Noir had made sure that none of those damned candles still burned when he went to sleep.

He had made sure to wash every drug in his system out with a meditation session and a bit of laxatives.

He even drank a glass of pickle water to make sure he remained sobre.

Thus, he was quite frustrated when he left the kitchen to find his apprentice sitting on the futon, visibly disturbed.

He hadn't even taken the time to brush his hair back or grease it. The black strands falling sideways in every direction, his eyes sharper than ever, the purple contacts not in his eyes for the first time in years.

The only resemblance he had to his normal self were the black robe, his dark brown derbies, and his general postures.

"Yes, what you have seen last night is real, and I am very proud of you for surviving your first physical contact with the supernatural. I did not plan to initiate you yet, but it seems our goals have been moved a few years ahead. So, how exactly did you experience the events of last night?"

He asked, hoping that they were in the somewhat same hallucination.

"There was a voice in my head, something I managed to reject and bind according to your teachings in 'Necromancy for dummies: how to deal with minor spirits and other voices in your head.' It tried telling me that you were a fraud, and it made some pretty convincing statements. Then I remembered your lectures and immediately did what you told everyone to do."

Noir held back the comment that he only recommended people to take a deep breath and confront their problems with reason before searching for a psychiatrist.

"I went outside to fill my lungs with fresh air, tried to understand the spirits' intention, and then tried to break that for them, as you told me. It tries to tell me how me rejecting it would kill both of us, and that it would help me raise a legion of the dead if I obeyed, but I just think I should not enter a contract like that without your guidance, as was the last recommendation for anyone confronted with it."

As Marc recounted the books contents, Noir was about to bury himself. Of course, he had put everything in flowery language and made it look like properly dealing with your problems before searching a professional sounded like a type of occult ritual. There was a reason behind his expulsion back then.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

"It promises to help you raise the dead? That's something I feared back when I took you in. "

He put his hand on the Apprentices forehead, silently nudging his spirits, who did nothing except for Marc to have a weird feeling on his forehead and a sense of doom coming over them as Hope, the name he gave to the gentle spirit, took the worst possible future to predict.

"He is strong... if we want to preserve your soul, we will have to bind it.

Don't ever trust what it tells you, but once you have become familiars, he will be bound to you. Always remember what I told you about drawing power."

Noir looked stern but wanted to beam as his apprentice quoted something focussed on an entirely different context, praising his flowery language as he did so.

"Never draw more power than is absolutely necessary from forces outside your control. You never know what the price of it will be."

Marc cited, pride and determination in his eyes.

"Exactly. Like the solar Penals on the roof, this one might stop giving you power, crippling you because you didn't expect it. And if you do draw power, remember that your body, similar to a cable, can only channel that much power before something bad happens. Now, the bonding ritual is an ancient one, and after the death of my first familiar, I never wanted to create another."

He knew he would never get over the loss of his first pet. To this day, he hadn't replaced the furry doofus.

"The beast from yesterday is still out there. Let us make sure that nothing bad has happened to our neighbours, and gather the materials we need to create a body for that beast."

He said, hoping that the boy would believe him.

Whatever had happened the day before, even if it was a beggar beating up the boy, he would make sure that, now that he was completely sober, he would have to find whoever had hurt Marc and make sure they pay for it.

Quickly, he dressed himself completely, reapplying grease and inserting his contacts. He was ready as always, and somehow, he really wanted to hit something.

"Today, our enemies will burn for their deeds."

He commented, putting on a ring for each finger and a neclace, before smiling at his apprentice and gifting him a small ball.

"If you are ever in a supernatural emergency, crush it and throw it at someone. It's silver dust and glass splinters, so most people will have problems recovering for quite a while."

He slipped on his black leather gloves, the scale like structure fotting perfectly like the day he made them, before he threw a set of green gloves to Marc.

"As you are entering this phase of your training, you should craft your own equipment soon. Attracting a ghost of necromancy can have many reasons and effects, but unless you are about to die, it probably just fits your affinity best. And if your domain is really necromancy, we might have a few differences in the methods we use to cast.

Keep your cool, and don't let yourself be manipulated. I'll continue doing my best to teach you. While I rely on the strands of fate to guide me, you will probably do better with my old ouija board."

He said as the boy dressed himself, both leaving the building to explore what had happened to the world and let out their frustration on anything that would try to stop them.