Peace still lingered over the kingdom. Only a few months had passed since Rafael's return to his world, and life had slipped back into its quiet rhythm. The church stood as it always did—old stone, silent hallways, and rooms that no one entered anymore.
Lulu wandered through it, holding a small basket of herbs she planned to dry for the children at the orphanage. At the far corner of the church grounds was a stairwell many avoided: the entrance to the oldest prayer room, a place that hadn't been used in decades. Dust coated the banisters, and the air felt thick with age.
Curiosity tugged at Lulu.
She pushed the heavy wooden door open.
Inside lay nothing but forgotten benches, broken candles, and the scent of old stone. As she knelt to tidy the room, her hand brushed something beneath a warped table. A thin shape. A corner of leather.
She pulled it out slowly.
An old book, bound in faded white and sealed by a symbol she had never seen before—an ancient crest resembling the sun wrapped in vines.
Lulu sat on the cold floor and opened it.
---
The first pages were filled with handwriting so old that parts had nearly vanished. But the meaning remained.
> "Her name must fade for the world's sake."
"The Priestess was eleven when the stars trembled."
"Before the last King had even been born, the monsters descended through the rifts between realms."
"2522 years before his crown, she fought alone."
No wonder no one remembered the Priestess's true name. The timeline didn't match any recorded history. The Priestess had lived, fought, and saved the world thousands of years before the kingdom itself existed.
Lulu whispered to herself, "So she… has been alone for that long."
The realization sank into her chest like a weight—an unexpected loneliness she had never imagined for the ever-lazy, ever-smiling Priestess.
---
As Lulu turned further, a single page fluttered loose, thicker than the others. When her eyes traced the script, her heart skipped.
It wasn't history.
It was a spell.
A complex formation of symbols spiraled across the parchment like a constellation. The more she read, the more she understood—not fully, but enough to grasp the purpose.
> "A mirror-self may be shaped in a distant world."
"The creator's consciousness may flow into this vessel."
"Thus may one witness the countless branches of existence."
Lulu stared at it for a long moment, stunned.
This spell…
This was how one could create an avatar—an extension of oneself—into another universe.
A way to see worlds she had never touched.
A way to travel, without ever leaving her own body.
A way to become something more.
She held the page tightly, excitement trembling through her fingers.
---
"I… I can learn this," she whispered. "Even if it takes years."
Lulu closed the book gently and pressed it to her chest. Then, without hesitation, she stood and carried it with her as she left the forgotten prayer room.
She did not master the spell that day.
She did not even understand half of it.
But as the sunlight touched her face when she stepped back into the church hallway, Lulu felt something awaken inside her—
A quiet determination.
She would learn.
She would grow.
And one day, her avatar—Lala—would walk among countless universes.
Just like the Priestess once did.