Arthur slowly stepped toward Professor Charles' study.
Tap… Tap…
A few soft knocks on the door, followed by a quiet voice:
"Please… come in."
He placed his hand on the handle and opened the door. Charles was seated on the leather armchair, calm and composed, with two cups of lemon tea on the table in front of him, faint steam rising from them. He gave a gentle smile and gestured toward the opposite chair:
"Please, sit."
Arthur smiled, but his eyes hid something beyond the smile.
"I still don't understand how you always know who's about to enter your room…"
Charles tilted his head slightly, his gaze full of silence, without uttering a word.
The room was filled with shadows and resonant silences; wooden walls, classic paintings in golden frames, a massive bookshelf filled with old, worn volumes. The scent of ink and dust, along with a faint, indefinable fragrance, permeated the space. The fireplace crackled softly, the sound of the wood echoing in the stillness.
Arthur took a deep breath; the combination of lemon tea, books, and the room's aged air brought him a strange sense of calm. This room had always been a mysterious, safe haven for him, a place where he could open his mind to the secrets of the world.
Charles lifted his cup and took a sip of his tea. Arthur, with a slightly trembling voice, said:
"I wanted to talk to you… about the voice of the world."
Charles' eyes sharpened for a moment. He put down his cup and narrowed his gaze slightly:
"The voice of the world…? What exactly do you mean?"
Arthur placed his hand on his head, as if a sound inside his mind refused to settle:
"The system of this world… skills and symbolism, they seem separate… and I still don't understand how they work."
Charles smiled, calm and mysterious:
"Have you heard the legend of creation?"
Arthur nodded, his gaze full of confusion and curiosity.
Charles stared into his cup for a moment, then spoke in a tone that seemed a thousand years away:
"Before everything we know… before space, before time… there was only an idea. A true will. A being whose power was limited only by its imagination…"
He continued softly:
"The True Will decided to create three avatars. The first was the Creator God… He created a spring, a spring without beginning or end. Each drop contained infinite worlds. Infinite parallel worlds and infinite different reality, where every choice and every decision created a endless world… and all of this existed in a single drop of the infinite drops of this spring…"
Arthur's eyes filled with awe, fear, and reverence. His breath caught in his chest.
"And the other two avatars…?" he asked, his voice trembling but eager.
Charles nodded, smiling slightly:
"Books do not speak of them… but…"
"But?" Arthur asked eagerly.
Charles took a sip of tea and said gently:
"The Creator God created the system of skills… Skills are based on merit and compatibility. From basic skills available to all… to elite skills, and then unique ones. Unique skills can belong to only one person at a time. And beyond all, there are divine skills…"
Then his eyes met Arthur's, silence brimming with secrets.
"And alongside this, one of the two unknown avatars created something else…"he said, with a mysterious smile.
Arthur couldn't help but say:
"symbolism…"
Charles calmly confirmed:
"Exactly. Sigils are the symbols of an individual in the world. Each symbolism is tied to a profound concept… astronomy, dreams, philosophy… each requires complete awareness… and grants power beyond skills…"
Arthur leaned back in the armchair, lost in thought.
"If I had a symbolism… I would never have endured these pains…"
Charles didn't take his eyes off Arthur. He sighed softly:
"I know. But when an ordinary person tries to break their limits… in the end… they fall…"
Arthur closed his eyes, clenching his fists, breathing deeply.
A long silence cast over the room. Then Charles stood and walked toward the desk. He opened a drawer and took out a small wooden box.
His smile, this time real and innocent, like a father presenting a precious treasure to his child, appeared on his face.
Arthur looked at the box with curiosity, and Charles stepped forward, handing it to him with a calmness that carried a tremor of anticipation:
"Maybe it's too soon… but… I want to give you the most valuable thing I have in the world…"
The box slowly opened… and silence enveloped everything.