Joy did not call out. He did not announce himself. From a distance, he paused.

  His gaze rested on Fengyu and Mokai, not intruding, but observing the cadence of their exchange, weighing the moment.

  He waited until Mokai’s smile faded and the conversation thinned into moment of silence. Only then did he step forward.

  “Fengyu,” he said.

  There was certain urgency in his tone, veiled and carefully restrained.

  “There is a lesson you have to master,” Joy continued. “And Firme is… uniquely suited for learning this.”

  A measured pause.

  “You altered the Nyx Void once,” he said, not accusing, not praising. “You did so instinctively. That instinct must be refined.”

  Fengyu did not answer at once.

  For a fleeting second, something unguarded crossed his face - not fear, not quite - but irritation at being dragged back.

  He had hoped the incident in the Seer’s Department would dissolve beneath larger issues. Reclaiming Firme and researching its strange environment. The Magic Guild politics and the archimage arriving uninvited. Surely those were distractions enough.

  Apparently not.

  “You give me too much credit,” he said lightly. “I merely weaved my hand in the wrong direction.”

  Joy did not smile.

  Fengyu’s fingers brushed, almost absently, against the bracelet at his wrist - the unassuming band that had become a far less innocent ornament.

  It had not been him.

  It was that little beast, that cursed, clever thing that first had latched onto his skin and now clung as a silent jewel.

  He did not dare let anyone know.

  A flicker of panic rose, and he swallowed it down, masking it with the practiced ease of someone accustomed to hiding.

  “You will learn,” Joy said, something ominous ringing in his voice. “Come, there is a place I have chosen for this lesson.”

  He turned, and Fengyu followed, trying to mask his unease, while Mokai trailed behind, clearly intrigued by the promise of the lesson.

  Joy led them toward the far end of the meadow that filled the valley, where jagged rocks began their climb once more and a narrow stream pressed its way between them. The soft murmur of water grew louder here, hinting at a small waterfall waiting just beyond the rocks, its presence felt before it was seen.

  They climbed the rocks, and beneath them, the waterfall revealed itself.

  The stream was not massive, but it tumbled hundreds of meters down with a steady, hypnotic fall. The water crashed into the valley floor with a soft roar, sending up a fine spray that caught the light, scattering it like shards of silver across the air.

  From their perch, the valley stretched below, the forest spreading in a haze of bluish greenery that seemed to reach endlessly into the distance. Every shade of green and blue contrasted sharply with the crimson peaks of the mountains rising above that thin veil of mist - the mist that marked the boundary between the scorching heat of the peaks and the mild, humid air of the valley below.

  The view was breathtaking, yet Fengyu’s gut twisted with unease. His eyes drank in the valley, the endless sweep of forest, but his mind refused to linger on beauty. Instead, it raced how to survive what Joy had in store without giving away his little secret.

  Joy turned and motioned toward a broad, flat slab of rock that jutted from the cliff’s edge. “Sit,” he said simply.

  Fengyu hesitated for the barest instant, then lowered himself onto the stone. Joy settled opposite him, knees crossed, hands resting lightly on his thighs.

  “What happened in the Seer’s Department,” he said slowly, “was supported by the seers and by the room itself, the structure around you, everything aligned to guide your perception.” He paused.

  “This lesson is different. You will see for yourself. It will be… entirely personal. What you perceive may differ from what any seer has experienced. The currents, the dimensions - they will speak to you alone.”

  Fengyu’s eyes narrowed slightly. ”What do you mean by this? Why again this enigmatic speech?”

  Joy sighed, a faint exhale that seemed to carry both patience and warning. “No seer’s experience is ever the same. Each mind interprets the higher dimensionality differently. I see currents and colours. Others may see forms, echoes, even… lives.” He hesitated, as if weighing his next words. “I guided your first experience so you could be influenced by what you have seen. But beyond that… I cannot know. In history, there were seers who perceived energy from higher dimensions as the ‘souls’ of plants and animals… some as music, some as light…”

  “You will not see what I see,” Joy added, voice firmer now. “And you will not see what others have seen. You will see your own currents, your own echoes. And only you will hold them.”

  Fengyu pondered the consequences of Joy’s explanation. Whatever would happen, whatever he would see, he would bear it alone and it would be his perception of the higher dimensionality. He would not have to explain it… to anyone.

  So… Maybe the dragon in the Nyx Void was just it… his perception. But then why hat it spoken to him as if it already knew him… Why had he been so sure it was his little beast?

  This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

  Despite the lingering questions, a strange sense of grounding settled over him. He even felt a flicker of anticipation for what was to come.

  The lesson began simply: slow, deliberate breathing and quiet meditation.

  Mokai, lacking a better perch among the jagged rocks, moved closer and settled on the same flat slab. He did not speak, but his presence was a quiet anchor, steady and familiar, as the valley below whispered with the voice of the waterfall.

  Soon, Joy began guiding him deeper. His instructions were calm, each word chosen to shape Fengyu’s awareness without overwhelming it.

  “Use the focus,” he said softly. “Sense the energy around you. The wind, the water, the life that moves through it. Every leaf, every drop, every creature.”

  Fengyu inhaled deeply, following the rhythm Joy set, letting his mind settle into the cadence of breath and thought. He felt Mokai next to him, with his breathing in the same rhythm.

  “Do not force it,” Joy cautioned. “Do not seek shapes or forms. Let the energy speak first, then follow it.”

  Mokai remained close, silent, watching Fengyu with quiet interest, yet careful not to intrude. The valley below, the distant forest, even the waterfall’s spray seemed to fade into the background.

  At the forefront of his awareness, colourful threads of energy intertwined with the wind and water, dancing in patterns too intricate to name. Reds, blues, and golds shimmered like ribbons caught in a current, bending and twisting around the spray of the waterfall, around the stones, and across the leaves of the forest below.

  It was beautiful in itself - hypnotic, alive - yet it was not the Nyx Void.

  Fengyu heard the faint rustle of fabric in front of him. He focused his sight, and observed as Joy extended his hand, holding something that caught the sunlight like a shard of captured starlight. A small, translucent crystal rested in his palm, smooth and cool, trembling faintly alive.

  “This,” Joy said quietly, “is the Heart of Nyx.”

  Fengyu’s fingers closed around it instinctively, feeling its subtle pulse. It was small, yet it radiated a peculiar warmth that seemed to resonate with the threads of energy surrounding them.

  “It was taken from the wall of the suspended chamber in the Seer’s Department,” Joy continued.

  Ah, so this was the secret of the Seers…

  A sudden rush of elation surged through Fengyu, as if he had connected with something long hidden. The warmth travelled from his fingers, coursing up his arms and chest, arriving swiftly at his heart.

  And then… his vision shattered.

  The valley beneath him fractured into countless, translucent panels, like curtains of glass suspended in midair. Beyond each shimmered a different world: endless forests, jagged mountains, arid deserts, oceans that glimmered with impossible colours. Shapes and forms appeared that defied logic, bent impossibly, curled in ribbons of light, skies filled with hues he could not name.

  It was immense, chaotic, breathtaking - and utterly unlike anything he had glimpsed in the Seer’s Department. The Nyx Void was living infinity, and it spoke only to him.

  Every pulse of the Heart of Nyx seemed to resonate with the distant worlds, tethering him just enough to marvel without being swallowed. Yet even as he tried to comprehend, he sensed the currents of life threading through them all, faint and intricate, teasing him to follow.

  Fengyu’s breath hitched as he tried to draw his attention to a single thread among the chaos. One strand of energy, faintly golden, twisted like a living filament through the kaleidoscope of worlds. He reached toward it with his mind, attempting to anchor himself, to follow its flow.

  But the moment he touched it, the vision expanded again, splintering into a hundred new possibilities. Colours clashed, shapes writhed, and he felt the dizzying pull of countless worlds, each tugging at his perception in a different direction.

  Panic flared for a heartbeat - he had never felt so small, so utterly unmoored. The threads of energy of countless worlds twisted and writhed around him, each one a tugging hand pulling at his mind. Every colour, every pulse seemed alive, sentient, watching him, testing him, daring him to falter.

  A cold dread seeped into his chest. He longed to close his eyes, to shut out the impossible vastness, to run back to the familiar streets of Solirae, to the weight of solid walls and predictable air. If he could just escape - just step away - he might feel human again, grounded, safe.

  He jumped up, almost unconsciously, stepping back once, then again, his body trembling with the urge to flee. The wind on the ridge whipped his hair and clothes, but he barely felt it; all his senses were screaming at him to run. Heart hammering, lungs burning, he prepared to bolt down the rocks, back to the safety, back to the familiar. The very sight of the valley seemed to distort, the air pressing against him, the threads of energy twisting like sharp knives around his mind.

  Suddenly, a strong arm caught him, holding him firmly, an unyielding presence that pulled him from the brink. He froze, eyes wide and found Mokai’s worried face, intent and grounding.

  His breath slowed as he let himself be held, letting the world stop spinning for a heartbeat. The vision had changed. Gone were the dizzying expanses of glass-like windows revealing countless other worlds, gone the overwhelming depth that had made him feel infinitesimally small.

  Yet the air itself still hummed, a subtle vibration pressing at the edges of perception, as if the valley and its surroundings had been nudged just slightly out of place.

  The warmth of the Heart of Nyx still pulsed in his hand, steady and insistent. Mokai’s touch shallowed the vision, but it did not end it.

  Fengyu’s eyes wandered through the valley.

  The forest below was no longer a forest. It had transformed into a dense layer of green mist, alive with faint, shifting currents of energy. Beyond the mist, something shimmered - an vison of the valley he knew, but slightly displaced, like a reflection seen through rippling water.

  At first, he thought it was a trick of his own mind - but then he saw it.

  City after city glowed through the green haze, structured and orderly, lights flickering in patterns of life. He could see the energy of the inhabitants, unmistakably humans moving through streets, the threads of their lives intertwining with the natural currents, blending seamlessly into the pulse of the land.

  This was not the untamed wilderness they had imagined. Firme had a civilization, a living, breathing network of people thriving quietly in hidden layers of reality.

  Fengyu’s stomach twisted in awe and disbelief.

  Firme was not empty. It had never been.

  Next to him, Mokai froze. He saw it too - but not in the way Fengyu had expected. Mokai’s wide eyes did not reflect disbelief; no, they reflected something heavier - fear, tightly coiled and restrained for days, now made tangible in the vision before him.

  Before Fengyu could react, Mokai jerked him backward as if sheer muscle could sever the connection, could shield them from the hidden civilization below the green mist.

  For a heartbeat, it seemed to work - the currents quivered, the glowing cities flickered - but then the air shifted.

  The cities became aware, luminous threads of energy coalescing into a consciousness that pulsed and spread, as if the civilization itself had detected their intrusion. Slowly, deliberately, the energy glow lifted above the veil of mist, visible and undeniable, searching.

  Panic flared anew. It rose hot and sharp inside Fengyu, clawing at his chest and throat.

  He shoved Mokai away, dropped the Heart of Nyx, and immediately the vision shattered. The intricate web of life, the layered valley, the glowing cities - all vanished. But the weight of it remained, a tangible vibration pressing into his mind and heart.

  He searched Mokai’s face, seeking a hint of disbelief, of denial, of some shared confusion, but found none. Only determination. The warrior ready for the battle he had been expecting. Mokai knew!!!

  Fengyu’s knees gave way, and he sank heavily onto the stone, heaving loudly. The effort of seeing and understanding had expelled all air from his lungs. Sweat ran down his temples, mingling with the spray from the waterfall below, but he hardly noticed.

  As his chest stuttered and the world slowly righted itself around him, he became again aware of his surroundings.

  Joy sat in his spot as if he had not moved an inch, observing him without a word, eyes steady and unreadable.

  And at the edge of the rocky ridge, silhouetted against the valley below, stood… Paronel Vaithar.