Chapter 122 Investigating the Sigil

Chapter 122 Investigating the Sigil
POV: Luna

We didn't sleep that night.

How could we? Malachar's dark magic was still pressed against the wards, testing for weaknesses.

The Headmaster had called an emergency faculty meeting. Students were confined to dorms. Guards patrolled the perimeter.

But my friends and I snuck out anyway.

We needed to see the sigil Malachar had left behind. Needed to understand what we were dealing with.

Cole led us through the secret passages he'd learned during his time as a student. We emerged near the forest edge, close to where the ritual had taken place.

The clearing was scorched. The ritual circle was still visible, burned into the earth.

But that wasn't what caught my attention.

There was a sigil carved into the largest tree. It pulsed with dark energy, glowing faintly red in the moonlight.

"That wasn't there before," I said.

"He must have left it when we ran," Cole replied.

Sienna approached it carefully, her hands glowing as she examined the magical signature. "Don't get too close. It's radiating dark magic."

"Can you read it?" Aria asked.

"Give me a minute."

We waited while Sienna studied the symbols. Her expression grew more worried with each passing second.

"Well?" Nova finally asked.

"This is bad. Really bad." Sienna pulled out her notebook and started sketching. "This isn't just a marker. It's a anchor point."

"For what?" I asked.

"For him. Malachar's using this to maintain a connection to our world even though he's not physically here anymore."

"Wait, he's not here?" Lyric looked around nervously. "Where did he go?"

"Back to wherever he came from. The otherworld, probably." Sienna pointed to specific symbols. "But this lets him reach through. Manipulate things from a distance."

"Like the rogue creatures," I said, understanding. "He's been controlling them."

"Exactly. And with this anchor point so close to Silverwood, he can send more. Stronger ones."

Cole's jaw tightened. "Can we destroy it?"

"Maybe. But it's protected. See these outer rings? They're defensive wards. Anyone who tries to damage the sigil will trigger a backlash."

"How bad of a backlash?" Aria asked.

"Potentially fatal."

Great. Just great.

I moved closer, studying the sigil. My mark started to tingle, responding to the dark magic.

"Luna, be careful," Cole warned.

"I'm not going to touch it. I just want to see something."

The sigil's energy felt familiar. Similar to what I'd felt when Malachar touched my mark.

He wasn't just anchoring himself to our world. He was anchoring himself to me specifically.

"He's using my mark as a beacon," I said. "That's how he's maintaining the connection."

"Are you sure?" Sienna asked.

"Yeah. I can feel it. The sigil is resonating with my Eclipse power."

"Then we definitely can't let him keep it active," Nova said. "He could use it to track you. Or worse."

Lyric was on her phone, fingers flying. "I'm cross-referencing the symbols with the Academy's magical database. Maybe there's a safe way to disable it."

We waited while she searched.

My mark kept pulsing, warm and insistent. Miguel's essence was reacting to something.

I closed my eyes and focused on that connection. It was fainter now than it had been, Miguel having merged more completely with my power. But it was still there.

And it was trying to tell me something.

Danger. Growing. The door.

Miguel's voice in my head, barely a whisper.

"The door," I said out loud. "Malachar mentioned it before. Said my bloodline keeps it locked."

"The otherworld gate," Sienna confirmed. "It has to be. There are old legends about it. A barrier between our world and the realm of spirits and magic."

"And my mark is the key?"

"More like the lock. Eclipse wolves were created to guard it. To make sure nothing from the other side could break through."

"So what happens if Malachar opens it?"

Sienna looked grim. "Nothing good. The otherworld isn't meant to merge with ours. If the barrier falls, all kinds of dangerous entities could cross over."

"Demons? Monsters?" Nova's voice was small.

"Worse. Pure magical chaos. It would destabilize reality itself in unpredictable ways."

"Found something!" Lyric interrupted. "There's a counter-sigil. It won't destroy this one, but it might weaken the connection enough that Malachar can't use it effectively."

"How do we create a counter-sigil?" Cole asked.

"We need someone with strong magical ability to draw it. And it has to be powered by Eclipse energy."

Everyone looked at me.

"Of course it does," I muttered.

Sienna showed me the pattern. It was complex, with interlocking circles and symbols I didn't recognize.

"Can you do it?" she asked.

"I can try."

I knelt on the ground about ten feet from Malachar's sigil. Close enough to interact with it, far enough to avoid the defensive wards.

Using a stick, I started drawing the counter-sigil in the dirt.

My friends formed a protective circle around me, watching for threats.

The symbols came easier than I expected. My mark guided me, almost like it knew what to do.

When the drawing was complete, I placed my hand in the center.

"Now what?" I asked.

"Channel your Eclipse power into it," Sienna instructed. "But carefully. Too much and you'll overload it. Too little and it won't activate."

No pressure.

I took a breath and reached for my mark. The otherworld connection responded immediately, flooding through me.

I directed it into the counter-sigil.

The symbols began to glow silver, bright against the dark earth.

Malachar's sigil pulsed in response, its red light intensifying.

"Keep going," Sienna said. "It's working."

I pushed more power into the counter-sigil. The glow spread, creating a network of light that reached toward the dark sigil.

When the two energies met, there was a flash.

Pain shot through my mark. I gasped but held on.

The counter-sigil's light wrapped around Malachar's sigil like vines, dimming its glow.

"Almost there," Sienna encouraged.

I gave it one final push.

The red glow died completely.

I pulled my hand back, breathing hard.

"Did it work?" Nova asked.

Sienna examined both sigils. "The anchor is disrupted. Malachar won't be able to use it to maintain his connection. But it's not destroyed. He could repair it if he gets physical access again."

"So we bought ourselves some time," Aria said.

"Yeah. But not much."

I stood up, my legs shaky from the energy expenditure.

Cole steadied me. "You okay?"

"Tired. But okay."

My mark was still warm, pulsing gently. Miguel's essence felt content, like we'd done something right.

"We should head back before someone realizes we're gone," Lyric said.

We were about to leave when my mark suddenly flared with heat.

I cried out and grabbed my wrist.

"Luna?" Cole's voice was urgent. "What's wrong?"

"The sigil. It's—"

The counter-sigil I'd drawn began to glow again. Brighter this time. Out of control.

"Everyone back!" Sienna shouted.

We scrambled away from the clearing.

The counter-sigil's light expanded rapidly, spreading across the ground like wildfire.

"What's happening?" Nova yelled over the sudden wind that had kicked up.

"I don't know!" I watched in horror as the light reached the trees. "I didn't do this!"

"It's feeding on the residual dark magic!" Sienna's eyes were wide with fear. "The counter-sigil is consuming everything magical in the area!"

"Including the wards around campus?" Aria asked.

"Including everything!"

The light spread faster, racing through the forest. Trees began to wither where it touched them, their magical essence drained.

"We have to stop it!" I said.

"How?" Cole demanded.

"I created it. Maybe I can uncreate it."

"Luna, that's insane. You don't know how!"

"Then I'll figure it out!"

I ran back toward the clearing. Cole shouted after me but I didn't stop.

The expanding light was like a living thing, hungry and wild. It reached for me, drawn to my Eclipse power.

I let it come.

When it touched my mark, I grabbed hold of the connection. It was like grabbing a live wire, painful and overwhelming.

But I held on.

I tried to pull the power back, to reverse what I'd started.

It resisted.

The light was too strong, too chaotic. It wanted to consume, to feed, to grow.

Miguel's essence pulsed in my mark. A whisper of guidance.

Don't fight it. Guide it.

I stopped trying to force the power back and instead redirected it.

The otherworld connection opened fully, creating a channel.

I guided the wild energy through my mark, into the otherworld, where it could dissipate harmlessly.

The expanding light slowed. Stopped.

Then it began to recede, flowing back toward me, through me, into the otherworld.

When the last of it disappeared, I collapsed.

Cole caught me before I hit the ground. "Luna! Stay with me!"

"I'm okay," I managed. "Just really, really tired of magical emergencies."

He laughed, relieved and stressed at the same time. "You scared the hell out of me."

"Sorry."

My friends gathered around.

"That was incredible," Sienna said. "You channeled all that chaos into the otherworld. I've never seen anything like it."

"Is it gone?" I asked. "The expanding light?"

"Yeah. And the counter-sigil burned out completely. But Malachar's original sigil is still disrupted."

So we'd accomplished something. Just not without nearly destroying half the forest.

"We really need to go now," Lyric said. "Before the faculty investigates what just happened."

We made it back through the secret passages and to our dorms.

Cole walked me to my door.

"Get some sleep," he said. "You've used more magic tonight than most wolves use in a year."

"Will you be okay?" I asked. "I know this escort thing is supposed to be official, but—"

"I'll be fine. My room's just down the hall." He hesitated, then leaned in and kissed me gently. "Goodnight, Luna."

"Goodnight."

I went inside and found Nova already in bed, waiting.

"Well?" she asked.

"Well what?"

"How was the goodnight kiss?"

Heat crept up my neck. "You were watching?"

"Obviously. So?"

"It was good."

"Just good?"

"Really good. Happy?"

She grinned. "Very. Now sleep. You look like death."

I didn't argue. I changed and collapsed into bed.

Sleep came fast, pulling me under.

The otherworld appeared around me before I even realized I was dreaming.

Miguel was there, but barely. His form was almost completely translucent now, more suggestion than substance.

"Luna," he said softly.

"Miguel. You're fading so fast."

"I know. But that's okay." He smiled. "You did well tonight. Stopping the sigil from consuming everything."

"You helped. Your guidance."

"That's what I'm here for. What's left of me, anyway."

I felt tears building. "I'm not ready to lose you completely."

"You're not losing me. I'm just changing form." He touched my mark, his hand barely solid. "I'll always be part of your power. Part of your strength."

"It's not the same."

"No. But it's what we have." He pulled me into a hug. I could barely feel him now. "And you're not alone. You have Cole. Your friends. People who care about you."

"I know."

"Then trust them. Let them help carry the weight."

The otherworld started to fade.

"Miguel, wait. The door Malachar mentioned. What is it really?"

His voice was already distant. "A seal. Between life and death. Between magic and reality. Your bloodline guards it. Don't let him break it, Luna. No matter what he promises."

"How do I stop him?"

"You'll know when the time comes. Trust yourself."

Then he was gone.

I woke up with tears on my face.

Nova stirred. "Luna? You okay?"

"Yeah. Just talked to Miguel. He's almost gone now."

She got out of bed and climbed into mine, hugging me. "I'm sorry."

We stayed like that until I stopped crying.

"He said to trust Cole and you guys. To let you help."

"We've been helping. You just need to actually let us sometimes."

"I know. I'm working on it."

Morning came too soon.

I dragged myself out of bed and got ready for the day.

Cole was waiting outside my dorm, as promised.

"Morning," he said. "How are you feeling?"

"Like I ran a marathon and then got hit by a truck."

"That tracks." He fell into step beside me as we headed to breakfast. "The Headmaster wants to see us later. About last night."

"He knows we snuck out?"

"He knows something happened in the forest. The wards registered a massive magical surge."

Great. More explanations.

We found my friends at our usual table.

"Any lasting damage from the sigil incident?" Aria asked.

"Just exhaustion," I said. "Sienna, did you find anything else in your research? About the door?"

"A little. But it's all fragmentary. Ancient texts that reference a seal between worlds, maintained by Eclipse blood."

"So my family has been doing this for generations?"

"Looks like it. Though from what I can tell, most Eclipse wolves didn't know the full truth. They just knew they had to protect their mark, keep their power from being stolen."

"Because if someone stole Eclipse power, they could open the seal."

"Exactly."

"And Malachar has been planning this for how long?"

"Decades, probably. Maybe longer."

I pushed food around on my plate, not hungry. "So how do we stop him?"

"We figure out what he needs to open the door, and we make sure he doesn't get it," Lyric said.

"He needs me. My mark specifically."

"Then we protect you," Cole said firmly.

"We've been trying that. It's not working great."

"So we get better at it."

The Headmaster appeared at our table. "Miss Eclipse. Mr. Cole. My office. Now."

We followed him, leaving our friends behind.

In his office, Professor Cael and Professor Thorne were waiting.

"Explain what happened last night," the Headmaster said without preamble.

I told them everything. The investigation, the counter-sigil, the expansion, how I'd channeled it into the otherworld.

When I finished, they were all silent.

Finally, Professor Thorne spoke. "You channeled raw chaotic magic directly into the otherworld. That should have killed you."

"But it didn't."

"Why not?"

"I don't know. Maybe because of Miguel's essence in my mark? Maybe because I'm Eclipse?"

"Or maybe because you're more powerful than we realized," the Headmaster said. "Luna, what you did last night was advanced magic. The kind that takes decades to master. And you did it on instinct."

"Is that a problem?"

"It's concerning. Power without control is dangerous."

"I had control. Mostly."

"Mostly isn't good enough when you're channeling enough magic to level a city."

That put things in perspective.

"What do you want me to do?" I asked.

"Train harder. Learn faster. Because Malachar isn't going to wait for you to be ready."

They dismissed us after extracting promises to be more careful.

Cole and I walked out in silence.

"That was fun," I said sarcastically.

"They're scared," Cole replied. "Not of you. For you."

"I know."

We had classes to get to, but neither of us moved.

"Luna," Cole said eventually. "What Miguel said, about the door. About not letting Malachar break the seal. What happens if he does?"

"According to Sienna, reality becomes unstable. Magical chaos spills into our world."

"So end of the world level bad."

"Pretty much."

"Then we stop him. Whatever it takes."

"Cole—"

"I mean it." He took my hands. "I'm with you. All the way. If you have to face Malachar again, you won't do it alone."

"You can't promise that."

"Yes, I can. Because I'm not letting you out of my sight. Remember? Official escort duty."

Despite everything, I smiled. "Right. How could I forget?"

He kissed me quickly. "Come on. We're going to be late for class."

We spent the rest of the day trying to act normal. Going to classes, training, pretending the world wasn't about to end.

But that night, lying in bed, I couldn't shake the feeling that time was running out.

Malachar was planning something big. The sigil was just the first step.

And when he made his next move, I needed to be ready.

My mark pulsed gently in the darkness.

Miguel's essence whispered reassurance.

I closed my eyes and tried to sleep, knowing tomorrow would bring new challenges.

And hoping I'd be strong enough to face them.