The Duke — always so stoic, so unshakable — couldn't stop the knot forming in his throat.
Before him, his daughter trembled at the center of the ancestral circle like a flower being tested by a storm.
The crimson lines danced around Lígia like serpents made of living light, spinning in increasingly intense spirals. The air vibrated like war drums pounding against the bones of the world.
But he no longer saw the ritual.
He no longer saw the magic.
He only saw her.
Trembling
Fighting
Crying
A tear slid down her closed eyes, as if even unconscious, her old wounds refused to leave her in peace.
The Duke clenched his fists.
His gaze darkened by something he rarely allowed himself to feel.
"Damn this part of the ritual" he whispered
To himself
To the void
To the gods
He knew.
He knew the Awakening dug up scars buried in silence and blood.
That it forced the initiate to walk through the ruins of their own pain.
But nothing — nothing — prepared him to see his daughter like this.
"You can do this, Lígia" he murmured, hoarse
More prayer than promise
More desperation than courage
---
Life passed before me like a cruel theater
Each scene, a thorn
Each memory, a punch
And then, everything shattered
Like glass hit by a high note
I was thrown somewhere else
The sky was an ocean of golden clouds, alive, pulsing — liquid light in constant motion
Shimmering birds danced as if following the music of a world that didn't need sound
Beneath my feet, a road made of dream
"Where am I" my voice came out as a whisper
No answer
But the silence there was alive. Almost reverent
I walked
One step at a time
As if stepping onto an ancient altar with bare feet and a contained soul
And then, I saw it
The tree
Tall as a tower
Its trunk spiraling in colors that resembled a rainbow under magical mist
Each leaf whispered untold stories
It was impossible not to run toward it
"Is anyone there"
For a while... nothing
Then, a creature of light appeared, floating among the petals of the sky
It was everything
And nothing
Sometimes bird, sometimes shadow, sometimes star
No form
No time
Its eyes — if they were eyes — pierced into my soul like a whisper passed down through generations
"Lígia d'Argêntea" it said, in a voice made of echoes
"Do you choose to sign the ancestral contract sealed by Auren d'Argêntea, under the name of Velmor, the God of Contract"
My body answered before my mind did
"Yes"
The creature studied me
Snapped its fingers
The tree exploded in light
From the branches, a scroll floated down — spinning like a vow made flesh
"What do I do"
"Offer your blood"
I bit my finger
The drop fell
The scroll shone gold
Burned
And crumbled into dust, absorbed by the tree
"The contract is sealed"
"So I...?"
But the world tore apart
Now I'm in a lake
Surrounded by crimson and pearly flowers
The water doesn't reflect the sky — it reflects something deeper: me
But not as before
I rise slowly
The body trembling
Knees weak
I walk to the shore
I see my reflection
It's me
And... not
I hear sounds...
Footsteps
Slow
Precise
As if time walked with them
I turn
Auren
Made of liquid shadow
Hair like smoke in slow motion
And the eyes...
The entire cosmos
"Lígia" he said, in a voice of gentle thunder
Of forest and abyss
Beginning and end
"It's an honor, sir... your... honored ancestralness? Ethereal excellence..." I stumbled over the words like a nervous actress on the opening night of her own life
I tried to bow. Raise my hand.
Almost fell
He laughed
"Relax, kid"
"Easy for you to say"
He stepped closer
His presence was... magnitude
But not threatening
"So... how's little Michael"
I raised an eyebrow
"Little...?"
"Your father"
"Oh. He's... fine? I guess"
Auren smiled
"He was never much of a people person, that boy"
We stayed in silence
But it was an ancient silence
Comfortable
"Leaders always wear the same mask" he said
"The mask of duty"
I nodded
Because it was true
"Are you ready"
"Ready... for what"
"For the Awakening"
"But... I already signed the contract"
He raised an eyebrow
"And you thought that was it"
"Wasn't it"
His laugh shook the air
"You just gave permission"
"The Awakening has to be forged
It has to be endured"
And then he reached out his hand
Before I could react, his palm touched my forehead
"In'Vel Draetha"
The world exploded
My body arched
A scream tore from my throat
A thousand needles beneath my skin
Memories biting from within
Every cell rewritten with pain and light
Auren watched
Calm
As if he'd seen this suffering before
"Always the same pain..." he murmured
"Always the same promise"
My body convulsed
Veins burning
My soul thrashed like a bird trapped in a dream
And all I could think was:
"Don't let me break
Please
I've just started to rebuild myself"