Gunmage-Chapter 216: The Sky Devourers

"For one, I can summon a big wolf."

The moment the words left Aveline’s mouth, Selaphiel froze.

Sensing the sudden shift in atmosphere, Aveline grew uneasy as Selaphiel pierced her with an intense, unreadable stare. The silence stretched.

Finally, the elf spoke again, her voice was low and deliberate.

"How big is this wolf you can summon?"

"Not too big,"

Aveline answered hastily, rushing to clarify the details of her magic.

"It doesn’t have a physical form—it appears as a phantom. I have to spend a significant amount of mana for it to interact with the physical world, and even then, it’s only for an extremely brief moment. I can’t use the spell again for a while after that."

"I see,"

Selaphiel responded, her expression loosening just slightly.

She spoke again.

Aveline visibly relaxed—until Selaphiel’s voice followed once more.

"And here I thought Lugh was the only anomaly."

Aveline immediately tensed.

"Wait. Are you comparing me to Lugh?"

Her face betrayed clear skepticism.

Selaphiel smiled, her mood visibly improved.

"Well, maybe not as exaggerated as Lugh... but it’s still unheard of. Your generation has an impossible amount of talent ...for humans. My hard work is finally bearing fruit."

"Your hard work?"

Aveline repeated, confused.

Selaphiel turned toward her, eyes twinkling.

"Why yes. You don’t think I marry my grandsons because of some weird fetish, do you?"

Aveline’s eyes flickered with dawning comprehension, but her expression remained guarded.

After all, this was the same woman who once told her that the deeper one delves into magic, the more the mind slips. And given Selaphiel’s eccentricity, Aveline still half-suspected the elf preferred such unsavoury implications.

Her gaze shifted toward the unconscious Lugh—the supposed husband-to-be. Her expression turned perplexed.

Selaphiel caught it in a glance. She frowned, reached over, and pulled at Aveline’s cheeks.

"What are you thinking about?"

"N-nothing!"

Aveline stammered, reddening.

Selaphiel sighed, speaking more seriously.

"We have more important matters to discuss. Specifically, the magic you’ve learned."

"Oh. Okay,"

Aveline replied.

"I’m going to tell you a short story,"

Selaphiel said.

"I won’t tolerate any interruptions."

"I’m listening,"

Aveline confirmed.

Selaphiel cleared her throat and began:

"Long before time moved in circles and shadows learned to follow light, two beasts were born from the first silence of the cosmos.

Their names were Solvyr, the Burning Maw, and Nhemira, the Veiled Fang.

They were twin wolves—but not born of womb or flesh. They emerged from the death of a star—its final scream fractured space itself, and from its broken howl came two shapes:

Solvyr devoured the heat, light, and fire of the star.

Nhemira swallowed its shadow, silence, and the void it left behind.

The gods called them the Sky Devourers, and feared what they might hunger for next.

To keep them from consuming the newborn cosmos, the gods bound Solvyr to the chariot of the sun, and Nhemira to the wake of the moon.

But it was a mistake.

Solvyr’s hunger burned brighter with every dawn. He would leap for the sun, leaving streaks of flame in the sky.

Nhemira, more patient, crept behind the moon in silence, blotting dreams and twisting tides.

When they catch up, the sky bleeds or dims. Eclipses are the marks of their jaws grazing their prey.

But the Sky Devourers were not without mercy. Once, during a stilled night where neither sun nor moon moved, they paused. And in that pause, a pact was made with a mortal—a child born under a sky with no stars.

A girl who bore both flame and shadow in her eyes.

They did not devour her. They marked her.

Now, their heir walks the world, carrying the divided legacy of their power.

When she calls, lesser echoes of the Sky Devourers answer—brief, spectral beasts made of ash and starlight.

But one day, it is said, she may summon the true Devourers.

And on that day, the sky will have no light left to chase."

Aveline blinked.

"What?! Am I—?"

"You are not,"

Selaphiel interrupted, wearing an odd expression.

Aveline hesitated, remembering the phrase she had to chant to summon the wolf.

"Nhemira..."

She began.

"But—?"

Selaphiel cut her off again.

"Ponder it carefully. It’s a spell you learned, no?"

"Ah. That’s right."

Aveline nodded visibly deflating. This meant others could learn it, too.

But... that only left her more confused.

"So... why the story?"

Selaphiel shrugged.

"Oh, that? That’s just something every awakened has. Like a legend or myth. I even have my own."

"You’re awakened?" frёeweɓηovel_coɱ

Aveline asked, a little surprised.

"Yes,"

Selaphiel answered matter-of-factly.

"Lugh will probably get one made of him in a couple of years. The stories are mostly exaggerated and fantastical."

"Oh. Okay."

Aveline nodded slowly, before a new question came to mind.

"And what about the girl in the story? The marked one. Is she still alive?"

There was a pause.

"...Remember the elf from the Cross family I told you about?"

Aveline’s eyes widened in realization.

"You mean—?"

"Yes,"

Selaphiel cut in again, finishing the thought before Aveline could. She continued, her tone turning serious.

"Which brings us to why I’m telling you all this."

"What you came across was the teaching manual she created. It was meant to be passed down to her descendants. I stole it.

She must’ve made a new one by now, but the fact remains—you’ve learned the awakened ability of another elf. The secret magic the Cross family prides itself on. For your safety—and everyone else’s—you must never reveal this fact openly."

"...I understand."

"Good,"

Selaphiel said, clasping her hands.

Silence returned.

Aveline was quick to break it.

"What about your own legend? Or... er, whatever those stories are called?"

"Mine?"

Selaphiel raised a brow.

Aveline nodded.

Selaphiel put on a thoughtful expression—but then her gaze caught the window. The scenery outside had changed.

"I’ll tell you later,"

She said.

Before Aveline could protest, the carriage came to a halt.

They had arrived at their destination.

Selaphiel glanced at the still-sleeping Lugh.

"It’s about time we woke him up."

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