Zar walked briskly through the cobblestone streets, a folded schedule paper in his hand. His sharp eyes scanned the neatly written tasks as he muttered to himself, frustration tinging his tone.
“Vitalis training from 7 to 8:30... lectures and practical training until noon. Maybe I’ll have free time during the break—” He paused, frowning. “No, Selene asked me to tutor her. I can’t refuse her, can I?”
He sighed and continued, his pace slowing. “Three hours of lectures after the break, then monitoring the magic lab for hours since the guards have been ill for months. At this point, I should just force someone else to take responsibility... but no, it always falls to me.”
Zar pinched the bridge of his nose, already feeling the weight of his day. “Then there’s managing marksheets and student records. Just the thought of it makes me sleepy. Or should I spend some time with Nyssa instead? I haven’t given her time in so long...”
His brow furrowed as he weighed his options. “Maybe I can combine academy work with lab monitoring... No, that won’t do. I can’t take my eyes off that place—not with children these days being such a headache.”
He stopped for a moment, his voice dropping to a grumble. “Gods, what has my life become? A teacher too busy to read his own book.”
Zar entered his home and immediately noticed the door was slightly ajar. He called out, “Maa?”—looking around for his mother, but she was nowhere to be found. Just as he stepped inside, his neighbor hurried out of the kitchen that connected to his bedroom, crossing through the hall with a strange, almost frantic energy. Zar gave him a confused and disgusted look.
“What are you doing here? Weren’t you the one who said I’d never set foot in your house?” Zar asked, his voice dripping with irritation.
The neighbor giggled, unfazed by Zar’s tone. “I didn’t come here on my own... ask your wife what the deal is.”
Zar’s expression remained unchanged, the annoyance still visible on his face. The neighbor simply chuckled and left the house, his gait mocking and teasing.
Zar turned to see Nyssa standing in the hall. “Where have you been today?” she asked.
“That doesn’t matter. First, tell me—what was he doing here?” Zar shot back, his eyes narrowing.
Nyssa’s expression was sheepish. “There was a huge mole under my bed. I was terrified. I tried to handle it myself, but... well, I couldn’t. I asked around outside, and he was the only one I could find. Did I do something wrong?”
Zar waved it off, the irritation fading. “Okay, never mind. I don’t want to know the details. Where are Ma and Pa?”
Nyssa looked uncertain. “They’re... I don’t know. They didn’t say much, but they said they’d be back by tomorrow morning.”
Zar raised an eyebrow. “They didn’t tell you, or you didn’t pay attention?”
Nyssa’s eyes widened. “WHAT DO YOU MEAN?!”
“Oh, nothing. Never mind... sorry.” He paused for a moment, then looked at her more seriously. “Nyssa, I’m sorry for not giving you time. I feel guilty about it.”
Nyssa softened a bit. “No, no, it’s fine. You have a lot of work to do as a professor. I don’t mind, really.”
Zar nodded, relieved. “Glad to hear it. What are you going to do now, by the way?”
Nyssa yawned, stretching. “For now, I guess... I’m just tired. I’ve got dinner ready for you, though, so you can eat.”
Zar smiled gratefully. “Thank God I don’t have to cook today. Thank you. Go ahead and get some rest.”
As Nyssa walked off to her bedroom, her thoughts drifted. Why didn’t he ask to see the mole? Not like I care, though. Let it be.
Zar sat down at the dining table, eating his meal in silence. Why does Nyssa give off the vibe that she doesn’t need me anymore? It’s all my fault... I’ve been so irresponsible with my family.
After finishing, Zar quickly completed his record book for the day—faster than usual. Glancing at the clock, he muttered to himself, “It’s only 10:20... that’s a lot of free time for me. Screw it. I’m going to read the book all night.”
Next morning at the academy
Zar stood at the edge of the training ground, his gaze drifting aimlessly over the students from all the magic branches practicing. In reality, he wasn’t really looking at them. Dark circles under his eyes—evidence of a sleepless night—shadowed his gaze, and his expression felt like it belonged to someone half-dead, a zombie trapped in his thoughts.
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"Thálamos tou Nekroú Cháous... What could that mean?" Zar wondered, his mind wandering, still tangled in the mysteries of the book. His thoughts then flashed to the last page of the book, where the previous owner had scrawled: “This book is a total waste of time. Don’t waste your money on it. Even after reading the chants more than ten times, nothing happens.”
Lost in his musings, with his eyes wide and unblinking, Zar didn’t notice Arion approach until he suddenly shook his arm.
“Zar! What are you doing?!” Arion asked, sounding exasperated. “You know tomorrow’s the final round, right? You still haven’t taught me how to stabilize the fire when releasing a concentrated blast. Just teach me that, and I’ll handle the rest.”
Zar slowly tilted his head toward Arion without a change in expression, his voice flat. “What? Oh, yeah… I will. Don’t worry, just give me a minute.” His face remained as lifeless as ever.
Arion sighed, clearly frustrated, and walked off to join his friends for the time being.
Zar, now feeling the weight of exhaustion bearing down on him, approached Cyrus and asked, “Can you manage my record book for today? I’m really tired and need some rest.”
Cyrus looked at him, brows furrowing as he took in Zar’s appearance. “...Why not. You can go rest.”
Zar entered the teacher's cabin, finding it empty. With a weary sigh, he slumped into a chair, resting his head on the table. Just as he was on the verge of falling asleep, the door creaked open, and Selene stepped inside.
"Sir, you're sleeping?" she asked, her voice carrying a hint of surprise. "You promised me you’d take my tuition..."
Zar barely lifted his head, his voice thick with exhaustion. "I’m really sorry, young Selene. Not today, please… You can see how tired I am."
Selene’s face fell with disappointment. "Uhm, okay… as you wish." She turned to leave, but before she could step out, Zar spoke again.
"Tell that gaslighter to train himself, too... I'm on a break today."
"Okayyy," she replied with a mix of confusion and amusement, before closing the door behind her.
Zar’s head hit the table again, and within moments, he was lost in sleep. When he finally awoke, the first rays of dawn were creeping through the windows, and it was already 5 AM. The academy was eerily quiet, the halls empty except for a few peons cleaning the classrooms. Zar, now more alert and refreshed, stretched, his mind finally processing everything more clearly than before.
He grabbed his locker key and walked to the locker room, his steps echoing in the silence. Inside, he noticed some items slightly misplaced, a subtle sign that someone had been there while he was asleep. But his own locker seemed untouched, so he shrugged it off and proceeded to retrieve the book.
As he flipped through its pages, he began connecting the dots that had been disturbing him the night before. The book detailed the location of the hidden laboratory, which lay in a desolate, remote land in Valtheris. The place was rarely visited due to its unbearable, itching weather. Since tomorrow was both a working day and the day of the international tournament’s final round, Zar knew there wouldn’t be anyone around, making it the perfect opportunity for him to make the journey.
But there was one problem: it would take a full day of travel by horse to reach the location. Zar would have to leave tonight if he wanted to arrive on time.
He made his way home to pack the essentials for the trip. As he grabbed a few things, Nyssa appeared in the doorway, her voice light with teasing. "Oh my, was the dinner that bad? Don’t leave me alone."
Zar barely glanced up, his urgency clear. "I’m in a hurry, Nyssa. Don’t mind me… Take care of the house and my parents. I’ll be back in 2-3 days, I promise."
Nyssa raised an eyebrow, her concern evident despite the joking tone. "Uh… okay? Just be safe. Don’t get yourself into danger."
Zar nodded, giving her a quick, reassuring glance before he finished packing.
Zar set out on his journey, the weight of a large bag filled with food, weapons, and equipment he had prepared the night before weighing heavily on his shoulders. As he rode along, the rhythmic clip-clop of the horse's hooves barely registered in his mind.
"God, I might be wrong about everything I’ve learned from this book," he muttered to himself, a hint of frustration in his voice. "It had so many tough words. I hope the conclusion I came to makes sense... I spent three hours thinking about this one thing."
Reaching into his bag, he pulled out the book, his fingers brushing over its pages as if searching for something. He cleared his throat and began to speak aloud, his voice low and steady.
"The chant mentioned in this book is: 'En timē tēn akatamáchēton enérgeian kai tēn axían tou Ymbraxion, tēs pémtēs magías tēs Xandríās. Epithymō anavlépsai toùs apothanóntas psychás autōn en tō thálamō tou nekroû cháous.' Which probably means, 'In reverence of the boundless energy and sacred worth of Umbraxis, the Fifth Arcana of Xandria. I long to behold the wraiths of the fallen, within the Chamber of Eternal Chaos.'"
Zar’s voice faltered for a moment as he recalled something from earlier in the book. "But one common mistake the previous owners of this book made was taking the wand with them, which was literally mentioned on the fourth page. Let's just hope everything goes as planned."
He tucked the book back into his bag, adjusting his grip on the reins, and continued his ride, the weight of his decision settling more heavily with each passing moment.
After hours of exhausting travel, Zar finally reached his destination, finishing off his second-to-last pack of his favorite cookies. The desolate land stretched before him—dry, barren, and lifeless, as if no soul had ever inhabited it. The wind howled relentlessly, scattering leaves and dust into the air.
Zar gently dismounted his horse and removed the book and a small wand from his bag. The wand bore a faintly glowing orb atop it, pulsating dimly with an ethereal light. He moved several steps away from the horse and his belongings, creating a safe distance before proceeding further.
Taking a deep breath, Zar opened the book, his fingers trembling slightly in the cold wind. He knelt down, placing one knee on the dry, cracked ground. Holding the book firmly in his right hand and the wand in his left, he began reciting the chants in a loud, resolute voice.
His tone was bold, his words reverberating in the still air. He repeated the chant three times, each syllable enunciated with precision. Yet, nothing happened. The silence around him remained unbroken.
"I knew this wouldn’t work," Zar muttered bitterly. "If this doesn’t yield results, I’ll have no choice but to return home."
Frustrated but determined, he flipped through the book’s pages until he found a section he had carefully altered himself. His eyes lingered on the text as he thought, "The creator of Umbraxis... almost nothing is known about him. This book barely mentions him, except for one thing—his failure. His work was doomed, and yet here I am."
He steadied himself, cleared his throat again, and began to read the modified chant aloud.
"En lúpēi ypèr tēs kóposēs kai tōn karpōn tēs adiákopou ereynēs sou, penthoûmai tēn apóleian tēs sophías kai tēs epimonēs sou diá toùs aiṓnas."
The orb atop his wand began to shine brighter, its glow growing stronger with each passing second. Zar’s heart leapt with hope as he continued:
"En aeí timēi se anagnōrízō. En eucharístō thavmázō toùs apothanóntas psychás sou en tō thálamō tou nekroû cháous."
The wand suddenly flared with a blinding light, illuminating the barren land around him. The air seemed to ripple and distort, as if reality itself was unraveling. In an instant, the environment around Zar shifted entirely.
He found himself in a strange, otherworldly dimension. The sky stretched endlessly above him, painted with vibrant hues of blue and purple, swirling with nebulous clouds. Chunks of earth floated in the air, suspended as if by invisible threads, their roots exposed and reaching out like tendrils. Magic particles glimmered faintly, drifting aimlessly through the atmosphere.
Zar’s gaze fixed on one of the larger floating land masses directly ahead. A castle loomed atop it, a foreboding structure with jagged towers and darkened spires. Atop the highest terrace stood a towering figure, nearly 6’8” in height. His presence radiated an oppressive aura, as though even the wind itself dared not move without his consent.
The figure’s body was obscured beneath a long, flowing robe adorned with intricate patterns of red and blue, shimmering like living flames. A wide-brimmed hat concealed most of his face, leaving only glimpses of shadowed features that hinted at a being beyond mortal comprehension. His very existence seemed to bend the reality around him, his silhouette sharp and imposing against the surreal backdrop.
The figure raised his staff—an ornate wand carved with ancient runes—and spoke in a deep, echoing voice, every word laced with an archaic authority that resonated like a storm in Zar’s ears:
"Dost thou dare trespass upon this sacred realm, seeker? Many before thee have unraveled the path to this sanctum, and yet, their fate was but silence eternal. Ye foolish sorcerers, thy feeble minds doth dream of conquering Umbraxis, the unyielding force of the Fifth Arcana. Thy journey ends hither, as shall thine ambition."
The figure’s voice rumbled with disdain, his tone steeped in menace as the orb of his staff flared ominously.
Zar, now fully alert and on edge, thought to himself, "So, he must be the one... Orestes, the Keeper of Chaos, as mentioned in the book.