The Nightmare Wizard

Despite the consuming nerves, William forced himself to maintain composure. Master Aurus's gaze was firm, determined, as if even uncertainty bent to his resolve. There was no escape; the moment had come.

"It's time to complete the translation," the master murmured, his deep voice resounding like a premonition.

William nodded, feeling a tremor run through his fingers as he held the parchment. For three long months they had studied it line by line, word by word, and now it all culminated in a single phrase written at the end. The calligraphy was curved, unnatural, as if the world itself had wanted to hide it among the folds of time. It was not simply a spell; it was an ancient prayer, an order sealed in a language that should not be spoken.

He closed his eyes and read it, each syllable weighing on his tongue like molten lead:

"Between the storm and the calm,

where the world divides and the mind is embalmed,

I invoke the guardian, the silent echo,

show me that which is not real... but Exists."

The silence became absolute.

Nothing happened.

William looked up, bewildered. The air remained still, the parchment was just a piece of old paper. He frowned as his heart pounded.

"Maybe I read it wrong..."

Aurus extended his hand, impatient.

"Give it to me. Let me try."

As soon as he uttered the first word, the parchment reacted. It vibrated with a primitive energy, then lit up with a deep, unnatural violet glow, as if the paper itself wept with joy at finally being read. Then, everything broke loose.

An invisible force enveloped the room. The mana, which had seemed absent, became dense, oppressive. If anyone could have seen it, they would have noticed that the air, which had previously seemed inert, was actually saturated with repressed energy. Something held it, crushed it, kept it stagnant. Now, that prison was breaking.

The parchment began to absorb Aurus's mana with monstrous avidity, as if it were a bottomless pit. The veins in his neck stood out, his eyes widened to their limit. William barely had time to react when the master fell unconscious, as if his soul had been ripped out of him.

"Master!" he cried, running to catch him before his body hit the floor.

With effort, he laid him on a nearby armchair and immediately activated Angel.

"Angel, check Master Aurus!"

"Initiating scan. Please make contact with the body to be examined."

William held his wrist, fear squeezing his chest like a claw.

"Initiating scan... Scan complete. Optimal bodily functions. No physical damage detected."

But he still did not wake up; his face was pale and his breathing was barely perceptible.

William spent hours beside him, reviewing the text again and again, looking for errors, contradictions, anything that would explain what had happened. But the translation was perfect. The spell, though strange, was coherent. The only thing out of place had been... the reaction.

The night crept by slowly, thickly, as if time itself resisted moving forward. No one dared to enter the master's office. His reputation commanded respect even among the other instructors. William stayed there, awake, vigilant, unable to leave his side.

When the first ray of sunlight filtered through the windows, Aurus reacted.

With a brutal gasp, as if emerging from an endless nightmare, he opened his eyes. He was tense, sweating. William startled so much that he let out an uncontrollable, very unmanly shriek.

"Ah! Master?! Are you okay?! What happened?! What did you see?!"

Aurus did not answer immediately. He sat up slowly, his trembling hands clutching the arms of the armchair. His gaze was empty, as if he had not fully returned yet.

"I... don't know," he murmured, his voice faint.

A single word, and yet, it was enough for William to understand that what the master had seen could not be described with human language.

Understanding that Aurus needed time, William excused himself and withdrew. For the first time in weeks, he did not look for Rose, although during the last three weeks their encounters had become almost daily, in a frenzy of desire and lust. Today, his mind could not think of anything but the spell and its mysterious consequence.

He walked as if in a trance to the training area. It was his routine every morning after studying until dawn at the master's house. But something was different. From afar, he noticed that the field was more crowded than usual.

Irven and Elric were waiting for him. Beside them was Commander Anthon, whose imposing figure seemed capable of holding up the sky. He wore a red cape, a symbol of his high rank, and his gaze was as sharp as a bare blade. Beside him, an unknown man. He was older, with white hair and beard, with a presence that made bones tremble. His posture was straight as a spear, and his expression... was that of someone who had seen worlds burn.

William had barely set foot on the field when Elric intercepted him with his usual mocking smile.

"Is this any time to arrive, recruit?" he said loudly, making sure everyone heard him.

Some subtle laughter escaped among the nobles present. William detected the immediate hostility. During those three months, they had not been able to touch him. His isolation, his discipline, his impenetrable routine had kept him out of their reach. But now, the game was changing.

He did not respond to the provocation. He simply continued walking calmly to the starting line, and stopped in front of Elric with a slight smile.

"Good morning, instructor. It's always a good time to start... don't you think?"

His tone was serene, but the irony was there, in every syllable. There was no need to feign courtesy with someone like him.

Elric pursed his lips but did not respond. Anthon observed him closely, and the unknown man too. William felt something strange in his gaze: it was not contempt, nor mockery, but curiosity. It was a gaze that dug, that tried to pierce the layers of his soul.

And then, he understood.

They were evaluating him.

And this time, the real test was just beginning.