Melody was pulling hair out at this point she was obviously stressed about something more deep than this single incident.
Then just as suddenly as the door disappeared an idea came to her mind.
"What do you two understand about power scalling."
They both smirked the first time they did that albiet in each other's pressence this eccentric magical girl was a geek how bland
"I'm serious, the magic we have has levels and limits it all starts from level one or ring one as we call it..."
Ring 1: Stronger than most athletes can destroy a part of a building with relative ease
Ring 2: Can destroy entire building on their own effortlessly
Ring 3: Can destroy a small neighbourhood
Ring 4: An entire city block is the maximum output of this ring
Ring 5: City wide calamity and in extreme cases entire provnces
Ring 6: National levels of power and in extreme cases sub continenets
Ring 7:Continenetal level destruction or in just effect
Ring 8: Global level of influence
.....
The explanation would be useful in the future she climbed they both doubted
They didn't walk to the university. Melody flew the two of them to this abandoned building and in the underground parking drew strange drawings which caused instant teleportation and suddenly they were standing in a courtyard of stone towers and floating lanterns. The air smelled like parchment and ozone.
"This is the real university," Melody said. "Not the one Marrie signed you up for. That one's for accountants and engineers. This one's for people who hum wrong."
Cassodie crossed her arms. "You keep saying that. What does it mean?"
Melody didn't answer. She led them into a lecture hall where a woman in crimson robes stood at a chalkboard, drawing concentric circles with her fingertip.
"This is Mrs. Harrington," Melody said. "She teaches metaphysical theory."
The woman turned, her eyes sharp and silver. "You may call me Naiomi."
Cassodie frowned. "That's not your name."
"It's one of them," Naiomi replied smoothly.
Allan stepped forward. "Are you a mage?"
Naiomi nodded. "Ninth circle."
Cassodie scoffed. "That sounds fake."
Naomi smiled. "Most truths do."
Naomi gestured, and the room dimmed. A diagram appeared in the air—nine glowing rings, each pulsing with a different hue.
"This is the ring system," she said. "A measure of magical depth. Not power. Depth."
Allan leaned in. "What's the difference?"
"Power is loud," Naomi said. "Depth is permanent. The deeper your talent, the more you generally affect."
Cassodie tilted her head. "So it's like cultivation?"
"In a way," Naiomi said. "But cultivation assumes growth. This assumes revelation. You don't climb. You dive."
Melody chimed in. "You two are… ambiguous."
Allan frowned. "What does that mean?"
"It means your talents don't scream," Naiomi said. "They whisper. They're not elemental or psychic or kinetic. They're something else."
Cassodie crossed her arms. "So you don't know."
"I know enough," Naiomi said. "You're not average. But you're not obvious."
Later, in a quiet manor room, Allan sat on the edge of the bed, staring at the floor.
Melody had left them with a final note:
To grow, you must understand. To understand, you must break.
Cassodie paced. "She's playing games."
Allan didn't respond.
"She doesn't know what we are," Cassodie continued. "She's guessing."
Allan looked up. "What if she's right?"
Cassodie stopped. "About what?"
"That we're nothing."
She frowned. "You're spiraling."
"I'm thinking."
"You're collapsing."
He stood. "I don't want to be average."
Cassodie stepped closer. "Then don't be."
That night, the pull returned.
It wasn't toward the cards. It wasn't toward the manor. It was toward each other.
They didn't speak.
They didn't plan.
They followed the pull.
It led to an encounter—awkward, electric, confusing. One of them had wanted it. One of them hadn't expected it. Both were changed.
Afterward, they lay in silence.
Then came the voice.
It was mechanized. Broken. Glitching.
[SYSTEM ONLINE]
[ERROR: CORE DAMAGED]
[REPAIR COMPLETE — TIME ENTITY INTERVENTION LOGGED]
Cassodie sat up. "What is that?"
Allan blinked. "I don't know."
[USER SYNC DETECTED]
[TALENT LAYER ONE: AVERAGE]
Cassodie frowned. "Average?"
"As long as it is there." Allan said masking obvious disappointment
The intimacy forced her to touch his hand in re-assurance that was it
[POTENTIAL: UNKNOWN]
[RECOMMENDATION: TEST ENVIRONMENT]
The voice faded.
Allan looked at Cassodie. "Did we just activate something?"
She nodded. "Something broken."
"What about it?"
"I'm going to follow instructions."
Cassodie left before midnight
No note. No explanation.
Allan woke at 2am to find her gone.
He followed.
Esmeralda intercepted him at the gate he wanted to avoid her but her next words threw him off. "She went east."
"How do you know?"
"I saw her."
"Why didn't you stop her?"
"She didn't want to be stopped. She also felt too strong and creepy."
Allan ran.
He found her in a warehouse.
Twenty-one men surrounded her—biker gang, leather and steel.
Cassodie stood in the center, eyes glowing blood gushing not in good shape but she still gave her enemies a good fight. The sadistic smile is what turned Allan off.
She moved like a blade.
Allan watched her tear through them—too fast, too precise, too brutal.
He shouted. She didn't hear.
He joined the fight when she collapsed not as bad as the demon queen as one of the goons called her but still smart enough to dispose of evidence.
It was chaos.
Metal. Blood. Screams.
He dragged her out, barely conscious.
She didn't resist.
Outside, Esmeralda waited.
She looked calm.
"I saw everything," she said.
Allan didn't speak.
"I'll talk," she added. "When we get home."