The Unsurpassed Maiden

"If I had chosen the doors correctly and checked them???Hae Choon would have been???" A look of horror flashed across the black haired girl's face as the thought of being responsible for her friend's downfall came across her mind. "He would have been still here???"

"Hey. Hey, now you're overthinking." Zhong Yu butts in. He walked closer towards the girl and said, "Don't think like that. Hae Choon is fine, trust me. That stubborn man is fine. He still has a long way to go before he meets his end."

"But if I had been more careful Hae Choon wouldn't have been lost!" The young girl announces. "I shouldn't have checked these doors aura. I should have listened to him and choose a door at once, that way we could have been still together???"

"Mi Young, listen to yourself! You're clearly being stupid." The tall man says while he puts his hands on both of the young girl's shoulders and shakes her a little bit. "Hae Choon might not be here but he's alive. We can go look for him together. Don't talk as if he's already dead!"

"But what if he went to a dangerous place???"

"So what? That man can handle himself. For f*cks sake he's a thousand years old. He has tons of experience with dealing magical sh*ts!" Zhong Yu exclaims while glaring at the black haired girl. He grips Mi Young's shoulders even more, making her wince for a bit before he continues, "He might look the weakest among the six of us but Hae Choon is very capable of defending himself. And he's the best when it comes to escaping, so relax and focus on finding where your other friends are! So we can all escape this hell!"

The black haired girl blinks twice while looking at Zhong Yu with a shell shocked expression. When she feels something touching her cheek, that's when she realized she was crying. The young girl immediately wipes away her tears the moment Zhong Yu lets go of her shoulders.

"Hae Choon is a strong man who has a strong control with his abilities. He can survive whatever enemy he faces. The thing you should be worrying about is finding where your other friends are. Thinking that they are still imprisoned, clearly they are far weaker than Hae Choon." Zhong Yu says while crossing his arms at the young girl. "Besides, you said it yourself. Hae Choon went inside a door with a bright glow which means he clearly went into a place where there are no enemies. I think."

The young girl bites her lip after hearing what the other party had said. Zhong Yu was right. Hae Choon is strong so Mi Young just needs to believe that he's going to be fine.

With another sob she wipes out her entire face before nodding at Zhong Yu. "I'm fine now. Let's go. We still need to find my other friends."

The black haired girl didn't even spare the other man another glance before she steps inside the new found door which had the brightest glow among all the doors inside.

She didn't even see the proud look that glimmered on Zhong Yu's eye right before the man followed her.

"Why are we doing this?" The figure with the dark cloak says while walking behind the other party who was also wearing the same fabric.

"Can you shut up? Keep your head down so no one can see you!" The one who was walking ahead half shouts half whisper.

The other party who was walking behind the smaller figure fastens their pace in order to catch up with the other. When the cloaked figure reached the side of the smaller one they immediately went to nudge the other's shoulder. "Where are we going?"

"Stop asking so many questions and just follow me." The smaller cloaked figure says as they?? both round the corner at an empty alley. "And pull your hood down! Someone might see you!"

"I'm not used to hiding my face, okay?" The taller figure says while adjusting their cloak. "Plus these cloaks look somewhat too old. Where did you get these?"

"For the love of the Great Sage, can you please stop complaining? Do you want my help or not?" The smaller one announces while completely stopping herself from walking. "If you still want to see those children just follow me and be quiet!"

"Fine. Whatever. I'll keep my mouth shut." The taller one says while acting like they were zipping their mouth.

"Thank you." The other says with complete sarcasm.

After that, the two of them journeyed across the empty and dark streets of the city. It was past midnight and no citizen was in sight except for those city patrols that guard during the night. Two figures walked along the streets with fastened pace but silent feet, trying their best to blend with the shadows.

They were nearing the entrance of the abandoned part of the city when another cloaked figure blocked their way.

The two immediately halted when the other figure spoke.

"Stop right there."

Mi Young felt a shiver run down her spine while she and Zhong Yu continued walking along a deserted road. Yes. They were walking in a literal desert. The black haired girl doesn't know how to comprehend the sudden change of environment but she knows that this was all an illusion and that they are still somewhere inside the headquarters.

"Do you think someone as powerful as the Great Sage works in this place?" The black haired girl suddenly asks after a heavy silence took over their atmosphere.

Zhong Yu wasn't able to answer for a few minutes but the moment he opened his mouth, Mi Young felt another chill run down her spine. "If the Great Sage can oversee everything happening here and still won't interfere, then he knows that the good will still prevail???"

Mi Young somehow felt a little bit assured after hearing those words. However, Zhong Yu continued his words and the little hope that sparkled through her heart vanished instantly. "But if the Great Sage decided not to interfere and let destiny work its way, then I think he knows something is up. It might not be bad or good but I know the old man, he will do his best to choose the right destiny for all of us."

"Why do you keep on talking about destiny and the Great Sage as if the two of them are interlinked?" The black haired girl suddenly asks.

For some reason, her question made Hae Choon laugh. "Because they are indeed interlinked."

"What? Really? How come?" Mi Young questions while looking at the other party with a shock expression.

"The Great Sage does not only govern over his people. He also has another job, and that is to make sure that everyone is following their true destiny. Good or bad, long or short, the old man needs to work on his magic to make sure that every single Mage in the entire kingdom follows the red string that connects their life to this world."

"I don't understand."

Zhong Yu lets out another chuckle once more. "I know. It's hard to comprehend what the old man's true work is. But imagine yourself as a person who is tied to a string. This string will dictate what and where you should go and where your life should end. You might want to go to this place or that but you can't since your string doesn't go that way. Now, the old man can see all these strings. And his main duty is to make sure that not one single Mage in this kingdom breaks that string. That they should follow the path that the string goes."

Mi Young looks up at the other party with widened eyes. She didn't know the Great Sage would be someone who has a very complicated job like that. For some reason, instead of admiration, she felt a huge feeling of pity for the Great Sage.

"And what if those people choose to break their string path? What would happen to them? What would the Great Sage do?" The young girl asks.

"Actually, there are thousands of Mages doing that right now. The Great Sage can't do anything about them since their strings are already entangled with darkness." Zhong Yu says with a sigh.

"What do you mean?"

"Those Mages who have done something bad have their strings completely soaked with darkness. The Great Sage cuts their strings off even though it breaks his heart but he needs to do it or else other strings that are connected to those strings might be touched by the darkness as well."

"He has the power to do that?" Mi Young asks, eyes rounding in wonder.

"That's what makes him the Great Sage." Zhong Yu replies with a huge smile. "I've seen him cut off millions of strings already and every time he does it, he does it with a sad expression."

"What happens if the Mage who has followed their string reaches the end of their string?"

"It means they have completed all their missions in life. And that they need to wait for a while for their silver strings to appear." Zhong Yu added.

"Silver strings? But I thought those Mages were already dead?"

Zhong Yu had a sly smile playing on his lips as he answered the black haired girl. "That's for another time to discuss."

Mi Young pouts at him for that. However, she didn't push the man to talk anymore.

After a moment of silence, the black haired girl decided to open her mouth once more. "It must be great working for the Great Sage."

Zhong Yu rolls his eyes at the young girl before saying, "I told you, I don't work for him.. I work with him."