On the morning of the fourth day, Iseul ran out of money. Much to her dismay, she had miscounted how much she had left and didn’t have enough to pay for her noonday meal. The shop owner was threatening to report her to the officials when two other customers interfered.

“I’m sure she didn’t intend to cheat you out of your due,” one of them said, placing a hand on the shop owner’s shoulder. He had a strong gaze and square jaw but a more delicate nose and mouth. He was taller than Iseul by a fair amount, with large, long- hands, but he was quite thin. His smooth, pale skin would have looked less out of place on a rich, sheltered lady.

“This is none of your business,” the shop owner retorted, brushing away the hand on his shoulder.

“Actually, it is. My friend and I are offering to pay the difference that this young lady owes.” From the way his shorter, broad-shouldered companion narrowed his eyes a little, Iseul gathered that he hadn’t quite agreed to this.

Reaching into his bag, the young man handed over the copper bits. Iseul thanked him and his friend, but as predicted, they followed her as she left the shop.

“What do I owe you?” she asked. While generous people existed, she still doubted that a total stranger would offer to pay on her behalf. Or was this more flirting? Getting into her good graces by doing a favor?

“You have to fight against my friend here in a test of your swordsmanship.”

“Why?”

“Just for entertainment. We don’t see many women carrying swords around in this area, so we’re curious as to how good you are.”

It was a strange form of repayment, but Iseul said, “Fair enough.” She would finally get to put her years of training to the test.

As the three sought a place to hold their battle, they exchanged names. The young man who had offered to pay was named Sungjong. His quieter companion was named Howon but preferred to be called Hoya. Without thinking, Iseul gave them her real name, but she doubted the slip-up would cost her greatly.

When the three of them reached the town square, Sungjong’s eyes lit up. “I have an idea.”

“What?” Iseul and Hoya asked at the same time. While Iseul laughed at the coincidence, Hoya looked mildly embarrassed.

“We can turn this into a show,” Sungjong explained. “Earn some money.”

They made their way to a less crowded area of the square, and moments later, Sungjong was calling for people’s attention. Once he had enough people interested, he announced Iseul’s and Hoya’s names while explaining that they would be having a duel that he would referee. He then began collecting tallying bets on who would win.

Not unexpectedly, most people were betting on Hoya, who seemed like the obvious choice. He was a man, taller and stronger. While Iseul didn’t look like a complete weakling, she didn’t appear very imposing either. She had her own doubts about her ability to win against him. However, a few daring souls placed their bets on Iseul, and she wasn’t sure whether she should feel thankful for the moral support or sorry that she could very well be losing some people their hard-earned money.

In her distraction, she almost didn’t notice Sungjong indicating that she and Hoya needed to prepare for battle. Hurriedly, she drew the Sword of the Eclipse from its sheath. As she did, she realized this was the first time she had drawn the blade. Up until that point, she hadn’t needed it for anything, and she hadn’t thought to practice using it since her attention had been on traveling onward. She would be fighting with a sword she was unfamiliar with.

“Idiot,” she cursed herself. But it was too late. However, the sword felt perfectly balanced in her hand, as if it had been made for her.

Sungjong declared the beginning of the match and backed away to let the fight unfold.

First came the circling, which was possibly the most nerve-wracking part. She and her opponent sized each other up while keeping an eye on the other’s weapon. Someone would have to make the first move. In the background, the chants had begun, but both sides ignored them.

In the end, Iseul lunged forward to attack first. Hoya dodged the swipe with relative ease and returned with his own strike. Their blades clashed, sending vibrations through her wrist to her shoulder.

Go for his left side. The sword spoke into her mind. Following its lead, she looked for a weak point in Hoya’s defenses and sliced toward his left thigh. He couldn’t quite shift in time, and Iseul claimed first blood. Two more and victory would be hers.

In her brief moment relishing this initial triumph, she let her own guard down, and Hoya landed a blow on her left arm, tying their scores. Without pause, he continued to slash at Iseul, and he soon had the upper hand.

Hoya remained on the offensive for a while, with Iseul scrambling to ward off his attacks. Throughout this time, she thanked the gods for her agility, which was one of the few things keeping her on her feet. Then, she thanked Master Sunwoong for the Sword of the Eclipse; it continued to give her hints whenever it felt the need to.

After another few minutes, they were tied again, two to two. The next person to draw blood would be the winner. Both Iseul and Hoya proceeded with heightened wariness.  Any slip-up would likely cost them the victory.

This time, Hoya made the first move. In his anxiety, he hesitated the barest amount, unbalancing himself just enough that Iseul could land her third blow.

Sungjong declared Iseul the victor and concluded the match. In the ensuing chaos, the bets were sorted out and the crowd dispersed, leaving Iseul and her companions with a sizable pile of money, which Sungjong swept into a drawstring bag.

“That was a good match,” Hoya said, shaking her hand. “I didn’t expect you would be able to hold your own for that long, let alone win.”

Iseul shrugged. “Beginner’s luck.” The sword had helped her, so it hadn’t even been a truly fair fight. She also neglected to mention that nearly all of her past opponents, not including Master Sunwoong, had been straw men animated with spells.

“Well, you won, so here’s your prize.” Sungjong handed the bag of money to her. Seeing that she was going to protest, he added, “We don’t actually need the money, whereas you definitely do. Just accept it.”

Shortly after, they bid one another farewell and went their separate ways. Once again, Iseul felt a pang of regret that she couldn’t spend more time getting to know the friendly people she had met in her journey thus far. Unfortunately, fate was tugging her in a different direction, and she always ended up alone in the end.

Nothing else unusual happened after the match against Hoya. She made her way toward her destination, passing through the occasional settlement. Her interactions with people remained minimal. The night before the eclipse, she stayed at an inn in a medium sized city, putting up wards to make sure nobody could intrude. Ever since that one man named Woohyun had tried to make off with the Sword of the Eclipse, she had taken to placing protection spells around her sleeping area.

The following morning, she ate a quick breakfast before setting off in the direction that the map indicated. Since the map could only show so much detail, Iseul wasn’t sure about the exact location that she needed to be at. When she reached the general area, she put away the map, allowing the sword to guide her to the right place.

No matter which way she went, the terrain looked the same to Iseul, all grass and flatland, but she stopped walking when the sword said, “Right here.” From where she was standing, she could barely make out the city she had left that morning in the distance. On all other sides, she saw only a bare horizon.

Around noon, the Sword of the Eclipse began to tremble a little. “Free me from my sheath,” it said, sounding both nervous and excited. Iseul complied with the request, holding the blade up to the sun. “I can feel it coming.” ‘It’ being the eclipse, she guessed.

There wasn’t much else to do besides wait. Several long minutes dragged by, during which Iseul whistled and sang and picked at blades of grass. Then, without warning, the eclipse began.

The edge of the moon kissed the edge of the sun, and then the moon seemed to swallow the sun, plunging the earth into an eerie sort of darkness not quite as dark as night.

“Look up,” the sword urged. As she did, another shadow passed overhead, cast by something much closer to the ground. It was the palace, resting upon a wide tract of land. She could feel it calling to her, exerting a strange pull on her mind and body.

In the blink of an eye, she was no longer on the ground, transported to the front gate of the palace. She didn’t even have to knock, and the double doors of red-painted wood and polished brass swung open on their own accord, admitting her into a grand courtyard. Across the courtyard stood the palace, a wide building with five floors. The ones above the ground floor possessed sloping ridged roofs and balconies which were crawling with carvings of lithe dragons. Most of the structure was painted a vibrant red, but the decorative elements along the railings and near the joining of columns with roofs featured every imaginable color, from sea foam green to a dark blue to lustrous gold. For a building that was hundreds of years old, it looked to be in good repair.

After drinking in the sight of the majestic structure, Iseul broke the silence. “We’re here,” she said. For some reason, even though there was no one around to disturb, she felt the need to keep her voice soft.

“I know,” the sword murmured back.

She crossed the courtyard without a hurry. It felt as if even the small movements she made would cause a large repercussion and upset some delicate balance.

The inside of the building was every bit as luxurious as the outside promised, with silk, porcelain, and polished wood furnishing and decorating almost every corner of each room. Iseul didn’t spend too much time admiring the interior design, though. She had come to look for the Sword of Seven Stars.

When she reached one of the staircases that led to the second floor, she felt it. It was the same pull she had felt as the palace had appeared, except stronger. Without further hesitation, she began to climb the stairs. Somehow, her feet knew where to take her even though her mind did not, and she proceeded at a steady pace.

At last, she reached a room on the third floor, where she regained control of her own feet. The door looked vaguely familiar, as if she had seen it once upon a time in a dream. Sliding the door open, she stepped inside.

Judging by the furnishings, the room had once belonged to a woman. There was a large mirror mounted upon a table with drawers to hold cosmetic items and accessories, and the open wardrobe in the corner revealed a row of silk skirts and dresses. If Iseul hadn’t known any better, she would have thought someone was still living in the room and had simply gone out for a short time.

Come to me, a voice whispered in her mind. Iseul followed it to the far corner of the room, kneeling down by the bottom of the wardrobe. There, she found a drawer that she slowly pulled outward.

Inside the drawer lay a sword. Unlike the Sword of the Eclipse, it was white and decorated with gold. Seven five-pointed stars were set at regular intervals along the sheath, and they glinted even under the dull light in the room.

“That’s the one,” the Sword of the Eclipse said, though its voice sounded distant to her.

Iseul moved as if possessed, dropping the Sword of the Eclipse, which yelped as it clattered to the ground. Ignoring the sword she had brought, she turned her attention to the sword she had just discovered. Carefully, she removed it from the drawer and pulled the weapon free from its sheath. Left hand holding the hilt, she ran her right hand along the blade, the sharpened steel lovingly. When her hand reached the tip, she accidentally sliced her middle finger, drawing a bit of blood.

All of a sudden, she was surrounded by white nothingness, and then she lost consciousness.