"Oh, I'm just a Maestro," Conrad said, a smile tugging at the edges of his lips.
Rebecca scoffed, then slowly shook her head.
"What's a Maestro?"
Rebecca sighed.
" A maestro is someone who has gained the level of mastery over umbralis that Conrad has attained. They're able to passively absorb it from Tenebris effortlessly and suffuse it within their entire being."
" What does that mean?" Morgan asked with a puzzled look.
"Do you remember when you asked me whether I was stronger than Luke?"
Morgan nodded.
"It's because of the difference in our affinity for umbralis. I have a stronger affinity compared to him. I'm able to contain much more of it within my body." Morgan stared at him in confusion.
"Let me explain. When we're first exposed to Tenebris, we gain the ability to use umbralis in several ways. It enables us to heighten our senses, increase our speed and fortify our bodies. Honestly, we haven't truly discovered its full potential. With every day that passes, we discover new ways to use it. It can alter the anatomy of our bodies in subtle ways and in some cases it's quite noticeable."
" Is it the reason why you wear tinted shades indoors? Do you also have an unusual eye colour like Luke?"
Conrad smiled wryly.
" You could say that."
He said as he took off his glasses.
His eyes were a vivid golden russet colour, but the most startling feature was the sclera of his eyes.
They were completely black. He smiled on seeing Morgan's startled expression.
"When we're first exposed, we become initiates, we're able to sense the boundary and weak points between this world and Tenebris. We also gain the ability to extract umbralis from Darkstone crystals. These are found in Tenebris and can be used to grow an initiate's strength and help their bodies adapt better to the circulation of umbralis.
At this point, you're able to store umbralis in your body but cannot actively use it, not effectively anyway. As you start to feel the flow of umbralis through your body, you require guidance on how to manipulate its flow. You become an apprentice. As the name implies, you're aided in developing your technique on how to control its flow, or you can inherit one. "
His voice took on a grim tone.
"Without proper guidance, its power can corrupt, especially those with a lesser degree of affinity for it."
Morgan furrowed his eyebrows and frowned slightly.
"You keep talking about affinity. What do you mean by that?"
Conrad stretched out his hand. "It's easier if I show you."
A palpable force radiated out of his hand, causing the air to pulsate around his hand.
He rose from his seat and stood in the centre of the room. The force engulfed his body and started to pulsate around him with him as the focal point of the phenomenon.
" Once you're able to circulate the umbralis through your body, you become a novice. At this point, to enter Tenebris, you still need to find a rift, a weak point at which to gain access. But a Maestro can access Tenebris at will. They're able to breach the boundary between dimensions by force. You could say we become keys, able to freely enter Tenebris whenever we need to. However, because of this connection, we're able to passively attract umbralis, like a magnet."
"Depending on how much our bodies can handle, we receive an exponential increase in different attributes. What you're observing right now is the flow of umbralis towards me. At this point, we learn how to close ourselves off to it. Think of it as a switch you can turn on and off. It takes considerable skill to achieve this. Those who lose control become voidbound creatures; we call them shadow wraiths."
Morgan felt a slight chill run down his spine.
"If you ever encounter one, flee as fast as possible if by any chance it hasn't noticed you. If it does notice you, well then, I suppose it's the last thing you'll see."
Morgan looked curiously at Conrad.
" Do your eyes grant you any sort of ability?"
Conrad smiled wryly.
" You could say something like that. One of the special abilities that I gained as a Maestro is the ability to see the weaknesses of living beings, and to hypnotise them with my eyes."
"Really? Can you...show me?" He said hesitantly.
"Of course, I can," Conrad said with a smile.
"Remember the shadow wraiths we spoke about?"
As he spoke, his eyes turned pitch black, swallowing up the glowing pupils.
It was like staring into magnetic twin vortexes of darkness. The darkness spun upon itself in complex, hypnotic patterns.
Morgan found himself unable to tear his gaze away from the mesmerising sight. Rebecca sat up straight in her seat, glaring at Conrad.
Morgan was frozen still; his eyes had taken on a blank, glassy look. Without breaking eye contact, Conrad slowly raised a finger to his lips.
Suddenly, Morgan found himself in a dark forest; the chirping of crickets, along with the buzzing of other insects, filled the night. Tall dark trees loomed before him in every direction he turned.
"Where am I? What's going on?"
As he struggled to gain his bearings, he was assaulted by the gut-wrenching feeling that something was terribly wrong.
His eyes widened as a grotesque humanoid figure slowly rose from the ground in front of him. He felt a rush of adrenaline as his fight or flight response kicked in.
He decisively turned and ran, weaving through the trees at a frenetic speed. His heart pounded madly in his chest.
In the real world, Morgan sat still, with a blank look on his face.
"How long are you going to keep this up?"
Conrad's smile grew wider.
"The boy is quite resilient. He should last a few more minutes."
Morgan stumbled over some tree roots, roughly tumoring to the ground. He went with the fall smoothly, getting up in one fluid motion.
The shadow wraith was hot on his heels, seemingly toying with him. He feinted to the left and then dodged to the right, but as though it had read his mind, the wraith simply barreled towards him at full speed.
He screamed, raising his hand to protect himself as it raised a clawed hand raised.
Suddenly, he was seated on a plush sofa facing Conrad. Rebecca looked slightly flustered, which was unusual compared to her prim and proper self.
"What just happened?"
"Well, what you just experienced was a mild use of my ability," Conrad said in a bored tone.
"I used umbralis to slightly alter your perception of reality by tampering with specific receptors in your brain, making you effectively see and hear what I wanted you to see and hear. It takes delicate, precise control to manipulate without permanently incapacitating the person."
Morgan shivered at the vivid memory of the shadow wraith reaching for him.
" Other than that, my perception of the world is also enhanced."
"How so?"
" We maestros can move very fast at times, even reaching or surpassing the speed of sound. Doing so means we're reflexively able to perceive the world in slow motion, an adaptation to cope with our heightened speed. But even when compared to other maestros, I'm able to perceive the world move around me at a much slower pace. It's quite effective in a fight, an advantage of sorts."
" Alright, I think that's enough for today. It's getting quite late." Rebecca abruptly said as she rose. Conrad chuckled before putting back his glass. The darkness in his eyes receded, his pupils glowing briefly before he hid them from view with his glasses.
"I'll bid you both a good evening then." He then slowly sauntered off and disappeared into the library.
"Come, you must be famished. I'll cook up something for you."
" You can cook?" Morgan asked incredulously.
" I'll have you know I'm a certified chef," Rebecca said proudly.
In the kitchen, Rebecca donned an apron and meticulously started sharpening a knife.
"Need any help?" Morgan asked.
" No, sit back and appreciate a professional at work." She placed a medium-sized slab of beef on a chopping board and began to masterfully dice it into cubes.
"What level of mastery are you at?"
"I'm a novice. " She replied as she deftly fried the meat. "Frankly, I think it's my limit." She masterfully chopped up a bunch of ingredients and then checked on the meat.
She stir-fried the rest of the ingredients and and the kitchen was soon flooded with a harmony of mouth-watering aromas.
"You weren't joking around when you said you're a certified chef. This is quite delicious," Morgan said in between bites.
Rebecca looked slightly amused as he ravenously dug into the food with gusto.
"So are there other levels beyond maestro?"
Rebecca kept quiet for a while before answering.
" There are a few humans that have surpassed the level of maestro; we call them Dukes. They are quite rare and uniquely powerful. You could say they're walking calamities. I've never met one personally, but I know Great houses take care not to offend the few in existence. They're strategic assets to deter infighting and possible conflicts. They usually come and go as they please."
Morgan silently finished his meal.
"Thanks for the food, it was exquisite." Rebecca silently nodded.
As he headed back to his room, he was lost in thought. He had learnt a lot in a day. He was surrounded by truly terrifying people; compared to them, he felt weak and insignificant. Even weaker now, perhaps. He quietly slipped into his room, shutting the door behind him. He looked out the glass doors, observing the moon's distant shape. It shone so brightly.
"A Duke, I wonder what they're capable of."