Nearly an hour later, Arthur woke. He sat up and looked at Jack—the first person, if you could even call him that, whom Arthur saw. Jack's skeletal form loomed over him, hollow eyes staring deep into Arthur's soul. Without warning, Jack raised a bony finger. A purple orb began to coalesce at the tip.
The orb shot toward Arthur. He braced himself, but instead of pain, the orb radiated warmth—extremely unusual for an attack. Then it began to spread throughout his body. Heat flooded his legs, hands, arms, stomach—everything felt rejuvenated.
Jack soon transformed into purple mist and flew inside the black skull marking embedded in Arthur's chest. The mist vanished into the mark completely.
Arthur finally stood from his bed and walked out of his room. He couldn't remember what had happened when he'd accidentally used the Void power. The system had been offline. It had warned him about doing that, but he didn't know the exact consequences. Perhaps losing his memory was the price.
Then he saw it—blood splatters on the ground, broken items scattered everywhere. Was this him? Or someone else? Most likely him.
Suddenly, a voice invaded his head. *Welcome back. The system is online. The system has defeated the entity that tried to interfere with the system's plans. You can now use your Void powers freely with no repercussions.*
His mother Mary appeared in the doorway, then froze when she saw him standing in the hallway. Arthur's small seven-year-old body stood like a statue as he stared at her. Mary smiled, though tension creased her features, and quickly guided him toward the front door.
When the man outside saw Arthur, surprise flashed across his face. "I didn't think your son was this young," he said, his voice deep and gravelly.
"He's ready," Mary snapped, her tone brooking no argument. "We can finally send him to the magic academy."
The man smiled, though it didn't reach his eyes, and raised his hand. A portal shimmered open with blue light. He motioned for Arthur to step inside.
Arthur hesitated. He didn't trust this stranger, so he activated his inspection skill.
*Name: Rocco Vale. Age: 46. Hobbies: None. Weapons: Hidden dark sword. Stats of inspected organism locked until further notice. Would you like the system to notify you when stats become unlocked? Yes/No.*
Arthur clicked yes without hesitation. *System will notify you.* The interface vanished.
Arthur stared up at Rocco. The man's smile widened. "Come on through," he said, stepping into the portal.
Arthur reluctantly followed.
Agony tore through him—his body felt ripped apart, reassembled, torn apart again. The sensation of traveling through the portal was unbearable torture. He didn't know how many times he'd have to endure this, or if he'd ever grow accustomed to it.
Eventually, the torture stopped. Arthur gulped air, gasping for breath as he surveyed his surroundings. He stood at the gates of what appeared to be a castle, though it was actually an academy.
"You're young to attend the academy," Rocco said, his tone suddenly sharp. "With my recommendation, you'll get in easily. But the older students won't tolerate weakness. Make a ruckus, show any sign of incompetence, and they'll crush you. Despite your small stature, these students could kill you without a second thought."
The threat landed like a blow. Arthur's stomach twisted. *If I'd known that, I wouldn't have gone through that portal. Too late now, isn't it?*
Rocco's smile returned, predatory now. "But you needn't worry. I'll ensure you survive. A student has already requested to mentor you."
Arthur's eyes widened. "Why would someone mentor me without knowing who I am, my personality, my age, my appearance, or my strength?"
"Perhaps they're doing a favor," Rocco said, his voice dripping with false sweetness. "Or perhaps they plan to use you for their own benefit."
Rocco raised his hand, and the gates opened with an ear-splitting shriek. Arthur covered his ears. "By the gods, why is that so loud?"
Rocco turned, irritation flickering across his face. "It's the usual noise. You'll get used to it."
*Will I really?*
Rocco led Arthur through several hallways until they met the mentor. The young man had a pale face, black hair covering most of it, and a cold, emotionless expression. He stood tall with dark, calculating eyes.
"I'm supposed to mentor you," the older boy, who looked about sixteen, said flatly. "What's your name?"
"Arthur."
The young man showed no shock at Arthur's age or small height, as if he couldn't care less. "My name's Soul. I'll be training you inside a time capsule I created. It slows time completely. You'll age normally, but I'll train you for years. To the outside world, it'll appear you grew older instantly. Most people here know my ability, so it won't shock them."
Soul's eyes narrowed, challenging. "You ready?"
Arthur nodded, though dread coiled in his gut.
Soul led Arthur away from Rocco toward a stark white room—pitch white, like a torture chamber. The only reason Arthur even knew what a torture room was was because Soul had mentioned it. Arthur knew nothing about torture itself. He'd only existed three years ago, been thrown into the Void, joined a family for five minutes—which he still didn't understand—then returned to this world. His original body was technically a corpse, so he knew some things about the world, but others remained completely foreign.
Soul sighed as he closed the door, his expression hardening. "All right. Our training begins now. Fair warning—this will feel like absolute hell. You'll train with me non-stop for years. I won't age, but you will."
Soul's voice dropped to a menacing whisper. "Let the training begin."
Time stopped completely.