Through The Door

Sonia brought him to his room at the mansion as Magi Cornelius prepared to use Magic on the prince.

Desser stopped Cornelius and demanded, "Leave me be! I need everyone to stay outside."

"Your highness! Don't be unreasonable! We must tend to your internal wounds before you lose the use of more limbs or worse!" Cornelius yelled.

"I agree with Magi Cornelius! Please listen to him!" Sonia pleaded.

Desser could feel his Ring going from a state of stability to instability. His Ring would also force Magic into his Core when it stabilized and then rip the Magic out of it when the Ring was unstable. The continuous loop had a strange side effect on Desser.

He could hear a pin drop at a distance, and then he couldn't hear anything at all. He knew that he had to cultivate in secret. After all, each time someone touched him, they could see that his "Circle" was different. That was dangerous because it could expose Ladar Mogar's secret technique. And if the Arch-Magi's book is to be trusted, then the church wanted the power he had.

Desser did not know Magi Cornelius enough to say he wasn't a threat. Also, he feared that his power could end up causing an explosion that could kill everyone in his room. He didn't like the idea of killing innocent people.

Desser adamantly repeated himself, "this is not a negotiation! Leave at once!"

Desser lost his hearing but could see everyone left while Sonia and Cornelius closed the bedroom door hesitantly. Desser's hearing returned, and he could hear through the door and down the hallway someone talking about him:

"The prince is nothing but an entitled child. The Arch-Magi's direct descendants are just relics of glorious age they could never obtain! Instead, my house has come to power and will soon surpass the crown! If only the church did…."

Desser tried his best to hear more, but his hearing and the immense pain returned. However, he knew exactly whose voice that was. That sounded like Senior Knight Alfonse Follin. He knew that Alfonse was someone he should be wary of but didn't realize the extent of the troubles ahead.

Desser's hearing returned as he heard a group of men and Alfonse laughing. Then a timid voice rebuked Alfonse, saying, "you shouldn't say that, brother. He is our future ki—"

A slap echoed down the halls and vibrated in Desser's already sensitive ears.

"Shut up, Vince! You are the family's disgrace like that prince you love to talk about! You know we have a right to the throne and should take it from idiots lik—"

Desser's hearing faded again as he coughed out blood. He noticed that he would suffer even extraordinary backlash every time he'd use Magic, unconsciously or consciously. This led him to discover that he had to prevent any Magic from entering his Core for him to stabilize his Rings.

Desser concentrated on his Core first. He gritted his teeth as waves of pain would crash upon him. His Core would darken slightly every time Magic would leave his body and turn a brighter silver when Magic entered.

He focused on an opening in his Core that was more like a vortex. It pulled enough Magic to give off energy for spells and for creating Rings or Circles. He wasn't all that good at science, but it reminded him of molecules. As energy attached itself to an atom, the energy could be released, causing a chain reaction.

Desser wondered if Magic and the science from Earth could apply if only he could remember more about his science classes or anything at all. Most of what he learnt from science was from videos and school, which he could not remember all that well.

At this moment, as he fought to control this unstable Ring, he wished to have the ability to unlock his memories. Maybe even searching through them like Google and finding information in his previous owner's mind. Memories are a powerful force because they create the reality we live in. Could he then create the reality he chose with the Arch-Magi's Magic prowess?

Right now, Desser could only put all his questions away and focus on the task at hand. He concentrated on pushing out the Magic from his center until his Ring stopped being pulled in and out of the Core. Once the Core was empty and returned to a black colour, he began cultivating Magic towards the Core.

He couldn't leave his Core empty of Magic energy. If he created a vacuum within himself, he would be at square one. After all, Isla Cielo had come to him because he was drawing too much power to himself like a black hole. He learnt that this world needed balance, including how you cultivate.

Cultivation was about drawing energy into yourself and giving your Core enough time to process that energy and release it. The released energy would form a more silver Core, a new Ring, or a Magic spell. It was much like a scientist said, Desser couldn't remember his name, but the scientist mentioned that: "for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction."

Desser felt his mind open to a new level of understanding. Cultivation and Magic were too strange for him. On Earth, there were millions of ways people described Magic. But since it didn't exist, there was no way to know how to use it.

Now, Desser knew what the Aguila bird, Isla, had gifted him. The Sky Ruler had given Desser a window into a new world—no, Desser had been shown a door into Magic that he unknowingly walked through.