Days blurred together in a haze of sword drills, meditation, and silent warnings. Lin’s mind was never quiet anymore. Every corner she turned, every step she took, felt like it was leading her closer to something she wasn’t ready for. Her uncle’s cryptic words, the man’s unsettling smile, and the mysterious connection between them all haunted her thoughts.
And then, one day, it happened.
It was just before dusk, the sky a mix of oranges and purples as Lin finished her evening practice. Sweat still beaded on her forehead, but her muscles had started to feel more familiar with the movements. As she wiped her sword clean and slid it back into its sheath, she caught a movement in the distance.
Someone was standing at the edge of the training ground, watching her.
Her heart skipped a beat as she instantly recognized the figure. It was him. The man from before.
He was standing under the trees, his silhouette framed by the fading light, and he was staring directly at her. His expression was unreadable, but his presence alone made her stomach twist. She couldn’t explain it, but she felt like he was waiting for something—waiting for her to take the next step.
"Why do you keep following me?" Lin called out, her voice stronger than she felt.
The man didn’t move. “I’m not following you, Lin. I’m just... waiting for you.”
“Waiting for me?” she repeated, her brows furrowing. “For what?”
The man’s lips quirked into a faint smile. “For you to see the truth. For you to realize what’s coming.”
Lin gritted her teeth. “I don’t want to be a part of whatever this is.”
But the man only shook his head. “You don’t have a choice. It’s already decided.”
Lin’s heart pounded in her chest. “What do you mean? What’s already decided?”
He stepped forward then, his eyes never leaving hers. “The time is almost here. You’ll be forced to choose, whether you like it or not.”
She took a step back, her hand instinctively going to the hilt of her sword. “I’m not afraid of you.”
But he wasn’t threatening. He wasn’t even close to her, yet his presence felt suffocating, like the air itself had changed.
He stopped just short of her. His eyes softened for a brief moment. “I’m not here to hurt you. I’m here because you’re part of something bigger than both of us. And when that time comes, you’ll have to decide where your loyalties lie.”
Lin’s breath hitched in her throat. She didn’t know what he meant. She didn’t want to know.
“I don’t care about your games,” she snapped, pushing her emotions down. “I’m not involved in whatever this is.”
He didn’t flinch. Instead, he stepped even closer, and his voice dropped to a whisper. “You will be. You don’t have a choice.”
Lin’s fingers tightened around her sword, and for a moment, everything was silent. The world seemed to freeze, the weight of his words settling in her chest.
“You will be,” he repeated.
Before Lin could respond, he turned, his black cloak billowing behind him as he began walking away, disappearing into the trees as quietly as he had come. Lin stood frozen, her body trembling with a mix of frustration, fear, and something else she couldn’t quite place.
Later that night, Lin sat alone in her room, staring at the ceiling. Her uncle had told her to sleep, but sleep was the last thing on her mind. She couldn’t escape the feeling that something was wrong. That her life was about to change in ways she didn’t understand—and maybe didn’t want to understand.
She had been training her whole life. Her uncle had made sure of that. But no amount of sword drills or meditation had prepared her for the truth: nothing she knew, nothing she was doing, would matter when the time came to face whatever was out there. Whoever that man was, he wasn’t just a stranger. He was tied to her future in ways she couldn’t even begin to fathom.
Her thoughts were interrupted by a soft knock on the door.
“Lin?” It was her uncle’s voice. “Can I come in?”
She didn’t respond right away. She wasn’t sure what to say. Her uncle had been distant for days now, as though he knew something she didn’t. He had been preparing her for something, but the question was: what?
The door opened a crack, and her uncle stepped in, his expression soft but unreadable.
“Everything okay?” he asked quietly, his eyes searching her face.
Lin didn’t look at him. Instead, she stared out the window, where the sky had darkened and the first stars were beginning to appear. “That man came again.”
Her uncle’s eyes flickered, but he didn’t say anything at first. He just stepped inside and sat down next to her, his calm presence filling the room. It was comforting, but it did little to ease her anxiety.
“He said there’s something coming,” she continued, her voice small. “Something I’m not ready for. That I don’t have a choice.”
Her uncle sighed, leaning back against the wall. “I wish I could tell you everything, Lin. But the time isn’t right. You’re not ready.”
“Ready for what?” she whispered, frustration bubbling up inside her. “When will I be ready? When will you trust me?”
He looked at her with a soft gaze, his eyes filled with something that almost looked like regret. “When the time comes,” he said quietly, “you’ll understand.”
Lin clenched her fists, the weight of her uncle’s words sinking in. She didn’t understand now, and she wasn’t sure she ever would.
But there was one thing she did know: her life wasn’t her own. Not anymore. And no matter how much she trained, no matter how hard she fought, some things were simply out of her control.
The storm was coming. And no matter how hard she tried to fight it, she couldn’t stop it.
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