Adam sat on a dark leather couch in front of the fireplace in his dorm room, blankly staring at the firewood burning.
In one hand, he held a goblet of wine. On the other was a blood-stained white cloth that he used every now and then to wipe his bloody tears.
The sound of the fire crackling was soothing, and the warmth it provided was peaceful. Despite the external comfort, however, the youth's mind was in a ss.
Although barely a minute had passed in the material world, several hours had passed in the Spirit World—the ti dilation was sothing that he still found shocking no matter how many tis he traversed between the two planes.
In those several hours, a lot of things had happened that the youth still couldn't co to terms with.
The number one question that plagued his mind was the identity of the butterfly.
Adam absentmindedly swirled the wine in his goblet, his eyes focusing in and out as he stared at the burning fire in a daze.
Who is it? He thought.
No, rather... who is she?
Is she an ally, or...
Adam recalled the first ti he had t the butterfly. It was right after he had saved Valerian -who was still inside the egg-from the lair of the white serpent in the Spirit World.
He rembered how he was utterly powerless and was being chased by the snake until he jumped off of a cliff and plunged into the infinite darkness.
There were countless shadowy tendrils in that darkness that threatened to swallow him whole. At that mont, he thought that he would really die.
That's when he first saw the butterfly.
This mysterious creature was like a brilliant lighthouse in that sea of dark tendrils. He rembered that the butterfly had caused all those corrupt tendrils to retreat in fear and saved him from his predicant.
If it wasn't for the butterfly, he and the unborn Valerian would have t their demise in the Spirit World. That was for certain.
Thinking back to their first eting, Adam couldn't help but sigh. He swirled the wine in his cup and took a sip. A mont later, he raised his other hand to wipe the blood trickling from his eyes.
Every ti Adam had t the butterfly in the Spirit World, he could say for certain that he had benefited in so way.
No matter how skeptical and cautious he was, deep down he believed that this recent eting was also a blessing in disguise for him.
What if the vision she showed in that mirror was an illusion? He thought.
But the next mont, he shook his head.
With the help of the white lotus, he could see through all illusions. Still, there was this nagging feeling in him that made him question certain things.
What if... the butterfly is a being that is more powerful than the white lotus?
In the first place, how does she even know of the white lotus?
What relation do they share?
The more questions popped up inside his mind, the more his headache increased. He couldn't help but grunt in annoyance as a little more blood seeped out from between his eyelids.
Well, she is right about one thing, he thought. If I continue using the white lotus as I am, I am definitely going to go blind.
His mind suddenly drifted toward the final scene in the mirror. In that future, his head had exploded and his soul body had erged from his physical body.
Then, what he could only describe as an intentional self-detonation, the explosion of his soul body destroyed everything in his surroundings.
What could cause to be so desperate that I would resort to such ans?
It was reminiscent of Magus Julian Stockholm. In his final monts, he had willed the white lotus to devour all the souls in his vicinity-including his own-causing the very space to fracture all around.
Thinking of that, Adam involuntarily gritted his teeth.
"I don't want to die," he murmured.
"I haven't even achieved my dream yet..."
He didn't want to co to a situation where he would be desperate enough to take such drastic asures with the lotus.
The last ti he did that was during the war with the orcs in the Southern Federation. His back was against the wall and he was pushed to the end of the proverbial cliff by the Gracie Patriarch and Professor Hemingway, who were both one rank more powerful than him.
It was during that ti that he had first truly activated the white lotus, weaving a large-scale illusion that helped him overco his foes and erge victorious.
However, as a result, he was bedridden for two years, recovering from the deep injuries inflicted on his spirit sea.
Adam closed his eyes and took a deep breath. When he opened them again, he had arrived inside his spirit sea.
He glanced at the majestic white lotus floating in this mystical sea like a vast island in the middle of an expansive ocean. He flew toward it and then landed on one of its three, round leaves. He walked forward and placed his hand on one of the many white petals.
"Your weight is too much for to bear as I am now," he whispered.
"If I continue to use your powers recklessly, I'm afraid I'll truly be walking toward that ominous future that I witnessed."
He took a deep breath and then solemnly proclaid, "So I'll work harder from now on and beco a Magus truly strong and worthy of wielding you."
Right at that mont, the white lotus pulsed ever so slightly, almost as if it was resonating with the youth's words.
A calm ripple originated from the legendary artifact and rippled outward toward the elusive boundary of the spirit sea.
A faint smile blossod on Adam's face. He turned around and flew away, his departing words echoing inside his spirit sea.
"It's decided then."
It was almost as if a heavy weight had been lifted off of his shoulders, knowing that he had firmly decided to walk on a path that would lead to a different future, a better future. Although he would refrain from using the white lotus as the magical focus to weave illusions, cast spells from the spiritual aspect of magic, or even attempt teleportation, it didn't an that the artifact's passive abilities would cease to exist.
Abilities such as the Sphere of Resonance, devouring souls in his vicinity, seeing through illusion, and most importantly, clearing the fog of intoxication after he was drunk would still
be retained.
Adam had only decided to not proactively use the lotus to cast spells that would put him in danger. This would also serve as a test of his discipline.
After having finally made his decision, the youth decided to just fall asleep on the dark couch
in front of the fireplace. He was too tired to walk to his bed. It had been a long day and a lot
had transpired.
Suddenly, he recalled sothing. "Ah, shit. I couldn't divine the whereabouts of that parasitic worm... Sigh, forget it. I'll let soone else handle that."
With that, he drifted off into the realm of slumber. It was the deepest and most peaceful sleep that he'd had in a very long ti.
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