Fates Parallel Chapter 260 - Twilight (Patreon)

Lee Narae had always been lucky. She always got the best hauls, never got caught by the guards, and even usually dodged the worst of the beatings from the ‘caregivers’ at the orphanage. When things had been darkest, just when Narae thought her luck was going to run out and she’d lose the only person in her life that made it worth living, her ‘big sister’ came out of nowhere and flipped everything she knew on its head. Maybe it was fate’s way of making up for the crappy circumstances of her birth—though if that was the case, then it was strangely selective in its application of karma.

Regardless, Narae’s luck hadn’t stopped there. Through Lee Jia, Narae had learned how to be a mage—no, a cultivator that could do everything a mage could and then some—she’d made friends with a princess her own age, been taught how to fight by another princess, and got to travel the world with her family. Lee Narae was happy for the first time in her life, and she had her luck to thank for it.

So when things started to fall apart and get scary again, Lee Narae prayed to her luck to save her once again. She’d known that traveling to Qin would be dangerous—everyone had been very careful to stress it to her, as if she was too stupid to get it the first time—but it wasn’t until she saw her indomitable big sister looking frightened that it really sank in.

Narae had seen Aunt Eui explode and live to tell the tale. Lee Jia had fought a whole army of elementals without even breaking a sweat, and even defeated the big scary one made of lava. Narae hadn’t even known what lava was a year ago. The idea that not only could rock melt, but that there could be monsters made out of liquid rock? It sent shivers down her spine.

Lee Jia didn’t seem to fear anything, and since she was fearless, Narae had grown comfortable with the idea that she was invincible. That her big sister would protect her from anything. Lee Jia was her luck given form—the source of all her good fortune. Until she wasn’t.

It turned out she did get scared. Even the person she called master didn’t look confident. Narae didn’t understand why, or what was so scary to them. Anything that gave them pause had to be so frightening that Narae wouldn’t even be able to understand it. It was like when Aunt Eui had tried to teach her about super big numbers. A hundred was already an unfathomably huge number of things, but a billion? It was incomprehensible.

Well, if they were scared then it meant that Narae would need her luck more than ever. So she prayed. Narae squeezed her eyes shut and clenched her hands together and wished with all her might for someone to save her big sister the way Lee Jia had saved her. The answer she received was nothing like she’d expected.

Heian—her second best friend in the entire world—appeared next to her and tugged on Jia’s sleeve.

“Mommy, let me help.”

Narae’s eyes opened wide, and for a moment time seemed to stand still as she met the spirit girl’s eyes. Heian’s gaze always seemed to stare straight through Narae, as if she was looking past her eyes and into her very soul—according to big sis, that wasn’t too far off from the truth. Then, Narae’s friend dissolved into black flames that crawled across Jia’s form.

As the fire spread, Lee Jia transformed. It wasn’t just the color of her hair and eyes, either—the way she stood, the swivel of her ears and the lengthening of her claws, the way her pupils narrowed down into predatory slits. It made her look more feral, more cat-like.

Narae barely had time to process it, but she’d heard of it before. That Heian could combine with her mothers the way they sometimes merged with each other. Narae had always been a bit confused about the way Jia and Eui sometimes acted like they were the same person, even after they’d shown off their weird body-fused clone. But the transformation before her was unquestionable. This wasn’t Lee Jia or Heian anymore, she was someone else—and Narae had even heard the name, once. Lee Hei.

She moved swiftly and decisively—grabbing Narae by the wrist and then somehow speaking straight into her mind.

“Hang on tight!”

Narae clung to her big sister for dear life as Lee Hei pulled her into a tight embrace and moved. Black lightning crackled across her body, some of it even playing harmlessly over Narae’s body as the world blurred around them. Narae barely had time to notice the tingly sensation before she found herself deposited next to the most precious person in the entire world.

“Mommy!”

She fought back tears as she hugged her sleeping mother. She couldn’t let herself show how scared she was—or mommy might get scared too. Her mother began to stir awake, but things were happening too fast. Grandmaster Ienaga—for that’s the only title that Narae could apply to a woman who’d taught both of her own mentors—whirled on Lee Hei in surprise.

“What are you—?”

Narae’s big sister shook her head urgently, holding out a hand.

“No time! Take my hand!”

To her credit, Grandmaster Ienaga didn’t hesitate or ask questions. She trusted her student implicitly, and took Lee Hei’s offered hand without argument. With her free hand, Lee Hei grabbed Narae by the shoulder and the world suddenly lurched around her as the scenery shifted.

Narae hadn't moved, this time. She was still in the same place, but...different. Everything was dark, as though the world had been shrouded in a permanent twilight, and if Narae squinted she could see two of everything occupying the same space. It hurt her head to focus on. Jung finally finished rising from her slumber, blinking her eyes blearily and frowning in confusion at the change in surroundings.

“Hm? W-what’s going on? Where are we?”

Ienaga crossed her arms and glared at Lee Hei.

“That’s a good question. Lee, explain.”

Lee Hei hesitated for a moment, and Narae noticed that she wasn’t doubled up the way the trees or the grass were—in fact, none of them were. She glanced in the direction of the others, but they had the same headache-inducing effect. It was as if each of her eyes were seeing different colors and couldn’t decide which version was real.

Finally, Narae’s big sister gave up and just shook her head.

“No time, Master. Stay and protect my family, please? I’ll be right back!”

The grandmaster swordswoman furrowed her brows.

“Protect them from what?”

Lee Hei’s fur bristled and her tail lashed in agitation as she glanced around, searching for hidden dangers.

“I don’t know. I’ll be right back.”

Without waiting for a response, Lee Hei dropped down onto all fours and then leapt in a direction that Narae’s brain completely failed to process. By the end of her leap, Narae’s big sister had traveled through a strange dark patch in reality that she hadn’t noticed before, landing back on the other side. The other side of what, Narae wasn’t sure, but the idea felt right to her.

Lee Hei’s movements were almost impossible to follow as she darted in and out of those strange dark patches that were all over the place now that Narae knew to look for them—Shadows, she realized. Her sister zipped through the shadows without appearing to cross the space between them, and in the blink of an eye she’d met up with the others in the group.

While Lee Hei dealt with the others, Narae glanced around nervously. She trusted her sister, but now that she was gone, it felt as though the darkness around her had started to creep in. She felt like she was being watched and she kept seeing movement at the edge of her vision, but when she looked, there was nothing there. Grandmaster Ienaga had picked up on it too, keeping a hand on her sword as she slowly scanned their surroundings.

Narae’s mother, on the other hand, didn’t understand at all.

“Sweetheart, what’s wrong? Nobody’s told me what's happening.”

Her grip tightened around Narae’s hand, and the big brave girl tried to put on a brave face for her mommy.

“Bad guys almost found us, but big sis and Heian found a way to hide us.”

Jung’s brows furrowed with worry—had Narae said something wrong?

“Oh...I see. And, where is this exactly? It hurts my head to look at anything other than you.”

Narae bit her lip, unsure how to answer. Thankfully, her wise Grandmaster was quick to step in.

“Some kind of liminal space—a place between worlds. It’s similar to the spaces created by dimensional artifacts.”

Jung pinched the bridge of her nose the way she usually did before scolding Narae, but this time her ire was directed at Ienaga.

“I have no idea what any of that means. Could you simplify it?”

Narae didn’t know either, but she had to admire the way her mother didn’t hesitate when speaking to someone so much stronger than her. To Narae’s amazement, Grandmaster Ienaga even averted her eyes, looking embarrassed.

“I’m not sure either, to be perfectly honest. It’s something I once discussed with a colleague, Magus Hwang Sung, when I was still teaching at the academy. Naturally occurring spaces like this are difficult to access and poorly understood.”

“I see. Immortal things.”

Jung sighed and gave Narae a look of pity, cupping her cheek with one hand and gently stroking her cheek with a thumb. Narae leaned into it happily as her mother spoke.

“I pray to our ancestors that I’ve chosen the right path for you, Narae. It all seems so dangerous now that I see it up close.”

Narae took her mother’s hand and stared into her eyes with fierce determination. She’d thought about this for a long time, and the words came to her automatically—she’d practiced them.

“The world has always been dangerous, Mom. Monsters, mages, and spirits exist whether we see them or not. I’m going to be strong like big sis so I can protect us from anything. So you don’t have to be scared anymore.”

After all, luck could only go so far. It wasn’t enough to hope that her luck would hold out forever, and carry her to the ends of the earth. She had to seize each opportunity afforded to her—to reach out and take the things that life would have otherwise denied her. Narae would become stronger until she didn’t need luck anymore.

She felt a heavy hand on her head, and looked up to see Grandmaster Ienaga smiling down at her.

“Your daughter is wise beyond her years, Miss Lee. But young lady, as strong as your sister is, you shouldn’t discount the strength of your mother. Lee Jung fights for you as fiercely as anyone, in her own way. You should both take pride in that.”

Narae blushed and nodded. Of course she knew that! Mommy had given up everything for her—even her life! Narae looked up to Jia and Eui, but she didn’t forget that they had abandoned her and Jung once. She couldn’t rely on them or anyone else—not forever.

She would be strong like Jia, and she would be strong like Jung. Somewhere deep within her soul, the resolve to protect what she loved began to crystalize into something greater, spreading throughout her senses and redefining the world around her. New senses flared to life as she gained a deeper understanding of herself and her surroundings.

A tiny portion of the world around her was hers on a level so fundamental that she couldn’t even question it—her domain. And in that tiny portion of the world, she could sense that she was not alone. The cold, pragmatic steel of Grandmaster Ienaga was as overwhelming as it was comforting, but it wasn’t the only thing she sensed. All around them were tiny presences, filling every bit of empty space—watching, waiting, stalking, hunting.

Narae glanced up to meet the Grandmaster’s eyes, and Ienaga’s steely gaze bore into her. She knew. She’d been able to sense them the entire time! She’d been quiet so as not to scare her, but now Narae could sense them too.

Jung’s voice cut through the tension, blissfully unaware of the danger surrounding them.

“What’s taking Jia so long? I hope we aren’t stuck here for too long, I’m starting to get cold.”

It was such a strange and mundane complaint—so out of place that it somehow eased Narae’s nerves for a moment. The moment didn’t last, however, as Narae glanced back towards the other group and saw nothing. Not Lee Hei, not the others, not even the trees or the grass.

While she hadn’t been paying attention, the world of twilight had disappeared around them, and now there was only darkness. Narae’s grip tightened around her mother’s hand, and her blood ran cold. Suddenly, all of Narae’s bluster about strength felt empty and hollow. The corners of her eyes itched, and the tears that she’d been holding back threatened to pour forth at any moment.

They were alone.

She wasn’t ready yet! She wasn’t strong like Jia, and she wasn’t strong like Mommy. She still needed her luck, and she still needed her big sister. Most of all, she still needed her Mommy.

“Shh! Hey, it’s alright, honey—don’t be scared. What’s wrong?”

Narae buried her face in her Mommy’s chest as the tears started to flow. How could she explain it? Jung couldn’t sense what she could. Couldn’t feel the darkness closing in around them—the loneliness and the isolation. Once again, it was Grandmaster Ienaga who saved her. Her imposing figure stood over them, facing away in a low stance with her hands gripping her sword tightly.

“Miss Lee, stay absolutely still and keep your daughter close. I believe she’s just realized that we’re under attack.”