Elysha took off running through the woods, her feet on and off the ground as she weaved through the underbrush. Micah’s voice ran through her mind, ‘Hey, tell Micah! Where are you going?’

  “I have an idea, just trust me on this!” Elysha said back between breaths. She finally stopped at a small clearing, a sufficient distance from Elder Merakia’s last known position. Panting, she pressed the butt of her staff into the earth.

  “This should be a good place,” Elysha said, steadying herself. “Far enough away that she won’t know what I'm going to do.”

  ‘To do what?’

  She lifted her gaze, her eyes scanning the branches overhead. “I’m going to make the butterflies again,” she revealed. “They can find the fake Elder Meras and help us tag the real one.”

  ‘Oh, like a sneak attack, huh? Elysha, are you sure about this?’ he asked. ‘Micah doesn’t have much energy left to help you anymore. And your plan has one pretty big flaw.’

  “Flaw?”

  ‘Yep, haven’t you noticed? Your range for theonum magic is limited. Those butterflies won’t reach Elder Merakia if she’s too far away—let alone her clones. Even if they did, they’d be like snowflakes to her illusions.’

  Elysha exhaled and pressed her lips together. “Then… what else should I do? If you don’t have much energy left, this may be my last chance. And I…” She paused, swallowing the knot in her throat. “I just… I don’t want to give up again.”

  ‘Ah, so that’s it,’ Micah said with a small chuckle. ‘You’re not a fan of giving up and admitting defeat, are you?’

  She shook her head. “No. Not yet.”

  ‘This is what most would call a learning experience, and perhaps the lack of options that your face expresses is a sign of areas for growth,’ he continues. ‘If Elder Merakia is far away from us, then it means that you have a journey ahead of you to reach her. Micah has also noticed how much you’ve been pushing yourself since I started sharing my theonum with you… and that can be dangerous if you overdo it—and for me as well.’

  Elysha frowned, and she thought to herself as she took in Micah’s words. “I know,” she said, nodding her head before looking up at the leaves above. The sunlight flickered through the shifting leaves, reminding her of how quickly time was passing. She added, “But… I still have to try. One more time.”

  ‘One more time, hm?’

  “Trust me on this, okay? If it doesn’t work, then I can always try again another time. But… this is only the beginning—of my own story.”

  She lifted her staff, then raised her other hand over her heart. “I have faith in myself.”

  ‘Micah is glad to hear that. All right, Elysha, I trust you. But I don’t have much time left before I doze off for the day…’ he let out a tired yawn. ‘So one last try and then we’re done. Okay?’

  “Okay.”

  She closed her eyes and reached within herself to access theonum energy. In her mind’s eye, she pictured the luminous butterflies she’d conjured in previous attempts.

  A faint, humming glow traced the contours of her staff, and gradually, tiny specks of light responded to her call, swirling and coalescing into the shapes she knew so well. The butterflies multiplied, circling around her in a loose halo.

  ‘One more time…’ she reminded herself, taking a deep breath.

  However, as Elysha concentrated, something unexpected happened.

  ~ ??? ~

  Meanwhile, not far away, Elder Merakia’s mirror images silently monitored Elysha’s whereabouts, awaiting their next instructions. However, the illusions, already strained from long use, began to fade one by one into nothingness.

  From her vantage point among the trees, the real Elder Merakia monitored the information her mirror images had returned. She had been watching Elysha and Micah closely ever since her pupil had requested to study privately.

  ‘The sky is turning golden,’ she noted, glancing upward. Sunset was approaching, and a small sigh left her lips. ‘It seems the time has come for me to give her a reward for her perseverance.’

  Images of Elysha’s efforts flashed through her mind—her determination to land just one hit, her creative tricks, her resolve that mirrored someone Elder Merakia knew well.

  “She still has much to learn,” she said outwardly, “and despite of that, she’s growing at an above-average rate. Perhaps she can potentially match Lucius’s rate of learning.”

  Just then, a voice broke into her thoughts with startling urgency, ‘Heyyy, Elder Merakiaaa!’

  She raised an eyebrow. “Micah?” she replied. “You sound upset. What is the matter?”

  ‘Big trouble! Elysha is—!’

  “Micah, increase your radius. What is happening to Elysha?”

  ‘She’s—!’

  Micah’s voice abruptly cut off, leaving Elder Merakia without an answer.

  Worry flared in Elder Merakia’s chest. “What in the world?” she muttered. She tried to re-establish contact, but it felt as though Micah’s connection had vanished. Her remaining mirror images were too weak to give her any clarity, and she dispelled them completely.

  …

  It was then that she noticed something bright and white in the distance.

  “Is that…?”

  Without another thought, Elder Merakia moved closer to the source, the light growing larger with each passing moment.

  Through the thinning trees, she caught sight of a swirling, radiant orb dominating the clearing—a brilliance so intense it felt like she was looking at a miniature sun.

  Narrowing her eyes against the glare, she pressed forward until she could make out the vague silhouette of a little girl at its center.

  ~ ??? ~

  The particles of light surged with unprecedented intensity, swirling and pulsing around Elysha’s form. The once butterfly-like illusions had coalesced into a blinding ball of energy that completely engulfed her figure.

  Micah’s eyes widened in alarm as he saw nothing but walls of white around him. He could feel the theonum energy dancing around him like thunder between the clouds. It wasn’t his own energy, it belonged to something else he didn’t know.

  His voice quavered as he shouted, ‘Elysha! What’s happening?! I can’t see you!’

  A faint reply came from somewhere in the vortex of light, ‘Micah, I can feel it…’

  ‘Feel what?!’

  ‘It’s like the theonum itself. It’s... overwhelming.’

  ‘Huh? Wh-what?’

  His concern deepened, his instincts urging him to intervene. But he hesitated, unsure of the consequences that might befall Elysha if he interrupted the unknown process unfolding before him.

  ‘Elysha, I—this is—!’

  ‘Micah… can you please leave me and find Elder Mera for me? My chest… it hurts…’

  ‘I can’t just leave you in there! What in the world is happening right now?!’

  Micah’s mind raced with worry, torn between his concern for Elysha and the need to seek help. As the huge orb of light continued to pulsate, spreading its presence over the surrounding area, Micah actively lost awareness of the external environment, fearing the profound changes it would have on consequences.

  ‘I can still reach Elder Merakia through my theonum receptor,’ he assured her. ‘I will try to bring her here. Just hold on!’

  As he focused on communicating with Elder Merakia, he could hear Elysha sniffled, crying out, ‘My theonum core… It’s… it’s exploding…!’

  ~ ??? ~

  In the distance, Elder Merakia hovered her hands over her eyes as she watched the scene unfold before her.

  “That white light… it cannot be…” she whispered to herself. “It reminds me of that time.”

  The light continued to grow rapidly in intensity, and as she approached its epicenter, Elder Merakia saw a silhouette forming within the light. Though the figure’s face remained hidden in the darkness, she instantly recognized her pupil.

  ‘Hey!’

  Micah’s frantic call blazed in Elder Merakia’s mind.

  “Micah, I am glad to hear you again,” she replied.

  ‘The source of the light isn’t coming from me—it’s coming from Elysha’s theonum core!’ he continued to holler. ‘It went out of control when Elysha tried to use mine to summon butterflies to track your mirror clones!’

  “Makes sense,” Elder Merakia sighed. “How did it become this unbridled? Why has it led this unprecedented surge of power?”

  ‘Micah doesn’t know! It just happened in the blink of an eye! What should we do? Micah thinks she’s in pain!’

  “We may not know the exact reason, but this is not the time for further investigation,” Elder Merakia said, her tone remaining calm. “Beyond that, we do not need to do anything.”

  ‘What? Why not?!’

  She lifted her chin, her crimson eyes narrowing on the blinding sight. “Use your senses more closely.”

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  Micah, connected to Elysha by their bond, focused his senses more intensively. Amidst the tumult of theonum, he could sense something happening from another source.

  ‘—?!’

  He was able to sense its presence, not because he was adept with his sensory functions, but because its creeping and shuddering intensity made him feel uncomfortably overwhelmed.

  ‘Micah can sense something else happening at the same time—what is it?’

  “It’s the keyhole stone attached to the necklace she wore,” Elder Merakia answered.

  ‘Keyhole-what?’ he repeated, then a faint memory came to mind. ‘Wait, what exactly is going on with this keyhole thing?’

  Without looking away, Elder Merakia closed her eyes before saying, “Her theonum core is having an uncontrolled reaction, and the keyhole is trying to suppress it from intensifying further.”

  ‘You mean the necklace you gave her is some kind of mechanism?’

  Elder Merakia nodded curtly. “The keyhole necklace was not originally mine, but it does exactly what it was meant to do in moments like this. This object acts as a defensive device to protect the wearer from instability. It harnesses and redirects the uncontrolled theonum energy, providing stabilization so that the wearer isn’t consumed by unbalanced effects.”

  Micah felt the weight of her words sink in. He tried to sense Elysha’s presence through the searing white glow, his mind racing. ‘That kind of reminds me of what happens during a Judgment of Jhi, you know? The more unpredictable moments like this happen, the more Mi—’

  Before he could finish, a sharp distortion rippled through the air. The clearing itself seemed to warp around Elysha’s glowing form.

  ‘—!’

  Within seconds, the pressure around him increased exponentially, and Micah felt an invisible pull pulling at him. His eyes widened as he realized the force threatened to rip every fiber of his being and into the now pitch-black center of Elysha’s keyhole object, like a vortex engulfing everything in its path.

  ‘What the—!’ he shouted, bracing himself for whatever came next, as if this might be the last time he would see the light of day.

  After a few tense seconds, silence fell over the scene and the brilliant white light Elysha had created faded. The atmosphere was heavy as Elder Merakia stood in the aftermath of the ordeal.

  Her body finally calmed from the tension, and she rubbed her eyes from the blinding light. When she adjusted her vision again, she saw Elysha collapsed unconscious on the forest floor.

  ~ ??? ~

  The scene was much quieter now, a silence broken only by a few drifting leaves and the faint hum of residual magic in the air as Elder Merakia hurried over to Elysha.

  Kneeling beside her, Elder Merakia gently placed two fingers on her pupil’s neck, relief washing over her face as she felt a steady pulse. “She’s breathing.”

  She carefully turned Elysha’s face to check for injuries, finding only a few bruises and superficial scratches. “The necklace did its job,” she observed. “It stabilized her before any permanent damage could occur.”

  ‘I have always wondered, why did she possessed such an artifact on her from the moment I found her?’ Elder Merakia thought to herself. ‘Where did it came from?’

  Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted a gray-furred Zhivopian lying on the ground in the distance.

  “Micah?”

  He’d somehow managed to break free of the bond right at the last moment. A second later he was on his feet, turning and staggering towards them, occasionally pressing a tiny paw to his temple.

  Elder Merakia attempted to help him, but he refused. “Don’t help me, Micah’s head just hurts.”

  “Are you certain that you will be fine?”

  “Micah thinks so. I think it’s an aftermath of the immense surge of theonum Micah went through.”

  Despite his discomfort, he shifted his focus to Elysha, who was lying in front of him. “Other than Micah, is she all right?” he asked, his voice tight with worry. “Did we... did we hurt her?”

  “Her theonum levels are balanced, and her heartbeat and blood flow are normal,” Elder Merakia said. “Her body and breathing has calmed down now, she will be fine. What happened has drained her of her energy, but she will recover in time.”

  Micah let out a breath he hadn’t realized he was holding. “That’s a relief to hear,” he said, slumping to his knees “Thank the Asnoiji it worked.”

  Quietly, he reached out to nuzzle her cheek. “Elysha…” he said softly, “you’ve faced yet another challenge and come through again. Rest now, good friend.”

  Elder Merakia rose to her feet and looked around the area. Her gaze traveled beyond Elysha’s unconscious form to the aftermath that lay before them. Where a section of forest had stood moments ago, it had dissolved into a flat expanse of dirt, stripped of its original color. Signs of jagged edges of torn earth, half-dissolved tree trunks, and singed branches collapsed in on themselves appeared at the edges of the explosion’s reach. Even parts of the surviving trees had lost their color, and parts of the ground were scorched in places, as if burned by some unseen force of light coming from the little girl herself.

  There were no other forms of life within sight, hopefully they too were not involved in this consequence.

  Looking at this was like being punished by the Asnoiji Himself, taking the Lord’s creation and returning it to primordial formlessness and emptiness, but only a tiny fraction of what could it possibly have been on a greater scale.

  After a long moment of taking it all in, Elder Merakia drew in a steady breath and spoke, “The power she unleashed… it had caused all of this.”

  Micah looked up, following her gaze and realizing his surroundings. “It’s…”

  His voice trailed off as his eyes took in the scenery—the natural and familiar trees and other lush greenery that had long surrounded him transformed into a field of dead earth. It loosely resembled the Lake of Ir?stos, only…

  “Gone…” he whispered, ears and tail dropping.

  He stood up and shuffled forward on shaky paws. As he approached the edge of the affected area and stared down at the colorless, gray dirt. There were no signs or remains of once-thriving plants, not even worms or any other insects. It was as if every sign of life had been swept away by the wind. He dug his claws into the dirt, and a sharp pain of loss twanged in his chest.

  “This forest…” his mumbled voice was barely audible. “It has always been where Micah lives; it’s Micah’s home. Mi… I never thought something like this could happen so suddenly.”

  Elder Merakia came up behind him and said, “Theonum can be whimsical and innocent… but it can also be incredibly destructive,” she said. “This abnormal effect is beyond anything I could have ever imagined to have happened recently since the Vikavirya incident a decade ago.”

  “But seeing it—this… this is more than Micah could ever have imagined of her,” he stammered. “How could she harbor such destruction? How can Elysha’s theonum core be so strong? And why can’t this be prevented? Micah knows there’s this keyhole thing, but thinking about this deeper doesn’t make ANY sense to me.”

  He turned to the elder mage and asked, “Hey, Micah thought you would know by now. Do you know who Elysha is and where she’d came from before you found her that other day?”

  Elder Merakia sighed, her gaze drifting toward Elysha’s still form. “I wish there was a simple answer to that question,” she admitted.

  “What do you mean you wish you had a simple answer?! Are you telling Micah that you still don’t know exactly who she is?”

  “Micah, I have searched for answers, but they are not easy to find. When I found Elysha, she already held the keyhole artifact in possession—the one that had stabilized her just now.”

  The elder mage shifted her gaze back to the sight before them. “More than that, I am relieved that the spread of the light was slow and its impact minimal, thanks to this device.”

  Then she turned fully to Micah, studying him intently and asked, “Micah, do you feel safe and unharmed? Has anything felt amiss?”

  His ears twitcheed. “Yes, Micah is fine,” he grumbled. “But why do you ask?”

  “You have seen that the massive sphere of light has a voracious appetite,” she explained. “It consumes everything in its path—from trees to even the souls of the living if they draw too near. I feared that you, too, might be lost in its grasp. Because of the unique nature of your connection to Elysha, you were spared.”

  A low growl of frustration escaped Micah’s throat. “So you’re telling me… that I was on the brink of being swallowed up by that thing?”

  “Potentially yes, it is nothing short of a miracle that you were not consumed by the light, sparing you from its devastating effects.”

  His teeth clenched. “Micah already figured that out, and it’s sheer luck that I wasn’t consumed.” He looked directly back at Elder Merakia and stated, “Micah still wants to hold onto his anger because this could’ve have been prevented earlier…”

  He glanced at Elysha—still lying motionless. His voice dropped to a lower register. “But she’s safe now, and that’s what really matters.”

  Micah lifted his eyes back to Elder Merakia and continued, “Micah wants you to promise me one thing: Promise me that you will share everything you know so that you and Micah will never have to go through something like this again.”

  “Very well.”

  He yawned, fighting the fatigue that was still gnawing at him from the ordeal. “Micah also has one last thing to say before I take a nap for the rest of the day.”

  Elder Merakia inclined her head. “Go ahead.”

  “… I can no longer place my trust in you.”

  Micah’s words hung heavily in the still air. The rift between them was illuminated by the last rays of golden sunlight from the sky.

  Elder Merakia broke the silence first, crossing her arms together. “I see. I apologize that it has come to this.”

  “You don’t have to say you’re sorry,” he said, his small frame shaking. Though his emotions threatened to rise again, he forced himself to remain calm. “Micah just—I just feel upset because I didn’t know enough. If Micah had known this was possible—if Micah had known Elysha’s theonum core could lead to all this—maybe we could have prevented it before it came to this.”

  A rueful sigh escaped Elder Merakia’s lips. “I understand your frustration,” she said. “But, Micah, try to see that I never meant any ill will. Everything I did was only because I believed it was in Elysha’s best interest—for her safety and future, and for yours. And like I said, even I didn’t expect it to happen to this degree.”

  Micah dropped his gaze to his paws, then looked at the deserted field around them. “We could still have made better decisions. Knowledge is half the battle, you see?” he retorted quietly. “Micah… Micah hates being kept in the dark.”

  Elder Merakia nodded solemnly. “You have my word that from now on I will share what I know about this incident with you—no matter what that information may be.” There was a pause before she added, “But you must also understand something, too, Micah: Sometimes knowledge carries a heavier burden than you expect.”

  “Micah doesn’t care if it’s heavy. Micah would rather carry it than stay in the dark.”

  He looked back at Elysha, still unconscious against the trunk of a blasted tree. “Micah almost lost her… we almost lost this forest—we almost lost everything. That’s not acceptable.”

  Elder Merakia’s eyes followed his. “It’s a promise, no withholding,” she repeated. Then she turned her attention back to him. “Now then, what will you do now?”

  “Micah will do what I have to do. And right now… right now, Micah is exhausted—and so are you.” He rubbed his eyes, fighting exhaustion. “We can’t settle this in one conversation. Let me rest, let me gather my thoughts, and we can talk more about this tomorrow. Micah is too tired to stay awake any longer.”

  Elder Merakia nodded once, and the tension that had been simmering between them began to ease—only to be broken moments later when Elysha’s body shook. Her features contorted as if she was tensed.

  Alarmed, they both turned their attention to her.

  “She’s coming to,” Elder Merakia said, relief in her voice.

  Elysha’s eyelashes fluttered and her mouth opened with a faint gasp. At first, only garbled syllables came out, but a second attempt brought clarity to her words. Her eyes darted between Elder Merakia and Micah, trying to piece together her surroundings.

  Micah moved closer. “Are you okay?!”

  In response, Elysha nodded weakly. She propped herself up, massaging her temples and her eyelids. Before she could say more, Elder Merakia’s arm wrapped around her in a hug.

  “… Elder Mera?”

  “You’re okay, dear child,” she soothed. “Just rest for a while.”

  Elysha watched her expression, then buried her face in her guardian’s shoulder, her lips pressed tightly together.

  Happy to see her awake, Micah let out a breath he hadn’t realized he was holding again. “Thank goodness it’s all over.”

  Elysha, in turn, noticed him for the first time since she had opened her eyes. “Oh, Micah, are you finally awake?”

  Micah blinked. “Huh? I’ve been awake. You thought I was asleep?”

  Elysha frowned, looking back and forth between him and Elder Merakia. “But I thought…?” she trailed off, pressing a hand to her forehead as though searching her memory.

  “Well, I… I guess so, but why?” A sudden realization flashed across his face. “Wait, tell me—what was the last thing you remember?”

  Elysha’s expression turned troubled. The question made her realize how empty and blank her mind felt. She looked down, her hands trembling slightly. “What…?” she swallowed hard, trying to recall. “But… what happened…? I… I don’t remember…”

  A heavy silence blanketed over them, and Micah and Elder Merakia exchanged concerned glances.

  “Wait, w-what did I…?” Elysha’s voice wavered, panic creeping in. “I was with him,” she stammered, “lost in the forest, desperately trying to impress you.”

  Tears formed at the corners of her eyes, and they trickled down her cheeks. Her words broke into sobs as she clung to Elder Merakia. “I… I don’t understand why I’m like this. What happened? Why? I just— I just—!”

  Micah watched silently. He hesitated only a moment before he moved closer and nuzzled his head against hers. Slowly, her sobs subsided, her breathing calmed, and she finally lifted her head.

  Her cheeks were pink and moist, her eyes wet and glistening with lingering sadness. In a hushed whisper, she asked the question that weighed on her heart, “… Did I do good, Elder Mera?”

  “You have done exceedingly well, dear child,” Elder Merakia said, her voice soft yet firm. “I am very proud of you.”

  Elysha sniffled, and her guardian gently brushed stray strands of hair from her face and continued, “Come now, the sun is setting. Soon, the day will be over. It’s time to return home and take a rest before dinner.”

  The little girl nodded, finding comfort in her words. “Home…”

  She slowly rose to her feet, swaying slightly. Wiping the last of the tears from her eyes with the back of her hand, she took a quick, anxious look around, the world around her appearing blurry in her vision. Though her memories still felt like a jumbled puzzle, she drew strength from the two important figures beside her.

  Together they began to walk back through the forest, the setting sun casting long shadows behind them.