As the chamber emptied, the excited chatter of departing Remembrancers fading like receding tide, Elden found himself suddenly alone with Mnemion. The older Remembrancer's approach was silent. His eyes gleamed with an intensity that made Elden's skin prickle, though his face remained a careful mask of neutrality.

"Impressive work today, young Vortis," Mnemion said, his voice low. "Your control over elemental resonance is... remarkable."

Elden inclined his head, accepting the praise with a mixture of pride and wariness. "Thank you, Sage Mnemion."

Mnemion glanced around subtly, ensuring they weren't overheard. "Your unique approach reminds me of an old text I once stumbled upon—Starhaven's Theory of Elemental Resonance. You might find it... illuminating."

Elden’s brow furrowed. "I don’t believe I’m familiar with that work."

"Few are," Mnemion replied, a faint smile playing at his lips. It was a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes, holding secrets like a locked chest. "You'll find it in the eastern annex of the archives. It's an... intriguing read, especially for one with your talents."

With that cryptic remark, Mnemion strode away, his purple robes swirling around him as he left the chamber.

None of the departing Remembrancers seemed to notice the subtle exchange, nor the brief look Mnemion directed at the senior Remembrancer who had just demonstrated Gaia's Bulwark.

---

Later that evening, Elden found himself in the eastern annex of the archives, scanning the shelves for the mysterious text. As he rounded a corner, a familiar voice pulled him from his reverie.

"There’s our rising star!"

Elden looked up to see Lira leaning against a bookshelf, her black hair shimmering in the fading light. Her green eyes sparkled with warmth, though there was a hint of something else—concern, perhaps?

"Word travels fast," Elden said, managing a small smile.

Lira fell into step beside him, her voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper. "Are you kidding? The entire Archives is buzzing. 'Elden Vortis, youngest 5-star in a century!' You're the talk of every tea room and study nook from here to Zephyria."

"Lira," Elden said, recalling his recent encounter, "could you help me find something? Starhaven's Theory of Elemental Resonance."

Lira's green eyes widened, a shadow of concern darkening their usual warmth. "That's... not a common request." Her gaze sharpened, scanning Elden's face as if searching for something. "Who told you about that one?"

Elden hesitated, weighing his options. Honesty won out. "Sage Mnemion mentioned it after my examination."

A flicker of emotion—fear? suspicion?—passed over Lira's face, gone so quickly Elden almost thought he'd imagined it. She masked it with a casual shrug, but her voice held a slight tremor as she spoke. "I see. Well, it should be right... here."

She pulled a weathered scroll from the shelf, handling it with noticeable caution. "Elden, be careful with this one. Some texts are restricted for good reason."

Before Elden could press her for more information, Lira excused herself, leaving him alone with the scroll. Curiosity gnawing at him, Elden unrolled the ancient parchment.

As he read, his face paled, and a cold knot formed in his stomach. The 'theory' was nothing short of monstrous—a ritual of such brutality that it made his mind recoil.

The scroll spoke of sacrifice, not of animals or objects, but of mages themselves. It described in clinical detail how a living, breathing person could be used as a conduit for elemental forces.

The heart, still beating, would channel fire. The brain, seat of consciousness, would control water. The limbs, twitching with final moments of life, would command earth. And the lungs, gasping their last breaths, would master air.

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The result, the text promised, was a ritual of immense power, capable of manipulating all four elements with terrifying efficiency. But the cost... the cost was unthinkable.

Elden's hands shook as he read, the words searing themselves into his memory. How could such a vile practice ever be considered magical theory? And why, in all the names of the ancients, would Mnemion direct him to this?

As he placed the scroll back on the shelf, Elden failed to notice the faint shimmer of magic in the corner of the room. Lost in troubled thoughts, he almost jumped when a young scholar approached him.

"Master Vortis? Your father requests your presence in his study immediately."

Elden nodded, grateful for the distraction from the horrific text he'd just read. As he followed the scholar out of the archives, the uneasy feeling deepened, gnawing at the edges of his mind.

---

The door to Edward Vortis's study was ajar, warm lamplight spilling out into the darkened hallway. Elden raised his hand to knock but paused as he heard hushed voices from within.

"...cannot ignore the implications, Edward." The voice was unmistakably Mnemion's, tense and urgent.

"And what would you have me do?" His father's reply was weary, laden with the weight of responsibility. "He's my son, Mnemion. I won't turn him into a—"

"Into what? A weapon? A tool? Wake up, old friend. Whether we like it or not—"

"Enough." Edward's tone was sharp enough to cut steel. "We swore we'd never speak of that again."

Elden's breath caught in his throat. He knew he should announce his presence, but curiosity rooted him to the spot. A subtle shift in the room’s atmosphere told him he was no longer unnoticed. Mnemion’s voice trailed off, as if aware of his silent eavesdropping.

"We’ll continue this later," Mnemion said, his tone clipped, and Elden quickly stepped back, giving the impression he had just arrived.

Edward’s weary expression faltered when Elden entered, but he pushed through it, his fatherly concern momentarily overriding the exhaustion of the prior conversation.

Elden soon found himself seated across from his father in the High Remembrancer's private study. The room was filled with the comforting scent of old books and the warm glow of lanterns.

"Your mother would be so proud," Edward said softly, his eyes misting with memory. "Seraphine always believed that compound weaving held the key to magical breakthroughs we could scarcely imagine."

Elden nodded, his throat tight with emotion. "I wish she could have seen it, Father. Everything I've done, it’s been to honor her work."

Edward’s expression grew serious. "Elden, what you achieved today... it was more than just compound weaving. There was something else, wasn’t there? Something you didn’t quite understand?"

Elden hesitated, then nodded. "It was strange, Father. For a moment, I felt... I’m not sure how to describe it. As if I could sense the flow of time itself."

A shadow passed over Edward’s face, quickly replaced by a forced smile. "The mysteries of magic are vast, my son. We must always be cautious as we explore them." He reached into his robes and withdrew a simple pendant on a silver chain. "I want you to have this, to celebrate your promotion."

As Elden took the pendant, he felt a faint thrum of energy from it. "Thank you, Father. It’s beautiful."

Edward’s voice took on an urgent tone. "It’s more than just a trinket, Elden," Edward said, his voice filled with an urgency Elden had never heard before. "Promise me you’ll keep it with you always. It’s... important."

Elden turned the pendant over in his hands, noticing for the first time a series of intricate engravings along its edge. Squinting, he could make out what looked like fragments of words: "...less Se..."

"Father, what are these markings? They almost look like a rune of some kind."

Edward’s face flickered with an unreadable expression. "It’s... it’s nothing you need to worry about for now, Elden. Just remember, when the time comes, trust in your memories."

Elden nodded, puzzled but sensing the weight of his father’s words. He slipped the pendant around his neck, feeling its comforting warmth against his skin.

Later that night, as Elden prepared for bed, his mind whirled with the day’s events. He turned the pendant over in his hands, wondering at its significance. As he drifted off to sleep, his thoughts were a jumble of compound spells, his mother’s legacy, and the strange new power he had glimpsed.

Unknown to Elden, elsewhere in Mnemosyne’s twisting corridors, Mnemion stood before a shimmering portal of memory magic. A figure shrouded in shadow appeared within it, his face obscured by the dim light.

"The boy showed signs today," Mnemion reported, his voice low. "It seems our suspicions were correct."

The shadowy figure nodded. "Excellent. Keep watching him closely. The time is approaching when we must act."

As the portal faded, Mnemion’s face set in grim determination.