ON THE BORDER OF AKUNI, AOTOSHI, AND MEDIKAI, there is a large mountain called Mount Sliab, roughly four-and-three-quarters miles above sea level. On the side of one of the lower peaks, only about 1,600 feet from sea level, there was a small house, constructed on a side that, to the fortune of the Prophet that lived in this hut, rarely got any avalanches if at all.

This prophet lay in her bed, weak from the ninety-four years that had taken up her life. After predicting the futures of thirteen hundred people, she decided to exile herself on the southeastern face of Mount Sliab in an attempt to avoid the overbearing attention she had received throughout her career. Her initially benevolent intent, that of allowing people to change their fates should they wish to, had been tossed aside by those who told of her and the public began to see her as no more than a fame-seeker and a fraud. Despite those claims, she had yet to hear of any single prophecy that she had told which had not come to fruition. In truth, roughly two hundred of the people that had received a prophecy from her went on record saying that her unusually detailed prophecies were entirely correct without one missing detail.

As she reflected upon her career, her face emitted a smile. Just as she was about to doze off into a final slumber, however, a knock came from her door.

“It’s unlocked,” the Prophet shakily called out, hoping that the person at the door would hear her. Just a few seconds later the door opened and she saw a figure from her past.

“Ah, Zero,” she greeted the maila at the door. “It has been a great while since we’ve last seen one another. Seventy-five years, yes?”

“Indeed,” Zero answered, “and within those seventy-five years, much has happened.”

“Well, that is to be expected. More people are born, more people die, power is exchanged between people, a more unusual occurrence is nothing changing after seventy-five years.”

“In that case, the one thing that has remained consistent after all this time is your accuracy. You were right about Oji and Kawata. The two of them fell for a woman from Medikai that went by the name of Seyun Wakeru, with Oji being the one to win her hand. The two of them had a falling-out and their posterity continued this battle. Oji and Seyun had a son named Sofu, while Kawata had two sons, one named Dokusai and another named Cedrick, the latter of which was estranged from the Mujihina family and was forced to take on the surname of Kando. Sofu then had a son named Oto and Dokusai had two children, one a girl named Hana and the other a boy named Kunshu. Kunshu killed Sofu and influenced Hana to marry Oto, resulting in the bond being formed between the two bloodlines. Later on, Kunshu killed Hana and Oto, as well as their son Lars. Yet, he had neglected to kill their second son, and later his conqueror, Yukan. At this moment, Yukan, the symbol of the unity between the Kenshis and the Mujihinas, reigns over both Akuni and Aotoshi.”

“I see,” the Prophet said as she processed the information she’d been given. “This tale is not yet completed.”

Zero was perplexed by what she had said. “What do you mean by that? The last Mujihina is gone and the bloodline still survives through Yukan and his children. He has a girl named Lanya and a boy named Musuko.”

“Just as the Mujihinas had tried to do,” she remarked, “you’d forgotten about Kando.”

“That was nearly sixty-eight years ago,” Zero interjected. “Surely he’s no longer alive, what with his already shaky living situation.”

“True as that may be,” the Prophet replied as her voice shifted into the tone taken when she began divination, “this does not rule out his descendants. Listen well, for I am not certain if I will live long enough to repeat this.” Zero leaned in closer as the final prophecy slithered from the mouth of the Prophet.

“A veteran of the War of the Swords and the grandchild of the estranged Cedrick Kando has created an underground rebellion against King Yukan the Vengeful. They will find a figure from Yukan’s past that they feel is most suitable to defeat him and, with one swift blow with the Kaesu Dagger, the king will be killed. The queen, in her grief, will soon follow when trying to protect that which her lover held dear. His daughter will take up the mantle and defeat the grandson of Kando, only for a distant relative, both in relation and physical distance, to take his place with the coalition and stage a coup, resulting in the new ruler and her brother being forced into exile within the Unkempt. Yet, just as the world seems to be at its bleakest, the maila will join forces with the last two members of the royal family and reclaim the throne.” As she spoke the last words, she began to lay back down upon her bed, looking up at the ceiling as the light of life escaped from her eyes. Zero gently closed her eyelids before picking up her body.

Upon the drawer, he found the Prophet’s will. She had wished that her birth name, Theresa Prospero, not be written on her grave or ever disclosed to the public. Rather, she wished that she would be buried on the base with the head of the grave pointed toward her house on the side of Mount Sliab. She wished for the headstone of the grave, which would be carved out of the mountain with the tools in the drawer, to only be marked with “Here lies a prophet, whose view of the future remains hopeful even in death.” She also wished that her belongings be given to her niece Almira, whose contact information was also provided in the will.

As Zero began to leave, he decided to take the responsibility of burying her into his own hands. Once he made a gravestone for Theresa, he decided to contact her niece and tell her of her aunt’s passing. Almira expressed sorrow over the phone, but only after Zero mentioned the Prophet’s birth name. She promised that she would come to Mount Sliab later on to gather up her belongings.

As Zero hung up the phone, he remembered the prophecy he’d just been told and its severity. If Yukan didn’t know about this, it would be very likely that he could die very soon. After all, the prophecy about Oji and Kawata began only a few months after they first heard of it, even when they already knew about the prophecy. If Yukan didn’t know about it, it might end up starting even earlier. It didn’t matter if telling Yukan would do little more than delay the prophecy. That idea was the least of Zero’s concerns. At least he would have more time to formulate a plan to prevent these deaths. As far-fetched as it may seem, Zero had tasked himself with fighting against fate itself.