บท 12: Chapter 12: Witch Of The East

Keiran adjusted the straps of his satchel as he and Lira continued down the empty streets of the eastern quadrant.

The city was a haunting sight: a onetime teeming epicenter of life that stood now in eerie silence with its cracked stone buildings, overgrown vines testifying to years of neglect.

The faint glow of the Orb of Resonance shone through the fabric of the satchel, casting their surroundings in an unearthly light as they moved forward with caution.

"Remind me again why we couldn't have waited till morning?" Lira growled low, clenching the hilt of her blade.

Keiran cast a sideways glance at her, a faint smirk tugging at his lips. "You're the one who said wraiths are most active at night."

"Exactly! So why are we out here?!

Keiran shook his head. "Because we don't have time to waste. Ella doesn't have time to waste." His voice hitched on his sister's name, but he got it right again quick enough.

Lira exhaled a soft breath; her frustration ran out of steam in a wash of compassion. "We'll figure it out, Keiran. For her. For them all."

They trudged on, the echoes of their footsteps down vacant streets; every shadow seemed twisted, every creak of distance making them jump.

This was the most perilous part of the city, a place where even the bravest dared not linger too long.

Rounding around a corner, the dim shape of a great dome-roofed building came in view. "That must be it," Keiran said, nodding towards the building.

"The scholar's place," Lira confirmed, squinting at it. The dome strangely was etched with runic carvings in an eerie glow that radiated through the darkness dimly.

"Let's hope she's friendly," Keiran muttered, though he doubted it.

Inside the Scholar's Domain

Inside, the building was just as forbidding as it had seemed from the outside. Dim lanterns danced long shadows along the walls lined with bursting shelves of ancient tomes and artifacts; it smelled heavy with old parchment and something metallic, almost like blood.

"Hello?" Lira called out; her voice echoed back off the walls.

Hunched from the shadows was this figure of a woman in wild gray hair flying about her head, and eyes that seemed to pierce their very souls. She was wrapped in some tattered cloak with symbols across it that seemed to twist when one looked upon them directly.

"You must be the ones carrying the Orb of Resonance," croaked the scholar in a firm yet raspy voice. "I felt its presence the moment you entered the quadrant."

Keiran exchanged a wary glance with Lira. "We need your help," he began cautiously. "We were told you're an expert on artifacts like this."

The scholar's eyes gleamed and flashed to the satchel at Keiran's side. "Bring it here," she said, her finger jerking toward a stone table in the room's center.

Keiran hesitated. There was something in the manner of her that put him off, yet he couldn't rightly place what. He swung the satchel off his shoulder and set it upon the table, withdrawing the orb. From within, a soft, pulsing glow illuminated all around, casting eerie patterns in the walls.

The scholar's lips curled into that mirthless smile. "Magnificent," she whispered, her fingers twitching in their gloves as if in longing to seize it and yet daring not.

What do you know about it?" Lira asked, taking another step closer to Keiran.

The scholar didn't say a word. She walked around the table, her eyes never once leaving the orb. "The Orb of Resonance is a conduit," she said finally. "It attunes to the latent potential of the bearer, amplifying his abilities. But it is not without risk."

"We already know that much," Keiran said impatiently. "The system warned me about the prolonged exposure.

The smile extended farther, showing yellow teeth. "Ah, but the system doesn't tell you everything. Prolonged exposure doesn't just change states of mind, it binds the bearer to the orb, entwines the fates with its power. You will be different, Keiran. Irrevocably."

Keiran's stomach twisted. "Different how?"

Before she could answer, a loud crash echoed from the back of the room. Everyone turned toward the source of the noise, weapons drawn.

A figure stumbled out of the darkness-a young woman with dark skin, her wrists and ankles bound in shackles that glowed of magic. Her eyes were wide with terror, her lips quivering as she whispered, "Please. help me."

The Prisoner

"Who is she?" Lira said, the point of her blade pressing into the scholar's skin.

The older woman's face darkened. "A servant. She shouldn't be here."

The young woman shook her head wildly. "No, no, I am not her servant! She is lying! She keeps me here because she is afraid of what I know!"

Keiran took a step closer. "What do you know?

Serious and intent, her eyes locked onto his. "The scholar wants to kill you. I have seen it in my visions. She fears what you will become if the orb fully attunes to you.

Keiran's blood ran cold as he turned toward the scholar, who muttered something under her breath. The symbols on the walls shone brighter, their heavy energy filling the air.

"She's lying," the scholar hissed. "A delusional child with no grasp of reality."

But Keiran wasn't convinced. He turned back to the young woman. "Who are you?"

"My name is Ada," she said, her voice trembling. "I'm. I'm a witch."

Lira snorted. "There's no such thing as witches."

"They do," Ada said with steely determination, her eyes not leaving. "And I can prove it. But you have to trust me. The scholar is going to use the orb herself, and she'll cut down anyone who gets in her way—including you."

"Enough!" the scholar bellowed, her hands rising higher. An energy wave surged towards Keiran and Lira; Angela stepped in front, shouting something in a tongue neither of them knew.

The energy dissipated, and the scholar lurched backward, her face twisted in rage.

Desperate Bond

Keiran knelt beside Ada, who looked visibly shaken. "What just happened?" he asked.

"I deflected her spell," Ada replied weakly. "But I don't have enough strength to do that again."

"How do we stop her?" Keiran urged.

"You have to connect with me," Ada said. "Your soul to mine. It will unlock my full powers, but. it's dangerous. If we fail we may happen upon deaths."

Keiran hesitated. The weight of the orb in his hand was a reminder of the stakes: Ella, Lira-everyone-counted on him.

"Do it," he finally said.

Ada nodded, her eyes filled with a mix of fear and determination. She placed her hands on his, and a surge of energy coursed through him. The world around them faded as their souls connected, their essence intertwining in a dance of light and shadow.

In an instant, Keiran had been lost in her mind, entwined as hers. He saw pieces of her life-her family in Nigeria, the coming into knowledge of her powers, being caught by this very scholar.

He opened his eyes to see Ada standing tall, chains broken, and aura raging with power.

The scholar snarled, "You fools! You don't know what you've unleashed!"

Spell

Ada moved forward. Her voice did not raise an octave: "You underestimated me for the last time."

The scholar raised her hands and started another spell, but Ada was quicker. In one word she had whispered a word in Yoruba, her tone ringing with authority:

"Di."

Everything around them just froze. The scholar and her aglow servants, their faces fixed in shock as if set by some inanimate pose. The whole eastern quadrant grew still, frosting over right from where they began devouring everything in its sight.

Keiran stared in horror at the scene before him. "What-what did you do?"

"I stopped her," Ada replied, though her voice reflected exhaustion. She turned back to Keiran, serious. "But this is only the beginning. The scholar wasn't lying about the orb-it will change you. And not everyone will want to see what you'll become."

Keiran swallowed hard, the weight of her words settling on him. "Then we'll face it together."

Ada smiled faintly. "I hope you're ready for what's to come."