Aurelion's eye fluttered open.
He was in a clean, simple room, lying on a bed with fresh white clothes on his body. He slowly pushed himself into a sitting position and examined himself. There were no visible injuries, and the deep ache from the potion was gone, replaced by a feeling of calm potency.
"I've been fainting a lot lately," he muttered to himself as he swung his legs over the side of the bed and stood up.
He gave a light hop, stretched his limbs, and then willed his energy to circulate through his body. The response was immediate. With a simple thought, his palm began to glow with a brilliant golden light, far faster and with less effort than ever before.
"So the potion worked," he thought, a sense of satisfaction cutting through him. Then his gaze fell upon a single book resting on the bedside table.
He picked it up. The cover read "The Unseen Flow: A Study of Aetheric Perception."
The book was old, its pages yellowed and fragile. He opened it carefully to the first page, a preface, and quickly scanned.
"A novice sees power as a storm gathering within him, within his core. He accumulates it, shapes it, and wields it like a weapon. But the wise know that the greatest ocean begins not in the depths of his soul but just beyond his fingertips.
This book will teach you how to listen to that ocean... The key is not to silence the mind, but to let the soul speak, for the Flow reveals itself in the mirror of emotion...
Your anger becomes a lens through which you see the predatory and weak aspects of your surroundings. Your fear whispers to you the nearest danger and the path to escape. Your love or empathy, on the other hand, allows you to sense the life energy of a living being or the fragment of memory behind an object.
First you will learn to feel... then to read... and finally, to direct the waves of the ocean by your own will. But know that before you can move a stone, you must be patient enough to feel its heartbeat."
Aurelion closed the book with a soft snap. "Whoever wrote this must have been a really shitty poet," he thought to himself.
The door to the room swung open.
Aurelion turned, book in hand, to see Nylessa standing in the doorway. She stepped inside, with a faint smile on her lips. "I'm sure the person who wrote this book would be very upset if heard about this," she said.
"So you were listening to me, Guild Leader," Aurelion said.
"I wasn't trying to, specifically," Nylessa said, her eyes scanning him from head to toe. "You've recovered quickly."
"Have I? How long was I unconscious?" he asked.
"Four days," she replied.
Aurelion's brow furrowed. He remembered the explosion, pushing Faelan away, and then... darkness. "That's not so quick, then."
"Don't underestimate yourself, Aurelion," Nylessa said. "Anyone else would have been unconscious for far longer. It's a good thing. For four days, your body has been renewing itself. That's proof the potion worked."
Aurelion nodded and looked down at the book in his hand. "Is this all?"
"Be assured, of all the books in the guild's archives, this is the one that will be most useful to you," she said, and for a moment, she let him see the faint shimmer of the compass seal on her open palm.
Aurelion glanced at her seal, then back to her face. "Is it a good thing to be so reliant on a Seal?"
Nylessa's smile deepened slightly. "A fine question." She gestured toward his own palm. "These Seals are a part of us, Aurelion. There is no need to shy away from using them."
Aurelion glanced down at his own palm. "I prefer to use it as little as possible," he said, before looking back at Nylessa. "Now, Guild Leader, I assume you didn't come here just to check on my condition."
"You're right," Nylessa admitted. "From the materials you brought... I managed to refine a small amount of Primordia's energy, but most of it was unfortunately lost."
"And what do you hope to achieve with Primordia's energy?" Aurelion asked.
"I have a theory," she said, her voice lowering slightly. "Primordia's energy generally has a positive effect on living things. Think of it as a kind of enhancement. I want to use its energy to facilitate evolution."
"I doubt that," Aurelion said. "Something like that would have been discovered long ago."
"But you saw it, didn't you? In that swamp. The goblin ears had Primordia's energy."
Aurelion stared at her. "Are you asking me to find the source for you?"
"I need more of it for my research," she confirmed.
"Why not go to a World Tree?" Aurelion suggested.
Nylessa's smile was thin. "Are you suggesting I connect with the Tree and steal its energy, Aurelion? That doesn't seem like a very logical idea, don't you agree?"
"That depends on how much you want that energy, Guild Leader. Besides, even if you searched the entire swamp now, you wouldn't find anything else that contains it."
"Are you sure about that?"
A slight smirk touched Aurelion's lips. "Primordia gave its energy to those goblins and that lily for a purpose, and it has achieved its purpose. If you want its energy, you'll have to be bolder, Guild Leader. You can take it from a World Tree, or you can investigate major events in the vicinity. You might come across Primordia's energy that way." He gestured toward her palm. "I'm sure that will help you know where to go."
Nylessa smiled. "Yes, my seal does guide me, Aurelion." She held her hand out toward him, and the compass seal on her palm began to glow faintly. "But the direction it's pointing... is you, Aurelion."
Aurelion's jaw tightened as he clicked his tongue in annoyance. "That damn bitch isn't going to leave me alone, it seems," he thought.
Nylessa noticed the shift in his expression and raised a single eyebrow.
Aurelion caught her gaze. "Don't look at me like that for nothing, Guild Leader. I have no business with Primordia, and I'd prefer it if she stayed away from me."
Nylessa let out a theatrical sigh. "I understand, Aurelion. And here I was, hoping to offer you fine treasures from our guild in exchange."
Aurelion stared at her with a flat expression. "Really? Did you honestly just try that, Guild Leader?"
A flicker of annoyance crossed Nylessa's face. "Look, Aurelion. I truly need this energy. Just let me know if you encounter anything related to Primordia in the future, and I will reward you for it."
"I'd prefer not to encounter it," Aurelion said. "But if I do, I'll let you know."
Nylessa's smile returned. "I'm glad to hear that, Aurelion."
"Are all Dark Elves like this?" Aurelion wondered internally. He then straightened up. "Well then, I'll be leaving, Guild Leader."
"Of course, Aurelion," she said, gesturing toward the door. He turned and walked out, with Nylessa following him into the quiet, white corridor.
After a short walk, they reached the top of the main staircase. "You just need to go down from here," Nylessa said. "And don't hesitate to visit my guild again."
Aurelion simply nodded and started going down the stairs. Partway down, he paused and looked back up at her. "Tell Faelan... I'd appreciate it if you passed on my thanks, Guild Leader."
Nylessa's expression remained unreadable, but a flicker of surprise registered in her eyes. "I will, Aurelion." She watched him for a moment longer before turning and disappearing back into the corridor.
Aurelion continued his descent. On the ground floor, he saw Gisela watching him with curiosity from behind the reception desk. He ignored her stare, walking past with quick, steps and exiting the guild hall.
As he walked through the city streets, his mind raced.
"A compass seal... and it points to me to find Primordia's energy. That could mean two things," he analyzed. "Either there are still fragments of its energy inside me, or Primordia is planning something again. Either way, it's infuriating."
He dismissed the first possibility almost immediately. "If there were remnants of its energy inside me, I'm sure it would have been noticed. Faelan, Nylessa, Roric... and most importantly, I would have noticed it myself. I've examined every part of my being with Void Focusing. That leaves the other possibility. Primordia is up to something again. I must be more careful in the future. I could encounter a situation like the one in the swamp," he thought, a flash of anger tightening his jaw.
Then he forced himself to calm down. "Whatever it's planning, it shouldn't hinder my actions. I will have to go outside again in the future, and being prepared for anything I might encounter is enough. For now, what I need to do is study this book and prepare for the Talent Test."
His thoughts then drifted to evolution. "Nylessa said she could facilitate evolution with Primordia's energy. It might be possible, but something like that should have been discovered long ago."
Then, another thought struck him, a cold realization that made him stop dead in the middle of the street.
"I was already suspicious of the materials I brought back. I was going to have Faelan check if they had Primordia's energy in them..."
His nose started twitch as the pieces clicked into place.
"Unless... it is Primordia's plan all along?"