A few days later, Seifer was back at the Potions Guild. Instead of going to his personal lab as usual, he went all the way to tenth floor, where the highest ranking Guild members had their labs and offices.

A particular set of bronze plated doors stood out from the rest, a carving of a Lion was displayed on them. Seifer knocked lightly and a few seconds later, an elegant voice permitted his entry.

He walked into the opulent office and bowed deeply to the black haired man who sat inside. Lord Cyrus Black, Guild Master of the Ceres Potions Guild smiled at him.

“Seifer Nox, the new prodigy of my guild. It’s good to finally meet you” said Cyrus, a twinkle in his blue eyes. He gestured to the seats in front of him and Seifer took a seat before relying.

“You flatter me, Your Excellency” said Seifer. Cyrus chuckled and poured Seifer a cup of tea with his own hands, as though he was an equal. For a few seconds he just looked at Seifer, who was unfazed by his probing.

“I’m impressed by your guts, Lord Nox. Never before has someone sent me a letter asking me to take them on as a disciple, you even made it sound like it would be my honor to be your Master” said Cyrus.

“It would have been impolite if I did not show that I was worth your time, Your Excellency.” replied Seifer.

“You did a good job of it, Lord Nox. I will gladly accept you as my disciple” said Cyrus.

“Thank you, Master” said Seifer with a grin, glad that it had all worked out.

“We will have your first lesson in two days, how does that sound?” asked Cyrus.

"I was hoping that you could help me with something right now, Master. It won't take long at all" said Seifer.

"When I was a disciple, I used to live in constant fear of inconveniencing my master. I am envious of you, Lord Nox" said Cyrus with an amused smile.

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"I am envious of you too, Master." said Seifer, Cyrus Black didn't have to ride carriages like a common mortal.

"So what bothers you?" asked Cyrus.

“It has to do with Diffusion Crystals. I am unable to make one of large enough size” said Seifer.

“I see” said Cyrus, rising from his throne like chair. He led Seifer into the personal laboratory that was attached to his office and towards a station atop which a large metallic device with two bronze antenna like protrusions sat.

“What is a Diffusion Crystal? I mean in the literal sense, not its function.” asked Cyrus.

“A crystal made purely out of ice with intricate passageways on the inside.” replied Seifer.

“Exactly. Usually, you use water to dissolve the various ingredients in a potion but certain high level potions need to have all their elements combined with even more thoroughness. In such instances, we use Diffusion Crystals” said Cyrus.

"The potion slowly passes through the intricate tunnels, with just the right amount of water melting into the potion at just the right times" continued Cyrus.

“The creation of a Diffusion Crystal is almost entirely dependent on your ability to control ether. Let’s see you try” said Cyrus, gesturing to the device in front of them.

Seifer nodded and poured a vial of distilled water into the tube on top of the device. Then, placing his fingertips atop the bronze antennae, he guided his ether into the machine as it began to move the water around and slowly freeze it.

Cyrus watched through glass section of the device carefully, impressed at how well a mere Second Step Transcendent could control his ether, until a small crystal was formed. He picked it up with a set of tweezers, inspecting the tiny passageways and the openings on each side of the crystal.

“It’s a functional Diffusion Crystal even though it isn’t large enough to be used in more complex potions. There is no flaw in your technique, Lord Nox. It has to do with your power, once you reach the Third Step you will be able to make perfect crystals” said Cyrus.

“Could you show me how you make Diffusion Crystals, Master?” asked Seifer.

“I doubt that would help but why not?” muttered Cyrus and repeated the whole process. This time, the crystal that was produced was several times larger.

“The patterns are different to mine” said Seifer after peering at the crystal for a few seconds.

“Indeed, the bigger you make the crystals the more intricate the passageways become” said Cyrus.

“Can I have this Diffusion Crystal? If I slowly melted each layer of ice to study the next set of patterns then perhaps I would have a better idea of how to control my ether to form larger crystals” said Seifer.

“You can certainly try” replied Cyrus, he was quite interested in the outcome.

An hour later, Seifer walked out of the Guild Master’s Office with the Diffusion crystal safely stored in a temperature controlled box.