The summoning priest began to chant the spell. His voice resonated in the ancient stones of the ritual circle. Felicity felt how magic swirled around her, first like an ethereal breeze then like a gale that seemed to tear her consciousness from her mortal body. For an instant, the world vanished into total darkness.

  Then, as if a universal veil had been torn before her eyes, the cosmos exploded in a symphony of light and color that no human eye had ever contemplated. The Milky Way stretched before her like a river of diamonds spilled over black velvet, each star pulsing with its own silent melody.

  Felicity floated in the ethereal void, her form barely a whisper of consciousness in the immensity of space. Around her, planets of impossible colors danced in perfect orbits: gaseous giants with rings of ice and fire, oceanic worlds covered by seas of liquid crystal. Multicolored moons shining with their own light.

  Felicity could feel their calls: promises of absolute power, whispers of eternal glory, songs of sublime destruction. Each light was a temptation, each glow a trap of power and greed.

  But then, in the distance, beyond the burning star that shone like liquid gold, beyond the crimson giant that danced alone, near the world that reflected the same blue that covered the skies of her home, she perceived something different. It was a light that didn’t shout or demand, but simply existed, serene and balanced. Within it, seven smaller lights spun harmoniously, each shining with a different color of the rainbow. It was like contemplating a miniature celestial dance, where spheres of light rotated in perfect harmony around a radiant core. Unlike the other presences she had perceived, this light emanated peace and harmony.

  As she approached that unique light, the universe seemed to hold its breath. The seven spheres shone with the colors of the sacred spectrum, like perfectly aligned chakras in a being of extraordinary balance. Without further hesitation, Felicity made her decision.

  With each attempt at connection, Felicity felt her magical power vanishing like water between her fingers. Time, that cruel constant, slipped away inexorably while desperation began to weave a web in her spirit. The echoes of her companions’ mocking laughter resonated in her astral consciousness, each taunt a poisoned dart piercing her essence. In an act born of purest desperation, she gathered all the energy she had left, ignoring the tear that threatened to fragment her own magical essence.

  The connection, when finally established, was like lightning piercing the darkest night. It wasn’t the submission she expected from a normal invocation, but something deeper, more intimate, a fusion of souls that transcended simple control. In that moment of perfect union, Felicity felt how her magical aura began to fade, her own essence threatening to disperse into the cosmic void like stardust.

  Her consciousness violently returned to her body, just in time to witness the miracle of materialization. The air condensed in the center of the room, forming a silhouette that slowly took human form. Zhen appeared standing, his presence filling the space with an intensity that altered the air itself. His backpack slowly slid from his arms to the floor, while his leather jacket partially covered it like a silent guardian. Felicity watched, amazed, as the lines began to form on his skin.

  A golden glow was born above his heart, visible even through the white fabric of his t-shirt, pulsing with the rhythm of his heartbeat like a newborn star. The light expanded, weaving two perfect concentric circles that shone with an almost divine intensity. From these circles, like rivers of golden and black light seeking their course in mortal skin, the lines of energy began to extend across his chest and left shoulder, creating spirals and geometric shapes that danced like newly discovered constellations.

  A golden glow was born above his heart, visible even through the white fabric of his t-shirt, pulsing with the rhythm of his heartbeat like a newborn star. The light expanded, weaving two perfect concentric circles that shone with an almost divine intensity. From these circles, like rivers of golden and black light seeking their course in mortal skin, the lines of energy began to extend across his chest and left shoulder, creating spirals and geometric shapes that danced like newly discovered constellations.

  When the invocation ritual tried to mark his forehead with the traditional control tribal, something extraordinary happened. Zhen’s body tensed involuntarily. His muscles reacted to an ancient force running through his veins. His arm rose by itself, as if controlled by an alien will, while the sharp pain in his forehead intensified with each stroke of the mystical seal trying to form. His fingers, guided by a primitive instinct, touched the exact point where the seal began to materialize. The tattoo on his arm pulsed with its own life, its golden and black patterns expanding like luminous vines that intercepted and absorbed the control seal. For the other students and the summoning priest, the process seemed to follow its normal course: the tribal on the forehead appeared and vanished as usual. Only the wise elf supervising the invocations, with his ancient eyes, perceived the true nature of what had just happened.

  The process stopped as suddenly as it had begun. The magical light began to fade like the last breath of an ancient spell. Zhen opened his eyes slowly, his eyelids heavy as if awakening from a millennial sleep. His gaze, initially lost in the vastness of change, swept across the room until finding Felicity’s eyes.

  “I-is it you...?” she whispered, trembling but filled with a hope that threatened to overflow her heart.

  “What... is this?” asked Zhen with a hoarse voice, barely audible, looking at the tattoo on his arm and then at the girl.

  Felicity opened her mouth to respond, but before she could utter a word, her legs gave way, and she fell to her knees before him. Exhaustion was etched in every line of her face, the fragility of her body contrasting with the magnitude of the power she had just channeled.

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  “Hey!” Zhen reacted immediately, leaning toward her.

  “I... did it,” she whispered with a thread of voice before closing her eyes and collapsing.

  Zhen caught her before her body hit the ground, holding her with a care that seemed to contradict the evident strength in his arms. Around them, the voices of those present rose in a cacophony of murmurs and mocking exclamations.

  “A human?” the summoning priest spat, his voice laden with disdain. “Is this some kind of joke?”

  The laughter of the other students rose like crows on a battlefield, but died suddenly when a figure appeared from the shadows at the back of the room. A pure elf, tall and elegant, dressed in a white robe embroidered in silver, emerged from his position by the columns where he had been observing the invocations. His bearing was majestic, and his violet eyes shone with ancient wisdom as they settled first on Felicity and then on Zhen.

  “This changes the rules of the game, it’s not a coincidence,” the elf murmured to himself.

  With a fluid movement, he reached for his neck and removed a necklace from which hung a white stone that seemed to contain liquid light. He placed it delicately around Felicity’s neck, and the stone glowed faintly at the touch of her skin.

  “Wear it for a day or two,” he instructed, with a soft voice. “This will help you recover your magical aura.”

  His ancient eyes recognized the danger the young woman had faced. The invocation ritual had almost completely consumed her vital essence; a few seconds more, and Felicity would have vanished forever. His eyes then settled on Zhen’s arm, studying the new patterns with hidden forms and languages he had never seen before. His expression, normally impassive, was tinged for an almost imperceptible instant with something that could have been amazement or concern.

  “Return to your room, Felicity, and take him with you,” he finally said, his words resonating with the authority of an ancient command. “Rest. We’ll talk later.”

  With an elegant gesture, the wise elf picked up the brown leather jacket from the floor and handed it to Zhen.

  “You must be confused,” he said with a serene voice. “Put it on, gather your things and follow her.”

  Without waiting for an answer, he turned gracefully and walked away to the back of the invocation hall, where the shadows claimed him once again as he continued supervising the ritual of the other students.

  The immense doors of the ritual amphitheater creaked on their ancient hinges, opening with a solemn groan that echoed through the silent hall. Those present watched Zhen and Felicity’s departure as if contemplating an omen, their gazes laden with wonder and skepticism following their every step.

  The outside light hit Zhen like a blinding wave of clarity. His eyes, barely adapted to the ritual’s darkness, blinked several times as the new world revealed itself before him in all its magnificence. The sky stretched above his head like a canvas of impossible blue, deeper and more vibrant than any he had ever contemplated in his world. Birds with iridescent plumage soared through the heights, their wings leaving trails of light that vanished in the air like threads of golden silk.

  The academy rose majestically around him, an architectural symphony where white marble columns intertwined with gothic arches that seemed to defy gravity. Millennial stone gargoyles watched from the cornices, their faces carved with such precision that they appeared more like sleeping creatures than sculptures. The polished stone staircases descended in graceful spirals, bordered by hanging gardens where flowers of impossible colors danced with the breeze.

  The sound of their footsteps echoed against the stone walls, creating a rhythm that seemed to match the beating of their hearts. In front of her room’s door, Felicity stopped abruptly, turning to face Zhen. The candlelight danced across their faces as their gazes met, emerald against ebony, in a moment charged with expectation.

  “My name is Felicity,” she said softly, her fingers playing nervously with the necklace the wise one had given her. “I’m... a student at the Academy.”

  Zhen observed her in silence for a moment, his figure silhouetted against the stained glass window creating an imposing presence.

  “Zhen,” he responded simply, his voice still hoarse from the ritual. “Why... why am I here?”

  Felicity bit her lower lip, searching for the right words.

  “You’re my familiar,” she began, but seeing the confusion on his face, she corrected herself. “I mean, there’s a magical bond between us now. I was supposed to summon a mystical creature, but instead...” her voice trailed off as her eyes settled on the tattoo on his arm.

  “A magical bond?” Zhen unconsciously touched the marks on his skin. “Does this mean I can’t go back?”

  The question hung in the air like an autumn leaf, while Felicity felt the weight of guilt settling in her stomach.

  “I don’t know,” she finally admitted. “All of this is... different. At least, I’ve never heard of anything like this.”

  Finally, they reached a simple room. Felicity opened the door and, after they both entered, closed it with a soft click that seemed to echo in the silence. While Zhen surveyed the room, Felicity watched him from behind, her mind a whirlwind of contradictory thoughts. The presence of this young man in her personal space, in her sanctuary, overwhelmed her in a way she had never experienced. Her eyes involuntarily traced Zhen’s figure: the muscles of his back visible beneath his sleeveless shirt, the tattoo that now marked his bronzed skin, the way his black hair fell across his neck.

  Zhen remained standing, undecided. His tall figure cast an elongated shadow across the wooden floor. Felicity gave him a look as if begging him to make the situation more bearable for both of them. Finally, he sat down in a nearby chair, his hands resting on his knees, while trying to process everything that had happened.

  Despite the confusion clouding his mind, a certainty settled within him: although this world was strange and potentially dangerous, there was something about Felicity, in her silent strength and fragile dignity, that transmitted an inexplicable sense of security. It was as if her presence was an anchor amid this storm of changes.

  The quietness that followed was laden with unspoken promises. While both searched for words that could bridge their two different worlds, silence became a mantle that enveloped them both. Felicity, observing Zhen’s pensive figure from the corner of her eye, felt that this bond went beyond a simple invocation. Something inside whispered that they were on the edge of an experience that would transcend the physical, delving into deeper territories of the spirit.

  Zhen, for his part, contemplated the shadows that candlelight cast on the walls. Although the rules of this place were incomprehensible to him, a part of him recognized something familiar in this strange connection. The whirlwind of emotions stirring inside him -the confusion, fear, uncertainty of having been torn from his world- seemed to slightly calm in Felicity’s presence. Perhaps, he thought, just like Chi flowing in Tai Chi forms, here too existed an energy that could help him find balance amid the chaos that was now his life.