Charged

Bewildered by the crystal ball, Seven had failed to notice the ball of flame flying near him, summoned by the mysterious entity through spoken words.

Since all his senses except vision and hearing were paralyzed, his mind was entirely focused on the words the entity had spoken.

He wondered if repeating those words would make the fire vanish, or perhaps summon another one. But doubt lingered in his mind. If magic could be activated simply by speaking a few words, then surely it would have been discovered long ago on Earth.

Taking a chance, he spoke the words, "Kino daxeti mio glayea." But nothing happened. No reaction at all.

Ignoring the floating flame, he picked up the crystal ball again and headed back outside, climbing the stairs step by step.

There was still something inside the right door of the balcony. He remembered this and muttered to himself, tightening his grip as he prepared for any surprise attacks.

His footsteps were cautious as he ascended the stairs, each step echoing faintly in the eerie silence.

The ball of flame, strangely enough, hadn't followed him. It remained in the room where it had first been summoned, flickering like a forgotten sentinel.

Reaching the balcony, Seven turned toward the left door, where the skeleton lay motionless.

His eyes flickered to the glowing crystal in his hand, its warmth seeping into his palm. He hesitated for a moment before deciding to place it back onto its stand.

As soon as the crystal touched the surface, something unexpected happened. Thin, glowing lines spread across the stand, weaving intricate patterns like a circuit coming to life.

They pulsed with a strange energy, crawling outward in a rapid cascade, illuminating the entire room in an otherworldly glow.

Seven's breath caught in his throat as he stumbled back, his heart pounding.

He had expected a reaction, maybe a small flicker of light, a faint hum of energy, but nothing like this. The entire room had transformed before his eyes, covered in a mesmerizing web of magical circuits.

For a moment, he stood frozen, overwhelmed by the sheer scale of the reaction.

The light pulsed, shifting like veins of raw power running through the walls, the floor, the ceiling. Was this some kind of ancient mechanism? A long-dormant enchantment now reawakened?

Seven swallowed hard, his instincts screaming at him to be on guard. Whatever he had just triggered, it was far beyond anything he had expected.

Suddenly, Seven had a bad feeling and immediately turned around.

The skeleton lay slumped against the wall, bare and motionless, its bones exposed to the eerie glow of the magical circuits.

He had already stripped it of its armor earlier, leaving nothing but the remnants of what was once a warrior or guardian.

The absence of its protective gear made it look even more fragile, just a hollow remnant of something long forgotten.

Yet, despite its lifeless state, an unsettling feeling crept up Seven's spine. It was as if the bones still held onto a lingering presence, something unseen but not entirely gone.

He shook off the thought and refocused on the glowing circuits, trying to make sense of what was happening

"Maybe the crystal got recharged with something when I suppressed that entity... or maybe it was the doing of those strange words the entity spoke when it took control over my body" Seven muttered to himself, his gaze sweeping across the now-illuminated room.

The intricate magical circuits cast a mesmerizing glow over the walls, revealing details he had previously missed. As his eyes adjusted to the sudden brightness, he noticed something in the corner—something small and unassuming, yet newly revealed by the circuit's light.

A book.

It was medium-sized, tucked away against the base of the wall, its presence completely overlooked before.

Seven hesitated for a moment, then approached it cautiously, bending down to pick it up.

The worn leather cover felt strange under his fingers, smooth yet cold, as if untouched for ages.

Flipping it open, he expected to find ancient writings or detailed arcane knowledge, but instead, he was met with something completely unexpected.

The pages were filled with vibrant illustrations, colorful yet faded with time. It was a children's picture book.

However, the text accompanying the images was written in an unfamiliar, indecipherable language. The symbols looked nothing like any script he had ever seen, twisting and curling in ways that felt unnatural, almost alive.

He traced a finger over the faded ink, wondering what kind of story it once told.

Was it just an ordinary book, or did it hold some hidden significance? And why was it here, in this eerie place?

With a sigh, he closed the book and placed it back on the ground before stepping outside to check the rest of the structure.

Despite the dazzling glow of the circuits in the room he had just left, the rest of the place remained unchanged, cold, dark, and silent.

The other rooms were still shrouded in shadow, their mysteries locked away in the depths of the ruin.

Only this room shone as if it alone had awakened.

This time, Seven decided to investigate the foul smelling, pub like room. His curiosity gnawed at him, and despite the stench that assaulted his senses, he pushed forward.

The door creaked ominously as he opened it, and the heavy, musty air hit him like a wall. Holding his nose in an attempt to block out the overwhelming smell of stale alcohol and damp wood, he hurried inside, determined to study the room as quickly as possible.

The flickering light from the glowing circuits didn't reach this far, casting the room in eerie shadows.

A haze of smoke, real or imagined, seemed to cling to the air, making everything feel heavy and stale. The walls were lined with wooden shelves and tarnished bottles, some broken, others half-full of liquid that had long since soured.

A few rickety tables were scattered around, their surfaces warped with age, and old chairs sat crooked, as if abandoned years ago.

Seven's Sports boots crunched softly on the dust-covered floor as he moved cautiously toward the bar. The bar itself was worn, its once-polished surface now scuffed and chipped, the wood darkened with age and neglect.

A few empty glasses rested on the counter, their presence a quiet testament to the room's once lively nature or perhaps to someone who had been here long ago.

As he scanned the room, his eyes caught something new,a door behind the bar, hidden from view at first.

It was slightly ajar, its frame carved with intricate but faded designs. Seven's mind raced.

A back exit? he thought.

Maybe it led outside, or perhaps to something more secret. There was something off about it like it wasn't just a simple door.

He approached it, ignoring the grime and the smell, and pushed it open gently, trying not to make too much noise.

The hinges squeaked a little, but the door opened with ease, revealing a dark passageway behind it, long and narrow, stretching beyond the reach of the dim light from the main room.

Before Seven could investigate the darkness behind the door, the rancid smell of decaying food hit him hard. His stomach turned, and he stumbled back, gasping for air. The stench was unbearable, and without thinking, he ran out of the room, desperate for fresh air. 

He paused in the hallway, breathing deeply, trying to calm his racing pulse. The world outside the pub felt much clearer, though the strange glow from the other room still lingered in his mind.

Instead, Seven decided to visit the floating flame ball underground first. The sight of it had intrigued him greatly, especially considering his intellectual curiosity about magic.

It was a rare and fascinating phenomenon, something he hadn't encountered before.

With his mind buzzing with possibilities, he moved quickly toward the room with the dead beast, eager to understand its origin and purpose.

The flame was unlike anything he had seen, and his need to uncover its secrets overpowered the unsettling atmosphere surrounding it.