“Elora!” Elaine’s voice pulled her from her thoughts.
It reminded Elora of a memory she hadn’t thought about in years.
When Elora was nine years old, Gareth and Elaine Veyne arrived at the orphanage looking to adopt a child.
They weren’t nobles or wealthy, just ordinary people who owned a small bookstore in town.
Elaine was kind and soft-spoken, while Gareth rarely talked much but always carried a calm presence.
Compared to the orphanage, their home felt warm and comforting.
For the first time in years, her life felt normal.
Elaine brushed her hair before school every morning and gently scolded her whenever she forgot to eat because she was too busy reading.
Gareth occasionally brought old storybooks home from the shop, pretending not to notice whenever Elora secretly stayed up all night finishing them.
The surname “Veyne” slowly became her own, but the strange incidents continued, following her even after she left the orphanage.
One afternoon at school, a group of older students tried to pull the necklace from Elora’s neck while mocking her for wearing it every day.
The moment one of them touched the pendant, every desk in the classroom suddenly slid across the floor.
The teachers called it an accident, but rumors spread quickly after that.
Things only grew worse as Elora got older.
People stopped sitting near her, and even Gareth and Elaine slowly began to change.
They weren’t cruel about it, which somehow made it worse.
They still fed her and spoke politely, pretending everything was normal, but the little things became impossible to ignore.
Elaine no longer rested a hand on her shoulder as she walked past.
Gareth began pausing outside her bedroom at night whenever strange noises came from inside.
Sometimes Elora caught them whispering quietly in the kitchen after they thought she had fallen asleep.
She noticed all of it.
So she learned to speak less, avoid attention, and take up as little space as possible.
She had always believed her life would remain small and uneventful.
She would continue helping around the bookstore, avoiding unnecessary attention while pretending not to notice the growing fear hidden behind Gareth and Elaine’s careful smiles.
The future felt predictable in the worst possible way.
Until one rainy evening, the letter arrived.
A black envelope sealed with silver wax appeared at the front door without explanation.
The emblem pressed into the wax was Arcane Academy’s, the most prestigious magical institution in the country of Aksara.
The entire neighborhood believed it had been delivered to the wrong family.
Arcane Academy rarely even looked at commoners, and invitations were reserved exclusively for children born into established mage bloodlines.
Noble families spent years preparing their heirs for the entrance evaluations, hoping their descendants would one day be acknowledged by the academy.
Elora had neither status nor known origins.
No one even knew who her real parents were, yet the invitation carried her name.
Neither Gareth nor Elaine looked relieved when they saw the letter.
They looked terrified.
Even so, they allowed her to go.
No…
Elora realized later they wanted her to go.
Today marked two weeks before her departure.
Elora slowly opened her bedroom door and walked toward the kitchen, where Elaine’s voice had come from.
Elaine busied herself wiping already clean cups, avoiding Elora’s gaze.
She finally broke the silence while staring at the rain beyond the window.
“When do they expect you to arrive?” “In two weeks.” “You should start preparing soon,” Elaine said softly without turning around.
“Yes.
I’ll start today.” She nodded once before falling silent again.
The conversation ended there, and neither of them knew what else to say.
Arcane Academy was the kind of opportunity most families celebrated.
Parents would boast about it for years.
Neighbors would gather just to hear the details.
Yet inside the Veyne household, the invitation felt more like mourning.
“…Are you afraid?” Elora asked quietly before she could stop herself.
Elaine remained silent.
For a long moment, the only sound inside the house was the rain tapping softly against the windows.
Finally, she forced a small smile.
“Of course not.” Those were the words that came out of Elaine’s mouth, but the unease written all over her face told Elora otherwise.
Elora looked away before the silence could become even more uncomfortable.
She already knew the truth anyway.
People were always afraid eventually, and she had accepted that long ago.
Still, a small part of her had wanted to believe Gareth and Elaine might be different before she left.
That night, she packed quietly in her room while the storm raged outside.
She didn’t own much—a few books, several sets of clothes, and a small wooden box.
She used to keep the pendant safely inside it when she was younger, afraid of losing the only thing her parents had left behind.
Somehow, over the years, the necklace had simply become a part of her.
She was packing the last of her belongings when she suddenly paused.
For a brief moment, she thought she heard something beneath the sound of the rain outside.
It was distant and faint, like a voice muffled behind thick walls.
Elora frowned.
“…Hello?” Only the rain answered.
She stood still for a few more seconds, listening carefully before shaking her head.
“…I must be imagining things.” She returned to packing, though the uneasy feeling lingered long after the strange sound had faded.
Her eyes drifted to the academy letter resting on the table.
She reached for it, her fingers brushing over the broken silver seal pressed into the dark paper.
Even now, the emblem of Arcane Academy felt unreal.
The moment her fingers touched the silver wax, a familiar pulse traveled through the necklace around her neck.
Her hand froze.
Again…
A gentle warmth spread through the dark crystal resting against her chest as a faint crimson glow flickered from within, just as it had earlier that morning.
The glow lasted only a few seconds before slowly fading away.
Elora frowned and wrapped her fingers around the pendant.
“What is happening to you…?” She still had no explanation for why the necklace had begun reacting.
She had hoped what happened that morning was a one-time occurrence, but clearly, it wasn’t.
Slowly lowering her hand, she glanced at the small wooden box tucked inside her suitcase.
She lifted the pendant closer to the nearest lamp and examined it carefully.
Nothing happened.
The crimson glow was gone.
The necklace looked completely ordinary again.
Strange…
Somehow, she had a feeling this wasn’t the last time the necklace would react.
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