23. Two world
⟡ Shadowline City — Marcelline Feels It First
After breakfast chaos and dropping Mia at the church,
Marcelline and Amara reached the college courtyard.
Students were still staring at them—
but Marcelline suddenly stopped walking.
Her steps froze.
Her smile faded.
A sharp, cold sensation shot down her spine.
Amara noticed it immediately.
Amara:
"Elli? What is it?"
Marcelline's pupils narrowed—
the demonic slit in her eyes flickering for half a second.
Marcelline (soft, uneasy):
"…Something… unpleasant just brushed past me."
Amara tensed.
Her beast instinct roared up.
Amara:
"Where?"
Marcelline turned her head slowly, scanning the air—
the space around her began to distort for a split second,
the faint shimmer of her fairy aura mixing with her demon side.
Marcelline:
"It's far.
Very far…
but strong.
Like a thread pulling at my core."
She placed a hand on her chest.
Her heartbeat wasn't normal.
It was reacting.
Amara:
"Is it the same thing that made you restless last night?"
Marcelline bit her lower lip.
Marcelline:
"…It's connected.
The same cold… the same pressure…
Someone's fate is trembling."
Amara's expression hardened.
Amara:
"Do you want to track it?"
Marcelline shook her head.
Marcelline:
"No.
Not yet.
It's not coming toward me—
but toward someone else."
A sudden breeze blew through the courtyard,
even though the air had been still a moment earlier.
The students didn't notice anything.
But Marcelline felt it clearly.
A whisper.
A warning.
"The cursed one is awake."
She flinched.
Amara:
"What did you hear?"
Marcelline:
"…Nothing…"
She refused to say more, not wanting to worry her best friend.
But in her heart—
she had heard that whisper clearly.
And it wasn't directed at her.
It was directed at…
someone else.
Someone touched by an ancient darkness.
Someone fighting alone.
Marcelline clenched her fists.
Marcelline (whispering to herself):
"Whoever you are…
you're dealing with something far worse than a curse."
---
⟡ Hollowmist City — Same Moment
Maximilian, in his office, reviewing files, suddenly felt—
A strange pull.
Like invisible fingers brushing his soul.
He looked up sharply, eyes narrowing.
Maximilian:
"…What was that?"
The air shifted.
Only for a second.
And somewhere across the city,
across fate itself—
two worlds brushed against each other.
---