[Read the Auxiliary Chapter Before Reading This Chapter]
"Ah, right... It's probably because I'm unattractive, isn't it?"
"No!" Verena groaned, gripping the girl's shoulders like she was about to shake the nonsense out of her. "I'm here... for uh, your nerdy stuff."
"Nerdy stuff?"
"Yes! I want to know about my powers!"
"Oh! Why didn't you say so?!"
"Well, how could I when you suddenly stripped..."
In an instant, all previous awkwardness evaporated.
It was like the whole strap-dropping incident never happened because Beatrice had just activated full nerd mode.
Her posture straightened, her expression grew animated, and, most importantly, she looked genuinely happy.
Verena observed the transformation with mild amusent.
In the novel, Beatrice was always the black sheep of her family.
She had lower status, "ugly" by noble standards, and far too obsessed with knowledge to be considered charming. Her interest in the occult only made her more of an outcast. But right now, she looked like she was in her elent.
In truth, Verena would take this version of Beatrice over the sultry temptress one any day.
Beatrice eagerly led Verena through the hallways, practically bouncing on her heels till they arrived in the library that turned into a girl's observatory.
The shelves were overstuffed, books stacked haphazardly on every available surface.
Scrolls and parchnt littered the floor like forgotten relics, and strange trinkets dangled from the ceiling, making shadows in the candlelight.
It was less of a library and more of a mad scholar's lair.
"Charming."
Beatrice grinned proudly. "I know, right?"
When she caught sight of that grin, an involuntary shake of her head followed. "Adorable..."
"What was that?"
"Nothing," she huffed, clicking her tongue like she had just bitten into sothing unbearably sour. "Let's just get this over with."
After a few careful preparations, the Weavefinding Orrery was finally placed on the table, a srizing, intricate device that charted an individual's zodiac alignnt from birth.
It was revered tool, prized by astrologers, noble families, and prestigious institutions like Irasios Academy, where a glance at its revelations could dictate a person's entire fate.
"Normally, you just tap into it to see your Connection," Beatrice explained, fingers tracing the delicate filigree of the device. "But... what you have is an anomaly. You need the obsidian stone. You have it, right?"
"Yes... I do..."
Before her, the orrery floated, its clockwork chanisms whirring softly as miniature constellations pulsed and rotated within its glassy sphere.
The glowing celestial bodies shifted with an almost sentient awareness, responding to the energy in the air.
Taking a steady breath, she carefully placed the obsidian relic into its center.
The mont her hands made contact, the entire device ca to life, light spilling out in cascading waves.
Then, the projection unfolded.
A vast, three-dinsional star map stretched before her, pinpointing the exact celestial positions at the mont of her birth.
Every alignnt, every anomaly laid bare in an intricate weave of cosmic destiny.
There were ancient glyps written amongst it, which were a bunch of texts that Verena didn't understand.
Based on what was presented, Beatrice interpreted the alignnts, the ssages, and the results were placed on the paper.
For awhile, she suddenly trembled, gripping the paper like it held the secrets of the universe.
Her breaths ca fast, uneven like she was about to faint.
"I-Is sothing wrong?" Verena asked, half-expecting so grim revelation.
"I..."
Was it that bad? Did she get cursed? Dood to diocrity?
"It's..."
"It's... what?"
Beatrice's hands clenched tighter. Her whole body shook.
"It's... IT'S... IT'S SO COOL! I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHERE TO START!"
Beatrice rambled on, her enthusiasm uncontainable.
She went through everything—her Sun Rising, her Moon Rising, all the intricate celestial details.
"Obviously, your Sun Rising is Ophiuchus," she said with a knowing nod.
"Shocking revelation."
"But your Moon Rising... oh-ho, now this is interesting," Beatrice continued, eyes gleaming. "Scorpio. That ans your internal self... your emotions, instincts, and the way your magic reacts.. is all about intensity. Passion. Pain. The deeper the feeling, the stronger the magic."
"Ah," Verena muttered, rubbing her chin. "No wonder..."
"No wonder what?"
"I probably triggered my power back there because, honestly? I was pissed when I was dealing with Anastasia."
"Well, yeah. Moon Rising isn't just so passive trait. It fuels your magic. It's your essence, the rawest version of you. And Scorpio? That's like setting your emotions on fire and letting the flas shape your spells."
"Great. So I'm emotionally volatile and magically unstable?"
"But that's not even the fun part!"
"There's a fun part?"
Instead of answering, Beatrice thrust the scroll into her hands. "See for yourself!"
___
[ZODIAC WEAVE – NATAL ANALYSIS]
[Sun Rising: Ophiuchus – The Fatebreaker's Grasp]
[Constellation Domain: Serpent's Coil]
[Natal Affinity: Fate Manipulation]
[Zodiac Status: Nonexistent – Rejected by the Weave]
[Moon Rising: Scorpio – Abyssal Awakening]
[Celestial Houses – Modifier Attributes]
rcury in Leo – The Silver-Tongued Sovereign
Venus in Scorpio – The Seductive Enigma
Mars in Aries – The Relentless Challenger
Jupiter in Pisces – The Unfated One
Saturn in Leo – The Crowned Titan
Uranus in Gemini – The Trickster's Weave
Neptune in Libra – The Dreamwalker
Pluto in Scorpio – The Forbidden Awakening
___
...
...
"I have... Fate Manipulation?!"
Verena felt like her knees might give out.
Fate manipulation, but the irony wasn't lost on her.
If anything, fate itself had been doing everything in its power to kick her ass.
Still, it made sense.
She'd been twisting the story's destiny to her own whims since day one.
And now, with this power, she could...
Her fingers tightened around the scroll.
"I don't have to worry so much about the six lives I have left if I just play this smarter..." she muttered under her breath.
"Huh? Did you say sothing?"
"Nothing."
She had to figure out her ability.
If not for survival, then out of spite.
This world was infuriating.
Everything about it grated on her nerves, from the ridiculous social hierarchy to the insufferable male leads to the stupid female leads.
If she was stuck here, she might as well break the ga.
With renewed determination, she grabbed Beatrice's hands, gripping them tightly. "Beatrice!"
The girl was surprised. Then, she shut her eyes and leaned in.
Verena yanked her hand back like she'd just touched a hot stove. "Ugh, how many tis do I have to tell you that it's not like that!"
She barely had a handle on this world, let alone her powers. Now she had to manage this too?!
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