Aria left the meeting just like that—no backward glance, no hesitation. The room was filled with stunned silence, broken only by the soft thud of the door closing behind her.
Selene stood still, trembling, her fingernails digging into her palms to keep from falling apart. But it didn't help. No amount of strength or pride could shield her from the words Aria had flung at her. They struck deeper than any blade ever could.
And then… the tears came. Silent, bitter drops that slid down her cheeks no matter how tightly she clenched her jaw. She bit her lip hard enough to taste blood, as if pain could dull the guilt. Coward. That word had always lived somewhere inside her but hearing it from Aria—it made it real. Unforgivable.
"I'll look after her," Theodore said, voice calm yet firm.
Selene turned toward him in surprise. He had been dragged into this—an outsider to her wounds and her regrets. Their relationship had always been brittle, weighed down by years of old scars and silent grudges. But everything changed the day Aria was born. She had become a bridge between two broken siblings.
Even if Theodore never said it aloud, it was clear: Aria meant the world to him too.
"But… she was right," he added, his voice sharper now, colder. "Just because you cold to them doesn't mean it's going to save their life"
And with that, he left—his cloak sweeping behind him, his footsteps echoing like a final judgment.
Selene didn't reply. She couldn't.
When she and Kaelen returned to the duchy hours later, Aria was already gone.
Thanks to teleportation magic, traveling from the South to the North didn't take long. But no magic could protect Aria from the freezing winds that bit at her cheeks and turned her fingers numb. The northern air was unforgiving, sharp like broken glass.
"System," she whispered aloud, voice trembling not from the cold, "who is the protagonist in this game?"
A long pause.
{Request denied. GF.}
She sighed. "Of course."
"Can you at least show me the details of the Golden Aura?" she asked softly, almost pleading.
There was another pause, and then her system screen flickered to life.
[SYSTEM NOTICE: GOLDEN AURA — ACCESS GRANTED]
Name: Golden Aura
Origin: Glitch-Origin Soul Binding (Unstable)
Holder: Aria (User ID: [Redacted])
Classification: Forbidden / Divine Mutation
Tier: Unknown
Status: Active (Suppressed)
Abilities Unlocked:
– Soul-Link Tracing: Can trace a curse or blessing to its source.
– Miracle Perception: Grants limited perception of divine interference or timeline alterations.
– Immortal Memory: Remembers events across resets/lives without full synchronization.
– Judgmental Presence: Radiates aura that causes entities to hesitate, fear, or worship, depending on alignment.
Risk:
– Aura is unstable. May draw attention from celestial beings or forgotten gods.
– Prolonged use could fracture soul core or cause permanent divergence from timeline.
– Contains remnants of a divine error. The system cannot fully control or interpret it.
Aria stared at the screen.
"So… does that mean," she whispered, her voice barely audible over the howling wind, "if I train… if I push myself hard enough… I can actually use this power?"
There was a heartbeat of silence.
Then the system responded.
{SYSTEM: Affirmative. Access to abilities will increase proportionally with emotional resonance, spiritual growth, and physical stability.}
{Note: Due to the unstable nature of the Golden Aura, mastery may cause significant pain—mental, emotional, and physical EVEN LOSE PAST MEMORIES. Proceed at your own risk.}
Aria blinked, lips parting as the words settled into her bones.
Something ignited deep inside her—like a flicker of warmth in a world that had always been too cold. This power, born from a glitch, from a divine mistake… it was a curse, yes.
But it was also her chance.
Her voice hardened with quiet resolve. "Then I'll train. No matter what it takes."
If she can never go back this is going to her world and her life. So in order to survive she need to learn.
The snow crunched softly beneath Aria's boots as she stepped through the portal and into the heart of the North. Wind kissed her cheeks, red from the chill, but it wasn't the cold that made her shiver—it was the ache still clinging to her chest. She didn't look back. Not at the South, not at the palace, not at Selene.
The gates of the Northern Stronghold opened with a quiet hum of magic, revealing a world painted in frost and silence. Towering evergreens stood as silent sentinels, their branches heavy with snow, and the great stone walls loomed overhead, formidable and ancient—like the man waiting at the steps.
Duke Theodore.
He didn't speak as she arrived, only removed his cloak and placed it around her shoulders. She blinked up at him, surprised by the simple act of care.
"I don't like repeats," he said gruffly. "If you get sick again, Kaelen will kill me."
That coaxed a smile from her. A small one. Fragile. But real.
"I'm not planning to die," she said softly. "Not anymore."
Theo studied her—those silver strands, those piercing blue eyes. She looked too much like Selene. But there was something else in her gaze now. Resolve. A spark of something terrifying and powerful. Maybe even divine.
"Good," he said. "Because the North doesn't babysit corpses."
She snorted and followed him inside.
The warmth of the hearth greeted her in the main hall. Firelight danced across polished stone floors and fur-lined walls. The North wasn't soft—but it was safe. And after everything, that was more than she could ask for.
"Will I train here?" she asked, eyes scanning the space.
Theo nodded. "You'll start tomorrow. If that golden light of yours is as special as Kaelen says, you better learn to control it before it controls you."
Aria opened her hand. For a brief second, the golden aura shimmered at her fingertips—warm, alive, hungry.
"I want to learn," she said. "Not because they want me to. But because I need to."
Theo nodded again, quieter this time. "Then we'll make sure you do."