In which Nash seeks an audience with Yun and learns a little more than he bargained for.

Nash is a reasonable adult and has solid life advice. But when you've been around and seen the things he's seen...

An otherworldly glow blanketed the Budehuc cemetery. Even after half a decade, very little had changed, and Nash was grateful to see that there didn't appear to be any new headstones added in his absence. He cast an appraising look across the burial grounds, his footsteps quietly treading over years of flattened soil with the sort of light-footed covertness that only a seasoned Harmonian spy could boast. There was an objective behind his visit, but he wasn't wholly certain how to approach it.

"Sir Nash?"

Oh. Well, so much for stealth.

The Alma Kinan shaman was crouched in front of a headstone, the luminous lights of the cemetery drifting around her with a slow, carefree air. The intricate patterns woven across her dark green dress seemed to shimmer around her. Nash noted she hadn't even turned her head in his direction yet and chuckled. "I guess there's no hiding from you, Yun. Have I gotten that sloppy in my old age?"

The young woman rose and turned to face him, offering a polite bow. "Not in the least. I have an unfair advantage, after all. Even the best of spies can't be expected to hide their aura."

Nash quirked an eyebrow. Was the ability to sense auras another trait of the Alma Kinan? The shamanic tribe continued to be full of surprises. "True. I can't say I've mastered that skill just yet. But I've still got plenty of years left in me, so maybe I'll surprise you one of these days."

Yun smiled. "I look forward to it."

"Are you paying your respects?"

She glanced back at the untidy row of headstones. "You could say something like that. What about you, Sir Nash?"

"No one I know is buried here," he shrugged, then casually leaned against the stone wall. "I'm far more interested in the business of the living. Which now includes you, coincidentally."

She offered another serene smile. Something about it had Nash suspecting she was already aware of his motives. "We didn't get a chance to properly catch up," he added. "Although I will confess, I heard an awful lot about you from Cecile on our trek back from Caleria."

"Did you?"

"Heh. Did I ever. The girl certainly loves to talk. And boy, did she talk."

"She has been a wonderful friend to me," Yun answered fondly, "one of the closest I've made since arriving here. But you didn't come to speak with me about Cecile, did you?"

"You're partly correct," he said. "But I was hoping you'd indulge an old man in some small talk. It's not often I get to converse with someone I thought I'd never see again."

"'Old man'? I don't think you're quite there just yet," she giggled, then gestured to herself with an apologetic smile. "I knew it was only a matter of time before you came to me with questions. Questions, I imagine, you weren't planning on asking in the courtyard when you first returned. Unfortunately, I have the same questions as you."

"So...you don't know why you've returned either, I take it."

"Not one bit. The spirits… they haven't exactly been forthcoming with information, no matter how much I ask."

"And your sisters? Have you made contact with your family yet?"

"Not yet," she replied. Something akin to guilt flickered across her face, her dark brown eyes darting away. "I… I'm not really sure how they'd react, to be entirely honest. And the village is so far away from Budehuc."

That answer was a surprise. Nash paused, his previous train of thought derailed. "Really? You haven't told anyone from home?"

"N-no."

"Is coming back like this typical for… sacrifices? For the Alma Kinan?"

"Not that I'm aware of, no."

That complicates things even more.

"Hm," Nash lowered his head in thought. The entire time spent traveling back to Budehuc, he naturally assumed she would be able to explain the phenomenon herself. After all, the last time he laid eyes on her was during the sacred soul-sending ritual. "Well, you'll be relieved to hear that your vision of the future never came to pass. We managed to take care of things and prevent the destruction you saw. But you've probably already figured that out, given that we're standing here."

"Yes, so I've been told. And...I'm so glad," she laced her fingers together, "because the more time I spend here, the more I become acquainted with the world away from my village… this is the sort of world that was worth saving. I would sacrifice myself all over again to save it a second time if needed."

"Hey now, let's not get hasty. No need to run off and do anything reckless." Nash ran a hand through his wavy hair with a chuckle. "Although… speaking of reckless, we need to talk."

"Oh?"

Sheesh. How am I going to broach this subject?

Cecile's good-natured chatter the entire trip back was peppered with all sorts of interesting tidbits. In a way, she was the best source of information the spy could've asked for. The young guard had no reservations in sharing her thoughts on everything, from recent ongoings to new arrivals. But it was difficult to tell where opinions and embellishments ended and the truth began, and there were several sticky details she mentioned that did not sit well with Nash one bit.

I'm not proud to admit it, but part of me was hoping she was wrong about Yun returning. Now that it's true… unfortunately that brings into question the other news I was hoping was false.

"You've been making all kinds of friends, I hear. Not just Cecile?"

"Yes," she nodded. "I wonder if perhaps that's why the spirits guided me to Budehuc in the first place. I've decided to treat this like a new chance at life."

"Aptly put. A new life… must be full of interesting, new people, I take it?"

"Sir Nash…" Yun giggled again. "You are being awfully indirect. Why don't you just come out with it? This isn't about my resurrection again, is it?"

"You might be older now, but as far as I'm concerned, these past five years weren't spent growing into adulthood like most people. I mean no disrespect," he held up his hands defensively, "but I've been around, and I know more than you think. And I'm going to be upfront with you. The world is not a kind place. Not every person you meet will have your best interests at heart."

The young woman tilted her head to the side and frowned. Her cheerful mirth from moments earlier shifted to confusion. "I'm sorry, Sir Nash. I don't really understand what you're getting at."

Ugh. I'm going to have to come right out with it, aren't I?

"Yun," Nash folded his arms, his tone all business, "what's all this I've been hearing about Luca? Not Luca Blight, right?"

"Oh!" she clasped her hands together in excitement, "You're acquainted? How wonderful!"

Dammit. So that detail was true, too.

"A...acquainted? You could say something like that—"

"You can't begin to imagine how excited I was to discover someone else here was just like me!"

"Just… wait, what? There is no similarity between the two of you, I guarantee it!"

"Oh, but you're wrong, Sir Nash. He's just like me! We both died."

"Yun," Nash placed his hands on both her shoulders and struggled to maintain a firm tone, "that is where your similarities begin and end. The other day… Cecile said you two are… involved. Is this true?!"

A faint tint of pink rose to her cheeks as she looked back at him wordlessly. Normally the sight of a blushing young maiden was one Nash found quite pleasing. But the implications this time had nothing to do with his own wit, charm, or dashingly good looks. The growing sensation of dread and bewilderment in his stomach increased tenfold. Even though his own encounter with the Highland prince was over 20 years prior, it left an unmistakable impression on him. Luca Blight had an imposing, unforgettable presence. Nash sensed goosebumps along his skin as he recalled his time infiltrating the Highland encampment, seeing the prince himself up close...

"You need to listen to me," Nash urged, "Nothing good will come from you getting tangled up with someone like him, regardless if he's locked up in the Budehuc jail or not. His death and yours have nothing in common. The man started a war, murdered thousands of people, and was renowned for his unmatched cruelty. Does that sound like the sort of person you want to involve yourself with?!"

"I saw him. In a vision."

"You… what?"

That was news. Nash swallowed, his mind racing as it tried to fill in the gaps. Yun's lifelong vision of the destruction of the True Runes was apocalyptic. Her sacrifice was what allowed them to prevent that very disaster from ever occurring. He could only imagine what sort of ominous future the shaman saw involving the formerly dead Highland prince. Was she choosing to entangle herself with Luca in efforts to prevent another foretold disaster?

"Well, visions, specifically," she frowned. "They come in fragments. It's as though the spirits are showing me possible futures, and I can't tell which is likely to happen. Everything is too uncertain. But I shared one with him, and he's been very curious ever since."

"Shared? You can do that?"

She nodded. Nash added another mental note on his growing list of Alma Kinan powers. "And… what did you see? What did you share?"

"Just bits and pieces. Nothing really definitive. But I've seen more, and..." she hesitated.

"And?"

"As you know, the future I saw involving the end of the world never came to pass. These too most likely will not happen either. Like I said… it's difficult to tell. With someone so volatile, possibilities change by the moment."

"I...see," he sighed and removed his hands from her shoulders. It was no surprise Luca Blight was curious. Just a glimpse of a possible future would be enough to make most people eager to see more. "So then, Cecile must've misunderstood."

"Misunderstood?"

"Heh," he chuckled. "She said you were dating. Of all the silly ideas, I don't know where she came up with that one."

Yun blushed again. "Well, I think he asked me, so… yes, I believe that means we are."

Wait.

"Yun—" his hands were immediately back on her shoulders, and he blanched. "N-no! What are you talking about!?"

"I'm talking about my own decision," she frowned again, "Sir Nash, didn't I just tell you this is my second life?"

"Yes! Which means you shouldn't be foolish and throw it away chasing after something that's only going to wind up getting you killed—!"

The air surrounding them in the cemetery slowly grew colder. Nash felt a fresh round of goosebumps prickling up the back of his neck as Yun stared at him with increasing disappointment. "You really don't understand, do you? Do you have any idea what it's like? Living your whole life where everything has already been planned out for you from the start?"

"I—"

"My entire first life was about following my fate. As the strongest shaman in the clan, I knew from the start I was destined to die to carry out a specific purpose. I knew I was going to die. I accepted that, I have no regrets," Yun said, her voice rising with fervor. "But now I'm alive again, and there's nothing planned for me. I want my expectations for my new life to bring happiness, not create burdens. Not just for others, but for myself," she swallowed, staring back into his eyes with firm resolve. Nash couldn't help but wonder if she was trying to convince herself more than him. "Maybe...maybe I don't want to blindly listen to what the spirits tell me. Maybe I want to make my own decisions. I don't know what fate holds in store for me this time, and perhaps...I'm supposed to decide on my own."

So that's what's going on. Shaman or not, I guess all young people go through this at one point or another.

"Heh. I know what this is."

"You do?"

"You may be a young woman now," Nash chastised, "but I know exactly what this is. This is your rebellion, isn't it? Well take it from your old Uncle Nash—you might think you have a handle on the situation, but you're making a mistake. You can't save him. You can't fix him. Just because you saw him in your vision doesn't mean you owe him anything."

Her brows knit together in another frown. Whatever ethereal air surrounding the shaman earlier gave way to stubborn frustration that was wholly human. Not just human, Nash mused, young adult human. "I'll be doing what I want with my life from now on, Sir Nash. I will decide what's right for me and what is not."

"I promise you. This is not right. This isn't even normal. Whatever you saw… it must've been one hell of a vision, I'll tell you that much."

"I believe every human has the capacity for good. We both returned from the dead… surely there's a reason behind his resurrection, just like my own."

"Fine then," the Harmonian sighed, releasing her shoulders a second time. "I can see there's no convincing you. But at the very least, can you promise me one thing?"

"And that would be…?"

"Don't do anything I wouldn't do."