Ittya looked at the sea, a soothing cool breeze passing over her face. She could see a giant snake-like creature in the water, fighting a fish as big as the tower she was in.

"How can someone survive in that sea? I find it hard to believe," Ittya wondered aloud, her thoughts escaping her lips.

"As long as you know who will help you, it's not very hard. The creatures you see are newborns compared to what you will see in the open seas," Gisella replied.

"Even bigger than them? They must be as big as the dragon I saw in the Lower Realm. Are you done, master?" Ittya inquired, her mind completely focused on the snake as it coiled around the giant fish. The sound of their tussling was audible to her ears.

"Just a few more syllables. I want you to walk around and open the gate, then leave this place without looking back," Gisella answered.

"Is there a reason I can't look back?" Ittya asked, realizing she might be asking too many questions.

"A very simple reason, my dear student. Each syllable holds information, ranging from limited to insurmountable. If untrained eyes gaze upon them, it can cause anything from a mild headache to severe trauma, depending on the person's condition. This formation holds enough syllables to make even a master artisan lose their sanity," Gisella replied nonchalantly as she drew the second-to-last syllables from her blood—a fact Ittya was unaware of.

"Will you ever teach me these strange formations?" Ittya asked eagerly.

"No, I will teach you the magic that you need to learn—the Twelve Houses and the Five Natural Luminances—and how to cultivate them. Ritual arts are time-consuming and useless for you. Once you reclaim the kingdom, you can have ritualists for any needs you may have," Gisella explained.

"You are going to stay with me, right? After I take back the kingdom?" Ittya asked, hoping for reassurance.

"Yes, I will always be your master and Royal Overseer... until you realize it is time to rid yourself of me," Gisella's voice remained unchanged.

"I would never do something so disloyal! Do you see me as just another power-hungry mongrel?" Ittya retorted, her voice tinged with frustration.

"I am not accusing you of any such plan. I am simply stating the natural course in the path of a ruler. As you conquer more land, expanding your empire and growing in power, you will find yourself questioning why should I be above you? and why should you listen to me? Do not dwell on those thoughts. When the time comes, you will understand what I mean. Now, you may leave," Gisella replied.

Ittya's jaw tightened, but she remained silent. She circled the roof, opened the gate, and gulped as she contemplated the reality of actually leaving this place.

In the first few days when Ittya had arrived in this place, she had desperately tried to leave. However, the weights on her ankles became so heavy that she couldn't take another step. The chains on her legs turned as stiff as a rod, rendering her immobile. She could only watch through the door into the pitch-black exit, never able to take a step outside.

But this time, the weights were just heavy enough, like regular metal weights. Ittya was able to lift her legs. She picked up the large metal ball, which felt heavier than she remembered. Balancing herself, she took a step forward, anticipating the weight to become unbearable, yet it remained manageable. A wave of relief washed over her, and she cautiously took another step, carefully maintaining her balance on the unmaintained and steep stairs.

Ittya reminded herself that this was the real world, and if she were to fall and break her bones, it would take a long time for her to heal. Finally, she reached the last step when she heard the rough sound of a rusted metal door closing.

Looking around, Ittya saw a large open window letting in sunlight that illuminated the broken and weathered room. Furniture made of wood from trees that seemed to defy the passage of time still stood strong, covered in a thick layer of dust and sea salt.

She sat on the last stair, waiting for her teacher. What were they going to do now? Ittya pondered the next steps that awaited her.

"Better to be here than in the sun, wouldn't you say?" Gisella remarked.

"I do not know. I have always been asleep when I was sent to the Lower Realm and returned by the time the sun was already on the horizon," Ittya replied.

"Better to be in the sun than there," Gisella agreed.

"Follow me. This place is far too dirty to talk," Gisella instructed, stepping to the side of the stairs and pointing to the back. There was a white ceramic door at the end of the hall. "That place is cleaner compared to this one. We shall discuss our journey from here on before leaving."

Ittya followed behind, using her wings to dust off her back. Her white garb now had a large black and muddy patch. "Why is that door so different and alien to everything in this place?"

"It was most likely a quarter for the ritualists who lived here or the lord of this place. It doesn't matter to us," Gisella explained. She tapped the door, and a strange pattern formed on its surface before vanishing like smoke.

"What was that?" Ittya asked, curious about the phenomenon.

"Another inscription. This place is filled with them. They are ritual arts with perpetual existence, serving as safeguards against intruders," Gisella replied.

"Not much of a safeguard, are they? They seem broken," Ittya commented, noticing how easily Gisella broke through them.

"No, they are safeguards against thieves and soldiers during a siege. I am neither," Gisella stated matter-of-factly. She opened the door and led both of them inside.

Ittya gazed around the well-kept and cold room in wonder. It was meticulously maintained, with a giant window on one side and blue lamps suspended in the air, casting a gentle light blue hue over the entire space. A huge bed occupied one side of the room, while a sofa faced a burning hearth, that lit up as soon as they stepped inside, on the other.

"This place is similar to the castle," Ittya remarked, observing the similarities.

"It is not bad. Take a seat, or better yet, lay down and let your body enjoy the comfort of an actual bed," Gisella suggested.

"What are you going to do?" Ittya inquired.

"I will find some sustenance for your body. Now that you are outside the influence of the Altar, your body will start demanding nourishment," Gisella explained.

"But there should be no food in this place or anywhere near us. This place is in the Youling Forest, cursed and everything poisoned. Wait, did you eat anything from here? Did I not warn you before?" Ittya's voice grew tense, fearing that she had failed to caution Gisella about the potential danger.

"Yes, you've warned me. And no, the food I will procure is different, even if it's in small quantities," Gisella reassured her.

Ittya obediently lay down on the soft bed, finding it difficult to believe that this place was truly abandoned. "Is this your doing as well, Master?

"To an extent, I did make this place a little more homey. I was expecting to live here for months, but your mental breakdown expedited our departure," Gisella explained.

"You always had a plan to make me your student?" Ittya questioned, still feeling puzzled.

"No, initially I intended to study the effects of the Altar, but that became less interesting compared to the prospect of guiding you, of witnessing mythical kingdoms and the highest throne," Gisella responded.

"You speak of things that sound like fairy tales with such confidence that one would think you are insane, Master," Ittya couldn't help but express her thoughts, trying to maintain a respectful tone.

"My dear, you were practically immortal, and I merely suspended time in a specific place. Are you certain that the existence of mythical kingdoms is the only fairytale you have heard from me?" Gisella replied.

"I hadn't considered that," Ittya admitted, feeling a tinge of shame. She hadn't given those events much thought, and she didn't want to dwell on them either. The soft mattress beckoned her into a deep sleep, and she succumbed to its embrace.

The sun was low on the horizon as Ittya woke from her slumber. She looked around and saw her teacher, Gisella, by the hearth, chanting something.

"Ittya?" Gisella called out with her eyes still closed. "How do you feel?"

"Perfectly fine. I didn't even have a single nightmare," Ittya replied in astonishment. Nightmares had become a regular occurrence in her life.

"That's good to hear. Come and sit here. We have much to discuss," Gisella instructed.

Ittya stood up and picked up the hunk of metal chained to her legs, making her way to her master's side. She sat on the sofa beside Gisella, placing the weight to the side.

"Since you severely lack etiquette in every department, I have much to teach you. Firstly, you mustn't sit without my permission. If you do, it must be in a place lower than mine. That is basic etiquette in a teacher-student relationship. Am I clear?" Gisella asked, narrowing her eyes at Ittya.

"Yes, Master," Ittya replied,

"For now, these are the only edible things I could procure. Eat," Gisella suggested, offering some food. Ittya wanted to ask if Gisella had something to eat herself, but upon seeing her expression, she decided against it.

"Let's do something about those weights first," Gisella said, after Ittya finished eating, examining the ball. "I cannot break the chains, no matter how hard I try."

"Of course, if you could, then they would be useless," Gisella mused. She tapped the iron, and a tingling sound reverberated through the room.

"It will be a good practice for you. Let us proceed with your first magic lesson," Gisella announced. Ittya sat attentively, eager to learn, as Gisella stood from her seat and walked beside the hearth. A soft, white glow emanated from Gisella's hand as she gestured, guiding the smoke to form a ball beside her.

"Visualization will be helpful. So let's start with the sources or types of Luminance. There are five, each with unique properties. The first one is Solar Luminance, which emanates from the sun. Then we have Lunar Luminance, which comes from the moon. Cosmic, Void, and Stellar are the other three, but I will teach you about them another time. Introducing too much information too quickly can be overwhelming," Gisella explained.

Gisella gestured again, and the ashen blue smoke took shape, forming five distinct entities. There was the representation of the sun, the moon, a star, a spinning disc of light, and the final one was nothingness. Ittya observed the five forms that Gisella had created, but when she looked at the fifth representation, which she assumed to be Void, there was simply emptiness, as if there was nothing there at all.

Gisella continued, "Each individual is born with one inherent nature of Luminance, either solar or lunar. The other three types are exceptionally rare to be born with. In your case, your nature is solar, which means you can never learn lunar magic. However, the cosmic, void, and stellar types can be learned. You will delve into them once you have enough knowledge and control over the flow of Luminance.”

“Luminance primarily serves as fuel for performing magic, but in extremely rare circumstances, it can be used directly to cast spells. I will leave out the theoretical aspects of Luminance for now until we find a suitable place to learn. However, understanding Luminance is crucial for your progress, so you will learn about them eventually."

Ittya pondered Gisella's words and asked, "You created five forms from the smoke, but I couldn't see the fifth one."

"It represents void, nothingness. You can never gaze directly at the void. It's as simple as that," Gisella explained.

Though Ittya was confused, she understood the meaning behind the word— Not now. Gisella then shifted the discussion to another aspect.

"Luminance serves as fuel, but there must be something it needs to be fed into. That is where the Twelve Heavenly Palaces come in. We refer to them as the Twelve Houses of Eternity. Every mage focuses on these houses when casting a spell. I assume you haven't learned about them yet," Gisella stated.

“I have not.”

Gisella nodded and continued, "The Twelve Houses form the foundation of magecraft." She tapped the smoke, which transformed into abstract representations of palaces. They were incomplete, yet they emanated a sense of grandeur that overwhelmed Ittya.

"These houses represent different paths, encompassing everything from creating illusions to transforming the world into an illusion. Both possibilities lie within the realm of the Twelve Houses. Now, the most common question people ask is: What are the Twelve Houses? The answer to that question varies depending on the interpretation of the mage. Some believe that they are celestial bodies guiding the flow of Luminance for their purpose, while others see them as concepts developed by mortals to visualize and perform miraculous feats beyond their natural capabilities. Both interpretations are valid, and none can truly prove the ultimate nature of the Twelve Houses."

Ittya was still trying to grasp the concept when she asked, "Why can't we cast magic directly? Mastering twelve different houses seems like a very roundabout way to go."

Gisella gave a patient smile and replied, "You could say the same thing about many aspects of life. Why not consume raw food instead of cooking it? Why not use raw materials directly as weapons? Why build houses when one could live in caverns? The mastery of the Twelve Houses is a necessity for mortals to perform magic. Consider yourself as an example. Even with adequate control over the flow of Luminance, you cannot cast spells or manipulate the elements. Has your confusion lessened?"

Ittya nodded in understanding. Gisella then asked, "Have you been taught about the mastery of a specific path?"

"No," Ittya replied, confusion evident in her voice. It was the first time she had heard about such a concept.