The underground training hall was silent eerily so.
Dim blue runes glowed along the stone walls, their light reflecting faintly off the silver strands of Milly's disguise.
The Sage stood in the center, tracing symbols into the air with his staff.
Chains of pure light spiraled outward and wrapped around the edges of the room.
"Once the seal is complete," he said calmly, "your external magic will be completely suppressed. You won't be able to summon Flamedro Tonado, Blagos Endos, or Arthianos."
Milly nodded once. "Got it."
She stood straight, her blue eyes focused but uncertain. She could already feel the air pressing heavily on her skin. The runes vibrated with power like the whole chamber was preparing to swallow her magic whole.
The Sage's staff pulsed once.
"Ready?"
Milly inhaled deeply. "Do it."
The seal activated with a deafening hum.
Light wrapped around her body, sinking deep into her mana flow. The warmth of her magic gone in seconds.
She gasped softly. "It's… quiet."
"That's the seal working." The Sage watched her carefully. "Now, focus inward. Try to feel any foreign energy moving inside you."
Milly closed her eyes.
At first nothing. Just the sound of her own heartbeat.
Then… a faint whisper.
Not from the outside. From within.
Her eyes flew open, but before she could speak, her hand moved without her command.
Her fingers twitched once, then slowly lifted toward the air.
"What the!?"
The Sage's head snapped toward her. "Miss Mila?"
"I-I can't-" Her voice broke. "I'm not moving, my body's-"
Her other arm rose, trembling violently, like something was pulling it up by invisible strings.
The ground beneath her cracked, black energy swirling faintly around her feet.
"Mila! Focus! Push back against it!" the Sage shouted, trying to extend the seal.
"I can't!" she screamed, her voice trembling as her legs started to shift on their own. She stepped forward, her expression twisting in panic. "It's like something's inside me forcing me"
Her blue eyes flickered gold for a brief instant. Then maroon.
And just as fast, they dimmed again.
The Sage extended his staff, adding a second layer of runes, glowing bright white. "Whatever it is, it's reacting to the seal itself it's fighting back!"
Milly's lips moved on their own.
But the words that came out weren't hers.
"Why… do you bind me again?"
Her voice was distorted echoing with a tone that wasn't human. The runes shattered in the same instant.
The Sage staggered back, stunned. "That voice"
Milly's body slumped forward. The black aura vanished as quickly as it appeared, and she collapsed to the ground, panting, eyes wide with fear.
She whispered shakily, "It wasn't Arthianos… It's someone else… someone older."
The Sage lowered his staff, the glow fading from the room.
"…Then we've uncovered something far worse than forgotten magic," he murmured.
Milly clutched her chest, trembling. "If it can move my body like that… then next time, it might not stop there."
The Sage nodded slowly. "Then we'll make sure there isn't a next time. But I fear… that thing inside you doesn't agree."