Tridra stood at the dusty chalkboard plastered to the attic wall, her arm moving in fluid motions as she drew out rows of intricate symbols. The faint sound of chalk scratching against the surface filled the small room. I sat in an old wooden chair behind her, watching her quietly.
"These are Runes," she said, stepping back to admire her work. The chalkboard was now filled with 84 distinct symbols. "The language of magic. Just like there are constants in this world, such as pi, these Runes are constants too. They make up a sliver of what we know as magic."
I smirked, leaning back in the creaky chair. "I would've never guessed you were this smart. This is… impressive." My tone was teasing, but there was truth in my words.
Tridra turned her head, smirking at me over her shoulder. "I attended the Royal Magic Academy for a bit," she said, her voice casual. "Got kicked out, though, after stealing something important to the headmaster. But that's beside the point."
She faced the board again, her energy bubbling over. "I've been studying these lately. I think I can expand my charm magic by relearning the basics. With knowledge like this, nobody would question my status as a guild leader once all our preparations are done."
Excitedly, she grabbed a rag and wiped the board clean, leaving behind faint traces of dust. She began sketching magic circles, her strokes as precise and deliberate as ever. As she worked, her enthusiasm lit up the room. But then, as if driven by a sudden curiosity, I asked, "I never asked… why do you want to create a guild?"
Her hand froze mid-stroke. Slowly, she lowered her arm and turned to me. "I was part of a guild called the Black Trumpet." Her voice softened, and the energy in the room shifted.
The name struck me like a blow, and my eyes widened. Before I could speak, she continued, "As you must know, that guild has fallen, or at least my branch in the capital. Royal Attendant Stegertath had been plotting our branch's demise for a while—or that's what I've heard." She paused, her fingers tightening around the chalk. "The people there… I thought of them as family. Especially him. Lox." Her voice wavered, and I noticed how tightly she clutched the chalk now, her knuckles pale.
"He was my best friend… and my lover," she admitted. "It took me a long time to admit he was dead since I never saw him die with my own eyes. But when I finally did…" She trailed off, closing her eyes briefly. "I realized just how important he was to me."
The room felt heavier with each word. "I began to think," she went on, her voice steadier now. "What if I had people like that again? People as important as him in my life, but without the threat of ever going under. What if we did something good for the world, rather than taking from it?"
She turned and walked toward me, her steps slow. Standing behind me, she wrapped her arms around my shoulders in a loose embrace. "I want to be a better person," she said, her forehead resting gently on my shoulder. "But I know deep down how scummy I can be. I mean, look around." She chuckled softly, gesturing to the piles of stolen treasures surrounding us. "I still haven't gotten rid of everything I've taken."
Her voice dropped to a near whisper. "So, please… help me. Please help me, Ophelia."
I didn't respond right away. Instead, I lifted a hand and placed it lightly on the back of her head, running my fingers through her hair in a comforting gesture. A faint smile touched my lips, one she couldn't see.
…
(Present Day)
Tridra's voice broke the tense silence, the words leaving her mouth like a soft, defeated whisper. "Ophelia… please help me."
Ophelia slowly turned around, her gaze sharp, calculating. She blinked once, twice, and it felt like time itself froze as her cold stare pierced Tridra. For a moment, it was as if the air had thickened with ice. Tridra's spine straightened, but her legs wavered as she corrected herself.
"Duchess. Please help me. I beg of you."
Ophelia's expression remained unchanged, her eyes narrowing just slightly. "What exactly do you want me to help you with?" Her voice, though soft, carried an unsettling weight. "Your branch is gone. Your people are likely dead. Is there truly anything left to help you with?"
Tridra's mouth went dry, her jaw dropping as the weight of her words sank in. "You... You knew? Were... Were you the one who tipped them off about the location?" Her breath caught in her throat.
Ophelia's gaze turned cold, her tone calm as ever. "Royal Attendant Stegertath is thorough. From the moment you entered that prison, your memories had been recorded. It was only a matter of time before all of this happened."
Tridra sank to her knees, the floor beneath her feeling far colder than it should. The realization hit her hard. Ophelia had been orchestrating this all along, using her as a pawn, however…
"He got me," Ophelia muttered, lightly clenching her teeth. "He saw through me. From the moment I met with Kachi, he knew my entire plan."
"What do you mean?" Tridra asked, her voice barely above a whisper.
Ophelia's voice softened, but there was a steel edge in it. "I intended to use you to gain access to the Black Trumpet. They would have been useful for me down the line. Stegertath anticipated that, so he decided to eliminate them from the capital."
As the words sank in, Tridra froze, her mind racing.
From the sole bed in the room, Alexandra, who had been silent until now, spoke up. Her voice was light but carried a teasing undertone. "So you're saying you lost?"
Ophelia turned, her lips curling into a faint smile. "Yes, but this whole game wasn't just about the Black Trumpet. I had something more to gain. The only difference between Stegertath and me is power. I lost because I lacked it."
Without another word, Ophelia stood and gestured for Tridra to follow. Confused but too weary to resist, Tridra did. The trio made their way out of the room and down the hall, eventually arriving at Ophelia's office. Alexandra remained behind, leaning against the doorframe, watching as the conversation continued.
Ophelia sat down at her desk, opened a black suitcase, and placed it on the table. Inside was a delicate black flower with an eerie green stem.
Tridra eyed it cautiously, still unsure of what was happening. "What do you need this for?"
Ophelia's expression remained unreadable. "I need you to charm me," she began. "For the next few minutes, I can not afford to feel pain. This flower, when consumed, will reinforce my constitution. But the pain is... unbearable. Even for me."
Tridra hesitated the weight of the request pressing down on her. "For what reason?"
Ophelia's voice was firm, though there was a softness behind it. "You will see soon enough. Can you do it?"
Tridra looked at the flower once more before asking, "You trust me this much? Or is there something else you know that I don't?"
Then, suddenly, Tridra's eyes caught a vision of a subtle smile. A warm smile. It was so warm that Tridra felt her heart skip a beat.
"Sigh… Okay… I have no choice either way…"
As Tridra raised her hands, preparing to perform the charm, a sword suddenly appeared at her neck. Alexandra's voice was sharp, threatening. "If you pull anything funny, I won't hesitate to end you."
Tridra gulped, feeling the heat of Alexandra's warning like a physical weight. Despite the fear gnawing at her insides, she did as Ophelia had asked. The violet glow from her eyes seeped down her arms and fingertips, encircling Ophelia in an ethereal light. A subtle, invisible magic took hold as Tridra's fingers brushed lightly over Ophelia's skin, her concentration breaking through the tension in the room.
Tridra's vision blurred for a moment. The familiar sense of a massive wall in her mind suddenly crumbled, and she was thrust into the darkness. What she saw on the other side startled her—an intricate, black-and-blue mass that churned like a storm of thoughts and feelings. Her breath caught as she strained to understand what she was seeing.
Before she could make sense of it, her vision snapped back to reality. Ophelia had swallowed the flower, her face contorting slightly at the taste. She continued to swallow, eyes closing for a brief moment as she sank back into her chair.
The air in the room thickened as a viscous black substance began to seep from Ophelia's pores. It glistened under the dim light, sliding down her arms and legs in sluggish, undulating movements. Wherever the goo touched her clothes, the goo disintegrated into a faint black smoke, leaving the garment unscathed moments later. When the substance reached the floor, the same phenomenon occurred—a momentary hiss of contact, then smoke rising and vanishing into the air.
The scent was faintly metallic, almost like burning iron, but it dissipated just as quickly as the smoke. The black substance continued to drip, pool, and evaporate in a rhythm that seemed almost alive, pulsating with each breath Ophelia took.
For nearly a minute, the strange substance consumed the space around her, evaporating as quickly as it emerged. Then, suddenly, the flow ceased. Silence filled the room, broken only by the faint hum of lingering magic in the air.
Ophelia slowly opened her eyes. They glimmered faintly, a silver sheen covering the pupils, giving them an almost ethereal glow. She raised her hands, turning them over and inspecting her palms. A faint grin tugged at her lips, her expression both satisfied and calculating.
Her fingers flexed, testing the new strength coursing through her veins. Whatever had just occurred, it had changed her—refined her. The air around her felt thick, heavy with an unfamiliar energy that wasn't there before.
.
[You have absorbed a foreign substance]
[Your constitution has been slightly altered]
[The drawbacks of your Mana-Touched race have been removed]
[Kinesthetic Intelligence: 1 → 25]
.
"How does it feel?" Alexandra asked, lowering the sword from beside Tridra's neck.
"My base stats have definitely increased… but I feel like I have much better control over my body. I feel like I can flex most of the muscles in my body," Ophelia muttered and in an instant, from her fingers to her forearms, each one of her muscles rippled like a wave before she muttered to herself… "Interesting."
.
[Your Parasite is reacting to the foreign substance]
[Both the Parasite and the foreign substance are clashing]
[Only one thing can dominate your body…]
[Searching for solutions before the complete breakdown of your body]
[Solution discovered!]
[Both the Parasite and the foreign substance are now merging]
.
[Congratulations! Your Parasite has evolved!]
[A new Trait Adaptation has been created]
.
Seeing this, Ophelia immediately opened the parasite sub-section of her status.
.
[Sub Section - Parasitic Growth]
[Origin: Survivor of a Forgotten Civilization]
[Stage: 1 - Bonding] (9% Until Breakthrough)
[Synchronization Level: 15%]
[Memories Embedded: Fragmented]
[Current Adaptations: 1/3]
[Adaptation 1: Hardened Dermis - A passive enhancement that temporarily activates with [Parasitic Hardening], reinforcing your physical durability.][Adaptation 2: LOCKED][Adaptation 3: LOCKED]
[Trait Adaptations: 1/1]
[Adaptation 1: Liquid Mercury - A passive enhancement that temporarily activates with [Parasitic Hardening], making your hardening poisonous and more flexible.]
.
Suddenly, a piercing headache tore through her skull. A sharp groan escaped her lips as she clutched her head, squeezing her eyes shut against the pain. The glow of her status flickered and disappeared, leaving her in the dim light of the room.
Alexandra was at her side instantly, her movements swift but steady. "Seems the charm has already worn off," she said, her tone calm but firm. She slid an arm under Ophelia's and helped her stand. "Let's get some rest."
Ophelia nodded faintly, her breaths uneven as the throbbing in her head dulled to a low ache. Alexandra supported her as they walked, her presence steady as they navigated the quiet corridors of the estate.
In the meantime, Veronica, the maid, guided Tridra to a different wing of the estate. The room they entered was the same one Tridra had initially teleported to. The sight of the lavish furnishings—the grand bed, the marble walls, the dark red curtains—brought a flicker of relief to her weary mind.
Veronica gave her a polite nod. "A shower has been prepared. Please let me know if you require anything else."
Tridra didn't answer immediately, too drained to offer more than a curt nod. Once Veronica exited, she headed straight for the bathroom. The warm steam and the gentle scent of lavender filled the air. She shed her dirtied clothes and stepped into the shower, letting the hot water cascade over her.
For the first time in hours, her thoughts stilled. The grime and sweat of the day swirled down the drain as the water soaked her hair and washed over her skin. Despite the exhaustion clinging to her muscles, the simple act of cleaning herself felt like a small victory.
Once out of the shower, her damp hair clinging to her shoulders, she wrapped herself in a soft robe and waddled back to the bed. She sank into its plush embrace, not bothering to dry her hair completely.
Soon, the weight of the day pulled her under as soon as her head hit the pillow, and sleep claimed her without resistance.