Mutation

A rubber ball appeared in Merlin's hand, something that shouldn't exist in this time, and he said "Anyway, although wizards suffer from their first mutation when they are eleven, there does exist an abysmally low chance of mutating before being eleven."

Arthur's eyes shined and he asked "So that's what's happening to me?" Merlin nodded and said "Indeed. But as I said, it is extremely rare."

Arthur nodded and asked "How rare?" Merlin smiled and replied "I was the last person who 'suffered' from this."

Arthur looked at him in shock and Merlin said "As for how I can be so sure of this, it is because of the spell I have created. As I said before, we are out of time. The person you are talking to, me, isn't here. I am but a replica of the me from when I launched the spell."

Arthur nodded and asked "So, what's the difference between me and the others now?"

Merlin smirked and said "You are advantaged. Your mutation started way earlier than others. Even I only had my mutation when I was 7 years old. For you to mutate when you are only four…"

Merlin shook his head and said "One of the main advantages is that your magic will evolve better than others. I'll explain. When you become eleven, then your magic would be equivalent to a normal 17 years old wizard. Basically your are seven years ahead of your pears."

Arthur gaped and asked "Then aren't too strong?" Merlin's smile faltered a little as he said "But there are also drawbacks, ones that are hard to receive. There is a reason if the normal human body mutates when it is eleven.

Before eleven years old your body is not strong enough to accommodate the influx of magic and this will cause your body to search for a way to deal with the energy. And to do that, it calls upon the elements."

Arthur stayed quiet and waited as Merlin added "You have to understand that the elements are the strongest forces a wizard can call upon. Any powerful wizard would know elemental spells as those are the strongest. For example if I had to destroy a city then I would only be able to do it using an elemental spell, normal spells aren't strong enough.

This is because when you use an attribute-less spell, you only draw from your magic, whereas elemental ones draws upon nature too."

Arthur tilted his head and asked "Then if they are this powerful, they should help me, right? Why is it a drawback?"

Merlin shook his head and said "It's a drawback and an advantage at the same time. Indeed, it is powerful enough to help you not die. But there is a price. Your body will attune with the element, and that is painful. The pain you felt today, you will feel it until your eleventh birthday."

Arthur looked at him in horror and Merlin said "It's not easy, I know. For me, I attuned with the fire element. Another drawback is that you will never be able to use other elements. But my fire spells are twice as strong as others, if not more."

Arthur held his temples and asked "Then isn't it a curse?" Merlin shrugged and replied "Not necessarily. The pain you will suffer in the next 7 years will strengthen your will, and that is very important. If you survive those years then your will is going to be more powerful than anyone else on the planet. That means wordless magic will be natural for you."

Arthur sighed and asked "Anything else?" Merlin nodded and said with a smile "Again, you are lucky. Because you mutated so young, one element wouldn't be enough. So your body has attracted another element.

For my mutation I felt my body burning everyday until I became 11. You, will have two elements. Two effects. But you are very lucky because they are related very closely. Your body and soul are attributed with the light and darkness elements."

Arthur was a little disappointed hearing that but Merlin said "Don't be sad, those are actually very good elements. First their symptoms. Darkness should have robbed you of your senses for all the years until 11. As for Light it should make you feel as if your entire body was purified from the world, making you feel unimaginable pain."

Arthur nodded and replied "That what happened today. First the pain came, then my senses were robbed, I couldn't hear anything, see anything, smell… I couldn't do anything."

Merlin nodded and added "That's because the day of your mutation your body gets in contact with the elements for the first time and the effects are multiplied. But As I said, you are lucky. Because light and darkness are two sides of the same coin, their effects are weakened by each other.

Instead of losing all your senses, they will only be dulled. As for the pain it will be dulled a little, but more importantly the light element won't try to cleanse you from the world anymore, but will try to make you become one with it."

Arthur almost shouted in excitement as this sounded awesome, but Merlin's next words poured a bucket of icy water over his head "But it's impossible to do. To get one with the world would mean you could use your elements to the peak, it means all the light and darkness existing in the world would be available to you. That's impossible to achieve without blowing up."

Arthur sighed and asked "But isn't it a bit useless? I mean, Light and Darkness aren't very powerful. With your fire you can burn everything to ashes, but what can I do?"

Merlin laughed and said "Don't underestimate your elements Arthur, know that there isn't a best element. First, my fire is weak against water, an undeniable weakness, but your light is weak to darkness and vice versa. It means your elements have no counter.

And I think you limit your mindset a little too much, but it's normal you are only 4 years old. Don't worry, I your master won't leave you in ignorance."

Arthur replied "Yeah but I mean, I won't blow up a city with… Wait, what did you just say?" Merlin smirked and said "I will be your master."

Arthur made a face and said "how can you, you're dead."

Merlin held his chest and said dramatically "How can you say that, it hurts…" Arthur rolled his eyes and Merlin said with more seriousness "Okay, I will really be your master. Everytime you will sleep you come here. You can't directly train your magic as this space doesn't properly exist, but you can still learn the theoretical knowledge."

Arthur nodded and said "Then I will practice magic while I'm awake and study when I'm asleep?" Merlin shook his head and said "Are you listening to me? The pain when you are awake will still be too high for you to control your magic."

Arthur sighed, he would have been so OP if he could have trained before getting to Hogwarts. Yes, he decided he would go to Hogwarts btw.

Merlin looked at him with an amused gaze and said "Don't be like that, you still will be ahead of others. First you will have more magic than anyone else your age. And don't underestimate knowledge, mine especially. You are too young to understand but you will see later."

Arthur wasn't too sure about that but he decided to trust Merlin, well his master, as he is powerful enough to know what's good for him.

Merlin nodded to himself and said "Back to your elements, they aren't as useless as you think. But we will delve on that later. Now you should wake up and tell your parents that you will be fine, although you are in pain it's supportable."

Arthur asked "How am I supposed to make them believe that? But you're right, I should wake up by now. So I will see you every time I fall asleep? It means, no more dreams?"

Merlin snickered and said "Dreams are useless, true users of divination don't use dreams, those are for amateurs."

Arthur smiled at the remark and asked "How do I get out of here." Merlin replied "Simply open the door. But I warn you, prepare yourself, as the pain will assault you as soon as you wake up. Don't scream, it would alert your parents and they'll bother you to no end."

Arthur waved goodbye to his master and got up before he turned to the door. He took a deep breath and opened it.