As he steadied himself, something began to change. The orb reacted to him.
At first, faint symbols appeared on its surface, glowing softly. One by one, strange letters formed—words in a language Eliot had never seen before. He stared, transfixed. And without realizing why or how, he began to read them aloud. The words flowed from his mouth naturally, as if he had always known them. He didn’t understand their meaning, yet he spoke them clearly, his voice steady—like a chant, or a ritual long forgotten.
Before Eliot could fully grasp what was happening, the orb flared with brilliant light.
A flash of light filled the entire room. Eliot was gone. For a brief moment, the orb hovered silently in the air. Then, just as suddenly, it fell—crashing down and shattering the toy beneath it into pieces.
The mansion fell silent once more.
