Threads of Fate (Catnipz)

Prologue

The streets were a blur of chaos, smoke billowing from overturned cars and the distant sound of sirens cutting through the air. The city had been torn apart in the wake of a catastrophic accident, the remnants of the wreckage scattering across the asphalt like broken memories. Minji walked calmly through the disarray, her black cloak swirling around her legs as she moved through the haze, unaffected by the pandemonium surrounding her. She had seen it all before; crashes, fires, bloodshed, but each soul she collected was still different, still left a mark on her heart.

As Minji stepped over a cracked piece of pavement, she spotted a figure crouched in the middle of the street, illuminated by the flashing red lights of an emergency vehicle. The girl's body was trembling, her fingers lightly brushing the bloodied pavement as if studying it with an almost detached curiosity. Her face was pale, framed by dark hair that clung to her forehead from the sweat and shock, her gaze fixed on the lifeless body that lay just a few inches away from her.

Minji's voice rang through the heavy smoke, sharp and cold, yet oddly gentle as it sliced through the chaos. "Kang Haerin."

The girl on the pavement froze, her body tense for a brief moment before slowly turning her head. Her wide, dark eyes locked onto Minji's, and for a split second, time seemed to stand still. The world around them; the screeching tires, the crackling fires, the rushing paramedics, faded into nothingness as Haerin's gaze met Minji's with an unsettling calm.

Haerin blinked once, twice, as if unsure of what she was seeing. Her pale lips parted, but no words came out. She simply stared, as if she were studying Minji from head to toe, trying to make sense of the figure standing before her, the one who had just called her name.

Minji stood tall, her cloak flowing around her as she watched Haerin, her eyes unreadable, yet filled with an ancient sorrow that she couldn't hide. Haerin's defiance was clear, like a wall rising between them, but Minji could sense it too; the flicker of recognition, the subtle shift in Haerin's expression as something deep within her stirred.

"Haerin," Minji repeated, this time more softly, almost as if she were speaking the name to herself, not just the soul standing before her.

Haerin's eyes softened for just a moment before she tore her gaze away from Minji, her fingers trembling slightly as they brushed against the pavement again. She was avoiding something, something too painful to face.

"Who are you?" Haerin asked quietly, her voice barely audible over the screams of sirens in the distance. Her eyes scanned Minji's face, as though trying to piece together some impossible truth.

Minji took a slow, deliberate step forward, each movement measured and calm, despite the chaos around her. The weight of Haerin's gaze made her heart heavy, but she couldn't afford to hesitate. This was her duty.

"I am the one who guides you," Minji said, her voice unwavering but oddly tender, as if the words themselves carried a sorrow she couldn't explain. "I'm here to take you."

Haerin's eyes flickered with a mix of confusion and resistance, her fingers curling slightly against the cold asphalt. She didn't look at Minji again, instead choosing to fixate on the body beside her, the lifeless form that had once been hers. Her lips parted, trembling with words that seemed to stick in her throat, but she couldn't bring herself to say them.

"No," Haerin whispered, her voice trembling, her hands tightening into fists against the pavement. "I... I'm not ready."

Minji paused, her heart clenching slightly at the words. It wasn't often that a soul refused to go. But there was something different about Haerin; something that resonated deep within Minji, something that felt both familiar and painfully foreign at the same time.

"You don't have a choice," Minji replied, her voice more firm now, though there was a strange gentleness to the command. "It's your time."

Haerin shook her head, still not meeting Minji's gaze. "I'm not ready. I... I have so many things left to do. People I need to protect, things I need to fix."

Minji's gaze softened, though she kept her distance. Her role was clear, but she couldn't help the weight that pressed against her chest. "There is nothing you can fix, Haerin. This is the way things are meant to be."

"No," Haerin insisted, her voice rising with a mixture of desperation and defiance. "I can't leave. Not like this."

Minji's breath caught in her throat. She had seen countless souls, each resigned to their fate, yet here was Haerin, refusing to accept what was inevitable.

But there was something in Haerin's eyes; something that pulled at Minji, making her hesitate for the first time in centuries. The girl's defiance wasn't just a refusal to die. It was a plea for something she had never been able to grasp, a reason to keep fighting, a reason to live.

Minji stood there, silent for a moment, caught between duty and something else she couldn't name. It was then that she realized; the girl in front of her wasn't just a soul she had to collect. Haerin was something more. And Minji found herself wondering, against her better judgment, if there was a way to help her, to understand her, to save her from herself.