"You’re about to…?"
Emma’s voice carried through the dimly glowing cave, a mix of surprise and quiet awe laced within it. She hadn’t expected Luna to say something like that so casually.
She’s about to ascend…
The thought repeated in Emma’s mind, slowly settling in. Luna.. this girl who had guided her through ever since getting here, the one who spoke with such certainty and calmness... was about to transcend beyond what she was now. She would become something greater, something beyond the constraints of normal existence.
A warm smile crept onto Emma’s face. She meant it sincerely.
"Congratulations," she said, her voice steady, her unique white eyes meeting Luna’s glowing ones.
Luna blinked, then gave a small nod, her expression softening. "Thank you."
Her gaze lingered on Emma for a moment longer before something shifted in her expression... like a thought had just struck her.
"Oh, I almost forgot…" Luna muttered, brows furrowing slightly as she glanced over Emma’s skin. The soft glow that had covered Emma’s body earlier still remained.
Luna tilted her head slightly, then looked back at Emma.
"Close your eyes for a moment."
Emma hesitated for a second, the request catching her off guard. "Close my eyes?" she echoed, blinking.
Luna gave a firm nod.
"Mhm. Just trust me."
Emma glanced at her once more before sighing softly.
"Alright then."
She slowly let her eyelids drift shut, the world around her fading into darkness.
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For a few seconds, there was only silence. Then...
Luna’s voice reached her, smooth and calm.
"Since you were admiring the glow earlier, I had a thought. So… I want to test something out."
Emma remained still, listening.
"Try to imagine yourself normal again... just as you were before," Luna instructed, her voice calmer and even.
Emma furrowed her brows slightly.
Normal?
She took a slow breath. Then, within the quiet space behind her closed eyes, she envisioned herself. Not glowing. Not radiating any strange light. Just… her. As she had always been.
At first, she felt nothing.
But as she concentrated, picturing her skin the way it used to be... a strange warmth stirred within her. A calm, soothing sensation, settling in the center of her being.
The feeling grew, subtle yet present.
Then,
"Alright," Luna’s voice cut through the silence. "Open your eyes."
Emma’s lids fluttered open.
The dim, ethereal glow of the cave returned to her vision, Moonflies still perched along the stone walls, their delicate wings shimmering. She lowered her gaze..
Her skin was back to normal.
She blinked.
Then, a smile stretched across her lips.
"Thanks," she said, glancing up at Luna, a hint of appreciation in her voice.
Luna gave a small nod in return, but her eyes lingered on Emma for a beat longer than usual. There was something else there... something unreadable in her expression.
Curiosity.
It was faint, but present.
She had seen it before.
Luna was thinking about something.
Emma could almost sense the idea forming in Luna’s mind before she even spoke.
"Emma," Luna finally said, her tone casual... yet carrying an undertone of intrigue.
Emma raised a brow.
"Could you do me a small favor?"
Emma tilted her head slightly before nodding. "I don’t mind. But first, I need to know what it is."
A slight smile tugged at Luna’s lips.
The glow of her ethereal white hair shimmered as she shifted ever so slightly, tilting her head in that same knowing way she always did.
Then, she spoke.
"Do you know flame magic?"
Emma blinked, her thoughts momentarily stalling.
Flame magic?
She almost laughed at herself.
The only thing I know about flames isn’t magic—it’s a skill. Her mind briefly flickered back to memories in the artificial dungeon, where Maverick taught her a few techniques, which flame was one of them.. Not magic, though…
After a brief pause, she sighed before answering honestly.
"No, I don’t."
She glanced at Luna, curiosity creeping into her own voice.
"May I know why you’re asking?"
Luna’s smile didn’t falter.
If anything, it deepened.
A glint of something... something playful, yet also calculated.. shimmered in her glowing moon eyes as she answered.
"Because…"
A breeze, faint and weightless, passed through the cave.
"I want you to manifest it."
Emma froze.
She blinked once.
Then twice.
"Me?"
The single word left her lips before she could even think.
The implication of what Luna was asking settled like a slow-moving tide.
She wanted her to manifest fire?