A few minutes before the beam of light...
Mais turned back to the cauldron in front of him after watching them leave. Now, it was completely silent around him. There was no sound of birds. There was no sound of water flowing. There was no fear. There was no anger, and no noise of emotion disturbed him. There was no expression on Mais's face.
At that moment, for the first time, his surroundings aligned with Mais's vision.
"Darkness..."
This quality that enveloped his being had not always been a part of him.
At first, this darkness was very far from him. Mais was not born with it. He had carried more light.
He touched the edges of the cauldron in front of him. It was not hot enough. But it was warm.
It should have been hotter. He should have felt excruciating pain. Since Mais was blind, this was how he understood the adequacy of heat. Even a three-tailed cat couldn't tell how hot the cauldron was.
In the past, he would watch the fire and measure its heat with his eyes and skin. The steam blowing on his face was also important. His eyes ensured that the process was safe. His method of measurement was no longer the same. However, a habit from the past could still guide him.
He was so focused on alchemy in the past that he would accidentally touch the cauldron. He would burn himself and constantly heal. The imperial doctors always worked for him.
'How did all this begin?'
Do you remember?
"That smile..."
Suddenly, he thought of that woman. He couldn't remember her face, but he remembered her smile. She would always come over and talk to him while he played with his toys. But he didn't remember most of what she said.
However, he did remember some things. This was one of those memories.
He was just a little boy. He was pleased and excited. He approached the altar with his brother. Everyone around him was blurry. Even his brother, who was standing next to him. Only the black floor and white ceiling were clear. Everything else was blurry. He remembered the staff on his back and the red fire in front of him.
He had a dream. He would become a cultivator and see worlds he had never seen before in unknown lands. He would see beautiful landscapes. He would marry a beautiful woman. He would have children with wonderful dreams. It wouldn't matter if they didn't have dreams. As long as Mais was strong, it didn't matter if they were weak.
As long as he was strong.
It was a surprisingly creative dream for a child. Mais had been able to grasp everything very quickly from the moment he began to live.
He approached the altar. Then, he remembered the many voices around him. His brother took a step back and saw the figure of a woman behind the fire. He didn't clearly remember their facial expressions. Looking back now, though, he understood that his family members must have known the outcome beforehand.
Back then, there weren't only men in the family.
"I had no future. I had no talent. My dreams were gone. My life would be short; my strength would be weak. Death was not far away."
'By the time my mother returned, I would already be dead.'
This truth hurt more than anything else. He knew it was just as painful for his mother. Even more so. That's why she had spent her days with him. That's why she had cried in his arms.
She couldn't stay. The journey was more important than her child.
Mais added a few more pieces of grass. Then, he stirred the mixture with a spoon from the cauldron. Unaware of the golden glow forming around him, he continued.
'I want to live.'
There was a reason he had such a dream. One night, before putting him to bed, his mother lay down beside him and asked him about alchemy.
She gave Mais his first lesson in alchemy. It was also the last lesson she ever gave him.
He believed the only way to reunite with her was through alchemy. He followed in his mother's footsteps, knowing she was a great alchemist.
Mais fell silent once more. At that moment, he couldn't hear the alchemy cauldron, but he understood why.
The cauldron wasn't important at that moment. It was Tao himself.
Mais had already reached the limits of alchemy for a normal human being. From this point on, only Tao could help him. From now on, the plants will be stronger. Only Tao could refine them. To do so, he had to do more than just mix them. He had to understand them.
Even though he couldn't see the golden walls around him, Mais could feel Tao's presence.
At that moment, he began to see Tao's trace.
He wanted to live until he returned. He wanted to show him. He hadn't just survived! He was the emperor! He was the new emperor! He was no disappointment!
Mais stood in front of the cauldron, and the golden walls covered his entire body and the cauldron. The walls stuck more and more to Mais's body and the cauldron.
'Mother... you are no longer my only reason. You are no longer my only reason to live.'
In the next moment, an explosion swallowed the entire sky and earth along with Mais.
***
"Maria! Wait for me!"
Kasuur shouted after Maria, but she had already left him behind. She was very close to the source of the light.
But at that moment, the light suddenly became brighter. The wind around him intensified, and his speed slowed. Then, Kasuur heard cracking sounds coming from some of the trees. He could no longer move forward; his surroundings had become very dangerous.
He looked at the light. The golden light suddenly shrank, then exploded with all its force.
Kasuur was thrown ten meters into the air and crashed to the ground, shattering the three trees behind him. He fainted. Blood flowed from his nose, and he was in terrible shape.
Nevertheless, he got up a few minutes later. His steps were slow, but he moved forward and passed through the oak trees. He held his right shoulder with his left hand.
"Ah! It really hurts."
He wanted to go home and recover. Mais would give him useful medicine.
'Home...'
He paused for a moment. A smile formed on his face, but he said nothing. With that smile on his face, he continued walking toward home. For someone who had been injured in an explosion, he was unusually cheerful.
Kasuur was a complete fool.
An unsettling feeling arose within him. It bothered him that he saw Mais and even Maria, whom he had known for only a short time, as family instead of the villagers.
"I suppose this is another terrible trait passed down from my blood relatives."
When the sun's rays hit his face once more, he had arrived home. At that moment, he saw Mais. He saw his gray eyes, the terrible wound on his face, his long black hair. He looked short and frail.
He wasn't.
It seemed like he was packing his things. He stirred the cauldron a little more, then took out a pill. The pill was the size of a fingernail and shone like gold. It looked amazing.
"You...what did you do?"
Only then did he notice the girl standing a few meters to his right. Maria was staring at Mais in shock.
"I'm packing my things. What does it look like I'm doing?"
Mais's words struck Kasuur and Maria like lightning. Kasuur had already decided not to pursue the matter further. Maria, however, was different.
She was impatient, spoiled, and selfish. As a genius, she had always gotten everything she wanted. It was very difficult for her not to be able to obtain something she wanted so badly, information she was so curious about.
"No! I saw the light! You did something! You ascended...but how much? What did you do to ascend so much? Was it a pill or something?!"
Maria's green eyes stared at Mais as if she had gone mad. Not even Kasuur could have guessed that such a monster could emerge from her small, sweet face.
He saw Mais turn to him. The staff that had fallen into his hand once more was on his back. Kasuur knew that this made it easier for Mais to walk. Mais's fingers tapped the staff, and the sound of "tap tap" rose into the air, creating tension.
"What's the difference between the old me and the new me?"
Mais asked Maria. Maria answered without hesitation.
"You're stronger! The origin energy emanating from your body is much greater!"
Mais sighed and shook his head. Then, he pulled the cauldron into the ring. He made no effort to hide its existence. At that moment, the Immortal White climbed onto his shoulder.
"Perhaps it's because the answer you're seeking has always been power."
Those who pursue power do not have time to notice more important things. That was why Mais thought Kasuur had a great chance with Tao.
Maria looked at Mais in surprise, and Mais pointed to the dilapidated hut. It didn't look very resistant to the cold.
"It would be good if we could reach your house before winter."