Chapter 163: Star of Darkness

Then Gray saw Cindy begin to be shrouded in a violet aura. She rose slowly, drifting upward through the water, her small body lifted by a force he couldn’t see or touch.

He lunged toward her, blade-tentacles reaching, but the aura flared between them, a barrier he couldn’t break. Every time he tried to grab her, the violet light pushed him back. It wasn’t attacking him. It was protecting her. Keeping him away.

Cindy’s body grew denser, the violet light condensing around her, pulsing with a rhythm that matched a heartbeat. Her frills splayed wide, her small form trembling as the energy poured into her.

Gray’s mind cracked.

’Sial... this is all my fault... I shouldn’t have come here...’

The guilt crashed over him like a wave. He had brought her to this place and now Cindy was paying the price.

Then the mana surged.

Every drop of ambient energy in the basin began to flow toward Cindy. It poured into her from every direction, a vortex of power that made the water itself groan under the pressure. Gray felt it too, an immense weight pressing down on his carapace, crushing, suffocating.

’What... is happening...’

Cindy’s arm began to regrow.

The cauterized wound at her shoulder pulsed with violet light, and new flesh began to form, knitting itself together cell by cell. Bone, muscle, skin, all of it reforming, rebuilt by the energy flooding through her. Within seconds, her arm was whole again, her body restored, her silver glow steadying beneath the violet aura.

Then the aura shifted.

It peeled away from Cindy’s body, drawing outward in threads of violet light, and began to gather in front of her. The threads coiled together, swirling, compressing, forming a sphere of dense, pulsing energy. The sphere solidified, its surface hardening, veins of violet and black crawling across it like living cracks.

The sphere cracked.

A fissure split its surface, then another, and another, until the entire sphere was fractured. Light poured from within, bright and terrible, and then it shattered.

CRACK!

From the broken shell emerged a creature. It was small, no larger than Gray’s bell, its body shaped like a star with five points that drifted lazily around it like slow, orbiting moons. Its surface was a deep, luminous violet, covered in veins of black that pulsed with a heartbeat rhythm. Its center was a single, dark core, burning with a cold, ancient light.

It hovered in the water beside Cindy, watching and waiting.

Cindy descended.

Gray caught her instantly, wrapping his tentacles around her small body, pulling her against his bell. His senses swept over her, searching for wounds, for damage, for anything wrong.

But there was nothing.

The mark on her forehead had faded. The black tattoo, the spiraling horns, all of it was gone. Her breathing was steady, her glow calm, her frills relaxed.

She looked... peaceful.

The star creature hovered in front of them, motionless.

Gray stared at it, his mind struggling to process what he had just witnessed because none of it made sense.

He looked at Cindy, then at the star.

’What... what just happened?’

Gray could only ask without knowing how to answer, and Cindy, who was still asleep, her consciousness began to fade somewhere.

10 Years Ago — The Kingdom of Luneria, Magic Academy

Cindy woke with a start.

She was sitting at a long wooden table, a spoon clutched in her hand, the handle worn smooth from years of use. The cafeteria around her buzzed with chatter, students in dark academy robes moving between tables, trays clinking, voices overlapping in a hundred different conversations.

She blinked.

’Eh...? Wasn’t I just with Gray...? Why am I here...? Is this a dream...?’

The spoon trembled in her hand. The table felt solid beneath her. The smells of stew and fresh bread filled the air. It was all so real, so vivid, so familiar.

Then a voice broke through her confusion.

"Hey, why are you suddenly so quiet, Cindy? Don’t you want to eat? We have alchemy practice after this, you know. Instructor Hedrick is going to lecture forever again."

Cindy turned toward the voice.

Luna Charlotte sat beside her, her black hair tied back in a loose ponytail, her blood-red eyes bright with amusement. She was eating with enthusiasm, a half-eaten bread roll in one hand, her spoon in the other, gesturing between bites. She looked young. Carefree. Happy.

Cindy stared.

"Luna...?"

Luna paused mid-chew, tilting her head.

"What? You’re looking at me like you’ve seen a ghost."

Cindy’s throat tightened. Her heart pounded in her chest. For a moment, she didn’t know what to say. The last thing she remembered was Gray, trying desperately to stop the orb from reaching her and then the violet light swallowing her whole.

And now she was here, in the academy cafeteria, sitting across from her best friend like nothing had ever happened.

’This... this is the past,’ Cindy realized. ’Or maybe it’s just a memory surfacing in my mind.’

Luna swallowed her mouthful and leaned closer, her eyes narrowing with playful suspicion.

"Seriously, what’s wrong? You’re pale. Did you have a nightmare or something?"

Cindy blinked, then shook her head quickly.

"No, no, I’m fine. Just... spaced out for a second."

Luna didn’t look convinced.

"Spaced out? You were staring at me like I’d grown a second head."

Cindy let out a small laugh, the sound almost natural.

"Maybe I was just surprised by how much you’re eating. You’re going to get a stomach ache before alchemy practice."

Luna gasped, placing a hand over her chest in mock offense.

"Excuse me? I am fueling my brilliant mind. You should be taking notes."

Cindy rolled her eyes, the familiar rhythm of their banter settling over her like a warm blanket.

"You’re going to fall asleep halfway through Hedrick’s lecture. You always do."

"I do not!"

"You snored last week."

"I was resting my eyes."

Cindy laughed again, and this time it felt real. The tension in her chest eased, the confusion fading into the background. Whatever was happening, she didn’t want to wake up just yet.

She picked up her spoon and took a bite of her stew.

’This is nice,’ she thought. ’I don’t know why I’m here, but... it’s peaceful.’

Luna grinned at her, bread roll in hand.

"See? Food makes everything better. Now hurry up, or we’ll be late."

Cindy nodded, eating quickly. The stew was warm and familiar, the same recipe the academy had served for years. The chatter around her was comforting, the clink of spoons and trays a sound she hadn’t realized she’d missed.

It was peaceful.

And she didn’t want it to end.