Chapter 16 – The Gift of Luminaris
𓆩⟡𓆪 ❂❂❂ 𓆩⟡𓆪
The siblings walked out from the Queen's presence, their duo pose leaving the Queen proud of her children.
Preparation for their journey to Earth had begun.
"So, should we get Earthly clothes along with your gift?" Nyra asked, the dog padding lazily behind her.
"Oh no," Damon replied, hands tucked in his coat. "If she sees me like this, she's more likely to believe me." His eyes fixed forward.
He tilted his head slightly toward her. "You can change if you want, though."
"Shouldn't she trust you regardless?" Nyra teased, her tone light but her gaze curious.
Damon smirked. "When you see Earth, you'll understand why Woewyn seems impossible."
"Damon!" Hazel's tiny voice called from behind. He didn't turn.
"Wait for me! Your legs are too fast!" she complained, flapping quickly until she landed on his head with a small thump.
"Stay safe," the Queen called softly from behind them.
Damon didn't look back.
"No promises," he murmured.
𓆩⟡𓆪 ❂❂❂ 𓆩⟡𓆪
"So where are we getting this present?" Damon asked as they stepped beyond the castle's silver gates.
"I know just the place," Nyra said with a mischievous grin.
"We're not going to the Shrine of the Unspoken, Nyra," Hazel warned.
"C'mon, give me some more credit," Nyra replied — a slightly sinister smile tugging at her lips.
They passed through the glowing streets of Woewyn, where children played with streams of light and merchants displayed artifacts humming with dormant power. Twilight flooded the sky like radiance forced into a diamond— beautiful, alive, and endless.
They stopped before a building that looked as though it had been forged between dimensions.
"Coilveil Crucible?" Damon asked, trying to read the floating letters.
Nyra smiled. "Precisely. Home of Zarnik the Graftwright — the best of the best."
The Crucible wasn't just a forge. It was a fracture in reality — half lab, half temple, all chaos. Walls pulsed with molten glyphs that whispered like broken stars. Tools floated and rearranged themselves midair, reacting to the moods of the people inside.
And at its heart stood Zarnik Coilveil, sleeves rolled, apron stained with stardust and ink, his grin somewhere between brilliance and madness.
"Well, well," he said, setting down a hammer made of pure resonance. "The little terror returns. And you've brought the prince."
"Hello, Zarnik," Nyra greeted with a bright smile.
He chuckled. "You still haven't finished the project I gave you."
"Project?" Damon asked quietly.
Hazel floated closer. "Nyra's been learning to craft from him. He treats her like a daughter."
A small smile traced its way onto Damon's face. Good, he thought. At least there are people who care for her.
The dog looked up at him, catching the thought, and quietly agreed.
Zarnik wiped his hands and extended one reluctantly. Damon, without hesitation, offered his first.
"I never thought a prince would greet me like that," Zarnik admitted.
Damon shrugged. "You're a craftsman. Titles don't change respect. I give honour to whom honour is due."
Zarnik smiled faintly. "I'm starting to like the prince. Fair enough."
Hazel waved. "We're here for a gift."
"A gift?" Zarnik asked, his eyes glinting. "For who?"
Nyra jumped in. "For a girl— Damons lover."
Damon sighed. "She's not my lover."
Zarnik grinned wider. "Then I know exactly what to give your lover."
"She's not" Damon facepalmed.
The dog smirked. "Not for long."
Damon groaned. "You too?"
Zarnik disappeared into the back, muttering to himself, then returned with something wrapped in cloth.
He placed it on the table gently, like it was alive.
"This," he said softly, "is the Shard of Luminaris."
The air changed.
He unwrapped it — revealing a crystal that shimmered as if it contained trapped starlight. Within it, tiny constellations shifted and collapsed in slow motion.
"It was born from the collision of two celestial cores — Light and Void — during the Confluence War," Zarnik explained. "They annihilated each other, but one fragment survived. This one."
Damon reached forward, fingers brushing its edge — and it came alive.
The shard pulsed, sliver bleeding into gold, veins of violet sparking like electricity through its form.
"It's… alive?" Damon whispered.
Zarnik's eyes gleamed. "To most, it's just crystal. But for you? It seems to remember something."
When Damon held it longer, he felt a breeze stir inside him — cool, clean, almost kind. It moved through his arm like light pretending to be blood.
"What does it do?"
"For normal people," Zarnik said, "nothing. For special people like you? Even I don't know."
Damon smiled faintly. "Then I'll have to find out."
"This shard is arguably the hardest thing I've ever had to find" Zarnik stated.
He set the shard back down. "You're brilliant, Zarnik. If I can repay you somehow—"
Zarnik waved it off. "Just keep living long enough for me to brag about knowing you."
But Damon wasn't finished. "Forgive me if I sound greedy but I need something else"
"Do you… have anything that can bring back lost memories? Someone with Alzheimer's or something similar." Damon added.
Zarnik paused, studying him. "Lucky you. I was just about to restock. Only one vial left."
Damon reached into his pocket and pulled out a small bag of gold coins. Hazel blinked. "Where in the stars did you get that?"
He gave her an innocent smile.
Nyra sighed. "You stole it from Varnex, didn't you?"
"How'd you know that?" Damon asked surprised.
"Because Varnex is the only one that carries this kinda bag around"
"How would you know that if you hadn't tried to steal from him before" Damon asked lowering his head to his sisters.
"That's besides the point" she said pushing his face. "Why did you steal it?"
Damon grinned. "He threatened to kill me in training. I'm just… redistributing karma."
Zarnik laughed. "You're full of trouble, boy. I guess its in the blood."
He handed Damon the vial. "No payment needed. Consider it a gift — for the kind of man who still tries to heal others."
"You've shown me a lot of hospitality Zarnik, thank you. If you ever need my help do not hesitate to contact me. I hope we can work together in the future."
They shook hands again before leaving.
"Finish your project soon," Zarnik called to Nyra.
"Yeah, yeah," she said, waving goodbye.
𓆩⟡𓆪 ❂❂❂ 𓆩⟡𓆪
Outside, the night was still alive. The city glowed brighter than before, as if aware of the relic in Damon's hand.
"Is it always this busy at night?" he asked.
"Time runs differently here," Hazel replied. "Our nights end later… our dawns come slower."
They stopped at a small stall — its roof lined with floating lanterns and soft blue flame.
"Prince Damon!" the merchant gasped, bowing.
"How's business?" Damon asked with a kind smile.
"Blessed as always, my lord."
Damon nodded. "I'll take a silver chain fit for a lady."
The merchant brought out a necklace — silver rope, with a small dragon clasp that glimmered faintly under the lights.
"Perfect," Damon said, flipping the merchant a few coins.
Then he turned to Hazel. "So… how are we getting there?"
Hazel smirked. "The usual way."
They walked to a field with healthy grass. Hazel using her eterna tried to create a portal.
She did but it weakened her drastically.
"What's wrong with her Nyra?"
"Only a few people can create portals and it takes a heavy toll on their energy" Nyra explained. "Hazel is one of those people, despite being a fairy she has a large amount of eterna reserves but it still takes a toll on her" she added.
The air rippled before them — a portal swirling open. Radiant and celestial, formed by concentric purple rings etched with arcane symbols and anchored by a blazing central star illuminating the cosmos around it.
Stunned by its beauty, Damon whispered "Woah." He looked at it for a while.
There was happiness in his eyes. But also the quiet kind of fear — the kind that never leaves someone who's seen too much.
He stretched out his hand for Hazel telling her to rest in his pocket on his attire.
"Ready?" Nyra asked.
"Always," he said softly.
They stepped through — together.
𓆩⟡𓆪 ❂❂❂ 𓆩⟡𓆪
They crossed through.
And stepped into Earth.
Nyra looked around — eyes wide, her wonder caught between awe and confusion.
Everything was… quiet. Too quiet.
The moon hung far away, clouds drifting lazily across its face. The air wasn't as clean as Woewyn's; it felt heavier, tired somehow. The buildings were lifeless, dull. She touched one, tracing the rough stone. Almost no warmth, pulse, or energy. Except in the plants.
She frowned. "Everything feels… empty."
Damon glanced around too. "You're not wrong. The only thing close to eterna energy here is what the Chinese call chi. But it's not something they can control. Just… sense. Barely."
Hazel tilted her head. "And how do you know that?"
"When you put the pieces together from what mom said" Damon said, his tone half-serious, half-playful, "you just know."
Hazel fluttered toward a swing nearby — metal chains, wooden seat. She tugged one experimentally. "What's this?"
"Grip the ropes tight," Damon said to Nyra asked Hazel to hold her hair. "But not too tight—"
Snap.
The rope tore clean off. Nyra blinked. "Oops."
Damon chuckled, fixing it by melting them together with his light eterna. Then he pushed her gently, the swing creaking forward and back, forward and back. Hazel's tiny laughter filled the air as she swayed higher.
"It feels like flying!" she shouted. "Like I'm going to the moon and back!"
Damon smiled faintly. "This is just a dull part of Earth. There are better views."
"How did you even use your light just now?" Hazel asked.
"I dunno...I just did"
Hazel hopped down, dizzy but thrilled. Nyra's curiosity, however, hadn't faded. "So… where does this girl live?"
"Not far," Damon replied. "But—"
Before he could finish, Hazel interrupted, "Isn't night on Earth supposed to be no visitor time?"
Damon only smirked. "Then let's be fast."
He crouched. "Catch me if you can."
In the blink of an eye, he was gone. Sprinting. Leaping from rooftop to rooftop — silent, quick, controlled.
"Too fast!" Hazel yelled, darting behind him.
Then a blur of white flashed past. Nyra.
"Try to keep up, big bro!" she laughed, dashing ahead effortlessly, wind whipping her hair.
Damon blinked, annoyed but impressed. "Hold on— you don't even know where you're going!"
She grinned, holding up the dog in her arms mid-run. "But he does!"
The dog barked, tongue flapping wildly in the wind.
"Oh, really?" Damon said, smirking. "Then let's see who gets there first."
Hazel, clinging desperately to his hair, shouted, "It's just a friendly competition! Slow dow— AHH!"
But Damon only grinned wider, the thrill catching him. "You better hold on tight then!"
He dove between rooftops, cutting across narrow alleys, Hazel's wings fluttering wildly behind his head. When he vaulted back up, he could already see it — Natsuki's window, the light from her room.
She's awake, he thought, relief softening his features.
But on the opposite rooftop, Nyra was already there — sprinting hard, dog tucked like a comet in her arms.
Both launched forward at once.
One heartbeat. Two.
Damon reached first — barely — his hand brushing the window's edge. Nyra tried to kick his hand off, but he twisted midair, redirecting her leg just enough to keep her from falling.
"Respect your elders," he teased, holding her steady.
"You cheated first!" she snapped, whisper-yelling as her voice cracked mid-protest.
"Shhh," Damon hushed her. "People are sleeping."
The dog wagged his tail proudly. Hazel, clinging to Damon's collar, looked like she might faint.
Then the window slid open.
Natsuki stood there — eyes wide, stunned.
"...Damon?"
Her gaze darted from him to Nyra hanging beside him, to the dog, to the tiny glowing fairy on his shoulder.
Her jaw dropped.
The silence between them said it all.
𓆩⟡𓆪 ❂❂❂ 𓆩⟡𓆪
End of Chapter 16 – The Gift of Luminaris