The Nightmare Wizard

Although not much time had passed, he had to go to Aurus's study to continue with his tasks. He quickly straightened his clothes and set off for the room. Upon arriving, he noticed that Aurus was already waiting for him, standing by the desk.

"Forgive my delay," he said, bowing his head with a measured reverence.

Aurus raised an eyebrow but did not reply. He was neither blind nor stupid; he simply did not seem interested in reprimanding him. He pointed to the parchment on the table with a slight gesture.

"Let us continue."

And so they did. William, without much concealment, began to show greater ease with the ancient language. He did not reveal that he could read it almost fluently, but neither did he feign clumsiness as before. Aurus seemed satisfied with the progress, observing him from time to time with an analytical gaze.

For weeks, they worked with simple texts: tales of the Island of Storms, legends of lost sailors, colossal creatures, and arcane rituals. But over time, Aurus entrusted him with his most precious treasure: a parchment he had kept for decades. A spell he had found in his youth, by pure chance, and which he had never been able to fully decipher.

"This is the real challenge. The reason why I have been gathering documents in this language for years. If we manage to decipher it... we could discover something great."

William understood it as soon as he had it in front of him. The parchment vibrated, as if it were alive. It pulsed with a latent, old, and famished energy. For an instant, he wished to read it whole. But he gritted his teeth and resisted. He knew how dangerous it was. During these weeks he had learned that reading in a magical language was more exhausting than any physical training. Every word demanded a brutal mental price. It was not worth the risk yet.

Three months passed.

He trained every day without rest, until his body changed. More resistant, more defined. He drank the Tea of Calm daily to recover from the effort involved in translating the texts. The numbers confirmed it:

Strength: 2.2. Agility: 2.4. Vitality: 3.0.

The fights between nobles and commoners did not cease. The academy tried to hide them, but some confrontations ended with seriously wounded young men, regardless of their birth. The authorities, however, remained blind. Or pretended to be blind.

Meanwhile, Aurus and William continued with the translation. The spell spoke of seals, invocations, sacrifices... and a cursed island that only emerged when the south winds ceased.

The Island of Storms was real.

And William felt it getting closer and closer. The magical language dragged him towards something he did not fully understand. In recent days, the mask from his visions became more tangible. Sometimes he saw it out of the corner of his eye, other times reflected in mirrors. It was watching him.

During an especially vivid dream, William woke up with a burning sensation in his arms. Looking at them, he noticed reddish lines running across his skin. As if the symbols of the spell had imprinted themselves on his flesh and were slowly fading.

It was not a simple dream.

"I cannot keep ignoring it. If this is part of my power... I have to understand it," he murmured in front of the mirror. His eyes were darker than usual, as if the mist still inhabited him. "I have to find answers... before it consumes me."

The sunrise bathed the stone walls with a golden light. William woke up early, the memory of the masked figure still floating in his mind. But he could not afford weakness. Not now.

"Today's regimen: physical training with increased magical resistance. I will apply 12% mana to your muscles," Angel announced without preamble.

"Couldn't you have said that before I put a foot out of bed?"

"Pain is the best alarm clock."

Angel had perfected a technique: using small amounts of mana to apply pressure to strategic points, as if they were internal weights. The result was more effective training... and much more painful.

After an exhausting routine, William headed to the baths. Every muscle burned. But he did not complain. His body was different now: firmer, harder. His gait had weight. His gaze, depth.

In the showers, the other aspirants watched him with respect... or with fear.

"That's the one who left Vayne bleeding," one murmured.

"They say he has a demon in his head..."

William did not respond. He just let the hot water soothe his body. The steam enveloped him like an invisible armor.

In the dining hall, his group was already waiting for him. Dixon's eyes were swollen with sleep. Cedric sipped coffee as if it were the only thing keeping him alive. Thom hummed a nonsensical melody, and Theo leafed through a book with an empty expression.

"Is anyone sleeping here?" William asked as he sat down.

"Sleeping? With the nightmares in this academy?" Dixon snorted.

William's tray was overflowing. Angel had been clear: he had to triple his caloric intake. Meats, fruits, cereals, bread... and more meat. A feast designed to feed a constantly rebuilding machine.

As he ate, his eyes met those of some nobles. There was hostility, yes. But also something else: fear.

Vayne Redvale held his gaze... only for a second. Then, he looked away.

"Fear is spreading," Cedric said softly.

"Ignore them," William replied.

"If you don't stop them with words, you'll do it with actions," Dixon added, grimly.

In the late afternoon, William returned to Aurus's study. The professor was waiting for him with the parchment unfolded.

"Today we will work with the final part of the text. I have reviewed it and it is much more complex. The structures are incomplete, but it seems to be a fragment of a spell... an ancient one. Look at this."

The parchment, covered with Volgaris characters, seemed to pulse with energy. William narrowed his eyes. Some words made sense, as if his mind was molding itself to the language.

"This is not just a spell," he murmured. "It's a key. An opening ritual."

"You understand it?" Aurus asked, surprised.

"Not entirely. But I feel it... as if something inside me knows how to continue."

Aurus looked at him with a mixture of fear and fascination. William, on the other hand, remained cautious.

"We must be careful. Keys can open doors... but not all of them should be opened."

Aurus nodded slowly, without taking his eyes off the parchment.

He had waited half a lifetime for this. And he had no intention of stopping now. No matter how dangerous it was.