Back in her lodgings, Seph's first act was to draw out her wand, murmuring the activation charm under her breath. At her will, a small, silver tree shimmered into being before her eyes, seeming to grow from the very air, emitting a soft, mysterious glow.
She examined this peculiar tree closely, her gaze curious as she studied its crystal-clear leaves, as if sculpted from the purest ice. Suddenly, her thoughts turned to the teardrop-shaped amethyst that had fallen from the wand. Retrieving it from her jewellery box, she turned it over and over in her hands, attempting to discern any connection between it and the magic recorded on the parchment.
Seph stared intently at the parchment. Gradually, she felt the characters upon it give a faint, unsettling wiggle. Her eyes widened in surprise. She concentrated hard, and the blurred letters sharpened before her, a sequence of unfamiliar words, as if activated by some hidden spark, becoming clear. They were in no tongue she knew, yet she understood them as clearly as her own name. A whisper escaped her lips: "Between the Boundless, Realm of All Things..."
As the incantation left her tongue, the amethyst in her hand pulsed with a blinding light. A fierce wave of dizziness washed over Seph, her consciousness felt pulled by some immense force, and she instantly plunged into a 'space' of unimaginable vastness. This space was incredibly large, easily the size of four Costco warehouses, its walls made of smooth, polished marble, gleaming faintly, like a surreal, colossal hall.
Seph's shock now was nearly equal to that of discovering the wand hidden within the angel's statue. Then, it had taken her months just to begin to adapt to this hidden facet of their world. This time, perhaps armed with some preparation from that previous experience, she needed only half a day to gradually regain her composure.
Seph forced herself to think, and a hazy childhood memory began to surface, gradually sharpening into focus. Her father had once told her, before bed, a legend about a Crane ancestor: a mighty sorcerer who created a wondrous artefact. It was an independent space carved out by magic, one that could hold things like a pocket and keep them exactly as they were, untouched by decay. However, this treasure had drawn the covetous eyes of other magical families, who were willing to wage war to possess it. In the end, the artefact vanished without a trace, becoming a mystery.
This legend echoed the scene before her with uncanny precision. Seph froze for two seconds, then comprehension dawned. With immediate excitement, she found several different items and, carefully following the spell's guidance, touched them. The items vanished instantly. When she focused her mind and entered that 'space,' she found them nestled there, perfectly preserved. After repeated trials, confirming the space's miraculous function, a look of pure, unadulterated ecstasy finally bloomed on Seph's face.
In the desolate years of the apocalypse, she had struggled simply to survive, becoming hardened to everything. Fear and anxiety, like relentless shadows, had almost extinguished all her feelings; she had even forgotten what 'ecstasy' felt like.
Seph wrestled to calm her racing heart. She took a delicate silver chain from her jewellery box, carefully threaded the amethyst onto it, fashioning a necklace, and clasped it tightly around her neck. Her hesitation earlier, when Aunt Susan had mentioned the farm and she'd said she needed 'some time to consider,' wasn't capriciousness. She knew perfectly well that soon after the apocalypse had begun, the farm, due to its geographical location, had become a centre of military conflict, ultimately reduced to worthless rubble by the shelling.
For Seph, having lived through the end of the world, compared to a ruinous farm, the most crucial thing now was securing survival supplies. She desperately needed money; she needed vast stockpiles of food. She was weary of that gnawing hunger, of fighting desperately for a single bite. In the apocalypse, even a piece of mouldy bread could trigger a bloody fight.
However, in the chaos of that world, no matter where she hid food, it could never be absolutely safe. Beyond the threat of military bombardment, there were countless hungry people who would stop at nothing to snatch anything edible. The appearance of the amethyst space, however, offered a perfect solution, a genuine flicker of hope for survival.
Nothing inspires more gratitude than a glimmer of hope in despair. Seph clutched the amethyst hanging around her neck, a surge of inexpressible gratitude welling up within her.
To fully understand the amethyst space's functions, she remained awake almost the entire night, conducting all manner of experiments. She ultimately confirmed that items placed within the space remained in their original state for extended periods and wouldn't spoil. A bowl of scalding hot water, left in overnight, emerged still steaming, virtually unchanged from when it was first placed inside.
For Seph, that night flew by; it seemed but a blink of an eye before dawn arrived. She dragged herself tiredly from bed, found some loose change from her wallet, and ate a simple meal at the café downstairs – a croissant, a cup of hot milk – before hurrying back home and collapsing into bed to catch up on sleep.
The next day, Aunt Susan called, asking about her decision on the farm.
Seph desperately needed a large sum of money now. With only a year left until the apocalypse, she had to secure enough food and other essentials immediately. Her parents had left no savings, and her own bank card held less than three hundred dollars. In this situation, she had no time to waste energy earning money bit by bit through work.
Seph knew the farm her grandfather left behind was the quickest way to access substantial funds. On the phone, she didn't beat around the bush. She told Aunt Susan directly, "I can sell the farm to you, but I want six hundred thousand dollars."
Preparations for the impending apocalypse involved countless tasks, and six hundred thousand dollars might not even be enough. Selling to a stranger would consume too much precious time. Although she would lose some money by selling to Aunt Susan, getting the cash quickly was paramount. Weighing the options, she chose the latter.
Aunt Susan on the other end of the line was clearly displeased. She complained about the farm's buildings being old and dilapidated, the land barren, requiring extensive funds for renovation, and therefore not worth six hundred thousand dollars at all. She also hinted that, were it not for Seph being her niece, she would only offer forty thousand dollars at most.
Seph remained resolute, not yielding an inch, sticking firmly to the six hundred thousand dollar price. Aunt Susan argued for a long time, but seeing Seph's tone gradually turn cold, and worried she might change her mind, she reluctantly relented, grumbling that the amount was huge and she needed to consult Uncle Richard. Then, she hung up.
Outwardly, Seph was composed, but inwardly, she was consumed by anxiety. After hanging up the phone, she immediately began inventorying all the valuables at home, preparing to cash them in quickly.
Her mother's designer jewellery remained. From it, she chose her parents' wedding rings, carefully put them aside as a memento of them. The rest of the jewellery, she decided to sell entirely. Some of her father's art collection was also there. She was relieved to remember an auction house her father had worked with years ago. After contacting them by phone, they expressed willingness to purchase, and provided the price was reasonable, she intended to sell these quickly too.
Within a few days, Seph had roughly a hundred thousand dollars in her bank account. She first purchased a batch of common medical supplies; she clearly remembered how precious these things would become in the apocalypse, almost priceless. Additionally, she bought large quantities of bandages, gauze, and hemostatics for emergencies. In the apocalypse, even a small wound, if improperly treated, could lead to fatal infection.
After storing these supplies one by one into the amethyst space, a few tens of thousands of dollars were almost spent. Seph then began packing up all sorts of potentially useful items from home, from large items like bedding and trunks to tiny things like paper, pens, and needles. She meticulously organised them and put them into the space. Among these were some magic books her father had left behind, filling an entire bookcase, along with other belongings.