The echo of his uncle's suspicion still hung in the air of the dining hall, but Nard had no time to dwell on it. The real trial awaited him in the deep hours of the night, when the rest of the Zaqor Manor fell into a drug-like slumber.
As Nard stepped out of his chambers to head toward the secluded servant's passage, a heavy, familiar voice cut through the darkness of the corridor.
"Still wandering the halls like a lost ghost, Nard?"
Nard froze. He slowly turned to see his father, Rrejy Zaqor, standing near the balcony. The moonlight caught the faint light-blue tint in Rrejy's black hair, but his fierce eyes were cast in shadow, cold and unforgiving. Beside him stood Ralph, Nard's stepbrother, wearing a smug, arrogant grin.
"I... I was just getting some water, Father," Nard muttered, slumping his shoulders and letting his gaze fall to the floor. He wore his mask perfectly—the broken, pathetic boy they had all grown to despise.
Rrejy let out a harsh, mocking laugh. "Getting water? You can barely carry a pitcher without your hands trembling. Look at you. At your age, your mother was already a tier 6 healer, renowned across kingdoms. And you? You were hailed as a genius of the century, yet you lost everything in a single night. A fluke. A parasite clinging to the Zaqor name."
Ralph sneered, stepping forward. "He's just a waste of space, Father. While I've already consolidated my tier 2 light magic, he can't even light a candle. He shouldn't even be allowed in the main manor."
Rrejy sighed, the disappointment in his eyes cutting deeper than any blade. "Do not speak of him, Ralph. He is a hollow shell. Maria gave her life to save me, and this... this is what remains of her blood. A boy who plays with dead birds and cannot even summon a spark of mana. You are a disgrace to your mother's memory, Nard. Get out of my sight."
The words stung, a bitter poison that threatened to unleash the volcano simmering beneath Nard's chest. The white sparks of his restored light clawed at his skin, wanting to burst forth and incinerate the mockery on Ralph's face. But Nard clenched his fists inside his sleeves, took a deep breath, and bowed his head.
"Yes, Father. Forgive me," Nard whispered, turning and walking away with the slow, defeated gait they expected.
Only when he bolted the door of the damp servant's passage did Nard let his facade crumble. His breathing was ragged, and white-hot sparks of light danced violently across his knuckles, crackling with raw, unrefined fury.
"Calm yourself, Nard," a deep, resonant baritone echoed from the shadows.
The small bird with the jagged scar flew down from a ceiling beam, expanding in a flash of gold-tinted energy until Beru stood before him. The legendary morpher's amber eyes glowed with stern authority.
"They mock me, Beru," Nard growled, his voice trembling. "My own father calls me a disgrace. He thinks I'm a hollow shell!"
"Then prove them wrong by mastering the flame within, not by letting it consume you," Beru replied coldly. "If you let your anger leak tonight, the mana fluctuations will alert every healer in this manor. You must learn to compress your light under the harshest pressure."
Beru raised his hand, and the air around them grew heavy. The gravity seemed to double, then triple, forcing Nard to his knees. The stone floor cracked slightly under the sheer weight of Beru's ancient aura.
"Now, summon your light," Beru commanded. "But do not let a single photon escape your skin. Compress it into your heart. If you fail, the pressure will crush your ribs."
Nard groaned, his muscles screaming as he fought against the crushing gravity. He closed his eyes, reaching deep into his core, tapping into the emerald and white energy Beru had unlocked. As the light surged, it naturally tried to burst outward, a radiant aura that would illuminate the entire passage.
"No!" Beru barked, stepping closer. "Do not let it out! Push it back! Your veins must become the prison, and your will the warden. Grind the light against your bones until it yields!"
Beru unleashed a wave of dark, heavy mana that pressed against Nard's chest like an iron anvil. Nard gasped, feeling his lungs contract. The pain was excruciating. The raw light magic within him fought against the external pressure, violently thrashing against his pathways. It felt as though his veins were being filled with molten glass.
"I... I can't!" Nard cried out, sweat pouring down his face, blood trickling from his nose.
"You can, and you will," Beru said, his voice absolute and unyielding. "Your mother Maria did not hesitate when she poured her entire soul into a single strike to save your father. She did not complain of the pain when her hair turned grey and her life burned away. Will you let her sacrifice be in vain because you lack the spine to endure a little heat?"
The mention of his mother struck Nard like a lightning bolt. The image of her gentle grey eyes, the warmth of her embrace, and the tragic, blinding light of her final moment flashed in his mind.
No. I will not let her sacrifice be in vain.
With a guttural roar, Nard stopped fighting the external pressure. Instead, he embraced it. He gathered the wild, thrashing white sparks and dragged them inward. He forced them into the mana ring surrounding his heart, clamping down on his own energy with absolute, desperate willpower.
The light resisted, burning hotter and hotter, but Nard did not relent. He squeezed. He compressed.
Slowly, the blinding glow beneath his skin began to recede. The wild crackling stopped. In its place, a dense, incredibly concentrated core of pure, emerald-tinted white light settled around his heart. It didn't leak. It didn't flash. It was completely silent, yet packed with a hundred times the power of before.
The crushing gravity suddenly vanished. Nard collapsed to the floor, gasping for air, his body trembling with exhaustion, but his eyes were blazing with a sharp, triumphant clarity.
Beru looked down at him, a rare, subtle smile gracing his ancient face.
"Well done, Nard," Beru whispered, reverting back into the form of the small, scarred bird and landing on his shoulder. "You have taken your first step into the crucible. Soon, the darkness of this manor will find itself completely blind."