The God's Instrument

GORYEO — THE PAST “Where did she go?!” The masked figure's voice thundered through the trees, disturbing the birds hidden among the branches. He turned sharply towards the people kneeling before him, his eyes burning with rage behind the mask. “Danjang, geu yeoineul chajara! Momi soeyakhani meolli-neun gaji mothaesseul geosida!” (Find her! She must not have gone far in her weakened state!) The men scattered around the mountain. Some disappeared between the trees, while others hurried down the narrow paths, their footsteps echoing through the bushes. The masked figure remained where he stood. “Find her,” he repeated, his voice low with fury. “Before someone else does.” “Found her!” PRESENT DAY — LOS ANGELES “Who offended the gods? They've been crying since forever!” Ariya Kings pushed her window shut against the heavy rain, frowning at the grey sky outside. Water streamed down the glass, blurring the view of the buildings beyond it. “Who are you talking about?” a voice asked through her phone. Ariya paused, then glanced at the screen. “Finally! Lea, I thought you'd abandoned me.” “Good evening to you too, bestie.” “Don't good-evening me. Where have you been?” “Studying. You should try it sometime.” Ariya turned towards the open textbook on her desk. “Excuse you. I've been studying for three hours.” “Three hours? That's cute.” “Lea!” Lea burst out laughing on the other end. Ariya shook her head, fighting a smile as she returned to her desk. Her books had occupied almost every available space, and the number of questions she still had to answer was beginning to feel personal. “Have you finished the literature questions I sent you?” Lea asked. “Most of them.” “Most?” “I got stuck on one.” “Which one?” “The one about the author's intention. How am I supposed to know what was going through someone's mind when they wrote a book two hundred years ago?” “Maybe if you stopped arguing with the questions and actually read them—” “I read them!” “Sure you did.” Ariya rolled her eyes, although Lea couldn't see her. “You're enjoying this too much.” “A little.” Ariya laughed under her breath and turned another page in her textbook. “Have you decided yet?” she asked. “Decided what?” “Where you're going after all this. University. Your course. Your entire future, remember?” “Oh, that tiny little thing.” “I'm serious.” “So am I. I've been looking at a few universities, but I haven't made up my mind.” “Same here.” “You? Miss I've wanted to study Literature since forever?” “Wanting to study Literature and knowing where I want to study it are two very different things.” “Fair enough.” Ariya leaned back in her chair, staring at the ceiling. Sometimes, it felt as though everyone expected them to have their entire lives figured out before they had even finished preparing for their exams. “Have you thought about where you want to go?” Lea asked. “Not really.” “That's helpful.” “Oh, shut up. You're not any better.” “I'm considering my options.” “Which means you have no idea either.” “Exactly.” Ariya laughed. “Let's call it a night. We have exams tomorrow. We'll figure out the school when we pass the exams,” Ariya said. “Aye, aye, Captain,” Lea replied. “Goodnight, weirdo.” Ariya smiled as Lea ended the call. She dropped her phone onto the bed and fell onto the mattress herself, too tired to care about the books still scattered across her desk.