Leo wasn't the same after that dream. He tried to brush it off like a weird magical flu, but nope — the memory stuck to his brain like gum to school desks. The face of that warrior… the cryptic words… the feeling of carrying not just a curse, but an entire soul? Wild.
The next morning was a haze of awkward tension and heavy eyelids. Vellum, ever the nosy goose, noticed Leo looking like he'd wrestled a dream demon and lost.
"So… any pleasant dreams?" Vellum asked with a smirk, pretending to drink tea but clearly eavesdropping vibes on max.
Leo leaned in, whispering like he was confessing a crime.
"I saw someone in the dream… someone who knows something. He said we share the same magical soul. It's cursed. He was powerful... insanely powerful. I felt it."
Vellum's grin faltered. "…Alright. I'll cancel my evening nap. We're training."
---
Scene: Empty Training Hall – "The Relic Chamber"
Leo began diving deep into the forbidden stuff. Ancient magic, the kind you whisper in dead languages, with symbols that moved on their own and spells that made nearby furniture flinch.
Training Log:
Day 1: Leo tried summoning an aura thread. Instead, he yanked a whole bookshelf onto himself. Ari laughed. Loudly.
Day 3: He attempted a silent barrier spell. Accidentally turned invisible — only his clothes stayed behind. Ari screamed. Leo panicked. Vellum choked on juice.
Day 5: Practicing kinetic bend — bent his own leg backward instead of the chair's. They had to wait for it to unbend. He limped dramatically the whole day.
---
Ari was done with the chaos.
"Leo, you're a walking magical hazard. You're gonna vaporize yourself trying to open the fridge next."
Leo: "That happened once. ONCE."
At one point, Vellum walked in to find Leo floating mid-air, spinning like a confused rotisserie chicken.
"I call this… The Mystic Tandoor."
Ari: "You're not well."
---
But on Day 12, something clicked.
Leo stood in front of the sigil book. The symbols glowed when he touched them.
He whispered, "Clyv'e dranon…"
His hands surged with power — ancient, raw. The room vibrated. A scroll burst into ash. The windows cracked. A nearby frog grew wings and flew out.
Vellum's jaw dropped.
"…You just cast a Thought Infusion Wave without even drawing a circle."
Leo looked at his hands. "I… felt it. Like it wasn't just mine. Like someone else lent it to me."
---
They were catching their breath when Ari barged in with a paper in hand and a storm in her eyes.
"You guys might wanna see this…"
She threw the notice on the table.
Guild Emergency Bulletin: EAST BLOCK DESTROYED IN UNIDENTIFIED MAGIC INCIDENT. SUSPECT UNKNOWN.
Leo's stomach dropped.
"That's… where the old Guild Council records were kept."
The air around them chilled. For the first time, even Ari didn't have a joke ready.
---