Volume 4—Chapter 121: The Writer
The word fate comes from the Latin fatum, which means “that which has been spoken.”
Spoken by who?
Or perhaps, more fitting… written by something unseen.
If it is something that has already been spoken, then it is something already decided. A line already set, waiting to be followed.
In that sense, fate is not just an outcome.
It is a story.
A story of a life already laid out, where each person walks their own path as the protagonist of their own narrative, moving from one moment to the next as if following lines written somewhere beyond their reach.
It may even resemble a leaf carried by a wave.
Drifting with the current, unable to choose its path, moving only where the flow takes it.
And if someone can control fate… that person might as well control life itself.
And the very person who has the potential to control it is an unassuming girl who has no idea how to control her own power.
The Authority over Fate.
The one who holds it is called the Writer.
The one who writes the story… Syena Fiolera.
Or it should be…
Syena, however, doesn’t know anything about her power.
She came to realise her power because of a series of incidents
She was kidnapped by two people and taken into another world, yet she didn’t realize it at the time it was another world. She focused on escaping and didn't pay attention to where she was… She slipped out of the ropes, made a run for it, and jumped out of a window, only to find herself falling from a cliff.
Before she could hit the ground, she was caught by someone. Thankfully, it is not her captor.
That was when she met a witch who called herself Emilia.
Emilia took her away, brought her across worlds, and confirmed that Syena was not from a normal Earth. During that time, Emilia noticed something within her.
And it was through Emilia that Syena came to learn about her hidden power.
Even then, she still doesn’t know how to use it.
And now, she is in the middle of chaos. Tsukuru City is under attack by monsters.
“Syena… stay close to me,” a red-haired girl said as flames flickered around her arms. Ariana didn’t take her eyes off the surroundings.
“You really are protective of her, Ariana…” another voice came, light and amused.
Yukari Fiolera stood a short distance away, calm despite everything, her gaze fixed on the two of them.
A burst of fire shot from Ariana’s hand.
It grazed past Yukari, close enough to singe the air beside her.
“Don’t scare her,” Ariana said, her voice sharp as she glared.
Yukari let out a small laugh, unfazed. “Alright, alright…”
Meanwhile, Syena just stood there, stiff, her eyes moving between them.
“Huh… why aren’t any monsters coming this way?” Ariana muttered, scanning the street.
Right then, her smartwatch beeped.
“Attention all Espers in Tsukuru. We have personnel luring the monsters around the city. They will not attack other Espers. Engage and eliminate any monsters that pass through your area.”
Ariana frowned. “What the heck does that mean?”
Yukari folded her arms slightly, glancing at the sky. “Sounds like good news. We just need to deal with the miasma here.”
Ariana clicked her tongue, still uneasy. “Yeah, but who the hell can agro all the monsters like that?”
“Well… guess we could do a little catch-up…” said Yukari.
“Right, little cousin.”
She gave a gentle smile.
It looked gentle, sure. But to Syena, there was nothing gentle behind it.
“Yukari…” Ariana said in a low voice.
The tension between them grew heavy, pressing into the air.
Syena noticed it and tried to calm things down.
“Um… Ariana… it’s alr—”
She didn’t get to finish.
A group of flying serpents swept past above them.
In the next instant, every nearby monster burst apart.
Blood scattered through the air, then stopped. It lingered, gathering, drifting, before circling slowly around Yukari.
Her expression shifted.
The softness faded, replaced by something colder as she looked straight at Ariana.
“Don’t push your luck…” Yukari said quietly. “Besides…”
Her eyes slipped toward Syena for a moment.
“I’m just worried about my little cousin, you know.”
The gentle smile returned.
But the blood surrounding her betrayed that look.
Ariana answered by raising her own flames.
Fire gathered around her arms, rising and shifting, matching the presence Yukari gave off. Blood and flame faced each other, neither giving way.
“Alright… Ariana… don’t misunderstand me, okay? I’m worried about her too, you know.” Yukari spoke lightly, as if the tension didn’t exist. “I thought I already convinced you. Seems like I was mistaken.”
She tilted her head slightly.
“You know how worried I was when she suddenly disappeared. Even in the middle of a drama shoot.”
“I only agreed to work with you so we could find Syena,” Ariana replied without hesitation. “Now that she’s here, we go our separate ways.”
“Are you sure about that?” Yukari let out a small chuckle. “You do realise you’re still a wanted fugitive, right? Burning down that studio, attacking fellow Esper personnel…”
Her eyes narrowed slightly.
“Without the Fiolera family backing you, can you really walk freely in this city?”
Ariana gritted her teeth, flames flaring a little stronger.
“Um… Ariana, please calm down…” Syena finally managed to speak, stepping slightly closer.
“Yukari… Yukari-nee chan is one of the few people who’s been good to me in the family.”
Ariana glanced at her for a brief second.
“Is that so…”
She said it, but there was no trust in it.
The Fiolera family wasn’t simple. A modern aristocratic line, full of heirs competing, watching, waiting. And Syena, despite the name, hadn’t grown up among them. She was brought back only recently, after her parents passed away.
To most of them, she was an outsider.
Many treated her that way.
Yukari didn’t.
And that was exactly the problem.
Ariana’s gaze returned to her, sharp and guarded.
Someone who shows kindness that easily, in a place like that, is never simple.
The tension snapped.
Ariana moved first.
Flames surged forward in a sharp burst, cutting through the air toward Yukari without warning.
Yukari didn’t step back.
The blood around her shot forward, forming a thin barrier. The flames crashed against it, hissing, burning, but not breaking through.
In the next instant, Yukari flicked her fingers.
The blood split into several thin strands and lashed out, fast and precise, aiming straight for Ariana.
Ariana twisted to the side, flames flaring along her arms as she deflected them. Heat and liquid collided, scattering sparks and droplets across the ground.
Neither of them held back.
Fire roared upward. Blood followed, shaping into blades mid-air.
They met in the centre.
A sharp clash, then another, then another, too fast to follow.
The street cracked under the force. Nearby debris was blown aside as heat and pressure built between them.
Syena froze where she stood, caught in the middle of it.
It lasted only a moment.
Ariana pushed forward with a stronger burst of flame, forcing Yukari’s blood construct to split apart.
Yukari stepped back half a pace, her expression unchanged.
The blood returned to her side, hovering, waiting.
Ariana didn’t press further.
Her flames still burned, but she held her ground instead.
Syena couldn’t do anything but watch.
Then, for a brief moment, she felt something in her hand.
It felt like… a pen.
Her fingers tightened around it, though there was nothing there.
Without thinking, she raised her hand.
“Stop…”
The word formed in front of her and drifted forward.
It reached the two of them.
The moment it touched, they stopped.
Flames halted mid-motion. Blood froze where it hung.
“Ugh… what is this…” Ariana said, her voice strained.
“…Ugh… so uncomfortable… but as expected,” Yukari said.
Meanwhile, Syena, the one who caused it, just stood there.
Dumbfounded.
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