.Night in the west was basically a total blackout. Back in the capital, you at least had streetlamps and the hum of people. Out here? It was just you, the wind, and a lot of mud.
Alaric spent three days ignoring the "help" his mom sent. He knew what he was doing. The tutors were trying to force him to pick a side—hot or cold, silver or gold. But Alaric (or James, really) knew that if you have two resource pools in a game, you don't just delete one. You find a way to stack them.
He'd sneak out of his carriage at 4:00 AM, sitting on a rock until his butt went numb, just trying to get the two types of mana to stop fighting each other. It wasn't some peaceful meditation; it felt like trying to hold two angry cats in a bag at the same time.
On the third night, it finally worked. He felt a "snap" in his chest, and suddenly the two cats stopped biting and started purring. It wasn't just warm fingers anymore. His whole body felt... upgraded.
"First Sphere," he whispered. It was like finally hitting Level 1 after a boring tutorial.
He didn't wake Gina. He knew she'd just freak out and tell him he was too young to be messing with "Ancient Ruins." But Alaric looked at the hill and thought, The barrier only opens for someone with mana. I have mana now. Let's see if the key fits.
He snuck past the sleeping griffons—which are surprisingly loud breathers—and climbed the hill. The archway looked even creepier in the starlight.
He remembered the gibberish from the stone carvings. It looked like the kind of Elvish you'd see in a high-fantasy rulebook. He took a breath and said it out loud: "Ha tel' itas arta bren na enialaith..."
The air didn't just move; it sucked inward. The blue shimmer vanished like a bubble popping. Alaric didn't think twice. He stepped through, looking at the dark stairs that went underground.
Cling.
He spun around. The barrier had closed behind him. He touched it, and it felt like solid glass. He was trapped.
"Prince!"
Gina's voice hit him like a physical blow. She came running up the hill, her hair a mess, looking like she hadn't slept in a week. The knights were right behind her, swords out, looking for something to kill.
"Alaric! Get away from that thing!" she yelled, her face pale. She slammed her hand against the barrier, but nothing happened.
"I'm fine, Gina," Alaric said. He tried to sound cool, but his voice was a bit high-pitched because he was four. "I hit the First Sphere. I opened it."
Gina looked like she wanted to scream and cry at the same time. "You hit the First Sphere? So you thought you'd celebrate by locking yourself in a tomb? Do you have any idea what Asimi will do to me if you die in there?"
"I'm not going to die," Alaric said, though looking at the dark stairs behind him, he wasn't so sure.
The Knights Gallant captain was banging his shield against the barrier, but it didn't even flicker. They were stuck on the outside, and Alaric was alone in the dark with nothing but a Level 1 mana pool and a lot of "old history."
"Don't move," Gina commanded, her voice shaking. "We'll find a way to break it."
Alaric looked at the stairs. He could feel something down there—something that felt like his own mana, only a thousand years older.
"I don't think you can break this, Gina," he said quietly. "I think I have to go down."