Gertrude Soulsinger's hands moved with fluid grace, her fingers trailing wisps of shimmering pink energy that hung in the air like gossamer threads. The room around them began to blur and fade, reality giving way to the vivid tapestry of memory. Elden felt a subtle shift in the magical atmosphere, a merging of emotion and recollection that tingled against his skin.

"This," Gertrude explained, her voice echoing slightly as if coming from both the present and the past simultaneously, "is a technique your father and I developed together. A fusion of emotion and memory magic. Edward always said I had a knack for bringing memories to life."

The world around them shimmered and reformed, and suddenly they were standing in the grand halls of The Nexus Arcanum. Elden gasped, taking in the majesty of the legendary magical institution. Soaring arches of iridescent crystal stretched overhead, their surfaces alive with flowing runes and equations. Students rushed past, their forms slightly translucent, like ghosts from another time. The air hummed with magical energy, a symphony of different magical disciplines intermingling.

A young woman with fiery red hair strode purposefully through the crowd, her emerald eyes gleaming with determination. Her robes, a vibrant blue trimmed with silver, marked her as a prodigy in the emotion magic track.

"That's... you?" Elden asked, recognizing a youthful Gertrude. He marveled at the intensity radiating from her younger self, the raw potential evident in every confident step.

She nodded, a wistful smile playing on her lips. "Top of my class in emotion magic. And thoroughly annoyed by a certain prodigy from Mnemosyne."

The scene shifted, the grand hall dissolving into a more intimate lecture theater. Memory-Gertrude stood at a podium, passionately arguing a point about the fundamental nature of emotion magic. Across from her, a dark-haired young man – unmistakably Edward Vortis – countered with equal fervor, gesturing to complex memory weaves hovering in the air between them.

Their words were muffled, but their passionate gestures and the rapt attention of their classmates spoke volumes. Magical energy crackled between them, Gertrude's pink-hued emotion magic clashing and intertwining with Edward's golden memory strands.

"We were rivals at first," Gertrude explained, her voice tinged with fondness. "Each convinced our brand of magic was superior. But that rivalry pushed us to greater heights, forced us to question our assumptions and stretch the boundaries of what we thought possible."

Elden watched, fascinated, as the memories flowed faster. He saw snippets of Gertrude and Edward's evolving relationship: late nights in the vast libraries of the Nexus Arcanum, surrounded by towers of ancient tomes and floating magical diagrams; breakthrough moments where their magics fused in unexpected ways, creating effects that left them both wide-eyed with wonder; shared laughter over spectacularly failed experiments that left them covered in magical residue.

Through it all, Elden felt a growing ache in his chest. This was a side of his father he had never known – young, passionate, unburdened by the weight of secrets that would come to define his later years. He saw the spark of brilliance that would lead Edward to become High Remembrancer, but also the warmth and humor that Elden remembered from his own childhood.

The rapid succession of memories slowed, settling on a quieter moment. They stood in a secluded garden, lush with plants Elden had never seen before – likely extinct now, lost in the Shattering. Edward, looking older and more careworn, approached Gertrude. The lines around his eyes spoke of sleepless nights and heavy burdens.

"Gertrude," memory-Edward spoke, his voice tight with urgency. "I need your help. It's... it's more important than anything we've ever done."

"What is it, Eddie?" memory-Gertrude asked, concern etched on her face. "You look like you haven't slept in days."

Edward hesitated, conflict clear in his eyes. He opened his mouth to speak, then closed it again, running a hand through his hair in frustration. "I can't tell you everything," he said finally. "I wish I could, but... it's too dangerous. But I need you to trust me. Will you help me create something called a Timeless Seal?"

Gertrude's brow furrowed. "A Timeless Seal? I've never heard of such a thing."

"That's because it doesn't exist yet," Edward replied, a glimmer of his old excitement breaking through the worry. "But with your expertise in emotion magic and my knowledge of memory weaves, I think we can create something truly extraordinary."

The scene shifted again, showing Edward and Gertrude hunched over a workbench in a room Elden recognized as one of Mnemosyne's high-security research chambers. Magical energies swirled around them as they crafted an intricate seal onto a small pendant. Gertrude's hands wove complex emotion-based protection spells, while Edward layered in memory locks and temporal anchors.

"We poured everything we had into that seal," Gertrude's voice narrated as Elden watched the memory unfold. "Emotion Magic to bind it, Memory Magic to store it, and something else... something Edward never fully explained. It was like he was weaving in fragments of time itself."

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Elden leaned closer, trying to understand the intricate magical construct taking shape. He could see elements of the compound weaving he had learned, but taken to a level he had never imagined possible. The magic was so dense, so complex, that it made his head spin just looking at it.

The memory faded, leaving Elden and Gertrude back in her study in Empyrea. Elden's mind reeled with questions, each new piece of information spawning a dozen more uncertainties. "The pendant," he said slowly, his hand moving to his chest where the familiar weight rested against his skin. "It looks just like—"

"The one your father gave you," Gertrude finished, nodding. "Yes. Though I suspect Edward added many more layers of protection over the years. The Timeless Seal we created was just the foundation."

Elden's fingers traced the contours of the pendant through his shirt, feeling the subtle magical resonance that had always been there, but which now took on new significance. "Can you unlock it?" he asked, hope and trepidation warring in his voice.

Gertrude's brow furrowed, her eyes taking on a distant look as she considered the problem. "Not immediately," she said finally. "The Timeless Seal was incredibly complex to begin with – a fusion of magical disciplines that pushed the boundaries of what we thought possible. And if Edward added more protections over the years..." She shook her head. "It will take time to unravel safely. Rushing could not only destroy any information stored within but could be actively dangerous."

Elden nodded, trying to hide his disappointment. He had hoped for quick answers, but he should have known better. If his father had gone to such lengths to protect this information, it wouldn't give up its secrets easily.

Gertrude placed a comforting hand on his shoulder, her touch carrying a subtle wave of calming energy. "I know you're eager for answers, Elden. But this is not a path to be rushed. Which is why..." She paused, seeming to come to a decision. "I'd like you to stay here, in Empyrea. Train with me. We'll work on unlocking the seal together, and I can teach you to better control your magic – especially the emotional aspects that seem to be awakening in you."

Elden's eyes widened in surprise. "Stay here? But the Cabal—"

"Will find it much harder to reach you under the protection of an Empath Council elder," Gertrude finished with a wink, though Elden could see the steel behind her playful demeanor. "Besides, I have a feeling you're going to need every advantage you can get for what's coming."

As dawn broke, casting an ethereal glow through the mist-shrouded windows of Gertrude's study, Elden found himself nodding. The thought of staying in one place, of not constantly looking over his shoulder, was immensely appealing. And the chance to learn from someone who had worked so closely with his father... "Alright," he said. "I'll stay."

Gertrude smiled, but there was a hint of sadness in her eyes that gave Elden pause. "You remind me so much of him, you know," she said softly. "That same spark of curiosity, that drive to uncover the truth no matter the cost."

"What aren't you telling me?" Elden asked, sensing there was more to her words.

Gertrude sighed, moving to look out the window at the awakening city of Empyrea. The morning mist swirled, taking on hues of pink and gold in the early light. "Your father... I think he knew. About The Shattering. Not the specifics, perhaps, but he sensed something catastrophic was coming. The Timeless Seal, his research... they were precautions."

Elden felt a chill run down his spine, remembering the fear he had sometimes glimpsed in his father's eyes, the late nights poring over ancient texts. "If he knew, then why didn't he—"

"Stop it?" Gertrude shook her head, turning back to face Elden. "Some events are too big, too complex to simply prevent. The Shattering... it wasn't just a magical catastrophe. It was a fundamental shift in the very nature of our reality. But perhaps..." She trailed off, lost in thought for a moment. "Perhaps he found a way to prepare for the aftermath. To ensure that even in a broken world, there would be hope for healing."

As Elden pondered this, trying to reconcile this new information with his memories of his father, Gertrude moved to a locked cabinet. With a wave of her hand and a pulse of emotion magic, the lock disengaged. She withdrew a bundle of papers, handling them with reverence.

"Your father left these notes here, years ago," she explained, holding them out to Elden. "He made me swear I would only give them to you if... if something happened to him. Take them. Study them. I think you'll find they contain valuable insights, though knowing Edward, they'll raise as many questions as they answer."

Elden took the papers, feeling their weight – both physical and metaphorical – in his hands. "Thank you," he said softly.

Gertrude nodded, then stretched, some of her usual energy returning. "Get some rest," she advised. "Tomorrow, we begin your training in earnest. Empyrea has much to teach you, young Vortis, and I have a feeling we don't have the luxury of time."

---

Later that night, in the guest quarters Gertrude had provided, Elden pored over his father's notes by the light of a candle. Most of the pages were filled with complex magical formulae and theoretical constructs that made his head spin. But one page, near the back of the bundle, caught his eye. The handwriting was hurried, almost frantic, unlike Edward's usual meticulous script:

"The Temporal Codex - it's real. All this time, I thought it was just a legend, but the fragments... they're pieces of something greater. A book of time itself. But it's dangerous, too dangerous. If it falls into the wrong hands..."

The rest of the page was filled with more equations and hurried sketches – fragments of a magic ritual, references to something called "anchors," and a recurring symbol that looked like a giant door with clock faces on it.

Elden's mind raced as he stared at the page, barely noticing as the candle faded.

As sleep finally claimed him, Elden's dreams were filled with swirling mists of time and fragments of a book.