35 Twilight Steps

"Special…" Arthur remarked as he chose to trust in the man that he had mentored for over 2 years.

He couldn't claim to be the best judge of character, especially when considering his past but the man before him… Arthur wanted to believe that he would make the right choices and take the right path.

Of course, there would always be the chance that he wouldn't, and if it ever happened… Arthur swore in his heart that he would surely put the monster he created down.

There was no way he would repeat the mistakes of his past.

Just as he came to that resolution, a powerful force erupted from Alex that suppressed him, albeit momentarily.

Arthur turned wide-eyed as he glanced at Alex.

The latter slowly opened his eyes and met his gaze.

"You…" Before Arthur could say another word, he heard a snap.

The next moment, a curtain of darkness erupted from Alex's body and covered the entire study.

Arthur couldn't help but gulp at the sight.

Within the dark curtain, speckles of white light could be seen, giving off an ambiance of the night.

But it wasn't the night that Arthur was used to.

Alex on the other hand was very familiar with the scenery.

Evernight took on a form similar to the night on Earth.

"...Amazing." was all Arthur could manage, completely enthralled by the sight before him.

Glancing at Alex, he casually asked. "Are you sure you aren't an old monster?"

Alex smirked as he replied. "... Maybe I am."

From this moment, he was a bonafide Mystic!

***

Nadia silently gazed out her window as her thoughts ran rampant.

Despite the drizzle taking place outside her coach, she wasn't tempted to leap out and dance.

Under normal circumstances, she would have done so as she was from a continent where rain was seen as a blessing from above.

She could still recall her childhood.

Whenever rain fell, she would rush out and dance to her heart's content, enjoying the feeling of the water from above trickling down her skin.

Naturally, after she would catch a cold but Nadia loved living in the moment.

Forget future worries and enjoy the now.

Her father always told her that.

She wondered how he was and if he was eating well.

Glancing at the bracelet she wore on her right hand, Nadia muttered. "... What happened to you?"

No other person might be able to tell but Nadia was well aware that Alex had changed.

The same man that had bought this cheap bracelet for her on her birthday last year and the man that she kissed this morning… they felt different.

It wasn't just intuition.

He smelt different, he tasted different… Nadia was almost certain that something was off about Alex.

"Is it as Arthur said?" She wondered.

She recalled Arthur's words… about Alex being a reincarnated monster.

What if Alex died that night in Evergarden forest?

The thought terrified her, causing her to quickly throw it away.

There's no way he was dead… Nadia decided to believe that there was something Alex wasn't telling her.

Which was why she said those words this morning.

Maybe… when everything was over, he'd share what he was hiding from her.

It couldn't be that bad, right?

Just then, the coachman's voice was heard. "Madam, we have arrived."

A moment later, the coach door opened and the coachman was standing outside with an umbrella.

Taking her hand, he led her into the Morning Weeklies building before handing over the umbrella and taking his leave.

Nadia had hardly taken any step toward her office when her assistant, a brown-haired lady, rushed toward her.

She seemed worried.

"Did something happen?" Nadia asked with a raised brow.

The young lady gulped instinctively as she tried to find the right words to explain the situation.

Just as Nadia was about to ask her again, she heard a most annoying voice.

"Ah, Nadia. You are finally here."

She looked over and a few meters away from where she was, Oliver Goldberg stood.

His entire appearance screamed nobility but before Nadia, it looked more like he was trying too hard.

Taking a moment to breathe, she revealed the best 'smile' she could muster and replied. "I didn't expect to see you here today."

***

Alex spent most of the day getting used to his gesture materializing.

With a snap of his finger, he would be able to perform miracles he would have never fathomed if he was still on Earth.

Yet here, it wasn't strange at all.

In any case, since he was now a Mystic, he could officially begin his mission.

At first, he was annoyed at the identity he had to use but after everything that happened, he now understood that Nyx had thoroughly planned before even going ahead to toss him into the world.

This attribute caused him to be wary of the smiling embodiment of darkness.

Taking a moment to perform the Rule of Triune, Alex walked toward the mirror in his room and a moment later, his eyes glowed a bright yellow.

Pulsating black and white light appeared about him like a wave and swallowed him.

When he appeared again, he was in the basement of the manor.

"So this is what they call an Ability."

According to Arthur's explanation, Abilities were generated after a Mystic understood the meaning of their domain.

With that understanding, they would be able to create skills based on the strengths of their domain.

There was no limit to the number of Abilities a Mystic could generate, only a limit to their understanding.

If they couldn't understand the principle behind the Ability, there would be no way to create it in the first place.

However, Alex had no such qualms as even though he wasn't a supernatural fanatic, he had come from a place where superheroes had always been spoken about.

If he couldn't figure out a few Abilities based on that, then would there have been a need to have come across wikipedia pages dedicated to such things?

Of course, another limitation was the strength of a Mystic's pneuma.

If their pneuma was weak, then no matter the number of Abilities generated, one might not be able to use them since the pressure on their pneuma from aether would cause an imbalance.

Alex also did not have an issue with that as not only was his pneuma robust, but he didn't have to bother with an imbalance since he only needed to dominate aether.

Taking a moment to ponder, Alex muttered. "I'll call this one… Twilight Steps."