere that no Daemen could possibly find them.

It was that same dream again, except Hong Ja Young didn’t recognize it. She was standing in the middle of a meadow with cherry blossom petals dancing around her and another person. This time, she couldn’t see the second figure beside her, as if the figure had completely turned into a silhouette obscuring the face. She turned back to the scenery as it started to decay. She looked beside her to see a long sword ready to slay her. She brought her arms in front of her to shield herself until everything went white.

But it was only for a moment, that she subconsciously opened her eyes to somewhere new. The setting was something she had never seen before, but it drew her in. It was some sort of large tree with countless colourful ornaments illuminating the leaves and branches. The trunk was wide and thick, shaded in a healthy brown.

Then a bright light from up above made her crane her head to the sky, where twelve symbols flared as clear as the sun. They suddenly flashed brighter once before they scattered away from the area.

While she was genuinely confused to what this dream was trying to convey her, there was a sharp pulsing ache in her chest. Her head also felt dull and dizzying, unable to focus. Everything seemed to overpower her consciousness and she dropped to her knees and hands. Even her limbs seemed to be too weak to support her, and thus collapsing on the ground.

Ja Young woke up to an unfamiliar room. She felt different as if she was reborn. She sat up and looked around. She was sleeping on a futon in a traditional foreign style room with a low desk nearby. Ja Young moved her hand until it lightly collided with a bowl of water, a wet towel and some bandages.

She saw her mechanical arm still attached to her. She took the time to admire it because she never tried. Her left fingers trailed the smooth metal and lines, relishing the cold runes. Nothing seemed to come into thought as she marvelled her arm.

Ja Young felt something wrapped around her abdomen but there wasn’t any pain. She was wearing a plain white robe that was a little too big for her. She spotted another set of dirty clothes by the low desk. It must have been hers.

She unwrapped the robe to see that her stomach has been bandaged and slightly wet from her sweat. She closed the robe and tried to stand up. She fell down a couple times because she still felt weak on her legs. She wondered what made her so unstable, where in Shugo she was or how long she was asleep. Moreover, was she even asleep until now?

With her left hand, she felt her face and then down her neck. She stopped her movement when she felt a thin chain with her fingers. She trailed it to the front and caught the pendant of the jewelry. After unclasping it from her neck, she gazed at the teardrop shape with the single diamond embedded in the center. Something in the back of her mind felt as if this necklace belonged to someone else. Before she could ask too many questions about it, she reclasped it back around her neck.

Ja Young went to the window by the futon to see a new land that was unknown to her. Her eyes widened when she saw some children running around freely and happily. It seemed like an isolated hospital or some sort of orphanage for the young ones. She saw one of the young boys trying to emit a small ball of fire from his small hands, but it dissipated quickly. His large eyes widened for a moment before sticking his tongue out to the side to try again. He was an Argent; then again, all the children were Argents. Curiosity started to fill her heart when she slid the door open and exited.

Ja Young took in her surroundings as she was walking down the empty hall. She became fascinated and captivated by the beautiful paintings of flowers, trees and birds on the doors and rice paper walls. Eventually, she was standing in front of the entrance to outside. She carefully slid the door open to find many young children like before. When she came out of the manor, none of them were paying attention because they were happily enjoying their time. The sun was still high in the sky, and the energy that they were emitting made her feel a little more awake than before.

Ja Young sat down and watched them play. Somehow, their innocence brought peace to her mind but there was no trouble in her heart to begin with. A ball rolled to her feet and she stopped her train of thought. She picked it up and saw the young boy from before holding his arms out for it back. She threw it lightly and he caught it with a toothy grin.

“Thanks!” He chirped but she couldn’t understand it. It was a different language than what she already knew. 

Troubled, she stood up and began to wander again. She went around to the back of the manor. She found an exotic but modest garden and her eyes sparkled in awe. She had never in her life seen so much natural beauty in her life. There were delicate flower beds on one side and vegetables and herbs on the other. She went to look at the flowers first. She was drawn to the unknown species but there were none she recognized. They were all unique in their own beautiful way.

Suddenly, her mechanical arm started to twitch and her mind became very alert. Something peculiar was getting its attention; something mysterious and somehow dangerously powerful. Instead of following it, however, Ja Young only held out her arm in front of her. She couldn't seem to figure out what was wrong with her, or why her arm was behaving so oddly. There was something in the garden that was trying to hide its presence, and it didn't seem to belong there either.

It twitched again. Ja Young’s head turned to a flower in a verdant-coloured pot she had yet to see. It was a single white flower that had only four uniquely shaped petals with a blue center. The shape was like a pinwheel but the edges were closing in on each other. Ja Young could sense some like of secret behind the flower and started to reach for it; her mind going on autopilot. Before the mechanical fingers could have one of the flower, someone had grabbed her wrist to stop her. Her head whipped to the side where the hand came from.

It was a man no older than twenty-one with a youthful and fragile face. He had thin lips with dimples and soulful eyes that held an amused expression.

“You should be resting,” he chuckled good-heartedly.

Ja Young couldn’t respond because it was the same unfamiliar language. The man let go of her wrist. She kept staring at this strange person with peering and clueless eyes. He chucked again and spoke, “The Snow Pinwheel... is the universal name of this flower. It’s meaning is ‘Beautiful but secretive.’ Remarkable isn’t it?”

The common tongue had immediately caught her attention because she could understand it. 

“I take it that you are not from here. This is a 2nd World Country called Hajung in the common language. But in ours, we pronounce it Hua Jiang. This is the province of Nomun. It is a land of fertility and peace, hence this garden.”

The man began to walk and Ja Young instinctively followed his leisurely pace. “As you figured it out, this manor is indeed an orphanage for lost Argent children. I run this place quietly.”

“Quietly?” Ja Young repeated.

“Yes. Other orphanages from different countries do not follow my standards because I like the children to have more freedom and carefree nature than having them to study and train all day. I believe that their sense of wonder and their playful desires will let them go to distance.”

“They do truly look content,” Ja Young smiled.

“Why thank you.” He said.

Ja Young stopped at a clearing at the back of the garden. She looked at the man who was slowly walking away and slipped out. She followed the trail and saw a small spring. She went closer and stepped into the clean water. As she got deeper, her reflection appeared before her on the surface. She couldn't recognize her face. Her eyes looked more empty and her face more lost and emotionless. She touched her face with her mechanical hand.

“This serves as a spring for our water supply. No matter how many people step foot into this spring, it will remain clean and healthy.” The man reappeared. Ja Young was startled. How did he find her so quickly? The man took a few strides into the water, closer to her.

“I apologize. I haven’t had a chance to introduce myself properly. My name is Zhang Yi Xing, but my alias is Lay. I am sure you can understand."

By instinct, Ja Young would give her own name in return, but she was tongue-tied. She couldn't utter her own name or even other words of introduction to this man who saved her life.

Her mind was completely empty, a blank canvas where nothing was ever drawn on it. She did feel like she was reborn, starting over her life after she had grown. She was in so much shock that she dropped to her knees in the spring, not caring whether the white robe was slowly getting damp. Lay ran to her side, his robes also getting wet. He remained silent, sympathetically watching her struggle with her own thoughts.

He sighed inwardly to himself, feeling invisibly guilty, and lifted her to her own feet. He escorted her back to the orphanage and back to her room where she stayed. He needed to sort out some things beforehand.