The days after the magical outburst passed in quiet ripples.
Pandora became more protective, her lessons gentler, yet more purposeful. She began to introduce Luna to wandless magic through playful tasks — floating teacups, singing quills, puzzles with runes that rearranged themselves under the right mental focus.
"You're different, little moon," Pandora said one evening, her voice laced with awe. "Magic listens to you."
Luna simply tilted her head. "Maybe it's because I listen back."
And it was true. Luna didn't command magic. She felt it — like an old friend, familiar and distant all at once. Every spell had a sound. Every charm had a rhythm. Her fingers danced in the air when no one watched, drawing sigils in silver traces that faded before even she could name them.
But beneath the surface, something else stirred.
The Dream World
It began on the night of her fifth birthday.
Luna drifted off to sleep with a copy of Wanderings With Wand-Waves clutched in her arms. Her bed was surrounded by floating star-globes, a gift from her father, each gently pulsing with soft blue light. The wind outside whispered through the trees.
And then...
The world dissolved.
She found herself standing in a vast plain made of shifting mirrors. Her feet touched nothing solid, yet she did not fall. Reflections of skies swirled above her — stars she had never seen, mountains upside-down, a silver owl made of cloud.
A voice echoed within her, not spoken, but felt:
[DREAM-LINK: Stable Environment Detected][Spatial Subconscious Pathway: Partially Accessible][Dream Synchronization Level: 12%][Caution: Prolonged exposure beyond safe threshold may destabilize core.]
Luna blinked.
She wasn't scared. She knew dreams — they were warm, strange, flowing. But this… this was structure. A system hidden in chaos.
"Hello?" she whispered.
The space around her responded. A single doorway appeared ahead, rippling like mist. Luna walked forward, her steps leaving light impressions — moonlit footprints.
Beyond the door was a hallway of memory.
She saw herself as a toddler, watching her mother stir glowing herbs into a cauldron. Another image showed her sitting quietly while her father interviewed a wizard in bright orange socks. Deeper in, she saw flashes of a girl not-Luna — running through fire, diving into mud, gripping a small knife while shielding a frightened child.
She gasped.
The pain struck her again, the weight of it.
She fell to her knees.
System Intervention
[Overload Detected: Dream Memory Overflow][Emergency Extraction Initiated][Emotional Surge – Stabilizing...][Synaptic Shields Engaged. Partial Lock Enforced.]
The dream-world flickered, collapsing into stardust.
And Luna woke up with a shudder, tears on her cheeks, blanket tangled around her legs.
Pandora rushed in within seconds. "Luna?"
Luna wiped her eyes. "Bad dream."
Her voice was hoarse. Her heart ached. She wasn't sure if she meant the memories… or the longing.
Pandora sat beside her. "Want to tell me?"
Luna shook her head. Then, after a pause: "Some dreams are too full of noise, Mum."
Pandora hugged her gently. "Then we'll find the quiet together."
Training Begins Softly
After that night, Luna began writing down symbols from her dreams. Some faded upon waking. Others lingered — floating lines, recursive runes, pictographs that felt familiar though her mother claimed she had never taught them.
Her room slowly transformed. One corner was filled with stacked notebooks, messy chalk diagrams, magical theory doodles beside dragon sketches. She was still a child — curious, vibrant, whimsical — but now with focus.
She began to meditate — naturally, instinctively. Pandora encouraged it, mistaking it for daydreaming.
"Don't lose your wonder," Pandora would say.
"I'm not," Luna whispered once in reply. "I'm learning where wonder hides."
On the fifth night since her first dream-walk, Luna sat by her window, wide awake, feeling a tremble in her core.
The stars pulsed oddly that night. Her reflection shimmered faintly in the glass.
And then came another system prompt — not forced, not jarring.
Just there.
[System Stability: 41%][Magical Circuit Adaption: In Progress][Host Mind-Spirit Balance: Acceptable Range][Memory Lock Status: Partial – Emotional Events May Trigger Fragments][Dream-Walking Access: Temporarily Sealed Until Further Integration][Suggestion: Emotional Grounding Recommended – Family Presence Detected Nearby.]
Luna stared at the stars.
"You're watching me, aren't you?" she whispered.
There was no reply. Just the faint warmth of something coiled within her soul, repairing her — not controlling, not commanding — just guiding.
It didn't feel like a machine. It felt like... a broken guide.
She nodded softly. "Okay. But slowly. We go slow. No more pain."
A Daughter's World
The next morning, she sat beside her father at the kitchen table. Xenophilius wore lemon-coloured robes and an eggplant tie that sparkled.
He told her a story about an invisible lion that guarded ancient libraries in the Albanian hills.
Luna giggled — not because she believed it, but because her father did, and that made it magical enough.
Her mother floated a cup of tea her way, smiling warmly. "More dreams?"
Luna nodded. "But they didn't win last night. I did."
Pandora blinked. "That's my girl."
And the house felt warmer than usual.
Luna's training was slow but consistent.
She played like any child, but beneath that play was silent calculation — the feel of magic, the pace of memory, the rhythm of runes.
She waited for the day her system would allow her into the dreams again.
And she knew, deep inside, that the real journey had not yet begun.
But she was patient.
She had time.
End of Chapter 2