The Grays left the Flamels' house shortly after afternoon tea. Noah and his father had managed to sneak a few tarts into their pockets—an act that made them blush when they realized Penny had already kindly packed some for them to take.
Back at the Gray mansion, Noah retreated to his room, determined to continue his magic training. He couldn't afford to waste a single day. Every time he made an object float, he learned something new about how magic worked. After his experience at the Flamels', his desire to refine his abilities had only grown stronger. This time, his urgency was not desperate, but a genuine longing to explore the unknown and turn the impossible into reality.
"Commands aren't enough… I need intent, intensity… Control and focus still work, but strength is missing. Feelings are the fuel," he reflected, watching a sock hover in midair.
His grandfather would have been proud to see him now. After all, it was he who had taught Noah to perceive magic differently. In his other world, books on magic were scarce, and information on the subject was as rare as water in the desert. He had to learn practically—observing, analyzing, and experimenting. Without books, he had to trust his intuition and his own experience.
Using feelings as a source of magic was new to Noah, and like all new things, it required practice. At first, he struggled to control his emotions, and the sock would rise higher than intended.
"I need to control my feelings. They're the fuel, but in excess, everything spirals out of control," he noted mentally.
It was the beginning of his journey, and he knew every discovery was precious. During training, he made mental notes and, at the end of the day, transcribed the key points onto paper. Relying solely on memory was risky; writing and reviewing were essential.
The first day passed quickly, with no significant progress. Moving a sock or cutlery in simple motions was the most he could manage. Tossing objects quickly without direction was easy, but controlling them precisely was an entirely different challenge.
Noah realized that moving an object in a single direction, even if heavier, was far easier than guiding a lightweight object with precision. When levitating socks, his only goal was to make them float. With cutlery, the same—simple, without defined direction or speed.
Controlling a feather to move it in a specific direction with full intention was simple. But moving a feather just a few centimeters above the floor, with precision, was incredibly difficult.
Still, he didn't get discouraged. On the contrary, the challenge motivated him. It made him wake up eager to practice and sleep thinking about what he would try the next day.
Three days later, he could move a sock with simple motions effortlessly. Not just levitating it, but moving it sideways and spinning it in the air. A week later, three socks floated around him without falling.
Each new sock he mastered demanded double the focus and concentration. Although the socks were nearly identical, each had its own peculiarities. He had to adjust and feel each object individually. As the socks hovered, Noah was fully aware of everything around him: the air currents brushing against the socks, the greater difficulty of moving them up and down compared to lateral movements.
Every new challenge made controlling fewer socks much easier. With each advancement, his control, focus, and intent became clearer. Most importantly, the process of using magic became more natural in both mind and body.
After a month of practice, controlling socks felt as easy as moving his fingers. And speaking of a month, it was then that he reached the milestone of ten socks under his control.
"Noah, the Sock Controller," he laughed, recalling the title his father had given him. But he didn't intend to stop there. In that month, countless ideas had formed in his mind, and he was eager to test them.
Noah looked at the ten socks floating before him and slowly closed his eyes. Instantly, he lost control, and the socks fell.
He wasn't discouraged by failure. He had expected this to be the hardest part.
"I need to feel the object," he murmured, seeking that sensation of connection he had experienced when controlling an object.
Noah decided to follow that path, focusing on the sensation he felt, the link he had with everything connected to his magic. One step at a time, without despair.
But something unexpected happened. As he tried to connect to the sock without using his vision, he felt something different coming from his eyes. Something familiar.
"My right eye… Could it be?"
Channeling his internal magic, he tried to guide it toward his eyes. Responding to his will like water flowing down a river, the magic moved until it reached a barrier, stopping just short.
It was the same feeling as before, when he learned to disable his ability. Once past this barrier, his eye would gain the ability to see the traces of magic. To deactivate it, he would simply cut the flow of magic.
Of course, the sensation had never been so clear or strong as now. In the other world, it had felt like an ant crawling over his body. Now, he could sense and understand the magic flowing from the world and coursing through his body to his eye.
With his magic intensified, he noticed something different—not just in his right eye, but in the left as well. There was a barrier there too, but much denser. Perhaps that was why he had never felt it before, when his magic was more subtle.
Noah didn't hesitate and tried activating his right eye. The barrier gave way, and his magic passed through. Opening his eyes, his right eye glowed a deep blue.
First came a burning sensation, followed by tears. Then mana flooded everything, and his vision blurred. He blinked several times, and his sight returned—not entirely normal. Now, he could see far beyond the ordinary.
Though not an unknown ability, it felt different.
"Looks even better…" he murmured, surprised. But he knew the improvement came at a high cost, both mentally and magically.
With his ocular ability active, Noah could see things previously invisible. A barrier covered the entire mansion, beyond and within its walls. He had never noticed them before—these were the mansion's defenses.
This was new. Noah knew he could see magic traces before, but now he could see spells in their entirety.
And that wasn't all. Noah felt something different in the world itself, as if more magic was needed to see fully.
"Should I try?" he whispered, curious. He had never used his eye to its full potential. Perhaps it wasn't just about opening a breach in the barrier, but destroying it completely.
He took a deep breath and decided to try. Closing his eyes, he focused all his magic on the barrier—not to pass through, but to shatter it. Magic struck the barrier with force, and his head shook. The barrier didn't seem so strong after all.
Noah had the idea to apply the same logic he used for levitating socks. He reinforced the magic attacking the barrier with his will and emotions.
It was like a hammer hitting a thin glass. The barrier shattered, and his eye was flooded with magic. He opened his eyes immediately.
His right eye was blinded, seeing only a blinding light. But it didn't hurt, nor was it uncomfortable. The light subsided, and a cascade of colors filled his vision.
Noah blinked twice before seeing clearly through his right eye. His gaze extended beyond the window.
The sun, the blue sky, clouds, green fields on the horizon, trees in the distance. Everything looked more beautiful, more alive.
"How beautiful," he murmured softly, full of awe.
Everything was more colorful. Green was greener, blue bluer, and each part of the world seemed to contain tiny particles of light.
His right eye didn't just see traces of magic; it saw magic in its entirety. So why did the world look different? Why were the colors more vibrant?
"Why is magic everywhere in the world?" he asked, now confident, as if certain he would find the answer.
Then a wave of dizziness hit him, and he closed his eyes in pain. He wished for his eye to return to normal, and instantly, the magic receded. The world returned to normal.
"How long passed? Ten seconds?" he laughed, breathless. He knew he had pushed himself hard, and ten seconds was enough. After all, he had awakened his magic only a month ago, and already he was using his eye to its full potential. In the other world, he could barely use 1% of his ability for a few seconds.
Even for such a brief moment, it had been worth seeing the world so beautifully. His right eye was incredible. And though he found what he saw amazing, he knew he wasn't using the eye completely. He could feel deeper layers—seeing the blue light on objects was the superficial layer, seeing the magic in the environment was the second layer. And there was more.
This made him think of something else. If his right eye was so incredible, and the initial barrier so "weak," what would his left eye be like, with its seemingly impenetrable fortress?
Noah could hardly wait to find out, but he knew he couldn't attempt it just yet. Even opening a small breach and using 1% of that eye's power would require much greater mastery of his magic.