I narrowed my eyes and stared at the number and na on the screen in front of for seconds.
Just like I had been doing for minutes.
I wasn’t sure if it was the right ti or not.
Would it be okay if I called now or would he be angry with for waiting so long?
Is he... okay?
I took a deep breath, looked at the number one last ti, then braced myself and pressed the call button.
Every ’beep’ the call made added to my nervousness, but... eventually... the call was answered.
"Yes, Clara?"
The first thing I noticed when I heard his voice was... how soulless it sounded. The gentle, caring tone he had always had for was completely gone.
I swallowed, trying hard not to sound hoarse, and continued.
"Are you... available? Can I talk to you for a mont?"
He was silent for a short while, then I heard him sigh slightly, and then...
"Sure, we can."
I opened my mouth, I was about to speak, but...
"But before you ask, I’ll tell you. I’m fine, Clara."
"You don’t sound... good, though."
"You know my skill."
And with that, I paused.
Right... he had a skill that blocked negative emotions.
But when I rembered that, I didn’t feel relieved, that nagging feeling didn’t go away.
On the contrary, it manifested itself even more violently. A greater discomfort ca over .
Because... it was not a good thing.
At least as long as he was aware of it, it would never be a good thing.
In the end, maybe it would make him truly forget, truly unaffected, and he would be able to move on.
But it would also eat him up inside. Because that’s... who he was.
"I’m... sorry."
"You have nothing to be sorry for."
"No, I have. Because... I saw it coming."
After that, he got really quiet, almost frozen.
"About a week before that attack... I saw soone about to fall off a cliff. And... there was... soone holding him back from going over the cliff. I couldn’t make out her face, her clothes, but she had black hair. Then... she smiled and started to cry. Her skin color faded, she collapsed, and disappeared. Then the one she had stopped from falling... fell into that bottomless abyss, right into the darkness."
"..."
"I’m sorry. I... I should have called you and told you that I saw sothing like that, I should have sohow inford you about it... But I couldn’t. Because I couldn’t connect the figure falling off the cliff with you, nor could I connect the black-haired figure with her. I’ve been seeing so many aningless, even everyday things lately that I didn’t think they were connected to you, so... it’s my fault."
"Calm down, Clara."
"Seeing you fall off that cliff... you know what that ans, right?"
"That’s exactly why I’m telling you to calm down."
"You’re not fine, brother. You’re just using your skill as a mask, even if you don’t an to."
"Clara, will you listen to ?"
I finally stopped, I waited without saying anything, and my brother... he could only sigh deeply.
"Blaming yourself... is the biggest mistake you can make, do you understand ?"
I didn’t answer.
I couldn’t, actually.
"There are so many to bla that it’s ridiculous to target one person in particular. And you... you’re not experienced in using your skill, nor are you adept at correlating what you see. There was nothing you could have done anyway, even if you had inford ."
He paused montarily, as if the words could hardly co out of his mouth.
As if even he didn’t believe what he was saying.
"There was nothing we could do, most likely."
I can imagine him clenching his fist, but his skill overriding all his emotions. Knowing he didn’t believe what he was saying, but expecting to believe it. That he said those words so that I wouldn’t feel bad, even though he was the one who really needed help.
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Despite everything, he was still thinking about others and not himself.
"Aiden... No, Ethan."
I leaned back in my chair, took a deep breath, and prepared myself again for what I had been preparing for days.
And then...
"I... will go to the kingdom."
"..."
"..."
"What?"
"To tell them that I am a seer."
He waited in silence for a while longer, and then his voice ca out... even heavier and authoritative than before.
"No, Clara. You won’t."
I couldn’t stop my eyebrows from furrowing.
"Why not?"
"It’s not the ti yet, the environnt is not right."
"I want to study my skill, I want to be able to understand what I see and hear, I want to be soone who can function as a real ’seer’."
"Clara, I said no."
I stood up from my chair, I had been trying hard not to raise my voice until now, but this ti... I wasn’t that good at it.
"But why?!"
But his voice... didn’t change an ounce.
"Because it’s not the ti."
"When will it be the ti then?! After I’ve foreseen everything and can’t understand what they are, after I’ve watched everything happen even though I know I could have prevented it sohow?!"
"You have no idea what it ans to be a seer, Clara."
"Oh, you do?"
"Yes, I do."
I was about to open my mouth to answer when I paused, my face twitching involuntarily, and only one word ca out of my mind and lips.
"What?"
"The maximum number of people who can have the Clairvoyance at the sa ti on Lunerra is three. That’s why the existence of every seer is of utmost importance to the entire planet. Your appearance ans that one of the existing ones has died, but no such information was revealed to the planet. For you to appear out of nowhere, especially when you have no connection other than , would not only make you shout out to the whole planet what I just said, it would change your whole life for the worse."
"..."
"You are a seer, Clara. And that will... eventually be revealed. That’s why I wanted you to at least finish high school, before you got into all this. And when threats like Saligia are out there, when there are ears and eyes everywhere looking for a vulnerability, being exposed as a ’seer’ ans you’re nothing more than a sitting duck. Do you understand now?"
So, what he’s trying to do is...
"I’m trying to protect you. I never wanted you to awaken as a seer if I could, I just wanted you to... live like a normal person, so I want you to keep living like a normal person, at least up to a certain point."
I leaned back in my chair again, squinting my eyes and looking only briefly at the wall.
"But I... I don’t want to live like a normal person when there are things I can prevent. That’s the decision I made, brother. That’s... what I want. Because when I keep living like this, I’m not living like a ’normal’ person, I’m living with that guilt and desire that’s always inside ."
"..."
He waited in silence, he kept waiting... seconds slowly turned into a minute.
And at the end...
"Well, fine."
I don’t know why, a smile ford on my face.
It wasn’t because of the happiness I felt that he had agreed, not because I could finally let go of my inner demons.
But... I think it was because he finally started to see as more than just a child he had to protect all the ti, and accepted that I had my own decisions to make.
"I will speak to the prince, I will inform the kingdom of your existence, but... on one condition."
I paused, the smile fading from my face.
Condition...?
"Your status as a seer will be kept secret. You will be trained to learn and use your skill better, but you will be no more than a normal human being to others on the outside looking in. This is not only to protect ’you’, Clara, although that is my main purpose... but more to protect the ’seer’ you are. Do you understand?"
Ah...
That’s acceptable, I guess.
"Okay."
"Then... I’ll make the arrangents. See you, Clara."
"Bye, brother."
The call went off quickly.
My body was quickly enveloped by the intense silence that filled the room. But then... it was completely dissipated by the excitent coming from inside .
"Finally..."
I’ll be able to do sothing.
*******
After the call went off, I could do nothing but stare at the wall.
For minutes, almost.
I can understand how Clara feels. It must be... really eating her up inside, being a seer but always being in situations where she can’t do anything.
But all I wanted was... for her to be safe. I didn’t want her to step into trouble when Lunerra had enough to deal with.
I wanted her to stay hidden from all of Lunerra, as much as possible, even though she would definitely be needed.
I... I don’t want to lose her too.
"That’s... what I want."
My eyes narrowed. I took a deep breath, then opened a holographic screen in front of and dialed a specific number.
This is what you want, huh...
Okay.
If that’s the decision you’ve made... then I’ll do everything I can to keep you safe despite it.
"Ah, Aiden... sorry, I’m a little busy right now. Can we talk later?"
He went to hang up at the sa ti the call ca on, but I didn’t let him.
"No, Prince. We can’t."
He paused for a mont.
"Huh…? What?"
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