Chapter 127 - The Future Which Could Be But Won’t

A slow, romantic song drifted through the hall, dozens of dancers doing gentle twirls across the dance floor as even more guests watched from the sides. As the song came to an end the hall filled with polite applause and cheerful chatter. People walked off and on the dance floor as the musicians prepared the sheet music for the next dance.

The atmosphere was lively and bright, but one girl stood to the side staring up at the ceiling with a worried look on her face.

Unbeknownst to everyone but her, a tragedy was on the brink of occurring.

Now that the dance floor was open Yuzu was able to make her way over to the stairs. She climbed up to the second floor, never taking her eyes off of the giant knot of fate threads that was suspended in the center of the room.

She walked over to the center of the balcony that overlooked the dance floor. This was where Sansen Zhao was going to give his final speech.

Yuzu quickly found his string. It was smoky but not too faint. If the future were to continue without interference he would be assassinated in this spot in a little less than two hours from now.

The knot of fate hovering over the dance floor would occur shortly after his death.

A small frown tilted Yuzu’s lips as she examined the threads. The events did not appear to be directly related, but they occurred too close to each other to be coincidence.

Yuzu focused first on Sansen’s assassination, carefully examining the thread at the moment he was going to die. At that time, a golden thread was wrapped tightly around Sansen’s, directly causing his death. This was the spiritual essence of the cup of wine that had come to life. There was also the white string of the man with the top hat and the silver string of the maid, who had tried to help Sansen Zhao. Yuzu immediately identified them as Corbin Nao, Sansen’s aide and business partner, and Chloe, his maid.

So, they tried their best to save Sansen but failed... Or wait, they -will- try their best, but they won’t fail because I’ll make sure it won’t happen. So they won’t try their best.

“I need better words to describe the future.” Yuzu furrowed her brows for a moment. “Mr. Nao seemed to be able to stop time briefly, but he couldn’t hold it for long. And Chloe had a mirror that was... sucking Sansen inside? I wonder how that was supposed to save him... She also died in a gruesome way...”

The spiritually charged wine had a string which came from the second floor refreshments room. If she followed it she would be able to locate where that wine was and find out more about it. Perhaps she would even be able to discover the perpetrator who planned the assassination.

Yuzu nodded seriously to herself. She had two hours before the murder happened. Surely that would be enough time to stop it.

It was like she was a detective working backward from the clues, following the trail of evidence... except that the crime hadn’t even happened yet.

If I could solve crimes this way, wouldn’t that make me the world’s best detective? Yuzu couldn’t help but smirk at the thought. Catching the bad guys while preventing the murder from even happening... That’s a step above any detective I’ve ever read about.

Yuzu felt a boost of confidence come about her as she decided to investigate the wine and unravel the mystery of Uncle Zhao’s future murder. However since this wasn’t the only problem she had to tackle, she didn’t leave the balcony right away.

Her eyes looked across the room to where the knot of fate was hanging in the air.

A thick black cord tied dozens of fate strings together in a complicated ball that was two metres in diameter. The golden threads came from the guests of the party and rose up into the ball, but after they entered the ball half of them shriveled to nothing and the other half were stained black.

A vision formed in Yuzu’s mind. The opulent, brightly lit hall was filled with shock as a crowd formed around the tycoon’s body.

“He- he’s dead!” Someone cried out.

“What sorcery was that? Were my eyes playing tricks on me?”

A great number of the guests seemed to be unable to comprehend what they had just witnessed.

However they did not have much time to digest the event as the hall began to rumble violently.

The chandeliers on the ceiling swayed back and forth, their crystal pendants clinking together as they cast irregular light and shadow across the room.

“There’s something below us!” A voice called out.

“Get out of the room!”

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An explosion of wood and earth burst out from the center of the floor, sending several people flying. A terrible roar shook the hall as a reptilian creature came into view. It was several meters long, with massive scaly front arms that it used to tear through the earth. It had a long, flat snout and a mouth filled with dozens of razor sharp teeth.

Screams filled the room as the monster rampaged across the room, snapping people in half with its jaws, crushing others as it wreaked havoc throughout the dance floor.

Gunshots echoed through the room as Sansen’s security guards did their best to combat the beast, however their efforts did little to slow it down. The monster crashed through the wall, bursting out into the night where it escaped into the darkness.

Yuzu’s eyes focused as she came out of the vision. She was not shocked by the scene, but rather viewed it with a detached coolness. Though the vision was horrible, it was only one potential future. Much like Sansen’s death, with Yuzu’s interference this future was preventable as well.

This she was sure of.

Even if Yuzu couldn’t stop the monster from appearing, at the worst case she could evacuate the hall and prevent many, if not all, of the deaths.

All she needed to do was follow the strings.

~

At that time in the refreshments room, Char Char was standing at the side while watching the door for Yuzu. Two songs had already passed but her friend hadn’t yet arrived.

“Maybe she’s having a good time with Rey?” Char Char frowned. It wasn’t that she hated the guy, but she didn’t get along with him. Then again, that was probably her own fault.

Reynold Warren was extremely popular in the upper class circles, particularly among the ladies. He was the son of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, a polyglot who spent his youth in foreign lands wining and dining with officials. Even though he was only nineteen, he was already working in the ministry under his father. He was tall, handsome and always a gentleman.

Except, that is, towards Char Char. But that was a special case of two very different people just not meshing together very well.

Thinking about it further, Yuzu was probably more Rey’s type.

“If Yuzu likes Rey... I have to support her.” Char Char nodded, her imagination running wild. “If they get together, does that mean he’ll come along when I invite her over? I hope not...”

Char Char was mumbling to herself, not paying attention to her surroundings, when someone cleared their throat behind her.

“Excuse me, Miss Zhao.”

The pretty girl turned around to face the man who had addressed her. In fact, there were two men present. The first was Earl Shum, a round man with a double chin and thin grey hair shaved close to his scalp. Char Char was acquainted with the Earl, though she hadn’t ever held a conversation with him.

The second man was tall and stately, and was dressed in white monk’s robes. He had a long thin beard and strong cheekbones. As the only man at the ball who was not wearing a suit, he completely stood out from the crowd. Char Char had also never spoken to the Abbott before, but she was well aware of his identity even before this evening.

“Good evening, Earl Shum. Good evening, Abbott Glass.” Char Char curtsied politely.

“You are just the person we’ve been looking for!” Earl Shum smiled brightly, holding up a half full glass of white wine. His cheeks were flushed and it was apparent that he had already had his fair share of drinks.

“I am?”

“Yes. Well, I dare say you shouldn’t be surprised. You must be aware of all the incredible rumours about your activities these past few days.”

Char Char felt the attention of a number of people focus on her as Earl Shum boasted loudly. She smiled brightly, raising her palm over her heart, “I have heard a bit... but if we’re thinking of the same rumours, many of them are surely exaggerated.”

“Nonsense. You saved many, many people.” Earl Shum smiled, “You’re a hero! A hero, I say!”

The Earl raised his glass, looking around the room. A number of guests raised their glass and uttered short cheers to acknowledge the Earl. A number of guests subtly made their way closer to the group to listen in on the conversation.

“Truly, even if half the rumours are true, your actions are commendable.” The Abbott finally spoke, his tone dark and rich as a calm smile touched his lips.

“Rumours be damned, we have you right in front of us. Would you care to tell us your story about your exploits, Miss Zhao?” The Earl’s eyes were gleaming.

“Ah. Well, I don’t know where to start.” Char Char blushed, looking shy and slightly hesitant to tell the tale. In fact this wasn’t the first time this evening that Char Char had been asked about the rumours, however up to this point she had only told the story in vague details.

Though she had no problem talking about the White Maiden, she’d found that many of the guests were skeptical or uncomfortable at the mention of anything supernatural. After a few awkward retellings she’d learned to tone down the fantastic parts of the story and start slowly until she could gauge the receptiveness of her audience.

“Let’s see, what about the events that unfolded at the theatre?” Earl Shum said, “Certainly there are some strange rumours around that. For example, I heard one account that said you descended from the sky onto the theatre stage.”

“That’s definitely an exaggeration!” Char Char almost laughed, “I climbed in through a window on the second floor and accidentally walked into the theatre from backstage.”

“Why were you sneaking into the theatre?” Earl Shum asked.

“I had saved a little girl from... from a vampir. And she told me her sister was trapped in the theatre.” Char Char said, “But when I went onto the stage something incredible happened. A huge crowd of people came in from the lobby looking for me, telling me they had a vision that I had come to help them.”

“A vision? So that really happened?”

Char Char nodded seriously, “I didn’t receive a vision myself, but enough of the people in the crowd had seen this vision and were looking to me for guidance.”

There were some nods from the bystanders around Char Char as they listened quietly to her story.

“Where did the vision come from? Do you know?” Earl Shum asked.

Char Char was about to answer when the Abbott suddenly grinned and gestured sagely with his hand, “Why of course we know. It was a mysterious spirit known to us as the White Maiden.”

Char Char hesitated the correct amount of time then nodded in response, “Yes, the White Maiden appeared out of nowhere that night and saved many, many people. Not just in the theatre but all through Tye-An Market.”

Abbott Glass looked knowingly at Char Char and smiled with a deep look in his eyes, “From what I’ve heard the White Maiden is gracious and benevolent. She saved many lives, yet asked for nothing in return. I have heard that she is as beautiful as she is mysterious. If you have any more stories about her, I would like to hear more.”

Char Char’s eyes brightened as she saw that the Abbott was receptive to the topic of spirits and the White Maiden. She was about to respond when she heard a gentle illusory voice whisper in her ear,

“Be careful. The Abbott is not a friend.”