Adam sat on his bed, watching as the last rays of the sun disappeared behind the horizon, leaving the room to be swallowed by the creeping shadows of the evening. He wondered when his Master would return and what kind of news he would bring from the silent vaults of the library. As the moon finally settled in with its ethereal, cold shine, he heard an unfamiliar cadence of footsteps echoing through the hallway. His Master must be back. He directed his vision toward the door, his heart thumping against his ribs. Soon it opened, and he could smell the dry, suffocating scent of old ink and ancient paper.

  "How did it go, Master?" he asked, his fist clenching slightly. He was hoping for anything, even a crumb of truth.

  His Master sat down first, looking straight into Adam’s eyes. His thoughts remained unfathomable, obscured behind a mask of exhaustion. After the silence stretched for a while, he finally began. "I actually found one slight clue. A man named Albert Rosterrian. He used to be a peak Tier 3 powerhouse, but he wasn’t satisfied with Tier 3 alone. He wanted more power, so he tried to reach for godhood, to grasp at the forbidden strings of reality. It was stated that in his final moments before going completely mad, he listened to some voices during his cultivation."

  Berto’s gaze remained on Adam, heavy with meaning. Adam let the information sink in, feeling a chill run down his spine. Albert Rosterrian, a man who had reached the very peak of the mortal path. He could hear them too. The whispers. But he had managed to reach Tier 3 and was doing fine until he decided to listen. So, there was hope, however fragile it might be.

  The thing that nagged at Adam, however, was why Albert had decided to listen to the whispers to break past the pre-written limits. Was it a simple gamble, or was there something more to it, a secret hidden within the madness? He would have to find that answer for himself.

  "Master, I assume we can start our training?" He tried to sound calm, but his voice carried a faint tremor. A turmoil of emotions churned within him. He was excited to finally return to the arcane, even if it had not been long since he had to stop. Adam could also feel much darker emotions than simple excitement. Hate. Fear. His hate was directed at the Nobility and the King who treated lives like currency. His fear of the unknown whispers and the premonition of his dream still lingered over him like a dark cloud before a storm. It was calm for now, but silence was never a promise of safety.

  "Yes, Adam, and we must hurry. The clock is ticking louder than ever. We will start tomorrow morning. Go get some rest." Adam could feel Berto's gaze still lingering on his face. His voice was heavy and tired, but the fire of determination was still burning in his eyes.

  "I will, Master. Even if I did not do much all day, I feel tired after the wait." he said as his Master left for his own room. The sound of footsteps ended with the heavy, final thud of a door. Adam lay down and closed his eyes. His fast-pacing heart calmed with the passing minutes, and a sweet, heavy darkness finally claimed him.

  There was no dream this time.

  He woke up as the first rays of the sun pierced his eyes like needles. He instantly dashed from his bed, feeling heavy anticipation. He grabbed the first clothes his hand found in the wardrobe and put them on. He stood before a mirror, looking at how his gray shirt matched the trousers of the same hue, his reflection looking back with eyes that seemed too old for his face.

  "Good enough." he murmured to himself and headed downstairs. His footsteps echoed on the wooden stairs as he descended. His father was already sitting at the table together with his Master. He could barely hear their voices as the sounds of clattering pans from the kitchen drowned them out.

  "Good morning."

  "I was going to go up there in a moment to wake you for breakfast." his mother said, radiantly smiling as she placed a steaming plate on the table. His father smiled at her statement.

  "Come sit, Adam." His father gestured toward the heavy chair next to him. The dinner table was soon set with food that smelled amazing, a warmth that felt almost out of place given the secrets they shared. The whole breakfast passed in a blink of an eye as everyone ate and shared stories. His father, in particular, had many funny tales thanks to his work as a merchant.

  "Time for our training, Adam." Berto stated after everyone was finished. His father was already getting ready to leave, as he had business meetings today regarding his trade in Mercuria.

  "Learn well, Adam. We will talk when I get back in the afternoon." He smiled, putting on a black, rounded hat that matched his suit of pure darkness perfectly. It was a garment crafted with the most delicate touch, looking extremely imposing. Soon his father left, the door thudding heavily behind him.

  Adam left with his Master for the garden, where they sat under the sprawling branches of an already familiar tree.

  "We will start with meditation, Adam. As you can already reach that state, the next step is trying to merge your will with mana. Your goal is not to impose yourself over it, but to truly become one with it. You will be able to tell when you have done so, as the feeling is incomparable to anything else. When you finally do, I will explain the mechanics behind Light Flicker to you."

  Berto's voice was filled with a teacherly warmth as he looked at Adam seriously. Adam could feel the mana vibrating around him in a certain rhythm, a low hum that resonated in his teeth. He could feel a slight pressure as the mana seemed to respond to Berto's very presence. The Master snapped his fingers.

  "Light Flicker."

  This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

  A small yet brilliant ball of light appeared just over his hand. Adam looked at it, momentarily forgetting everything else. Just like with the wandering mage back then, it was not grand or spectacular, but he was still amazed by its sheer, pure beauty. Even more so as his Master did it with a certain grace; Adam felt the mana around them during the moment it was channeled.

  "That is our final destination in the coming days. A step you have to take to break through your mortal shell and become a Tier 1. When you first merge your will with the mana and let it channel through you to achieve a certain effect, you will undergo modifications made by the mana as it passes through you, like water carving a path through stone. Like I said, Tier 1 is the easiest to reach, but do not let that fool you. Becoming a mage and continuing on that path is anything but easy. It requires not only talent, but understanding. Learning. Willpower. Those things do not come simply because you were born with higher potential; they require time to develop. When you break through, I will teach you how to hide your potential, and we will finally be free from at least one clock ticking above us."

  Berto added the last part darkly. Adam could feel the heavy implications in that statement. There was still so much before them. Nevertheless, it was not the time to think about it. Slow steps. First, he had to reach Tier 1 so he could hide before his own Kingdom came for him. Suddenly, as he thought about Tier 1 and its implications, one of which was lifespan, he remembered a question for his Master. How could he even forget something so important?

  "Master, actually, I had a question I was meaning to ask you about." Adam started, fidgeting with his shirt from the weight his Master’s answer might carry. "Is there any way to prolong one’s lifespan other than the path of a mage?"

  He looked at him with hope. Berto’s gaze switched to his own hands as he sighed helplessly, his voice carrying the weight of centuries. "I knew you would ask a question like this at some point. I would be surprised if you did not. There is a way, but it is a false hope, a carrot dangled before the desperate. Elven alchemists devised a concoction around six hundred years ago from extremely rare, long-lived herbs that can prolong one's lifespan by a bit. The method to obtain it, though, is completely distant. Not only would it be hard for you to even get it as a human, but the price could make a Kingdom’s budget dwindle by a huge margin. I am sorry to bring it to you like this, Adam."

  He could feel genuine pity and pain in his Master’s voice and in the way he stared at his own hands, as if they had failed him. Adam expected this question to bring disappointment, but he still clung to hope. He would at least try to secure those concoctions, no matter the price.

  "I understand, Master. I expected it to be that way. I will still try, though." Adam stated his feelings honestly. Berto nodded slightly, waking from his own memories of the long-past.

  "Okay, Adam. Start meditating and tell me if something is wrong." he said after a while, clearly emphasizing the last part with a sharp look.

  Adam closed his eyes in the lotus position he was already in and began to focus. His breath calmed into a certain rhythm yet again. He could feel the mana ever-present around him, like an invisible sea. The whispers were present as well. They were not as loud as they had grown to be in his dream, but exactly as he remembered them from his first time. He ignored them completely, understanding what kind of fate he would meet if he were to listen to them.

  Merging my will. How should I even start with this?

  Adam proceeded to focus on his own mind, thoughts, or emotions, trying to somehow link them with the mana. He sat like that for hours without any success. He was doing something wrong, but he could not place exactly what it was. He opened his eyes and decided to ask his mentor.

  "Master, I know that I should merge my will with mana, but how should I exactly do that? I tried by focusing on my own mind, thoughts, and emotions and linking them, but after many tries, it doesn't feel right."

  Berto opened his eyes and looked upon him, smiling. "There is a reason why I said it so mysteriously and did not explain what you should do. You see, I will not always be around or have an answer to everything, as we have already found out. Even if we have a chain made from time around our necks, I want you to grow properly as a Mage."

  After saying that, he closed his eyes yet again and went back to his meditation.

  I understand. Master wants me to be independent and not only rely on him.

  Yet, the vision of his Master being gone pained him. In this short yet turbulent time, he had grown extremely fond of the old family friend and partner in secrets. He pushed those thoughts aside and focused on his task.

  Merging your will with mana. What exactly is a will?

  It was something that made them stand out from magic beasts that followed solely their instincts. How was it built? It was their emotions, thoughts, and experiences. The things that made them who they were. It was all of the things he thought about combined into one culmination called being. So, he should not simply try to take those things apart, but merge them and use his whole being to fuse with the mana.

  He tried again. Stitching all the small parts into one big picture, he could feel the difference. The mana was responding, albeit slightly. The feeling was completely different than simply feeling that it was there; it was deeper, more intimate. It was tiring and heavy. The pressure grew exponentially, but it was a matter of time and reinforcing his will to match the Mother of All.

  Two hours passed in those attempts. He could feel the progress; he was doing it right. But the path before him was still long. He opened his eyes and could see his Master smiling proudly while his gaze lingered on him.

  "You found the right path; now you have to simply walk on it. Do not worry, Adam, as the first merging is the hardest. It comes easier afterward. Now, let us take a break."

  Adam nodded, noticing how drenched in sweat he was. Only after stopping could he feel how tired he was. But it was all worth it; he could see the path ahead, and that was all that mattered. He smiled faintly, glad of his progress. They stood up and set their pace toward the house. He could feel his mind calm and clear as he smelled the fragrant scent of his mother’s garden.

  He thought about it. Flowers and all plants alike had mana in them, as they were created by it. Was his mother tending to them not something similar to him merging his will? It was a completely different path, but still of the same allegiance in goal. He smiled, his burdens lifted by the moment and his realization.

  "What got you into such a mood, Adam?" Berto asked, noticing his sudden reaction. His gaze was curious.

  "Master, my mother, by tending to this garden daily, is merging her will with mana as well, albeit in a completely different way, don't you think?"

  He could see how the curiosity turned into shock. They stopped for a moment, and he heard a sudden burst of laughter; so true and filled with happiness, as if an artisan, after spending hours on his work, was finally finished.

  "You are right, Adam! You are right!" He was holding his hand to his stomach from the laughter. "Let us go back and feast!" Berto added happily after a moment, and they went inside.