A ntern floated in the air, high above the tip of the ritual’s shape. Maybe a triangle. The rest was obscured by darkness, but the ntern hovered, turning slowly. She hated things of this nature, things that floated without reason, without strings or chains, without even the wind to justify their movement. At least the Keeper’s Keep had light, allowing her to see the zyphs as a whole. Not when she didn’t even know what was near it, controlling it, or holding it.

  Jania forced her feet to stay pnted. Rationalized that this was the ntern that she needed to light. It was different from the common ones and situated at the center, making it important. Or was it a trick?

  Well…

  Overthinking wouldn’t help. She had already come this far. If another entity did appear, she would deal with it then. More experience points…yeah…

  Jania activated the taper lighter again and brought the light closer to the ntern’s wick. The moment the light touched it, she quickly withdrew her hand. She was expecting something, like it might cut her hand off. But instead, not only the wick but also the entire ntern glowed. Then, she made a 360-degree turn with her fshlight while turning off the taper lighter, checking if there were any changes near her.

  When she found none, she turned her attention back to the lit ntern and the lines below.

  Following the lines, wary that something might grab her behind back she moved with measured steps.

  Eventually, she found the nterns one by one. Each time the taper lighter met a wick, the same thing would happen. The whole ntern would light up. By the time she lit the st one, the lines of the ritual circle, a 15-pointed star with intersecting lines, shone.

  As Jania stepped back, the ritual circle pulsed, once, twice, before a chain reaction spread outward. Scattered candles fred to life in succession, their fmes rising in a synchronized rhythm. A hush settled over the room, thick and expectant, and then, above her, the ceiling stirred. Tiny points of light shimmered into existence, faint at first, embers struggling to burn, then brightening into a breathtaking expanse of silver and gold.

  A starry sky. Right there within the chamber.

  The ceiling stretched high, an illusion or something more, filling the vast darkness with consteltions that pulsed softly.

  Jania straightened and took in the breathtaking scene.

  You have completed the task, Light up the Luminarium. You have gained 10 EXP.

  Great. Great. Now, I can leave. Jania thought.

  However.

  Stars fell out of the ceiling, heading straight to the center of the ritual circle.

  Nope. Nope. Absolutely not.

  Jania was already backing up. She was injured. She was not ready for round two. Pretty sure her parents would prefer her in one piece, not scattered across some eerie ritual. But as she pivoted, ready to book it—

  Dear guest, kindly extend your hands and prepare to receive.

  The message made Jania pause, her brows knitting together. Receive what? A reward?

  Despite her skepticism, she still found herself slipping the taper lighter into her pants’ pocket, even though its length made it awkward to fit. Still, she followed the instructions. It was because of the vague rules. Jania wasn’t sure if obeying the system was an actual rule or an unspoken expectation, but now was not the time to test it.

  The stars swirled around and merged into one big star that gently floated on Jania’s palm. The star pulsed warmly in her palm, sending a faint tingling sensation up her fingers. Jania blinked, tilting her head. “Huh.” Before she could overthink it, the glowing mass trembled, then compressed inward. Light bent and twisted, morphing, shifting. And then, right in the center of her hand, something…awakened?

  Jania sucked in a breath as the glow faded, revealing a tiny creature no bigger than her hand. Its body was eerily humanoid, delicate and fragile-looking, yet undeniably alive. Multiple round eyes bulged from its wings that draped over its face and fluttered on its back. The smell of soft, powdery sweetness, freshly washed linen mixed with something faintly floral, became stronger.

  Soooo, this is where the scent came from? Jania thought. Was this even cssified as an entity by the system? Either way, she was going to use creature and entity to refer to any…special existences in the Arrival Hall.

  After a couple of minutes, Jania winced, not knowing what to do.

  The small creature twitched in response. It made a sound. Something between a whisper and a chime. The multiple eyes were eerily cool, but it still looked cute. It didn’t chomp her head. That was a win.

  Aurivins

  Small, winged beings that emerge from celestial rituals. They are subtly drawn to certain energies. While fragile, they py a quiet role in maintaining certain sigils, seals, and pentacles, their energy ebbing and flowing before they eventually fall into a deep slumber.

  Maintaining sigils, seals, and pentacles. Her mind flicked back to the countless symbols she’d seen around the estate. The faded lines etched into the floors, the markings on ceilings, and the intricate circles she had no way of understanding. Then, the door that had the sanctum symbols. The one that was seemingly inactive.

  Can an..aur..aurivin help?

  Jania’s gaze flickered down at the aurivin, still floating zily above her palm. It was small, harmless, and apparently tied to energy flow. If this thing had these abilities, then maybe, just maybe, it could get that door open.

  She exhaled through her nose. "Alright... you’re coming with me, little one." Doubt lingered in her chest, but her voice remained gentle, almost tentative. "If it's alright with you, that is. I don’t want to—"

  The aurivin blinked at her, giving a slight, almost imperceptible nod. Jania couldn’t help but smile a little. Although she was exhausted, she wasn’t so far gone that she’d forget to be kind. Even to another non-aggressive entity.

  "Thank you," Jania said, as she carefully tucked the creature into her breast pocket, being mindful of its delicate form. “Let’s try to keep it quiet, okay?”

  The aurivin chimed, brief, like a single note from a wind chime. It settled in; its tiny wings folding closer to its body. It didn’t make another sound.

  With the creature safely tucked away, Jania reached for her taper lighter and put it in her bag. As she began to leave the Luminarium, the room remained the same.

  Walking downstairs, Jania felt something in her chest loosen. Not enough to call relief, but enough to breathe a little easier. This pce was filled with uncertainty, but the fact that she was not totally alone anymore, for now, made the atmosphere slightly lighter.

  Jania moved back to the hall and was about to continue walking forward, where she had never explored, but stopped.

  I don’t even know if it would lead to the parlor…

  Also, she thought it was too dark.

  She winced with her eye and decided to use the path she took earlier to reach the Threshold Parlor. So, she turned around and—

  An entity.

  It was shaped simir to a human; its waxen body gleaming dully in Jania’s fshlight. There was wax dripping onto the floor. This made it look like it was melting, especially its face. The trails of wax acted as a short veil to cover its eyes. Jania saw its mouth, an uneven slit.

  I was too compcent. Jania berated herself in her thoughts. She didn’t even feel or hear it. Her heart was beating rapidly. Should she run? Attack? Could she damage it? Don’t move? This was her first time seeing this entity. She wasn’t sure what the safest response was.

  Then, blue fmes ignited from its head. The hall was instantly tinted in ghostly blue. Jania flinched, making her fshlight shake a bit. Despite her original pn, she slowly took a step back and the aurivin in her pocket peeked and did not make any sound.

  The other entity smiled. The slit stretched its corners; an exaggerated curve was pstered on its face.

  It knew.

  It knew she was here.

  Jania turned around and ran. Her fshlight’s beam bounced wildly, carving shaky tunnels of light through the darkness. The walls blurred past her, warped by movement and fear. But no matter how fast she ran, she heard no footsteps behind her.

  Only the subdued crackle of fire.

  Her breathing came in short, uneven gasps, her pulse hammering against her skull. She was still reeling. The st hostile entity encounter had drained her physically, her limbs sluggish. Pain also fred hot and sharp from her wound. It pulsed in time with her racing heartbeat. The halls fshed bright blue. Then, dark. Then, blue again. It made Jania squint her eyes as her legs ached from continuous running. Each time, the transition stabbed into her skull, making her vision blur.

  Bright blue. The walls gleamed with red-colored script and had doors that Jania had no time trying to open. She could feel the aurivin vibrating. Was it afraid?

  Dark. The ground beneath her seemed to drop. A step too deep. A miscalcution. Her knee buckled, and she barely caught herself against the wall. At the same time, tiny hands clutched at the fabric of Jania’s pocket.

  Bright blue.

  Jania tore through the hallway, her muscles protesting with every step. The pulsing light made it impossible to tell if the hall stretched or shrank. Was it getting longer? But she couldn’t stop.

  Dark. The scent of hot wax thickened, seeping into her nose and her mouth. A drop of something hot nded on her forearm. Wax? No, just sweat. Just sweat.

  Then, her foot hit something solid.

  A toppled chair.

  Jania barely had time to adjust. She saw a fsh of silver fre in her periphery. The aurivin. Its delicate hands pulled strands from Jania’s hair to slow her fall. Its chime-like cry was subtle and sharp.

  No avail.

  Jania fell. The impact rattled through her bones, but she managed to twist enough to avoid smming face-first. A sharp jolt of pain sparked through her shoulder, but it wasn’t the worst she’d taken.

  Bright blue. Jania winced as she pushed herself to stand up and run with her phone still in her hand. Beside her, the aurivin flew, its wings fpping, but there was no sound.

  Dark. They went forward into another hallway, Jania’s breath ragged, her body running on nothing but adrenaline.

  Another chime—

  Jania slipped.

  The fast momentum she could manage, but the slippery floor—she was neither mentally nor physically prepared for that. Her foot slid too far, too fast.

  Cold. A dull, wet sp echoed as she collided with the floor. A puddle swallowed her arms and her knees, soaking her clothes instantly.

  Worse. Her fingers lost grip.

  Her phone slipped from her grasp, skidding across the floor. It spun wildly, the beam cutting jagged streaks of light across the ceiling and walls.

  Bright blue. Jania groaned, pushing herself up as quickly as her shaking limbs would allow. She heard a quiet chime coming from the right and barely registered how the aurivin returned her phone, which was still functional.

  Dark. With a silent thanks, she snatched it and moved again, followed by the tiny creature.

  Her mind was bnk as she ran. The cold water still clung to her clothes, to her wound, making every step heavier, but she couldn't stop. Did she consider that other entities might come? Yes. However, she was going to die if she stopped. Taking her chance to survive longer was the preferred choice. That was what she thought while ignoring the burning feeling in her legs.

  Dark.

  Dark.

  Dark?

  Is it no longer following me? No, don’t check. Keep running!

  "If you only move when you see the problem, you’ve already lost time, and you might lose more than that.” Her mother’s words from the time when Jania was young echoed in her mind. That was why Jania kept moving until the aurivin flew in front of her. It motioned for her to stop.

  Immediately, Jania skidded to a halt, nearly stumbling again. The tiny creature hovered inches from her face. Jania, confused, assumed it meant she was safe or everything was okay, so she turned back to only be greeted by a dark, empty hallway.

  It’s really gone? Jania didn’t know what had happened, but she had to move on to the concern. Where was she? Looking left and right, her face dawned to a realization. This was the starting area. The Threshold Parlor was just to her right!

  You have gained 10 EXP.

  Jania looked at the small number, which reminded her of the previous experience points gained earlier: one from the Keeper and one from the metal-sounding entity. She concluded that these were rewards for surviving. But the gap, five or ten to 211, was apparent. What were the factors that dictated these numbers? Entity Levels? Entity Type?

  It would be nice if I could see the entities’ status windows.

  Her uneven breaths gradually returned to stability as she gnced at the aurivin flying beside her. No status windows. Then, she looked at the path she took again.

  Honestly, any hallways that were in complete darkness were not explored by Jania. But moments ago? She had run straight through it. Still, she needed to explore it once more next time since she had no idea where was where and what was what in those halls.

  Jania scanned her surroundings to see if she had attracted any other entity. She was sure she made enough noise for something to hear her.