It was late evening, or perhaps early night. From the high floors of her hotel room, an old woman was watching the streets beneath. Roads too wide for even the most luxurious of royal carriages, building too tall for any human to ever hope to climb. Man-made light and microscopic dust that hid any hope of ever seeing the stars. There was a time where this city was the capital of magic and wonder, a time when the whole world lived and breathed to the rhythm of the mysterious forces governing it.

That ethereal balance could still be restored, at least for a selected few.

Or so it had been at least, until a few hours ago when the fractals of time shattered, and the strings of fate that held the world together unwove to reveal a new reality; one that could no longer sprout from Beijing.

“Miss Furi?” A young man in an expensive two-piece suite called out as he entered the hotel room. “Dinner will be served shortly. The Liu family has refused our invitation once more, so, if you wish, I could go talk to them in person. I know it will come off as desperate, but with so few years to spare, I believe it would be wise for your plan…” The man trailed off, despite the lack of response from the old woman.

She had had many names throughout the years. She had been called a Seer, a Prophet, a daughter of Manto, on her few visits to Europe. For a while, before the War had begun, she was only known as Grandma Furi, as her last name, much like her late husband, had vanished amongst the annals of history.

Although she no longer called herself a ‘seer’ or a ‘prophet’ she could still see everything that had been, was, and would be. She had long given up on passing on her art of deciphering the intricate and intertwined roads of time, which all ultimately lead to a single future. Throughout the years, her role in history had become a passive one. Although she did enjoy occasionally nudging fate in the right direction; hasting on events that were not due to occur for another decade or even century.

“I am really sorry,” the man apologised, taking her lack of response for cold anger rather than the contemplative silence that it was. “I will contact the Lui’s again right away, I’ll try to be more persuasive, I-”

“The Liu child is no longer of importance.” The woman cut him off with a soft voice. “Let her grow into the woman she wants to become, and not the one fate wants her to be. There is a chance she will be lucky enough for that man to overlook her importance.”

“Ah, understood. Then does that mean we will finally start corresponding with Yǔháng Fú? Should I arrange a taxi? He should be still at work, but I can check.” As the man spoke, he seemed to be illuminated with almost visible sparkles of excitement.

The woman turned around, finally taking her gaze away from the window, and shook her head ‘no’. The man’s joyful expression was replaced with one of confusion. For once, he refrained from speaking first, waiting for an explanation from his superior.

“Get us two tickets to Paris. There is a flight tomorrow afternoon with that kind of aeroplane with windows, the kind I enjoy. Make sure to get that one. Business-class of course. As close to the front as possible. And buy me a pair of earplugs and yourself a pair of good headphones.” She ordered in a soft yet well-practised and authoritative manner. “I will head to dinner. There is a guest waiting for me downstairs. Withdraw 3.5 hundred yuan* (= ~ 500USD), that should be enough to make him go away.”

She gracefully walked across the large hotel room, letting the fabric of her ornate ceremonial kimono flow behind her, without actually touching the ground. As she passed her assistant, she spun around, making the heavy fabric of her garment follow her movement, and almost dislodging the ornaments in her snow-white hair, before saying, with an unreadable smile:

“The centre of the world has shifted, and we shall follow it.”

“How is that possible?” The man interjected. “I thought the future could not change. You said it was written in stone!”

“It was written in ink, chid. And it always has been.” The woman replied, as her smile slowly morphed into an expression of sadness. “It always has been.” She quietly repeated.

The hotel room was briefly filled with silence, while the man tried to reconcile himself with this new information, and the woman thought of how she could reassure him.

“But our mission remains the same.” She finally spoke, in a less melancholic tone. “We shall do our best to move it forwards, wherever that forward may be. So get us tickets to Paris, and make sure to use my full maiden name on the reservation. And ask several times if war veterans and those of high skill rank get any perks. Be very insistent. It is critical that you be insistent.”

“Yes miss Furi.” The man finally agreed. He hadn’t yet fully understood the situation, but he trusted the woman enough to know that she would tell him what he needed to know. “I shall be on my way then.”

The woman nodded as she left the room, and headed toward the elevator. There was one more thing she had to do in this city built by but not for men.

---

“What do you mean you’re leaving!?” A tall, broad-shouldered Asian man yelled.

“Hush, you’re making a scene.” Furi replied in a coy tone.

“I don’t care! You promised I could meet him! You said you would guide me to him!”

“And I have.” The woman nodded, that bemused expression still pained over her face.

“You have done none such thing, lady!” The man yelled again.

A receptionist approached the duo, and tried, awkwardly, to interject.

“Come on child,” the woman spoke, ignoring both the hotel worker and the protesting man. “Let us talk outside. Some people seem to mind your lack of manners.

The man followed without further complaint, as he suddenly became aware of the looks that everyone was giving him. He tried to pull the hood of his sweater over his head, in an attempt to look less intimidating, but for once the looks he was getting were not caused by his stature or height, but rather, just as the Seer had said, his public outburst.

As he exited the hotel, he quickly walked to the place in the sidewalk where he had planted his longsword. He’d placed a seal on it, to ensure that no one would steal it. He pulled the weapon out of the ground, leaving a messy hole behind, before following the old woman to a nearby bench.

She straightened out her kimono before taking a seat, and invited him to join her with a hand gesture.

“So, where is he?” The man asked, as he let himself fall near her, resting his sword by his side.

The duo could not have looked more different to one another even if they tried, which earned them a few strange looks from the passers-by. Despite her age, wrinkled face, grey hair and petite stature, Furi had an air of elegance to her. And by her side sat a man whose height, shabby attire and an array of tattoos on both his arms did nothing to make him look less like a ruffian. Yet, most passers-by assumed that they were either Hunters or high-rankers based on their attire and equipment, so they let them be.

“He works as an accountant at company X.” Yuki finally spoke. “But if I were you I would not go see him just yet. He hasn’t yet settled on a path for himself.”

“How will I know if it’s him?” The man asked, dismissing half of what the woman had said.

“You won’t. He will be the one to pick you.”

“Yeah, right.” The man scoffed before looking away. “As if anyone would ever do that.” He added under his breath.

“You underestimate yourself, chid. You are quite skilful in your own way.”

“Don’t give me the ‘you should have been a hunter’ discourse. You know I couldn’t. I have a family to feed.”

“Yes, yes, Yuuto. I know.” The woman nodded. She had helped this man more than once to find the kind of job that paid a lot of money fast, and she held no remorse about that. “If I were to be honest with you,” Her tone suddenly shifted into a more serious one, “I too do not see why he will choose you specifically, so I can offer you little reassurance in that regard.”

“Isn’t that like your whole thing? Seeing the future?”

“I see events child, not the reasoning that goes behind them. I cannot see faith or doubt, not loyalty nor betrayal, no desire or lust,”

“I get it. That’s enough.” The man cut her off.

The woman nodded to herself, smiling.

“Then if you do not mind, you should be on your way.” She spoke.

“Me?” The man pointed at himself, somewhat offended by the fact that she was kicking him out.

“You have places to be, and I wish to enjoy the view from down here. It’s quite different to what one might see from the sky.” The woman spoke. “Their lives seem much closer here, their worries almost real, almost sensible …”

“Then- is this… ?”

“Yes, Goodbye.” The woman nodded before turning towards the man.

For the briefest moment, her eyes glowed with magical energy.

Dream of Eternity

Target : Yuuto Aikawa

Subject : Furi and her interference with his fate

Duration : Forever

Onset : Breach of eye contact

MP - 15

The man stood up, thinking of something to say. As he turned around to pick up his sword before parting ways with the woman, he suddenly forgot why he was here.

He tried to clear his thoughts, before finally remembering that he had come to Beijing to meet with a certain man who was supposed to help with his perpetual unemployment situation.

“Right.” Yuuto said, as he remembered that this man worked at Company X.

He didn’t even pay attention to the old lady dressed in an old-fashioned ceremonial attire from his home country as he hastily made way to his destination.