Chapter 7: Hallowed Pursuit
Emma weaved through narrow alleyways, ducking under broken archways and shadowed bridges. Cold air clawed at her skin, breath misting as she ran. Behind her, the clumsy echoes of pursuit scattered through the city—rookie adventurers hungry for glory, not justice.
They weren't after a monster. They were after a prize.
Emma wasn't seen as a person anymore. Not here. Not now. She was a spirit orb—a rare one, resisting the binds of summoning. That made her valuable. Dangerous.
Born of fractured planes, her spectral energy shimmered just beneath reality, flickering like a heartbeat made of light. It called to them, like blood to hounds.
But Emma had no intention of being tethered again.
She pressed a flickering pulse into the crumbling wall beside her—sigils etched in desperation. If they wanted her, they'd have to survive her.
Then—something ruptured.
Magic swirled, but the spell wasn't hers.
Emma felt the tear before she could resist. A surge of unfamiliar energy reached across space and found her—clumsy, naive, and powerful in all the wrong ways.
A girl—young, afraid, and unknowingly holding a summoning charm—had activated a bond meant for something else.
It latched onto Emma's soul.
Her form spasmed, her light split—and in a single breath, she was claimed.
She hadn't agreed. The girl hadn't known. But now... Emma was bound.
She floated—silent, watching—As she was bound by an invisible leash not being able to leave with in a five feet radius
No one spoke for her. No one noticed the pulse inside the orb… trembling with rage.
Then the adventurer looked over her shoulder, eyes wide. She hadn't felt a spell complete. She hadn't cast one—not properly.
But there Emma hovered, glowing softly… watching her.
The adventurer blinked. "Weird. I didn't mean to summon anything."
Emma said nothing.
She couldn't.
She floated, trapped within a five-foot tether—her world reduced to the steps of this stranger. Every motion, every breath, every spell would now echo through her unwilling bond.
The adventurer smiled awkwardly, scratching the back of her head. "Huh. Well… I guess I have a familiar now."
Emma pulsed faintly in response. She wasn't a tool. She wasn't hers.
But no one noticed the trembling flicker beneath that violet glow. No one saw the storm building in silence.