Dawn rises with an eerie silence over Argent Fort.
After the crushing defeat of the Ogroids and the overwhelming display of power Celestine unleashed—power far too great for someone her age—whispers scatter through the corridors.
Soldiers who once ignored her now avert their eyes, uneasy, suspicious.
Others watch her as if she were standing on the edge of becoming something no longer human.
She feels it all.
And she feels the Void as well.
A constant whisper.
---
1. The Commanders' Meeting
Celestine is summoned to the main war tent.
Inside, she finds:
General Harvan
Captain Lirelle
High Mage Randel
And three envoys from the Imperial Throne
She notices something instantly: fear.
Harvan clears his throat.
"Celestine. We need to talk about… what you did yesterday."
The table is scattered with reports—descriptions of the black blast, witnesses recounting the dark aura, sketches of the Void's flames.
"You saved hundreds," Lirelle says. "But the method… was dangerous. Using an unknown power always draws attention. From the Empire… and from enemies."
One of the imperial envoys, wearing a scarlet cloak, speaks:
"We simply want to understand. This power… is it origin magic? A pact? A curse?"
The Void laughs inside her head.
"Tell them the truth.
I want to watch their faces twist."
Celestine breathes deeply.
"I don't know exactly what it is. But I can control it. And I only used it because there was no other choice."
"Perhaps," the envoy replies, "but now you will be… monitored. Closely."
The meeting ends with a clear conclusion:
Celestine is officially considered a threat.
---
2. Nightfall and the Calling
The moon hangs over the fort, pale, as if afraid to approach.
Celestine tries to sleep, but a buzzing pressure throbs against her temples.
The world seems to tremble, as if reality itself were being tugged by invisible claws.
"Again…" she murmurs, holding her head.
A slit opens in the air, thin as a crack on a porcelain mask.
And from it, the familiar voice echoes:
"Child… I can already see the chains breaking."
Celestine stands, already accustomed to the Void's presence—
but something is different this time.
This time, it isn't just speaking.
It is calling.
A force pulls her outside the fort.
---
3. The Rift of Origin
She reaches the ravine where she trained with Lirelle the week before.
But now… the air is black.
The rift is there.
A massive, pulsing opening, bathing the ravine in gray light.
Shadows crawl like serpents across surfaces that shouldn't exist.
Celestine hesitates.
"Is this your doing?"
"Mine? Not exactly.
It is… an echo of what you once were."
The ground vibrates.
"Enter, reborn little villain."
She steps back.
"I'm not that anymore!"
The Void laughs, pleased.
"Then prove it."
---
4. The Void's Trial
The world shifts the moment Celestine enters.
She stands in… a hall? Not quite.
The walls are made of memory.
Echoes of her former life—her life as a villain—parade before her:
Burned villages.
Kneeling soldiers begging for mercy.
Her previous self—cruel, proud—seated upon a throne of bones and black iron.
The old Celestine strides toward her—tall, powerful, eyes glowing deep violet.
"So you reincarnated into this weak little child…" the original sneers.
"What a waste."
Celestine feels that existence pressing down on her—
but she doesn't look away.
"I'm not you anymore."
The villain smirks.
"And that is unfortunate."
The old version lunges with a blade of shadow.
The trial begins.
---
5. The Duel Against Herself
The current Celestine dodges by inches.
The shadow blade shreds the floor, which collapses into nothingness.
She breathes deeply.
Her mind repeats:
I trained.
I grew.
I changed.
The old self smiles.
"There is only one way to survive this world, child: fear.
And you abandoned it."
Celestine raises her simple sword—the one Lirelle gave her.
No runes. No enchantments.
Only steel and effort.
"No.
I chose strength with purpose."
She charges.
The duel is brutal—
Shadow against steel.
Speed against determination.
Shame against redemption.
Each strike from the old villain brings back tormenting memories:
"You destroyed that city!"
"You killed that commander!"
"You betrayed the one who trusted you!"
I know.
And that's why I'm fighting.
Celestine delivers a diagonal slash—the newest technique she learned during training—
and slices open the villain's chest.
The shadow stumbles back.
"So… you truly wish not to repeat my steps…"
"I wish to correct them." Celestine says firmly.
The old version smiles for the first time without malice.
And dissolves.
---
6. The Invisible Crown
In the void left behind by her former self, an object materializes:
a floating tiara, translucent, forged from gray light.
The Void speaks:
"Accept it, and you will carry not my shackles… but your own will."
Celestine extends her hand.
The tiara disintegrates into particles that flow into her body.
A new kind of power awakens within her—
steady, different, not chaotic.
Something she can finally call hers.
She collapses to her knees, exhausted…
but stronger than ever.
---
7. Return to the Fort
When she awakens, she's lying in the ravine.
Lirelle and a search team surround her, frantic.
"Celestine! For the love of the gods, what happened?!" Lirelle cries, gripping her shoulders.
Celestine opens her eyes.
They shine for an instant—metallic gray—
then return to normal.
"I… I'm fine.
'It' won't control me."
Lirelle doesn't understand, but pulls her into a tight embrace.
Celestine looks up at the sky.
And the Void whispers:
"The Empire already knows what you are becoming.
And it will try to stop you.