As darkness fell upon the village, the street lamps lit up, casting their glows on the pedestrians nearby.

Although Cormed is considered rural even by countryside standards, they were definitely not lagging behind in terms of technological development. The capital might be thousands of kilometres away, but signs of advanced magitech could be seen everywhere. From the floating orbs of street lamps doubling as weather detectors to the elemental-powered harvesters and combiners working in the fields, gone were the days where a farmer's work was chiefly toiling with a hoe.

While the street lamps usually emitted pale white light, today they were flashing brightly in various colours instead. The streets and alleys were filled with stalls and tents of various hues and sizes. Children were playing and running around in the main square, musicians were busking on the street corners, and the food stalls were crowded with villagers and visitors from out-of-town. Occasional fireworks, some oddly cat-shaped, shot up in the night sky. A large bronze statue of a regal old man holding a wizard's staff was overlooking the festivities, its serious expression in stark contrast with the flower garlands on its head.

Lee stood silently from a nearby hill with his arms crossed. While he would usually wander the streets incognito to soak in the festive atmosphere, he didn't feel that would be appropriate given what he will be doing next.

While the hilltop was a far distance away, Lee's eyes could clearly see everyone down below. He didn't interacted with most of them, but he was definitely close to some of the villagers. Ken, the affable village baker, was busy selling sweet cinnamon rolls as his teenage son handed out samples in front of their booth. A long line of people were queuing outside of Madam Schroon's fortune-telling tent, her business in full swing after following Lee's brief tutelage forty-odd years ago. The elderly mayor on the other hand was dancing merrily in front of the bronze statue as his wife gossiped with several women nearby.

A brown-haired man walked towards Lee holding two wooden mugs of ale. After handing one to Lee, he transformed into a tabby cat and leaned back against the tree. He burped loudly after taking a long gulp.

"I see Madam Schroon's business is doing very well," Tabby said. "She is even using a ticketing system and premium reservation lists."

"I have taught her well." Lee nodded in satisfaction at both the ale and his student.

Tabby snorted. "Too well. Even the Court Wizard is here." Lee frowned and looked at the people queuing outside the Madam Schroon's tent. Sure enough, he detected an elderly man with abnormally rich mana entering the tent.

"Shit, that makes things a bit more difficult." Lee sighed. "You didn't mess with him, did you?"

"Nah." Lee looked evenly at Tabby. "Okay, I left a paw print on his robe just in case you want to meet him."

"Might as well, I guess. Anyone else we need to be concerned about?"

"They are several of Faceless' goons running around, which I already took care of. We should be fine to go." Lee recalled the cat-shaped fireworks he saw earlier.

"Okay. Time to work then." As Lee cracked his neck, Tabby waved his glowing right palm in the air.

* * *

Gerome Harkleson stepped inside the tent. He was not sure he needed to have his fortunes told, but the spirits had been urging him to travel to Cormed. While he was partially certain that they were just playing a practical prank, he eventually gave in to their constant pestering and insistence.

After weeks of haggling with his boss (a.k.a. the esteemed Emperor Avarik the Fifth, long may he be on the throne), Gerome got grudging consent to head towards one the empire's remotest locations as part of a "top-secret, magic-related" business trip.

Gerome originally set out with a disguised group of bodyguards. However, the spirits insisted he travelled alone, forcing him to leave a brief note explaining his absence and ditch his confused bodyguards in the middle of the White Alps.

Several days of train switching later, the travel-worn Gerome eventually arrived at his destination, just in time for a festival to be in full-swing. After asking the locals, Gerome learned that they were commemorating the Immortal saving their village hundreds of years ago from the forces of the demon lord.

While Gerome was inwardly scoffing, he smiled and nodded as he listened to the enthusiastic mayor's drunken rants before declining several pints of overpriced ale. He wandered around and quickly found the source of the spirit's insistence - a shady-looking fortune-teller's tent whom he was sure is another run-off-the-mill scammer.

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Despite being annoyed at the long queue, Gerome used his elderly looks to his full advantage and managed to get ahead in line. Still, he only got his turn after waiting for 2 hours.

Gerome was expecting the tent to be dark and broody with the only source of light being a pale crystal ball set on a spartan wooden table. However, he was surprised at the lavish and comfortable interior filled with fluffy cushions, bright-coloured rugs, the low shelves filled with curious oddities as well as the ornate coffee table. An attractive young woman wearing a velvet purple robe with golden sleeves was pouring tea into two delicate china teacups.

She doesn't seem to be mage, Gerome thought as he observed her mana.

"Hello there. Nice to see a fellow practitioner." Madam Schroon greeted politely.

Gerome smiled, careful not to show a hint of surprise. He was certain that her mana was just slightly above average.

"What did you say?" He cupped his ear and hunched on his staff.

Schroon merely smiled in reply and walked towards him with the teacups. Suddenly, Gerome felt his surroundings become heavier, the noisy sounds outside grew softer before being completely muted.

"We don't have much time here, Gerome." Schroon said. Gerome tried dispelling the spells by tapping his staff discreetly on the floor, but frowned when he felt nothing changed.

"How do you know who I am?" Gerome asked. He bristled and stood up straight, pointing the tip of his staff towards Schroon menacingly.

Schroon chuckled and set the teacups on the table. "The spirits told me. Or rather, I told the spirits to call you. Don't worry, I just want to chat." She smiled and looked at Gerome's staff which was starting to glow.

Gerome waved the lingering energy sparks off but kept his guard up. He sat down after Schroon nestled herself comfortably in an armchair.

"So, what do you have to say?" Gerome asked.

"Actually, someone else has something to say to you. I am just a messenger." Schroon sipped on her tea.

Gerome tried reading Schroon's thoughts and directed his mental persona towards her mind. Much to his confusion, he found himself in a pitch-black empty space.

However, the space was quickly filled with multicoloured shining threads which weaved into the shape huge eye. As the eye turned towards him, Gerome felt a huge sense of dread and fled despite his formidable mental strength. He physically groaned and tumbled backwards into a conveniently placed sofa. Schroon calmly sipped her tea, seemingly oblivious of Gerome's attempts.

"You're the Soothsayer." Gerome rubbed his throbbing head.

"On the contrary, I'm not the Soothsayer, I can only occasionally peek into the workings of fate." Schroon smiled. "I had an excellent master, you see."

Gerome groaned and slumped further into the sofa. "What do you want?"

"Nothing. As I said, I am just a messenger. Well, more like an intermediary to summon you here." Schroon gently placed her teacup on the table. "However, there's one thing which you can help me with."

Schroon stretched towards a nearby shelf and grabbed a paper and pen. As she started writing, Gerome felt something huge and unfathomable concentrating on her words, as if the scribbles on the paper was becoming the very centre of the universe. His own mana started pulling towards Schroon, and the tent itself seemed to be collapsing inwardly ever so slightly.

Schroon stopped writing and put down the pen. Gerome found himself heaving in relief as the sense of gravity and discomfort left just as suddenly as it arrived. She folded and sealed the paper before passing it over to Gerome.

"Does that happen every time you tell someone's fortune?" As he asked, Gerome tried to unfold the paper but couldn't find the closing edge. "If so, that's awfully inconvenient."

"Oh gods, no." Schroon covered her mouth as she chuckled. "Usually things are pretty straightforward, just some rumours and observations will do the trick. This is a special occasion."

"By the way, you can't unfold or destroy that paper, so you might as well stop," Schroon continued. "That information is fated. You can perhaps try if you are more powerful than my master." Gerome was trying to burn the paper, but gave up when his own mana was being absorbed instead.

"Fine, fine. " Gerome decided to play along after all his previous attempts failed. "So, who exactly am I supposed to meet here? You said you are just an intermediary?"

"Finally, you are asking the right questions." Schroon beamed. "Don't worry, you will find out in seven..."

"Seven?" Gerome reached for the tea.

"...Six, five, four, three, two, one! Bye bye!"

As Gerome's fingertips brushed against the china, he felt a sense of displacement and was quickly warped into a black hole. Both him and the phenomenon quickly vanished.

"Tsk, tsk. He could have enjoyed this if he wasn't so stubborn." As she reached for the undrunk tea, Schroon felt a deep pang of sadness and lost. However, she composed herself before wiping the tears forming at the corners of her eyes.

Schroon adjusted her expressions and rang a bell. An attendant swiftly appeared and efficiently tidied up the place.

In the brief moments between the attendant leaving and her next customer entering, Schroon couldn't help but wonder if it was a mistake to summon Gerome.

Unfortunately, Schroon knew all too well that those who can see fate clearly are those who are most enslaved to fate.

* * *

Lee and Tabby watched as an old man popped up from Tabby's summoning circle. As the man reorientated himself, a piece of paper shot towards Lee who nimbly caught it between his fingers.

Lee sighed, knowing full well what his disciple's message might be. Regret flashed in his eyes before being replaced with tired resignation.

"Hello Gerome." Lee tucked the paper away and turned towards the wary Court Wizard. "Glad you could make it. Let's start."

Tabby smashed the empty mug after gulping down the ale, the crack of the mug and his loud burp causing the highly-alert Gerome to jump.