—In the Royal Castle of Ylza City, Capital of the Ylza Empire—
"Emi."
A deep, but oddly soft voice echoed across the corridor, bouncing off tall marble pillars and a hallway lined with paintings that looked like they cost more than her entire family line.
"Hm?" Emi blinked, turning around at the voice. Behind her stood Haniel, the ever-stoic right-hand man of the King of Ylza. "What is it?"
"The king requests your presence in the Great Chamber."
,The Great Chamber…?, her brain repeated, kind of like when a teacher calls your name just as you're about to nap. "Doesn't that mean..."
"Yes." Haniel nodded, sharp and clean like he was reading lines off a mission scroll. He paused, let the silence stew a bit, then added, "There's a problem. A very big one, from the king's own mouth."
"We need you to prophesize the future again, Emi."
,Again…? Seriously?, she mentally groaned, a sigh escaping her lips in real life too. ,That drains so much Mana though... I'm not a vending machine, you know.,
Haniel bowed, hands flat to his sides, posture stiff like a proper knight-slash-guilt-dump truck. "Apologies for the trouble, Emi."
"R-raise your head, Haniel," Emi said quickly, flustered. She waved her hands like it would sweep away the awkwardness. "I have no right to complain… not when the Empire needs me."
She sighed again. Slightly louder this time. Just enough so he'd hear it.
,This is so troublesome…, she muttered in her head as her boots started moving
on their own, following Haniel down the long hallway that curled like a royal maze.
At a glance, Emi looked like the type of girl who never had to try. Third-year at Ylza Academy, born into Royal Nobles, walked like a princess and sighed like one too. Her hair spilled down in long waves of ocean-blue, framing a face with equally blue, wide eyes that made boys forget how to breathe. Kind, gentle, all that textbook stuff. The kind of girl every guy swore they'd marry one day… until she hit them with her blank stare of please stop existing near me.
And walking beside her? Haniel. Ylza's elite right-hand-man. Short brown hair, sharp eyes like he was always solving some murder mystery in his head. He didn't just see sharply—he looked sharp. Tall, well-built, and strong enough to singlehandedly earn the King's trust.
But even with all that muscle, he couldn't hide how weirdly awkward he got every time Emi sighed.
She noticed. She just didn't say anything. Because, you know—Empire business.
And also because, she was too busy calculating exactly how much mana this prophecy session was going to rip out of her soul this time.
The giant double-doors of the Great Chamber creaked open like an old beast groaning from slumber. And just like that, Haniel and Emi were greeted by the stares of an entire army of high-ranking nobles—and the king himself sitting dead center.
,Okay, yeah. This meeting's a big deal. Like, big big. Every single Royal Noble is here. They must really want this prophecy bad., Emi thought, doing her best to act normal as she followed Haniel and slid into her seat across the absurdly oversized round table.
The king sat with all the casual grace of someone who owned too many chairs. His white suit looked like it had been pressed by angels, and the blue waistcoat under it sparkled with golden chains that screamed, "Yes, I'm important. Ask me about my kingdom." He looked like he was in his forties—but with how jacked his arms were, that was... debatable.
"Emi," he said, tone formal but not cold. "I assume Haniel's told you why you're here. Am I wrong?"
"No, Your Majesty." Emi stood, bowed politely, then sat again. The usual noble routine—she could do it in her sleep by now.
"Shall I start now...?"
"You may."
With that one sentence, the entire chamber stiffened.
Emi pressed her hands together and murmured the incantation, each word wrapped in a breath of reverence.
"Deity in Heaven, we ask for thy guidance once more, and we shall fulfill the promises thou hast tasked us to do."
The moment the last word slipped out, her body lit up—literally. A soft blue glow shimmered from her skin, lighting the room like a calm moonbeam. Every noble leaned forward in their seat.
This was the third prophecy this year.
"I feel bad for the Deity..." Haniel muttered under his breath, frowning as he looked down at his lap.
"The poor thing must be exhausted. That's three times we've called in one year," whispered the noble beside him, matching Haniel's tone of quiet guilt.
"All we can do now is hope for the best—"
Before Haniel could even finish the sentence, the light around Emi sputtered out like a candle in a storm.
And she collapsed.
"Emi!" Haniel shot up and bolted across the chamber floor, barely catching her before she hit the ground. Her breathing was shallow, chest heaving like she'd run a mile underwater.
,What the hell just happened...?, Haniel's mind raced as he held her. She wasn't supposed to look like this. Not this drained.
"Emi!" the king barked, half-standing. "What happened?! What about the prophecy?!"
"T-The Deity..." she whispered, voice thin as a thread. "The clouds shall fall... and thunder shall strike... The Gods... tainted and corrupted... have fallen... low. The lowest... like bugs... crawling in dirt."
A cold chill swept through the chamber.
"Wh-What do you mean?" Haniel asked, his brows drawn tight. He wasn't even sure he wanted to know.
Her eyes trembled open just slightly.
"Us Gods... we've angered the Strong One... and now... we shall fall."