Enildin’s lab smelled like a storm about to break out.

Arlen took a deep breath, the air thick with ozone and something else—something that made his teeth chatter slightly, as if he were about to witness the birth of a god.

Enildin stood at a chaotic table, his nimble fingers dancing among instruments that seemed alive. His green eyes shone brightly beneath the dark hair that insisted on falling over his face, even as he pushed it back impatiently.

“Celestial Alchemy is neither science nor magic,” he said, lifting a raw crystal the size of a fist. “It is the art of convincing the universe to daydream.”

With one precise movement, he plunged the crystal into a silvery liquid that boiled without heat. The entire lab seemed to hold its breath.

And then—

The crystal sang.

A pure, crystalline note that made Arlen’s bones resonate. The rough stone shattered into a thousand particles of light, swirling in the air like a whirlwind of stars before reassembling itself into a new, perfect, impossible shape.

— “Celestial Metamorphosis,” Enildin announced proudly, holding up what was now a pulsating jewel, its core radiating a blue light that cast unknown constellations on the walls. “A common crystal transformed into a stellar battery. With this little beauty, you could power a city on your world for a century.”

Arlen reached out hesitantly. As his fingers touched the jewel, a flood of images flooded his mind—

— A desert bathed in two moons

— Colossal machines trudging between crystal dunes

— A child crying over the rubble of something terrible and wonderful

He recoiled as if he had been burned.

— “What… what was that?”

Enildin studied his face with scientific interest.

— "Mnemonic echo. All energy carries memory. This one came from the source material—a meteorite that crashed in the depths of Zhyndor." His eyes darkened. "That is why your question is important, Arlen Sharim."

The alchemist pivoted on his heel, triggering a hidden mechanism. A section of the wall slid away, revealing a shielded chamber where dozens of similar artifacts floated in containment fields.

— "Each of these could elevate or destroy civilizations. Our knowledge is guarded not out of selfishness, but out of responsibility." He closed the chamber with a brusque gesture. "You were chosen because the amulet saw in you what we also saw—someone who understands that power is always, first and foremost, a choice."

The weight of those words sank onto Arlen's shoulders like a leaden cloak.

Descriptive Chronicle:

The Library of the Stars at night was a different place.

The crystals that had bathed the halls in golden light by day now glowed silver, transforming each shelf into a portal to the unknown. Arlen followed Leynad through empty hallways, his amulet pulsing in tune with the slumbering artifacts.

“Look at this,” Leynad whispered, unfurling a parchment that looked like it was made of star skin. The map on it showed not continents but clusters of light—seven in all, arranged in a pattern that drew a gasp from Arlen.

“Aurion is only one…”

“The first,” Leynad finished, her eyes reflecting the constellations on the map. “The others have been lost, or hidden better.”

Her fingers touched a specific spot—a dark spot where the parchment seemed to have burned.

“This one… I think it’s still alive. And it’s screaming.”

Arlen didn’t ask how he knew. The chill that ran up his spine was answer enough.

Final Dialogue:

— "Do you think there are more places like this?" Leynad asked, his face illuminated by the ghostly light of the map.

Arlen studied the familiar contours of Zhyndor, so unrecognizable in this ancient depiction.

— "It's possible. But if there are, why hasn't anyone ever found them?"

Leynad smiled, showing slightly sharp teeth.

— "Maybe we're looking wrong. Maybe..." His voice dropped to a dramatic whisper. "They don't want to be found."

The amulet in Arlen's hands pulsed once, strong, like a heart in the face of danger.

Somewhere in the depths of the library, something responded.