Luna barely slept that night, her mind consumed by creeping thoughts despite the comfortable and clean bed. As the first rays of light started pouring through the room’s window, Luna quietly got out of bed. Making the bed neatly, she shook off her sleepiness and tiptoed out of the small bedroom, mindful of not making noise. As she closed the door, she noticed Theo standing in the kitchen, already up and drinking from a mug. She chided herself for not anticipating his early rising, knowing he was a farmer.
Frozen by the door, Luna saw him smile gently at her. "Good morning Luna, may I offer you some breakfast?" he asked, pointing at a basket of bread on the central kitchen counter.
Luna smiled awkwardly as she approached to grab a slice, feeling grateful for the gesture as her hunger stirred. "Thanks," she said, enjoying the comfortable silence that followed. Despite liking Theo and Sofia, she couldn't shake her fear of getting them into trouble with her current situation.
This is the least I can do for them.
“I better get going, I have things to do.” Luna exclaimed gently once she’d finished the piece of bread he offered. Theo remained silent with a slight smile on his face sipping from his mug.
The kitchen area was bathed in the soft glow of a couple of candles as the sun began its ascent, casting a warm and comfortable light. The peaceful atmosphere enveloped Luna, allowing her to relax and savor the moment. The life that Theo and Sofia lived was the one she had always wanted for herself. However, she hesitated to repeat the same cycle of grief she had experienced when her family died by getting attached to a new one. She needed to be certain she could protect them before fully committing.
Just as Luna turned to leave, she paused for a moment before speaking again. "Let me know if the cream doesn’t work on Sofia’s rash. I’ll see if I can make something else."
For the first time ever, she saw Theo’s smile falter. "I will let you know," he responded softly, his gaze dropping to his mug.
Taking a last look at him, Luna walked to the door, stopping to lace her boots just before leaving.
Sofia’s situation must be serious.
With that last though she left without looking back. If she could help Sofia in any way possible, Luna had decided to do so.
Approaching the road, Luna scanned the area, on edge after the encounter with the guards the previous night. She looked around cautiously, hoping not to encounter them again so soon. It was then that she thought how convenient Dimension magic was. Technically they could teleport anywhere they wanted if they’d seen the place at least once.
The desolate road invited Luna to follow the path home. As the first rays of sunlight peeked over the horizon, she felt a sense of calm wash over her. Silently, she embraced the early morning breeze, finding solace in the peaceful surroundings. With determination, Luna began mentally preparing for the tasks that lay ahead. There was a lot she had to accomplish.
As Luna started taking a deep breath she felt a presence on her back, a slight touch on her shoulders and the familiar sense of the world shifting and disappearing. Even if dimensional teleportation was convenient, the effects were extremely unpleasant. In an instant, both Luna and Ezekiel found themselves standing in the middle of her living room.
"Hello, you…" Luna's voice wavered slightly as she grabbed onto one of the chairs, her fingers curling around its edge to steady herself. She could sense Ezekiel's menacing presence before she even opened her eyes, his silent scrutiny weighing heavily upon her.
After a few minutes of silence, Ezekiel's voice sliced through the tension. "I told you not to hang out with the human, but did you listen to what I said…" His words were laced with disapproval, his tone carrying the weight of their previous conversations and warnings.
Luna felt his words fade into the background like a distant echo. She knew he was giving her a lecture, but she wasn't in the mood for it. The events of the previous day had left her feeling confused and with lots of questions. Lectures could wait; they didn't have time for them now.
Finally tuning back into the conversation, Luna could still hear Ezekiel's persistent talking.
"Maybe you should come with me, that way you stop risking—"
"Ezek, that's enough!" Luna interjected, her tone sharp with anger.
Ezekiel stared at her in surprise, clearly taken aback by her sudden outburst.
Meeting his gaze with a calm yet stern expression, Luna continued, "You know what's more important? The fact that last night I encountered two guards and my magic stopped working, precisely at that moment. Guards never come this far from the city. Now, do you have an answer to that, or are you just going to keep lecturing me?" She finished her speech with a deep breath, her eyes fixed on Ezekiel, who appeared cautious in response.
He had noticed several vines sneaking through the wooden cracks of the floor and walls, all converging towards him. It surprised him that even after experiencing a burnout, Luna could effortlessly reabsorb so much magic.
Taking a seat in one of the chairs, Ezekiel signaled for Luna to join him. Despite her initial stubbornness, she eventually relented and took a seat in the chair opposite him. As she did, he observed the vines slowly retracting, as if responding to her emotional state.
“Well, you know by now that the Decidit allied themselves with the humans and from what we know they created these artifacts that block magic. We don’t exactly know how they created this but we assume it has something to do with Exchange Magic.” He said, making a small pause.
Luna had never heard of magic different from the natural affinities and it caught her off guard.
Looking at her confused face, Ezekiel proceeded to explain. “So I've never told you about Exchange magic because it's prohibited. We believe it’s unnatural since you need to sacrifice life.” His face dimmed a bit but taking a deep breath he continued speaking. “It’s by this means that they were able to overpower us long ago and push us to retreat into a different dimension. We were no match for their unnatural source of power and also, it's not like people in the Magic Realm would care about the situation happening here — Everyone is happy there.” He said with a mocking tone.
Luna could tell that Ezekiel was in agreement with some of the laws and decisions taken by the Magic Realm but not with everything. high ranking Dimension mages could cross freely from Realms, that’s how Ezekiel was able to come so often. Other Dimension mages would only leave if they were sent out in groups. On the other hand, regular citizens of the Magic Realm had to get special permission to leave.
“And the guards. What about them? Do you think they have magic or something?” Luna asked, still worried about the matter that affected her the most.
Ezekiel laughed a bit after hearing her questions. He was obviously mocking her since she’d asked something dumb. “Human’s can’t hold magic, you should know this by now. But it's possible that they hold some type of jewelry that is infused with the magic nullifying effect.” He said grabbing a cup of tea Venus had brought to him.
Luna had barely noticed them preparing things in the kitchen. But as usual, Venus was one step ahead of her.
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“So you are saying I can infuse magical effects on jewelry?” She asked enthusiastically, giving Venus a soft pat in the head as they approached to sit by the armrest of her chair.
Gently blowing the tea. Ezekiel waited for a minute before taking a sip. He was stalling on purpose and Luna could clearly see a cheeky smile on his lips.
“Well you could, but technically you’d have to infuse magic on a gem — The greater the quality the stronger the effect.” He said, taking a sip.
This is amazing!
Luna was excited to start working on this new technique. But before her mind could wonder about the immeasurable possibilities Ezekiel drew her attention back.
“Before you start doing anything crazy, this is advanced magic so be careful. From your current state I'm pretty sure you can get it done with practice.” He said, anticipating her thoughts.
Ezekiel knew Luna well enough to understand that she would likely throw herself into work mode and start mastering a new technique. That's why he hadn't taught her everything at once; he knew she wouldn't have been ready for it.
“Also, something to remember. No matter how much magic you infuse into a gem or how valuable it is. It won't keep someone alive if they are bound to die,” he exclaimed, anticipating her enthusiasm.
The excitement in Luna's eyes dimmed momentarily.
Mother would have thought about that.
But as fast as the sadness had come, she pushed it aside. “Well, now that we've got class time out of the way, did you bring me the herbs I asked about a month ago?” she asked eagerly.
Looking at her with a smug smile, Ezekiel set the tea cup on the wooden table and dug into his purple coat pockets. His coat had dimensional pockets that could hold five square meters of content each, better than the dress he'd given her that could only carry about half a square meter. With little effort, he pulled out a bag of herbs.
“Here you go. But this is the last time,” he said, placing the bag on the table. Swiftly, Venus approached and started dragging the bag to the kitchen. The bag was five times their size but still the little plant carried on.
Before Luna could thank him, he resumed speaking. “You know, whatever it is you are desperately trying to make, it's not going to work. Maybe if you had better training...”
With each word, Luna's temper flared. It wasn't part of her plan to move to the Magic Realm. She wanted to complete her mother's research, and it was clearly expressed in her diaries that the Magic Realm wouldn’t understand what she was working on. Nonetheless, everything Ezekiel said up to that moment did not compare to the words that came from his mouth next.
“...Your mother was clearly working on something she shouldn’t have, otherwise she would have gone to the Magic Realm for help,” he said, triggering her even further.
Luna could feel overwhelming anxiety and anger taking over her. She didn't like people talking about her mother.
They don’t understand our pain.
“Get out,” she said in a tense, low voice.
Ezekiel looked at her, finally noticing her anger. “Luna,” he called out, but just as her patience broke, she yelled, “GET OUT!”
In the blink of an eye, he was gone, with the only remnant of his visit being the dent on the soft chair and the teacup by the low table.
They don’t understand our pain.
Luna's emotions had become a mess. She rarely lost her cool, especially not with Ezekiel. But the truth was, he didn't understand how she felt. Ezekiel had been born into a loving, privileged family where everything was perfect, while Luna had to grow up before her time, witnessing desperation and death firsthand. Mages lived three times as long as humans and rarely got sick, so it was possible that Ezekiel had never lost anyone before. He didn't understand her. He would never understand her.
Standing from the chair, Luna stretched her stiff muscles before making her way to the central counter of the kitchen. The old wood bore scratches and stains from years of use, but it was a comforting relic of her childhood. She started flipping through her mother’s diaries and recipe books, the familiar scent of aged parchment and ink stirring bittersweet memories.
She muttered to herself as she turned each page, her voice echoing faintly in the quiet room. “There must be something in here… anything about magical infusion on gems.”
The sunlight streaming through the windows shifted throughout the day, casting changing patterns across the console as Luna poured herself into her search. Hours passed, but she found nothing. Just as frustration began to creep in, Luna picked up another old journal. From one of the pages a small yellowed note folded in half slipped from the pages.
Her breath caught as she unfolded it, her mother’s elegant writing still unmistakable despite the faded ink:
Gems won’t do. Use it for something that can truly last.
Luna stared at the cryptic message, her brow furrowing. “What could that mean?” she murmured.
From what she could recall, her mother had never mentioned using magical infusion on gems. Her journals, though filled with detailed recipes and enchanting techniques, were silent on the matter.
I’ll have to look through her old things again, Luna decided.
Her mother’s belongings had been a chaotic maze to sort through when she first returned. Many of the items she didn’t understand or hadn’t had time to examine were now neatly stored on a dusty shelf at the back of the kitchen. The shelf was cluttered with jars of mysterious powders, bundles of dried herbs, and small trinkets with no obvious purpose.
She crossed the room, brushing aside a curtain of cobwebs to get a better look. Among the items, she spotted a small ruby pendant resting atop a folded handkerchief. Picking it up, she held it to the light, the trinket gleaming beautifully.
Luna couldn't remember many times when she had seen her mother wear the pendant. After all, the only piece of jewelry her mother wore regularly was her wedding ring.
“This will do,” she said, her voice tinged with determination.
Returning to the counter, she cleared a space and prepared for her experiment. Taking a deep breath, Luna placed the ruby on the wooden surface and closed her eyes, reaching deep within herself to summon her magic.
The process was tedious and taxing. She focused all her energy on the pendant, her hands hovering above it as she whispered ritualistically. Small flickers of light danced across the gem’s surface, but they quickly faded.
Time slipped by unnoticed. The sun dipped lower, painting the room in hues of orange and gold. Beads of sweat formed on Luna’s brow as she continued her attempts, each failure weighing heavier on her spirits.
By the time the sun sank below the horizon, Luna slumped back in one of the kitchen stools, defeated. The ruby pendant lay before her, stubbornly unchanged. She sighed, picking it up and turning it over in her fingers.
Maybe I’m missing something… or maybe this just isn’t the way.
As she looked at the pendant, a memory surfaced—her mother’s laughter, clear and bright, as she told her, “Magic isn’t about forcing things to happen, Luna. It’s about understanding, connection, and patience.”
Placing the gem back down, Luna turned to look at the window at the darkening sky.
Gem infusion was a completely new process for her, and there was nothing in her mother's journals that indicated how to accomplish it. The only clue she had was that infusing magic into gems must be similar to the process she used for magical concoctions. It all came down to connecting with the elements, bonding with their natural composition well enough to transfer the magic into them. In this case, the element was the gem.
Turning back to the counter, Luna started tidying up her workspace with Venus’s help. Her eyes lingered on the journals and the note she had found. Though the day hadn’t given her the answers she sought, it left her with something even more precious, a spark of curiosity and a renewed sense of purpose.
There were still many things Luna didn't know in regards to magic and tomorrow there would be another chance to try working on the gem infusion. But for now, she needed to leave.
Removing herself from the kitchen, Luna headed to her room and grabbed a dark cloak to go along with the rest of her attire. It was important for her to obtain the plant needed to complete her delivery, which was due the next day. The plant she needed was called Golden Isaire, one of the few magical plants she knew that grew nearby. Luna had to make the trip into the forest every month to gather Golden Isaire petals and other plants.
Once, she had attempted to uproot the flower to bring it home and plant it in her greenhouse. However, it withered as soon as she sewed it back into the ground. She assumed the soil in which it grew was magical and that’s why the plant wouldn't take if placed in normal soil.
Ready to leave, Luna paused by the entrance. “Venus, you and Succulent must have everything ready for when I come back. It’s going to be a long night.” she said, shutting the door behind her.
The sun's final rays painted the sky with a warm glow as Luna approached the edge of the forest near her home. The trees formed a natural boundary between Ortega's plains and the depths of the wilderness. Tall ash trees marked the division, their branches reaching towards the sky.
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