Chapter 267 62.3 - Initiation

"Pah!"

Irina's senses were in disarray as she found herself suspended in an ethereal void.

The absence of any solid ground or reference points left her feeling weightless, adrift in an infinite expanse of nothingness. It was as if she had been cast into the void between dreams.

As she tried to make sense of her surroundings, she noticed faint glimmers of light, distant and sporadic, flickering like distant stars.

The emptiness around her seemed to pulse with an otherworldly energy, creating an eerie ambiance that sent shivers down her spine.

She attempted to move her arms, but they seemed to move through the empty space without any resistance. Panic threatened to creep in, but she fought to maintain focus.

And following that, she slowly recalled her recent memories. Irina recalled Sylvie's words and realized that this surreal experience was the result of her attempt to enter Astron's dream.

'Was it a dream?'

She couldn't understand.

The spell she used to enter his consciousness wasn't supposed to work like this.

[Phantasmic Transfer] – the spell that spell that Irina had cast was designed to create a psychic link between the caster and the target, allowing the caster to enter the dream realm of the individual by connecting their souls.

However, the disconcerting emptiness and the ethereal void that surrounded her were far from the expected outcome.

Irina focused her thoughts on unraveling the mystery of this unexpected turn. The spell, as she understood it, should have provided her with a dreamscape that mirrored Astron's subconscious, where the dream would play on.

She would enter his dream as a person of her own and move inside, wandering around the dream. The dream would be temporarily become the caster's new real world. That was how it was supposed to be.

Yet, this desolate expanse seemed devoid of the usual dream-like elements.

THUD!

Yet, just at this moment, something suddenly happened. The emptiness around Irina quivered, and the subtle hum of otherworldly energy intensified.

The air seemed to vibrate with an unseen force, and in an instant, the desolate expanse transformed.

Everywhere around her, an incredibly complex structure materialized, unfolding like intricate origami. It was as if the fabric of the void had been woven into a mesmerizing tapestry of interlocking patterns and ethereal scenes.

lightsnοvεl The transition was abrupt, catching Irina off guard.

"What is this?"

Her head, if it even existed, was overwhelmed with the information. Her consciousness threatened to slip away as she felt dizzy from everything happening.

The once-empty space now pulsed with life, and she found herself at the heart of this enigmatic construct.

The structure seemed to defy the laws of reality, constantly shifting and reshaping itself in a dance of relativistic-magicalism.

"Just what?"

She couldn't understand.

At this point, what she was seeing wasn't something that she could describe in words.

"This is..."

In front of her stood a small frame..She could see from the window where two little babies had just left their mother's womb.

"Uwaaaaaaa!"

A loud crying voice entered Irina's ears as she concentrated on the scene. As if now she was part of the frame, she could hear and see everything clearly from an outsider's perspective. This wasn't how the spell was supposed to work, but Irina deemed it fine.The primary upload of this chapter happened on N0v3l/B1n.

"Ah....You have two beautiful twins...." Irina, now immersed in the moment, felt the essence of life emanating from the scene.

The midwife, aware of the profound responsibility bestowed upon her, turned to the exhausted but elated parents. "Ah... You have two beautiful twins," she remarked, her voice filled with a sense of joy and reverence.

The mother, her eyes brimming with tears of happiness, gazed lovingly at the newborns. The man, the father, overwhelmed with emotion, held his wife's hand.

The midwife, respecting the sacredness of the moment, gently inquired, "What will be the names of these precious children?"

The man, looking at the two tiny faces wrapped in swaddling blankets, smiled with a warmth that could only come from a father's heart. "Under the full moon, we shall name them Astron and Estelle," he declared, his voice carrying a sense of destiny and connection to the celestial bodies.

The midwife nodded approvingly, acknowledging the significance of the names. "Astron and Estelle," she repeated as if sealing their fate with those words. The room, filled with the tender cries of the newborns, became a sacred space where the bonds of family and destiny intertwined.

'So, this is how he was born...'

Irina couldn't help but mumble to herself. Now, the scene she saw suddenly made sense, as if it had shown her the point of Astron's starting life.

Yet, a question remained.

'Who is Estelle?'

Just as she was thinking about those, suddenly, a second later, she found herself in the same empty space she was in.

A nagging question surfaced, "Who is Estelle?" The assumption that Estelle was Astron's twin sister seemed natural, born at the same time under the same celestial event.

Yet, as Irina delved deeper into her thoughts, a disturbing realization crept in.

"Wait, there isn't someone like Estelle in Astron's life. He's an orphan with no family members," she pondered, her mind racing to make sense of the incongruity. Doubt lingered as she questioned the nature of the connection between Astron and Estelle.

"Did something happen to him?" Irina wondered aloud, her concern for Astron growing. The mystery deepened, and a sense of urgency gripped her.

Determined to uncover the truth, Irina focused her magical senses on different time frames, searching for clues that would shed light on Astron's enigmatic past.

As she navigated through the currents of time, glimpses of Astron's life unfolded before her. Scenes of his childhood, moments of laughter and struggle, all wove a tapestry of his journey. Yet, the absence of Estelle in these moments puzzled Irina even more.

She entered another timeframe as she looked into the scene.

As Irina observed this particular timeframe from her vantage point within Astron's memories, she found herself immersed in a humble yet heartwarming scene.

As Astron descended the stairs, Mother, in the midst of washing dishes, threw a small side look at him, her brows furrowed. "Oh, you are finally awake, you brat," she teased, a playful tone underlying her scolding.

"Good morning, Mother," Astron greeted with a smile, his eyes sparkling with innocence.

Mother sighed, her initial frustration melting at the sight of Astron's smile. "Just go away; your father is waiting for you outside," she chuckled, swayed by her son's infectious cheer.

'So, he can smile like that.'

Now that she had seen it, she realized one very important thing about him. From the moment they met, from the moment Irina first saw him, she had never seen him smile.

Not even once.

His face took different emotions, sometimes annoyance, sometimes anger, sometimes slightly melancholy....

But never once had he smiled before....

-WARP!

Following that, she was once again expelled from the frame and returned to the same space as she was.

'I need to see more...'

There were just too many questions, and she needed to find the answers right now if she wanted to operate in this place.

Was this really a dream?

Was she really seeing the memories of Astron right now? If so, why was she not seeing everything directly from Astron's eyes? After all, a person experiencing things can not do it from a person's perspective, which she had been witnessing.

That wouldn't make sense at all.

All those types of questions needed to be answered, and there was far too much missing information right now.

And, even though she didn't even want to admit with her thoughts, she wanted to see more of his childhood. What kind of a person he was, what happened to him, why was he like this?

The existence of Astron Natusalune still held many mysteries.

Thus, she slowly moved forward while looking around the space.

As Irina delved deeper into Astron's memories, she traversed through various timeframes, each revealing a different facet of his life.

In one particular scene, Irina finds herself in Astron's home during the night. Astron and his sister engaged in a heartfelt conversation by the fireplace. The dim light cast flickering shadows on the walls, creating an intimate ambiance.

The room, illuminated by the soft glow of moonlight, became the backdrop for Astron's contemplation. Seated by the window, his eyes fixed on the stars and the moon, he wrestled with memories that resurfaced against his will.

"Why am I remembering about these again? It had already been a long time..." he mused, his gaze drawn to the celestial canvas that adorned the night sky. The vastness of the universe sparked his curiosity, and he couldn't help but wonder about the mysteries beyond the confines of their village.

As his thoughts unfolded, a voice interrupted his solitary reflection. "What are you doing now?" came the voice, and Astron turned to find his sister, Estelle, standing at the doorway. Despite the darkness, her presence radiated a gentle luminosity.

"Estelle," Astron acknowledged, and she entered the room, her white hair catching a glimmer of the moonlight. There was a familiarity in their interaction, a silent understanding that transcended spoken words.

"I thought I'd find you here, lost in your thoughts again," Estelle remarked with a playful smile, her green eyes reflecting a mix of curiosity and affection.

The siblings shared a moment by the window, their eyes drawn to the night sky. Astron confessed his longing to explore the world beyond their village, fueled by the stories he devoured in books. Estelle, too, expressed a similar yearning at times but added a thoughtful layer to her aspirations.

"The outside world does seem fascinating, doesn't it? Sometimes, I also wish we could explore beyond our borders and see the places we've only heard about in tales," Estelle shared, her voice carrying a gentle melody.

Yet, amidst Astron's dreams of exploration, Estelle leaned her head on his shoulder, a gesture laden with comfort and weariness.

"Sometimes, what I wish for the most isn't to explore everything out there. It's not about seeing distant lands or unraveling mysteries. What I truly wish for is to stay beside you," Estelle confessed, her words resonating with a sense of vulnerability.

Astron, feeling the weight of his sister's weariness, responded with a promise, "If that is what you wish.. then I will gladly put every other thing aside."

Hearing all those things, Irina couldn't even believe her ears. Was that cold Astron such a considerate person? Certainly unbelievable.

Whenever she talked with him, they always quarreled, and it didn't make sense at all. After that, she had watched him spending days and nights in their village.

His initially weak body constitution continued to prove to be a challenge for him, but he also continued to live his life despite his challenges.

He went out, cut wood, helped his mother and father, and sometimes even trained secretly. Though his training would never be long, thanks to his body, even seeing his spirit, Irina couldn't help but remark.

'Even from before, he was a training maniac, huh?'

Just like that, she continued to watch. But as she watched, she found herself in another poignant moment.

The weight of grief hung heavy in the air as Astron and Estelle grappled with the loss of their parents. Sorrow etched into Estelle's voice as she clung to her brother for solace.

"You're never going to leave me, right?"

"No matter what happens, Estelle, I promise I'll never leave you. Even if the world breaks down, as long as I am still breathing, I will always stay with you."

In the midst of their shared pain, Astron, though silent, provided a comforting presence. The unspoken promise of never leaving Estelle's side echoed in the stillness.

'So, he lost his father and mother early...'

Irina observed the siblings' solemn pact, a moment laden with the fragility of life and the strength found in their bond.

'But what happened to his sister?'

Just as she thought about it, suddenly, she was sucked into a different time frame without her control.

–WRRR!

'What?' She was caught off guard, but as she looked at the scene right before her eyes, she gasped.

"Huh?"

As if to show the answer to her question, in front of her eyes stood the girl whose destiny she was looking for.

With her chest pierced by the claws of a demon.