Pov of Nero.
In Vickmolt, specifically in the West Zone. Somewhere in the Catacombs of the Wind, hours earlier:
Nero blinked once, twice, even three times, his head throbbing with pain. It was as if something or someone were repeatedly plunging a razor-sharp blade into his skull.
Merlin looked at Nero's eyes, which were somewhat unfocused. Then, the hatless Wizard placed a hand on the red-eyed man's forehead, checking for any signs of illness. After all, a problem like the flu or a fever would be very troublesome in their situation; they were alone, surrounded by infinite darkness.
"Are you feeling unwell?" Merlin asked, removing his hand from Nero's forehead, noticing that he didn't seem to have any physical ailments.
Nero stood up, his body feeling somewhat heavy, his mind beginning to reflect on the events that had transpired.
"A little, but we must keep going if we want to find food or water."
Merlin nodded and stood up rather reluctantly. Then, Nero picked up his wand from the ground and began walking forward, but first he looked back, trying to memorize the route he and Merlin had taken.
Getting lost in their situation was a death sentence, so Nero put an unusual effort into memorizing the place and the path.
Without further hesitation, the two began walking, though Nero, not trusting his memory, drew a playing card and for every three mushroom trees, he placed an arrow on the trunk of the last one, creating a clear path to their landmark.
"You're very cautious," Merlin remarked as he watched Nero mark a tree.
When he finished, Nero stepped away from the tree and calmly played with his card, a hint of gratitude etched on his face.
"Thank you, Magician."
Nero was still thinking about what had happened. It was terrifying to think he had seen the very angel of death. Besides, he still felt chills from having almost died.
If it weren't for Mistaker... he thought, ignoring Merlin. I would have died already... although I know the god of mistakes didn't save me out of benevolence or empathy, but I still don't know why he saved me. I'm just an orphan with a sister, and I don't even have a high rank or money or any status at all! I, trapped in this dark and endless labyrinth, what use am I to him? I know I'm important to him, but why am I important to a deity?
A small, insignificant pain shot through Nero's shoulder, causing him to turn to Merlin.
"What?"
"What do you mean, 'what'? Have you been ignoring me this whole time?"
Nero glared at him, his expression saying, "Do you think I'm paying attention to you?"
Merlin snorted in exasperation.
"I was trying to tell you that I think I just saw something move."
Nero drew his other card, his body instinctively assuming a defensive stance. He broke out in a cold sweat and even considered creating another poker card, but before doing anything risky, he asked:
"Is it dangerous?"
Merlin shook his head and murmured with a slight curl of his lips:
"It appears to be a wild animal; perhaps it's edible."
He then created a dagger of gold, or a material similar to it. Although it looked heavy, the dagger was actually very light and flexible.
The magician opened his left hand and focused on the thought of seeing his aura. A golden circle, surrounded by green energy, manifested in Merlin's palm, this circle being roughly 20% bright gold and the other 80% dark gold.
"I have 20 aura points left, Nero... the wand will burn out in about twenty minutes, that is, if I don't use any more aura."
Nero nodded and placed the wand on the gray ground. Merlin stealthily approached the darkness, gripping his golden dagger tightly, and spotted a strange animal.
It was like a fox, but with two short ears, and its gray color allowed it to camouflage itself with its surroundings.
Merlin immediately recognized this type of fox; they were called Cyz, foxes capable of camouflaging themselves in their environment, and they were also edible and quite delicious.
The wizard didn't give the Cyz a chance to escape, but swiftly thrust his dagger straight at its head.
"Nero, food!"
Nero approached Merlin and saw his new loot. A wide smile spread across his face, for they had finally found food, which left them with only one more problem: water.
"Finally!" Merlin shouted, raising his new treasure. "Today we'll eat well! Besides, if we manage it well, it'll last us for days."
Nero shared Merlin's happiness for a few seconds, but almost immediately realized something: the two of them had arrived where they were in about 30 minutes, and if Merlin only had enough Aura for 20 minutes, their situation had just become far more dangerous, since running out of light was almost like dying. Who knows what lurks in the shadows, afraid of the light?
Perhaps if I created a lighter or match or any light source, but that would consume a lot of my Aura; it would be more effective to ask Merlin.
"Merlin... we have a problem, a big one."
"Huh."
"Wizard... if you only have twenty Aura points left, and it took us over thirty minutes to reach this place, how are we supposed to return before the light dies?"
Merlin opened his eyes and bit his lip.
"Maybe... no, I don't think you can."
Nero punched him lightly in the shoulder.
"Speak, and quickly, because every minute counts."
"Do you want to... learn magic?"
Nero froze, even trying to hide his smile.
Magic... he's going to teach me magic!
"Nero, don't get cocky. When I first tried it, it took me a long time to master it."
Nero shrugged, confident he was versatile enough to learn a simple spell—after all, it was simple, wasn't it?
Merlin pointed to the wand on the floor, trying not to get Cyz's blood on his stinking clothes.
"The first thing you must do is learn to project and move your Aura onto an external object, and then be able to move your Aura within that same object."
What?... since when is that possible? That must be really difficult... So it wasn't as simple as waving a wand... I had underestimated magic, or whatever it is.
With great effort, Merlin tore a branch from a mushroom tree. Instead of a sharp point, the branch ended in a mushroom cap, covered in that typical, soft, fleshy substance.
Merlin examined it for a few seconds, then nodded, pointed hurriedly at the branch, and looked at the red-eyed man.
"I suppose this will do, but we don't have much time, Nero. If my Aura runs out, we'll have a miserable death... and I know you know that very well, which is why you must learn quickly."
Merlin offered him the branch of the mushroom tree, his eyes staring straight into the darkness.
Nero glanced at the branch and then at the wand lying on the ground. After that, he asked hurriedly, "Why can't I use my wand?"
Merlin punched him on the shoulder.
"Because I'm already using it, Nero."
Nero sighed heavily and took the branch with a mushroom instead of a point. Merlin continued casually,
"Since one of your paths is that of the void, it should be very easy for you, as it's like when you inject your Aura into the objects you create."
Nero understood immediately, smiled, and nodded at Merlin. The truth was, seeing it the way Merlin described it, it was indeed very easy, because Nero only had to surround the object with his Aura.
Nero held the branch, his sweaty fingers almost sticking to it. After a few seconds of concentration, he lowered his Aura down his arms, then enveloped the branch. With sweat dripping from his forehead and his teeth clenched, he finally managed to channel his Aura into the branch.
This process was incredibly exhausting for Nero. It wasn't like injecting Aura into one of his cards; it was much, much more difficult. After all, these were his creations, their paths were designed to have that specific function, and he didn't know how to do the same with objects not created by Nero.
"Can you feel your Aura in the branch?"
Nero nodded, closing his eyes and feeling his Aura for the first time. His Aura felt strange, empty, but not hollow. It was like a hole, bottomless and with no end in sight, but one that had once been full.
That feeling was strange, a mixture of desolate Void and unexpected connection. These events were very revealing for Nero, as this was the first time since transmigrating that he had tried to feel like himself.
Merlin frowned, not because Nero was doing it wrong, but because he connected with his Aura with a speed that even Merlin had struggled to grasp for minutes.
"If you can feel your Aura, you can move it. Try moving it up and down, but carefully."
Nero squeezed his still-closed eyes shut, trying to move it a little, but it didn't react.
"Merlin..."
"Yes, you seem to be making the mistake any novice would: trying to move your Aura at will and not letting it circulate through the object."
Nero groaned inwardly.
What's the point of this? It's too difficult!... Damn it, I'm stuck between dying if I don't learn or actually learning... although I do love learning something new every day.
Nero tried to move his Aura again, but this time he didn't force it. Instead, he gave it small, light nudges, which seemed to work.
"Mage, how do you do this so fast?"
"I think they call that technique experience."
Nero inhaled and exhaled sharply, and—after he managed to move even a little of his Aura inside the branch—Nero froze. A dark thought flashed through Nero's mind like a shooting star. After questioning Merlin:
"Merlin... if you've only been in this world for two years, how can you know so much about the Sinner System and you're not a Rank 10, and besides—"
"Nero! You did it!" Merlin exclaimed with a smile. "Now we can move on to the next phase, and quickly, because time has legs and moves very fast."
Wizard, Mage, Magician... do you think I'm stupid? I know you're hiding something and I'll find out no matter what. You picked the wrong person to hide things from... but I'm going to play along.
Nero approached the wand on the ground and picked it up with one hand, shielding his eyes from the intense light. It was at that precise moment that he realized something.
"Merlin, if you have to turn off the light so I can cast the spell, we'll only have a few seconds to activate it."
Merlin nodded and examined the wand in Nero's hand. Nero tried to hide the wand, his red eyes meeting Merlin's.
"Ah... uh, that light only affects me when I activate the spell... two things; first, and to answer your question, yes, you have to be quick, and second, to activate the spell you must say 'Fulgeo,' which means 'shine!' or 'brilliant!' in Latin, or as it's called here, Akog."
Nero nodded and memorized Fulgeo. Suddenly, the light began to flicker like fireflies in a dark forest... exactly 20 minutes had passed.
Merlin fell to his knees, a trickle of crimson blood running down his nose, staining his clothes with the same rough, viscous liquid.
Nero's eyes widened in fear as he grasped what was happening.
"Nero, I can't go on! My Centrum... ahhh! It hurts so much."
The light went out, because if Merlin pushed himself any further... dying would be the least of his problems; the greatest problem would be the excruciating pain of exploding from within.
Nero reacted with alarmed speed, concentrating his Aura inside the wand and moving it with difficulty. Then he shouted, his voice nearly breaking:
"Fulgeo!"
The wand glowed again, though it flickered briefly at first.
Instead of relaxing or congratulating Nero, Merlin leaned back and pointed a trembling finger forward.
Nero turned to face Merlin, and when he saw him, he couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat, then muttered, almost vomiting:
"W-What the hell is that thing?"