The townspeople had received the news of the day: a body in an unusual condition was found in the penthouse belonging to Calum Little, known as one of the culprits in the murder of Esmer Philo.

A statue lay on the king-sized bed. It raised its hands, its eyes wide, its tongue sticking out like a portrait of a terrified man seeing a wild barghest.

Civil guards and coroners had swarmed the scene for the sake of investigation. The corpse was not just posing like a rigid statue. The corpse... was a statue. Its body seemed to be plated with twenty-four-carat gold. Pure fine and brittle, like a golden ingot. On the wall behind the bed, rendered a gold inscription. Its shape resembled a pattern of flowing blood but altered into frozen gold.

[NO ONE SHALL SLEEP PEACEFULLY UNLESS ALL TRUTHS ARE UNCONCEALED! NO ONE SHALL DESERT THE TOWN EXCEPT TO TAKE DEATH WITH THEM!]

Seeing the condition of the body, the coroner could at once identify that the corpse was a victim of the abuse of magic—the worst case, the black one. The scrawling on the wall right above Francis Little’s head was a threat to his son, Calum Little, his two other friends, and possibly the entire Trinketshore. Yes, Calum Little did not encounter Hades. He was with his mother huddled in the living room corner. Mother’s eyes were puffy from wailing in shock. The son was as shaken as the mother. Hollow was his gaze, not knowing what expression to form on his face.

At the grand Crimsonmane residence, Nadine and Gilmore were having a war of words regarding the murder of Francis Little. Nadine looked pleased with the killing, thinking that the culprit was on the haunt mission of the girl’s perpetrators. The ones who manipulated the law, so low even Themis dared herself to open her blindfold, gazing at them in contempt. Gilmore, the devil’s advocate, challenged her notion. He thought that as long as no one does not make a public confession, all the townspeople—including the triplets—were the cattle, lining the slaughterhouse. There was no point in appreciating yet supporting the act of killing.

While they were busy arguing, Alicia was on the telecomm with her young brother, who would come home that day. She warned him to weigh his decision to go home, considering the situation at Trinketshore was in a state of discord.

“Even if I want to enjoy my summer vacs in Eidyn rather than the ‘lost city’ of Trinketshore—both are boring, by the way—I have to come back,” explained Leith from the telecomm line.

“Could you not entice Papa to come with you?”

“Cannae dae that, Liz. Papa’s still pure hoachin’ throughout the week. All those black magic stuff happen in the whole country, not jist yer dearest Trinketshore, ye ken?”

Silence shut Alicia's lips. As much as she tried to understand, her scowled mien was already there. Donar’s little girl was trapped in a small town along with a serial killer, but he sent his son back instead. Perhaps behind the old man's mind, state affairs was a loftier order than those of his blood. How come Papa is always nae around whenever we need him?’ she thought. Papa didnae even call me after the town square’s incident at all!

“Look, I have to get back because I need to prepare something prior to Papa’s homecoming,” Leith added. “But he already knows what happened in Trinketshore. So he’ll send an elite wizard unit as reinforcement soon, the real Magisterium wizards, ye ken? The experts of fighting black magic, unlike those minions back in Trinketshore.”

“Hold on. You said you need to prepare something? What preparation?”

“Uh... not the braw time for a storytelling session, sis. I’ll grass on anything when I’m home, as promised. Catching the train now, bye!” Leith straight up closed his telecomm.

Gilmore had his back to the sofa. “So, yer brother’s coming home today?”

“Yeah,” answered Alicia, “And he said reinforcement wizards from the capital will come as well.”

“Wow, what a relieve,” Nadine retorted with a sarcastic tone while her eyes were fixed on the telemedia screen.

In the late afternoon, Nadine and Gilmore decided to take an early return to their respective homes after staying a few days. Leith also informed her he was getting close to Trinketshore, asking Alicia not to pick him up because of feelings of prestige and other puberty nonsense.

Alicia then lay on the bed with the door slightly ajar while waiting for her brother. Amid boredom, she raised her hand as if to touch the room ceiling. Her eyes then fell on the bandage stuck to her right hand—which she got from Orb scalding her hand the first night she made contact. Alicia realised she had changed the bandage several times but noticed nothing enticing but bare skin coated with a mix of blood and cellulose fluids. It sure looked disgusting when she looked closely. Regardless, Alicia did not sense any pain from under the bandage, so she unwrapped it. Scales still plagued her skin around the wound.

Divine blessed her for the wound itself had dried up. Divine cursed her for such a lesion would last a lifetime.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

Another deficiency added to the girl’s physical shortcomings. Sounded worrying, did it not? But Alicia seemed indifferent about it. She was rather curious about the fact that her wound formed a peculiar symbol—a human figure as if to protect a globe between her big hands. What kind of ball was that? A depiction of Earth? Or was it actually the picture of Orb?

Oh, it’s a sign that we’ve become one, answered Orb in a song, seeming to know what the girl had in mind.

“It cannae be that simple!”

Yes, the symbol could have said something more. But... It’s beyond my own will. You will find out yourself, in time.

“I thought you'll tell me all."

Yes. In time.

"Dull.”

She delicately pressed Orb against her singed palm, a juxtaposition of contrasting elements. Her mind wandered to the depths of her newfound strength. Alicia had devoted two full days to honing her shooting precision and mastering close-quarter combat with Orb. Yet, she knew that there must be something else that could be done with its magic. Merely unleashing projectiles and striking foes with a hurled orb felt limiting. Alicia then recalled her battle with Caleb Dune. She had conjured a protective barrier, cushioning her descent, and somehow her power also mysteriously nullified the corrupt influence of the addict's dark magic.

Rising to her feet, the youthful Crimsonmane clutched Orb and tried to align herself with it. With both hands enveloping the sphere, Alicia gingerly extended her arms, causing the pulsating energy to ripple and expand in tandem. A luminous bubble, suffused with bluish plasma, materialised, encasing her form in an ethereal embrace. Within this radiant sanctuary, sparks and rivulets of vibrant energy waltzed in a small ballroom that was, to Alicia, the Fortress of Dreams.

Alicia's gaze fixed upon the still-hovering Orb nestled upon her chest. She focused on draining more or less plasma from her hand, manipulating the size of the force field.

“Orb, how strong is this force field?”

Depends on your focus and strength, answered Orb.

“Depends on my focus and strength. Aye, right.” Alicia rolled her eyes.

A signal of admonition from Orb. Of course, anything is about focus and strength, Alicia. That’s thaumaturgy 101! Without proper synchronization, my full potential will elude you!

“Awright, awright. Sorry...,” she retorted, a hint of contrition in her voice. “At least that explains the self-turning shot or occasional lack of effect. Maybe I should learn to control my panic better.”

Alicia then continued again. “That being said, it’s not much different from magic in general, eh?”

Well, yes, of course, there’s not much difference. It’s just my power—including one that forms this force field—is mightier because it can deflect, even remove the Protos particles! Orb sang with pride.

“Protos particles? If I’m not mistaken, that’s a term for a substance that produces black magic, innit? The Khaos energy? Haven’t heard that term in a long time.”

Orb gave a signal of agreement.

“Hold on. During the investigation and also the last moments of fighting the black mage, I remember your power neutralised every black magic that came in contact with.”

Again, Orb gave a signal of agreement.

“And every shot he received made him more vulnerable to incoming attacks, multiplying the pain.”

It was the third time Orb gave a signal of agreement.

Alicia was pensive, rummaging through the memory files in her brain. Images resurfaced—a time when she delved into the pages of a magic encyclopaedia, and her mother elucidated the nature of an energy bearing striking resemblances.

Or even, when she narrated a magical epic to the kindergartens a couple of days ago.

“Divine Mercy, Orb... don’t tell me—”

“What the—what in the bloody Hades?”

Their exchange was abruptly halted by a piercing scream resonating from the now wide-open front door of the room.

Leith, his countenance a mask of horror, observed Alicia ensnared within a swirling vortex of purplish-blue luminescence. For a fleeting moment, she remained silent, then unleashed a piercing cry upon sighting her brother. The alignment was automatically broken, and the force field forthwith disappeared, followed by a harmless small wave outburst, enough to make the two fall upside down!

Alicia's room, already in disarray from the gusts generated by the force field, was now a pigsty thanks to the surge.

“L-Leith!” Alicia shouted. “Y-y-ye just come home? H-how d-did ye get in? No! Have ye, ever not thought about knocking on the room first, let alone a lass' room?

Leith rose with his messy hair, rubbing his aching head after hitting the wall. “Have ye, ever not thought that each resident in this house has their own key? Yer door was dead open the whole time and yer things were scattered all over the place because of… w-whatever happened in that room of yours! Then t-that thing!” Leith pointed at Orb “W-where did ye get that thing from!?”

“I-I can explain! I found Orb in the cemetery—”

“—You call that thing, ‘Orb’?”

“What? You expect me to call it ‘Boonie Knight Lancelot’? I dinnae name things with weird epithets just to be treated like a delusional husband, okay? ‘Orb’ is enough!”

Orb joined Alicia’s defence by chanting a threatening tone of voice. Leith looked down at Orb lying on the floor, putting on a face of complete disbelief. “This thing… talks?”

Orb let out a louder tone, making Leith jump and take a few steps back.

“‘This thing’ has a name, Leith. ‘Orb,’ Alicia said. “Orb says not to put on such an ill-farrant face.”

Leith was still in shock. “Let me guess. You found Orb in Languoreth’s tomb?”

“Well, not exactly inside her tomb, but it did happen to appear on Languoreth’s mausoleum, anyway... Wait, how did ye ken this?”

Leith’s head was spinning from being overwhelmed by these pieces of information. He paced the room, muttering.

“I don’t believe it’s here. That source of power is here! There’s no doubt! I thought this whole search would take like forever! But how the Silent Divine has cursed me—no, blessed me—I dinnae ken! It was here, right in my sister’s room! And she played it like a bloody trifle! And shite, it bloody talks!” Leith chuckled like a madman. “Naw, naw, naw. Noo jist hold on! My sister, Alicia Crimsonmane, controls the pure Arcane. Doesn’t that make her a mage? Alicia Crimsonmane is a mage? Ellie’s wrath, what happened to Trinketshore lately when I was away?”

Leith should have been relaxed for all the investigation, the search, the archaeology matters, and other family mandate baloneys were completely gone in the flick of a finger. But seeing Orb submitted to his sister, wild speculation began to emerge in the youngest’s mind. Seeing her brother grumble like a stressed human being, Alicia resuscitated him.

Leith gave his sister a serious look. “I think we need to talk.” []