Several days later.
Wagner sat atop a boulder at the banks of the lake. A fishing rod in hand, he gazed at the surface of the lake with a blank look on his face.
Ripples spread across the surface of the water, followed by a sudden tug on his fishing rod. But Wagner didn't react. His thoughts were far away.
He thought of his family back ho, of his children growing up without a father, of his beloved wife left alone for the rest of her life. They didn't even know whether he was dead or alive, and that uncertainty pained him.
He also wondered how his dear friend Bartholow had taken the revelation that he was not from this world, that there were other worlds beyond Tron.
Such knowledge was enough to thoroughly shake any Magus from the Outer Universe, unaware of the mysteries of the cosmos.
"Fishing's like life, you know."
Suddenly, a familiar voice echoed in Wagner's ears, snapping him out of his thoughts.
"If you sit there staring into nothing, you'll miss the tug when it cos. But rush it, and you'll scare the fish away."
Wagner ca to his senses and quickly turned toward the source of the voice. He saw Bartholow approach him with a faint smile on his face, then take a seat beside him on the boulder.
"You..." Wagner was suddenly at a loss for words. "How are you holding up?"
"Ehh, I'm all right. Bartholow shrugged.
Wagner was genuinely surprised. This wasn't the reaction he was expecting from his friend. He half-expected Bartholow to fall into depression after learning about the truth. But strangely enough, he looked fine.
"Are you not... horrified by what you learned?" He couldn't help but ask.
"I suppose I was," Bartholow said with a faint smile.
He raised his head and looked at the distant clouds, his gaze seemingly piercing through the firmant and settling on distant worlds.
"You know, Wagner," he began. "I always believed that the Mana Core Rank was the end of my arcane path. But sowhere deep down in my heart, I hoped... I desperately hoped that it wasn't."
He then stared out at the lake as he spoke.
"When I reached the Mana Core Rank, instead of feeling pride, I... felt aimless. Like I had climbed the highest peak only to find nothing waiting at the top. I kept thinking there had to be more. There had to be sothing beyond it." He looked back at Wagner, his eyes gleaming with radiance and wonder.
"And now I know there is. There are higher realms. There are greater heights to pursue." His face lit up with a brilliant smile. "For the first ti in a long while, I have a goal again. I have sothing to strive toward."
Bartholow lowered his head and clenched his fist. He then whispered with a smile:
"To pursue the higher arcane arts... that is my dream."
The mont Bartholow said those words, Wagner's heart tightened. A surge of conflicting emotions washed over him. He felt joy for his friend, but he also felt pain for what he knew he had to say.
It hurt him deeply to shatter his dream. Wagner knew the truth all too well, that reaching the Greater Universe was impossible for now. Not without waiting for the planetary alignnt, an event still thousands of years away.
Wagner inhaled deeply, then told Bartholow the truth. He told him about the celestial phenona known as the planetary alignnt, how it fueled the teleportation portal on Luna, and how it was still over three thousand years
away.
And as expected, Bartholow was once again heartbroken to hear the truth. Wagner gazed at his dear friend with a crestfallen look. He reached out with a hand and gently clasped Bartholow's shoulder.
"I... I'm sorry, Bart," he said softly. "I truly am."
Bartholow was silent for a long ti. He then let out a quiet sigh and shook his head.
"So what if it's thousands of years away?" he said. "So what if it seems impossible?"
He then turned to Wagner, his brown eyes brimming with bright optimism.
"I'll still try to find a way off this world. I have to. No! It is my duty as a Magus
to try."
His voice grew more firm as he continued:
"To give everything to your actions and not be shackled by the fear of outco... isn't that what the Way teaches us? If I turn back now, knowing there's more beyond this world, then what was the point of walking this path at
all?"
Listening to those words, Wagner's figure trembled ever so slightly.
The Way of effortless action.
It was about acting in harmony with the natural order, without force or obsession. It taught one to give their full effort to the present action while
remaining detached from success or failure.
The focus was on doing what must be done, not on controlling the outco.
To be committed to the action, not the result.
This was the Way!
Wagner fell silent, Bartholow's words sinking in deeper than he expected. The certainty and calm in his friend's voice stirred sothing he had long tried
to suppress.
Why had he given up so easily, just because the planetary alignnt lay thousands of years away? Why had he accepted impossibility as an excuse to
stop trying?
He thought of his family again. Of his wife. Of his children.
If he truly wanted to return to them, how could he justify not even attempting
to find a way? If he surrendered without even trying, he would forever be
regretful.
For the first ti in a long, long ti, doubt crept into Wagner's resignation, replaced by a fragile, dangerous thing.
Hope.
Wagner was deeply affected by those words.
"My friend," Bartholow said with a smile as he stretched out his hand. "Will
you work together with and try to find a way off this world?"
Wagner's eyes trembled as he looked at his friend's hand.
If I fail...
He wondered.
Then at least I'll die trying.
Clap!
Wagner rose to his feet and clasped his friend's hand. He nodded and said:
"Let's do it, partner."
Bartholow grinned.
"But..." Wagner added, his expression suddenly turning solemn. "You must swear an oath to never study that vile book you found in the spirit world."
Barthlow's face darkened.
Even he could understand just how dangerous anything tied to the devils must be, judging by Wagner's warning. And in truth, finding a path to the Greater Universe mattered far more to him than whatever power that book promised.
"I swear it!" Bartholow nodded.
Soon after, the two Magi sealed the book. It could not be destroyed, but they were certain that no one would ever learn of its existence.
In the days that followed, Wagner and Bartholow began traveling across the
world, searching for clues, studying the stars, and seeking a path beyond Tron. And during that ti, Aldo Wagner quietly began laying the foundations of a
secret order that he had once belonged to in Myrrandor. Thus began the Tron Chapter of the Twilight Brotherhood.
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