They stepped through the creaking gate and entered the abandoned palace.
Broken pillars stood like silent guardians, and dust covered the cracked marble floor. Sunlight filtered through the damaged ceiling, illuminating the vines that had slowly swallowed the once-grand palace.
Noel walked ahead, looking around with curiosity.
Behind her, Aaron quietly stared at her back.
Aaron (thought): Am I weak… or is she weirdly strong? 😐
He glanced at the gate they'd just entered through.
I couldn't open it with my magic, but she opened it with ONE HAND!
Aaron narrowed his eyes.
Suspicious woman.
Noel:
"You know the way, right?" 😎
Aaron immediately straightened his posture, recovering some of his royal dignity.
Aaron:
"Yeah. This is the main courtyard. The summoning chamber should be behind it." 😑
Noel:
"Didn't you come from there? Maybe we'll find some clues, Mr. King." 😎
Aaron raised an eyebrow.
Aaron:
"What's inside your head? A brain or a machine?" 😏
Noel:
"Excuse me?!" 😑
Before she could retaliate, Aaron playfully tapped her head with one finger.
BZZT!
A sudden blue spark danced between their fingers.
Both froze.
Noel slowly looked at Aaron.
Aaron slowly looked at Noel.
Noel & Aaron:
"What the—?" 😶
For a moment, neither of them moved.
The blue spark vanished as quickly as it had appeared.
Aaron immediately withdrew his hand and cleared his throat.
Aaron:
"…Okay. Let's just go." 😶
Noel:
"Okay…" 😶
They exchanged one last suspicious glance before continuing toward the summoning chamber.
Neither noticed the faint blue light flickering beneath the stone floor.
Nor did they realize that the ancient palace had just responded to their presence.
---
At the Summoning Chamber
The chamber looked frozen in time.
Broken stone pillars surrounded a raised platform, and strange symbols covered the walls. Despite the years of abandonment, the markings remained surprisingly clear, as though they had been waiting for someone to return.
Noel slowly walked around the platform, examining everything.
Noel:
"So, what exactly happened before you came here?" 😁
Aaron crossed his arms.
Aaron:
"I stood on that stone… and then suddenly I was in your world." 😑
Noel:
"That's it?"
Aaron:
"That's it."
Noel:
"No strange voices? No mysterious person appearing out of nowhere? No dramatic announcement about your destiny?" 😶
Aaron stared at her.
Aaron:
"Do you think my life is a novel?" 😑
Noel:
"Honestly? Yes." 😎
Aaron:
"…I regret bringing you here."
Noel:
"You didn't bring me. I brought YOU." 😁
Aaron's eye twitched.
One day, I'm going to restore my kingdom.
And the first law I'll establish is that this woman must stop talking.
Noel:
"Alright, Your Majesty. Stand on that stone again. I'll check what's wrong." 😁
Aaron:
"Fine." 😑
He stepped onto the centre of the platform.
They waited.
One second.
Two seconds.
Five seconds.
Nothing happened.
No spark.
No light.
Not even a tiny vibration.
Aaron looked down at his feet.
Aaron:
"See? Nothing." 😑
Noel:
"Hmm…"
She crouched beside the platform, examining the strange symbols carved into its surface.
Noel:
"Maybe there's something wrong with the mechanism?"
Aaron:
"It's an ancient summoning formation, not a machine." 😐
Noel:
"Same thing, different packaging." 😎
Aaron:
"HOW ARE THOSE THE SAME THING?!"
Ignoring his protest, Noel climbed onto the platform to inspect the markings more closely.
And the moment her foot touched the central stone—
RUMBLEEEEE!
The entire platform shook violently.
Noel:
"WHAT WAS THAT?!"
Aaron:
"GET OFF THE—!"
Too late.
The stone beneath them tilted.
Noel lost her balance and stumbled forward.
Aaron reached out to catch her, but the sudden movement threw him backward.
Aaron:
"Woa—!"
THUD!
He landed flat on his back.
And Noel toppled straight onto him.
For a brief moment, they stared at each other in complete silence.
Noel blinked.
Aaron blinked.
Noel:
"…Hi?" 😶
Aaron:
"GET OFF ME!" 😳
Noel:
"I'M TRYING!"
But before either of them could move—
BWHOOOOOOM—!
A blinding blue light exploded around them.
The strange symbols across the chamber walls ignited one after another, glowing with an intense, otherworldly brilliance.
The air trembled.
The pillars shook.
The platform split with a deafening crack.
Noel:
"WHAT'S HAPPENING?!"
Aaron instinctively grabbed her hand.
Aaron:
"I DON'T KNOW!"
The blue light swallowed the chamber.
The walls dissolved into glowing fragments.
The ceiling disappeared.
And then—
The ground vanished beneath their feet.
Noel tightened her grip on Aaron's hand as they were pulled into the blinding light.
For one fleeting moment, Aaron saw something beyond it.
A golden palace.
A familiar royal crest.
And a shadowy figure standing before an enormous throne.
Then everything went white.
The abandoned summoning chamber fell silent once more.
Noel and Aaron were gone.
They had vanished from the present time.
To be continued...