Leo touched the engraving on the door. Slowly, he opened it again and peered through without stepping out of the white room.
The landscape stretched before him — vast, open, and breathtaking.
After drinking in the view one more time, he reluctantly closed the door. Familiar darkness swallowed the scene.
He didn't want to jump to conclusions, but he was very confident that he had just accessed his mind. This meant he had finished every step before forming his first star.
Of course, he didn't have nearly enough magic power accumulated. But he had sensed magic, absorbed it into his body, and gathered it into his mind.
Three steps. All in one night.
He was very pleased with himself.
But he was also exhausted. That much mental activity had drained him more than a full day hauling crates in the marketplace. He didn't feel like doing any more work tonight, so he decided to just rest.
He closed his eyes and felt the white space fracture around him like cracking glass. The fragments dissolved into comfortable darkness.
He didn't open his eyes for the rest of the night.
---
He woke up very early the next day. The sun hadn't even risen yet — only a faint gray light filtered through the cracks in the shack's walls.
When he sat up, he felt more refreshed than he had all week. Even though he'd been 'sleeping' throughout the previous days, he had always been in the white space, straining to focus his mind. It wasn't real rest.
For the first time, he had properly slept. Deeply. Completely.
He got up and stretched, feeling the pleasant pop of stiff joints loosening.
"Now let's see if I was dreaming or not," he muttered to himself.
Daphne was still sleeping on her thin mat, her breathing soft and even. He wasn't planning on doing anything loud. He was going to try meditating again, and then see if he could actually gather magic while awake.
After all, a dream was different compared to the real world.
He sat down in the lotus position and took a deep breath. He started concentrating on the thought of magic — the feel of it, the presence of it, the way it shimmered and pulsed.
Unlike the first time, he had actually encountered magic now. He knew exactly what to envision. He knew the texture, the warmth, the subtle hum of those glowing orbs.
It didn't take anywhere close to the hours it had taken before.
He opened his eyes.
The room had magical orbs floating around. Faint, drifting motes of light that hovered in the still air of the shack. However, the number was vastly less compared to the white room. Where the white space had been overflowing with them, this cramped shack held only scattered handfuls.
Still — they were there.
He started calling out to them with his mind. Gently. Patiently.
They converged toward his body slowly, drifting like dandelion seeds on an invisible breeze. One by one, they melted into his skin. A faint warmth spread through his chest each time one was absorbed.
Success.
After his attempts finally bore fruit, he decided to continue meditating straight through until morning, when he would have to leave for work. He settled deeper into his breathing rhythm and let the world fall away.
He continued meditating for around three hours. During that time, he was able to enter his mind periodically to store the magic he had absorbed. Each trip through the white room's door became a little smoother, a little faster.
Progress.
Then, while he was in the middle of a deep meditation cycle, a loud thud slammed against the front door.
His eyes snapped open. The white space shattered around him as reality rushed back in.
Daphne had jolted awake too, her dark eyes wide with alarm.
Another thud. Harder this time.
"Open up!"
The voice was gruff. Impatient. Commanding.
Leo rose to his feet and went to the door. He pulled it open.
On the other side stood two men. One of them had a worn leather book and a pen clutched in his thick fingers. He crossed something out in the book without looking up.
The other man stared down at Leo. He was wearing black clothing and a golden chain that dangled from his neck, catching the early morning light. The second man was dressed the same way — black clothes, golden chain.
Gang uniforms.
"You guys live here?" the first man asked, his eyes sweeping past Leo into the shack.
Leo nodded.
"This place is now under the protection of the Blacktooth Gang." The man's tone made it clear this wasn't a request. "You will have to pay monthly protection fees from now on to live here."
Leo sized the man up. He was broad-shouldered, thick-armed, and stood a full head and a half taller than him. There was no way Leo could beat this man even if there were three of him. On top of that, there were two of them.
The only option he had was diplomacy.
"I am willing to pay the fees," Leo said evenly, keeping his voice calm and respectful. "But I won't be able to pay a lot. I make 5 Star coins a day and spend all of it on food. I'm a kid, after all."
He let the words hang in the air. Reasonable. Non-threatening.
The man sized Leo up in return, then leaned sideways to look past him. His eyes found Daphne sitting on her mat, her long black hair messy from sleep, her thin frame swallowed by ragged clothes.
No adults. No one else.
"Orphans?" The man snorted. "Figured."
He straightened up and crossed his arms.
"So the rate for two people is 400 Star coins each. 800 Star coins total to stay. Come up with the number or leave."
His voice was flat. Bored. He didn't care about Leo's situation at all.
800 Star coins.
Leo felt something dark twist in his gut, but he held it in. He kept the smile on his face.
"Is there any way I can pay a portion now and the rest on another day?" Leo asked.
The man laughed. It wasn't a kind laugh.
"So you do have money!" He grinned and leaned down closer to Leo. "How about this? Keep the coins and give us the girl instead. We can sell her for at least a few thousand Star coins. Maybe even more."
His eyes flicked back toward Daphne.
"You can live here for two years if you give her to us."
Leo's fist clenched at his side so hard his knuckles turned white.
He wanted to punch the man. Every fiber in his body screamed at him to swing. But he held his hand. Forced his fingers to relax. Forced the smile to stay.
"You joke, sir." Leo's voice didn't waver. "I can afford 100 Star coins now. I will try to go to Valkyr's Forest and find some valuable herbs to cover the rest."
The man stared down at him. Leo barely came up to his chest. A scrawny kid in rags, looking up with steady eyes and a polite smile.
The man grunted. He grabbed the coins Leo held out and pocketed them without counting.
"I'll be back in a week," he said flatly.
Then both men turned and walked away without another word.
Leo closed the door the second they were gone. He stood there for a moment, his hand still on the wood, his jaw tight.
Then he turned and looked at Daphne.
"Sorry you had to see that," he said quietly.
Daphne's eyes glistened. Tears threatened to spill over, her lower lip trembling despite how hard she was trying to hold it together.
"Don't go to the forest." Her voice cracked. "You could die. How would you even come up with 800 Star coins, even if you went once? We can try to go somewhere else. We can leave. We can—"
She didn't want him going back into that forest. Not after last time.
Leo smiled and walked toward her. He knelt down, wrapped his arms around her small frame, and gently patted her head.
"Don't worry, silly. I'll be fine."
His voice was warm. Steady.
"Don't cry. I've done it once and I can do it again."
He held her until her shaking stopped. After a while, she calmed down, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand.
"We should move away from here," she said. Her voice was quiet, but resolute.
Leo shook his head.
"You just wait a week. I will sort everything by then."