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Morning arrived softly, without haste. Sunlight filtered through the gaps in the shutters of "Shelter: Version III," dancing across the walls in warm patches. Violetta opened her eyes slowly, stretching like a cat and letting out a deep yawn—one of those rare moments when sleep brought silence instead of nightmares.
“Good morning, Violetta,” the Sphere said tonelessly, hovering nearby. “ENVIRONMENTAL TEMPERATURE: 19 DEGREES CELSIUS. PRECIPITATION PROBABILITY: 0%. DECRYPTION OF FOUR ADDITIONAL PAGES COMPLETED. DATA UPLOADED TO VISOR.”
“Mm-hmm...” she nodded, still shaking off the remnants of sleep.
She changed into fresh clothes and stepped outside. The air was crisp but pleasant. The sun warmed her face, the trees rustled softly, and birdsong echoed from the nearby thickets. Violetta sat on the porch, tapped several icons on her VISOR, and opened the newly decrypted pages.
“Air magic, huh?” she mused. “Let's test it.”
Stepping into her clearing, she extended her hand. “Wind’s Breath!”
Faint eddies of air swirled around her palm, emitting a low whistle. They compressed into a translucent sphere and hissed forward, dissipating a dozen meters away.
“Hmph. Could be worse,” she remarked, brushing dust from her sleeve. “Let’s try fire.”
She chose a nearby boulder as a target to avoid a forest fire. Concentrating, she raised her hand and commanded: “Fireball!”
What manifested near her palm was far larger than she expected. A brilliant orange orb, glowing from within like a living creature, pulsed in rhythm with her heartbeat. The fire flickered like a candle in the wind but looked wild, predatory—as if it wanted to consume everything.
“Whoa, whoa, whoa!” Violetta flinched. The sphere tore from her hand, bypassed the rock, and slammed into dry grass and tinder.
The flames ignited instantly, hissing as they devoured the brush.
“WARNING: UNCONTROLLED COMBUSTION DETECTED. SELF-PRESERVATION PROTOCOLS RECOMMENDED.”
Violetta panicked, thrusting her hands forward. “Water Bolt! Water Bolt! WATER BOLT!” she screamed, manifesting multiple holographic projections and dousing the fire with both hands.
The earth sizzled, and smoke billowed toward the sky. Finally, the fire died, leaving a scorched black scar on the ground. Violetta sat on the dirt, gasping for air. The Sphere began its analysis.
“RECORDED: HIGH AFFINITY FOR FIRE ELEMENT DETECTED. PROBABLE TYPE: INSTABILITY OR PHANTOM FLAME. FURTHER OBSERVATION REQUIRED FOR ACCURATE CALIBRATION.”
The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
“I’ll pass,” she grunted, wiping her brow. “I need a safer place for this.”
“AFFIRMATIVE,” the Sphere replied. “ADDITIONAL DATA: ZERO ADVERSE SYMPTOMS RECORDED FOLLOWING MAGICAL EXERTION. PER THE MANUAL, MANA USAGE EXCEEDING 50% CAUSES TOXICITY SYMPTOMS. CURRENT VITALS: STABLE. HYPOTHESIS: EXCEPTIONALLY VAST MANA RESERVES, OR SUBJECT’S MAGICAL ARCHITECTURE FUNCTIONS ON A FUNDAMENTALLY DIFFERENT PRINCIPLE.”
“Different?” Violetta looked at her palm. Is there nothing human left in me? Or am I just a machine in a human shape?
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Violetta gathered her things. Deconstructing her shelter, she moved deeper into the forest. In one hand, a holographic "Water Bolt" circle spun. She was re-analyzing its structure. The manual described several variations: one ring increased velocity, another increased mass, a third extended range.
Violetta wanted to forge her own perfect spell-ring. She scrutinized the symbols, calculating their interference patterns and sequencing them to squeeze maximum efficiency from every drop of mana. Gradually, she began to feel the mana changing as it flowed through the sigils—an indescribable sensation of interaction. It was something that could only be felt.
As she transitioned from coniferous to mixed forest, the hologram continued to spin. Only one parameter remained: form. Violetta didn't want a basic sphere anymore. She considered a teardrop shape—hydrodynamic, with optimal drag. The Sphere interjected softly:
“HYPOTHESIS: TEARDROP GEOMETRY IS SUB-OPTIMAL AT HIGH VELOCITY WITHIN DENSE ATMOSPHERIC LAYERS. PROPOSAL: DUAL-FORM ARCHITECTURE. SUBSONIC: ELONGATED TEARDROP. SUPERSONIC: CONICAL GEOMETRY TO MITIGATE SHOCKWAVE INTERFERENCE. ADDITIONAL RECOMMENDATION: REINFORCED LEADING EDGE FOR STABILITY AND PENETRATION.”
“Ugh, fine, you smart-aleck bubble, you win,” Violetta murmured with a ghost of a smile.
She didn't notice she had stepped into a sun-drenched glade until she was surrounded by blue flowers, glowing with a soft, bioluminescent light. Violetta froze. Her jaw slowly dropped. She knelt, plucked a flower, and brought it to her face. Its subtle fragrance triggered a sudden, sharp memory.
“In my world... I read a book about a silver-haired elf. Her favorite spell created a field of flowers... in memory of a friend...”
She didn't realize a tear had rolled down her cheek until it fell. For the first time in a long time, it wasn't a tear of pain.
“NEW SPECIMEN ARCHIVED,” the Sphere announced.
“I wish I knew a spell like that...”
“DECRYPTED DATA CONTAINS NO RECORDS OF A ‘FLOWER GLADE’ ENCHANTMENT.”
“Buzzkill,” Violetta smiled weakly. She looked up, and then she saw IT.
High above the horizon, amidst the clear sky, a silhouette emerged like a fragment of a nightmare—a gargantuan shadow gliding across the clouds. She didn't understand what she was looking at immediately, but something about it was... familiar.
“What...? What is that?” she whispered.
“ANALYZING,” the Sphere said quietly. “UNKNOWN SPACE STATION... CORRECTION. TARGET IDENTIFIED AS STARSHIP. SIGNATURE CORRESPONDS TO ASCARI EMPIRE TECHNOLOGY. ERROR. UNABLE TO ESTABLISH UPLINK. FURTHER DATA REQUIRED.”
The Sphere projected a hologram showing two ships orbiting the planet, but something was missing.
“ANALYSIS INDICATES TWO ANALOGOUS VESSELS IN ORBIT. HOWEVER, POSITIONING SUGGESTS AN INCOMPLETE FORMATION. A THIRD VESSEL IS ABSENT.”
Something stirred in Violetta’s heart: hope, fear, and a dark premonition. Something ancient and powerful still lingered on this planet. And perhaps, something was still alive up there.
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