Chapter 4: Learning From The Ancient One

The next day, Isaiah woke up and opened his eyes. Once more, the world cracked as the lines of death appeared in front of him. Resisting the urge to touch them, he rubbed his eyes before finding his glasses and putting them back on. The world then returned to normal. Or as normal as it can be. He then sat up. Yesterday, after the tour and getting accepted as an apprentice of Mystic Arts, he had worked on gaining back the use of his legs for the rest of the day. The Ancient One also helped him with her magic in accelerating his recovery. At the end of the day, he had regained the use of his legs, but he still needed a crutch until he fully regained the use of his muscles.

He slowly got up and went to the bathroom to relieve himself and shower. Once Isaiah got out, he saw clothes on his bed with a note. He picked it up and read it.

[Once you are clothed, come to my training room and we will begin training. - The Ancient One]

He placed the note down before looking at his clothes. It was a simple light blue apprentice's clothes. He wore it and took his crutch before leaving the room.

Outside, someone was waiting for him. A man was waiting for him outside of his room. He had long gray hair that was tied in a ponytail. He also had a serious expression on his face. When the man saw the boy exit the room, he approached him.

"Hello, apprentice Isaiah. I was sent here to guide you to the Ancient One. Come." he said before turning away and walking. The boy followed soon after.

"What is your name?" the boy asked.

"My name is Kaecilius."

The boy nodded and they walked in silence until they reached the Ancient One's room. Kaecilius knocked on the door,

"Master. I have brought you, Apprentice Isaiah," he called out.

"Enter." the Ancient One said from the other side of the door.

The man nodded and they both entered the room. Isaiah noticed the Ancient One sitting behind a low table with two cups and a teapot.

"Come seat, Isaiah. Thank you, Kaecilius. You may leave." she told Isaiah before turning to the man.

The latter bowed and left the room. Once he left, the woman asked the boy,

"Good morning Isaiah, how are you feeling?"

"I am feeling better."

"Good and I assume you haven't had breakfast yet?"

The boy nodded and right in front of him appeared a plate with buttered toast and slices of apple. The teacup then transformed into a glass of orange juice. The boy looked at the woman as the latter nodded towards the food while she drank her tea.

"So, are you prepared to undertake the path of a sorcerer?"

"Yes, miss Ancient One." the boy replied.

"When I'm teaching, you must call me Teacher or Master."

"Okay, Teacher."

"Good, we will now talk about your education."

The boy chewed his bread while tilting his head in confusion.

"What do you mean, Teacher?"

The Ancient One smirked,

"You are still very young, therefore you still need to learn about other subjects such as math, science, languages, history and many more. You're not just going to learn about magic here."

"Oh, okay"

"I will personally teach you all those subjects including magic. At the end of every month, I will test you on those subjects. I'm going to ask you once again, are you ready?"

The boy swallowed his toast and was about I move to the apple slices before replying,

"Yes. I'm ready Teacher."

"Alright, now let's finish breakfast before starting, okay?"

"Hm."

10 minutes later, Isaiah emptied the plate and the Ancient One had made it disappear.

"Alright, we will first learn the basic knowledge for one your age is supposed to learn and we will learn a new language," she said as books appeared on the table.

The boy picked up one and read it.

"Mathematics for 1st graders?" he read out loud.

"That's right, I'm sure you have never been to school before, but you have already learned to do some basic mathematical operations. Your mother must have taught you some before. But, since the event, you have not been to school and you are now eight years old which means you are behind kids your age. We will therefore start from the very beginning." The Ancient One replied.

Isaiah nodded before picking up another book. But this time, he couldn't read it as it was written in another language.

"What is this?" he asked.

"This is a book written in Sanskrit. It is an ancient language and it is a necessary language needed for Sorcery."

"Why is it needed?"

"Because almost all the books are written in Sanskrit here."

"I see."

"Therefore let's start."

The boy nodded and a pencil and papers appeared before him.

"Right now, we are going to start on Languages. You are going to learn two languages: English and Sanskrit. There are three parts to learning a language and those are reading, writing and speaking. Therefore..." the woman then began to teach the young boy as the latter focused on her teachings.

Days have passed as the young boy gained knowledge from his teacher. He didn't start learning magic, but he was patient since his teacher told him so.

The woman was greatly astonished by her student's learning speed. It was like every problem he was faced with, he would understand the workings and mechanics of any problems and instantly know how to solve them. In less than a month, he had already finished learning the subjects of first grade until fourth grade and passed her tests with flying colours.

'Is this what they call an acquired savant's syndrome?' she thought.

One day, she had secretly given him a problem meant for sixth graders. She had never taught him anything about six grade material and just wanted to see how he would fare against something he did not know of. In less than an hour, he had completed the whole four pages of mathematical problems, science problems, English and even Sanskrit. She was happy with her student's progress, but there was one thing that bothered her. Isaiah would never have an expression. Since the start of his studies, he never once expressed himself and only kept a poker face.

'A child like him should not have that kind of face.' she had sighed.

During the time, they would not study, Isaiah would practice using his eyes without his glasses. Every now and then, he would take off his glasses and simply try to go through the day without them. At first, he could only go ten minutes without his glasses, but, after a month of training, he could maintain twenty.

After two months and a half, the Ancient One called her student to their usual room. A knock was heard,

"I am here, Teacher." Isaiah's voice was heard.

"Come in and have a seat," she said.

The door opened and Isaiah walked in and sat in front of her.

"You have called me, Teacher?"

"Yes, after seeing your tremendous progress in your studies, I have decided that you were now ready to learn magic."

"I'm finally ready?" the boy asked.

To be honest, he thought it would take a little longer.

"Yes. After seeing that you have learned subjects until eighth grade, I think it's more than enough to get started on magic."

"Oh. So when do we start?"

The woman smirked,

"Right now," she said and the table in between them disappeared from view.

She then started speaking,

"Now, before we start, I want to ask you a question. In your opinion, what is magic?"

The boy pondered on her question for a moment before answering,

"I think magic... is the ability to exert our own will upon reality," he answered.

"You're not wrong Isaiah, but that is simply a product of magic. Magic is the practice of harnessing various forms of energy to manipulate one or more of the infinite realities that are present within the Multiverse."

Isaiah raised his hand when she finished her explanation,

"Yes?"

"You said before that mystic arts users use dimensional energy to perform magic. Does that mean that said energy does not come from within ourselves?"

"It's more complicated than that. This brings me to my next point. Magic is divided into three categories: Universal energies, Dimensional energies and Personal energies. Personal energies are those derived from the life force of the sorcerer. Universal energies are the more commonly used energies by sorcerers as it is easier to access them as it is found in our home dimension. It has multiple uses, conjuration, portals, transmutation, battle, etc. It has lots of uses, but it also takes lots of time to tap into it and learn it. It may take years I master it. It also drains one's mental and physical energy when using it." she explained and gave examples such as creating a portal to the training ground, conjuring weapons, and transmuting the table into a chair.

"The second category is the Dimensional energies. Dimensional energies are energies that are drawn from other planes of existence throughout the multiverse or granted to an individual by extra-dimensional entities. In this world, there is a phrase and it goes like this: " There is no such thing as free lunch". The same applies here when one is dealing with dimensional energies. You must always be prepared to give something back to whatever you are borrowing energy from."

She then conjured a small fireball, but its intense great spread throughout the room.

"This fire is called the Flames of Faltine. Can you guess why?"

"Because it comes from Faltine."

"That's right! They come from the dimension of Faltine. Right now, I am borrowing their flames."

Isaiah intensively observes the flames. Unconsciously, the brain analyzed all the information he had received and automatically started the process of learning rapidly. His teacher then made the fireball disappear.

"Finally, there is the Personal energies. These energies of those that are often derived from the life force of a sorcerer. For a normal sorcerer, these energies are only limited to mental spells such as telekinesis, astral projection, hypnosis, etc. However, it is dangerous to use since it continuously uses the life force of a sorcerer."

Isaiah raised his hand once more,

"Yes?" the woman asked.

"When you talked about Personal Energies, you've used the word " often". Are there any different cases?"

"Yes. I talked about Personal energies last because just like everything in life, there are exceptions to the rules. For example, the mutants."

"Mutants?"

"Yes, all humans on this planet have a dormant gene inside their DNA. In 1973, a man named Charles Xavier published a thesis on human genetic mutation. Inside, he would talk about this very gene that he would call X-gene. These genes would either awaken in puberty for some or after a traumatic event for others."

"Am I a mutant?"

"I don't know, we haven't checked your genetic makeup, but since we are talking about you. Let's talk about another exception to the rule. As I've said before continuously using life force in magic is dangerous. But, there are some cases where people have access to a different kind of personal energy that we call mana. Mana is the personal energy that some sorcerers inherently have. It is one of the most versatile energies that has the least flaws since it comes from the very human body. But it is also the one we have the least information about since it's very rare. Have you read the Arthurian legends?"

The boy nodded as he took notes of her teachings. When he was not learning he tried to read anything he could put his hand on. It was like some sort of need or hunger demanded him learn more of anything. He noticed it after he started learning under his teacher, but he didn't do anything right now since he passed it off as Curiosity.

"Yes, the legends of King Arthur?"

"That's right, in these legends, there is always a sorcerer by his side who goes by the name of Merlin. He was a sorcerer who possessed mana. With it, he was able to become one of the greatest sorcerers of all time as he was able to use all three categories of energies proficiently."

"Do you have mana?"

"Unfortunately not, but you have that energy," the Ancient One said as she pointed at Isaiah.

The boy simply nodded.

"It seems that you already knew. How did you know?" the teacher said a little surprised when she saw his expression.

The boy had a pained expression as he mulled about telling her.

'Should I tell her or should I not? I think I can trust her and it is her duty to help as the Sorcerer Supreme. Also, she may be able to help me. Besides, in these past two months, she has helped me a lot.' he thought.

The woman saw the boy struggle with answering her question.

'It seems that it's going to be a big thing.' she thought.

She was about to tell him that he didn't need to tell her if he was not ready when the boy opened his mouth.

"When... I finally blacked out. I fell..." the boy began.

As the boy recounted his story, the woman sat down in front of him and listened to her student with undivided attention. She would have never imagined something like this. Isaiah continued to explain his story but left the parts details of the knowledge he gained out. He also explained the visions he had every now and then.

After forty-five minutes, he finally finished,

"Once I noticed that my soul was about to dissipate, I fell again for a very long time and I woke up in my body after three years. Then when I woke up I could see the lines of death and had my brain filled with visions of the future, past, and present and I had a complete understanding of Nothingness. With these visions, I knew what mana was. But I need to learn to use it."

The woman stayed silent as she digested the incredible information. It was the first time she had heard such a thing. she got closer to the boy and hugged him.

"You poor poor child." she gently said.

The boy didn't say anything and simply let her hug him. After a minute, she separated herself,

'No wonder I couldn't see it,' she thought.

She looked at the time and saw that it was already lunchtime.

"Why don't you go have lunch and we'll continue our lessons after?"

The boy nodded,

"Good, then we'll meet here again in an hour," she said and the boy left to get something to eat.

As soon as the boy left, the Ancient One let out a sigh.

"How incredible. To think someone can reach that place, The Akashic Records. A place outside of time that records everything from the past, the present and the future in all of the Multiverse. If Isaiah masters the knowledge he gained, he could become one of the greatest masters of all time surpassing even Dr. Strange." she whispered.

She got up to leave the room and headed for another place. She soon reached a room where there was a large globe made of Eldritch magic floating mid-air and right beneath it was a pedestal holding an artifact, the Eye of Agamotto. This artifact was the container of a powerful object, the Time stone, which is one of the six Infinity Stones of the Universe that controls an aspect of it. The Time Stone controls the aspect of Time. She lifted the artifact on wore it around her neck. She then made some hand signs. Once she did, the artifact opened revealing a green glowing Time Stone.

She then made other hand signs and activated a spell. As she looked into the future, she tried to see her death, but, to her surprise, there was nothing. In fact, she couldn't see anything, just like when she tried to look into young Isaiah's future.

'Does that mean that he will influence my future? What about Dr. Strange?' she thought.

She once again activated the spell and saw a man with bandaged hands entering Kamar-Taj.

'So he will still come.'

She released the spell and placed the artifact back on the pedestal. She then went to the library to get some information about the Akashic Records. She also tried to get more information about Isaiah's unique soul through the library.

An hour later, she returned to the room where she held Isaiah's lessons and not five minutes later, the boy arrived in the room.

"Hello again, Isaiah. Have you eaten well?"

"Yes, teacher."

"Good, we will now move onto the practical aspects of magic," she said and the boy sat in front of the woman.

"After hearing your tale, I tried looking in the library to help you learn mana. Unfortunately, there wasn't much found since it's very rare. In my life, I could count on one hand the number of people I have seen that had mana. But you are the first person to have what you have. Therefore, I want you to learn to harness the Universal energies first before we move unto your mana. Is that okay?"

The boy nodded.

"Then what should I do?"

"I have noticed that you were particularly sensitive to the energies, am I right?

"Yes, I could feel when sorcerers used magic."

"Then, it makes learning easier. Since you can sense it, I want you to focus on it. To control such energy, you must surrender to it."

Isaiah sat cross-legged and listened to the woman as she taught him how to harness the Universal energy.

"When you reached that place, you have acquired the knowledge of the Multiverse am I right?"

the boy nodded.

"Then, you know the existence of the Multiverse. That means your third eye has already been opened. With that and your sensory abilities, try to sense the energy and let it flow through you."

Isaiah closed his eyes and tried to let his senses detect the magic in the air. He remembered the feeling of the energy. He remembered the vastness of the void, he remembered the feeling of the Akashic Records or its other name, the Swirl of Root. He extended his hand in front as his concentration was on none other than the energy he was sensing. After 15 minutes, he felt a spark.

*Bzzt*

For a brief moment, the energy he was sensing had flowed through him.

On the side, the Ancient One had kept a poker face when she saw a spark appear between the child's hands, but she was greatly astonished internally.

'Marvelous,' she thought.

Isaiah's eyes opened and looked at her. The latter saw a tiny smile appear on the boy's face.

"I felt it, Teacher," he said.

"Good, try again but grab onto that feeling this time," she said and the boy nodded.

He tried again, he surrendered to the energy and let it flow through him.

*Bzzt* *Bzzt*

Soon, orange sparks appeared in between his hands as a small ball of crackling orange energy sprang to life. A fascinated expression appeared on his face as he looked closely at the ball. But it soon disappeared as his concentration broke.

"Oh."

"That's good. Now that you were able to get a feel of Universal energy. You just need to practice channelling it through you. You are now allowed to go to the library and read the books about Magic," the Ancient One said.

"Thank you, Teacher," the boy thanked her.

"We will now focus on your mana. As I said before, there are very few people who had mana. But for them, their bodies naturally produced mana and stored it. Meanwhile, your soul provides you mana by converting your life force into mana through nerve-like circuits."

"Magic circuits." the boy suddenly said

"I'm sorry?" the woman asked at the sudden interruption.

The boy rubbed the back of his head and had an apologetic expression.

"Sorry, but they are called magic circuits."

the woman nodded,

"I see, is that another knowledge you gained when you went to that place?"

"Yes."

"Hmm. Then we shall call them magic circuits. Feel free to interrupt me when you feel something is wrong." the woman smiled at the boy before continuing.

"However, there was one common thing with all of them."

"And what is that?"

"A trigger."

"A trigger?"

"That's right. Each of them had a trigger that they had that would activate their mana. It could be anything like a mental image or an aria or even a gesture. You must find one yourself. I cannot help you with that since it is something that would resonate within your very soul and only you can do that. To make it easier to find it, you can meditate to clear your mind. Cast away all the worries, distractions, anything that would disturb your mind and find your trigger." she said.

"Okay," the boy crossed his legs once more and closed his eyes. Instead of reaching his senses outwards, he tried to send them within himself. From the very beginning, he knew he had mana, he knew what to do with them, and his visions could also help him learn to use the mana. He could even feel it waiting to be unleashed under his understanding of the Void and the Nothingness could be fully used when he learned to wield his mana. Not the Universal energy, not the Dimensional energies not even his life force could be used. Only his mana.

He tried to clear his mind. The first thing he saw was that he was back in hell. The loud bangs resounded everywhere in his vicinity. The screams and cries of the fleeing and dying people. the burning feeling of the fire licking his skin, the suffocating smoke invading his lungs. His eyes stinging as smoke and tears mixed and flowed down his cheek. The feeling of his dead mother on him.

The Ancient One saw him start to shake as tears started to fall down his cheek, but she made no moves. She simply observed him as he searched for his trigger.

Isaiah was reliving his hell when he tried to push through.

'This is simply a memory. This is not real anymore. Just a memory.' he told himself as he tried to cast aside the memory. he pushed and pushed until he was finally able to push the memory away. At that moment, he suddenly had an image of himself. He was back to the place where he touched the Root. Unlike that time, this place was simply an image conjured by his mind. Isaiah lifted his hand and as soon as he touched the gateway, two words appeared in his mind and he unconsciously muttered

"Root, Shine!"

As soon as he spoke, the gateway shone illuminating everything and engulfing Isaiah.