It had been three days since Charlotte left.
Aurora sat alone in the study hall, chin resting against her knuckles as she stared blankly at the open pages before her.
Nothing.
Not a single idea worth writing down.
For someone who had once torn through the Witching Hour in a storm of ice, the silence of her own thoughts felt almost insulting.
She exhaled slowly.
"…This is harder than I thought."
The books scattered across the table spoke of established spells. They were documented, perfected, and refined across generations. Ice constructs, defensive barriers, elemental shaping… everything she had ever known had already been written.
And that was the problem.
Aurora had never created anything of her own.
Like most young witches, she had been raised to inherit. Not innovate.
Techniques were passed down. Spells were memorized. Mastery meant perfection, not creativity.
Now, for the first time, she was being asked to create.
And she didn't know where to begin.
Above the table, a softly glowing crystal hovered in place, radiating a gentle hum. Its enchantment sharpened her thoughts, filtered distractions, and kept her focused longer than any normal witch could manage.
Even so—
She leaned back and groaned.
"I don't get it…"
A quiet set of footsteps approached.
Elowen.
The porcelain marionette placed a small tray beside her, containing tea, light pastries, and a neatly folded napkin. Her movements were precise, almost elegant, like a performance rehearsed countless times.
"You have been studying for six consecutive hours," Elowen said calmly. "Eat. You'll burn out at this rate."
Aurora glanced at the tray, then sighed.
"Thanks…"
She took a sip of tea, letting the warmth settle her.
Even with everything this place offered—the knowledge, the tools, the endless mana—she still felt…
Stuck.
Later that day, Aurora left the Lunarium.
The moment she stepped into the streets of the Bareblood world, the difference hit her immediately.
Noise.
Movement.
Life.
People passed by without a second glance. Conversations overlapped. Cars moved in a steady rhythm. Screens flickered from storefronts, displaying colors and ideas foreign to the Witching Hour.
Aurora found herself watching.
Not magic.
But creation.
Everywhere she looked, people were making things—not through mana, but through thought, design, and purpose.
Machines.
Systems.
Structures.
"…They create too," she murmured.
Not bound by bloodlines.
Not restricted by tradition.
Just… ideas.
She stayed longer than she expected.
And when she finally returned—
She collapsed onto the couch in the coven hall, face buried into the cushions.
"I can't think of anything impressive," she groaned.
Elowen stood nearby, hands folded.
"Impressiveness is subjective."
"That's not helping."
Before Elowen could respond—
A low hum filled the air.
Aurora lifted her head.
The space before them distorted slightly, folding inward like fabric being pinched between invisible fingers.
The portal gate.
It opened.
Two figures stepped through.
Charlotte.
And—
A boy.
Aurora immediately straightened.
Her senses sharpened.
"…A vampire."
She could feel it in the mana.
The boy was pale, unnaturally so. His posture was fragile, almost unsteady, as though his body resisted its own existence.
Charlotte stepped aside slightly.
"Introduce yourselves."
Aurora stood.
"Aurora Welsch. I call myself now as the Witch of Absolute Ice. Also known as the third Calamity."
The boy inclined his head politely.
"Theodore D'Arcel. It's an honor."
Aurora froze.
"…D'Arcel?"
One of the most powerful vampire houses.
Not just powerful, influential. Wealth, connections, authority. If witches needed funding, they went to the D'Arcels.
And now—
One of them stood here.
As a student?
Before she could process it further—
Charlotte sighed.
Then, without warning, her form shifted.
The familiar figure melted away, replaced by a young man with dark hair and sharp, observant eyes.
Aster Collins.
Theodore didn't react.
He watched… then lowered his gaze.
No questions.
No hesitation.
Aurora blinked.
"…You're not surprised?"
He shook his head.
"If I am to be taught by the Heretical Witch… then nothing should surprise me."
Aster chuckled softly.
"Good answer."
He glanced between them.
"Oh—and before either of you get any ideas," he added casually, "you won't be able to tell anyone about this anyway."
Aurora frowned.
"…What do you mean?"
Aster pointed lazily at her pockets.
"That."
Aurora reached into her pocket. Her amethyst badge.
The badge she had left in her room… was now in her pockets.
"…What?"
"It's enchanted," Aster said. "Prevents information leaks, tracks ownership, and ensures you don't lose it."
She stared at it.
"…You're paranoid."
"Alive," Aster corrected. "I prefer staying that way. I don't plan to expose myself just yet."
Before she could press further, he clapped his hands once.
"Anyways!! Progress check."
Aurora stiffened.
"…I don't have anything."
Aster raised a brow.
"Nothing?"
"…Nothing worth showing."
For a moment, he said nothing.
Then—
"That's fine."
Aurora blinked.
"…What?"
"It's only been three days. Think more."
He turned toward Theodore.
"And you."
Theodore straightened slightly.
"Yes?"
"Show me your technique."
They moved outside.
The moonlit field of white flowers stretched endlessly beneath the sky, quiet and untouched.
Theodore stood before them.
He hesitated.
Then, with a small breath, he raised his hand and dragged a nail across his palm.
A thin line of blood appeared from his wound.
Too thin.
Aurora noticed immediately.
"…That's it?"
A small, trembling droplet formed above his hand.
It wavered slightly.
Unstable.
Theodore lowered his gaze.
"…That's all I can manage."
Silence.
"My siblings can form weapons. Constructs. Entire battlefields of blood," he continued quietly. "I can barely hold this much without collapsing."
Aurora frowned.
Even for a vampire…
This was weak.
Aster, however,
Smiled.
"Perfect."
Both of them looked at him.
"…Perfect?" Theodore echoed.
Aster stepped forward.
"Small scale means control," he said. "Control means precision. Precision—"
He reached out.
The droplet of blood lifted slightly.
"—means potential."
The moment Aster said those words, he controlled the small droplet of blood that Theordore was controlling.
Theodore's eyes widened in confusion.
"You can… control it?"
Aster ignored the question.
Instead, he rotated the droplet.
Slowly at first.
Then faster.
Faster.
Until it blurred.
"Go and create a pillar of ice spike behind Theo, Aurora. Kindly."
"Watch."
He flicked his finger.
The spinning droplet shot forward.
Aurora expected it to splatter harmlessly against the ice spike she had conjured behind Theodore—
Instead—
BANG.
The center of the spike exploded inward.
Fragments scattered.
Spiral markings carved deep into the ice.
Theodore stared.
"…How?"
Aster shrugged lightly.
"Rotation. Compression. Force. Magic follows the rules of the universe. He says. "You people are just too stubborn to learn anything that the Barebloods had learned," Aster added.
Aurora narrowed her eyes.
That wasn't just magic.
That was something else.
Aster turned, calling out—
"Elowen."
Moments later, she returned with a sealed blood bag. He had prepared Elowen for any situations that may arise, hence the blood bag.
Aster took it, opening it with ease.
The liquid inside rose, forming a sphere.
"I made this after seeing your father fight," he said, glancing at Theodore. "I thought it was interesting how his Blood Sword was sharp."
The sphere stretched—
Split—
Then unraveled into thin, thread-like strands connected to his fingers.
"Blood Threads."
With a flick, the threads shot forward, wrapping around the remaining ice.
Aster clenched his hand.
The threads tightened.
The ice.
Shattered into precise, clean segments.
Theodore's breath hitched.
"…I can learn this?"
Aster nodded.
"It doesn't require a lot of blood. Just precise control. Which you got."
Theodore's eyes lit up.
For the first time—
He looked hopeful.
"Take it slow," Aster added, ruffling his hair.
The boy ran off slightly, already trying to replicate the motion with trembling hands.
Aster watched him briefly.
Then turned.
"And you."
Aurora pointed at herself.
"…Me?"
"Your turn."
She straightened instinctively.
Aster raised his hand.
A small sphere of ice formed above his palm.
He tossed it forward.
It stopped midair.
Then—
The air shifted.
A storm erupted.
Wind howled as ice and snow tore through the field, shredding flowers, freezing the ground, overwhelming everything within its radius.
There was no center.
No escape.
Just destruction.
Aurora's eyes widened.
"…This is… inspiration?"
The storm faded.
Silence returned.
The ground was ruined.
Aster exhaled. "It doesn't have to be unique. If you really can't think of anything, then edit your family's spell."
"Two more." He added.
Before Aurora could react—
The temperature dropped.
Sharp.
Immediate.
Aster's appearance shifted.
His hair whitened.
His eyes turned pale, like frozen glass.
The field—
Froze.
Snow blanketed everything in an instant.
Aurora shivered violently.
Even Theodore stopped, his breath visible in the air.
Then—
A presence.
They both looked up.
Something moved within the falling snow.
Large.
Massive.
A dragon descended.
Its body, sculpted from ice, its movements fluid. It was alive.
It landed with a heavy, echoing impact.
Its eyes scanned the surroundings.
Thinking.
Aware.
Aurora's breath caught.
"…That's not a construct."
The dragon exhaled, frost spilling from its jaws.
Aster smiled.
"Call Frost Dragon: Iskaryon."
The dragon turned its head slightly.
Then dissolved.
Not shattered.
Not broken.
Collapsed inward into a small, floating sphere of ice.
Aster caught it.
"This," he said, holding it up, "is a Persona Schema."
Aurora stared.
"…A what?"
"I call it technomancy," Aster replied. "A fusion of logic and mana. It learns. It adapts."
"What the spell, Call Frost Dragon: Iskaryon, did was just create a body for this..." He holds out the Persona Schema.
Aurora had seen it when she went out on the streets of New York. Those… AI, she saw in people's phones. Somehow, the Heretical Witch had managed to make it with mana. Fascinating, one could say.
He tossed it toward her.
"It's yours. All coven daughters..." Theodore faces them, "I mean coven disciples will all get one. They can serve as partners or assistants for you guys."
Aurora barely caught it.
The moment her mana touched it—
A voice echoed in her mind.
"So you're my new master?"
Aurora flinched.
"W-What—?"
"Stand properly. You lack presence."
Aster grinned.
"Feed it mana to sustain it. Once you can create a body for it, throw the schema on it. Though I don't think Iskaryon would like the construct you'll make if it isn't a dragon."
"Damn right!"
Aurora stared at the sphere in disbelief.
Then—
She smiled.
Slowly.
"…This is insane."
Aster turned to Theodore, forming another, this time, from his own blood.
"Yours."
Theodore held it carefully.
A softer voice emerged.
"Name's Lilith. Feed me well, and I'll serve you well."
"Lilith here can serve as your blood storage. The more you feed it, the more blood you can use." Aster says. "This can solve your slow blood regeneration." He added.
Theodore's hands trembled.
"…Thank you."
Not expecting a gift as well.
The field fell silent once more.
Aster stretched slightly, yawning.
"Experiment. Both of you."
He turned, already walking away.
Aurora remained where she stood.
The crystal pulsed faintly in her hand.
A voice.
A presence.
Something she could shape.
For the first time, she understood.
Magic wasn't inherited.
It wasn't tradition.
It was creation.
That night, Aurora didn't sleep.
Not with the voice constantly whispering ideas in her mind.
Not with the realization that magic could think.
And more terrifying than that—
It could evolve.