The chains bit into Laura's wrists. Blood dripped down her arms. But she forced herself to stay alert.

Something was different about the shadow magic today.

Elise stood across the room, holding a black crystal. Dark energy poured from it like smoke.

"This will hurt," Elise said coldly, but Laura was done caring at this point and braced herself for it.

The shadow magic hit Laura's chest. Pain shot through her body. But this time, instead of just suffering for no reason she decided to study how it moved.

The dark energy swirled around her primordial marks. The marks on her chest glowed faintly as if fighting back.

"Interesting," Laura...