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Fates Parallel Chapter 169 - Yangye
🕑 Added 2021-12-15 20:51:07 +0000 UTC“You guys are so going to get me fired!”
Yoshika had just spent the last few hours filling Ja Yun in on her relationship with Jianmo, her vague quest to recover the artifact that Jianmo’s master hid away in a secret realm somewhere in their world, and her own nature as a gestalt entity comprised of Jia and Eui—and sometimes Heian. She wasn’t taking it particularly well as she paced back and forth, jittering with anxiety and chewing on her claws.
“I have to report this—no, I can’t report this! They’ll think I’m insane, or that you’re misleading me—or worse, the higher ups will know about it already and I’ll get in trouble for knowing too much. Oh ancestors, this was supposed to be busywork! Guard the high ranking diplomats and make sure they don’t get into trouble—diplomats never get into trouble! I’m not the kind of person that gets trusted with things this big...”
Yoshika tried not to laugh at Ja Yun’s self-deprecation. She seemed completely serious in her anxiety. Speaking in Jia’s voice, so as not to spook the jumpy war mage, Yoshika tried to placate her.
“Don’t fret over it too much. Lady Hayakawa and Takeda Rika already know, and we were probably going to be discussing it as part of our treaty negotiations. It’s something that’s going to come up anyway at some point.”
Ja Yun shook her head miserably.
“Not to me! I could have gone my whole life without hearing about any of this! Why involve me?”
Yoshika shrugged helplessly.
“Jianmo does whatever she wants. We don't think there’s any reason behind it. Or maybe there is, and it’s just too unfathomable for us. She’s over a million years old.”
“A mill—”
Ja Yun looked like she was about to start hyperventilating, and perhaps it was the Eui in her, but Yoshika couldn’t keep herself from asking.
“Are you going to be okay? You don’t really strike us as high ranking military.”
Ja Yun started giggling mirthlessly.
“Ahaha, ‘high ranking military’...let me put it to you this way. I’m a third stage mage, and I’m just a lieutenant in an auxiliary unit that’s been assigned to glorified babysitting—no offense. I’m good at magic, but I suck at fighting. I freeze up, I panic, I make mistakes. I have no illusions about why I’m here—I can’t even do this job properly.”
Yoshika watched with sympathy as Ja Yun hugged her arms around herself, hunching over and making herself look small despite the wild mane of orange hair that framed her face. She saw traces of herself in that vulnerability—even as recently as her visit to Jia’s former home.
“Why do it then? This, I mean? Being part of the army. Expanding your cultivation. Surely you could have found work as a bureaucrat or an administrator?”
Ja Yun shrugged.
“It just felt right, I guess. I like magic, I like learning more. When you guys told me about unified cultivation and offered to help me awaken I was excited, but not because I could be better at fighting. Just because I could be...better. Better than Ja Yun.”
Yoshika frowned. Not that she didn’t identify with what Ja Yun was saying but...
“Why are you telling us all this? We’ve only known each other for a few weeks.”
It felt a little hypocritical to say, given how her own relationship had started, but she was curious. Ja Yun blinked at her, pondering the question for a moment before answering with another shrug.
“I have no idea, honestly. You just feel...easy to talk to I guess? Just kind of comforting in a way that I can’t really describe. Besides, I’ve always had a bit of a big mouth—just another reason I’m on punishment detail, I guess.”
Yoshika thought about that for a moment. Was it an expression of her domain? Some passive aura that made people feel more comfortable around her? Or did Ja Yun have her own intuition guiding her—her spirit half pushing them together out of some sense of kinship? She had to admit that she felt similarly drawn to Ja Yun in a way that was hard to put her finger on—though that reminded her of something else that she needed to address.
“Ja Yun, are you attracted to Eui?”
Ja Yun actually tripped and fell on her face, scrambling back to her feet with a face as red as a tomato as she sputtered her response.
“W-w-w-w-what? N-no, that’s—I mean, I wouldn’t say attracted—I just...oh ancestors, why me? No. No! Not like that. I just—ugh, I don’t know how to explain it. Sorry.”
Yoshika nodded.
“That’s alright, we’re not mad or anything. We just wanted to make sure we weren’t misreading something. We just couldn’t help but notice the way you reacted to certain things, like Jianmo’s presence, or Eui’s threats, or Hayakawa’s casual dismissal of your entire existence.”
Ja Yun buried her face in her hands and groaned as if she’d been physically wounded.
“Ancestors, please just kill me. I really don’t want to have this conversation right now. I’m not a threat to your...whatever this is. I’m just a dumb weird girl who really has no business even talking to people like you. I promise I’ll keep your secrets—I never really cared about this job anyway—so feel free to just ignore me from now on.”
“Don’t demean yourself!”
Ja Yun jumped as Yoshika snapped at her in chorus. Yoshika continued with just Jia’s voice, once she was sure she had Ja Yun’s attention.
“We only asked so that we could gently turn you down if you were. We’re not judging you, and we’d be happy to continue on as friends. Just...don’t be so quick to put yourself down, alright?”
“U-um, alright. Thanks, I guess. And uh, s-sorry?”
Yoshika shook her heads.
“You have nothing to apologize for. Now then, I believe we were just in the middle of helping you with your ki awakening, weren’t we?”
Ja Yun paled.
“W-wait! I said I’m sorry!”
Yoshika gave Ja Yun her best sinister grin.
“We accept your apology, and as your friend we are committed to helping you on your path of self-improvement. Now get running.”
“Y-yes ma’am!”
The three of them began sprinting to catch up to the caravan in the distance, and Yoshika tried to ignore the dreamy expression on Ja Yun’s face as they ran. What a strange new friend she’d just made.
---
The caravan arrived at Yangye without any further interruptions. Despite her best efforts, Ja Yun didn’t manage to unlock her ki before their arrival, but after a bit of encouragement from Rika she insisted on continuing to try. They were ushered through the checkpoint with minimal fuss and led to the consulate. This time, the building was purpose-built for housing foreign diplomats—a tall, utilitarian building, filled with monotonous multi-purpose rooms. To Jia’s surprise, a familiar face was waiting for them as they arrived in the building’s lobby.
“Ohohoho! There they are! I rushed over as soon as I heard the news!”
Magus Hwang Sung, their former magic teacher, rushed forward to meet them. The owl feathers on his head puffed up with pride as he regarded Jia and Eui with a wide smile.
“I am so glad to see that you are both unharmed! I was quite worried, you know! Thought maybe that damned snake had absconded with you for some nefarious purpose or another. What a tragic loss that would be! Well done with getting Miss An in, eh? To you as well, Magus Tae!”
Tae In-Su bowed politely to Magus Hwang.
“You honor me with your praise, Magus.”
Jia and Eui mimicked the bow, greeting their former teacher. Jia felt a little bit bad being met with such naked goodwill by Magus Hwang Sung. Back at the academy, Jia and Eui had taken him for granted a little bit. He’d been nothing but kind and forthright with them, and they’d often met him with open suspicion. Though they had chafed at being used as research subjects for magical experimentation, he’d never made them do anything against their will, and he’d always put forth extra effort to educate them. With two years to reflect on it, Jia realized that she’d been unfair in her treatment of Magus Hwang, and his current attitude only served to remind her of that.
“It’s good to see you again, Magus.”
Magus Hwang waved off their formality.
“No need for all that, now! Come, come, let’s get you all settled! Just like old times, eh?”
Hayakawa and Rika exchanged their own greetings with the old magus, while Ja Yun and company mostly stood by respectfully as the magus personally oversaw their accommodations. Once all of their arrangements were made, the group of former academy students found themselves sitting down to tea with Magus Hwang. He regarded each of them levelly as he spoke.
“I wish I could say that I was here just to see my former students, but I’m afraid that I’m here on business. Magus Tae has already been through it, but I’m going to need to ask you a few questions about that day that the academy was attacked.”
Over the next few hours, they were gently interrogated about the demonic attack, with Magus Hwang confirming their accounting of the events, asking if any of them had encountered the former Grand Magus Do Hye or Elder Qin Zhao, and checking their stories against the testimonies of others who had been present. Hwang Sung’s eyes widened as Lee Jia described the leader of the demons that had appeared before them—the plain looking man with the strange reptilian eyes on his hands.
“You encountered Sovereign Longyan directly? That matches the accounts of Magus Hyeong Daesung and Princess Seong Eunae, but I still struggle to believe it. He’s one of the descended deities, you know.”
Jia shuddered at the memory—she could believe it.
“He seemed uninterested in us. Something else caught his eye and he flew off—it was Master Ienaga that saved us.”
Hwang blew out a long breath.
“That something was Yan Ren—or perhaps his escort. Their battle left a visible crater in Mount Geumji, and even with the aid of the Heavenly Host, the man barely escaped with his life. Since then, Longyan and his demons have been holed up in the former academy grounds. They managed to get that damnable Do Hye’s shield formation up and running again, and with Longyan himself there, it’s nearly unassailable.”
Hayakawa leaned forward with interest.
“Do you think Do Hye was working with the demons? Intentionally lowering the formation to allow them in?”
Hwang grimaced, but shook his head.
“For all his treasons, working with the demons was probably not among them. As far as I can determine, the shield was dropped after the demons began appearing. Perhaps to allow for an easier evacuation, but probably to cover Do Hye’s own escape.”
Eui crossed her arms, frowning.
“Aside from Shen and Longyan, are there any other gods we need to worry about?”
Hwang sat up straight and blinked at her.
“Shen? As in Sovereign Shen? Don’t tell me you met him as well!?”
Jia, Eui, Hayakawa, and Rika all nodded uneasily and Hwang put a palm to his face.
“What misfortune must follow you poor girls! You’re lucky to have survived! As far as we know, three deities descended two years ago. Sovereign Shen and his subordinates descended in Qin and have been helping Qin wage war against Longyan and his demons. The third visitor arrived in none other than our own palace, along with their unusual retinue.”
Hayakawa’s eyes sharpened at the mention of Goryeo’s mysterious divine benefactors, and Jia cocked her head curiously.
“Were they representing the Dragon faction?”
Hwang eyed her curiously.
“‘Dragons?’ I’ll need to ask you for clarification about that later, but no. Truth be told, we’ve all been rather unsure what to make of our strange visitors. The deity that descended here, and all they brought with them, are Elementals.”
