A few hours had already passed since Arthur entered the "Eternal Dream World," yet despite this, he felt no passage of time whatsoever. Time here flowed in a completely different way, as if it were an endless, tranquil river, governed by neither sun nor moon nor earth.
Arthur sat in profound stillness, his eyes closed, immersed in a strange state of meditation that was neither sleep nor wakefulness, something entirely different, as if his very soul were beginning to awaken to a truth he had never known before.
The faint aura around him had begun to change, no longer what it once was. The dimly glowing aura could be seen radiating a soft purple light mixed with warm gold, dancing around his body, moving in calm and beautiful circles, as if telling a silent story about the wisdom beginning to grow within him.
Even the air had become different, slightly heavier and more alive, as if the place itself was breathing with him, as if the world itself knew he had formed a deep connection with something greater, one of the six pillars of creation that governed the laws of this reality and existence.
When he opened his eyes from his deep meditation, the change was evident to behold. His eyes, which had grown accustomed to the darkness of his previous world, now shone with an indescribable, serene brilliance, a radiance carrying profound warmth and hidden wisdom. His body could be seen remaining still as stone, yet something new flowed from him, like subtle breaths filling the place with life and energy.
This was only the beginning. The first sign that his true journey toward something greater had just begun... a journey that would change him forever.
"Wow, this... this is incredible," Arthur whispered to himself, his voice filled with wonder and awe simultaneously as he looked at the world around him. The moment Arthur opened his eyes to reality for the first time after the Ethereal Awakening, a strange sensation overtook him.
The world around him was no longer as it had been; everything seemed clearer, more vibrant. The colors he had previously seen as dull exploded before his eyes with stunning richness. The green in the leaves was no longer merely a color, but an infinite spectrum of emerald shades pulsing with life. Even the air itself seemed different, as if dancing with threads of silver light emanating from the faint moon in the night sky.
Arthur closed his eyes for a moment, then opened them again, unable to believe what was happening to the world around him. It was as if everything around him pulsed with hidden energy, as if the world had awakened from a deep slumber. The stone walls that had seemed cold and silent before from his perspective now had warm currents of ethereal light flowing through them. Now Arthur could see what he had never seen before, feel what he had never felt before.
"Knock... knock... knock." But before Arthur could delve deeper into this new sensation, the sound of soft knocking interrupted the silence of his contemplation, pulling him from the depths of his new discovery. He paused reluctantly, staring at the door with annoyance, before the knocks were followed by a deep voice penetrating the room's stillness.
"Young master, it's me, William. Do you have a moment?"
The owner of the voice was in fact none other than William Ashford himself, the family's head butler, who had come to the young master Arthur's room to discuss some important matters with him.
William stood at the threshold with majestic calm, his stern features reflecting a mixture of respect and concern simultaneously, his gray eyes gleaming with calculated coldness under the dim lamplight. He held in his hand a small black envelope sealed with golden wax, and hesitated for a moment before taking a few steps into the room. His voice, when he spoke, sounded deep and solemn, but behind his tones was something hidden, something resembling a warning: "Young Master Arthur... there are certain developments that cannot be delayed in discussing. The matter concerns the family's future... and your future in particular."
Arthur's head rose slowly, his eyes still carrying the gleam of the Ethereal Awakening, shining with mysterious light under the room's shadows. He didn't utter a word, but the look they exchanged in that moment was enough to make William feel that his young master was no longer as he had been. Something in Arthur's transformed aura made the air heavy, as if every letter to be spoken this night would carry with it the weight of a fate lurking for them both.
"Oh... I see. So you've finally completed the Ethereal Resonance ritual and your awakening, have you."
Seeing the ethereal aura surrounding Arthur clearly, William naturally realized the nature of what Arthur had undergone. Therefore, setting aside the matter he had originally come for, he spoke with utmost calm.
In his usual quiet voice, devoid of any blame or accusation, but this time carrying a subtle touch of disappointment; disappointment from the fact that Arthur had still proceeded despite everything, defying his parents' wish for him to live an ordinary life, free of worries, away from the murky waters of the mystical world.
William paused for a moment, his steady gray eyes contemplating Arthur's features with a depth that didn't reveal what lay behind them, before continuing in a low tone, as if carefully choosing his words. "Your parents tried, with all the power they possessed, to keep you away from this path, from everything that hides in the shadows... but it seems that embarking on this thorny path is your destiny, young master, and as I always feared, your destiny is greater than to be bound by the desires of others."
"Sometimes, it is wisdom to accept your destiny and continue walking steadily toward the unknown, and at other times you must exert your effort and await your fate with patience. But in the end, there are matters from which there is no escape, and we must face them sooner or later. Even if I hadn't become involved in the depths of the supernatural world's mysteries now, I know that sooner or later, one way or another, I would find myself entangled in it, as if the threads woven by fate don't allow me to stay away."
Naturally, Arthur was aware that both William and his parents, whose features he could barely summon even with his perfect photographic memory, didn't want him to become involved in the mystical world and its murky waters. But at the same time, he was certain that his involvement with the mystical world was inevitable, whether he wanted it or not.
Arthur, after all, had lived through this experience before; he had lived his life as normally as possible without being aware or conscious of the existence of everything supernatural, and the result was far from his parents' and William's wishes, not a peaceful life or safety, but merely a tragic life with the loss of everything dear to him... and a tragic end as a sacrifice to horrific demonic rituals.
"Oh, I must confess, young man... you truly are your father's son with such eloquent language, hahaha. I suppose it will be difficult for me or any of the others to defeat you in any debate from now on, won't it, Arthur?"
When William looked at Arthur now and heard his words and his eloquent manner of speaking, William couldn't help but see in him the shadow of that great man he had sworn to serve his entire life... Arthur's father, Alistair Leonharth.
As soon as Arthur heard William's words, he merely raised his right eyebrow slightly, without showing any other change in his features. Nevertheless, if one were to look closely, they would have noticed the faint gleam in his eyes, a gleam that wasn't merely a passing reaction, but a reflection of the genuine joy he felt in his depths. William's appreciation of him, comparing him to his father in this way, was extremely precious and meant a great deal to him, touching a deep part of his heart.
For Arthur, whose original goal in life wasn't merely to uncover the secrets and mysteries of the mystical world, but to surpass his father, that great man who had always been his highest ideal, whom he had always dreamed of surpassing one day.
"In any case, William, what brings you to my room at this late hour? What urgent matter could not wait until tomorrow morning and has brought you here so hastily?"
Finally, setting aside his other complex thoughts to focus on the present, Arthur asked William why he had come at such a late hour, especially since the clock had already passed eleven.
William smiled faintly, his eyes carrying a mixture of seriousness and tenderness, before answering in a calm voice, "Arthur, this time the matter cannot be postponed. Initially, I had come to give you the opportunity to decide for yourself, whether you wished to do this or not. Now, after you've completed your Ethereal Awakening and begun walking the path of ascension, I don't think there's any escape this time."
Arthur felt a slight headache from William's annoying habit of evading and not getting straight to the point. Since he didn't want to go in circles this time, he asked directly, "What is this matter you're talking about, which you wanted to give me the chance to decide about myself? And what does my Ethereal Awakening have to do with it?"
"What I wish to discuss this time concerns this."
Saying this, William placed the black envelope sealed with golden wax before Arthur and added, "This envelope is an invitation from Asteria Academy, the foremost institution for mystical research and arcane studies in the mystical world, operating under the direct supervision of the Supreme Council. This invitation represents the exclusive quota granted to the Leonharth family each year because of its distinguished status and the family's Elder seat on the Council."
"Oh... truly interesting. But what slightly piques my curiosity is why you and the others in the mansion, who do not want me involved in the affairs of the mystical world, are placing this invitation in my hands?" Arthur slowly lifted the black envelope between his fingers, staring at its golden seal that gleamed faintly under the moonlight slipping through the window, his amber eyes fixed thoughtfully on William standing before him.