Eiji had learned two important things that night:
1. Talking goats were terrifying.
2. Mischievous elementals were even worse.
The glowing-eyed goat, who insisted on being called Sir Nibbles, led Eiji to a hidden grove on the outskirts of Grimbriar. Small, flickering lights darted between the trees—clearly the livestock thieves.
Eiji gulped. "Okay… so I just… confront them?"
Pyra floated lazily above his head. "Yes. And if you die, don't bother asking me to resurrect you. I'm not your babysitter."
Eiji waved the scroll dramatically. "By the power of… uh… this scroll, I—"
Immediately, a puff of green smoke shot out, hitting a tree that promptly sneezed itself into a pile of leaves.
Sir Nibbles groaned. "This is going to be a long night."
The elementals—tiny, mischievous creatures that looked like living sparks of energy—giggled and zipped around, stealing more magical cows, goats, and even a floating loaf of enchanted bread.
Eiji swung his arms wildly. "Stop! I'm the Oracle! I… uh… predict your doom!"
The elementals paused, stared at him, then laughed louder. One zipped around his head and zapped his scroll. Sparks flew. The scroll glowed bright, then… the entire grove lit up in a rainbow of chaotic magic.
Eiji sneezed again. Pyra groaned. "And the prophecy comes true… by accident. Of course."
Suddenly, a shadow loomed above. A hooded figure appeared, stepping through a shimmering portal.
"You're meddling where you don't belong, Oracle," the figure said, voice deep and calm. "The Shadow Guild doesn't take kindly to… accidents."
Eiji froze. "Wait… Shadow Guild? Already? We just met!"
Pyra flicked sparks at him. "Yeah, welcome to your life. Running into mysterious, vaguely evil organizations is just Tuesday now."
Before Eiji could react, Sir Nibbles batted the hooded figure in the shins. The figure yelped and stumbled backward into a bush.
Eiji blinked. "Uh… did I… help?"
Pyra floated above his head, looking unimpressed. "No. But technically, yes. And now you're officially on the Guild's radar. Congratulations."
Eiji groaned. "I just wanted to deliver a prophecy about missing goats… and now I'm a target for some supervillain guild. Fantastic."
The elementals giggled, Sir Nibbles rolled his eyes, and Eiji realized… this was going to be a very, very long night.
But despite the chaos, he couldn't help but feel a strange thrill. Somewhere in all this madness, his "unlucky" visions were pointing him toward something bigger than he had ever imagined: a mystery that could shake the very foundations of Zorynthia.
And for better or worse, he—Eiji Sora, the Accidental Oracle—was right in the middle of it.