The night was as dark as ink. Moonlight spilled coldly upon the summit of the Orlando Arcane Academy, casting the towers like swords aimed at the heavens. The wind, blowing from the distant wilderness, carried with it the mournful wail of an ancient battlefield, as if the spirits of the dead were whispering in the night sky.
Inside the stone room, Eleanor curled up on a cold bed, wrapped in a cloak. She opened her palm, staring at the Fate Stone's imprint that had been embedded into her skin.
The Stone, an artifact seemingly passed down from ancient times, was etched with complex, arcane runes that wove together into a shimmering net of light, gently vibrating. The skin around the imprint glowed faintly with silver-white light, as though some dormant power was awakening.
A dark turbulence stirred within her heart.
"I am a being from another world... Why have I been caught in this game of fate? Am I still the living Elena? Or is there an alien soul trapped within her body?"
The Stone pulsed gently beneath her fingertips, and the ancient runes began to glow softly in the night, revealing cryptic text.
[My master... What is fate?]
In that instant, Eleanor's soul trembled, as if a voice was calling from the depths of her being—heavy as a bell, yet soft as a breeze.
She shuddered slightly and whispered, "You... Who are you?"
[I am the guardian spirit of the Fate Stone. I bear the ancient pact, carrying the true words of magic. Your blood has awakened my soul. What does your heart desire?]
Outside the window, the night wind rattled the wooden shutters, and the light from the Stone cast her face in a pale glow. Eleanor inhaled a sharp breath of cold air.
"The magic system... This Stone is the manifestation of an ancient pact. Is it the lost divine sigil magic? How can it recognize me as its master? Why me?"
She recalled the legend of the Orlando Arcane Academy:
"The four ancient divine sigils—each controlling elements and order—were once held by the old gods. Yet when the gods fell, the Stones scattered across the world, lost for millennia."
[My power is that of the "Law Stone." I can banish evil, break order, forge spirit contracts, and command the elements. Do you wish to test my power?]
Eleanor slowly raised her hand, watching the light flicker at her fingertips, her heart trembling.
"I should not have been caught in this... but if I do not master this Stone, in this academy full of dangers... I will only wait for death."
She closed her eyes, inhaled deeply, and focused all her thoughts on the Stone.
In an instant, a surge of faint light flooded the room. The Fate Stone rose from her palm, spinning and transforming into a silver chain of runes that wrapped around her. The air thickened with magical energy, pulsing in time with her heartbeat.
Her fingers twitched, and a thin silver beam shot forward, piercing the wooden beam overhead. The cobwebs above shattered, and leaves fluttered to the ground.
Eleanor opened her eyes, her expression complex.
"Is this... the true power of magic?"
But as the glow of the Stone dimmed, more words began to appear slowly across its surface:
[The Law Stone, bound by soul and blood. To wield it, one must offer their true heart. Master, beware.]