Morning at the guild was… dazzling. Literally. The entire building shimmered as if someone had cast permanent sparkle. Dust motes drifted like tiny stars. Windows gleamed so brightly they reflected sunlight into nearby taverns.
Mira stood in the doorway, expression flat. "Rein… what did you do?"
Rein, crouched by the quest board, looked up guiltily. His hands glowed faintly. "I was just polishing! The wood said it wanted to shine!"
"It did not say that."
He pointed proudly at the vibrating wall. "Then why is it singing?"
The wall was humming. Softly. Cheerfully. In perfect harmony with Rein's footsteps.
The receptionist didn't look up from her desk. "At this point, we've accepted the building as a sentient being."
Mira pinched her temple. "You're banned from cleaning forever."
Rein grinned. "But I made everything kira-kira!"
"Stop saying that."
"Kira-kira! Sparkly-sparkly! It's happiness you can see!"
Mira looked around at the pulsating floorboards. "That's not happiness. That's structural instability."
Before she could exorcise the guild's new personality, a weary voice echoed from upstairs. "Priestess Mira. Bring your… project… to my office."
The Guildmaster's office smelled like paper, coffee, and despair. He sat hunched over his desk, eyes twitching. "Explain why my carpet glows."
Mira bowed slightly. "It's… complicated."
Rein waved. "Hi! I'm the sparkle source!"
The Guildmaster blinked slowly. "And proud of it, I see." He rubbed his temples. "Reports say your… aura… is leaking across the district."
"Oh, that's just residual Kira-Kira energy!" Rein said cheerfully. "It's contagious sparkle!"
Mira's eyes widened. "You mean… unstable mana residue. Rein, you're leaking light-aspect mana!"
"Leaking? I prefer 'sharing.'"
The Guildmaster exhaled. "If this turns into another Cardion, I'm billing both of you."
By noon, Mira and Rein were patrolling the streets. They followed trails of faint glitter that clung to walls, cats, and the occasional unlucky merchant.
"Look!" Rein crouched near a barrel, pointing at a swirl of dancing light. "They're multiplying! Kira-Kira babies!"
"Those are mana leaks, not babies!"
He poked one. It popped like a soap bubble and reappeared on his sleeve. "They like me!"
"They like consuming reality!"
Rein giggled, letting a cluster of sparkles orbit his hand. "They tickle! Ow—hot! Ow—pretty!"
Mira grabbed him by the collar. "Do. Not. Touch. Anything."
"But they're so shiny!"
"Rein, I swear on the Church's last nerve—"
He sneezed.
It was small, cute, and catastrophic.
Sparkles erupted like a firework, swirling into the air and forming a spiraling vortex of light. The ground rippled. Mana surged. A faint hum deepened into a resonant chime.
Mira froze. "That's not a sneeze. That's a summoning frequency."
Rein blinked. "Oops?"
The vortex spun faster, coalescing into a pulsing orb the size of a wagon. Its runes flickered erratically.
Mira shouted over the wind, "That's a proto-Cardion! Step back!"
Rein tilted his head, mesmerized. "It's so pretty…"
"Rein, don't you dare—"
He licked it.
The world went white.
BOOM.
Light exploded outward, knocking Mira off her feet and scattering petals, dust, and the faint smell of caramelized mana.
When the glow faded, the plaza was spotless again. Too spotless. Even the cobblestones gleamed.
Mira groaned, half-buried under paperwork from a nearby stall. "Tell me you didn't just create a dungeon."
Rein rubbed his head, eyes sparkling. "I think I made a sparkle friend!"
"You made a localized magical containment anomaly!"
"…Does it sparkle?"
"Yes!" she snapped. "That's the problem!"
An hour later, the Guildmaster stared at the aftermath report. The plaza sparkled like a holy relic. Citizens wore sunglasses indoors.
"So," he said slowly, "your apprentice gave birth to a Cardion."
Mira sighed. "Technically, it was an accidental mana crystallization caused by his—"
"By his what?"
"…excessive enthusiasm."
Rein, sitting beside her, waved cheerfully. "I made magic soup last time. This time I made glitter pudding!"
Mira buried her face in her hands. "You can't eat light, Rein."
He thought for a moment. "Challenge accepted."
The Guildmaster's eyebrow twitched. "I'll assign you both to containment duty. Before he eats the economy."
That night, the guild was quiet—except for the faint twinkle of distant light drifting through the windows. Rein leaned against the sill, watching motes of leftover sparkle drift toward the forest.
Mira walked in, drying her hair. "You're thinking of touching it again, aren't you?"
Rein smiled faintly. "What? No. …Maybe."
"Rein—"
"I just wanna see where they go."
Far beyond the village, deep in the woods, a faint glow pulsed in the darkness—steady, rhythmic, and far too alive.
Rein whispered softly, "Kira-kira…"
Mira facepalmed, already bracing herself. "Oh gods. Not again."
A faint bloop echoed in the distance, and the forest shimmered gold.