Whispers of Metal: The Forge of the One Mage

Well, a new chapter is done, expect updates more often in the afternoons or evenings, with the previous chapter we exceeded 100k views, which is much more than the previous fanfics I have done.

You know, comment and leave power stones.

The tension between Pearl and Adrian dissipated into the air after Pearl's quick retreat to her room, though it was clear to everyone she wasn't entirely satisfied with the interaction. Meanwhile, Adrian kept his serene expression, showing no obvious signs of discomfort or any real concern for the conversation.

Nora wasted no time changing the subject, her usual energy back in full force. "Well, guys, what are we waiting for? We're going to the movies!"

"Nora, how do you expect us to get to the cinema? I don't see how we're getting there without a car," I asked curiously, considering we were already at the door.

Nora smiled almost mischievously. "Oh, I know someone who can take us," she said in a tone that didn't inspire much confidence.

Adrian sighed and put his hand on his face. "Don't tell me you're going to do what I think you're going to do…" he said, as if guessing what Nora had in mind.

…

A few minutes later, we were standing outside Nora's house, and in front of us was her pink lion, which had appeared out of nowhere—well, not exactly out of nowhere, but you get what I mean.

"This guy is going to take us to the movies" Nora said, pointing proudly at the lion. She leaped onto its back with the ease of someone who had done it many times before.

Adrian continued shaking his head slowly, his hand still covering his face, as if he hadn't yet gotten used to the oddness of it all. "I definitely guessed right," he muttered to himself.

I was genuinely surprised by the pink lion. Although I knew of its existence, I hadn't seen it in person until now.

"Are you sure this is safe?" I asked, a hint of nervousness in my voice, though it was more excitement than anything else.

"Absolutely" Nora responded. "Come on, guys, hop on!"

"If you say so," Adrian said in a tone that suggested he had already accepted the weirdness of the situation.

"W-wait, what—" I started to say, but before I could react, I felt an invisible force gently lift me off the ground and place me behind Nora on the lion's back. I immediately held on tight, trying to get used to the strange sensation of sitting on such a large creature. When I glanced at Adrian, I noticed a small smile on his face.

"Show-off" Nora said, referring to Adrian.

But I didn't pay attention to what she said; the fleeting sensation of floating was occupying my thoughts at that moment.

"Hey, you also show off your powers" Adrian replied, in a more cheerful tone, though not much different from his usual stoic self.

"Or have you already forgotten how you showed off after we defeated that possessed costume?" he continued, a smile spreading across his face.

Nora blushed slightly, turning her head to avoid looking at us, and spoke. "I don't know what you're talking about," she said trying to hide her embarrassment.

"What do you mean by 'possessed costume'?" I asked Adrian with curiosity.

Adrian was about to continue, but Nora, in a slightly louder tone, exclaimed, "No, don't tell her that!"

"You see…" he tried to say, but a semi-solid pink light plate, shaped like a very symmetrical face mask, stopped him, along with Nora's piercing glare.

Adrian looked at Nora with a defiant expression, as if he had accepted the challenge. He snapped his fingers, and suddenly, a small cartoonish version of himself appeared floating by his side.

"WOW," Nora and I exclaimed at the little creature.

"Well, what my little buddy here was trying to say is…" said the miniature version of Adrian, mimicking his voice with exaggerated flair. "You see, when Nora and I first met, we fought a possessed costume. After that fight, our friend here" the tiny creature pointed at Nora and patted her arm (or at least tried to, since it was so small it barely reached).

The scene was so surreal and amusing that I almost couldn't hold back my laughter.

"She started bragging about her powers for three hours straight until she finally got tired" said the cartoonish Adrian in a playful tone, while Nora grew more embarrassed with each passing second.

Finally, unable to bear the embarrassment, Nora swatted at the tiny Adrian, who exploded into a shower of confetti.

"It's not funny" Nora told me, still blushing with embarrassment, and then turned to Adrian with an annoyed look. "And you've been quite the comedian today, so you'll keep that mask on until we get to the cinema," she told Adrian, referring to the face mask.

Adrian raised an eyebrow, then gave a little hop and sat behind me on the lion's back. He looked at Nora, and glowing words appeared in the air near his face: "Whatever you say, SHOW-OFF."

I couldn't help but laugh again at this, and Nora smacked the words away, making them burst into confetti once more. However, when I picked up one of the confetti pieces, I saw that it had "Nora is a Bossy Show-Off" written on it, along with a scribbly drawing of Nora's angry face, which only made my laughter intensify.

"Hahahahahahaha" I laughed, and Nora seemed to realize what the confetti said, so she shot an even angrier look at Adrian.

"Alright, the joke's over" she said while I continued to laugh.

"Now, lion, take us to the cinema" she commanded as she petted the lion's mane. It started running very fast but not in the direction of the city; instead it headed toward the sea.

"Nora, where is your lion taking us?!" I shouted, asking because the wind was too strong.

"I don't know! This has never happened before!" Nora replied, trying to keep her composure. "Come on, buddy, I need you to take us to the cinema!" she insisted, giving her mount a pat. But the lion didn't seem to hear her and instead let out a mighty roar before opening a pink portal in front of us.

With one last push, the lion leaped into the portal, and everything turned into an explosion of colorful flashes, dominated by pink. I tried to look around to enjoy the view, but the speed and dizziness of traveling through the portal made me hold on tight to avoid falling off.