Night fell, and rain poured down in torrents.
Craig stood beneath the downpour, his body carved with blade wounds
Rainwater washed over the cuts, blood pooling at Craig’s feet and spreading across the ground.
His eyes remained open, seemingly fixed in Linda’s direction.
A faint look of relief lingered there as Craig spoke softly, telling her. You’re safe. That’s all that matters.”
Linda’s pupils constricted. She watched his breath fade, inch by inch, yet his gaze never left her.
Even as life drained from him, Craig kept looking at her with quiet tenderness.
A cold dread crept up from Linda’s feet and spread through her entire body.
She had never witnessed a scene like this before, yet the grief and despair gripping her heart felt devastatingly real so real that fear followed close behind.
Craig blinked, stunned. He had only handed her a cookie, yet Linda’s face had gone pale in an instant. Even makeup didn’t fade that fast
He leaned closer and asked. “Linda? Are you okay?‘
Laura and Rafael turned to look as well.
Linda’s face was deathly pale, as if she had taken a heavy blow. Rafael frowned, puzzled, and asked. “Craig, did you put something in the food again?”
“I didn’t,” Craig shot back, though his confidence faltered almost immediately.
He went on, “My medicine pouch isn’t allowed in the kitchen. There’s no way I could add anything. Besides, this cookie was left over from before. Laura ate it and nothing happened. How could it hurt her?”
What frustrated Craig even more was that Linda hadn’t even taken a bite. Even if it were poisoned, it wouldn’t act without being eaten.
Linda steadied herself against the edge of the table and stood there for a long moment before her senses returned.
She looked down at the cookie in her hand, the one Craig had given her. Both strange episodes happened after someone handed her something.
“What is this? Linda wondered. Why am I seeing their deaths? Is it the future?
Craig abruptly pulled the cookie from her hand and tossed it aside, saying, “Don’t eat it. Wait a bit. I’ll make you some hot oatmeal.
Without missing a beat, Craig went back to lighting the stove, then asked Laura to take Linda out of the kitchen and have her wait outside with some hot milk.
When the oatmeal and sandwiches were ready, Craig carried fifteen sandwiches up by himself.
Rafael barely reacted. He was already used to scenes like this.
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Chapter 13
Everyone ate in silence, while Laura finished her portion quickly.
After the meal, it was time for the coven’s routine tasks.
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Craig assigned one to each of them. Linda was tasked with organizing ancient texts. Rafael was to accompany Craig to help Laurence tend the Arcane Flora.
Laura was sent to reinforce the Great Citadel Wards, which was her daily duty. She used the wards both to temper herself and to help them grow stronger.
Once the assignments were done, Craig glanced at Linda’s face and asked, “Are you feeling better? If not, go rest. You can skip today’s task.”
Linda had already composed herself. “I’m fine,” she replied, then hesitated before asking, “But Craig, is it really okay for me to handle something as important as the ancient texts?”
Even she, an outsider, knew how significant those texts were.
Linda wondered, ‘I was only brought here. I never performed the entry rite, and I never took a master.
“Letting me organize the archives feels wrong. Is the First Unity Coven really this casual?‘
Craig waved it off. “It’s fine. This came from the coven leader. Just do it. Once you’re here, you’re not going anywhere. We’re not worried.”
Rafael was proof enough. Anyone who tried to run always got dragged back.
That’s true. Linda thought.
Outside, Craig pointed out a direction, and Linda set off on foot.
The Great Repository of Tomes stood at the highest point of the main peak.
Linda climbed the mountain alone, taking more than half an hour to reach the top.
When she entered the repository, it was empty. Ancient books lay scattered across the floor and shelves.
“You can tell it hasn’t been organized in a long time,” Linda murmured, then began sorting, classifying, and arranging the
texts.
Still, Linda’s thoughts drifted back to what she had seen earlier. ‘Why can I see their fates?
“If that vision belongs to Craig and Laura’s past lives, why have I been shown it? They should have had no connection to me at all.
‘It’s only in this life, because of Rafael, that I’ve been brought to the First Unity Coven and met them.
“Is it fate,” Linda muttered, “or some kind of trigger?”
Linda tapped the book in her hand. ‘Both times, the common thread has been receiving something. Perhaps I should pay closer attention next time!
Setting the thought aside, Linda worked faster. She finished one shelf, but there were far too many books.
Even after half a day, she had only organized a small portion.
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Chapter 13
Linda stretched, then noticed a nameless book wedged between two shelves. Its cover was black.
From that angle, it seemed as though a flash of gold passed over it.
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Linda stepped closer, pulled the book free, and opened it. Inside were formation diagrams and talismans, but no detailed explanations.
One torn page caught Linda’s eye. “The Eye of Rebirth.”
Linda flipped to the second page, but it had been ripped out, leaving nothing behind.
She searched through the entire book and then the surrounding shelves, yet found no remaining fragments. “Was it incomplete from the start?” she wondered.
Then Linda returned to the opening page. Only those four words remained, along with half of a torn diagram.
Suddenly, a strange sensation washed over her. Linda snapped her head up and met a pair of eyes watching her from the beam above.
Linda’s body tensed. The eyes were pitch black, deep and still, like a bottomless pool, fixed on her every move.
Seeing that, Linda reacted instantly, fire gathering in her palm.
But before she could strike, the creature beat its wings and shot past the window frame, vanishing outside.
“A bird?” Linda muttered coldly. ‘Why would a bird be inside the Great Repository of Tomes?‘
She followed its path with her gaze and noticed a window left half open. That was how it had entered.
Linda pushed the window wider. Sunlight spilled onto the page marked with the Eye of Rebirth, and her expression grew unreadable.
The next day, Linda attended morning training as usual.
During sparring, Laura held back again, but this time Linda found it unsatisfying and said, “Laura, don’t hold back.”
Laura hesitated. “Your hand, is it okay?”
“It’s healed,” Linda replied, throwing a punch forward. The air cracked, her fist unscathed. “Craig brought me medicine yesterday. It worked really well.”
Seeing this, Laura finally relaxed. “Alright.”
Laura was a formidable body cultivator. Her defense and offense were ideal for tempering another person’s physique.
Ever since Linda’s Gilded Core had been taken, she had been determined to strengthen her body.
Linda didn’t need to rival Laura. She only needed to last a few exchanges when Mana–Channeling was unavailable.
If the High Sanctum of Archmagi ever exposed her false death, she would need to run.
Meanwhile, Laura never used Mana–Channeling during sparring,
In the mornings, Linda worked on her punches and movement; afternoons were for sorting tomes, and evenings she devoted to meditation and inner cultivation.
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Chapter 13
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Linda lived at the First Unity Coven for a full month, gradually settling into its rhythm. Then one day, Craig hesitated, calling her name with an awkward pause. “Linda…”
She set down her utensils and looked up. “What is it, Craig?”
The words circled on Craig’s lips. Laura and Rafael both looked over.
Finally, Craig forced himself to say, “The coven leader wants you to go to the Spire of Blades.”
The moment the words landed, Laura and Rafael fell silent, and even the sound of eating seemed to fade.
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Sara Lili is a daring romance writer who turns icy landscapes into scenes of fiery passion. She loves crafting hot love stories while embracing the chill of Iceland’s breathtaking cold.
