I took a deep breath, eyes fixed on the swirling fragments of warped reality still hovering around me. The air hummed with unstable magic, curling in unnatural patterns, bending space like a distorted reflection in rippling water.
This was fine.
Completely fine.
I just needed to suppress an unknown, catastrophic, reality-breaking magic before my mothers decided I was too dangerous to be left unsupervised. No pressure.
Sylvithra's voice was calm but firm. "Steady your breathing. Focus inward."
Verania, standing slightly behind her, cracked her knuckles. "Or, and hear me out, if that doesn't work, we just set something else on fire as a distraction."
Sylvithra didn't even look at her. "We are not committing arson to fix her magic."
Verania shrugged. "Worked last time."
Sylvithra sighed.
I closed my eyes, trying to drown out my mothers' increasingly questionable problem-solving methods. The magic inside me wasn't chaotic in the traditional sense. It wasn't raging or wild. It was just… there.
Waiting.
Not destructive, not creative just rewriting.
A force that didn't obey normal logic.
Which was deeply concerning.
I exhaled slowly, concentrating on pulling it inward.
For a moment, nothing happened. The weight of the magic remained suspended around me, shifting, folding into itself like a living thing. The palace walls still flickered at the edges, parts of reality twisting in and out of place.
Sylvithra frowned. "It is resisting you."
"Yes," I muttered. "I noticed."
Verania leaned against a piece of floating debris, completely unbothered by the fact that it should not be suspended midair. "Try something else. Maybe threaten it."
Sylvithra gave her a look. "It is not sentient."
"Are we sure about that?" Verania gestured vaguely to the shifting space around us. "Because it looks like it's having thoughts."
Sylvithra ignored her and turned to me. "You are overthinking it. Magic is an extension of the self. It follows will, intention. Do not try to fight it command it."
Command it.
Right.
I could do that.
Probably.
I squared my shoulders, steeling myself. My magic was mine. Not something foreign. Not something separate.
Just an extension of me.
I reached inward, fingers twitching at my sides, and focused on pulling.
The magic shuddered.
Reality rippled in response, like the entire palace had taken a deep breath. The fragments of broken space hovering around me tilted slightly, shifting toward my hands.
Verania raised an eyebrow. "That looks either very good or very bad."
Sylvithra watched closely. "She's gaining control."
Something in my chest clicked.
The magic twisted inward and then collapsed.
A rush of air swept through the room, pulling the last traces of distortion back into me. The floating debris clattered to the floor. The warped space snapped back into place. The oppressive weight in the air vanished.
For a long moment, I just stood there.
The palace was no longer flickering out of existence.
Nothing was floating.
Nothing was bending.
I let out a breath, tension draining from my body. "Oh. That actually worked."
Verania crossed her arms. "Told you. Threats work."
Sylvithra ignored her. "How do you feel?"
I took a second to assess. My magic was still there, still heavy beneath my skin, but it was contained. The weight of it had settled, no longer trying to twist the world into something else.
I rolled my shoulders experimentally. "Like I probably won't accidentally destroy the castle again."
"Good enough," Verania declared.
Sylvithra didn't seem entirely convinced, but she nodded. "For now, you will need to continue practicing. You cannot afford to lose control of something this powerful."
That was concerning.
But before I could ask exactly how bad my magic was on the danger scale, one of the royal attendants stepped into the destroyed remains of my room. He paused, taking in the absolute disaster before him.
His face didn't change.
His eyes flickered to Verania, then Sylvithra, then finally to me.
Then he took a very slow, very careful breath.
"Your Majesties," he said, tone perfectly neutral, "the council is requesting an audience. There are… concerns."
Ah.
Yes.
That made sense.
Considering my mothers had just fought an ancient sealed entity, obliterated part of the palace, and publicly demonstrated the kind of power that could wipe out civilizations, I could imagine the council had a few questions.
Verania groaned. "What now?"
Sylvithra turned to me, her expression unreadable. "Rest for the evening. Tomorrow, you will begin magic control training."
I sighed. "Can't wait."
Verania ruffled my hair before turning to leave. "Try not to level anything while we're gone, little one."
"No promises."
They both exited the ruins of my room, leaving me standing in the aftermath of my first accidental magical catastrophe.
Mara, who had remained completely silent this entire time, poked her head out from behind an overturned chair.
"So," she said, dusting herself off. "That was horrifying."
Elira, still clutching what remained of her dignity, exhaled. "That was beyond horrifying."
Mara nodded. "Should we be worried that your magic can apparently break reality itself?"
I considered that for a moment.
Then shrugged. "Probably."
Mara sighed. "Of course."
Elira just covered her face with her hands. "I need a raise."
I flopped down onto the remains of what had once been my bed, staring at the ceiling.
The day had been exhausting. My body ached, my brain felt fried, and my nerves were still recovering from the realization that I had almost rewritten reality by accident.
Just as I was about to close my eyes, the system chimed.
[ Magic Control Update: Abyssal Requiem ]
Current Mastery: 2%
[ Analysis: Your ability to suppress catastrophic magical destruction has increased. However, current control is still at a dangerously low level. Please refrain from triggering another existential event. ]
I squinted. "Two percent? That's it?"
[ Correct. You are slightly less of a walking disaster now. Progress. ]
I groaned, rubbing my temples. "Right. Okay. Since we're here, why don't you actually explain this magic instead of just dumping catastrophe in my lap?"
The system hummed before another screen popped up.
[ Abyssal Requiem: Full Overview ]
• Nature: A reality-warping force that operates outside conventional magic. It does not destroy or create it alters.
• Elements: This magic allows control over all elements not as separate forces, but as fundamental aspects of existence. Fire, water, earth, air, light, darkness, void, time, space everything can be rewritten within its influence.
• Potential: Unknown. No recorded limit exists.
• Risk Factor: Catastrophic. Current wielder's control is insufficient to prevent unintended distortions.
[ Warning: The more this power is used, the more unstable reality becomes. Handle with care. ]
I froze.
"Wait. Wait, wait, wait. You're telling me I can manipulate every element? Even things that aren't elements?"
[ Correct. You are now a danger to the laws of existence. Congratulations. ]
I sat up, heart pounding.
This wasn't just magic.
This was power beyond reason.
And I had barely tapped into it.
Mara, watching from a safe distance, tilted her head. "You just made a face."
I swallowed. "Yeah. Yeah, I did."
"Bad news?"
I let out a slow, steady breath.
"Let's just say… I need to be really, really careful from now on."