[Complete] Sibyl the Immortal

The first time Natsume Takashi saw the girl was in the evening when it was raining heavily.

Natsume's mother passed away when he was very young, and after his father passed away when he was seven years old, he was raised by relatives in turn. Because he could see monsters from a young age, he was always regarded as a liar and a bad boy. It can cause problems for foster families, so it doesn't last long in each home.

Now he is only 8 years old and he is not strong enough. He is malicious to the world, slandering others, and abnormal to himself... A young child does not know how to face all these.

It was the same today, the little boy who was teased by the monster ran in the heavy rain, rushed across the bridge in a panic, but was tripped by the monster with a smirk, and fell heavily to the ground, he closed his eyes subconsciously, waiting for the pain to hit, But suddenly he was grabbed by a hand.

He looked up, and the girl's face became paler and paler in the dark rain, and those crimson eyes were staring behind him with ice-cold eyes.

"Don't joke too much."

As if they were extremely afraid of the girl's aura, the monsters ran away screaming.The girl took a step forward and helped Natsume up. The red umbrella cut off the rain, creating a quiet space.

"Are you okay?"

Natsume shook his head, staring blankly at her.

"That...can you see...them?"

"Yeah." The girl lowered her eyes, took out a handkerchief from her pocket and wiped the rain off his head, "It's raining too much, you should sit nearby first."

"Hmm!" The little boy responded in a panic, hesitated for a moment and asked her, "That... can you really see those things?"

"If you mean the monster chasing you, I can see it."

She said calmly, grabbed Natsume who almost walked out of the umbrella, and tilted the umbrella towards him calmly.

"Because I'm a witch."

***

In the coffee shop on the side of the street, the girl was holding a cup of ginger tea. The heat from the cup made her pale fingertips turn bloody. In the warm white mist, those eyes were looking at Natsume Takashi gently.

"Are you afraid of [seeing]?"

"...Hmm." The eight-year-old boy stared blankly at the milk tea in front of him, "Because only I can see it... Isn't it weird?"

"Don't be afraid," she repeated softly, "don't be afraid. [Seeing] is not scary in itself."

"But no one else can see it!...Only I am different from others...This kind of thing...is it strange?"

"It's nothing strange." The girl said lightly, noticing Natsume's hurt expression when she lowered her head, she slowed down her tone slightly, "Didn't the Japanese in the past still regard the blond-haired foreigners as ghosts? People nowadays You don’t have this kind of cognition anymore, do you? You’re just different from the [people who can’t see], and belong to the side of the [people who can see]—like a blonde living among black-haired people, even though Rare, but not surprising."

"……Is that so?"

Natsume stared blankly at the girl in front of her, who reached out to touch his forehead, light and gentle, as if comforting.

"Yes."

He heard her answer so positively.

"Things that exist don't exist because you can't see them, and things that don't exist don't exist because you can see them. The dust in the air, the bacteria in the water, and the viruses in the human body don't exist because you can't see them." It doesn't exist. The same goes for monsters. As long as they really exist, they still exist even if they can't be seen.

"Humans can see dust and bacteria with special tools, and some people can see monsters with special methods. You are just born to see. So, don't embarrass yourself."

The girl looked at Natsume's stunned expression, and gently repeated the last sentence.

"Don't be hard on yourself."

His eyes suddenly blurred.

***

That day, the girl stayed with him until the rain stopped.

"Do you have a 100 yen coin?"

She asked him suddenly.

"Yes... what's wrong?"

"One of the duties of a miko is divination. If you feel confused about the future, give me 100 yen, and I will divination the future for you. You can know anything."

"That...divination? Wouldn't it bother you too much?"

"No. I'll get paid."

Natsume took out a 100 yen coin and handed it to the girl, and asked with some doubts, "Will it be too little?"

The girl returned a gentle look.

"No, for me, this value is just right."

100, [-] yen.

Not even the price of a can of Coke.But for her, this is an equivalent reward.

Because divination is different from prophecy.Divination only informs the other party of the possibility of the future, and cannot determine the future, so no matter how close to the future it is, as long as the other party does not believe it, it is worthless.What she sells is just an advice, and the value of this advice depends on the other party.

The so-called advice, to her, is something worth only 100 yen.

"However, if it is a prophecy, it will be different."

Don't tell me your name.

From the beginning, she warned the child like this.

--why?Probably because, knowing your name, I can't help but make predictions about you.

The girl took the 100 yen coin from the boy.Signaling the other party to stretch out his left hand, she carefully observed his palm prints.

"In the next few years, your life will probably be very hard. However, it's not that there are no good things, and you won't encounter too bad things.

In the future, you will meet a very good person, and she will take you to a very good place.There, you will usher in a turning point in your life.

After that, you will have true friends and seniors who guide your life. Although there will be some twists and turns, it is not a disaster.Please live with hope, because you will have a very good future.Many people will be happy because of you. "

The girl raised her head and smiled at him.

"Never despair at any time, and don't demean yourself. All the hard times will pass, and you will be important to many people. You just have to believe in yourself a little more."

Her voice is soft and soft, with convincing magic.Natsume stared blankly at the girl's divine face. The other party let go of his hand and gently stroked his head.

"You are a very good child, and you will have a very good future. Because you are too gentle, you will hurt yourself. But being gentle is a very good thing."

"...Is what you said true, Miss Miko?"

"If you believe it, it is true. The so-called truth is determined by yourself."

***

The white flowers are washed more beautifully by the rain.

The little Natsume stood up with her big schoolbag on her back and bowed farewell to the girl.

"I should go back, otherwise my uncle will be worried. Goodbye, Miss Miko. Today... thank you."

"Goodbye."

The girl sat there and waved to him.

The encounter in the rain ends when the rain stops.

The little boy ran out of her sight.There is only a gray world, and the lines are gradually blurring.She gradually lost sight of his back.The girl shook her head vigorously, and when she opened her eyes again, the blurred boundaries of the color blocks became clear again.

She sat there quietly, without saying a word.

It took a long time to let go of the hand that had been clenched so tightly that it turned white.

***

"For a child with powerful demon power like you, it is necessary to see it."

"why?"

"People who can attract monsters, if they can't see monsters, they can't avoid them."

"But sometimes, it's because they can see that they get tricked."

"This is also the price you have to pay for [seeing]. You need to see because you are attracted, and you are more attracted because you see it... The so-called destiny is an existence like a biting snake, an endless circle of circles."

"...I don't quite understand..."

"Don't worry about it, because it's something that doesn't matter if you don't know."

***

Her destiny, too, is the Uroboros Ring.

(Note: Ouroboros, originally a giant snake that surrounded the entire world in ancient Greek mythology, bit its own tail with its mouth to form a figure-eight snake, which symbolized a "vicious circle" in a sense.)

Avoid misfortune by seeing fate.

But also fell into misfortune because of seeing.

—Miko, can't you see better?

--I have no idea.

Yes, she doesn't know.

While seeing the future, the road under her feet became narrower and narrower.

If it continues like this, it will eventually lead to a dead end.

But if she couldn't see it, in the endless misfortune, she would never even have a chance to take the next step.

***

"Why are you here alone?"

Zhou Fangzun's voice suddenly came from behind.

The girl raised her head and gave him a weak smile.

"What should I do, Zun." Although she was smiling, her voice was trembling, "I seem to be unable to stand up all of a sudden."

at the same time.

In Yuko Ichihara's shop.

"You know, April [-]st. If the unknown lady can't remember the past anymore, her past will swallow her back."

"As for why? Because there is a price to be paid for foreseeing the future and being immortal."

"Those who forget the price will also forget how to pay the price."

"It's like a person who thinks he owns a treasure and spends it recklessly. When he finds out that the treasure doesn't belong to him, how much do you think he will pay?"

"So does she."

"If you don't think about the price again... she probably won't be able to pay it."

"After all, only those who can see the future know how to avoid that future."