84: Chapter 84 Test Begins

The test begins!

Cordelia stepped into the circle, standing within the first small ring.

Myrtle picked up a copper bowl from the side and placed it on the ground in front of Cordelia; the bowl was filled with water.

"Pick it up without using your hands."

Cordelia looked at the bowl, took a deep breath, and raised her hands.

Her hands were trembling, but her eyes remained steady.

The water in the bowl began to sway as if stirred by the wind.

Then the bowl left the ground—one inch, two inches, three inches.

Not a drop of water spilled. The bowl rose steadily to the height of Cordelia's chest and stopped.

Myrtle looked at her, expressionless. "Put it down."

Cordelia lowered her hands, and the bowl followed, landing gently on the ground without spilling a single drop.

Madison let out a sigh of relief from the stairs.

Queenie took a bite of a potato chip.

Myrtle said nothing, scribbling a few notes on the parchment in her hand.

"Second task: Transmutation."

She pulled a copper coin from her pocket and placed it in Cordelia's palm. "Move it from here to that table over there. You have ten seconds."

Cordelia looked at the coin and closed her eyes.

One second, two seconds, three seconds.

She opened her eyes; the coin was gone.

A metallic clink sounded from the table.

Myrtle glanced at the table and made a few more notes on the parchment.

"Third task: Mind Control."

She walked over to the wall where Queenie was standing.

"Control her. Make her walk over to you."

Cordelia looked at Queenie.

Queenie stood there, still chewing on a potato chip, her expression a bit dazed.

Then her eyes went blank. She put down the chips and walked toward Cordelia step by step, stopping in front of her.

Cordelia looked at her. "Go back."

Queenie turned, walked back to her original spot, picked up her chips, and continued chewing.

Madison whispered from the stairs, "This is way too easy..."

"Shut up," Myrtle scolded without even looking up.

Madison shut her mouth.

Fourth task: Pyrokinesis.

A row of seven candles sat before Cordelia, all unlit.

She looked at them and raised her hand.

All seven candles ignited simultaneously, their flames uniform in height and stability.

Fifth task: Vitalum Vitalis.

Myrtle pulled a withered flower from her pocket and placed it in Cordelia's palm.

Cordelia looked at the flower. The petals turned from brown to purple, from purple to pink, and from pink to vibrant red.

The flower bloomed.

The withered flower had blossomed in her palm.

Shaun stood by the window, watching Cordelia pass one trial after another. The tight string in his heart slowly began to loosen.

Telekinesis, Transmutation, Mind Control, Pyrokinesis, Vitalum Vitalis...

Every task was performed cleanly and efficiently, without hesitation or error.

Cordelia stood within that white circle, her long white dress reflecting the sunlight like a statue.

Her expression remained calm; from the beginning until now, she hadn't smiled, nor had she looked nervous.

Just pure calm.

Madison came down the stairs and stood next to Shaun. "She seems to be taking it pretty easily."

Shaun didn't speak.

The ones that follow... are the real challenge!

"Sixth task: Divination," Myrtle's voice rang out.

Cordelia closed her eyes.

The hall was deathly quiet.

Sunlight streamed through the window, illuminating the empty wooden floor.

After about half a minute, she opened her eyes. "Someone is here. A woman with short hair, wearing an old-fashioned dress. She asks... she asks if Fiona is dying."

Myrtle's pen paused.

She looked at Cordelia. "Tell her that Fiona's business is none of her concern."

Cordelia nodded and closed her eyes again.

After a few seconds, she opened them and said, "She's gone."

Myrtle nodded, then paused for a moment, taking a long breath. "The final task: Descensum."

The air in the hall suddenly changed.

It wasn't cold, but heavy. It felt as if something was pressing down, weighing on everyone's shoulders.

Madison's hand tightened on Shaun's arm.

Queenie's chip stopped at her lips.

Myrtle looked at Cordelia, her eyes—heavily lined with eyeliner—filled with worry.

"Descensum," Myrtle introduced, "is the most dangerous of The Seven Wonders!"

"You must open the gate to another world and bring back a soul from there. If you do not return, you will never come back."

She looked at Cordelia. "Are you sure you want to continue?"

Cordelia said seriously, "I'm sure!"

Myrtle was silent for a second, then raised her wooden staff.

The ruby at the head of the staff lit up, casting a dark red light onto Cordelia.

A black circle appeared on the floor in front of her—not painted, but seeping out from beneath the floorboards like ink dropped in water, slowly spreading.

"Begin!"

Cordelia looked at the black circle, took a step forward, and stood in the center.

She closed her eyes, her lips moving as she chanted something. Black light surged up from beneath her feet, enveloping her body like countless black hands crawling upward.

Shaun had seen this before... in the basement of Hill Manor, when Bobby Hill's darkness was being devoured by the golden book, it was this same kind of blackness.

But that blackness was being devoured; this blackness was summoned by Cordelia herself.

The darkness grew thicker, and Cordelia's figure became increasingly blurred within it.

The hall was incredibly quiet; even Queenie didn't dare chew her chips.

Sunlight shone through the window onto the mass of blackness but could not penetrate it.

The black mass was like a black hole, sucking in all the light.

One minute passed, then two, and Cordelia still had not emerged...

Madison's hand gripped Shaun's arm tightly.

"Why is it taking so long?"

Shaun didn't speak.

He didn't understand Descensum and didn't know how long it was supposed to take.

But he had seen Fiona's files and read the records concerning the succession of the Supreme Witch.

Descensum was the most dangerous task, but it was also the fastest.

Opening the door, bringing back a soul, and closing the door should take no more than a few dozen seconds.

And now... three minutes had passed, and Cordelia still hadn't come out.

Myrtle's expression changed.

Her hands were shaking, and the red light at the head of her staff began to flicker erratically, like a dying lamp.

She took a step forward to the edge of the black circle and peered inside. Her face instantly went pale.

"Cordelia!"

There was no response.

Inside the circle, a mass of black matter was churning and expanding, as if something inside was struggling, trying to squeeze its way out.

Madison let go of Shaun's arm and rushed over.

She stood beside Myrtle, looking at the black mass, her face also turning white.

Something had gone wrong!

Seeing this, Shaun also hurried over and asked, "What's happening?"

Myrtle didn't look at him.

She stared at the black mass, her voice trembling. "She opened the door, but the door won't close."

"What do you mean?"

"Descensum requires opening the gate to another world, bringing back a soul, and then closing the gate." Myrtle's voice grew more strained.

"She opened the door, but it didn't close. Something... many things... are pushing through to this side!"