Sae—otherwise known to the world as Ms. Sybil—clasped her hands together tightly on top of the table in front of her and sat up straight as she watched her most recent visitor—or perhaps in more accurate terms, customer—take their leave. She maintained a proper image until they closed the door of the cottage behind themselves, with a sigh of relief subsequently escaping her as she swiftly slumped into her seat. Had this day not just begun, she would've started to cheer—yet, that person was only one of many to come. Sae knew it would not be long until another arrived, thus she did not waste any time trying to slack or grabbing a quick snack for that matter.

She gazed out the open window, deeply inhaling the fumes of the sea the gentle gusts of wind blew into the cot before turning her attention to the next fellow to arrive. She quickly plastered a fake smile onto her face and greeted the young man as he took a seat across from her.

Not once had her eyes wandered to his during this short interaction.

"Hello, I hope you are well today, mister."

The man did not respond to her verbally, and only nodded. She supposed that this was fine, as it would not be too troublesome unless he continued doing this when words counted most.

"Is there anything you would like to discuss before I look into your future?"

He opened his mouth, though nothing had come out. His lips pressed back together, and while she could not read his expression as well as she would've liked as she continued to avoid his eyes, she could tell he was hesitating. In an attempt to assure him, she said this:

"No matter what it is, I will listen."

Little did she know, she would regret this.

"M—Ms. Sybil... are you, perhaps seeing anyone..?"

Sae rose her brow out of confusion, and had slightly lifted her head to take a better look at the man. Her eyes widened in shock as she familiarized herself with his features, and soon she realized that this person was no visitor from afar.

She cleared her throat as she carefully considered how to answer his question.

"That is something I cannot disclose."

Her words came out more harshly than she intended, so she rephrased them. This time, she'd spoken to him much more casually, feeling that there was little need to keep up formalities if they knew one another.

"Sorry, Mikael. I have never viewed you like that."

There was a tinge of guilt in her heart as she watched his expression grow dim, though she knew that this was for the best. Besides, her words were not lies anyways.

"Should we proceed now?"

The boy took much longer to reply, but he'd done so eventually regardless. Once again, he merely nodded, but that much worked just fine for her.

The fortune-telling maiden met his gaze shortly after that, and winced in discomfort as all the information flooded into her mind. This process had always been overwhelming for her, though she supposed that overtime she must've gotten better at handling it... even if her head continued to ache all the same.

She slowly rubbed her temples, trying to think of the best way to put his destiny into words. Then she remembered, she didn't have to say all the details unless they wanted her to. She secretly prayed to herself that he would not make her do more work.

"You will have a very pleasant life from here on out. There will be few troubles along the way, but you will find ways to conquer them with ease."

Pleasedontaskformoredetailspleasedontaskformoredetailspleasedontaskformoredetails—

"Is that so..?"

He merely muttered in response, letting out a notably gloomy sigh. A part of herself could not help but wonder whether or not he was doing that unconsciously.

As she opened her mouth to speak once more, Mikael interrupted her with a loud, 'ahem'. She stared at him blankly, then tried again. He followed up with another cough, much to her annoyance.

"Are you ill?"

The boy shook his head.

"Are you sure?"

He repeated his previous action.

Sae went completely silent at this. After what felt like an eternity of a second passed by, she attempted to speak another time. Fortunately, there was no longer any effort in trying to silence her from him.

This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

"If that is all, you should go now."

Mikael would not move from his seat, even as she continued to try and persuade him to do so. She did not have the desire to treat him rudely, in spite of her own irritation, however she did want him to leave as soon as possible.

"It would be troublesome for the village if you stay here too long. Others wish to see me."

She paused momentarily.

"Take the copper you deposited into the box back. I'm not necessarily making business if it's coming from the pockets of another townsperson."

He did not budge.

"Are you listening?"

Sae was expecting him to remain still, but was met with surprise when he suddenly stood and began to make his way towards the door. The thought of chasing after him crossed her mind randomly, though she did not act upon it for obvious reasons. She watched him grow further away, and shook her head.

She expected him to leave without another word, yet—

"I was dozing off, my apologies Ms. Sybil."

Nothing left her lips in return, even as she had thought of answering.

The next time she saw him, all she hoped for was that it would not be an awkward encounter.

The girl did her best not to think too much about it, as she would be unable to focus if her mind lingered on the thought for too long. She could not risk getting distracted in the midst of her job and ruining business.

The room fell silent, just as it always had when a customer left.

All she heard was the waves, and soon enough, the approaching steps of another person.

----------------------------------------

Several visits later, Sae found herself completely worn out. As the end of the day neared, all she desired was rest, yet she could not have a break until the moon shone the brightest in the night sky.

Her stomach rumbled quietly, and she whispered to herself a few careless words that had mainly consisted of curses.

The sound of footsteps had grown fewer, and her hopes much higher as a result. If she was lucky, she wouldn't have anyone else to come see her.

A good thirty minutes passed and no one else had come by, much to her own joy. She would've cheered, though she did not have enough energy to do so.

Strangely, however, she did have enough to clean up as speedily as was humanly possible. She dusted the entirety of the room, which luckily took only a short amount of her time due to how small it was. Afterward, she shut the window, pulled the curtains over, and was off on her way.

It took all her self-restraint to not happily skip towards the door, but just as she was about to pull it open herself—

"The esteemed Ms. Sybil! Are you still here?!"

Sae stumbled backwards, nearly falling back onto the nice piece of pottery Ms. Octavia made for her! She'd barely managed to catch herself in time...

"Oh dear, am I too late?"

That grating voice echoed.

Begrudgingly, Sae answered:

"No, you are not."

With every ounce of strength she had in her body, she held back her anger, even if she felt as though she may explode at any moment now. Which she may, if this late person did not make their visit a short one.

"What do you need?"

She asks, already knowing what they'll say.

"It's obvious, isn't it? I've come to know my future!"

The oddly dressed person shouted, their voice so loud she thought her ear drums would burst. In the darkness she could hardly make out their features, with the exception of their long hair and cloak which blended in with their surroundings.

She reluctantly welcomed them inside, guiding them to take a seat before she sat down across from them as she normally would. Sae cleared her throat, readying herself to speak when out of nowhere—

"Have you ever heard of, 'The Great Conflict', Ms. Sybil?"

???

"I don't believe so...? Anyways, let us get this over with so you shall be happy and satisfied knowing that—"

They cut her off before they could finish, continuing on with what they'd brought up.

"It's truly a wonderful part of history. Everyone must know, peasant or not! Should I tell you about it?"

"No, I'm fi—"

"Too slow."

Sae held back from letting loose. This person was truly getting on her last nerves, at this rate, she was unsure of how much longer she'd last in a room with them.

"So basically, a long time ago, there were a ton of gods, right? But, of course, they couldn't live in harmony. So they resorted to the only form of problem solving they knew: fighting!"

Ugh, this person was just insufferable, weren't they?

"So he—"

Blah... blah... blah...

"And then—"

Through one ear, out the other.

----------------------------------------

Sae wasn't sure how long they've been rambling, as she could care less about keeping track, but with every passing second she could swear that she was about to lose her mind. Every time they got close to finishing their little story, somehow they managed to prolong it even more.

When was it going to end? Please say soon.

"And that's all—"

Oh thank god.

"—About the war, at least. Let's move onto the after math now."

. . .

Unexpectedly, the person did not continue. Instead, they laughed. As if holding back this entire time, the laugh they let out was full of energy. Sae hardly found this amusing, however. Her time was being wasted, on things she could learn if she so desired.

"My apologies, Ms. Sybil. I couldn't help myself when I found out you did not know."

Sae didn't reply. One could say she was half-asleep at this rate, but the truth is, she was too angry at the moment.

"I assure you this last bit will be worth your while."

No answer, just a blatantly clear frown hidden behind a poor smile.

"How about this, I'll make it short, just for you? Oh, and I'll be taking your silence as a yes."

This time, she was quick to react.

"If you are no longer interested in knowing your future, I kindly suggest you leave as to not drag this long night on any further."

The other smirked, not that she could tell. It was dark, and she was hardly even looking at them.

"Ms. Sybil, there must be something you wish for, correct?"

She froze, but did not speak in return. She wished for many things, but it was far too many.

"I've caught your attention now! That's good... now, as I had been saying... ah, actually—allow me to catch you up a bit first. You weren't paying attention earlier—"

They started, clearing their throat before summarizing what she'd been half-listening to and what she had yet to learn.

"Several millennia before the nation's founding, there was a great war amongst the gods which had cost many mortals and otherworldly beings their lives.

It is said that while none of them came out as victors, they had left behind a gift for the torn remnants of our world.

Fragments of their souls—that hold similarities to the stars above—that can grant any wish whispered within their proximity.

So, if it isn't too much of me to ask, Ms. Sybil, will you come searching for the fallen stars with me?"