Velmire's Grand Market didn't just buzz. It roared.
Stalls spilled into the streets like bright coral reefs: crimson silk awnings snapping in the wind, glass orbs that sang when you walked past, cauldrons bubbling rainbow stew that smelled like childhood and danger. Incense smoke curled into the shape of dragons before dissolving. A street magician juggled fire-lilies that exploded into butterflies. A kid sold "genuine phoenix tears" that were clearly just spicy pepper juice. Everything glittered, shouted, lied, and laughed all at once.
Kai moved through it like a ghost who had forgotten how to be seen.
Dusty traveler's coat, hood low, noble crest hidden under three layers of plain fabric. Golden eyes scanning every face, every stall, every flicker of wild magic that didn't belong. His family had felt the pulse three nights ago ancient, impossible, coming from the far east. The kind of pulse that made old prophecy scrolls bleed new ink. He wasn't here for fun. He was hunting.
Then the world tilted.
"OUT OF THE WAY!!"
A comet made of tangled curls, flying robes, and pure chaos slammed into him.
Fruit exploded. Apples became projectiles. A wooden stand detonated in a puff of enchanted glitter that rained pink and gold snow for ten full seconds.
Kai hit the ground hard.
Someone was sprawled on top of him, satchel upside-down, herbs raining, half a sandwich stuck to his coat like a battle flag.
"Ugh," the someone groaned, wiping glitter off her freckled nose. "You're not a crate."
Kai blinked up at her. "Clearly."
Guards shouted somewhere behind them angry voices, clanking armor.
The girl's hazel eyes went comically wide. "Oh crumbs. RUN!"
She grabbed his wrist and yanked.
Kai trained since birth never to let strangers touch him was on his feet and running before his brain caught up.
They dove into a side alley, ducked behind a stack of spellbound brooms that hissed at them like angry cats.
Panting, the girl turned with the biggest, most unapologetic grin he'd ever seen.
"Hi! I'm Mina. You're welcome for the rescue."
"I'm pretty sure you caused the disaster."
"Details." She wiped jam off her cheek with the back of her hand. "You have glitter in your hair. It's cute."
Kai raised a brow. "You have jam on your nose."
"Battle scar," she declared proudly.
He almost smiled. Almost.
He adjusted his coat. For one heartbeat the hidden crest beneath flared—a soft, guilty gold that lit the alley like sunrise.
Mina didn't notice. She was too busy stuffing escaped herbs back into her satchel.
"So, stranger-who-is-definitely-not-a-crate, thank you for not screaming. Most people scream."
"I don't scream."
"Yeah, you just look like you read too much poetry and brood professionally."
This time he did smile just a flicker.
Before he could leave, a nearby trinket stall's crystal orb flared blood-red. The air pressure dropped. Every enchanted lantern dimmed.
Both of them felt it at the same second.
The pulse.
Wild. Ancient. Coming from the east.
Mina's grin vanished. "You felt that too?"
Kai nodded slowly.
The orb cracked. A single rose-shaped glyph of blue fire bloomed inside it, then faded.
Mina's eyes went huge. "That's the same surge everyone's whispering about. The one that made the stars cry last week."
She slung her satchel over her shoulder like she'd already decided.
"I'm going east."
Kai's voice was quiet. "So am I."
"Perfect!" She stuck out a jam-sticky hand. "Partners?"
He stared at the hand like it might bite him.
Then, against every instinct drilled into him since birth, he took it.
"Kai."
"Mina," she said, shaking vigorously. "Nice to meet you, brooding poetry boy."
They stepped out of the alley together.
The sun was setting behind Velmire's Market, painting everything gold and rose.
Mina skipped ahead, munching a sugary bun she definitely hadn't paid for.
"You're awfully quiet for someone who almost got mugged and then rescued by a genius," she teased, twirling so hard she nearly toppled a crate of singing teacups.
Kai caught it one-handed.
"You didn't rescue me. You caused chaos."
"Chaos is a form of brilliance," she shot back with a wink.
They stopped at a small fountain tucked between quiet alleys.
The water shimmered wrong silver threads rippling through it like living veins.
Kai dipped a finger in the water.
The surface froze. Then EXPLODED into a perfect rose of blue fire, so bright it painted the alley neon!
When the light died, their reflections were GONE.
In their place: a full-blown glowing MAP spreading across the water like living ink, silver rivers racing, mountains rising, and one blazing golden line shooting due east, ending at a cracked crown wrapped in flames and a single burning tear.
Mina's jaw dropped. "NO WAY!! The fountain just drew us a freaking QUEST MAP?!"
Kai's eyes went wide, golden irises flashing. "This isn't a map. This is a declaration of war from the universe itself!"
Mina punched the air. "EAST HO!! Whoever's waiting over there just rolled out the red carpet and lit it on fire!"
Kai actually cracked a wild grin. "Then we're answering with STYLE. First light, full speed, zero brakes!"
Mina spun, cloak flaring like a cape. "IT'S DESTINY O'CLOCK, PRETTY BOY!! LET'S GO BREAK FATE'S FACE!!"
The rose in the water flared one last time, as if cheering.
Far away, the prophecy scroll added a new line in blazing ink:
"WHEN THE CHAOS GREMLIN AND THE BROODING PRINCE SCREAM 'EAST HO,' THE VEIL BETTER DUCK."
Somewhere distant, temple bells rang thirteen times though it was only evening.
Kai stood slowly.
"Something's calling."
Mina stepped back, but her grin was steady now.
"Well, if it's calling you," she said, "it better be ready for both of us."
He looked at her really looked.
A clumsy, jam-covered disaster of a girl who had just crashed into his life like a meteor.
And for the first time in years, Kai smiled for real.
"Then we leave at first light."
The rose in the fountain shimmered brighter, as if laughing.
Far away, in a temple older than names, a prophecy scroll stirred beneath glass.
Dust lifted.
Pages turned on their own.
New ink bled across ancient parchment:
When laughter meets lineage, and clumsiness touches the crown, the Balance shall stir. Not all stars fall alone.
And high above, two stars that had been still for centuries shifted closer together.
Watching. Waiting. Ready to burn.