In a world where magic decides everything, the prestigious floating magic academy of Celestia is a battleground for gifted nobles and geniuses.
Lyra, 17, is a quiet girl who loves books more than people. She spends every day unnoticed in a corner of the library, reading. But Lyra hides an earth-shattering secret: she possesses a staggering magical talent no one at the academy knows about.
One day, Aiden, the academy's biggest troublemaker, accidentally witnesses Lyra's true power in the librar
The Invisible Throne of a Quiet Mage - A small hand tears through the tornado, a heart that can no longer turn back.
The sky above the training grounds suddenly went dark.
Lyra sat curled up small in the shadow of a pillar at the very edge of the Gladius Arena's spectator seats. Today was the day of the upperclassmen's practical magic drills. She would have rather been in the library reading a book. But for scholarship students, observing was practically mandatory, so she had come here, doing her best not to be noticed by anyone.
The sky had been blue since morning. And yet, now, a tornado was being born.
"...Huh?"
Lyra instinctively shrank back.
In the center of the training grounds, an upperclassman had unleashed water magic. It was supposed to be just a blade of water. But it had resonated with the ether particles in the atmosphere and transformed into an uncontrollable tornado. It churned the air, sucked up the spray, and grew larger by the second.
"Stop... please, stop..."
Lyra covered her ears with both hands. The sound of the wind reminded her of that festival night long ago. The day the stalls were blown away. The screams. The splinters of wood. It had all been her fault.
In the training grounds, the teachers were desperately erecting barrier walls. Walls of pale blue light rose up, surrounding the tornado. But the wind raged like a broken beast, cracking the barriers. An ugly sound echoed—crack, crack.
"The barrier won't hold! Everyone, get back!"
The spectator seats erupted into chaos. Students screamed and fled in panic. Lyra tried to stand too. But her legs were frozen, refusing to move. Her heart pounded violently deep in her chest.
(I can't do anything. I mustn't do anything.)
Lyra dug her nails into the pillar.
—That was when it happened.
"Oi oi oi, what the hell are you doing?! Things are getting wild!"
That voice cut straight through the wave of panicked screams.
Lyra looked up. At the entrance to the training grounds stood a boy with messy, bright red hair. The right side was always sticking up, and his face was covered in freckles. His bright green eyes were watching the dangerous tornado with amusement. Aiden. The academy's number one problem child. The boy who had seen Lyra's secret in the library the other day.
"Lyra—! Stay back! What are you doing here? Run, now!"
Aiden grinned and ignored the teacher's warning.
"I might be able to stop that tornado with my wind magic!"
"Idiot! Get back!"
But Aiden was already running. There wasn't a shred of hesitation in him. Alone, straight toward the raging tornado.
Lyra's fingertips gripped the pillar tightly.
(He's going to die. He's going to die.)
She understood it in her head. She'd heard the rumors all over the academy—that Aiden's magical power was unstable, that wind magic was difficult to control. And yet, he was charging into the tornado of his own accord. He was firing blades of wind like daggers, trying to cancel out the tornado.
"Aiden!"
Lyra screamed. But her voice was swallowed by the howling wind.
Aiden's wind blades struck the tornado. In that instant, the air warped with a violent shudder. The tornado instead gained strength and sent Aiden's body flying with ease. The sound of him being slammed hard into the ground reached Lyra's ears.
Thud.
Aiden's body sank into the cloud of dust.
Lyra's heart stopped.
(No way.)
That innocent smile he had shown her burst apart in the back of her mind. In the library, he had laughed as if he'd found something interesting. Because you're way more interesting, he'd said. That smile was now disappearing into the dust.
(I don't want this. Don't die.)
Her legs moved.
Lyra burst out from behind the pillar. She kicked off the ground and ran down from the spectator seats into the training grounds. The wind stung. Her hair whipped wildly. Her glasses slipped. But she didn't stop. Her small body slid between the fallen Aiden and the tornado.
"Stop... please, just stop...!"
Lyra thrust both hands forward.
(I must not use magic. I must not use it.)
The vow from her childhood clung to her throat. But more than that, the terror that Aiden might die was splitting her heart in two. Her hands trembled. Her vision blurred with tears. Something inside her shifted, hard.
—The next instant.
Light burst from Lyra's right hand.
White, slender, but with immeasurable power, it pierced straight into the tornado like a spear. The air screamed. The tornado's path veered sharply upward. Scraping against the training ground's barrier, the tornado soared high into the sky, and then—dissipated.
Fine droplets of water fell like rain.
Lyra dropped to her knees on the spot. She didn't even understand what had happened. Her hand burned as if on fire. The strength drained from her entire body, and her fingertips trembled uncontrollably.
The training grounds fell completely silent.
Everyone was staring at Lyra. The students who had been fleeing, the pale-faced teachers, and Aiden, who had risen from the dust.
"...No way."
His face covered in blood, Aiden still smiled.
"You really are amazing!"
Lyra couldn't lift her head. Tears threatened to spill, and she clenched her teeth.
(I helped someone with magic.)
That fact spread a gentle warmth deep in her chest. For the first time in her life, her power had been useful to someone. It wasn't just frightening. But at the same time, the stares around her pierced like needles.
"...The Library Witch."
"A commoner, doing something like that..."
That atmosphere pushed at Lyra's back. She stood up and fled the scene as if escaping.
****
In the corner of the training grounds, Casper Valstein clenched his fists.
His indigo-black hair was disheveled by the wind, and the silver family crest brooch on his left chest was clouded. His narrow golden eyes glared fixedly in the direction Lyra had disappeared.
(That timid commoner. Far beyond me.)
It felt as though the back of his heart was being scratched by claws. It was too raw to call mere inferiority. Casper bit his lip. Lyra's magic had been beautiful. That momentary light, the small hand that tore through the tornado. He couldn't get the image out of his head. Why should he, the heir to a great noble house, be affected by a woman like that?
"...What am I thinking?"
Casper struck his own chest with his fist. A dull sound rang out, and his fingertips went cold. The students around him stared at him in shock. He lowered his face and left the training grounds.
****
In the evening, Lyra was in the east wing of the third floor of the Biblio Arcana.
Her usual window seat. An open book. But the words wouldn't enter her head. Every time the pages fluttered in the breeze, she remembered the sound of the tornado. She stared at her right hand—it still felt slightly warm.
"...It was written in the book. That magical outbursts are deeply connected to emotional turmoil."
Lyra murmured as if talking to herself and closed the book.
At that moment, there was a knock, knock from outside the window.
When Lyra looked up, Aiden was hanging from the window frame.
"Yo, Lyra! Were you waiting for me?"
"Aiden?! This is the third floor!"
Lyra half-rose from her chair. Outside the window, she could see the underside of the floating islands dyed in the sunset. Twelve hundred meters to the ground below. A height from which falling meant certain death.
"It's fine, it's fine, I'm tougher than I look. More importantly, let me in."
Aiden opened the window a little and nimbly slipped his body through. His bandage-covered arms had gained more flashy scrapes. Even after being slammed into the ground like that, he was smiling.
"...You were reckless again. You're covered in blood today too."
Lyra spoke in a voice that was angry, but also half on the verge of tears.
Aiden grinned, showing his slightly crooked canine tooth.
"Where else are you gonna find a guy who can laugh right after nearly dying? Pretty sure it's just me. Anyway, show me your magic again, up close."
"...I can't. That just... moved on its own."
"Magic doesn't move on its own. That was your power. Tell me—why are you hiding it?"
Aiden leaned in close to Lyra's face. His green eyes were serious, yet looked like they were having the time of his life.
Lyra couldn't help but let out a small laugh.
A boy who laughed right after nearly dying. That recklessness was somehow funny, and frightening, but—just a little—it made her heart feel lighter.
"I can't compete with you, Aiden."
"Oh, you smiled just now! I like that—I wanna see more!"
Between the two of them flowed an atmosphere that was no longer that of "strangers" from just a few days ago.
****
Night.
Lyra returned to her room in the girls' dormitory and collapsed onto her bed. Exhaustion had seeped into the very core of her body. When she closed her eyes, the sound of the tornado and Aiden's laughter resurfaced in turns.
Knock, knock.
This time, it was her room door.
Lyra sprang up and crawled toward the door. When she opened it, there was no one in the hallway. Instead, at her feet, lay a white envelope.
Lyra's trembling fingertips picked up the envelope. The wax seal bore the crest of Celestia Academy. She broke the seal and read the letter inside.
—Tomorrow, an ability assessment regarding your magic will be conducted in the presence of the academy council and professors. Report to the designated location at the designated time.—
Lyra crushed the letter in her hand.
(If they measure me, it's over.)
Her heart was pierced by a cold needle. The quiet everyday life of the library would never return. Even though Aiden had smiled at her, even that vanished like foam before this letter.
Lyra curled up on her bed.
"...Please, just stop."
Her voice, wet with tears, sank into the dark room.
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