Chapter 4: Inheritance
.
.
.
.
.
Aleister walked slowly through the dark, dusty halls of the Crowley mansion, feeling the echo of his footsteps resonate through the walls. The mansion, with its old furniture and time-worn curtains, had always seemed like a place of mystery to him. Even having lived there all his life, he still felt that the place held secrets, hidden behind closed doors and in rooms that were rarely visited.
On this particular day, Aleister had decided to explore a part of the mansion that he did not often visit: the former study room of his grandfather, Alexander Crowley. He had heard of him as a powerful and enigmatic man, whose research into dark magic had been the subject of many conversations in the family. Despite his mother and sister's warnings to stay away from the dark arts, Aleister could not help but feel intensely curious about everything that his grandfather had left behind.
He pushed open the heavy wooden door to the study room, which swung open with a deep creak. The interior was just as he had imagined: shelves filled with ancient books, artifacts covered in dust, and a large stone fireplace in the center, dominating the room. Aleister let out a small sigh of wonder as he walked towards the fireplace, his fingers brushing the spines of the nearest books.
"He must have spent a lot of time here," he whispered to himself, imagining his grandfather sitting in front of that fireplace, absorbed in his studies.
Suddenly, as he waved his wand absentmindedly, a flash of light emerged from the unlit fire in the fireplace. A flame briefly flared, illuminating the room in an orange glow. Startled, Aleister stepped back, his wand still in his hand.
"What was that?" he wondered, staring at the fireplace with narrowed eyes.
Approaching cautiously, he pointed his wand at the flames, and as he waved it once more, the fire flared up, completely illuminating the room. The flames danced unnaturally, but it was no ordinary fire. There was something within, a dark shadow moving through the flames. Aleister frowned, sensing that this was no mere coincidence.
Suddenly, from within the flames, a rectangular figure emerged. With a swift movement, an object was flung out of the fire and landed on the floor in front of the fireplace. Aleister watched, shocked, as the fire was extinguished in the same instant, leaving an eerie calm in the room.
A book lay on the floor, covered in dust and with the corners slightly burned by the fire. Aleister cautiously bent down and picked up the volume, his heart pounding in his chest. The book was ancient, with a worn leather cover that had seen better days. In the center of the cover, in gold and somewhat faded letters, the title could be read: "The Book of the Law."
The name hit him like an electric shock. He knew exactly what it was. The Book of the Law was a Crowley family heirloom, a text that, according to the stories, contained the darkest knowledge his grandfather had accumulated during his lifetime. No one had seen that book since its disappearance after Alexander's death.
And most intriguing of all, in the bottom corner of the cover, was his grandfather's signature: Alexander Crowley.
"This… this is his book," Aleister said quietly, unable to take his eyes off the volume.
He opened it with trembling hands, flipping through the first few pages that were filled with notes and scribbles that looked like complicated formulas and diagrams. It was clear that this was no ordinary book. The pages were written in meticulous, neat handwriting, but what caught Aleister's attention the most were the first lines of spells that appeared after several blank pages.
The spells were unlike anything he had ever seen before. They were not simple or defensive incantations like the ones he had learned so far. They were mind control spells, written with chilling precision.
Aleister felt a chill run down his spine. The names of the spells were clear and disturbing: Imperio Mentis, Voluntatis Vinculum, Somnum Eterno. They were incantations that promised to control the will of others, manipulate their thoughts and emotions, and even induce a perpetual sleep from which one could not wake.
His heart pounded as he turned more pages, reading fragments of text that described how these spells could be used to influence the minds of others, causing them to follow orders without question. The darkness emanating from the words seemed to envelop him.
"Why did he leave this here?" Aleister muttered, wondering if his grandfather had wanted him to find it.
The more he read, the clearer it became that this book was not just a spell manual. It was a legacy, an Inheritance Alexander Crowley had left to his offspring. And now, that legacy had been claimed by Aleister.
But something in the back of his mind warned him that having this book was dangerous. The spells it contained were not simple magic tricks, but tools of manipulation and absolute power. And power always came at a price.
Despite the warning echoing within him, Aleister could not look away from the pages. The book seemed to call to him, whispering promises of greatness and control beyond imagining. He closed the book with a thud, feeling his heart still pounding in his chest.
He stood, the book held firmly under his arm, and looked once more towards the fireplace, which was now completely extinguished, as if nothing had happened. He knew he could not let this discovery go, but he also knew he must not speak of it to anyone. At least not yet.
With determined steps, he walked out of the study room, the weight of his grandfather's inheritance now resting on his shoulders. The power of the Book of the Law was his, and though he felt a mix of excitement and fear, one thing was certain: his life would never be the same.
As he climbed the stairs to his room, the silence of the mansion surrounded him, but now, within that silence, there was something else. A force that guided him, a force that, if used correctly, would lead him to become greater than he could have ever imagined.
The Crowley inheritance. It was now his. And it would change everything.