A few days later:
Tia sat on her bed in the encompassing silence, her legs folded neatly beneath her. Her eyes, glinting with the faint energy swirling within them, traced the single glowing rune in the opened book's pages that rested on her lap. As her hand hovered just above the paper, a soft, almost electric energy danced across her skin, sparking with the rhythm of her heightened senses.
She funneled the energy, her focus unyielding, into the mental construct of the rune, mimicking the pulsating energy patterns detailed in the magic grimoire.
The air around her seemed to vibrate with unseen forces. Then, as if breaking through an invisible barrier, a single rune emerged, glowing ethereally within her outstretched hand. Its faint and mesmerizing light flickered like a hesitant flame, casting enigmatic shadows across the dimly lit room.
Ding!
//
You have learned the new apprentice witch magic rune: Self
Reward:
+2 MAG
//
Tia sighed in relief, knowing that her efforts over the past few days had finally paid off.
'Novice, apprentice, initiate, master, grandmaster, and archwitch.' Tia silently recited the tiers of witchcraft, a hint of a smile tugging at her lips as she acknowledged her steady ascent through these ranks.
But her moment of self-reflection was abruptly shattered. A sudden, jarring tremor coursed through the ship, sending faint yet unmistakable vibrations through the floor and into her bones. Above her, the crystal chandelier swayed gently, its crystals tinkling like distant bells.
'What in the world?' Tia's brow furrowed in confusion. She had grown accustomed to the steady hum and the unwavering stability of the massive imperial spaceship, making this anomaly all the more disconcerting. She stood up, her book forgotten, as she strained her senses to interpret the source of the disturbance.
The quaking subsided, dwindling to a subtle, almost teasing vibration. It was faint, yes, but to someone with senses as keen as Tia's, it was as evident as a stormy sky. Her mind raced with possibilities, each more troubling than the last.
'Either something big hit the hull, or there is something wrong with the reactor, or engines were started.'
Then the ship lurched violently—a tempest of unseen forces. Chandeliers clashed, their crystals screaming in dissonance. Objects hurled from shelves, shattering against the floor. Tia stumbled her heart racing, but instinctively steadied herself.
Without wasting any more time, she hurled herself forward, telekinetic energy surging from her core, a forceful wave propelling her toward the door. 'I won't be a sitting duck,' her thoughts a rapid-fire resolve.
Doors blasted open before her, an unspoken command from her urgent mind. She rocketed into the corridor, the sleek black marble a blur beneath her. Her eyes scanned both sides, quickly searching for any anomalies.
Guards in black armor lining the marble walls looked around, their poise crumbling under uncertainty.
'Yup, this is something abnormal.' Tia realized this while her pulse was drumming in her ears. There was neither an alarm nor a sound of explosions, yet her intuitions screamed at her that something was wrong.
'To the bridge!' She didn't know what was happening, but she knew the best place to head was the bridge, the very brain of the entire ship.
Tia burst into flight, her telekinetic powers lifting her from the ground. She soared down the corridor, her platinum blonde hair and black coat billowing behind her like a comet's tail. The marble beneath became a mere streak of grey and black as she accelerated, her focus laser-sharp.
'This is the main corridor; down it, I should reach the command center.'
She never visited the bridge, yet she still took care to remember the general outline of the ship's layout in case of an emergency.
As Tia flew down the wide hallways, a sudden purple flash caught the corner of her eye. Instinctively, she pivoted, her senses heightened in the face of imminent danger.
The armed soldier in the black imperial armor aimed squarely at her, pulling the trigger with a reverberating metallic clack.
Tia's instincts kicked in as she threw her gloved hand forward, a barrier of solidified telekinetic energy materializing in front of her just as the purple light in the rifle's barrel reached its peak and the high-energy particle ray sliced through the air.