The moment my foot stepped into the next carriage, everything around me vanished instantly.

Darkness swallowed my surroundings. I couldn’t see a thing, yet no panic touched me.

“…Fire.”

Something within my mind stirred awake. After standing frozen for a moment, that single word slipped from my lips.

Purple flames erupted in my right palm.

Their glow illuminated the immediate area—barely enough to make out shapes in the gloom. I raised my hand slightly, letting the light spill farther as I scanned my surroundings.

I stood in a long-abandoned sanctum. Faded, heavy carpets lay beneath my feet. Dust-choked relics of opulent furniture crowded the space, draped in cobwebs. Strange runes coiled around the pillars. This place reeked of non-human craftsmanship.

“…Where is this?” I muttered under my breath, stepping forward.

A strange familiarity prickled my skin. After only a few steps, a throne emerged from the shadows.

It was choked with dust and spiderwebs. Once magnificent, it now looked as worthless as discarded trash.

“Weird. I feel like I’ve seen this before.” I exhaled sharply, pressing my left hand to my forehead. Fragmented memories flashed behind my eyes—glimpses of this hall gleaming in its prime. My mind felt on the verge of shattering.

Why did everything today feel so… inevitable? I wiped cold sweat from my brow.

“Amelia, you’re here~”

A little girl’s voice chimed—not inside my head this time, but startlingly close. I swallowed, scanning the darkness until my gaze locked onto the throne.

I reached out my left hand toward it.

Just before my fingers brushed the throne’s arm, they hit an invisible barrier. The instant I touched it, the entire scene shattered like glass.

“Amelia… you’ve finally come.”

Amidst the fragments, a white-haired girl appeared.

Silvery locks spilled down her back. Her azure eyes held an otherworldly glow. Though young, her delicate face carried a hint of allure—a promise of boundless potential.

I froze. Not just from her beauty. But from the memories flooding my mind… and the sudden, deep-rooted sense of solidity in my chest.