He walked through the endless black void, moving in the same direction as before. The distance felt just as infinite—years and eternities stretched before him.
Then, the light.
He stepped toward it, just like last time, and saw the old prestigious coffee table with the mysterious book on top. The symbol on its cover—the one he hadn't been able to see before—was just within his reach.
But as he was about to focus on it, a familiar shadowed hand grabbed his leg.
Maxi sighed, more annoyed than afraid. He pushed forward, determined to reach the book. Another shadowy hand gripped his arm. Then another wrapped around his other leg. More and more hands emerged from the darkness, pulling him back. One clutched his ribs, another pressed against his stomach.
He knew what was coming next.
Last time, they yanked me into the air…
An idea formed in his mind.
Instead of resisting, he surged forward, allowing the hands to grab him. Then, when the final hand covered his mouth, the force of the recoil launched him upward.
As he soared through the air, he finally glimpsed the book's symbol—though it was faint and blurry.
An eye.
The moment he registered it, the darkness consumed him once more.
And then—
He woke up.
Maxi groaned, rubbing his head. He felt both happy and frustrated. He had seen the symbol, but it had been too unclear.
His gaze drifted to his right hand. His thoughts connected.
That symbol…
He flexed his fingers, staring at the three-eyed mark on his palm. The top eye had changed its position two days ago—it used to look upwards, but now it stared forwards. A part of him still wished it had been a hallucination.
Would the other two eyes move as well? The bottom ones—one facing left, the other right—would they someday look straight ahead?
His mind echoed with the memory of the veiled man's cut out words, which he assumed said:
"As soon as you are ready."
Or something like that he wasn't exactly the best at reading lips, especially when those lips could cause so much pain just by reading them not even that well
Maxi exhaled sharply.
I don't have time to think about this.
---
He entered his bath, letting the warm water soothe his tense muscles. But his thoughts still lingered on the veiled man.
Was he one of my gods?
Maxi knew he had multiple gods, but he had no idea what kind they were.
Were they Outer Gods? Dreamer Gods? Eldritch Beings? Demon Kings? Earthly Gods? Angelic Ones?
There were so many groups… and yet, he had so few answers.
He submerged himself for a moment before exhaling and leaving the bath.
He dressed in a white undershirt, a dark blue waistcoat, and matching dark blue pants. Then, feeling restless, he picked up his glasses and a book—The History of the Blood Heart Family—and read for a few hours.
A knock at the door interrupted him.
"Young… Master."
It was his maid.
Maxi softly sighed, placing the book on his bed. He opened the door to find her smiling—or at least trying to hide it under her usual hard expression.
Maxi raised an eyebrow but didn't ask. He didn't feel like going through a whole side quest of prying and begging her to spill whatever secret she was hiding.
So, instead, he just nodded and followed her.
---
Unlike last time, their walk to Tangen's room was silent. Neither of them had anything to say.
When they arrived, the maid opened the door, and Maxi stepped inside.
The prestigious stone chair from before was gone.
In its place was a standalone chair—but surprisingly, it had a purple cushion.
Tangen, as usual, was sitting on the table, waiting for him.
When he saw Maxi, he smiled his cocky arrogant smile.
Maxi smiled back with a humble royal smile a sharp contrast to his as he took a seat in the new chair.
Tangen's smirk widened. "So… the argument didn't go in your favor, did it?"
Maxi nodded.
Tangen chuckled. "Well, I like that you're honest and don't beat around the bush, student. So, I'll do the same."
He picked up a purple piece of chalk and turned toward the blackboard.
After writing for a moment, he stepped aside, revealing the words he had just scrawled:
"Today, we will be learning about magic."