The moon hung high in the sky, casting its pale light over Seaside Village. A gentle breeze carried the scent of salt and flowers, but for Aiya, the night was anything but calm. She stood in the kitchen, washing the day's dishes, her mind replaying the events of the afternoon.
The man with the ember-like eyes had unsettled her in ways she couldn't explain. There was something about him—an intensity that lingered long after he'd left.
"Aiya," her grandmother's voice broke through her thoughts. She turned to see the older woman standing in the doorway, her expression unusually serious.
"Yes, Grandmother?"
"Did that man say anything strange to you today?"
Aiya frowned. "No, not really. Why?"
Her grandmother hesitated, her lips pressed into a thin line. "It's nothing. Just… be careful, child. Some visitors are not what they seem."
Though her grandmother's words were cryptic, Aiya nodded. She had learned long ago not to press her grandmother for answers. The old woman was a fortress of secrets, guarding truths that Aiya often felt were meant for her to uncover on her own.
Later that night, as Aiya lay in bed, the nightmare returned.
She was running through a dark forest, her breath coming in ragged gasps. Shadows stretched and shifted around her, and a chilling voice whispered her name.
"Aiya…"
She turned, and there it was—a figure cloaked in darkness, its eyes burning with an unnatural light. It reached out to her, its long fingers curling like claws.
"No!" she screamed, stumbling backward.
The ground gave way beneath her feet, and she fell into a void, cold and endless.
Aiya woke with a start, her heart hammering in her chest. Sweat clung to her skin, and her hands trembled as she clutched the pendant around her neck.
"What is happening to me?" she whispered into the darkness.
Unbeknownst to her, Kael watched from the woods beyond the garden. His sharp eyes caught the flicker of light from her window, and he could almost feel her fear.
Kael wasn't used to hesitation. As the heir of the Woo Lee clan, he had been trained to act decisively, to eliminate threats without a second thought. Yet, standing in the shadows, watching Aiya, he felt something unfamiliar: doubt.
"She's just a girl," he muttered, though the words felt hollow.
A voice interrupted his thoughts.
"Have you lost your nerve, Kael?"
He turned sharply to see a figure emerge from the darkness. It was Dren, his second-in-command and childhood friend. Dren's eyes gleamed with amusement, but his stance was tense.
"She's not what you think," Kael replied, his voice low and edged with warning.
Dren raised an eyebrow. "What do I think, exactly? That she's a fragile human caught in a game far beyond her understanding? Or that she's the key to the clans' salvation—or destruction?"
Kael's jaw tightened. "It doesn't matter what she is. She doesn't deserve to be a pawn in this war."
Dren's expression softened, a rare flicker of sympathy crossing his face. "You're not wrong. But you know the stakes, Kael. If we don't act, Leek will."
Kael's fists clenched at the mention of the V-clan's leader. Leek was ruthless, cunning, and entirely devoid of mercy. If he found Aiya first…
"I won't let that happen," Kael said firmly.
Dren nodded, though his eyes held a trace of doubt. "Then you'd better decide soon what you're willing to do to protect her. Time isn't on our side."
The next morning, Aiya tried to shake off the remnants of her nightmare as she prepared the shop for another day. But as she arranged the flowers, she couldn't ignore the feeling that something was wrong.
The village felt… different. The air was heavier, the usual chatter of the townsfolk subdued. Even the ocean waves seemed muted, as if the world itself was holding its breath.
Midway through the morning, a commotion outside caught her attention. Peering through the window, she saw a group of villagers gathered in the square, their voices raised in alarm.
"What's going on?" she asked her grandmother, who had joined her at the counter.
Before her grandmother could answer, the shop door swung open, and a young man stumbled in, his face pale.
"They found someone in the woods," he said breathlessly. "A man—unconscious, but alive."
A chill ran down Aiya's spine.
"Did they say who it was?" her grandmother asked, her voice calm but laced with concern.
The young man shook his head. "No, but they're bringing him to the inn."
Aiya's heart raced as she exchanged a glance with her grandmother. Without thinking, she grabbed her shawl and stepped outside, drawn toward the growing crowd.
When she reached the square, the villagers were gathered around a makeshift stretcher. Lying on it was a man—tall, with dark hair and a strong build. His clothes were torn, and his face was bruised, but there was no mistaking him.
Aiya's breath caught in her throat as she pushed through the crowd, her eyes fixed on his unconscious form.
"What happened to him?" she asked, her voice trembling.
One of the villagers, an older man with a weathered face, shrugged. "Found him near the cliffs. Don't know how he got there, but he's lucky to be alive."
Aiya knelt beside the stretcher, her hand hovering over his arm. There was a strange pull, an inexplicable connection that made her want to reach out, to help him.
"Aiya," her grandmother's voice broke through her trance. She turned to see the older woman standing behind her, her expression unreadable.
"Come back to the shop," her grandmother said firmly.
"But he—"
"Now," her grandmother insisted, her tone leaving no room for argument.
Reluctantly, Aiya stood and followed her grandmother back to the shop. But even as she worked through the day, her thoughts kept returning to the man.
Who was he? Why had he come to Seaside? And why did she feel as though his arrival was just the beginning of something far greater—and far more dangerous—than she could imagine?
That night, Kael stood on the cliffs overlooking the village, his mind racing.
He had heard about the discovery of the unconscious man. Though he didn't know who it was, he had a sinking feeling it was someone from the V-clan.
"Leek is moving faster than I thought," he muttered to himself.
The war between their clans had raged for centuries, a cycle of bloodshed and vengeance that seemed impossible to break. But Aiya… Aiya was different. She was a wild card, an anomaly in a game that had always followed the same rules.
Kael's eyes burned with determination.
"I won't let him take her," he vowed.