"There is another one of your kind."
"Tell her I want her forgiveness."
The words of Space Emperor Dalāy echoed inside my head as I lay on my back, staring at the ceiling of my "prison," as they called it.
But it was nothing more than an underground dungeon with no individual cells. Only those with heinous crimes were isolated. The ordinary prisoners were all clumped together in this huge cavern, nearly the size of a small town, lit only by four torches in the corners.
"Who is her?" I wondered as people around me began to fall asleep. They assumed the day was over, though you could never tell here—no windows, no sunlight, just darkness.
I'd been told I would receive my judgment the next day.
That alone kept me awake.
And the sudden encounter with the Space Emperor had shaken my nerves even more. I couldn't sleep even if I wanted to.
The only solution was to confront the Time Emperor and my master.
"If only the Venpavalā I bought earlier was here…" I muttered, fidgeting with the copper kada on my right hand.
When almost everyone had drifted off, a sudden argument broke the dungeon's calm. Two prisoners to my left were bickering loudly.
"There's no way that kid did that," one said.
"I heard it from a trustworthy fellow. Believe it!" the other insisted.
Curious, I leaned in.
"You're saying that kid jumped from the top of the castle and had no injuries except fainting afterward?" the first asked.
"Exactly."
"And you want me to believe that?"
"That happened when she was chased by guards for entering the king's bathing quarters while he was bathing. She must've been trying to assassinate the king. Maybe her family got some false judgment."
"Well, well… that's a lot. There's no way all of that is true. The king would never commit such injustice to turn a kid into an enemy. If you'd said it was a plot by the Sernan king, that I would have believed."
They continued arguing about the king's nobility.
Their repetitive chatter grew annoying—and loud.
It became the third reason I didn't sleep that night.
---
The next day, the guards woke me up after my miserable sleep.
I knew forgiveness wasn't likely.
Still, I prepared a believable story to tell the king.
I would soon see if he lived up to his reputation.
According to the law and order of the Bāndhan kingdom, the king is obliged to Bless an innocent by placing his palm on their head. This tradition came from a tragedy: a past king made a false judgment, and the victim's wife cursed the entire city of Nagarā. It burned down completely, and it took years to rebuild. Several generations have passed, and every Bāndha king since then has treated false judgment as a grave sin.
So they Bless the ones proven innocent — not just a blessing, but a status: "King-Blessed Head."
Civilians treat those people with great respect. For those living under a monarchy, it was more than enough.
The Blessing was my chance.
My chakra was exhausted. There was no other way to complete my mission. I would stand before the king, plead for mercy, act innocent, and when he declared me guiltless, I would strike with my hidden weapon — my last resort, as my master called it.
If I completed the mission, the timeline would stabilize. I wouldn't even need the Venpavalā for the kada refill. The Time Emperor would pull me back into the Kaalam once I used that last resort.
Now was my chance.
I was dragged into the king's courtroom, handcuffed. A guard stood beside me as I lifted my head to face the Bāndha king.
But the throne was empty.
At first, I thought the king was late. I stayed silent.
Then a woman's voice spoke from one of the ministers' seats.
"Peasant, the fuss was about you, wasn't it?"
"The one who broke into the king's bedroom?" she said sharply.
"Where is the ki—?" I began, but she cut me off.
"Who said you could speak?"
"I, Mistress Elil Bāndha, declare you guilty in place of the king, for attempted assassination. This is merely an investigation to satisfy procedure. Your fate was decided the moment we heard what you did. You are to be locked in the underground dungeon in the cells reserved for terrible criminals. You may go now."
I was speechless.
Where was the king?
Where was his justice?
Where was my right to speak?
What in the world was going on?
As the guards dragged me out, I overheard one say:
"First the bathing quarters, and now his bedroom…"
"Yeah," the other replied. "We need tighter security."
I'd heard rumors about "the girl" who caused chaos recently… but what did she actually do?
If only the king were here…
He would've forgiven me.
I would've killed him.
My timeline would've been saved.
How could I accomplish that now?
Before I knew it, my body hit the stone floor of the inner dungeon. I wiped dust from my face as the guard locked the cell.
"What did you do?" a threatening voice growled behind me.
I spun around with a shriek.
"Did you murder somebody?" he asked darkly.
I thought prisoners here got separate cells — I was wrong.
"Don't you hear me, kid? Are you deaf?" the man snapped.
I forced down my fear.
"Yes," I said. "I killed one of my fellow prisoners in the common cell."
That shut him up. He backed into a corner and spoke no more for… a day? A night? I couldn't tell.
The next day, I was dragged into a larger cell with five prisoners including myself. My previous cellmate was there too. Still silent.
A tall, intimidating man glared at us as we entered.
He walked toward us, and my old cellmate cowered behind me. Before the tall man could speak, a fist slammed into his cheek. He flew backward.
A girl had punched him — no, not a girl. A storm.
Long glossy black hair whipping behind her. A red gown-like garment. Dirty but still beautiful. The same color worn by the people of Nagarā. The Red City, I thought.
Her face was even more beautiful than her clothes.
I was stunned. The man crawled away into the darkness.
Another girl stepped out from behind her.
"Anya, won't you stop bullying that brat for a second?"
"He asked for it," Anya shrugged. "I just taught him how to welcome guests."
She turned her gaze to us. Her eyes glowed like pearls carved from Venpavalā scales. My cellmate trembled, but something about her pulled me in.
Her eyes asked me to speak.
"Thanks for the help!" I said — maybe too enthusiastically.
"Don't mention it," she said with the same energy.
Then she examined me. Her expression brightened with recognition.
Without warning, she hugged me. A warm, full embrace.
The girl behind her gasped and covered her eyes, shouting a god's name.
My eyes widened.
Warmth spread through me.
After days in cold stone darkness, this felt… like home.
But something was strange.
A girl from this era wouldn't hug a stranger.
She let go.
"I've been waiting for you for a long time," she said.
My heart stopped.
I remembered Dalāy's words:
"There is another one of your kind."
Was she… not from this timeline?
"How was your acquaintance with Dalāy?" she asked.
So she was the one he mentioned.
And she might have answers to the questions burning in my mind:
Why would my master manipulate me?
What do the Time Emperor and Space Emperor want?
What is my role in all this?