The Prophecy and Its Breaking
The world in front of Arkin Seilir’s eyes flickered wildly. The narrow vision that had only shown the faces of the baby and the ceiling suddenly expanded into a vast panorama.
How was this even possible? Arkin looked down at the world from his tiny body, as if he had borrowed the eyes of a god.
The door opened and his father entered. In a single stride he went to his mother, pulled her into his arms, and pressed a kiss to her cheek. The eyes of a man who was utterly consumed by love gazed upon her. The two of them looked at the baby together and smiled with pure joy.
“I wonder what destiny awaits my son. I am a little afraid.”
The tip of the mother’s finger gently stroked the baby’s soft cheek. As if to ask what she was worried about, the father wrapped his arm around her shoulder and whispered.
“Remember the night my son was born. You know how special that night was, don’t you? In a forest where not a single breath of wind stirred, the leaves of the trees danced, and the aspens shone silver… It was an incredibly mysterious and beautiful sight. Everyone blessed this child, certain that something extraordinary would happen. He is destined to become an extraordinary person.”
Knock, knock. The guard announced that the escort was ready to depart. Holding Arkin, they stepped into the corridor. The servants lined up on both sides bowed deeply in respect, and the guards advanced with solemn dignity, shielding the baby prince and the royal couple.
“Open the door!”
The royal procession moved slowly, passing through the city gates. At the head walked the king and queen’s palanquin escorted by guards, followed by the elders of each tribe in line.
The seemingly endless grand parade sparkled in the light. To Arkin, accustomed to Solinar’s simplicity, the sight was utterly unfamiliar. The prince’s prophecy about the fate of the kingdom must have been something truly extraordinary.
Long live the king! Long live the king! The people lining both sides of the path threw flowers and leaves into the air and cheered. The children sat on their parents’ shoulders, waving small hands, while the elderly leaned on their canes and peered curiously.
Arkin looked around at the people, expecting his father to wave to them. But the king held his head high and stared straight ahead, never meeting the eyes of his subjects. The king’s face was visibly stiff, as if he were in deep distress.
Despite the short distance, the long parade took a long time to reach the temple. The old priest welcomed them in a white robe—an unfamiliar face from Arkin’s memory. He greeted the king and queen with a kind smile and led them inside.
In the middle of the vast temple, the king and queen dismissed the attendants and carried only the baby into the sacred chamber. The only light illuminating the long, narrow corridor came from the faint candles on both walls. The long white hair of the elderly priest swayed slightly, reflecting the light. Throughout the long walk, the father held the baby prince tightly against his chest.
Two young priests stood before the altar. While they burned incense, sprinkled holy water, and unfolded the scripture, the baby did not cry once. When the priest praised the baby, a warm smile bloomed on the king and queen’s faces.
“Now, I shall present His Highness the Prince.”
On the altar, the baby finally stirred a little. He moved his tiny hands and kicked against the swaddling cloth with his feet. The priest proceeded with the ceremony without hesitation. One beat the drum while another held branches and bells and chanted the prayer.
Thud, thud, thud. The rhythmic drumbeats and the rapid chanting of the prayer rose. A single beam of sunlight slanted across the baby’s cheek as he made small cooing sounds.
Thud, thud, thud, thud…
The steady drumbeat fell silent the moment the priest standing in the center raised his right hand. With that powerful strike to the sky, the drum and the chanting stopped. A deep, enormous silence filled the temple.
“…You are a bird soaring in the sky.”
A clear voice came from the tip of the priest’s lips.
“You will leave the forest and fly far away.”
A cold, terrifying silence descended. From the baby lying on the altar came a small, weak sound as if he were trying to breathe.
“The throne… is…”
The priest lifted both hands higher. His voice trembled, and beads of sweat gathered on his forehead.
“The throne… is your… shackle….”
The priest gasped in agony.
“You will finally gain… freedom… from far away.”
The final syllable of the prophecy faded weakly from the priest’s mouth.
The old priest staggered and retreated from the altar. A young priest quickly helped him. Even the young priest’s face had turned deathly pale.
“W-what…?”
The words that escaped the king’s lips were more like a groan.
“What kind of nonsense is this? The throne….”
Instead of the panicked king, the queen stepped calmly toward the altar. She seemed to be lifting the baby gently, but her hands and arms trembled so violently it was heartbreaking. Tears poured endlessly down the queen’s cheek as she held the baby.
“The throne is a shackle for this child? This child is the prince of Solinar! He was born that way from the very beginning! How could such… such a thing…?”
The intense confusion quickly turned into rage and fell like thunder. The king’s sharp gaze turned toward the priests.
“Did you all make this up?”
“Your Highness, of course not!”
The priests shook their heads in panic, but the king already looked convinced. His eyes gleamed with fury.
“Speak. Who paid you? Who devised this false prophecy?! Do you dare to shake my throne?!”
The king, losing his mind, lunged forward and grabbed the old priest’s shoulder. The two young priests turned pale but could not stop him and only trembled.
“How many people are eyeing this position? Speak! Who is it?!”
“Your Highness… how could we possibly dare to concoct a sacred prophecy? It was given to me by divine will!”
“What?”
The priest’s defense only infuriated the king further. With a cracking sound, the king’s hand reached for the priest’s throat.
Waaah! The baby suddenly burst into loud cries. The startled queen tried to soothe him, but the prince’s cries refused to stop.
Waaah! Hwaaah! The baby’s voice was powerful. He struggled with all his might, and the tension in the air finally snapped. The king finally released the priest’s collar.
“Your Highness, I am also bewildered. However, that prophecy from just now…”
Just as the king’s face was filled with despair, the old priest’s expression was equally grim. The priest lowered his head and spoke carefully.
“Although it is difficult, this is the truth without a single lie. You must accept it…”
“Shut your mouth!”
The king refused to accept reality. He spun in place and shouted like a madman.
“The throne is a shackle? How can that be?! A destiny to leave the forest! Is it a destiny to betray Solinar?!”
“Dear, please lower your voice.”
The queen’s plea seemed not to reach the king’s ears. The king tore at his hair like a wild beast and pounded his chest before finally collapsing and burying his face in both hands. A groan of pain spilled between his fingers.
“Damn it! Why at my time… I worked so hard to become a king who does not shame the achievements of the previous kings, to follow even the heels of those great men…”
The father’s voice grew distant. Arkin realized that his vision into the past was slowly closing.
“It had to be my child! My son! A destiny to abandon the throne… How could such a shameful thing…”
The world before his eyes grew blurry. Arkin felt himself slowly returning to reality. Without time to think, a massive headache and tinnitus swept over him.
“…Hah.”
Arkin’s body jerked as if struck from the sky. With eyes wide open, he gasped for air and looked around.
As if nothing had happened, the chair he sat in and the curtain surrounding the room remained exactly the same.
His entire body was drenched in sweat, and his back felt wet. Exhausted, Arkin tried to call the apprentice priest outside. But the moment he opened his mouth, a sharp pain tore through his ears. The tinnitus felt like countless buzzing insects scratching inside his head.
“Ha…”
Arkin took a deep breath and gently rubbed his aching hands. He relaxed his tense body as much as possible, waited for the sharp tinnitus to subside, and closed his eyes.
A moment ago, the priest’s voice echoing in the temple replayed exactly as it had been.
“You are a bird soaring in the sky… You will leave the forest and fly far away.”
“The throne is your shackle… You will finally gain freedom from far away…”
His mind was blank.
What he had seen was not a ridiculous hallucination. It was not a distorted memory either.
Why had he drunk the Atera potion and returned to the past? He had expected to see Nefetia or become king of Solinar…
Arkin quietly thought it over. And he came to the answer. What he had truly desired was ‘the truth.’
Even if all the effort and time he had stacked up were completely denied, even if it became nothing, he had to know the truth properly.
…Yes. It had ended like this. Finally, he knew the truth. The only future Arkin Seilir had gazed at his entire life—gone like smoke.
Arkin sat there blankly for a while. He had thought it would be painful, had expected it to be excruciating, but it was not.
Even though his entire life had been denied, strangely, his heart felt light. As if the very heavy stone pressing on his chest had been removed in an instant.
At times he had felt as if he stood at the edge of a blade. The slightest tilt and his whole body would be torn apart. Living a life constantly tested and validated had been exhausting.
The days depleted by an inescapable nightmare were too grueling, sometimes he did not even want to open his eyes in the morning.
Then, where should he go now?
Where should he find the meaning of his life?
Arkin stood up despite the dizziness that made the ground spin. The future remained hazy and his path was completely shrouded in fog, but something ahead was visible now. He seemed to know what he had to do.
It was the moment he pushed open the curtain and took one step outside. The tinnitus that had rung in his ears vanished in an instant, and all the sounds he had not heard suddenly crashed in at once. Something crashed loudly, cried out…
“Aaaah! Hwaaah!”
A piercing scream tore through the air. The shocking scene that unfolded before his eyes froze Arkin in place.