Reclaimed Crown
Present~
Seraphina felt suffocated.
As always, Asher bore the brunt of her storms—her silence, her intensity, her spiraling magic.
The library still smelled like her mother: aged parchment, lavender ink, and a faint trace of starlight. As Seraphina stepped inside, memories brushed against her like wind through old pages.
Notes clung to the tomes, each in Selena's delicate, slanted handwriting. There was hardly a magical text not housed within these walls. The Demaselene Library rivaled even the High Towers—perhaps even Uncle Sylvio's, though his collection had grown considerably in the last nine years.
Pixies flitted silently across the beams, weaving fresh enchantments. Their wings shimmered like frost, pulsing with a quiet, rhythmic beat.
Seraphina inhaled deeply, letting the magic of the room fill her lungs, and made a decision.
It was time to sharpen her magic.
Magic wasn't theory. It was discipline. Presence. Control.
A pixie descended, its wings humming like harp strings, and asked her book choice in ancient Sylvan.
Seraphina smiled and gave her request.
On a large oak table, they laid her belongings. One book shimmered beneath her fingers—a thick teal tome trimmed in gold, with a compass rose on the cover, centered by softly glowing blue gemstones. She opened it.
"Magic Encyclopedia."
The first page read: Introduction to Soul and Magic.
Her fingers brushed the parchment as her mother's voice echoed in her memory:
"A mage's affinity determines the color of their magic. Though countless soul hues exist, only a few are truly rare: the Rainbow's seven-color Soul and the Four Royal Colors—Black, White, Silver, and Gold."
She flipped to the next page.
Chapter Two: Rare Magic Colors & Their Highest Powers
Purple – Dream, Mind, Arcane
The Weaver of All Paths – Reshapes any form of magic.
Blue – Water
The Voice of the Abyss – Commands seas, storms, and marine life.
Light Blue – Wind
The Breath of the Horizon – Governs weather and skies.
Green – Nature, Earth
Held the World by Hand – Life, death, magic nullification, and control over all magic.
Yellow – Light, Holy
The Blade and Shield of Heaven – Divine protector and punisher.
Orange – Life, Vitality, Healing
The Flame of Renewal – Heals, lifts curses, even resurrects.
Red – Fire, Blood
The Burning Oracle – Sees the future and controls fire through blood.
Black – Death, Forbidden
The King of the End – Necromancy, curses, and shadow control.
White – Moon, Purification
The Light of the Hidden Realm – Nullifies even green magic; unveils all.
Gold – Fate, Time
The Hand of the Divine Clock – Alters destiny, rewrites time.
Silver – Spirit, Illusion, Astral
The Mirror of All Worlds – Bends reality and bridges the soul realm.
For two months, Seraphina remained in the Demaselene Mansion. Her days were devoted to studying, and her nights to combat drills. Her green hair lightened. Her eyes shimmered like crystal.
She poured herself into her green magic.
Her mother had once warned:
"A soul's strength depends on its purity—or its darkness. The purer or darker it becomes, the more dangerous it is."
Her power surged beyond its former limits. Within her, the enchanted forest of her soul flourished—its branches, roots, and glowing leaves pulsing with the spirits tethered to her. Wisps danced around her fingers. She gathered each spark.
Her mother's voice whispered:
"Green is the essence of all magic—the earth's lifeblood. It holds the power of a mage… or the spirit of a deity—Mother Earth herself."
Animals neared her. Birds circled in silence. Trees bowed, leaves rustling with reverence.
Then the shift—subtle but dark.
Vines lashed. Roots curled with hunger. Her magic began to spiral.
She steadied her hand, eyes closed.
"You must wield it with balance," Selena had cautioned. "One careless act and everything around you could be drained—left to desolation."
Seraphina exhaled slowly. Stillness returned.
Control began in the mind.
She learned to hide her color, mask her affinity, and void her magical presence. Yet even veiled, the world responded to her. Nature obeyed.
"It can nullify and command all elements of nature."
When other magics approached—fire, wind, water—she redirected them with effortless grace, harmonizing without conflict.
Outwardly, she appeared as a noblewoman tending her estate. Inwardly, she tracked and countered magical ripples with precision.
Another memory pierced her thoughts:
"If the mage is unprepared, the very forces they wield will consume them."
Just like her.
She pushed further, dabbling in Silver magic, astral and illusory. She layered her soul in illusions, hiding herself in echoes of memory. Her essence became presence and absence at once.
The longer she remained… the more powerful she became.
A storm builds in silence.
She entered the second level of illusion magic. Her soul trapped itself in a mirrored maze of memory. If she could escape, she would master it.
Flashback: Age Five – First Awakening~
The enchantments Selena had crafted for years shattered like glass.
Seraphina collapsed.
Selena raced toward her and then froze.
The woods were glowing with spell boxes, not toys. Seraphina had unknowingly forged a soul pact with the entire forest.
An ancient, nameless force had submitted to a five-year-old.
Demonic stood beside her, stunned.
"She didn't summon a creature," he whispered. "She bound the land itself."
Her tiny body trembled with shallow breaths. Blood glistened on her lips. Her skin was pale as moonlight.
Selena's hands shook as healing magic bloomed at her fingertips—only to dissolve before touching Seraphina's skin like mist vanishing at dawn.
"She did the impossible," Dominic said, jaw clenched. "And it nearly cost her everything."
"She shouted at an archmage the other day," he added quietly.
Selena's voice broke. "We… we were discussing draining the forest. Some believed it had become unstable. A danger."
She knelt beside her daughter.
"She wasn't angry. She was… protecting it."
Seraphina hadn't regained consciousness.
Rain fell softly, but only on her as if the forest itself mourned.
Magic recoiled from her. Light bent around her. Her body pulsed with untouchable green magic—alive, sovereign.
The forest had not harmed her.
It had chosen her.
And in doing so, it had hidden her, even from herself.
Present~
Seraphina opened her eyes.
The illusion fractured.
She summoned her sword, woven from wood and steel, gleaming with the forest's heart and the astral sky.
With one swift motion, she cut through the illusion.
A pulse of light tore through the soul maze.
Magic bowed to her—no longer spiraling, no longer wild.
She stood still in the quiet aftermath, soul whole.
Seraphina had passed the threshold.
Master of illusion.
Master of herself.