Liora hated festivals.
The shining clothes, the endless chants, the incense that clung to the soul — everything felt like a celestial trap invented to test her demonic patience. And now, for some inexplicable reason (or cosmic cruelty), she had been invited to sing on the main stage of the Festival of Light.
"It's going to be beautiful," Lúcia said, adjusting the golden ribbons in her daughter's hair. "All eyes will be on you!"
"Exactly what I feared," Liora muttered.
Duke Valério Hallow exhibited a gleaming pride. "I've already had my ceremonial armor polished. The light will shine in every detail."
Meanwhile, Morian — the official liar, ex-Demon King and current choral mentor — was tuning a lute with the enthusiasm of someone planning to sabotage the world with a single note.
"You'll sing the Hymn of the Celestial Dawn with me," he said, grinning as if it were the best idea ever.
"You're a creature of darkness. What do you know about celestial dawns?"
"More than the celestials would like to admit."
---
On the day of the festival, the town square looked like a giant wedding cake decorated with flowers, gleaming banners, and priests sweating under the sun.
Liora took a deep breath. Her dress was white with golden embroidery — so pure it gave her an allergy just to look at it. Beside her, Morian wore a sky-blue robe and pretended holiness like someone breathing.
"Nervous?" he asked.
"I'm planning to vanish in a puff of smoke and flee to the mountains."
"That's my girl."
The crowd began to gather: nobles, clerics, children holding candles. All waiting for the miracle of the young daughter of light.
Duke Valério Hallow climbed the stage to introduce them:
"Ladies and gentlemen, today you will witness what happens when faith and talent unite. My daughter, Liora, and her esteemed mentor will perform the hymn that warms even the coldest hearts."
Liora muttered: "Or melts eardrums. We'll see."
---
The music began.
Morian played masterfully, as if centuries of blasphemies had never touched his fingers. To her surprise, Liora did not sing badly. The problem was what happened next.
On the second verse, when she intoned "May the light descend and envelop us," a golden aura shimmered around her.
The audience applauded.
On the third verse, a dove appeared out of nowhere and perched on her shoulder.
The crowd gasped.
On the final chorus… the stage lifted two feet off the ground.
The audience screamed.
Liora stopped singing. The music died. The stage plopped back down with a dull thud.
Silence.
Lúcia fainted, a beatific smile on her face. Duke Valério Hallow dropped to his knees. "She is truly blessed by the heavens!"
Meanwhile, Liora hissed to Morian: "Did you see that?!"
"I did. Impressive. I only expected a little glow, not spontaneous levitation."
"That was not supposed to happen!"
"Oh, relax. You just performed a minor public miracle. It happens."
---
Later, hiding in the barn, Liora refused to come out.
"Now they think I'm the reincarnation of the Primordial Light," she said, clutching a chicken that clearly wanted no part in the conversation.
Morian appeared with a slice of cake and a mocking grin.
"You were marvelous. You levitated a stage, summoned a symbolic dove… All with an off-key hymn."
"I want to disappear."
"That's impossible. You're more popular than the cathedral's altar."
She buried her face in her hands. "What if this power spirals out of control? What if they uncover who I really was?"
Morian grew serious for a moment. "That's why I'm here. To prevent exactly that. And maybe… to finish the rest of that festival cake."
She looked up. "You'll actually protect me?"
"Until the end. After all, if anyone is going to cause the apocalypse, it might as well be the two of us together."
---
By day's end, Liora was forced to wave at the crowd like a divine heroine. She smiled. Almost genuinely. But inside, she was screaming.
Rumors spread swiftly. Some spoke of prophecies. Others of resurrections. One priest even declared that she was the incarnate light with an angel's voice.
Liora just wanted to sleep for a thousand years.
But she couldn't.
Because, by dawn, a royal summons arrived — and the true chaos was only beginning