Upon receiving the full course of the Lunarian Principle, Aurora's growth surged beyond anything she had imagined. The power she wielded during her rampage, the very same that earned her the title of Calamity, now felt distant, crude, like a child grasping at something far beyond her understanding.
She raised her hand slightly, watching frost gather at her fingertips. Mana flowed effortlessly, coiling through her veins like it had always belonged there. It no longer felt like something she had to force or chase. It responded. It listened.
The cold she produced now… it wasn't just cold.
It was quiet.
Still.
It reminded her of that moment. Sealed in ice, watching everything slow to nothing.
"…This is different," she murmured under her breath.
"Hey," Aster called, already turning toward the exit. "Let's step outside for a bit. Outside the coven."
Aurora blinked, snapping out of her thoughts, then followed without question.
The moment she crossed the threshold, her breath caught.
A vast, endless plain stretched before her, blanketed in white flowers blooming beneath a silent, silver moon. The petals shimmered faintly, each one reflecting light like fragments of glass scattered across the ground. A gentle breeze moved through them, creating soft ripples, like waves across a frozen sea.
Behind them stood the coven hall.
A towering geode of amethyst, jagged and immense, its crystalline structure riddled with openings where moonlight poured through in radiant beams. The light refracted within, casting faint violet hues across the surrounding field.
Aurora stood still.
For a moment, she forgot to breathe.
"…What is this place…?"
"Dimension Bubble," Aster said casually, slipping his hands into his pockets as if this wasn't anything special. "A space-element spell I created years ago. Took me ages to design."
He glanced back at her, a hint of pride slipping through his otherwise relaxed tone.
"Lunarium. That's what I call this place. My coven hall… and everything around it."
Aurora slowly stepped forward, her shoes brushing against the flowers. They didn't bend like normal plants. Instead, they resisted slightly, firm yet delicate, as they existed somewhere between physical and magical.
"It's… endless," she whispered.
"Technically, it's not," Aster replied. "Walk far enough, and it loops you back. Space is folded in on itself here."
Aurora didn't fully understand—but she didn't need to.
This alone proved it.
Charlotte… no—Aster…
He wasn't just breaking rules.
He was rewriting them.
Behind her, she felt it. The subtle shift in mana. When she turned, Charlotte stood there once more. The familiar form. The witch the world feared.
"Why don't we spar?" Charlotte said, a smirk tugging at her lips.
Aurora hesitated.
"I don't—"
Her words stopped midway.
No.
There wasn't a need for hesitation. This was an opportunity. Her lips slowly curved into a smile.
"Very well… Charlotte."
Charlotte's grin widened, clearly pleased.
"But no Absolute Ice," she added, raising a finger. "I don't want you encasing yourself, or me, just to prove a point."
Aurora let out a small breath.
"…Understood."
"And we'll only use Ice Spike."
Aurora blinked.
"We?"
"Yep." Charlotte raised her palm, forming a small shard of ice effortlessly. "I'll only use your spell."
Aurora felt something stir inside her chest.
Excitement.
If even a simple spell could look like that in her hands…
Then what could she do with it now?
"So… you start—"
Aurora didn't wait.
A massive spike erupted beneath her feet, launching her forward with explosive force. The air cracked as she accelerated, wind tearing past her ears. Just before reaching Charlotte, another spike formed beneath the first—extending, elevating, destroying her ice spike.
Aurora moved at the last possible moment. The tip passed just beneath her chin.
"Smart," she said, clapping lightly. "Using a spike as a foothold… good instinct."
Aurora didn't stop.
Spike after spike shot forward. It was much larger, sharper, and faster than before. They tore through the air with deadly precision.
And yet—
They shattered.
Every single one.
Aurora's eyes widened. She couldn't even see what Charlotte was doing. There was no visible counter. No clear defense.
They just… broke.
When she paid more attention, she saw small and numerous ice spikes floating about. It sliced and diced the ice spike Aurora had sent. She knew in theory that spells can be interpreted depending on how the user sees them, but clearly, she had seen enough.
This wasn't even ice spike anymore. It was an entirely different spell based on the ice spike.
Panic crept in.
She raised both hands, summoning a massive spike overhead and slamming it down. Then another. Then several more.
Each one collapsed into fragments before landing.
"Too obvious."
Charlotte's voice echoed through the glittering dust.
Aurora's breath hitched as the shards slowly settled.
Then she saw it.
An umbrella of rotating ice spikes hovered above Charlotte, spinning slowly, precisely.
Controlled.
Deliberate.
With a flick of her finger, the spikes launched, flying towards her in bizarre motions.
Aurora reacted instantly, raising a wall of ice in front of her.
She braced.
…Nothing.
"…What?"
A split second later—
Impact.
Spikes struck from the front, shattering her guard instantly. One stopped just inches from her face, hovering there. Close enough that she could see her reflection in its surface.
Then it dropped harmlessly to the ground.
"You would be dead if this weren't a spar. Focus. Again," Charlotte said calmly. "Experiment. Be creative."
She tilted her head slightly.
"You're thinking like a noble witch… or worse, a caveman."
Aurora clenched her fists.
Despite the cold, sweat ran down her temples.
All that power. And she couldn't even land a hit.
She closed her eyes.
Think.
The umbrella… it wasn't just defense.
It delayed.
Redirected.
Controlled timing.
Her breathing slowed.
When she opened her eyes again, something had changed.
She moved.
This time, her trajectory wasn't straight.
She angled upward, rising instead of charging forward.
Charlotte's smile widened, sharper now, more dangerous.
"How exciting…"
Aurora reached a high point and formed a platform beneath her feet. From above, she unleashed a storm of smaller spikes, thin, needle-like, compressed. Just like how Charlotte made.
It was also faster, sharper, and more precise.
Charlotte raised her umbrella—
Then paused.
Large spikes formed around her, locking her in place. Above, below, all sides, layered attacks, overlapping trajectories.
For the first time—
She was forced to defend seriously.
A wall of spikes formed, encasing her in a cage-like dome.
Silence.
Then—
Everything hit at once.
The impact rippled through the field, flowers trembling from the force.
For a brief moment—
Nothing moved.
Then Charlotte stepped forward, smiling.
Wide.
Unsettling.
Aurora felt it.
She was learning.
But not enough.
Charlotte launched upward, mirroring Aurora's earlier movement. Every spike Aurora fired was intercepted, dismantled mid-air with frightening precision.
Closer.
Closer.
Then—
A thin spike pierced Aurora's foothold.
It shattered instantly.
Aurora fell.
When she came to and opened her eyes, she was back on the field, the white flowers swaying gently beneath the same unmoving moon.
Charlotte stood beside her, completely unharmed.
"You were close," she said lightly. "Closer than I expected."
Aurora exhaled slowly, staring up at the sky.
"…But not enough."
"No," Charlotte agreed. "Not yet."
Aurora pushed herself up, brushing off her clothes.
Then she smiled.
"I'll get there."
Charlotte chuckled.
"Witch of Absolute Ice."
Aurora blinked.
"How's that for a witch title?" Charlotte added. "It suits you."
Aurora looked down at her hand.
The cold gathered again, quieter now.
More controlled.
"…Then I'll earn it."
Charlotte nodded, satisfied.
"By next week, prepare six spells. Three offensive, two defensive, one auxiliary. I'll grade them."
She tossed something onto Aurora's chest.
An amethyst badge.
Aurora caught it instinctively.
"It's a key," Charlotte said. "Let's you enter and leave the Lunarium."
Aurora tightened her grip around it.
"For now," Charlotte added, already turning away, "rest. Go use one of the many rooms in the coven. Claim it with your mana, and it'll rename itself to yours."
The next morning, Aurora wandered the halls groggily, her body still adjusting to everything that had changed.
Enchanted objects moved around her. Brooms sweeping quietly, utensils floating through the air, doors opening before she could even reach them.
It felt alive.
Not chaotic, but… maintained.
She was guided into the dining hall, where a meal was already prepared.
Warm.
Fresh.
Waiting.
Beside it sat a stack of cash and a folded note.
Aurora picked it up.
"I'll be gone for a week. Take care of things here. Use the money if you want to explore New York. Wear the glasses in the coven hall. It's enchanted. They'll keep people from recognizing you."
Aurora smiled faintly.
Even when gone, Charlotte… no, Aster…
He had already planned everything.
She sat down and ate slowly, savoring each bite.
When she finished, the dishes lifted themselves and drifted toward the sink without a sound.
She watched them go.
"…Convenient," she murmured.
As she stood, preparing to explore—
She felt it.
A presence.
She turned.
A figure approached.
A girl.
No—
Something crafted.
Porcelain skin. Perfect posture. Movements too precise to be human. Her eyes held a strange clarity, focused, yet hollow.
"You must be the new student of Sire," she said, offering a gentle, practiced smile. "I am Elowen. A marionette. I exist to serve, protect, and assist the coven daughters."
Aurora stared, unable to hide her surprise.
Even noble houses had constructs. But nothing like this.
"…Nice to meet you," Aurora replied.
Elowen bowed slightly, then stepped aside.
"Should you require anything, simply call."
And just like that, she was gone.
Aurora exhaled.
"…What kind of place did I just enter…?"
Still, she continued exploring.
A study filled with books—countless theories, spells, and notes from different witches. At the center, a floating crystal pulsed faintly. She could feel it sharpening her thoughts just by standing near it.
The coven hall, where Elowen quietly arranged refreshments without a single wasted motion.
Pass it, the many rooms for coven members. Though Aurora was the only one in it for now.
And beyond it—
The endless field of white flowers, moonflowers he called it, beneath the unmoving moon.
A world contained within another world.
Aurora stepped outside once more, letting the cool air brush against her skin.
Then she smiled.
She had an assignment.
Not to memorize.
Not to copy.
But to create.
For the first time in her life, no one was telling her what was "correct."
No one was limiting her.
She looked at her hand again, frost gathering slowly at her fingertips.
Absolute Ice…
Not as an end.
But as a beginning.
"…Alright," she whispered.