On the grass, Eric was holding the stone with intricate patterns, trying as best as he could to achieve what the mage Aldric had told him to do. At first, Eric was disappointed because, no matter how much he concentrated or focused on the rock, nothing happened. But after a certain amount of time, it changed, as it emitted a faint blue light on its surface. Seeing this, Eric was filled with excitement, but then his smile faded as the glow disappeared as quickly as it had appeared.
Reflecting on what had happened, a possibility came to Eric's mind: "It was probably because I lost focus on the rock. The glow went away, but at least now I know what that rock does. Hmm, but I didn't feel anything, I only saw it light up. Is this what the mage Aldric was referring to?" Eric questioned himself. But with no answers or anything to help him, he refocused on the stone to make the phenomenon repeat.
Thus, Eric concentrated on the rock, trying to visualize or feel the mana, anything, even a pulse or a disturbance in any part of his body. Eric imagined in his mind what he thought the substance would look like, recalling some representations in video games or movies, like a current or blue threads moving through the air surrounding everything. After visualizing these scenes for a few more minutes, something striking happened in Eric's view: his eyes began to see faint flashes of particles moving towards the rock. After about five to eight minutes of absorbing these particles, the rock started to generate a blue layer of light on its surface.
This time, Eric remained focused on the effect and did not stop to rejoice at what had happened. As the minutes passed, this layer turned a dark blue color. Additionally, in Eric's view, which was fixed on the rock, he managed to see a faint blue chaotic flow surrounding the rock. This had no order; it was only chaos, as occasionally these flows collided and small explosions similar to sound waves occurred.
When these explosions happened, they caused Eric a mild headache. It was as if something inside his head was moving. At first, it was just that pressure, but then the same thing also occurred in his eyes. They began to burn and hurt, so Eric let go of the stone, as the sensation was somewhat uncomfortable and painful. "Well, does this thing only serve to cause pain or what?" murmured Eric. When it ended, he took time to rest and check his body's condition, but it was fine; he only felt a sense of fatigue. As time passed, the headache subsided, and Eric felt that strange tingling in his mind similar to when he took those vials, but much milder. However, it allowed him to see the blue flows of particles in the air a bit more clearly.
Eric was glad that the time hadn't been in vain, otherwise it would have been a waste. But his patience paid off. Now he only wanted to see how much he could perceive the event. Then, the figure of a beautiful woman darkened his view. "So, you're already able to see them. Aldric didn't make a mistake in choosing you. I hope you live long enough to see how far you can go, child," Lanira said with an interested voice and face.
"Enough with the greetings, child. Go to the carriage next to Aldric's. It's time for us to leave," reverberated a voice accompanied by continuous clicks, pointing to a simple wooden carriage nearby.
"Always ruining the fun moments," Lanira said with a huff of annoyance, looking at the source of the voice. "You know we don't have time. Also, I'm not in the mood after what happened," Adam replied gravely before turning and heading towards the old man. Halfway, the figure stopped. The inside of its robe began to move. From there emerged something like a sharp insect leg, articulated and segmented with a chitinous armor structure. At its end was a black book firmly held by small tentacles. This limb retracted and threw the book into Eric's lap.
"Here, child. This will help you on your path to magic. This is the tower's gift for surviving," Adam said with creaking in his voice before continuing his path until disappearing into the carriage. "Well, child, good luck at the tower. I look forward to your future," Lanira said with a smile and a wave of her hand in farewell. She then advanced with confident steps and her beautiful silhouette, finally entering the carriage, causing the door to close. And so, Aldric's carriage, followed by another that emitted a somewhat unpleasant smell, slowly advanced through the large passage. Behind it, its black knights moved slowly to follow it, leaving the previous carriages, where the children were brought, at the entrance of the great passage.
While Eric processed what was happening and the black knights moved around him, the door of the wooden carriage that Adam had pointed to opened, and a faint blue light flame shone inside. Seeing this, Eric got up and walked towards the carriage with the book in his hands. As he moved forward, he noticed that several parts of the cavern where he was were darkening. The golden stones were slowly losing their shine until they became gray again, and in that darkness, the sounds of rocks breaking and clashing echoed through the cavern. Eric, due to the darkness of the environment, was unable to see what was happening, but not wanting to stay to find out, just as he set his feet on the carriage floor, the door closed slowly and the carriage began to move.
Inside the carriage, Eric saw the interior thanks to a small blue flame in a metal lamp on a table in the center. To the side, he saw wooden chairs and a window on the left side of the carriage with a decapitated human head, somewhat decayed, with some areas showing the skull. Fortunately, it didn't smell bad. The chair was facing the window and the head, so Eric moved to sit there and rest his body from the journey to the Tower of Eternal Night.
"This carriage is much better than the one I came in. It's warm and comfortable, perfect for resting and relaxing, if not for that head which isn't very pleasant to look at," Eric murmured, settling into the chair and looking out of the carriage, where some black knights were advancing.
"How can I not be pleasant to look at? Boy, don't you know what that word means yet?" Eric heard a voice that alarmed him while he was resting. Turning his face towards the source of the sound, he saw something that froze his blood: the head he thought was dead and a very unpleasant ornament had opened its eyes, which contained something like small purple flames. The head opened its mouth again. "Have you never seen someone speak to make that face?" said the head, moving its jaw with a deep voice. Eric was still wondering how that head was still alive—or, well, in what could be considered alive in its case—and more importantly, how it could talk. But seeing the head looking at him with a somewhat chilling gaze, he responded to avoid problems.
"No, but I've never seen a decapitated head do it," Eric replied, trying to maintain a calm tone and appearance.
"Pff, given your circumstances, I'll let that offense slide. Anyway, it's rare to find someone to chat with these days, so I'll be grateful if you satisfy my curiosity. Tell me, boy, who are you and where are we now?" said the head with a serene voice.
"I'm Eric, and we are currently in a sort of large passage outside that labyrinth where the mages of the Tower of Eternal Night conduct their trials," Eric replied calmly, while his gaze analyzed the head above the window.
"Mm, so that's the case. It has been a long time if that's so. Well, from what I can see, you're the only fortunate one who has passed that trial, and I see you've gained something by coming out of it," commented the head, with its purple flames moving towards the book Adam had given him, which was now in his lap.
"Do you know what this is?" Eric asked with hopeful eyes, as he had not met anyone who could fully satisfy his curiosity. Most were hints or guesses that only left him with more questions or ways to find the answer to his query.
"Of course, boy. That is the Book of the Dead. It's the guidebook for apprentice mages of the Tower of Eternal Night. Inside it are a great number of spells and, most importantly, the technique for a mage to begin their path to greatness," said the skull with a tone of deep inspiration. Its purple flames flared up a bit due to its excitement.
"So, with this book I can become a mage," Eric said excitedly, his eyes shining. He proceeded to open it, but unfortunately, the book wouldn't open no matter how much effort he put into it. Disappointed, he looked back at the head for answers.
"HA HA, do you think the tower would leave such knowledge in the hands of people who don't control magic and risk having it stolen so easily?" said the head in a mocking tone.
"But I already signed a contract with the tower when I left the labyrinth. If that's the case, how do I open it?" Eric asked anxiously, feeling he had been deceived.
"Don't worry, boy. I know you've already done that, otherwise you wouldn't be here, except that this book also requires you to do the same as you did with that contract," said the skull, calming Eric, who looked a bit pale.
Hearing these words, Eric calmed down and, recalling the things he did when he signed the contract with the old man, figured out what he needed to do. He placed the book on his lap and put his left hand on top of it. With his other hand, he took the dagger and, with a decisive movement, cut the tip of his finger to let a bit of his blood flow onto the book. When a sufficient amount of blood appeared on the surface of the book, it began to move and form a series of strange symbols. When the pattern was complete, the blood started to heat up and, the next second, ignited on the book. Alarmed by what was happening, Eric pulled his left hand and face away from the book to avoid burning himself, but to his surprise, the flames didn't burn his hand at all. Curious about this event, he put his hand back on the book and saw how the flames simply surrounded it without harming him. Enjoying the sight, Eric looked at the head for answers.
"Prepare yourself, boy. What happens next will decide your future," said the head deeply.
Confused by those words and fearful of what might happen next, Eric tried to pull his left hand away from the book, but couldn't. What alarmed him most was that he couldn't move his body, only his head. Scared, he turned his eyes back to the book, preparing for what was to come.
The flame, once peaceful and warm with an orange and red center, began to change. The fire, which danced gently, became erratic, as if an unseen force was stirring it. From the patterns in the flames emerged dark energy particles, but with violet and gray flashes that flickered with an unknown intensity. The particles floated around, but instead of dissipating, they gathered in the air, creating a dense and oppressive atmosphere.
The heat of the flame faded, and in its place, the fire transformed into a spiral of chaos, swirling with fury. Each black particle seemed to devour the air as it passed. The flames began to merge with the darkness, forming chaotic whirlpools that rose in distorted and terrifying shapes.
Around him, the energy particles moved erratically, decomposing and recomposing as if they were in different moments at once. Eric watched as every second expanded and contracted, and in some of those moments, the flame erupted into a scorching fire, consuming everything. The flames fluctuated between a blazing orange and a deep black, creating a vision of absolute chaos.
To make things worse, his vision began to fill with strange images, visions of things he had never seen, impossible things. Each new image made his head throb with increasing pain. Finally, the scene disappeared as if it had never been there. Everything in the carriage was the same as before, and the book no longer showed those mystical patterns. Instead, three gems were now embedded on the surface of the book, as if they had always been there. They were red, black, and gray, but the last one was peculiar: its shade changed between light and dark, and sometimes it disappeared from the book completely, as if it had never existed.
"Interesting... who would have thought that a mere child would awaken such an ancient and rare power."