*

Captain Lowell and Theodore watched as Amadeus began the Awakening process, their eyesight enabling them to see how his aura moved, down to the minute details.

When the Awakening began, Amadeus showed a pained expression. However, he quickly regained his neutral bearing, looking as if he was calmly sleeping.

Captain Lowell had a shocked expression while Theodore smiled widely. In any other scenario, Captain Lowell would have gawked at how Theodore, of all people, smiled in such a manner but he did not even notice it, his attention completely absorbed by Amadeus.

Seconds passed by, and Amadeus showed the same calm expression throughout. Captain Lowell regained his composure while Theodore also returned to being expressionless.

"To be able to cut himself off from his body and enter a separate space in his mind. What a terrifying degree of control. Did you know he would be capable of this beforehand?" Captain Lowell asked and looked towards Theodore.

Theodore answered, "No, it's a pleasant variable. I do recall how they said he had not even cried when he was born. I should have experimented a little."

A minute passed, and Amadeus's rampant mana slowly calmed down. However, he showed no signs of movement even after another minute passed.

Captain Lowell carefully checked his body, and then reported,

"It's successful, now it's up to him to snap himself out of it."

*

Darkness. That was all I saw. It felt like I was floating in space, I had no physical existence, no sense of touch, sound, or sight.

'Where am I? Who am I?'

A vast expanse of nothingness was all I had, and I simply existed, with no awareness of time.

However, bits and pieces of images began to materialize.

I was able to see again.

A woman with black hair and golden eyes appeared, then a man with white hair and pupils, and two young men who looked like him. Images began to appear faster as if a dam had broken loose, images of flowers, plants, and musical instruments. Memories spanning more than a decade flowed into me.

'Right, I am Amadeus Devereux. I was undergoing an Awakening. I have to wake up.'

Realizing what had happened, I concentrated and tried to wake up. As the thought of 'waking up' was formed, I saw a bright light that began to envelop my whole sight. The expanse was completely lit up, but it only got brighter.

When it reached the point that I could only see the color white, it slowly became dimmer. Other colors began to appear hazily, the sight slowly became clearer to show Captain Lowell looking down at me.

I had woken up.

'Did they put me on a bed?'

Captain Lowell's mouth was moving but I couldn't hear anything. I gradually regained my senses, my body felt heavy and sore. I tried moving my head, and it felt extremely sluggish. I looked down at my body and then tried to clench my hand, it was a slow process.

'What happened to me?'

"…..ar me now?"

I looked up at Captain Lowell, he repeated, "Are you able to hear me now?"

It seemed like he had repeated that question for a while. I nodded and tried to speak, "Ye..s." It ended up sounding drawn out.

"Good. What you did was separate yourself from your body completely, you were gone for about thirty minutes. It might take a few hours of practice before you regain complete control of your body. I suggest that you take some rest first. Come find me when you feel better, we will talk about your training."

Captain Lowell turned around and walked towards the door, only then did I take in my surroundings and realize I was in my room. When he got to the door, he stopped to look at me, and praised,

"Well done. And congratulations on your successful Awakening."

*

I practiced moving about with my body for the next few hours, it was not an arduous task and only required time. I gradually got better and managed to recover in three hours.

I looked at myself in the mirror, I saw that my body looked a bit more refined and chiseled than before. My golden pupils which I inherited from my mother were even more prominent.

How I looked was one thing, how I felt was another. After my body gradually regained normalcy, I noticed that I became stronger.

I felt like I could never get tired again, and the mana coursing through my body was a pleasant sensation. My limits would be tested later.

*

I found Captain Lowell's office after meeting with my mother, knocked, and entered upon hearing his beckoning. He was sitting on his chair, looking as ordinary as ever. He asked,

"How are you feeling now?"

"I am better."

"That is nice to hear. Being able to cut yourself off from your body is extremely useful. Even your father and I are unable to completely ignore pain. With proper training, you will be able to stop yourself from fully retracting into your mind, and even be able to cut off the reception of specific parts of your body, which will be immensely useful if you are injured. Your father might be able to give you tips later."

"I will be sure to ask him. What about my training?"

"That comes later. First, we will check your attribute. Do you know anything about it?"

"Not much. I have never been that interested."

He shook his head and smiled wryly, "Well, I guess that's fine. There are six attributes, and you will learn about them gradually. First, let's see what your attribute is."

He then brought out a sphere that looked like it was made of glass. He explained, "This is what we call a scryve, an object that can determine the attribute of the person whose mana it comes into contact with. It is extremely handy during battles where information is vital. Put your hand on it and try to inject your mana into it."

I walked forward and put my hand on the scryve, feeling it's glass-like smoothness. I tried to control my mana and sent some towards my hand.

The scryve glowed up, appeared smoky, and gradually began to show six different colors. The colors then disappeared one by one until only one remained. It was violet.

I looked towards Captain Lowell, he answered,

"Violet. You have the attribute of Transmutation. Transmuters can change the form of anything they or their mana touches into the three stages of matter and manipulate them to an extent. It's a good attribute."

'Being able to change the form of what I or my mana touches?'

I found it extremely interesting. Seeing my excitement, Captain Lowell informed me, "Of course, you can only do so much depending on your mana capacity. It's nearly impossible to transmute living beings, especially those with their own mana unless you outclass them by a wide margin. At that point, you could easily crush them anyway. You would have to think of a way to use your powers creatively and effectively for your level."

'Unable to transmute living beings?'

I felt my excitement die down a bit, but I already had a few ideas.

"Thank you for the information, Captain Lowell."

Captain Lowell waved his hand, "It's what I'm supposed to do, and most people know about them anyway."

He continued, "So, about the training. We will find a qualified Transmuter to teach you for the next few months. I will be teaching you mana control and work on increasing your mana capacity. Your father will give you lectures on psychology, strategies, and all those weird thoughts that fill his head."

I did not find it weird how Captain Lowell talked about my father so casually, it felt natural.

"It would be a pleasure to be trained by people of such a calibre."

Captain Lowell smiled, "Of course. And one last thing, if your growth is satisfactory, your father will teach you about your family's speciality."

I was confused, "My family's speciality?"

"Of course, you Devereux are special. Why do you think your family alone has been qualified to be called the Watchdog of the Empire for millennia?"

*

The wind lifted the fallen leaves into the air. People waited, breeding different moods, and made musics of decline. They stacked up twigs in glistening patches, praying for warmth.

The days now clothed a new season, cold and pale. The sun and moon locked in an eternal cycle.

Three months passed, and it was a new year.

The Year 1446, Yoid Calendar.

*

It would be a lie to say I was not excited, mainly because of the reason I had started doing all of this. I had written a small diary which contained what I planned to do.

I opened my closet, and inside it were a large number of suitcases. I opened one up to find many small spherical glasses filled with various liquids, separated into different colors. These were why I asked my father to gather the list of flowers.

All of the spheres contained liquified plants and flowers. From plants like vasse, a plant poisonous enough to kill an elephant, to the glover, a flower with healing properties.

There were also two high-grade stones that were inscribed intricately with different details. One was gifted by my father, and the other by my Transmutation teacher.

These stones could be activated and used to communicate with the other person who had a similarly inscribed stone.

I dyed my hair black and wore black lenses. I wore a black long coat, and equipped two daggers on my waist which were hidden by it.

I headed towards the stables, picked a black horse, and strapped my suitcases to both sides. I got up on the horse and began my journey to set out into the world.

I was stepping into a whole new world.

The streets were full of stalls and people, and a few looked my way. A young boy riding a horse must have been an uncommon sight for most. I doubted that people knew my face, as I seldom left the estate.

I bought some provisions and rode directly towards the gate, arriving in a few minutes. The outside was abuzz with carriages, horses, and mercenaries looking for hire. I did not look at anyone and went towards the north.

'This way leads to the town of Baroda. I can reach there in two days.'

I purposefully slowed down my pace for a while. As expected, thirty minutes later, a few noises came from the front. Five men in ragged armours came out from the shrubs, followed by three from behind me.

I had purposefully acted like I was in a hurry, and it was bound to lure someone greedy enough. A young boy carrying two suitcases must have been enticing to them.

'A smarter person would have taken the time to think about why a boy would be carrying such wealth, much less travelling alone. With sufficient time, they might have found the situation suspicious and not decided to come for me.'

Alas, I neither gave them time nor a reason to suspect me by planting the word 'thief' in their mind. Acting hurried killed two birds with one stone. I could feel my heart beating faster, the embers starting to rise.

'Now, let us have a little experiment.'

****