As the third gap of the Starry Hourglass cracked open, Luna climbed onto Aelia's grooming table, her pink soft boots barely making a sound.
The Crystal Mirror reflected the chubby palm of the infant, pressing five dark patterns along the edge of the Crystal Rose Relief—this was the Emergency Contact Spell recorded in the Original.
"Madam!" Qin Si exclaimed as he lifted the Pearl Curtain, only to find Luna shoving a Crystal Baby Bottle, smeared with Moonlight Crumbs, against the center of the mirror.
Where Aelia's visage should have appeared, instead emerged a Black Market Dealings contract, with Leonard's signature glaring out from a bloodstained wine stain.
Aelia brushed against the mirror with her cuff embroidered with irises, and suddenly, ice cracks erupted from the moonstone on her wedding ring.
On the map outlined by crimson liquid, the location of the Outer Chamber was marked—the very place where they had first met at Oak Manor.
She stumbled back and knocked over an Enamel Jewelry Box, pearls rolling across the parchment of a Magic Contract, revealing the date signed by the Shadow Guard—coincidentally, it was the day Luna faced complications during childbirth.
"This is impossible..." Aelia murmured as her fingertip ignited with Detection Magic, only to be repelled by Ailina's Burn upon touching the contract.
Luna suddenly let out a Yi Ya shout; the rhythm of her Silver Spoon striking against the Gold Frame matched perfectly with the Ancient Elvish Language chant to lift the protective veil.
As the original contract floated out from the mirror, it carried with it the aroma of West Wine that was indistinguishable from Leonard's thirty-year aged wine used at last night's celebration.
From the direction of the cellar came an explosive sound from an oak barrel, causing Luna's wrist to move on its own without any wind.
Aelia suddenly clutched her heart; ashes began to fall from the Heartbinding Spell inscribed on the inner side of her wedding ring.
Trembling, she tore open Ankeli's Magic Communication Book. On the back of the Starry Sky Totem that Leonard had drawn by hand years ago was unmistakably a track for his illegitimate daughter’s birth star.
As moonlight shifted through Luna's hair, a nursery dome suddenly descended upon Xiao Yu.
The infant’s fingers, clutching half a biscuit, pointed at Aelia and Mei Xin. The Great Mage-level Memory Resonance forcefully unfolded—during Leonard's last night, he had placed what should have belonged to Lucius—the Dragonbone Staff—into the hands of his illegitimate child.
"Madam!" Qin Si caught his slumped master Midnight as Luna’s Crystal Baby Bottle rolled to her brother’s wheelchair.
The youth who had curled up for three years due to Magic Backlash suddenly looked up; Luna’s milk-stained fingers traced over his knee where a Curse Totem lay. The track perfectly aligned with the distorted star trail outside.
Luna suddenly grabbed her brother's wand and shoved it into his palm. The tip of the staff struck the ground, sparking a reaction that resonated with the stardust seeping from the cracks of the hourglass.
As her elder brother recited the long-forgotten spell, the family crest on the wheelchair armrest, dormant for years, suddenly burst forth with golden light, transforming the torrential rain in the nursery into a healing light barrier.
"Sister, you..." The young man stared in shock at his raised palm, where dark energy that had been lurking within his meridian began to seep out along the bite marks Luna had left on the cookie.
Seizing the opportunity, the infant pressed her thumb, covered in stardust, against his forehead. A sealed memory suddenly awakened—his past mistakes were not due to cultivation errors but rather because someone had replaced his magical potion.
The castle shook violently, and Luna gazed towards the southeast at the flame sword light illuminating the night sky.
She deliberately knocked over a paint box on the cashmere carpet, which just happened to be the magic circle totem where her second brother was trapped at that moment. The colors spread across the cashmere carpet, perfectly aligning with where her second brother was ensnared.
As Aelia tearfully held her daughter, Luna grasped her mother's flowing hair and stealthily entwined a strand of starlight within it—this would be the key thread to breaking their predicament tomorrow.
As moonlight passed over the tenth stone pillar in the corridor, Luna lay in the infant cradle, staring intently at the shadows in the corner.
Her second brother's most cherished Leonard's sword cast a fragmented reflection there. The guardian stone gifted by a close friend at the hilt now revealed its true form under the star trail's illumination—the soul devouring rune became visible.
When a heavy object fell with a dull thud from the southeast tower, Luna was being carried by Qin Si through the rose corridor.
The infant suddenly tugged at a maid's amethyst button, her grape-like eyes fixated on the armor around the corner—her second brother's dark cloak still bore traces of phosphorescence from the swamp, while the guardian stone at his waist was seeping indigo mist.
"The second young master hasn't eaten for three days," whispered a maid holding a silver tray, where a blueberry tart crystallized with frost flowers lay.
Luna waved her arm, causing starlight to fall upon the surface of the guardian stone. The veins of the soul devouring rune instantly became clear under the moonlight.
As Aelia hurriedly approached with her skirt lifted, she saw Luna pressing her entire small hand against the groove of the sword's hilt.
The starlight seeping from the infant's palm collided violently with the soul devouring rune, projecting a memory frame from that night when her friend gifted him a stone—the gray moth scale powder mixed into wine liquid mirrored exactly what was now reflected in her second brother's eyes.
"Sister, don't touch!" Her second brother's hoarse cry caught in his throat.
He attempted to pull away from Luna’s palm but found himself firmly grasped by her pinky finger.
The Curse Power that lingered in the Lingmai suddenly reversed, flowing through the golden light seeping from the infant's fingertips, illuminating the Sword Body with the swaying Family Crest of her dear friend, Waist—clearly the mark of Leonard's Dark Guard.
Luna suddenly pressed her milk-stained face against Jian Feng, and the pure aura unique to infants instantly triggered a violent reaction in the Soul Devouring Rune.
When Second Brother recited the Sword Technique with his Awareness, the sword hilt that the infant had gnawed on erupted with Qing Yue and Longyin, tearing apart the Indigo mist into two tattered Contracts—exactly the so-called "Cultivation Pact" that her dear friend had coaxed him into signing back then.
"So it all started with that rescue from the swamp..." Second Brother's knuckles turned white as he slammed his fist against the stone wall, dislodging a Memory Crystal hidden in the crevices.
Seizing the opportunity, Luna blew a bubble with her saliva, encasing the mottled seal on the crystal's surface. The moment the bubble burst, it revealed Leonard's Last Night as Captain of the Shadow Guard counting Dragonbone Staffs in the Outer Chamber.
The Young General suddenly knelt on one knee, his Xuan Tie Wristguards striking heavily against Luna's Infant Cradle. "Three days from now is the Northern Knights Order's tournament. Will you accompany me, brother?" He tore off a Guardian Stone and ground it into Powder, letting the night wind carry the remnants of betrayal toward Luna's Starry Hourglass—where the buried Purification Array of the tournament ground was emerging.
Before the morning mist had fully dissipated, Luna was carried by Brother San to the Training Ground.
Underneath the Wisteria Arbor where the Young Mage usually leaned, scattered lay certificates of "Rare Light Affinity" issued by the Prophecy Association, their parchment edges already frayed.
"No matter how much one practices, it can't compare to talent." Brother San was playing with a crystal ball when Luna bit down on his fingertip. Sparks erupted from her Milk Tooth and ignited the stagnant Light Element within the sphere.
As dawn broke through the Burning Crystal, reflected in Luna's Pupil were memories of her past life. During her time as a Great Mage, she was dismantling a Light System Forbidden Spell into combinations of Basic Runes.
Suddenly, Luna tugged at Brother San's flowing silver hair and dipped its tips into her leftover Oatmeal.
The thick liquid spread out on the bluestone slab in a shape that perfectly resembled the most basic Purification Array of light magic.
When Brother San used his Awareness to draw a correction rune, the Milk Foam expelled by Luna suddenly suspended into seventeen Ancient Language characters—encapsulating the essence of an improved Spell by the Great Mage.
An explosion suddenly echoed from the East Side of the Training Ground. Taking advantage of this distraction, Luna stepped her stardust-covered feet onto Brother San's Hand Back.
The boy stared blankly at his released Holy Light Shield—what should have required a staff for casting Seventh Level Magic now automatically stacked three amplification effects in rhythm with Luna's clapping hands.
"Sister is teaching me how to break down Spell structures?" Brother San's trembling fingertip brushed over Luna's Mei Xin Emerging Micro Array. The Moonlight Grass he had neglected last night suddenly grew wildly from his sleeve, entwining into a natural Magic Amplifier.
When the Noon Bell rang, he had already inscribed the twelfth version of Improved Spell across an entire stone wall, each Ke Hen seeping with healing Stardust that Luna had secretly applied.
As the rumors about the Lord and the Outer Chamber spread like wildfire throughout Castle Spire, the Kitchen Maid paused her cleaning of the silverware. The water reflected the unique Iris Pattern of the Outer Chamber's horse-drawn carriage. The stable boy discovered that the hay was mixed with Golden Cress seeds, which were only found in the black market. Even the oldest steward of the Library of Hidden Books noticed that three pages of connected Original Documents were missing from the Magic Contract directory.
Luna lay in her velvet cradle, listening to the hushed discussions of the maids around her.
When a sharp crack echoed from the Southwest Corner, signaling the explosion of a Crystal Chandelier, the infant suddenly threw her Teething Stick at the embroidered Family Tree on the tapestry. The Lollipop had lodged itself perfectly in Leonard's image of Mei Xin, and the melted Sugar Coating formed a track that aligned precisely with the secret passage leading to the dungeon.
As moonlight washed over Luna's Silver Bell Bracelet for the third time, Aelia stood on the Stargazing Platform, cradling her daughter.
The hem of the Lady of the Fortress's cloak, embroidered with a Dark Pattern, fluttered without wind. The empty space where her Wedding Ring should have been tangled with Luna's Golden Hair, and the Xing Hui woven through her hair resonated with the core of the Magic Fortress Defense Array.
"Madam, Third Young Master Lucius found this in the Weapon Vault." Qin Si presented a Sandalwood Box containing a blood-stained Secret Silver Key.
Luna excitedly waved her arms, leaving traces of blueberry jam on the key's surface—this was the authentication rune needed to unlock the Outer Chamber's Underground Altar.
As the Midnight Bell tolled its tenth chime, a brilliant light erupted from Luna's moonstone necklace.
From an overturned wooden box that seemed casually kicked aside by the infant rolled out a Wax Seal unique to Leonard's study. The still-wet imprint of a Magic Contract resonated with shadows swaying from the Southeast Tower.
Deep within Castle Leyline, an unsettling Zhen Chan echoed. Luna pressed her bitten Thumb against the edge of the Stargazing Platform, and blood traced a pattern that mirrored exactly with Leonard's Defensive Nexus in his secret chamber.
Aelia’s Wedding Ring transformed into Ashes that suddenly floated and reformed into half of a Border Defense Map within Luna’s breath—while the missing part slowly unfolded in the Outer Chamber study at that very moment.
As Leonard crushed Moonlight Grass at the edge of the Stargazing Platform with his Silver Boots, Luna clutched Aelia's Pearl Necklace and bit down on it.
When dark mist swirled around Lord Leonard and reached within three inches of the infant, it was suddenly twisted into Xing Xu by some invisible force, cascading down onto Luna’s swaddling adorned with a High-Level Protective Spell.
"Do you think these tricks can shake the Glorious Demon Fortress?" Leonard’s Fingertip coalesced into a dark purple Thunderball that split into seven as it hovered. The track formed was precisely designed to suppress baby Lingzhi with a Forbidden Spell formation.
Luna burst into laughter, her saliva-coated fingers pointing toward the Southeast Tower—where a sudden Purifying Light illuminated and began to devour the Thunderball into drifting Ying Huo.
Aelia held her daughter protectively in her arms as Ashes from her Wedding Ring reformed into chains of Thorns in her Palm. "The Xing Hui Crown you gave to your Illegitimate Daughter was made from Eternal Night Meteorite that rightfully belonged to Lucius." With each word she spoke, a Barbed link on the chain grew an inch longer until it twisted into the shape of an Iris Crown that her husband had placed in her hair during their wedding years ago.
A deafening roar echoed from the depths of the geomancy, causing Luna's wrist to suddenly disassemble and reassemble on its own.
As Leonard's Shadow Blade was about to sever Aelia's hair tips, the milk foam expelled by the infant enveloped the blade, transforming it into a shower of rose petals—each petal bearing the accounts of the Outer Chamber's misappropriation of castle resources over the years.
"Father, it's time to clear the accounts," Lucius's voice emerged from the swirling rain of flowers.
Young Master Three held the Dragonbone Staff that rightfully belonged to him, its staff tip embedded with the family crest resonating with the sealed box just unearthed from the Outer Chamber's basement.
When he crushed the last shadow petal underfoot, a burst of golden light erupted from the staff's tip, scorching a mark onto Leonard's Dark Guard Emblem on his chest.
Luna suddenly reached out with her stardust-covered little hand toward Lucius.
As the boy grasped the infant's fingertip, a vision of a hundred years ago emerged around them—the first generation Fortress Master swearing an oath.
The ancient Oath Texts suspended in mid-air were now burning Leonard's secret contract with the Outer Chamber to ashes.
"You think controlling the Shadow Guard will allow you to..." The Lord's Ailya's Roar was abruptly interrupted by Luna's loud cry.
The infant’s soft boots kicked over a crystal astrolabe, and as it rolled, the twelve houses' star chart projected the current scene of the Outer Chamber onto the ground—the Captain of the Shadow Guard was throwing boxes of secret scripts into a burning fireplace but was frozen in place by suddenly sprouting Ice Roses.
Qin Si stepped out from the shadows of the Emerald Corridor, her amethyst hairpin resonating with the Iris Pattern on the Outer Chamber's horse-drawn carriage.
As she unfurled a parchment recording twenty years' worth of Shadow Guard orders under the moonlight, directives hidden by special potions became visible in the glow of Luna’s chewed teething stick.
"Madam, Third Young Master Lucius," a maid scattered poisoned Golden Cress seeds at Leonard's feet. "Seven years ago, you ordered me to add Yuejian Cao Hui into Madam An Tai Yao. Do you need me to demonstrate how to make them manifest?" The potion bottle that slipped from her sleeve shattered on the stone steps, and from the rising mist emerged shadows of Shadow Guards lingering outside the delivery room from years past.
Luna suddenly tugged at Lucius’s silver hair, directing his gaze toward the Weapon Vault.
Young Master Three tapped his staff lightly; Leonard's Sword, sealed within the wall by the First Generation Fortress Master, broke free. The reflected blood contract revealed that Leonard had used Eldest Son Meridian as a curse container in their transaction records.
"Sister, don't be afraid." Lucius wrapped Luna in his cloak and drew a hexagram formation on the ground.
As Leonard's Shadow Demon Wolf lunged at them, the infant seized a handful of star sand from the formation’s center and tossed it into the air—those sandy gravels transformed into the spirit of the First Generation Fortress Master, suppressing the Demon Wolf beneath the altar Xu Ying where they had sworn their oath long ago.
As Aelia's Healing Magic spread across the Stargazing Platform like moonlight, Luna suddenly reached out her small hand toward the Southwest.
Cracks resembling spider webs suddenly emerged from the Castle Outer Wall, revealing the Dark Magic Array hidden in the Hidden Layer, which mirrored the Protective Spell on the infant's swaddling—each Ice Crack precisely corresponding to the destructive curse nodes buried over the years in the Outer Chamber.
"Before Dawn Tomorrow, all truths will be revealed," Lucius declared, crossing his Dragonbone Staff over his chest. Among the images of past Lords emerging from the staff, only Leonard's figure was gradually fading.
Luna pressed her finger, stained with blueberry jam, against the end of the staff. To her surprise, the vanished Contract Fragments began to emerge from the void, piecing together a complete chain of Betrayal Evidence.
As the first rays of dawn pierced through the night mist, Luna was perched on Qin Si's shoulder, gnawing at the wax seal of the Magic Contract.
The infant's Milk Tooth left tiny Tooth Marks on the Fire Seal, each mark oozing a dark red Halo—these were Great Mage-level Breaking Curse Marks, devouring Leonard's Soul Mark along the veins of the Contract Text.
Suddenly, twelve strange chimes echoed from the Castle Bell Tower, causing Luna's Silver Bell Bracelet to crack in response.
When Aelia hurriedly cradled her daughter's wrist, she discovered that Liquid Stardust was seeping from the Ice Cracks, coalescing in mid-air into a Three-Dimensional Projection of the First Generation Magic Fortress—a long-sealed basement Entrance was now flickering with ominous red light within the Projection.
Luna's Golden Hair rippled like waves on Aelia's Palm as the ground of the Stargazing Platform suddenly revealed a constellation map from when Magic Castle was first built.
The infant accurately stepped on Sirius Position with her Soft Boots, and a sevenfold Zhong Ming resonated throughout the castle, causing cracks in the Spider Web-patterned Shadow Guard Emblem on Leonard's chest.
"Madam, be careful!" Lucius shouted as his Dragonbone Staff blocked Aelia. However, Zhang Jian was suddenly seized by Luna.
The Silver Bell Fragment on Luna's wrist spontaneously reformed into a Micro Star Tracker, projecting a Light Spot that perfectly aligned with an opening in a Colored Window of the Southwest Tower.
The Third Young Master Lucius's Pupil shrank—it was from when he fell and shattered glass at eight years old; dark purple Curse Mist was now seeping from that very opening.
Luna suddenly grasped at the void as fragments of a Starry Hourglass from the Nursery exploded through the wall.
Star Sand stained with Milk Stain formed a three-dimensional cross-section of Magic Castle on Aelia's Skirt. The Red Dot location in the basement prominently displayed three overlapping Skeleton Marks—signifying the reactivation of the Soul Devouring Array sealed a hundred years ago.
"Take Sister to the Library of Hidden Books' dark room!" Lucius commanded as he swung his staff to cleave through an incoming Shadow Tentacle. The moment his staff touched Luna's Palm's Xing Hui, the Family Crest embedded in the Staff Tip suddenly reflected Leonard's Last Night sealing off the Soul Devouring Array.
The boy bit his fingertip and flicked a Blood Pearl into the void: "With Bloodline as a guide, let our ancestors witness!"
As Aelia hurriedly retreated with her daughter, the Thorn Chain formed from the Wedding Ring and Ashes suddenly wrapped around the Dome Chandelier.
When the chain reflected the burning Contract Document in the Outer Chamber study, Luna unexpectedly threw her drool-soaked Teething Stick towards the Northeast Pillar—where the baby’s saliva had soaked, revealing the Activation Rune of the Hidden Door Mechanism, which was none other than the initials of the Love Poem that Leonard had carved by hand when he pursued her.
The Geomancy and Zhen Chan intensified, and Luna's Silver Bell Bracelet suddenly flew towards the Training Ground.
Brother San was drawing a Light Barrier using an improved version of the Purification Spell when he was knocked out of the Spider Web-like Resonance waves by Yin Ling.
The Young Mage realized that every Ancient Elven Character he inscribed resonated at a quantum level with his sister's Stardust.
"It turns out Sister has long..." he trembled as he plunged his staff into the Ground Ice Cracks, channeling Light Element through the Track of Star Sand Stream into the Geomancy.
As the Twelve Rays Purification Beam broke through the castle's foundation, Luna suddenly curled up in Aelia's arms—the infant's Xing Hui erupted around her like a miniature Supernova, forcefully pushing back the red light of the Soul Devouring Array three thousand meters underground.
Leonard's Shadow Clone suddenly twisted and dissipated in the Emerald Corridor, and Ben Ti's Scream echoed from the Weapon Vault.
When Lucius arrived, he saw Leonard's Sword, belonging to the First Generation Fortress Master, suspended above Father Mei Xin. The Memory Crystal embedded in the hilt projected a scene from Twenty Years Ago—a young Leonard burying his Eldest Son's hair in the Cursed Altar while it lay in swaddling clothes.
Luna's Loud Cry suddenly resonated throughout the Magic Castle, as the Starry Hourglass in the Nursery exploded, finally completing its last Time-Space Calibration.
When twelve Main Stars simultaneously shone upon the Stargazing Platform, Aelia realized that within her daughter Luna flowed not only Xing Hui but also a Mysterious Message concerning the entire magical realm’s Destiny, soon to be revealed in the morning light—just like a seemingly insignificant Magic Mark within her handling of Star Sand suddenly glimmered with a unique azure hue characteristic of a beginner Mage Certification.
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