……
After dinner, Lucia White's room was crowded with witches.
Seeing everyone's encouraging and comforting expressions, she felt her eyes moisten. Suppressing the urge to cry, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath.
I can't cry... It was already embarrassing enough to burst into tears in front of Nightingale, Lucia admonished herself. And my sister is watching, I have to set a good example.
Before taking the boat to the town, she had only heard that there was a witch organization stationed here. Besides wanting to save her sister who was infected with the demonic plague, she simply wanted to find a place to live, and did not expect to live any kind of life.
But she never expected that life here would not only be comfortable and carefree, but she would also meet a group of kindred spirits who treated her like family. Since her parents died in a pirate raid, she felt at home again.
"Will Sister really be in danger?" Bell asked, leaning against Lucia's arms. "How painful is the magic backlash?"
"An unbearable pain, like countless knives stirring inside you," Nightingale grinned. "Very few witches can survive it. Only one or two out of ten can safely pass their adulthood."
"..." The little girl's expression stiffened.
"Don't scare her," Wendy glared at Nightingale. "That was all during the Co-prosperity Association days."
"Now, as long as you practice every day and empty your magic before the Awakening Day, there's basically nothing to worry about," Scroll smiled. "I heard that Anna reached adulthood while asleep."
"And there was the first high-level awakening," Agatha yawned. "If this happened in Taquila four hundred years ago, it would definitely cause a sensation. No witch has ever had an epiphany in her sleep."
"Are you alright?" Prince Roland looked at her. "Although work is important, don't push yourself too hard."
"The Divine Will War is imminent. My little bit of busyness is nothing," Agatha covered her mouth. "If we fail again this time, it won't be a problem to sleep forever."
"We will never fail this time," Roland affirmed.
"I decided to do a little more because I have high hopes for the gadgets you invented," the Ice Witch glared at him. "Otherwise, do you think I like being in the lab every day?" After saying that, she turned her head and muttered softly, "Even if you don't fulfill your promise, I can't hold you accountable..."
"Okay, let's not discuss such heavy topics at this time." Wendy interjected, "By the way, didn't Agatha xiaojie say that witches can get a wish on Awakening Day? It's Lucia's turn this time, what do you want to realize?"
"Eh... me?" Lucia was startled when she saw everyone's eyes turned to her.
"Sister, let's get ice cream bread!" Bell's eyes sparkled. "Ten will be enough, we'll split them in half!"
This guy... only thinks about eating. She tapped her sister's forehead and looked at Roland. "Can I save this wish?"
"If you wish," the latter couldn't help but laugh. "But saving it won't make it any bigger."
"One is enough," Lucia said gratefully. She has no other desires than to live in this town, and only hopes that Bell can also live a happy life. Her sister is not a witch, and one day she will leave her and start a new family with someone else. If something happens then, this wish might be able to help her.
Just then, Lucia suddenly felt her empty body tremble. Magic was generated again, as if it had suddenly appeared from the void, constantly pouring into her body.
"It's starting," Nightingale reminded her.
Although the sisters said not to worry, she still couldn't help but grab the quilt tightly. Perhaps because of nervousness, she felt her hands and feet were a little cold.
"Relax," Wendy leaned over and took her hand. "Magic is part of our body."
"Should we talk about something to distract her?" Lucia heard someone ask, it seemed to be Lily's voice.
"What should we talk about?" It was Mystery Moon who answered.
"For example, the results of the second exam," Lily's voice seemed to come from a very far place. "Usually when we talk about this, the other person will immediately want to stop the topic from continuing, so as to divert attention, right? For example, Mystery Moon's score is—"
"Don't say it!"
"See, it's very effective."
Lucia wanted to laugh, but found the expression on her face was very stiff. Her body became extremely hot, and at the same time there was an unspeakable feeling of contraction. More and more magic seemed to suck everything around her in.
Do they all experience this feeling when they reach adulthood?
"What was Lucia's score?" Mystery Moon's words became intermittent.
"An average of sixteen points," the prince replied.
"Wha-what?"
"That's so high!"
"Look, she didn't stop us."
"Your trick failed, accept the punishment!"
"Leave me alone!"
"Wait... stop fighting, Lucia seems to be a little strange."
Mystery Moon and Lily's words alternated, and finally Nightingale's voice, but she found that the witches' words had become blurred. Lucia gritted her teeth and looked up at her sisters, but was surprised to find that the scene in front of her had completely changed. Everyone's appearance became hazy and fragmented, as if composed of countless squares - some squares were large, some squares were small, and each was a different color.
She wanted to scream in fear, but only a hissing sound came from her throat.
The feeling of contraction in her body became stronger and stronger, and it had already begun to produce bursts of colic. Lucia had no choice but to hold her breath and endure it. The figures around her had become chaotic.
Just as Nightingale said, the pain of Awakening Day was far beyond what she could compare with the previous awakenings. The more she persisted, the more obvious the colic became, as if she would be cut into pieces at any time.
Suddenly, an unusual magic probed into her body - Lucia could clearly feel that this magic did not belong to her. It was like a pipe, built on the magic vortex.
She didn't have time to explore what it was, and subconsciously squeezed the surging magic in her body into the pipe. The pain suddenly eased a lot. Like finding a savior, Lucia kept injecting magic into it to suppress the pain in her body.
I don't know how long it took, but the strange contraction subsided. The magic no longer turned, but became full and abundant, completely different from the previous experience.
Blinking her eyes, her vision returned to normal.
Looking at Bell who was about to cry, Lucia patted her head and said in a dry voice, "It's okay now."
It was only then that she realized that her body was soaked in sweat. The cold wind blew past, and a bone-chilling chill rose from her back.
No, how could there be wind in a room filled with warm air?
She turned her head and couldn't help but be stunned. She saw a huge gap in the wall facing the courtyard. The two windows were gone, and the cold wind was pouring in from here. Through the gap, she could see the dark night sky and the little lights in the town. Standing in front of this half of the wall was Anna, who was looking at her with concern, the Divine Will Rune in her hand flickering with a faint light.
"Her ability has solidified," Nightingale said.