Free Web NovelChapter 38: The Fortune Teller
"Read your fate, mortal... so that when the inevitable comes to pass, you shall understand why!"
Rios felt there was something strange about that voice, as though some kind of magic was trying to enthrall him. In the end, however, he dismissed it as nothing more than an illusion and continued on his way. But then the voice reached him again, this time speaking to him directly.
"Hey, you! You handsome young man!"
Rios turned around and searched for the source of the voice. He found a fountain near the center of the market, surrounded by four pillars. Leaning against one of them was a woman.
She looked to be in her forties and wore worn-out clothes riddled with tears and patches. Strange tattoos and writings in an unfamiliar language covered her face.
Yet the strangest thing about her wasn’t the markings or the clothes—it was her messy, wavy golden hair fluttering around her face in the wind.
Golden hair... A Light Elf? What was a woman like this doing here, and how had she ended up in such a state? Weren’t the Light Elves supposed to be the noblest among the Elves?
Rios wondered to himself and wanted to ask Elena, but before he could...
"You there, handsome young man!" the woman called out again, pointing directly at him.
"Are you talking to me?" Rios asked in surprise, pointing at himself.
"Yes, you and no one else." The woman nodded indifferently.
Rios raised an eyebrow at her attitude, then glanced at Elena, only to find her smiling at him and nodding.
Shrugging, he walked over to the woman, stood before her, and said, "Alright... tell me, what do you want?"
"Come closer, boy." The woman smiled and gestured for him to approach.
Rios stepped nearer, crouched down before her on the balls of his feet, looked at her, and raised an eyebrow.
"You smell like royalty." The woman’s eyes widened slightly as she smiled with confidence.
Rios was surprised by her observation and frowned, "Do kings have a scent?"
"Yes. Those with blessed blood carry a scent unlike ordinary people.." She nodded as though what she said was an unquestionable truth.
Rios smiled in surprise. "You got that part right. But plenty of people possess blessed blood without being kings, so how did you know I was one?"
In response, the woman smiled confidently.
"Kings have their own aura, Your Majesty."
Then her expression turned indifferent as she stared above Rios’s head.
"But today... you are a king stripped of your own will."
Rios was shocked by her words and frowned.
"What do you mean?!"
Ignoring his question, the woman looked him straight in the eyes and asked,
"Shall I read your fortune?"
Seeing that she had ignored him, Rios shook his head, pulled out a gold coin from his robe, and offered it to her.
"No, that’s unnecessary. I’m not someone who believes in fortune-telling."
The moment the woman saw the gold coin, her expression darkened with anger, and she slapped Rios’s hand away.
Baaam!
"I do not accept charity, you brat! I am the Fortune Teller of Heaven, the greatest fortune teller in this universe! I’ve never read someone’s fate and been wrong. If you don’t wish to know your future, then get the hell out of my sight!" she shouted without caring who he was.
Rios looked at her, frowned, then nodded.
"Read my fortune then, greatest fortune teller in the universe! Read it for me, you whose predictions never fail."
Rios didn’t believe in divination, but there was something about this woman that had piqued his curiosity.
Hearing his answer, she smiled and once again looked above his head.
"I don’t know what you’ve done in your life to earn such a fate, but even I, who have witnessed the destinies of countless beings, have begun to pity yours!"
"Oh? And what do you see?" Rios asked curiously, raising an eyebrow.
"Hahaha... I see a black coffin made from the wood of an ancient tree, bound by five gigantic chains of different colors. Every one of them wants to tear the coffin apart and destroy it. Surrounding it are millions of chains trying to pierce through it, but above them all stand five even greater chains suspended over the coffin, each one larger than the five restraining it—nearly the size of a star, or perhaps even larger."
The woman shuddered slightly before smiling and lowering her gaze.
"How truly miserable you are. Beneath that coffin, I see a vast crimson lake formed from the blood of enemies and loved ones alike, with the corpses of everyone who followed in your footsteps floating upon its surface."
She sneered, then pointed toward Elena behind Rios.
"And beware of that woman. She will bear your child... and that child will be your killer!"
Rios was stunned by her final words. His eyes widened as he immediately turned around to look at Elena.
He found Elena covering her mouth with one hand while the other rested on her stomach, as though trying to hold something back.
Focusing completely on her face, Rios used his ability to see through the black veil...
She was trying to suppress her laughter?!
"Huh...? What’s going on?" Rios muttered to himself, unable to make sense of the situation.
Seeing his bewilderment, Elena pointed behind him with her finger.
Rios turned toward where the fortune teller had been standing.
She was gone.
"What?! Where did that damned fortune teller go?!" Rios exclaimed in shock, gritting his teeth before looking back at Elena.
Seeing his expression and hearing the anger in his voice, tears streamed from Elena’s eyes from laughing so hard. She slipped a finger beneath her veil, wiped away the tears, and said,
"You really should’ve seen your own face when you were about to believe that fraud. But there’s no need to look for her. She took advantage of the moment you were distracted by me and ran away."
Rios looked toward the direction Elena indicated, and with his keen eyesight, he spotted her.
The fortune teller had grabbed the sides of her tattered robe with both hands and was fleeing as though her life depended on it. But while running, she tripped over one of a merchant’s goods and fell flat on her face.
"You damned bastard! Who told you to leave your damned merchandise in my way?!" the fortune teller shouted at the merchant. Looking around, she happened to catch sight of Rios staring at her as though he wanted to skin her alive.
"Elia, you crazy woman! Who told you to come through here? Go to hell in the name of the sacred trees!" the merchant yelled at the fortune teller Elia.
She paid him no attention whatsoever and only started running even faster.
"What the hell’s wrong with that lunatic?" The merchant scratched his head in confusion, then shrugged off the matter.
"Damn it, why do I even care? I’ll go insane myself if I try to make sense of her behavior."
He sighed, finished speaking, and returned to tending his goods.
"It’s truly unfortunate. Twenty years ago, she was considered the noblest woman among the Elves. Time really is a strange thing... and so is what it does to people."
When Rios saw the terror on Elia’s face and her frantic movements, he sighed and cursed himself inwardly.
"Damn it... I can’t believe I was actually about to believe that lunatic."
He stood up, walked over to Elena, gritted his teeth in anger, and said,
"You knew exactly who she was, didn’t you?!" freeweɓnovel.cѳm
Facing Rios’s anger, Elena simply smiled, placed her hands over her chest, tilted her head to the side, and replied,
"Of course. Who doesn’t know the most famous fortune teller in the City of Light—the former candidate to become Queen of the Elves, the lovestruck madwoman, Elia?"
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Mister XD:
Alright everyone, I’ve got two pieces of good news today. Let’s start with the one that’s good for you first.
As you can see, this Chapter marks the true beginning of the novel. As you continue reading, I want you to set aside any expectations of a stereotypical protagonist whose entire world revolves around him, with everyone existing only to help him grow stronger. That won’t happen here.
And if you don’t let go of that idea, then the events at the end of this volume—and in the volumes that follow—will force you to.
From this Chapter onward, the real excitement begins, so get ready.
As for the second piece of news, this one makes me even happier.
After waiting for almost ten days, my contract has finally been approved. I’ve already completed and submitted it, and now I’m just waiting for the final confirmation.
So all I want to say is: thank you to everyone who has supported me during this time, and to everyone who left a comment or sent a Power Stone. Thank you all from the bottom of my heart. ¡_¡
