The Stone of Days Chapter 25

I was flabbergasted after speaking. It wasn't because of the person that appeared before me. Was this really my voice?
It sounded grotesque and felt like metal was grinding inside my throat.
But my counterpart was even more alarmed at my alarmed state (If so, why did you even bother knocking?).

"You were awake?"

After considering how to reply, I ended up finding nothing to say. It didn't help that I didn't want to hear my own voice so I just stayed silent. The girl approached my bedside.
It seems there was a chair by the bedside. I could tell she was trying to sit on something.

"How… … do you feel?

How do I feel?
While trying to figure out my own condition, I was suddenly ambushed by unendurable thoughts.

"Uhk… …."

My chin suddenly lifted towards the air as I let out a strange sound, causing Ryujia to be surprised. Not having the strength to raise my head, it hung back down onto the bed. I couldn't breathe. Ryujia arose from the chair urgently, trying to calm me down while grabbing my head.

"Fabian, Fabian, it's okay, it's okay."

"What… is okay?"
All of a sudden, those memories of Ryujia fortune-telling materialized in my head.

Ryujia had once told me. Would you be fine with living as a merchant vendor, and inheriting the store later as you age and die?
I shook my head.
Then how do you want to change your life exactly?
Slanting my head slightly, I asked what she meant by "changing" and asked her for an explanation. She frowned as her forehead wrinkled, and was briefly in thought before opening her mouth.

"What it means about changing is that it can be a good thing, and it can also be a bad thing. Also, the things you love could actually be a bad thing, and the things you hate could in reality be a good thing as well. What changing really means literally, is the word itself. When you're willing to change, you need courage, danger, and yourself."

Unable to understand what she said, I got frustrated and asked her to move on the next story. a.s.suming it wasn't something good, I told her that I would think about it before deciding.
But, my life completely changed. What I want, what I didn't want. I couldn't decide on anything.
Something began to surge in me.

"Uhkk… …."

If there was one thing I didn't want to remember, only one thing,
It would be discovering mother,
Her chest pierced in the center.
A large hole like an abyss.
The cold, frozen blood that had encircled her.

My chest began to heave up and down. So much that the bed shook. As my body began to tremble intensely again, Ryujia waited for a while before acting unexpectedly.
She climbed onto the bed with her bent knees, and laid down beside me just like that.
Then, with her body, she persistently grabbed onto my trembling body.

I could feel her arms wrapped around me.
Her scent that had entered my nose in a split second. Her hair had scattered onto my face and pillow. Compared to before when her hair was firmly tied back, I didn't know but her hair was very long.
Warm.

Soon, I became quiet.

My head started to circle around.
My convulsions soon settled down. Decreasing bit by bit, I gradually became still.
And the body that wasn't mine, that hardened body, step by step, slowly returned back to me.
That initial feeling of extreme pain. Where it hurts, I didn't know for sure.
And the feeling I felt next… ….
I discovered myself gradually feeling the silhouette of her body.

Ahah… Oh my, oh my, this can't be… ….
But the warmth slowly allowed my body to start circulating. I wonder if the blood is as red as my face.

"Your face… …the complexion is returning."

Ugh…….
If I could, I would stand up all at once, but I didn't have the strength to do that. Thankfully, Ryujia rose from the bed. Her hand that was tidying up her scattered hair.
Ah, I'd rather close my eyes momentarily.
With my eyes closed I could hear her voice. Her voice was so elegantly calm that I feel myself beginning to calm down without realizing myself.

"I am a prophet. In other words, a fortune teller, as you may well know."

Sure. Hmm, come to think of it, you're not a person that's close enough to me that would come and find me here. Then, what exactly could have happened?

"You, do you remember when I told you your father was alive?"

Ah, come to think of it, she did say that.
I opened my eyes and looked at Ryujia. She was sitting on the bed as she looked down at me. Those eyes of hers reflected  a deep calm well. The last time she prophesied, I never saw such eyes before.

"I saw your father."

Yeah, the one that called himself father.
I could consider not believing it. However, I thought it wasn't that important. The motherless me, in front of my father that had appeared. I had no feeling. I feel empty. Why, why do you have to appear now? Why couldn't you be with us in the beginning? Why would you come at such a time and muddle my emotions like this?
d.a.m.n, was this fate that I can't have both my 'mother' and 'father' at the same time?

"And… …."

Despite what I was thinking, and what expression I was making, she continued speaking without any response to those.

"Your fate, I can feel it."

"What…are…you saying?"

Ahah, I really abhor that metallic voice of mine. It sounds like a person that had fallen ill on the road.

"In a prophet's life, we make countless prophecies when we prophesy, however not all of those people’s' stories become important. On some days, I had prophesied for 20 or more people. And I forget afterwards. The next time they look for me, unless they specifically explain, there are times when I can't remember what I had said at all."

Sounds dubious.
Ryujia continued to talk.

"Fabian, when you came to me, at first I couldn't feel anything, but when I continued with your prophesy, without realizing, I could feel a strange impression emerge from me. After you returned, I thought of this for quite a long time.

Exactly what? Although I wanted to initially nod my head, I was too tired so I blinked my sleepy eyes.

"Prophets too can feel the fates of their own lives intertwined with another. Although that had never happened to me once before, I knew such things still existed. You."

This feeling, it's strange. Ryujia's voice, as if she had made up her mind.

"As a prophet, your fate and mine are intertwined."

TL Afterword

Ryujia is such a sweet girl, but d.a.m.n she's aggressive.

PR Afterword

Sai101:Fabian – Free predictions for life!

Translator: Calvis
Proofreader: Sai101, Kajin