I flipped through the pages until I found the right section.

  “The Principles are beings beyond human comprehension.”

  Only a small number of people had ever even come close to them.

  Even fewer mortals had defeated them.

  My chest tightened.

  Defeated them…?

  That didn’t even sound real.

  “Each Principle holds authority over a single attribute.”

  Authority…

  I didn’t fully understand it yet, but it sounded important.

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  “Some Principles may choose vessels—mortals granted power directly by a Principle.”

  Vessels…

  So that’s what they were called.

  Chosen. Not random.

  I frowned.

  So… was I chosen too?

  “Vessels are associated with their respective Principle and the attribute granted to them.”

  Okay. That part made sense.

  I kept reading, my eyes moving faster now.

  “Nythera, the Principle of Darkness. She holds authority over the Dark attribute.”

  Darkness.

  My grip tightened on the book.

  Her.

  So either she chose me…

  or I just happened to get dragged into this.

  I wasn’t sure which was worse.

  I kept reading, searching for answers.

  “Attributes such as Dark are granted directly by a Principle.”

  “However, attributes may also be obtained upon the death of a previous user.”

  “If the successor is strong enough to withstand the burden of multiple attributes, the power will remain.”

  “If not, the attribute will return to the world.”

  So being born with it wasn’t necessary.

  That thought lingered.

  I lowered the book slightly, staring at the page without really seeing it.

  Nythera…

  Why me?

  The question sat heavy in my chest, cold and uncomfortable.

  Something about this felt wrong.

  And whatever it was, I knew it wasn’t just about power.

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