Ethan found himself in a dark corridor, surrounded by darkness, with only a dim light in the distance to guide his path. He didn't remember much of how he ended up here, except that he had rushed to the black tome, only to pass out soon after.

  Is this a dream?

  Feeling strangely calm, Ethan advanced through the darkness, ignoring the chasms of blackness that lay on each side. His eyes were fixed on the point of light before him, which glowed as if taunting him. It pulsed as if a guiding star, leading the way forward.

  The world was silent, inert. There wasn't a trace of life for miles in all directions, yet Ethan felt eyes on him as if someone—or something—was observing him from the shadows, hidden deep into the blackness.

  He advanced cautiously, testing the ground with each step, afraid that the darkness would cave under his weight, yet the allure of the dim light was much too substantial to ignore. He could only press on, believing his faith in the ground under his feet wouldn’t be misplaced.

  Ethan felt time stretch on to infinity, lost in silence as he sought to reach that unattainable light. He felt his mind wander, unable to anchor itself as he let his feet propel him forward. He thought of all he would do were he to achieve his goal, yet the goal itself was what he sought. He needed nothing but a purpose, just a way to prove his worth. Still, this way of life couldn't help but feel hollow.

  After what felt like days of continuous walking, Ethan began to lose hope of ever reaching his goal. He felt a deep solitude, alone to brave this world bathed in darkness. Fortunately, Ethan was used to solitude, as no one could truly understand his circumstances.

  Still, he knew this was merely the bitterness in his heart rising to the surface. Despite their apparent motives, his sister and brother-in-law had always been there for him, even if they did so only for him not to tarnish their reputation. It was still much better than the alternative. And yet, there were some things he couldn't forgive about them all.

  Elizabeth came to mind. There was never any hint of romance between them. She was merely the one chosen to be his wife, and the two of them had already accepted it. The goal was to elevate their respective families with an alliance through marriage. It was only rational, a most logical choice.

  Until the day of his awakening came.

  When they found him devoid of mana and sundered from the world beyond, Ethan's world crumbled. He was once the heir to his father, yet he had been swiftly thrown aside, only to be replaced with his younger brother.

  While bitter about their decision, he didn't fault them. It was only logical, just another rational decision. Still, being so blatantly excluded wasn't something a mere fourteen-year-old could handle.

  He rebelled in his own way, seeking ways to prove his worth. Yet, in a nation governed by magic, Ethan was powerless, nothing more than one of the countless individuals who stood at the bottom of the pyramid. In fact, his status had fallen even lower as more than ninety-five percent of the population possessed mana in one form or another. However, most would never have the opportunity to form a contract in their entire lives.

  Ethan couldn't help but frown, feeling something odd. He had thought he had already put those thoughts behind him, yet they had reemerged so easily. It was as if the darkness was trying to pry at his heart, uncovering his darkest desires, seeking to worm its way inside his mind.

  He steeled himself and never ceased walking, disallowing his thoughts to wander further, keeping his mind fixed on the dim light in the distance. No matter how long it might take, he would never give up if it meant he could achieve his goal. Compared to attaining magic as a Sundered One, walking toward this light was much simpler—almost too much so.

  After what seemed like a week, the light had yet to move, yet Ethan remained steadfast. His body still felt fresh, almost as if no distance had been travelled. His mind, however, couldn’t help but feel the weight of his doubts.

  No matter how hard he tried to convince himself he could reach it, seeing no trace of progress couldn't help but leave him wanting. Despite it all, he never ceased walking, believing in himself, yet he also began to feel the weight of a crushing solitude. He knew he was slowly losing his mind.

  So he began to talk to himself, encouraging himself not to give up. However, he felt no reflection of sounds as his voice barrelled down the dark abyss on each side of the path, only to disappear. Despite his best efforts, the world only reflected the bleakness of his mental state.

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  After a month, Ethan was on the verge of breaking. His body remained in its peak state, able to go on for years to come, yet his mind was at its breaking point. The solitude was crushing. Never had he thought he would miss the warmth of human companionship as much as he did now.

  But even more than that, what threatened to break him was the unknown, the uncertainty of ever reaching his goal. If only he could see the slightest bit of progress, Ethan could have willed himself to go on, yet for a month now, he had stared at the dim light in the distance, never growing brighter nor threatening to disappear.

  At this point, Ethan would even welcome the light disappearing, if only to give him an excuse to give in. For now, standing here as if in limbo, going forward yet never advancing, was the worst form of torture he could even dare to conceive, even more than physical pain. In fact, he would even welcome outside stimuli.

  There was also the all-encompassing boredom. His mind yearned for something new, something to bring some new life into this bleak and monotonous world. He needed new stimuli, something to distract him from the unreachable goal before him, yet he only had the company of his own mind.

  Then, a year passed. Ethan had stopped moving forward, yet he couldn't bring himself to go back. Instead, he stood in place, unable to make a choice, and this was eating him inside. He couldn't help but curse himself for his weakness, yet he was tired—so tired. He had long fallen to his knees, unable to rise again.

  It all seemed so pointless. Why did he travel all this way, only for his goal to remain unattainable? So much time wasted in a fruitless endeavour. And yet, he couldn't bring himself to give up on it. The light in the distance was taunting him with its glow as if saying he wasn't worthy of reaching it.

  However, how could a mere light decide his worth? How dare a mere light even try? Not even his father could determine his worth, so why should an inanimate object pretend to?

  With renewed vigour and a flame in his heart, Ethan rose back up, mind focused on his goal. Still, his flesh betrayed the exhaustion of his mind. Despite his best effort, his legs felt wobbly, his balance shifty, and yet, he took a step regardless.

  That step was small, almost inconsequential, yet it represented something: his unbreakable will to not give up on his goal, no matter how hard it might be. The fatigue was overwhelming, yet Ethan gritted his teeth and took that step, planting it firmly onto the small corridor suspended between two abysses.

  But then, the world changed.

  The light in the distance grew slightly brighter, prompting hope to rise in Ethan's heart. He felt a renewed vigour empower him, allowing him to take another step, then another. Soon, he began to run, almost flying over the ground. He felt his legs carry him toward distant lands. Weightless, almost as if borne by the wind.

  He crossed untold distances in a single leap, shattering space in a single step, only for the light to grow and the two abysses surrounding him to recede. Soon, all that remained was the light, bathing everything in its warm embrace, and a circle of darkened characters painted onto the ground.

  He recognized those characters, yet their meaning eluded him. These were the same characters he had spent over a year inscribing onto the floor to summon the Graveyard of the End. Those characters were complex, containing untold mysteries, yet they were mostly inert as if something was locked away deep within, unable to emerge.

  Only one seemed to glow slightly, possessing the same light Ethan had been chasing for over a year.

  Is this what I have been chasing all this time?

  While all others were meaningless, Ethan recognized this one, almost as if on instinct. Its meaning was seared in his mind, unable to be erased. Yet, up until now, he had remained unaware of its significance and existence.

  Lux... This is the concept of the spirit Lux, represented as a character... Do all these characters represent a singular concept?

  Ethan's mind ran at high speed, futilely trying to sear these characters in his mind. Yet, each time he tried, he felt an intense pain, as if a blaze had sprouted in his mind. These characters weren't meant for mortals to comprehend. It was as if they were of a higher order, something only a god could understand. Yet, one question came to mind.

  Who could have possibly authored the black tome? Where did it come from?

  And yet, there was something else Ethan was unaware of. Just as the character for Lux shone onto the ground, another identical one was seared onto his heart alongside many others, forming something akin to a ring of black ink. Only one character among the many shone with a bright light, depicting the concept of Lux: the concept for merging light.

  Looking at the glowing character on the floor, Ethan felt like an epiphany began to sprout. And yet, something was missing—a single crucial stroke from the whole. How he knew, he had no idea. Yet, he knew that without this missing piece, this character was useless.

  Without missing a beat, Ethan dropped to his knee and unsheathed the knife hidden in his robe. In a single motion, he used it to slice his palm open, letting the red blood flow. Using his palm as a brush and his blood as ink, Ethan completed the character, prompting an even stronger glow to emerge from within.

  Strangely, the world began to darken as if a curtain of blackness was hung over it. Then, from the middle of the circle emerged a being of darkness and starlight, as if a galaxy given the shape of a man. It rose high into the air, filling the world, yet Ethan gazed onto it undisturbed, for this was something he recognized: the Graveyard of the End.

  No words were spoken. Ethan merely looked into the endless galaxy of stars swirling within the darkness, their light filling his mind with knowledge no human should possess. He felt the world spin and his vision turn black as an enormous amount of information ran straight through him, leaving but a minute fraction behind: just a single character, fully preserved in his mind. Lux: the merging of light.

  Ethan woke up, sweat soaking his clothes, barely able to catch his breath. He felt the thumping of his heart in his chest but also felt light-headed. His mind swayed between the edge of consciousness, yet the character remained vivid in his head, forever unable to be erased. It had become a constant—something he would remember all his life.

  Was that truly a dream? Was the passage of time just an illusion?

  Ethan wasn't sure, yet the experience remained seared in his mind. No matter how much he wished to forget, the year he spent in that place devoid of all light seemed too real. He couldn't help but remember the character; its meaning was fresh in his mind. The merger of light, a spirit able to combine with other spirits, creating something new as the sum of the whole.

  Ethan could scarcely believe it. He had never heard of this concept for Lux. As far as he knew, Lux was one of the few spirits representing light, hardly worth noticing. That was until he saw the bed lying under him, now fused onto the floor, as if the two had become one.