04. CAUTION
1318 Words
It was already noon when Xiandra left the university. However, the sun’s rays were not too harsh on her skin. The cool breeze of fresh air still prevailed in the surroundings.
She walked alone along the path, unable to resist glancing at the white tree—the one Cerene claimed to be the guardian of the legendary forest.
“There might be a wild beast inside,” she murmured while staring at the forest entrance.
She quickened her pace until she reached the park beside Lady Zoira’s rental house.
She didn’t feel hungry yet, so she decided to read a book in the park’s shaded area.
Sitting on a stone bench, she flipped through the pages of her book. However, she still couldn’t shake off the thought of the old book in the library—the mysterious book that had suddenly vanished like a bubble.
“Was I just seeing things earlier?” she asked herself.
She quickly shook her head and forced herself to focus on the book in her hands.
The park was deserted except for Xiandra.
The only sounds came from the wind rustling the leaves and branches of the trees. The silence was deafening, yet the fragrant air was soothing—especially with the variety of flowers surrounding her. It seemed that the locals had a fondness for flowers.
Xiandra was used to the climate here, as Citta Miasto was much like the town where she grew up—her father’s hometown. Here, she was known as the daughter of the chief. Their way of life was simple and peaceful, but her parents had raised her like a princess—one who wasn’t even supposed to be touched by a single insect. She was protected at all times. They wouldn’t allow her to get even the smallest scar—not even a minor scratch.
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Darkness had fallen when Xiandra opened her eyes.
She instinctively reached for her nape, wincing at the dull ache. Slowly, she sat up and looked around. She was still in the park. She hadn’t realized she had dozed off while reading.
Under the dim glow of the nearby lamps, she gathered the scattered books from the ground.
“I warned you.”
She froze.
For a moment, it felt as though the world had stopped spinning.
She swiftly turned toward the voice—and immediately went still.
Standing not far away was an old man.
Him.
The same beggar she had encountered before.
“Y-you?” she stammered, her voice barely above a whisper.
There was no mistaking it. She vividly remembered how he had disappeared back then—like smoke swallowed by the wind. But now, here he was again, staring at her intently.
Her chest tightened.
She could hear nothing but the frantic pounding of her heart.
“You can no longer change your fate. The prophecy will come to pass.”
A shiver ran down her spine.
His tone—it wasn’t just a warning. It was a declaration.
She shook her head repeatedly, refusing to accept the meaning behind his words.
“No…” She shut her eyes tightly, hoping it was all just a dream. This couldn’t be real. She had seen him vanish before—yet now, here he was, speaking to her!
Impossible! Her mind screamed.
“It is all set into motion.”
As his chilling words echoed, a strong gust of wind blew—harsh and foreboding.
Xiandra’s eyes flew open.
And in the blink of an eye, the old man was gone.
Vanished once more.
A loud, frantic banging on a door shattered the night’s stillness. The sound came from Lady Zoira’s rental house.
“Help!!!” a woman screamed.
“Please, someone help me!!!”
Her desperate cries were accompanied by sobs, filled with terror and anguish.
Xiandra’s heart pounded. The memory of the old man’s reappearance still haunted her, but she couldn’t ignore the cry for help. She forced herself to stay strong and cautiously approached the source of the commotion.
She had barely taken a few steps when a woman suddenly bolted out of the house.
She was running so fast that Xiandra couldn’t make out her face in the darkness.
Gasping, Xiandra instinctively hid when she noticed two men chasing after the woman. A third man followed—riding a black horse, clad in dark clothing, like a shadow pursuing its prey.
She swallowed hard.
What was happening?
She wanted to shut her eyes, turn away, and pretend she hadn’t seen anything. But she couldn’t ignore the woman’s cries—pleading, sobbing, begging for help.
Her chest tightened.
She couldn’t abandon her.
The woman kept running. But her steps were growing sluggish. She was losing her breath. Her once-white dress was now stained with her own blood. Her body was covered in wounds—some of which appeared to be bite marks from some unknown creature.
Like prey that had barely escaped the hunter’s feast, she had been given the chance to flee.
She turned her head.
Her pursuers weren’t rushing. They merely followed at a steady pace, as if certain she had nowhere left to run. They were only inches away now.
A bitter smile formed on her trembling lips.
Perhaps there was no escape from this town.
Her body weakened. Her eyelids grew heavy.
She let out a quiet sob—not from pain, but from the gruesome death awaiting her.
Fear no longer gripped her.
It was something far worse—an unexplainable dread.
“Please… don’t…” she whimpered, her voice shaking as two men grabbed her arms, restraining her. “Have mercy…” she sobbed, pleading.
They shoved her forward toward a man who had just dismounted his horse.
She could barely keep her eyes open—not from fear, but from the blinding gleam of the sword in his hands. Sharp. Deadly.
“L-let me go!” she struggled weakly, but her strength was fading.
Her sobs deepened, her chest burning with helplessness.
“Please! I’m begging you!” Her entire body trembled as tears streamed down her cheeks.
Then she heard it—the chilling sound of the blade being drawn.
And then, she felt it.
A sharp, searing pain pierced her chest.
Her eyes widened in horror as she gazed, pleading, at the masked figure before her.
She shut her eyes tightly as he pulled the sword from her body.
Blood gushed from her lips.
And then—she collapsed.
Numb.
Void of any feeling.
Xiandra clamped a hand over her mouth. Tears poured down her cheeks as she watched the lifeless woman not far from where she was hiding. Her whole body trembled with fear and shock. The tree trunk at her back was the only thing keeping her upright as nausea overtook her.
The brutality of it all…
Monsters! her mind screamed.
And she had done nothing to stop it.
A sob escaped her quivering lips.
Then—
The footsteps stopped.
And then—
They started again.
Moving closer.
Xiandra’s heart pounded in terror. She blinked—and in that instant—
She ran.
Through the empty streets, cold fear clawed at her chest. Was she the next target? The next victim of those hunting her?
The neigh of a galloping horse rang out.
Her panic surged.
“Oh, God…” she breathed, barely conscious of her own voice.
The fear and desperation she had felt for the woman now consumed her entirely. Then, at the corner of her eye, she saw it—the white tree by the roadside.
With no hesitation, she ran toward the forest’s entrance. She didn’t think twice. She ignored the warning sign posted on the barricade blocking the path. She had no choice.
She had to enter the dark, uncharted depths of the forest.
She had no idea what awaited her inside.
But she feared turning back even more.
- Writer
