Blood and Ashes

The air in the hidden chamber thickened, pressing down on Levi's chest as her blood mingled with the grimoire's magic. Her hand was still outstretched, palm pressed against the open book, the sigil on her wrist burning fiercely as if it had a life of its own. The room around her flickered—shadows twisting and warping—until the world blurred and snapped into focus.

The stone floor beneath her feet gave way to a vast, desolate landscape. Levi staggered, her vision spinning as she tried to ground herself. The wind was fierce here, biting with the chill of centuries.

She was no longer in the hidden chamber. She was in another time.

Around her, the air smelled of burning wood and ash. Far off, the red moon loomed in the sky, casting its eerie glow on the barren earth. Levi's breath hitched as she realized—this was Salem. This was Eloria's time.

A voice echoed in her mind, sharp and clear:

"I am Eloria."

She turned, finding herself face to face with a figure wrapped in blackened robes, a woman whose features were both foreign and intimately familiar. Her eyes, dark and determined, locked onto Levi's with a knowing look.

Eloria's lips parted, speaking the words as if they were meant for Levi alone:

"The fire will burn until the last of us falls. But the blood will awaken again, as it has before. You must remember, child."

Suddenly, Levi was no longer standing. She was falling, through endless stretches of time, glimpses of Eloria's life flashing by in fragmented images: the flames of the burning pyre; Eloria standing at a stone altar, hands raised high as a circle of witches chanted; a man with sharp, ancient eyes watching from the shadows; and finally, a red sigil—burning into Eloria's palm.

Levi gasped as she tumbled back to the present, the grimoire's weight heavy in her lap. Her fingers twitched, still trembling from the power of the vision. She blinked and found herself back in the hidden chamber, the book now closed in front of her.

The sigil on her wrist burned bright, but now, it whispered.

Remember what was stolen.

Levi's mind was reeling. She had seen Eloria's final moments, the years before her death—her struggles, her power, and the choices that led to her downfall. But the most haunting part was the connection—that there was something more, something important, buried beneath the layers of history and time.

Her blood had unlocked something deep inside the grimoire. And it wasn't done yet.

The city had never felt so small. Rue Pendragon stood atop the club's rooftop, eyes closed, letting the night air whip through his hair. He had been listening to the rhythm of the world—the pulse of magic that hummed through every street, every alley. The city's veins were alive with it, but tonight, something was different.

A tremor.

A shift in the very fabric of reality.

Rue's eyes snapped open as the sensation crashed over him, a crackling surge of power that rattled his core. He staggered, gritting his teeth, his heart pounding in his chest as the magic lanced through the air like a blade.

It was a magical explosion, raw and untamed, and it was coming from the university.

The grimoire.

Levi.

Without a second thought, Rue was already moving—his form dissipating into smoke and shadows, melding with the night. He could feel it in his bones, the urgency pulling him like a tether. Levi's awakening had been inevitable, but this—this sudden burst of magic—wasn't just a result of her power manifesting. No. It was something else. Something deeper.

He moved through the city faster than human eyes could track, a whisper in the dark, until the familiar stone walls of the university came into view. The magic was stronger now, intensifying as he neared.

Rue's eyes narrowed. It wasn't just any magic. It was ancient, dangerous, and tied directly to the very thing Levi was waking up to—something that had slumbered for far too long.

By the time he arrived at the hidden chamber beneath the library, the air was thick with power. The sigil on his wrist—a mark of his ancient bloodline—began to glow in response to the surge. He pushed the heavy door open and entered.

Levi was kneeling in front of the grimoire, her face pale and eyes wide. Sweat clung to her brow as if she had just emerged from the depths of a vision. The book was still open in front of her, the ancient pages fluttering with energy, and the faintest traces of blood—her blood—streaked across the surface of the parchment.

Rue's heart skipped a beat as his gaze locked onto the sigil burned into her wrist. He had seen that mark before. Not on any mortal. Not even on any witch.

Eloria.

The name rang through his mind like a bell struck too hard. Eloria's magic had reawakened, and Levi was at the center of it. Rue's throat tightened, both from a surge of protective instinct and the deep, gnawing understanding that things had just escalated beyond his control.

"What have you done?" Rue whispered under his breath, stepping closer to Levi.

Levi's head jerked up, her eyes unfocused at first, as if she hadn't even noticed him enter. But when she saw him, the recognition was immediate.

"You… You felt it too?" Her voice was raw, tremulous, but there was a weight in it now—something different than before. A knowing.

Rue nodded, his face hardening with concern. "That was no ordinary awakening. What the hell did you see?"

Levi's gaze shifted to the grimoire, still humming with dark energy. "Eloria. Her past. Her death. It's all in here. I... I don't understand. I saw things—her life, her choices, and..." She faltered, looking down at her palm where the sigil still burned.

Rue's expression softened for the briefest moment. "You're connected to her. In ways neither of us fully understand yet."

Levi shook her head, frustration bubbling up. "No, Rue. This isn't just about Eloria. The magic—it feels like it's calling me, like it wants me to do something. Become something. But I don't know what."

Rue clenched his fists, stepping closer, his voice low and urgent. "You don't have to do anything, Levi. Not until you're ready. But you need to be careful. This is bigger than either of us."

The room seemed to pulse with energy, and Rue could feel the weight of ancient forces at play, pressing down on them both. He wasn't sure what it all meant yet—this sudden burst of magic, the connection between Levi and Eloria, or the dark forces now circling them.

But one thing was certain: the calm they had known was over. The storm was coming.

Prairie had always been good at being invisible.

She was the quiet one, the observer, the girl who faded into the background even when she didn't want to. She never asked for attention—never craved it. So when she noticed Levi slipping away from campus one afternoon, Prairie's curiosity got the better of her.

It wasn't just Levi's sudden disappearance that intrigued her—it was the energy she felt. Something in the air had changed since Levi's return from the library that morning. It wasn't just a strange vibe—it was magic. And Prairie had a peculiar sensitivity to it. She'd felt it before, but never so intensely. This time, it felt like a crack in the world, a doorway opening to something she couldn't quite name.

Now, as she followed Levi through the winding, almost forgotten paths behind the university, Prairie kept her distance. Her shoes barely made a sound against the cobblestone ground, and her heart raced in anticipation of what she might find.

She had seen Levi do strange things lately—things she couldn't explain. And the more Prairie observed, the more certain she became that Levi was hiding something from her. But why? They were friends, after all. Or at least, they had been. Prairie wasn't sure anymore.

Levi moved with a sense of purpose, her head down, her footsteps quickening as she neared the entrance to the hidden chamber beneath the library. Prairie hesitated at the entrance, staying just out of view. She didn't want Levi to notice her. Not yet. She had to know what was going on. She had to see it for herself.

As Levi stepped into the dimly lit room, Prairie inched forward, finding a crack in the wall through which she could peer inside. Her breath caught as she saw Levi kneeling before the grimoire, its pages shimmering faintly with an eerie glow.

Levi's hand hovered above the book, her fingers trembling. Prairie's pulse quickened in response. Something was happening, something bigger than she could understand. And then it happened—right before her eyes.

The grimoire began to shift. At first, it was subtle—just a soft, shifting of the pages as if stirred by an invisible breeze. Then, without warning, the book snapped open on its own, its pages flipping rapidly, the words on the pages glowing with an ancient, pulsing light.

Prairie's breath hitched as she instinctively stepped back, afraid of being caught, but her eyes were locked on the scene. She couldn't tear her gaze away.

The room was thick with the magic now, an oppressive force that seemed to echo through the chamber's stone walls. Prairie could feel it, a presence that made her skin prickle and her heart race. But it wasn't just the magic. It was something else—the raw, unrelenting power that surrounded Levi.

She watched as Levi's hand reached for the book, and with a touch, the sigil on her wrist flared to life. Prairie's stomach twisted, her pulse quickening in response. What was Levi becoming? Who was she becoming?

The question burned in Prairie's mind as she continued to watch from the shadows, caught between fascination and fear. She had always known Levi was different, but now... now she wasn't sure who or what Levi really was.

The grimoire continued to glow brighter, and Levi's expression shifted from confusion to something darker, more resolved. Prairie's breath caught in her throat as she realized just how deeply her friend—no, her companion—was entwined in something she didn't fully understand.

Prairie knew one thing for certain now: the world was changing, and Levi was at the center of it.