Max's grandfather heard a gentle knock on his studies door and furrowed his brow. It was early. Earlier than expected. He gently waved towards the door and it opened gently.

Max found himself stumbling through the door as he felt another stabbing pain echo through his stomach, though this time he was able to resist it a little bit at least.

Max's grandfather moved quickly to his grandchild and made a gesture with his hand as the comfy chair in the room moved quickly to them so Max could rest.

"Your awakening?"

"Yeah... It hurts. Though I can deal with it I think" Max said as the pain slowly tuned up in intensity. He let out a light grunt and curled his fingers a little more to try and stop his natural defenses from activating.

"Hmm... I didn't think this would come so soon. Your sibling's awakening was much simpler... and later. I had heard that those who were awakened would suffer much worse than others because of the unique mutations they got from evolutions."

"Ugh," Max said as the pain began to increase once more.

Max's grandfather began fumbling around in his desk before pulling out a small glass vial filled with a mysterious blue liquid. He quickly moved towards Max and offered it to him to drink.

"Don't worry. It's just a recovery potion. Should numb the pain and help you in the awakening process."

"Fine" Max grunted and downed the potion in a matter of seconds as the pain began to subside. Max felt a buzz fill his mind as he could actively feel changes happening to his mind. It wasn't natural. It was so much more than he had anticipated.

"Hmm... It seems as if you are developing a rather intense mutation from your evolution. It seems as if you will be developing a new ability or two." Max's grandfather said gently as he put his hands on Max's head.

"Any clue to what I might develop?"

"No clue right now. Seems as if you might be developing an autoprocessing ability perhaps..." Gramps muttered.

Max nodded in return and began to relax as the evolution took place.

----------------------------------------

After nearly an hour he had finally finished evolving and boy were the results pretty.

Madam Stone sat in front of Max and massaged his temples with some sort of ointment.

"It should help me enter your mind and see the changes. Should also sharpen our senses." She said as a lavender smell invaded Max's sense of smell.

After preparing the ointment she gently placed her hand against his forehead and closed her eyes.

One moment Max was in his grandfather's study and the next he was in his mindspace. The previous blue landscape had changed and now was a snow-encrusted tundra with blue light shining everywhere. Peaks and mountains could be seen in the far distance but not a single envelope or picture soared through the sky.

The surrounding snow began to swirl in a specific spot a few feet away from Max and in an instant Madam Stone swirled into existence.

"Oh My! What a lovely Mind you have here. Much better than that infinite void you had before." She said with a rekindled energy within her.

"I actually p-preferred the latter," Max said to her with a slight stutter as the cold began to get to him.

Madam Stone smirked at his apparent discomfort and took a look at the surroundings.

"Endless snow and mountains for as far as the eye can see... quite a peculiar sight." She said gently.

"Now the real question is where are your memories?" She asked Max.

Max shrugged in response before trying to access them finding that he could do so with far greater speed than before.

"They are still there at least," Max said as he flipped through thousands of memories in a matter of moments.

"Then take us to them." Madam Stone said simply.

Max frowned at the simple way she said it. 'How could it be easy for me to simply take us to my memories? It's not like I can just say "Take us away!" and it works miraculously.' Max thought but in doing so it did miraculously work.

The air around them coalesced into swirling storms of snow which lifted them into the air. They began soaring through the endless snow-like landscape and found themselves flying through a world made of snow. Vast frozen seas awaited them and pits of fire that ran as deep as to the core of this strange world.

Madam Stone simply laughed at the speed at which they were traveling while Max shielded his eyes from the high-velocity winds that they were traveling through.

They soared through an ark of sorts and found themselves at a small pond surrounded by vibrant purple and blue plants. After a gentle huff, the wind sat them down upon the frozen lake before leaving them.

"Now where might we be? It is strange to see such a mind though not impossible from what I have read." Madam Stone said as she took a look at her surroundings.

Max did so in a kind and found himself staring at plants that only seemed to exist in his head. Vibrant hues of purple and blue swathed the surroundings in a beautiful layer of color. It was a stark contrast from the cold blues and whites that they had seen while traveling to this place.

'Strangely enough, now that I think about it, there were no plants in the surroundings as we traveled. Not one plant at all. This place must be special.'

As he took in the surroundings, Max found himself finally staring at a woman that was not in the beautiful field of flowers but below his feet.

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She had murky black hair with cold black eyes yet a smile that radiated warmth inside those who saw it. She waved at him from below the ice and motioned for him to come down.

'I can't just come down now can I?' Max thought to himself before the entire lake's surface began to crack and they began to sink.

'It's almost like I am a god here!'

'I feel like I can do anything...' Max thought as he categorized his current thoughts as 'dangerous'.

After sinking a few feet and the frigid cold water met their legs Max decided enough was enough and conjured a bubble of air around them, keeping them both safe from the water in breathing terms as well as in the dry term. Madam Stone's eyes glowed with intrigue as she stared at the woman in front of her and Max stared in unveiled shock.

The woman, in a closer view, was some sort of merfolk. She had webbed hands that were nearly translucent and had scales on the lower half of her body that would make one think she was a mermaid if she only had a tail.

She spoke and as she did so bubbles flew out of her mouth and entered their ears.

"Greetings Master and accomplice."

"It's a pleasure to meet you. I am Iko, though you may call me anything you please, a representation of your memories in physical form. I am here to help you at all costs." She said with a dead serious look on her face.

"I can help prevent intruders from entering your mind as well as help you organize and think through plans. I am effectively an additional mind inside of your own."

Madam Stone could only look in surprise and... horror. She tried to speak but found the ability to be completely absent while they were underwater.

"Iko... What are you if I could ask?" Max asked in confusion. 'What has happened to my mind exactly...'

"That is difficult to answer Master. My instincts tell me I am some sort of creature attached to the element of water and Ice though nothing in your mind clearly tells me what I am. You will need to research on your own if you want to know what I am because I truly do not know sadly." Iko answered innocently.

"Would you like to gift Madam Stone the ability to speak Master? She seems rather... perturbed by our interactions thus far." Iko asked calmly.

Max nodded in response and in a second bubbles seemed to flow between Iko, Madam Stone, and Max.

"-Mental are so rare these days I wouldn't think to see one in such a strange place. How do you exist here? I mean seriously it should be impossible." Madam Stone continued the unheard conversation which had just been revealed and Iko revealed a quizzical gaze towards her.

Madam Stone inspected the bubbles and a red flush appeared on her cheeks as she seemed to realize what had happened.

"You are a true water elemental correct?" She asked Iko without a hitch, however.

Iko turned her head slightly and frowned.

"It could fit what I am I suppose. As long as you refer to a being made of water whole heartily. It could make sense. Though if you are referring to something else then my assumption may be false."

Madam Stone frowned before smiling again.

"A newborn elemental! How interesting!" She said in excitement before trying to move forward to Iko before being stopped by the bubble that surrounded her.

Madam Stone then gave Max a questioning look as if saying 'May I?'

Max shrugged and allowed her to move a little closer to Iko. Iko however moved backward at Madam Stones' approach.

"I would rather stay closer to Master." She said hesitantly, looking at Max with a hopeful look.

Max nodded in returned and shrugged towards Madam Stone. She had saved him plenty of times but I guess he had to respect the wishes of his mind...

Madam Stone showed a disgruntled look on her face before giving up.

"Well. It's time to figure out what exactly has changed other than... well everything" She said, gesturing to her surroundings.

Max nodded and looked towards Iko with a questioning look.

"Well... From what I can tell I have assimilated all of your memories and you can access them at any time with no cost. Not even an ounce of mental fatigue should affect you for surfing through your memories anymore or organizing them... though I should be able to organize them for you since I have little else to do."

"On top of that, you have me!" She said with a quick smile before continuing "And a world that reacts naturally unless you tell it elsewise."

Max stopped to think of the implications of that before Madam Stone rudely interrupted his thought process.

"Oooh! That could do so much for you Maxwell! You could theoretically try out potion making in here for literally no cost as well as practice enchanting and several other things." She said with visible excitement.

"Well... you won't have magic in here though you should be able to replicate it with enough time. Would you like that to be my first task Master?" Iko asked innocently.

Max nodded after contemplating for a moment.

'If I could replicate magic in here then I could do so much practicing here! Though I wouldn't be able to improve my actual body's magical strength... Over-reliance is never good so its something to keep an eye out for'

Max thought before leaving his mindscape in an instant and in the process booting Madam Stone from it as well.

After returning to his Grandfather's study instantly he nodded towards Madam Stone and began to speak in a casual tone.

"I think that should be enough. I think I can figure out the rest by Iko and myself." Max said while giving a sly look towards Madam Stone.

Madam Stone frowned for a second before nodding in agreement.

"It's not my mind to know after all. I can understand your point of view though I do wish I could learn more about what your mind has to offer..." She said with a little bit of drool escaping the edge of her mouth.

Max's grandfather sat at his desk and looked at them both with anticipation.

"You figure Max's evolutions yet?" He asked questioningly.

Max nodded to his Grandfather before explaining what he had experienced in his mind... world.

His Grandfather appeared deep in thought before he began to speak.

"Hmm... It seems to be a most beneficial mutation though I recommend keeping an eye on this 'Iko'. She may be here to serve for now but in the future, she could... Just watch out Max." He said with a sigh.

"Now your, your magical reservoir?" Grandfather asked.

Max nodded with enthusiasm and quickly checked what his magic level was at and his jaw dropped at the development.

"I-I-It's nearly tripled in size!" He shouted.

Madam Stone had a shocked expression on her face at the statement while his Grandfather stayed as cool as a cucumber before nodding as if it was expected.

"As should be with a nature's chosen."

Max's Grandfather slowly began to stand up and then looked at the watch that resided on his wrist.

"You must pack your belongings, Max. You should be leaving in about an hour." He said with a slight frown on his face.

"What do you mean?" Max asked, astounded.

Max's Grandfather sighed slightly before beginning to speak.

"Well, as you had known you would be going to Trink's School of Magical Machinations when you awakened and it's time for you to leave. The school is very adamant that those who awaken attend the day they awaken or the day after if they awaken late at night."

"It's around three in the evening therefore we ought to get going if we are to leave with time to go shopping for your supplies."

'I'm actually leaving...' Max thought to himself as he came to the sudden realization that he wouldn't be able to see his family for quite a while.

"Now you won't be all alone little Maxwell. You will have your siblings at the school as well. Remember well that they are an incredibly useful asset to have." Onyx Blacklock said as a hint of business entered his tone before abruptly leaving as he realized what he was saying.

"Now it's high time we get going. I and Leon will accompany you here while Madam Stone shall go on some errands for me." He said while winking at the old lady with a mysterious look appearing on his face.

Madam Stone seemed confused but shrugged at Max's Grandfather's antics.

"Now it seems as if you're leaving the manner for the first time. There are some rules that I must let you know, however. Be prepared to abide by them at whatever the cost... okay Max?" Grandfather asked seriously.

Max nodded gently.

'This must be somewhat serious if he is so adamant about it. Let's see what the rules are before I put any plans into action.'

Max looked ahead towards his grandfather and began to listen.