The oracle dwelled in a cave where birds sang not.
No path went there—only intuition and faint recall of suffering. Ji-hwan tracked them both. Seong-min appeared despite it.
"You don't need to hear this," Ji-hwan said at the entrance.
Seong-min replied only, "I already have."
Inside, time seemed distorted. The cave vibrated like a heartbeat, and air shimmered as if exhaling secrets.
The oracle perched in front of a pool of stagnant water, her eyes as white as bone, her mouth red-stained from having chewed roots forbidden to mortals.
"You've arrived late," she croaked, before they even began to speak. "But then. love always does."
Ji-hwan took a step forward. "I saw our previous lives. I must know—can I prevent it this time?
The oracle smiled, her smile wide and cold. "You can never end love, child. Only decide how it ends."
Seong-min then replied. "The prophecy states the sword will fall during the black moon. Whose sword?"
Her eyes fell upon him. "Yours. Or his."
Ji-hwan's breath was taken. "If I remain with him—will I kill him?
The oracle dipped into the pool, stirring it with clawed hands. Visions swirled across the surface: fire, a throne, a bloody kiss.
She breathed, "If you love him more than the crown—he lives. But you die."
Ji-hwan stood still.
Seong-min's voice trembled. "And if he chooses me and the crown?"
The oracle did not answer. Only smiled.
And the water went dark.
Outside the cave, Ji-hwan did not speak for hours.
Then:
"I'll find another way."
Seong-min nodded, but his eyes said something else—
what if there isn't one?