The sea of dreams lay before them in every direction, but not made of water. It was magic, clean, flowing, alive. Alenya's cry caught in the back of her throat as she stepped into it with Lucifer. The air was still, and yet her heart beat more loudly than anything.
Lucifer with his hands at his back, black hair in disarray, eyes empty. Without the cloak, his presence weighed on her like the pressure of an air.
"W–What is going on here?" Alenya finally asked.
"Syrelle's Realm," Lucifer answered softly. "A sanctuary within the curve of dimensions. A place that follows me, and only me."
Before she could question more, he turned toward her. "You've relied on a mana core till this moment. That ends here."
Alenya stiffened. "You mean..."
Lucifer lifted his right hand, weaving threads of light that bent into a formation the size of his palm. Runes pulsed in rhythm, lines glowing red then white. The very air thickened around Alenya, pinning her in place.
"This will hurt you," he said bluntly. "But it will also liberate you."
The formation scraped against her chest. Her mana core burst like delicate glass in a moment. The agony ran through her veins, her body bowing as she struggled to scream, but no sound escaped her lips. Her mana core's fragments scattered into wisps of light, drawn into the formation.
When it dissolved, something else pulsed in its wake. An energy core, bright, dense, throb with synchrony to her soul.
She fell to her knees, sweat dripping down her cheeks. But then her vision cleared, and before her eyes was spread out golden letters.
---
[SOUL PAGE]
Holder: Alenya Dawnsunder
Species: Dwarf
Rank: Early Initiate
Path: Magus
Combat Affinity Class: Heavenly Swordmaster
Combat Class Skills:
[Blade Resonance] (lv.1) — Transfers sword aura soul, cutting edge beyond steel.
[Lightfoot Step] (lv.1) — Instant short-distance travel.
[Heaven Cleave] (lv.1) — Vertical slash infused with light element, able to cleave through most defensive layers.
Passive Ability:
[Swordheart] (lv.1) — Intention is honed with each strike; blade is sharpened by will's power.
Magical Core: Stable — Early Initiate
Energy Mastery: Early-Initiate
Scan: Available with Condition
[Message]
---
Alenya's lips trembled. "Heavenly Swordmaster?"
Lucifer fell to her level, his tone level. "That is the greatest your soul can achieve. Something no noble family, no marriage arranged by another, no prison could ever deprive you of."
He stood back, waiting for her to take in the words. "Now listen. You need to know what is ahead."
"To be Magus is not to wield flame or wield steel. It is to walk the path of creation itself. And this Realm? One of a thousand gates. Beyond Atherra, beyond even the Haven Cluster, lies the Western Mathiverse. Infinite worlds shaped by equations of fate and law. A world where Magi inscribe themselves into legend with their own truth."
Alenya's eyes lifted, dazed still, catching up still.
"And the Undying Exalted Union," Lucifer continued, his voice softening,
"is a gathering of individuals who would not have time or deities determine their worth. That is where I labor. That is where my foes gather, and where my allies must arise."
The words loomed above her head. She realized for the first time the weight of what she had bound herself with in promising herself to him.
Lucifer extended a hand, and a few scrolls appeared with a burst of black light, their seals humming gently. "Novice can trips. Control of light, resonance of wind, basic healing. And this—" he dropped a crystal sword-shaped trinket into her palm, "—is a lesson as your gift. The Heavenly Swordmaster isn't a style. It's an intention. Sword intention. This will get you on the right track."
Alenya's fists were wrapped around the charm, her chest rising and falling with fast breaths. "My entire life, I was directed who I'd wed, where I'd work, how high I'd go. My father doesn't consider my dreams. He wants a daughter easy for marriages. I." her eyes hardened, "I want my own guild. A guild where no one is bound like that. Where we create our own fate."
Lucifer sat there silently, watching her. And then a small, strange smile crept across his face. "A woman of pride, trying to do everything her own way. I've already told you, none of us are free in life. But what I did discover is that I like that about you."
She blinked, surprised by the admission.
He looked past her, out to the periphery of the Realm once more. "A guild, then? Fine. You set it up, I'll back you."
Alenya sensed something ignited in her.
Determined.
She nodded slightly, more to herself than to him: "Then I'll do it."
Alenya felt the instant hung between them, no master and servant, no rescuer and rescued, but two paths converging, two dreams intertwining.
And in the still, shimmering depths of Syrelle's Realm, their bargain was made.