Plan Canceled?

'Man, what the heck did I just see?' Zack was shocked. It was like there are millions of intricately intertwined strings covering the sky, with strings going down from the sky to the earth. And one of those strings connected to him. For some reason, the moment he saw it, he understood that it was fate. 

'That's hella creepy.' Zack shuddered. But then, the orderly strings suddenly got disturbed. At first, it was only one small area, but then the disturbance spread to the entire network of strings. 

'I don't exactly know what that disturbance means, but I get the gist of it: some 'great disturbance' is about to go down in the world. And that's a pain in the ass.'

Zack was deep in contemplation as he strolled down the corridor heading to Fannie's practice room.

'Should I just stay put in the tower until this disturbance blows over? But then Fannie will be bummed out. Still, it's risky. But hey, I should be tough enough to handle whatever comes my way. Not to brag or anything, but there's no one in this whole continent who could defeat me. But, danger is danger. Damn, I'm torn. Maybe I should talk it out with Fannie.' Zack furrowed his brow in frustration.

As he walked, he tried to sneak another peek at the roof, hoping to catch a glimpse of the sky like before, but no luck. He could only sense the floors above him using his mana sense, but couldn't "see" the sky. Zack pondered, 'Seems like that earlier vision was a heads-up from fate, warning me about the disturbance. Or maybe there's some kind of shake-up in the fate of the world, causing enough ripples for us wizards to pick up on. But it managed to slip back under the radar again. Hmm... Whatever, discussing whether to venture out or not is more pressing right now.'

He waited for several minutes until Fannie emerged from her practice room. "Teacher! Do you have something to tell me?" she asked eagerly.

"Yeah, let's head to the kitchen. I'll tell you on the way," Zack replied.

"Alright, spill it. What's up?" Fannie asked as they made their way.

"Basically, brace yourself for some chaos in the world. It might not be safe for us to roam around outside."

"How do you know that, teacher? Don't tell me this is just an excuse to avoid leaving the tower. You could come up with better excuses, you know," Fannie remarked, eyeing Zack skeptically.

"I'm dead serious. Didn't you see some kind of vision earlier?"

"What vision?"

"Huh? You know, the one with the sky full of tangled strings and the whole disturbance thing?"

"Wow, that sounds fascinating, but I didn't see it."

Zack was a tad surprised. He figured all wizards would've caught that vision, but Fannie, despite being a level 2 wizard, missed out. Just to double-check, he shot a message to the three other level 2 wizards in the lightning tower to see if they saw anything.

"Wait a sec," Zack quickly whipped out his badge and sent the message.

"Okay, I'm done," Zack said, putting his badge back on. He then explained to Fannie, "So basically, from that vision, I sensed that there'll be a disturbance or chaos that'll involve everyone in the world."

Seeing Zack message the level 2 wizards made Fannie realize that her teacher was being completely serious. She took a moment to mull it over before responding, "You know, despite all this talk of chaos and danger outside, I can't imagine a single scenario where it's actually risky for us, especially with you around, teacher. Seriously, I can't think of anything that could threaten you. So, I say we're good to go outside."

Zack countered, "But still, we don't know what fate has in store for us. Despite there not being anyone or anything on this continent that could defeat me, what if..." He hurriedly covered his mouth, realizing he might raise a flag.

"What if what?" Fannie pressed, curious.

"Nevermind. I still don't think it's wise for us to head out," Zack waved off the topic.

"Hmm..." Fannie pouted, staring at Zack with puffed cheeks.

"Alright, quit staring and watch your step so you don't trip," Zack grinned, poking Fannie's cheek with his finger. "Plus, you kinda look like a monkey when you do that."

"What!?" Fannie exclaimed in mock offense, then suddenly jumped onto Zack's back. Her legs wrapped around his waist, and her arms around his neck as she mock-bit his neck before declaring, "Then I'll be a real monkey, and now you have to carry me to the kitchen like this. Regretting it yet?"

"Yeah, yeah, hold on tight," Zack chuckled, sliding his hand under Fannie's thigh to steady her. His sudden movement surprised Fannie, causing her to let out a small yelp. "Ah! You could've warned me before doing that, you know."

Zack retorted, "Says the one who jumped on me out of nowhere."

After a bit of playful banter, Fannie rested her head on Zack's shoulder. Feeling the warmth of her teacher's back and the gentle sway of his walk, Fannie suddenly spoke up, "Teacher, when you mentioned feeling like you're losing a bit of your humanity, I got scared. What if you lose your emotions or your whole personality changes drastically? That would mean losing you." She tightened her grip around Zack's neck, "I don't want to lose you."

Before Zack could respond, Fannie jumped in, "If we could go out and see how normal people live their lives, it might give you a concrete idea of what being human is all about. It could help you hold onto your humanity. That's why I think venturing out of the tower is important."

Zack fell silent as they reached the kitchen, gently setting Fannie down before meeting her gaze. "You're right. I do think getting out might help me grasp more about being human. Or at the very least, it'd be a good break to clear our minds. And honestly, with my current power, I don't think there's anything out there that could threaten us. So yeah, we're stepping out of the tower."

Fannie's face lit up with a smile. "Good," she said, returning Zack's smile as they both grabbed some food and began to eat. As they left the kitchen, Zack halted Fannie, who was heading towards the practice room for meditation. "Fannie, let's go to the garden. There's something else I need to discuss with you."

As they walked, Zack asked, "Remember when I was gone, and you kept bumping into those level 2 powerhouses from the Holy Empire?"

"Yeah," Fannie's expression turned slightly somber.

Zack gently patted her head. "Sorry for not being there during that time."

Fannie shook her head, brightening her face. "It's okay, teacher. We're together now. But why bring that up?"

"Actually, even before that happened, I've had this feeling that there's some unseen force guiding you towards me so you could learn magic. I suspect it's the same force that led you to encounter those level 2 powerhouses. It also played a part when I left the tower to find you again, coincidentally bringing the method to advance to level 2 just when you needed it.

"It was like this unseen hand was setting you up against the Holy Empire. I'm pretty sure if I hadn't taken down the saintess, the grand paladin, and the pope, eventually, you'd have been the one facing off against them. I call this unseen hand fate," Zack explained, his expression serious.

Fannie was taken aback. "That sounds... unbelievable."

"Do you remember how you felt when the saintess and the grand paladin were defeated?" Zack asked.

"Yeah, both times I felt like a heavy weight had been lifted off my shoulders," Fannie realized.

"Exactly. That's a sign that one of your 'duties' or connections had been fulfilled. For me, I didn't have that connection until I faced the saintess. Suddenly, it felt like shackles were being placed on my soul. I think at that moment, I took on some of the shackles of fate from you," Zack explained.

"It was only after defeating the saintess, the grand paladin, and the pope that I managed to remove all those shackles," Zack continued.

"I-I'm sorry, teacher. I had no idea," Fannie stopped walking, covering her mouth as she bowed her head. There was a hint of tears in her voice.

Zack smiled softly, patting her head. "It's okay. It was my decision to do that. I didn't want you in danger. You know how strong I was back then. I could take down the saintess even as just a level 2 wizard."

"But still," Fannie persisted.

"Haah," Zack sighed, scratching his head. He pulled Fannie into a hug and gently patted her back. "Sorry, I didn't mean to make you feel guilty. I shared this story because I suspect that in the near future, 'fate' will pick out several main characters and set them against each other. That's what a great disturbance in fate could mean. Though I can't say for sure since I didn't witness the last disturbance of fate when we fought the Holy Empire. But it's my gut feeling.

"If there are indeed main characters in these future disturbances, we might get dragged into the mess ourselves if we cross paths with them. That's why I'm hesitant about venturing outside," Zack explained, pausing to gauge Fannie's reaction.

"But I also believe that we can't spend our lives cowering in fear of fate. What's the point of living if we're constantly hiding because we're afraid of what fate might throw at us? That's not true freedom," Zack continued.

"Don't get me wrong, I still hate dealing with troublesome stuff, and I'm sure going out of the tower will bring its share of trouble. But I don't want us to live in fear, always running from fate every time there's a disturbance," Zack expressed.

"That's one of the reasons I agreed to you going outside," he added.

"Sorry to bring this topic up. I'm not telling you this to make you feel guilty; I just want you to understand what we might face. And I think you have the right to know, since you're already a level 2 wizard," Zack explained. Sensing that Fannie had calmed down, he suggested going to the garden to lift her spirits. "Do you still want to go to the garden?"

Fannie nodded in agreement. They resumed walking, making their way to the garden. Upon arrival, they admired the sea of colorful flowers illuminated by the moonlight, falling into a comfortable silence.

Suddenly, Fannie turned to Zack and said, "Thank you, teacher."

Zack smiled and tousled her hair. "That's what I like to hear."

***

In the northern reaches of the Fulminar Empire, in the bustling city of Haguevin, the second wife of Duke Moonson was in the throes of childbirth.

After hours of arduous labor, the first cry of the infant pierced the air. In that moment, the entire sky above Haguevin was shrouded in ominous dark clouds.

RUMBLE!

Thunder reverberated through the clouds, though not a drop of rain fell, lending an eerie atmosphere to the scene.

BOOM!

Suddenly, lightning struck the mansion where the second wife lay in labor. Miraculously, the building remained unscathed, save for a lingering electric charge in the air.

BOOM! BOOM!

More lightning followed, increasing in intensity. Initially, two bolts struck simultaneously, then three, four...

With each bolt, the baby's cries grew louder. Even the adults in the room were gripped by fear.

"What's happening?" the midwife, holding the baby, trembled. She lacked the energy to soothe the infant. "Ouch!" A sudden jolt of pain shot through her as she made contact with the baby, causing her to release the child.

The second wife paled. "NOOOO!"

The midwife, panicked, reached out to catch the baby, but before she could, the room was bathed in a blinding light. Unbeknownst to all, lightning coalesced beneath the infant, lifting it into the air. The midwife fell back in shock, watching as the baby was surrounded by a halo of blue lightning, connected to the ground, continuously supplying energy to the child.

The baby, who had been crying just moments before, suddenly fell silent. The room grew still, the booming sounds of lightning outside seeming to fade into the background. However, the lightning outside intensified, striking the mansion relentlessly.

Inside the room, some of the lightning coalesced above the baby, forming a stunning yet ancient-looking symbol. The symbol exuded a palpable sense of oppression, causing everyone except the baby and its mother to feel as though they were weighed down by iron, making it difficult to breathe.