Charter: Tangerine Forgotten Heart

[Creating the Tablet...]

[Story Found: The Last Battle of the Fire Lion Rhine]

Calcium felt like her body was filled with someone else's memory. Rain, the legendary warrior, stood in front of her in her memories. She saw how he fought, how his sword tore his enemies to shreds.…

"This is what I need!"

Her palm gripped an imaginary hilt, and suddenly a fiery saber appeared out of thin air. The opponents froze.

–What kind of magic? – One of the assassins took a step back.

Calcium grinned at him.

– The Magic of Stories. – And rushed into battle.

She moved like the elements themselves. The saber sliced through the dark silhouettes, leaving flaming trails in its wake. Lian was covering her, deftly deflecting dagger attacks.

One of the Shadow mages raised his hand, chanting a spell, but Calcium didn't give him a chance. She hurled a fiery blow forward, and the mage howled as he retreated.

–They're strong! – One of the assassins shouted.

–Retreat! – Another one ordered.

The figures began to fade into the shadows, disappearing.

Calcium was breathing heavily, holding the saber in her hands. Her body vibrated with overflowing power.

Lian spat on the floor: – Are you okay?

She nodded, even though she felt like she had used too much energy.

"System, show my status."

[Level: 5 → 6 ]

[Profession: Story Tattooist (Improved)]

[Skill gained: [Fire Story Seal] ]

Calcium smiled: – I'm not just fine. I've become stronger.

Calcium was breathing heavily, feeling the remnants of the fiery energy slowly fade away in her body. The air in the library smelled of burning, and the traces of the battle were clearly imprinted on the floor – charred boards, dark traces of shadow attacks, the smell of magic frozen in the air.

Lian put the dagger away, looking around.

–They ran away. But why is it so easy?

Calcium thought about it. Indeed, the opponents were strong, but they retreated too quickly. As if their main goal wasn't to win, but to test it.

"System, are there any magical traces left?" The answer flashed on the screen:

[Traces of teleportation have been found. ]

[Target: unknown.]

So they were just recalled.

Calcium stepped forward, scanning the room. The abandoned library had a life of its own–huge shelves stretching into the darkness, old scrolls covered with a layer of dust, and faint whispers coming from the farthest corners.

And suddenly her tattoo shone blue again.

[A magical artifact has been discovered.]

–There's something here. – She muttered.

Lian frowned.

– Don't you think you got into some ancient stuff too quickly?

Calcium shrugged and moved on. On one of the tables, among the scattered books, there was a piece of parchment. But not old and dilapidated, but new, with clear ink.

She took it carefully.

"You're following our trail. You write stories, but you don't know your own.Keep looking, and the truth will find you first."

Calcium felt everything go cold inside. Someone knew about her ability.She clutched the parchment in her fist.

·It's not over yet.

Lian sighed: – Definitely not.

Calcium read the note over and over again, but the meaning remained vague.

"They know about me… But how?"

She glanced at Lian, who had already started scanning the shelves in search of something useful. His fingers ran over the spines of the books until he came across one that looked newer than the others.

–What's this?

Calcium came closer. The book looked strange–black leather binding, no title, and a symbol that resembled the pattern of her own tattoo.

She carefully opened it, and almost dropped it. On the first page, there was a picture of... her.

Tangerine hair, blue eyes, a tattoo on her palm – it was Calcium, but in different clothes, with a more mature face and ... a terrible determination in her eyes.

Lian frowned: – Either someone is very good at predicting the future, or it's some kind of time magic.

Calcium swallowed and turned the page.

"You will find the answer in the heart of the fire.

...Look to the north."

She slammed the book shut.…

Lian crossed his arms: – Well, that's very specific, of course. The whole north is at your disposal.

Calcium rolled her eyes, but determination was already building inside her.

***

The cold air hit their faces as Calcium and Lian walked along a narrow path leading deep into the snowy forest. The north met them with a sharp wind, which made the girl's red hair flutter to the sides, like a flame ignited by a storm.

– I don't understand why everything important is always in the coldest places. Lian grumbled, pulling his cloak around him.

Calcium just grinned: – Maybe because it's harder to escape from there?

But she was uneasy.

"You will find the answer in the heart of fire."

Why then did the path lie through the icy plains?

[System activated.]

[Danger: Medium.]

[Magical traces detected. ]

[Distance: 600 meters.]

,–We're almost there. – Calcium muttered as the tattoo on her palm flashed blue again.

The path led them to the ruins of an old temple. Huge blocks of stone, covered with frost, protruded from the ground like the bones of a long-forgotten giant. In the center of the square, among the snow, there was a fragment of a black stone.

Calcium felt something constrict inside her.

Lian stepped forward, but Calcium grabbed his arm.

–Don't touch it. This is not an ordinary artifact.

Lian narrowed his eyes: – How do you know?

Calcium slowly raised her hand. The tattoo on his palm vibrated, as if reacting to the presence of the stone.

–Because he's calling me.

A light gust of wind blew the snow off its surface, revealing the strange symbols etched on it. And at the same moment, the world around him froze.

Silence.And then... a whisper.

Words rushing from the depths of her mind, words that made her blood run cold.

"You write stories, but you don't know your own..."

Calcium closed her eyes, feeling her consciousness falling into darkness.

Calcium opened her eyes. But there were no more snowy ruins and a fragment of black stone in front of her. Instead, there was a thick veil of fog, through which figures could vaguely be seen. They moved slowly, like shadows of the past, and their voices mingled in a muffled murmur.

–Where am I...? – Calcium whispered, clenching her fingers into a fist.

But the palm was empty. The tattoo pulsed with a faint blue light, but the tablet did not appear.

–You really don't know?

A voice, hoarse and filled with something ancient, came from right behind her.

Calcium whirled around.

There was a man standing in front of her. Tall, wrapped in a gray cloak with a hood hiding his face.

In his hands he held a thin parchment, on which were inscribed symbols that were all too familiar...Her symbols...

– Who are you? Calcium's voice faltered.

The figure bowed its head: – I am the keeper of what you have already forgotten once.

–What...?

But he didn't let her finish. He unfolded the parchment and read aloud:

-"The story of Calcium, the tattoo artist of fate. The one who has already lost her destiny once."

The girl's heart stopped.

–You're lying!

–Are you sure?

The fog thickened around them, and the figures in it began to move faster, becoming clearer. Calcium felt her legs go limp.

These faces…She knew them.

The girl took a step back, her head spinning.

–No... that's... that's impossible.

The Guardian smiled, and the fog around him suddenly lifted.

And Calcium saw what she should have remembered. A story she didn't write.

A story that was once erased…

//To be continued, please like and save.