Chapter 6: Awakening of the Starlight Core
As the senior mages backed away in terror from the Void-Lich Curse, Aria stepped forward from the tribunal circle.
“Let me try,” she said softly.
Julian burst into mocking laughter from the balcony. “You? A low-rank peasant healer? The Senior Arch-Mages failed! You will die the moment you touch him!”
Aria ignored Julian. She knelt beside the dying boy and gently placed her hands over his chest. She closed her eyes, seeking the tiny ember of mana deep within her soul.
Suddenly, her soul vibrated. Deep within her chest, a dormant seal shattered. A column of blinding, ethereal golden light—intertwined with silvery starlight—erupted from Aria’s body, shooting straight through the roof of the Guildhall into the sky above Aethelgard!
“Divine Starlight Magic!” the Arch-Mage shrieked, falling onto his knees. “That… that is the lost Royal Bloodline magic!”
Aria’s hands glowed like twin suns. The pitch-black void veins on the boy’s skin dissolved like mist under the morning sun. Within seconds, the dark curse was completely purged. The boy opened his eyes, color returning to his cheeks, and sat up.
“Father?” the boy whispered.
Duke Sterling wept, embracing his son, then turned to Aria and bowed his head to the floor. “Lady Aria… you have saved my line. House Sterling is forever in your debt!”
The entire tribunal hall gasped in astonishment.
Lady Victoria and Julian turned pale as corpses. “Starlight magic? How can a peasant have royal blood?!”
In the back of the hall, Thomas and Mary smiled with quiet pride. Thomas pulled a golden signet ring from his pocket and slipped it onto his finger.
“It is time, Eleanor,” King Arthur murmured. “Our daughter has awakened.”
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