“Did Liam message you just now?” Terasia asked as she pushed the shopping cart through the supermarket entrance. 

“Mm, he told us to meet at Sembawang Park at six-thirty in the evening,” I said, flipping through the brochure to look at the weekly promotion specials. “He’s buying the charcoal and utensils while Xian Jing is bringing along a cooler box and ice, so we are left with the ingredients and drinks for the party.”

“Sounds good to me,” she said, glancing around at the rows of shelves stocked with all kinds of household items and needs. “So, what should we start with?”

“Hmm…let’s go to the meat section first. Looks like there’s chicken drumettes and sausages on sale this week.” 

“Okie~” 

Pushing the cart to the meat section, I picked out two packs of ready-to-cook cheese frankfurters and a bag of Mexican style roasted drumettes from the freezers along the aisle. 

“Ooh, we can make burgers with that,” Terasia exclaimed, pointing at a box of ground beef patties on the topmost shelf. “Let’s get that one, Avery!” 

“What, are you thinking of making your own Ramly burger?” I said with a lighthearted laugh. 

“Hang on, that actually sounds like a great idea! We should totally do that.” 

“We’ll need to buy bread and sauces as well, then.” 

Adjacent to the meat section was the deli section, where we added a bag of hamburger buns and a pack of cheese slices to our cart. 

“Eggs would probably make a mess out of the grill, so cheese can be used as a replacement,” I explained. 

“I see…oh, we can make grilled cheese buns with this too!” 

We moved on to the condiments section, and I tossed a cheap bottle of ketchup and mayonnaise into the cart. Last but not least, we visited the beverages aisle, where Terasia chose a bottle of Coke and two bottles of jasmine green tea that were bundled together in a promotion. 

“I guess this should be enough,” I said, looking at the pile of groceries in our cart as we pushed it towards the self-checkout. “Terasia, are you okay with storing all this stuff in your house fridge for the time being?” 

She nodded her head. “Sure, I don’t mind.”

We quickly paid for our items at the machine and walked out of the supermarket with two large plastic bags in our hands. 

“Is it alright for you to carry everything back home from here?” I asked worriedly. “It seems pretty heavy, I can help carry one bag to your house before going home.” 

“Thanks for your concern, but there’s no need to worry,” she said, giving me a boastful smile. “With my gravity-reduction magic, it won’t be much trouble at all~”

“What in the world is gravity-reduction magic…?” I let out an impressed chuckle. “Alright then, shall we meet up at the train station as usual at 6 PM?” 

“Hmm…” Terasia tapped her finger on her chin before winking slyly at me. “No, you should come to my house instead. I can’t possibly carry everything to the venue by myself.” 

“Didn’t you just say that you can use magic to help you with that?” I asked, bemused. “But sure, what time?”

“Say, 5 PM?” she said with an eager smile on her face. 

I shot her a quizzical look. “That early? What for?” 

She merely giggled and twirled her hair in amusement. “You’ll know why later~”

-

At three minutes past five, I pressed the intercom button at the side gate of the condominium complex. 

“Good afternoon, which unit are you visiting?” 

“Block 3A, number #13-02.”

“Give me a moment, please…alright, you may enter now.” 

The gate buzzed open, and I made my way up to Terasia’s apartment after shooting her a text that I had arrived. 

“Terasia?” I knocked on her door gingerly. “I’m here, can you open the door for me?”

As if in response, my phone vibrated with an incoming message. 

“Count down from a hundred before opening the door?” I scratched my head in confusion upon reading her message. “What is she planning to do…well, whatever, let’s just do what she says.” 

I began reciting the countdown softly to myself, but before I had reached ninety, another message from Terasia interrupted me. 

“Loudly, like I’m playing hide-and-seek as the seeker…?” 

Hesitating for a moment, I then breathed a deep sigh of resignation and cleared my throat. 

“Ninety-two, ninety-one, ninety!” 

“Seventy-eight, seventy-seven, seventy-six…”

“Forty-one, forty! Thirty-nine, thirty-eight, thirty-seven…”

“…twenty, nineteen, eighteen, seventeen…”

“…ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four,” I said, stifling a tired yawn. “Three…two…one…ready or not…” 

I put my hand on the door handle, then swung the front door open with a good amount of force. 

“Here I come, Terasia—” 

I stumbled into a large, dimly-lit space. 

“—w-w-wait, what is this?!” 

Blinking in surprise, I rubbed my eyes twice in sheer disbelief before gawking at the impossible sight before me. 

A grand ballroom of unparalleled magnificence unfolded in front of my wide eyes—a vast expanse adorned with opulent chandeliers that cast a resplendent golden glow upon the polished marble floor. Between the towering pillars carved out of white granite lining the perimeter, silver mirrored walls stretched from floor to ceiling, capturing and multiplying the grandeur of the already colossal space into infinity. Above me, a majestic vaulted ceiling depicting the night sky in all its celestial splendour soared high, creating the surreal illusion that I was standing in space itself. 

“T…this is the correct place, right?” I mumbled, looking back at the door which I had just opened. “Right, the unit number on the door matches up…then, where in the world am I?” 

A soft giggle as mellifluous as the wind reached my ears. 

“Have you already forgotten about my dimensional magic?” 

With a start, I spun around on my feet and met her sparkling aquamarine eyes. 

“Terasia?” I breathed. 

She lifted the skirt of her dress in a frivolous curtsy. “Yes?” 

“What are you…you…” I stuttered, the rest of my words seemingly stuck in my throat, before inhaling sharply. “That dress that you’re wearing…” 

“I promised you that I’ll buy it for you, so I went ahead and bought it just now,” Terasia said with a grin as she twirled in her elegant black backless dress. “Well then, what do you think?” 

It took me much effort before I managed to swallow the saliva in my mouth. My voice quivered with the intensity of my feelings as I mustered the courage to speak the words that danced upon the tip of my tongue.

“You look perfect.” 

“The time I spent preparing for this moment wasn’t wasted, then.” Her lips curled into a radiant smile. “I’m happy to receive your compliment.” 

“Are you…going to wear this to the party later?” I breathed. 

“Do you want me to?” she asked curiously.

“I-It’s a little too revealing in my opinion, but I mean, it’s up to you…” 

Terasia searched my eyes, then made a sound between a wheeze and a laugh. 

“Then, I shall save this dress for only when we’re alone together, alright?” she said, a teasing smile dancing on the corner of her lips. “By the way, how long more are you planning to stand there doing nothing? At least change your appearance to fit the occasion, silly.” 

“Change my appearance?” I gave her a bemused look. “I don’t have magic, you know.”

“What are you talking about?” she wheezed again. “Don’t you have the sword that I gave you the previous time?” 

“Sword…” I gasped as realisation dawned upon me. “Oh, right, the Holy Sword! Where did it go after all that had happened?” 

“To put it in brief, it’s now a piece of you,” she explained. “You just need to say the incantation to summon it into reality.” 

“Incantation?” I hesitated. “What kind of incantation are you talking about?”

“It can be anything. You haven’t set any particular incantation to summon it yet, so for now it’s a blank.” She shrugged and grinned. “You should try to come up with something cool-sounding.”

“For real?” I blurted, and all of a sudden, the dazzling legendary sword materialised in my hand. 

“Wait, what?” 

“Looks like you’ve already chosen your incantation,” she said thoughtfully. “What a unique chant, I must say.” 

“H-hang on a moment, I haven’t even come up with…” I stared at the beautiful sword that I was now holding. “No way, for real?” 

It glowed and blinked out of existence. 

“For real??” 

The sword materialised back into my open palm with a seemingly mocking hum. 

“This…” I shot Terasia a pleading look. “Please tell me that there is a way to change the incantation.” 

“The incantation can’t be altered until the sword changes owners,” she revealed with a smirk. “And by the way, once an owner relinquishes possession of it, they cannot gain ownership of it back ever again.”

“That can’t be…” I rolled my head back in disbelief and sighed. “Oh well, whatever…should I do a Cinderella transformation sequence too just for fun?”

I tossed my sword into the air, adrenaline surging through my veins as a shiver of enchantment hummed through my body. The blade dissolved into a radiant rain of glitter, fragments of stardust descending upon me with an ethereal dance until they eventually enveloped me in a cocoon of iridescent light. 

At my command, the magic began to transform and weave around me. Velvety fabrics, delicate as the whispering touch of down feathers, draped over my shoulders as the dreamy white ball gown I had pictured in my mind gradually took shape. Intricate lace patterns reminiscent of snowflakes adorned the bodice and sleeves; subtle sparkles lined every fold and seam of my skirt, catching the light like the first dusting of frost. As for the finishing touch, I added a silver tiara on top of my head, its glimmering surface mirroring the luminescence of my dress. 

“You’re such a show off,” she teased as I straightened my back, a waterfall of silky, lilac-hued tresses cascading gently around my shoulders. “I hate to admit it, but you look absolutely stunning.” 

I winked. “Even more gorgeous than yourself?” 

“Heh, how can that ever be possible?” she humphed. “I’ll say that it is a tie.” 

Stifling my laughter, I swept up the flowery skirts of my gown in a graceful curtsy. 

“Will you indulge me in a dance, Demon Lord?”

Her lips curling into a heartwarming smile, Lukterasia extended a black-gloved hand towards me. “I’ll gladly oblige, Hero Stefania.”

 

Next chapter, B-15 [heaven’s a dance away] will be released on 15 Mar, 12 AM UTC