She raised herself up on her elbows and realised that it was already too late for her. The sound of hooves echoing through the streets of Auroria was getting closer, a sign that the guard were only a few metres away. Glancing over her shoulder, she saw that their horses had caught up with her much more quickly than she had expected.

She struggled to her feet and looked around for somewhere to hide. Suddenly, her gaze fell on an alleyway from which a strange smoke was emanating. She rushed towards it, but the guard at the head of the troop spotted her and ordered her to stop. Ignoring him, she dashed into the smoke-filled alleyway as fast as she could.

The guard lost time when he got off his horse, which was too wide to fit through the narrow alleyway. When he finally entered the alley, Carolina had vanished and the smoke was already beginning to dissipate. He emerged, to find the rest of the troop waiting for him beside his horse.

"Grid the area! She mustn't be far. Also, look for other prisoners, some must still be hiding in the city," he ordered before taking one last look at the alleyway and continuing to track down the escapees.

A gentle breeze tickled Carolina's nose. She was lying on the grass, whereas a few moments earlier she had thought she was leaning against a wall before falling backwards into a tight rift.

Still a little stunned by the fall, she got to her feet and looked around. All around her, grass and fields of sunflowers stretched as far as she could see. In front of her she saw another small rift, seemingly leading to a sunflower-covered hill behind it. She hadn't yet realised that she was finally outside.

Thinking she was still being chased, she continued forward and crossed the rift just before it closed. She arrived at the hill. The ground was no longer so flat, so she clung to a sunflower, which was strong enough to hold her.

She took a look around as she crossed the field, but could no longer find any indigo rifts, it seemed to be over. However, she was worried, because no other prisoners seemed to be there, even though she thought most of them had gone in this direction.

As she continued her ascent, she finally noticed a figure at the top of the hill looking out over the horizon. The person was sitting with his back to her, but that was enough for her to recognise his silhouette. It was Armand.

She hadn't thought about it before, but now it all made sense: he had opened rifts for himself in addition to those he had left for others and she had just passed through one of his. She still couldn't see his face, but she had a feeling that he must be exhausted after all that. She hesitated before moving slowly towards him, not knowing how to approach him or whether her presence would disturb him.

Then she stepped on something that cracked under her foot, provoking a small cry of surprise. It was an empty vial. Armand turned abruptly, putting himself on guard by reflex, but he recognised her at once.

"Ca... Carolina? Is that you? What are you doing here?" he asked surprised.

She straightened up and waved her hands, speaking very quickly to explain everything that had brought her here. He let out a sigh before smiling at her.

"Ah... I see. In the end, I did well not to close all the rifts manually... but next time, I'll be more careful, it could have been anyone."

Seeing her in this state, wounded and soiled by all these events, he couldn't stop thinking about Bojan. He knew how much that man meant to her and felt cruelly guilty.

He lowered his head, unable to hide his guilt, his fists trembling as he avoided her gaze.

"I'm... I'm really sorry. If I hadn't got involved, he'd still be..."

"Locked up," she interrupted, holding her own right arm with her trembling hand.

He raised his head in surprise and then noticed that she forced herself to smile despite the slight tears running down her cheeks.

"I can't deny that pain. I considered him as my father. If he hadn't been there... I'd probably have tried to end my life a long time ago." Her voice broke as she delivered herself to him, gripping her arm more tightly. "But despite everything... I'm happy that he was able to end his life free. He didn't get the life he deserved, but... his smile... he seemed appeased."

He gave her a tender smile as she wiped away her tears with the back of her hand. Raising his eyes to the sky, he took a deep breath before letting out a long sigh.

"He was a good man who would do anything to protect you. I'll never forget him, neither his strength nor his altruism... I'd like to become someone like him," he said in a calm voice, pointing his fist at the sky.

Carolina nodded, and as she searched for her words, a pattern caught her eye on the back of Armand's hand. She thought she recognised it, but couldn't remember exactly what it was, until Bojan's words came back to her. Then she realised that she still didn't know who he really was. She took a few steps towards him before stopping.

"Bojan... told me something earlier. I didn't understand it all, but I need to know." She paused, gathering her courage to ask him. "Who... who are you really?"

"Ah, that's right, I didn't tell you. The situation was already tense when we met in the basement, so I didn't want to make it worse." He held out his fist towards her, exposing the back of his hand, revealing the mark of the legends. "I'm what you call... a legend. I landed on this hill a few weeks ago, and there are four of us who wear this symbol."

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She was speechless, unable to believe what she had just heard. But everything fitted together in her mind. She now understood that only someone like the Little Hero could have defeated Herman, who she thought was invincible when she was in her cage. Thinking back to his strength, his unique magic and Bojan's words about him, there was no doubt in her mind.

"You... you really are a..." She was at a loss for words, putting her hand in front of her mouth.

Armand scratched his head and smiled goofily, not knowing how to react. Then he saw her expression change as she took a step forward and placed her hand gently in the centre of her chest.

''Can I... come with you ?" she asked, lowering her head, her eyes closed in shame.

"Huh ? Come with me ?" He didn't understand the origin of this sudden request.

She, who since childhood had dreamt of the story Bojan told her, even illustrated it herself. The story of a legendary hero who saved the Primis of the past at the risk of his own life. She saw the same thing with Armand. She was desperate to follow him on his future adventures, to get to know him, and to help to liberate those who, like her until now, aren't masters of their own destiny.

She knew that, as she was, she wouldn't be very useful to him. She had no feeling or control over the magic and her white wick, despised by all, would prevent her from going out freely. But Armand never judged her for that, treating her like any other prisoner. Was it because he came from somewhere else? She didn't know.

She raised her head, almost certain that he would refuse. Then, when she opened her eyes, she saw a hand stretched out towards her. He had approached her without being noticed.

"I accept !" he said with a tender smile as he hid the sun behind him, which drew a luminous glow around his figure.

Carolina blinked, not immediately realising what she had just heard. She straightened her head, staring at his hand before meeting his gaze again.

"You... you're sure ?"

"Of course I am ! You're very brave and without you, I certainly wouldn't have been able to defeat Herman. Without you, his chains would have remained intact !"

"It was... it was thanks to your sword," she replied, her voice slightly hesitant. "All I did was fall... and I can't even use magic on my own..."

"It doesn't matter !" he replied with confidence. "I think I understand why you were locked up, and no doubt the whole city will be looking for you. With your white streak, you're too distinctive. I'm also sure you've nowhere to go, so knowing you're safe with us will reassure me !"

He stretched out his hand towards her, still with that comforting smile.

"So, I'm telling you one more time : I accept that you're coming with me !"

The tears in the young woman's eyes were ready to flow again. She nodded before finally grasping his hand in hers, feeling its comforting warmth.

"I just hope the old man doesn't give me too much grief, but don't worry, he's a good-hearted man, I'm sure he'll agree !" he said, scratching his head with his free hand.

"The 'old man' ?"

'Ah yes, sorry! I have a master. We live near the eastern border of Auroria, in a small house with a big tree in the centre. It's a bit strange at first, but you get used to it. I'm sure he can teach you a few things, even without magic!'

"If... if you say so."

Their hands remained tightly bound as they continued to talk, and it was becoming more embarrassing for Carolina. She tried to withdraw her hand gently but was unable to do so. Thinking that he was holding her too tightly, she realised that he also seemed unable to loosen their grip.

"What... what's going on ?" she asked in panic.

"I... I've no idea. It's weird... Argh !"

He was suddenly seized by a violent headache and suddenly his aura activated on its own, becoming so unstable that it changed colour constantly. Carolina was terrified and wanted to move back, but something still prevented her from detaching herself from him.

Armand was suffering more and more as this strange reaction intensified.

"A... Armand !" She couldn't feel what was happening but she could see the magic around them becoming brighter and brighter.

Suddenly, a layer of magic appeared around her, but it was nothing like a simple aura. It was an ancient magic, as if it had always been part of her. This shell was the magical seal that shackled all the members of her tribe, and Armand's magic seemed to want to confront it itself.

Their eyes were closed because of so much light and they could see nothing of what was happening. The multicoloured magic suddenly concentrated around Armand's hand, the overload of magic finally seeming to crack the magical shell surrounding the White Wick.

His magic forced on this magical shell and, after a moment, it finally gave way. Shattering and dissipating into thin air.

Their hands suddenly came apart and he fell backwards while she just managed to stay on her feet. Carolina opened her eyes, but everything seemed strangely different. She felt enveloped in a gentle warmth. For a moment, she perceived a faint white glow taking the form of a bird with one wing missing, before this vision vanished in the soft light of the sun. Everything then returned to normal, or at least... almost.

Armand stood up, holding his head, his eyes still closed. He didn't understand what had just happened, once again his magic had worked against his will.

"Armand... I feel... strange," she murmured.

He wiped his eyes before opening them, finally looking at her. His vision was getting clearer and his eyes widened when he saw her.

She was standing in front of him, enveloped in a brilliant aura of every colour, and one of her eyes was shining with the same glow.

''Huh? That looks like my..." He paused as he noticed that a strange mark, not unfamiliar to him, now adorned the back of Carolina's hand.

Carolina's awakening [https://i.imgur.com/5sY42Tr_d.webp?maxwidth=760&fidelity=grand.png]

He looked down at his own hand and saw that the mark of legends had changed : the upper branch of the star had glowed.

When he saw this, a memory came back to him : Gaspard had told them about a kind of link they could have with people they deemed worthy to join them, and that they would then receive one of the four fragments of the star.

The mark on Carolina's hand was actually the first fragment of his star. Becoming then, the first part of his star.

But that didn't explain why his magic had activated on its own and left that mark on Carolina, it remained a mystery to him.

She was trembling. She didn't know whether it was fear, joy or a mixture of the two, but for the first time, she finally felt the magic around her. The combined power of Armand's magic and the fragment had exerted such a force on her that her seal, inherited for centuries in her genes from the White Wick, had finally been broken.

The aura surrounding her finally faded, and her eyes regained their hazel hue. Only the mark on his hand remained.

"I can't explain what just happened, but..." He held out his fist, marked with the mark of legends towards her. "It seems that you have officially become my first star !"

These words echoed in her mind with those of Bojan. She smiled as she wiped the tears from her cheeks. Slowly recovering from these events, she then raised her fist and placed it against his.

"Aye !"

And so, she became his first partner in this new world.

End of chapter 24.