Magnolia was peaceful.
Too peaceful.
Inside the guild hall, the usual chaos was in full swing.
Ignar Draven stood on top of a table, fists on his hips.
"SPAR TIME!"
Zephyr Frost was already shirtless.
"Can you ever act normal?"
Seraphina Noctis smiled sweetly as she served drinks behind the bar.
Raizen Voltaris sat in the corner with a bored expression, sparks of lightning lazily crackling around him.
Magnus Virel laughed casually, arms crossed.
And at the very center—softly floating—
Lumielle Aetheris.
She was staring at a ledger, deep in financial planning mode.
"Please stop breaking tables," she said calmly. "The repair costs are increasing."
Ignar grinned.
"This is an investment!"
Zephyr shot back, "You're a loss."
The guild burst into laughter.
Thorn & the Unspoken
Near the balcony, Thorn stood quietly, hands in his pockets.
His gaze was fixed on Lumielle.
"Just say it. It's simple," his mind said.
"Just say—I love you."
His brain replied,
"And then awkward silence?"
His heart answered,
"Worth it."
Thorn muttered, "Shut up. Both of you."
Lumielle glanced up and smiled.
"Thorn, are you going to help, or are you just posing dramatically?"
Thorn stepped down.
"I'm moral support."
She teased, "For free?"
"I'm premium," Thorn replied. "I'll send an invoice."
The guild laughed.
Seraphina whispered to Zephyr,
"Don't they look kind of cute?"
Zephyr looked away.
"I see nothing."
Then—everything shifted.
A cold wind tore through the hall.
Windows cracked.
A magic circle flared on the floor.
Black runes.
Levy shouted, "Ancient teleport seal!"
Thorn activated his gravity field instantly—but—
The seal locked onto only one target.
Golden particles flickered.
Lumielle's eyes widened.
"Thorn—!"
And in the next second—
She vanished.
Silence.
Absolute silence.
The guild froze.
Ignar was the first to react.
"WHAT?!"
Zephyr's ice aura exploded outward.
Raizen's lightning surged violently.
Magnus's expression turned deadly serious.
Seraphina whispered, shaken,
"Lumielle…"
Thorn didn't move.
Head lowered.
Hands still in his pockets.
But beneath the floor, thin cracks spread.
Gravity density spiked.
Raizen stepped toward him.
"Stay in control."
Thorn slowly lifted his head.
His eyes were cold.
No laziness.
No jokes.
Only rage.
"Location."
Levy frantically scanned her runes.
"Signal is faint… northeast forest… ancient ruins."
Ignar clenched his fists.
"Let's move!"
Thorn stepped forward.
The entire guild felt it—the air grew heavy.
"They made the wrong choice," Thorn thought.
"They touched Lumielle."
"I couldn't even confess…"
"And now—"
His gravity aura fluctuated violently.
Seraphina said softly,
"Thorn… we're with you."
Thorn inhaled deeply.
The aura stabilized.
"Good," he said calmly.
"Because what comes next… will be intense."
They moved through the forest at full speed.
Ignar laughed while running.
"Angry Thorn actually looks cool!"
Zephyr snapped,
"Can you stay quiet?"
"Nope!"
Raizen smirked.
"Kid's in love."
Thorn glanced sideways.
"Lightning uncle, your turn will come too."
The guild chuckled.
The tension eased—just a little.
The ruins appeared.
An ancient stone tower wrapped in black aura.
Dark mages stood in formation.
At the center floated a crystal cage.
Golden light shimmered inside.
Lumielle—unconscious, sealed.
Thorn's heartbeat slowed.
"Release her."
The dark mage leader laughed.
"So you're the Gravity King. We heard you're all about control.
We wanted to see how strong that control really is."
Ignar shouted,
"Enough talking!"
Zephyr spread a freezing field.
The battle erupted.
Lightning rained down.
Ice blades tore through the air.
Fire spiraled into a tornado.
Demonic blasts shattered stone.
Shockwaves crushed the ground.
Thorn still hadn't moved.
His eyes never left the cage.
The leader sneered.
"One step closer, and the crystal collapses."
Thorn finally spoke.
"Simple deal.
Let her go.
I'll surrender."
The guild froze.
Ignar yelled,
"Have you lost your mind?!"
Thorn didn't look away from Lumielle.
"Worth it."
Inside the cage, Lumielle stirred.
Her voice was weak.
"Thorn… don't…"
The leader laughed.
"Love makes monsters weak."
Thorn slowly pulled one hand from his pocket.
The ground trembled.
The sky warped.
"Love," Thorn said quietly,
"makes monsters careful."
Gravity spiked.
The entire ruin sank three meters into the earth.
Dark mages collapsed to their knees.
The leader panicked.
"Impossible—!"
"You targeted the wrong person," Thorn said.
He didn't attack directly.
Instead, space bent only around the cage.
Precision.
Microscopic gravity threads formed.
The seal's structure analyzed.
Absorption activated.
The formula unraveled.
A shield wrapped around Lumielle.
Snap.
The crystal shattered—without harming her.
Thorn appeared beside her instantly.
She began to fall—
He caught her.
The guild went silent.
Ignar whispered,
"Hero entry…"
"Shut up," Zephyr replied.
Lumielle's eyes fluttered open.
"Thorn…"
His voice softened.
"I'm here."
Golden particles glowed around them.
She smiled faintly.
"You were overreacting, weren't you?"
"I was underreacting," Thorn said.
Awkward coughs echoed behind them.
Seraphina blushed.
The leader launched a desperate attack—a massive dark beam.
Thorn raised one hand.
The beam froze midair.
Compressed.
Shrank.
A tiny black sphere.
Thorn flicked his fingers.
The leader vanished—sealed inside a micro gravity prison.
Not dead.
Magnus whistled.
"Clean."
Raizen nodded.
"Terrifying."
On the way back—
Ignar grinned.
"Thorn was emotional!"
"I'm recording this," Zephyr said.
"Delete it," Thorn replied flatly.
Seraphina teased,
"Princess rescue complete."
"I am the guild master," Lumielle protested weakly.
"Yeah, yeah," Thorn said.
Later, in a quiet forest clearing, the others gave them space.
Lumielle floated beside Thorn.
"You were really going to surrender."
"Obviously."
"Why?"
A pause.
The wind was gentle.
"…You're a guild asset," Thorn said.
She smiled knowingly.
"Just an asset?"
"…Important," he added.
"How important?" she asked, drifting closer.
Thorn's brain crashed.
From far away, Ignar shouted,
"JUST KISS ALREADY!"
Zephyr punched him.
Lumielle laughed softly.
The moment broke.
Thorn screamed internally.
On the walk home, under a clear night sky, Lumielle floated beside him.
"Thank you," she said.
"Be more careful next time," Thorn replied.
She smiled playfully.
"Next time, confess first."
Thorn froze.
"Wha—"
She winked, golden particles glowing around her.
His heart nearly exploded.
"She knows," he thought.
Far away, on a distant cliff, a hooded figure watched.
"So… the Gravity King has a weakness."
The shadow vanished.
A bigger storm was coming.