Chereads / The Alchemist’s Son / Chapter 13 - CHAPTER 13:The Bond Forged in Stone

Chapter 13 - CHAPTER 13:The Bond Forged in Stone

 * Damian sat in the quiet, half-lit room of the mansion, his eyes filled with the desire to sleep but yet it keeps watch on the Philosopher's Stone glowing faintly before him. Its newly awakened energy pulsed like a heartbeat. The power it unleashed was unlike anything he'd felt before a raw, consuming force that called to him, tempting him to merge with its depths completely. Nerrisa's earlier words echoed in his mind: "If you lose yourself to it, the stone becomes the master." Taking a deep breath, Damian knew he would need to learn how to channel this power while retaining control, weaving his own intent into the stone's force. But with the knowledge in his grimoire, he felt ready to attempt an unbreakable bond between his will and the stone's eclectic potential.

 He began to practice a series of incantations, ancient words meant to synchronize his will with the stone's essence : "By mind and will, by heart and soul,

Bind us, Stone, into one whole.

Essence to essence, firm as fate,

Let my strength and yours equate." 

 The effects of this spell awakens the stone, it will make the Philosopher's Stone attuned to Damian's intent, heightening his control and amplifying his alchemical abilities. However, overuse could drain his energy quickly.hoping this would prevent it from consuming him. As he chanted, a strange unease prickled at the edge of his awareness a heavy presence that seemed to press against the mansion walls. 

 As Damian completes the first synchronization spell, the atmosphere in the room shifts. Cold slithers through the air, and he notices a strange resonance echoing through the mansion, as though an invisible force had breached its walls. Faint whispers, prejudiced yet insistent, coil around him, carried on an unnatural breeze, this strange occurrence made the stone to glow momentarily.

Nerrisa, sensing the disturbance, rushes in. "Damian… do you feel that?" she says, her voice barely above a whisper, as if afraid to break the tense silence. Then, a faint knock reverberates through the mansion's door a sound that rings both hollow and heavy. This visitor isn't bound by the natural world. The Seeker has arrived, a figure rumored to be a relentless alchemist driven by a hunger for powerful artifacts. Driven by whispers of the stone's awakening, he has found his way to Damian, ready to claim it as his own.

 Damian moves towards the door, he urges Nerrisa to stay back. With each step Damian takes towards the door, he steels himself, knowing that the battle ahead will test both his mastery over the Philosopher's Stone and his resolve. The mansion, once a prison, now stands as his fortress, a place where his will, and the stone's, must merge to ward off the looming threat. Damian and Nerrisa realize that the mansion's protective wards, once weakened by the family curse, need strengthening to protect against future intrusions.The Seeker." Unlike the Berserker, this figure uses sophisticated, enhanced alchemical spells and illusion-based attacks, testing Damian's abilities with trickery and mind games. Damian opens the door and the seeker walks in, wearing a brown cloak and a black old hat. It's voice was menacing as it stares at Damian, "do you know what that thing you're holding is?, Ahhh yes I see you are having trouble because of this mare stone, the seeker continues his ranting, trying to convince Damian to let go of the philosopher stone, " this stone is my right young alchemist and your ancestors hid it from me, he said as his eyes glows red. Damian and Nerrisa could clearly see the hunger for power in his voice as he walks towards Damian while ignoring Nerrisa's presence. Damian feels the urge to defend himself, swiftly he draws an alchemical ruin in the air and he chant's: "By light and shadow, veil the way,

Keep the prying eyes at bay.

Shroud the path, mislead the foe,

Let hidden ways remain below." This illusion-based spell misdirects any magical detection the Seeker uses, making it hard for him to track or harm Damian and Nerrisa as they both run and hid themselves in the lab. The seeker lurks in the mansion searching for Damian, he uses a searching spell to track the philosophy stone. "It's the stone he wants, we can lure him here and use a binding spell on him, Damian said to Nerrisa, "have you tried it before?, She replied Damian. Damian insists on the binding spell, he stood at the middle of the lab, holding the philosopher stone in his hands, Nerrisa quickly drew a alchemical circle around him, creating a trap for the seeker. "there you are!!, It said as he rushed towards Damian, Damian stepped away from the circle and like a rat caught in a cage the seeker couldn't move out of the circle. Damian and Nerrisa was happy that the spell worked but the problem at hand differs. They thought on how to send this creature back to where it came from, it looks human but it behavior was absurd. Damian and Nerrisa did a research on what it was, without wasting time they found out that it's name was the seeker and without knowing where it came from it cannot be sent back. Damian questioned the seeker : "where are you from?, Damian said, "well let me out and I'll show you!! hehehe, it said with it's eyes fixed on the stone. Damian told Nerrisa that that the stone will enhance the spell, making It more potent , sending it off to where ever it came from, but Nerrisa was not sure if it'll work because the instructions from the grimore was to know the place of its origin in order to send it back. Now they both agreed to send it back, they chanted the spell: "By seal and ward, by air and fire,

Repel this force, deny desire.

By iron will, by ancient might,

I cast you out, into the night." the seeker screams in pain as it was being dragged into the circle, its last words were: " i wasn't the only one whom felt it's presence, more will come after me, that stone will lead to your doom, DAMIAN!!!. These words hunts Damian day after day, he digs deep into the grimore trying to uncover more spells and text that will be of great asset to him.Damian examines the stone's inscriptions further, revealing hints of a prophecy tied to his lineage. He learns that the Philosopher's Stone was created by his ancestors as both a powerful tool and a dangerous weapon. As they rebuild the mansion's defenses, another disturbance shakes the mansion ,spectral figures drawn by the energy from the Seeker's failed attempt, forcing Damian and Nerrisa into another confrontation. These new beings are less physical and more manipulative, pushing Damian to use his powers in ways that test his endurance and moral limits.