The days following the crimson light were strangely normal.
Too normal.
Lucien had begun to notice that life often behaved that way.
The world rarely announced its most important moments.
Disasters did not begin with thunder.
Wars did not begin with armies.
Sometimes, everything changed during an ordinary morning.
And that morning felt very ordinary.
The sun shone over Valdren.
Merchants filled the streets.
Children laughed.
Birds sang.
Yet somewhere beneath the roots of Eldryn, something had awakened.
And Lucien could not stop thinking about it.
Three days had passed since he had seen the crimson light.
Three days since Kael'Thar forbade him from entering Eldryn alone.
Three days without answers.
For most children, that would have been enough.
For Lucien, it was torture.
Curiosity had always been his greatest weakness.
"You're distracted."
Lucien blinked.
Kael'Thar sat across from him, calmly drinking tea.
The demon lord's crimson eyes remained fixed on the book in his hands.
Yet somehow he always noticed everything.
"I'm thinking."
"That's usually when trouble begins."
Lucien frowned.
"I've never caused trouble."
Kael'Thar lowered his book.
"You once dismantled a merchant's fraud operation."
"He was lying."
"You also convinced a city guard to question local tax records."
Lucien looked away.
"He seemed interested."
Kael'Thar sighed.
"Exactly."
That afternoon, training resumed.
This time, Kael'Thar brought him deeper into Eldryn than before.
Not toward the northern region.
Never north.
Always elsewhere.
Lucien noticed that too.
The forest was beautiful.
Ancient sunlight filtered through massive branches overhead.
Golden leaves drifted through the air.
The scent of earth and moss lingered everywhere.
As they walked, animals occasionally emerged from the undergrowth.
Most fled immediately.
Others watched from a distance.
All of them avoided Kael'Thar.
Instinct was a powerful thing.
After nearly an hour of walking, they reached a small clearing.
A river crossed the area, its crystal waters flowing over smooth stone.
Kael'Thar stopped.
"Today."
He pointed toward the river.
"You will learn control."
Lucien sat beside the water.
A single leaf rested upon the surface.
"Move it."
Lucien stared.
"With mana?"
"With mana."
The task sounded simple.
It wasn't.
Hours passed.
The leaf remained exactly where it was.
Lucien tried everything.
Focus.
Breathing.
Observation.
Patience.
Nothing worked.
Eventually, frustration began to creep into his thoughts.
The leaf floated peacefully.
Mocking him.
Then Kael'Thar spoke.
"You're trying to command mana."
Lucien looked up.
"Isn't that the point?"
"No."
The demon lord crouched beside the river.
"The strongest mages do not command mana."
His finger touched the water.
A ripple spread across the surface.
"They cooperate with it."
Lucien stared at the river.
At the ripple.
At the movement.
Something clicked.
Not completely.
But enough.
Instead of forcing mana toward the leaf...
He listened.
Observed.
Followed.
For a brief moment, he felt it.
A current.
Not water.
Mana.
Moving through everything around him.
The leaf trembled.
Then drifted slightly to the left.
Only a few centimeters.
But it moved.
Kael'Thar's eyes narrowed.
Again.
That same look.
The look he always made when Lucien learned something faster than he should.
"Interesting."
Coming from Kael'Thar, that was practically a compliment.
The lesson ended shortly before sunset.
As they prepared to leave, a strange sound reached Lucien's ears.
A crunch.
Then another.
Crunch.
Crunch.
Crunch.
Lucien froze.
The sound came from nearby bushes.
Kael'Thar immediately became alert.
His posture changed.
The atmosphere changed.
The air itself seemed heavier.
Another crunch echoed.
Followed by what sounded suspiciously like chewing.
Lucien slowly approached.
Parting the leaves.
Looking inside.
Silence.
Then confusion.
A small black creature sat among the roots.
Tiny.
Round.
Covered in dark fur.
Its golden eyes were enormous.
Its ears twitched lazily.
And it was eating a rock.
A rock.
Literally eating a rock.
Crunch.
Crunch.
Crunch.
Lucien stared.
The creature stared back.
Neither moved.
Then the creature swallowed.
Burped.
And immediately grabbed another rock.
Lucien blinked.
"Master."
Kael'Thar approached.
"What is it?"
Lucien pointed.
"The cat is eating a rock."
Kael'Thar looked.
Then stopped moving.
For the first time since Lucien had met him...
The demon lord appeared genuinely shocked.
Not concerned.
Not cautious.
Not thoughtful.
Shocked.
The small black cat looked at Kael'Thar.
Then at the stone in its paws.
Then at Kael'Thar again.
And deliberately continued eating.
Crunch.
Silence filled the clearing.
Lucien looked between them.
"Do you know what it is?"
Kael'Thar did not answer immediately.
His crimson eyes remained fixed on the creature.
Finally.
Very slowly.
He spoke.
"...That is impossible."
The cat burped again.
Then stole another rock.
Kael'Thar closed his eyes.
As if questioning every decision that had brought him to this moment.
And somewhere deep beneath Eldryn...
Far below the roots.
Far below the earth.
Far below the ancient seal.
Something stirred.
As though recognizing the arrival of a creature that should not exist.
The cat finished its meal.
Looked directly at Lucien.
And for the first time...
Its golden eyes seemed far older than they should have been.
Then it jumped.
Straight into Lucien's arms.
And refused to leave.
End of Chapter 5