Ashe and Siderius left the mining camp. On their way back, Siderius dangled the bronze pieces in his hand.
Bronze coins were purely made and hardly round. They were thin and easy to bend but they were pure copper.
"Are you really able to save Carsten?" Ashe said.
"Of course. I never lie." Siderius said.
He gave her the pouch of twenty bronze coins. "I can't go into town. Find me a knife. It is best to be a knife used by a hunter. It must be thick and strong and in good condition."
Ashe nodded. "I understand. But the market will only be open in the morning."
"It's alright. We can spend the night at your house. And I can teach you some fundamentals about our way."
"What exactly is our way?" Ashe said.
Siderius smiled and stayed mysterious. The pair returned to her house.
Siderius burned a candle and put it in the middle of the house. He and Ashe sat on the opposite side.
"How much do you know about our reality, Ashe?" Siderius said.
His voice had gone back to being indifferent and solemn. Similar to when she first met him.
"I…I don't understand your question?" Ashe said.
"Look at the candle, Ashe. The fire burns the wick. The wax melts away. Smoke flies up in the air. Why is that? What is happening? How does it operate?
Focus on the flame."
Siderius' voice was soothing and hypnotizing. Ashe's mind strayed away and her eyes observed the flickered flame.
"Our way is the truth. Our way is to learn the truth of this universe.
Not by belief nor superstition. We observe. We study. And we conclude.
We are the truth-seekers.
This flame right here is the best representation of reality.
The flame burns on the wick. The wick acts as a deliverer, drawing up the wax for the flame. See its foot? See how the wax is climbing up on its body?"
Ashe nodded. She was completely captivated by this simple process that she had seen everyday.
Then Siderius continued.
"The wax melts away. This is transformation. The wax is the fuel, it is acting as a catalyst to ensure the flame exists.
But matter never ceases to exist. It only transforms.
The wax represents the element of Earth. But when it is burned away, it turns into liquid, which represents the Water.
The core 'engine' of this transformation is the flame. The flame is the fire Element, the violent nature of all things.
And then finally, one most important element in this process that is usually invisible to all. The Air.
The flame created smoke? No, this violates the Rule of Conservation.
The flame doesn't create smoke. It changed the invisible Air, the gas that we all breathe everyday to smoke. That is where the smoke came from.
Fire has many forms, as well as earth, water and air. The air changed from the invisible self to a visible self. That is the explanation."
"So… Nothing is created. Nothing is destroyed. It only transforms." Ashe mumbled. And Siderius smiled.
She was a quick learner. And this candle flame, as ordinary as it maybe, had lit up a flame of enlightenment in her soul.
"This is Alchemy, the study of the rules and regulations of reality itself.
In the natural world, there are only four main elements. Fire, Water, Earth, and Air.
But there is also a fifth element. The element that shapes the world.
The Aether. It is the only pure element, never changing, never transforming. The core of reality.
And what you are experiencing right now, my apprentice, is True Aether."
Siderius stood behind Ashe and put his hand on her head. His middle fingers touched her temples gently.
"Hold this thought. This temporary enlightenment that you have. Now close your eyes."
Siderius put his two hands stacked on her upper face, covering her eyes. Ashe closed her eyes as she was told.
"True Aether can only be earned by learning. It comes from your understanding of the world. You have achieved a small amount of True Aether. Use this to elevate your soul and become an Alchemist."
Ashe let out a soft breath. Dusts of gold flowed out of her mouth, glistening then disappeared immediately.
It was True Aether. The most unknownable, hard to grasp element.
Ashe fell down to the ground and fainted. Her soul is going through a metamorphosis. Something that would change her forever.
Siderius lifted Ashe up and tucked her in the bed. He gently opened her eyes to see the rapid chaotic movement of her pupils.
She's dreaming. A natural phenomenon for beginner alchemists. This dream would decide what her path would be.
Siderius had already walked this path, the path of the truth-seeker. Alchemist was only one title amongst the truth-seekers. His soul was elevated, hardened and improved. He was granted the title Grand Alchemist in his past life for this achievement.
But it was all gone when he fused with Snow. A small price to pay for a second chance in life.
But not all was lost. His knowledge was still there. His enlightenment was still present. They were only separated from him.
Siderius did not need to light the fire of enlightenment again. And all he needed to do was fused his soul with his True Aether once again.
Siderius put some more firewoods into the fireplace, making sure the house was warm. Then he kneeled down in front of it, back to his meditation posture.
To conduct an Alchemical process, knowledge and skill weren't enough. Your soul needed to be strong to evoke the process.
And the path to strengthen your soul was called the Truth-Seeking Path. The original version of meditation technique, which the witch hunter adapted to their system.
Meditation was used to tame the beast and rest the mind.
The Path was used to study and elevate one's soul.
Similar but entirely different in concept.
Meditation Techniques may be different between one and another. But there was no pre-determined path for an Alchemist.
The path was different for everyone and therefore, no amount of seals and signs could be designed for the path. There was no shortcut for enlightenment.
The only way was learning and practicing for years.
One must look deep within their soul and truly wish for knowledge. Only then, True Aether would be found.
In the dark mind space of Siderius, a second being materialized.
A faceless human sat in the center of darkness. Uncountable golden dust floated around it. They lit up the entire dark space with their golden light.
There was so much dust, it covered a small area around the being.
Those were his True Aether. The amount he had accumulated over two hundred years of research and experiment.
Its light even illuminated the owl that was being held inside a blue sphere afar.
There were many names to the True Aether. The eastern monks called them Mandala. The Holy Order called them Holy Light. Whatever its name was, they were all the same aspect. The path to truth.
And Siderius stayed on his knees for the entire night, honing his soul and finally becoming an actual alchemist. The gold dust slowly got absorbed inside the faceless being, which was a representation of his own soul.