Snowflakes drifted lazily in the air as Rion and Lorn walked across the white plain. Their boots left crisp prints behind them, the only disturbance in the quiet morning landscape.
Lorn's emerald eyes wandered around with a strange mixture of curiosity and calculation. She looked like someone who examined every snowflake as if it were a math problem.
Rion walked beside her, clutching his scarf. After a while, curiosity gnawed too hard.
"Teacher… how does Eidos choose our path?" he asked.
Lorn didn't look at him. "It doesn't."
"Eh?" Rion blinked. "But didn't you say—"
"That was a joke," she said bluntly.
Rion tripped over his own foot. "W–wait, you were joking? But you said it so seriously!"
"That's your fault for believing everything I say with a straight face," she replied, finally glancing at him. Then more gently, "Your Eidos doesn't decide your destiny. Your path is yours alone. Eidos only awakens what already exists inside you. Your hidden essence… your inner desire."
Rion swallowed.
She said it so calmly, but it felt deep.
Like something a wise sage would say—if that sage happened to be four feet tall.
Lorn suddenly stopped and crouched. From her bag, she picked out something wrapped in cloth.
Rion leaned forward. "What's that?"
She unwrapped it—revealing a mirror.
But unlike normal mirrors, this one wasn't plain silver. The frame was carved with symbols that pulsed faintly.
Lorn exhaled. "Paul told me about you. But before we begin, I need to check something."
Rion tilted his head. "Check what?"
She grinned like she was about to unveil a magic trick.
"This, my student, is an artifact that reveals potential."
Rion's eyes widened. "Why do we need that?"
"Because," she said while polishing the mirror with her sleeve, "if I don't know your body's limits, I might accidentally make a potion that kills you."
Rion froze. "W–wait—"
"Hand," she cut him off, raising the mirror.
With trembling fingers, Rion placed his hand on the glass.
Instantly, the mirror darkened—turning pitch black.
Rion flinched. "Is… that bad?"
Lorn didn't even blink. "It means you have full potential."
He stared. "Full potential? Like… full-full?"
"As full as it gets," she replied casually. "Which means I have to prepare… that potion."
Rion didn't know if he should be happy or terrified.
Probably both.
She knelt in the snow, pulled out a small glass vial, and began mixing the four Eidos potions together. They swirled into a radiant blend of blue, red, gold, and green—sparking lightly on contact.
Then she began adding ingredients one by one:
"Eighty milliliters of holy water…
ten drops of ambrosia essence…
ten grams of golden eagle bone powder…
ten milliliters of mountain goat milk…
and five drops of venom from a northern serpent."
Rion gulped. "Teacher… that sounds like something used to resurrect demons."
Lorn ignored him.
The moment she added the final drop, the mixture burst with a tiny explosion—poof!—releasing a swirl of shimmering light.
When the smoke cleared, the potion glowed with breathtaking beauty:
a swirling galaxy inside a bottle, colors dancing like stars trapped in liquid form.
Even Rion forgot to breathe.
"It's… beautiful," he whispered.
Lorn nodded. "And extremely dangerous. Drink."
Rion stared. "You're very casual about my lifespan."
"Drink before it cools," she repeated.
He swallowed hard, closed his eyes, and downed the entire vial.
For a moment—nothing.
Then warmth surged through his veins, a rush of energy pulsing from his chest to the tips of his fingers. His body glowed faintly, like light trapped beneath his skin, before slowly fading.
Lorn watched carefully. "Good. You fully digested it."
Rion collapsed onto the snow, exhausted. "If I failed, what would've happened…?"
She smiled sweetly.
"You'd die."
Rion opened his mouth. Closed it immediately.
No words came out.
"Now then," Lorn said cheerfully, "let's see what kind of special abilities you awakened."
She held up the mirror again.
Just as she brought it near him—the mirror suddenly flashed white.
Lorn's eyes widened. "What—? This shouldn't—"
"Teacher?" Rion asked, confused.
"RUN!" she shouted.
She grabbed him, leaped backward, and threw the mirror into the air.
The artifact exploded with a thunderous BOOM, sending waves of magical shock rippling through the snow.
Lorn twisted mid-air, hugging Rion tightly while casting a barrier in a single swift motion. The golden shield shimmered around them, absorbing the falling blast.
Snow burst, trees shook, and for a moment the world turned white.
When the barrier faded, Rion stared at the smoking crater left behind.
"Teacher… w-what happened?!"
Lorn didn't answer immediately.
She just stared at the sky, her expression unusually serious.
Impossible… That mirror has never broken. Ever. Not even in front of prodigies or nobles or cursed children… Why him? Why this boy? What is he?
After a long pause, she forced a smile and said,
"It's nothing. Today's class is over. I'll teach you about Eidos tomorrow. Go home."
He nodded, still shaken. "Okay… but are you coming too?"
"In a few minutes," she said quietly. "I need to… think."
Rion hesitated but eventually turned and walked home.
As he walked away, Lorn remained standing in the snow, staring at the sky with a heavy, unsettled look.
The mirror didn't break because of his power, she thought.
It broke because it couldn't show anything at all.
And that… is far more frightening.