The moment William ventured deeper into the palace, he realized something strange.
The atmosphere remained serene.
The radiant gardens were still there.
Rivers of light continued to flow through the air like celestial streams.
But now, movement filled every corner.
Figures began emerging from distant halls and corridors.
Dozens of them.
Men and women dressed in elegant robes of white, silver, and gold.
Some carried books.
Others transported strange crystalline objects.
A few appeared to be tending floating gardens suspended in midair.
Yet the instant they noticed the silver-haired woman and the old man, every one of them stopped.
Then they bowed respectfully.
"Welcome back, my lady."
"Welcome back, Lord Andrew."
William froze for a moment.
Andrew?
So the old man truly had a name.
He immediately turned toward him.
"A...?"
The old man smiled.
"What about it?"
"So that's your name."
A peculiar look appeared on the old man's face.
"If that's what you heard."
William frowned.
"What do you mean, if that's what I heard?"
The silver-haired woman spoke before the old man could answer.
"What you heard is not necessarily what we heard."
William stared at her in confusion.
Before he could ask another question, the old man spoke.
"Try saying it."
William scoffed.
"A—"
Then he froze.
No sound came out.
His lips had moved.
He was certain of it.
He had clearly tried to say the name.
Yet the word never left his mouth.
A flicker of surprise appeared in his eyes.
He tried again.
Nothing.
A third time.
Still nothing.
Each attempt felt stranger than the last.
It was as though the name dissolved inside his mind before it could reach his tongue.
As if something prevented him from fully grasping it.
The silver-haired woman watched with an amused smile.
The old man merely smiled back.
At last, William gave up.
"What is happening?"
The old man's gaze met his.
"You do not know me well enough."
William blinked.
"What is that even supposed to mean?"
"Names in the higher realms are not merely sounds."
Andrew answered calmly.
"They are descriptions."
"They are concepts."
"They are echoes of existence itself."
He placed a hand over his chest.
"The more deeply you understand something..."
"The more accurately you can perceive it."
His smile widened slightly.
"And the more accurately you can perceive it..."
"The closer you come to speaking its true name."
William fell silent.
For the first time, he realized the servants might not have spoken the old man's name at all.
Perhaps they had spoken of something far deeper.
Something his mind had translated into a form he could barely comprehend.
And somehow...
That thought was far more unsettling than if the old man had possessed no name at all.
The silver-haired woman let out a soft laugh.
"Now you understand."
William slowly lowered his hand.
"...I hate this place."
The old man smiled.
"You've only been here for a few hours."
Eventually, they arrived before two enormous white doors.
The doors opened soundlessly.
The three stepped inside.
William froze instantly.
The room was completely empty.
White walls.
White floor.
White ceiling.
Nothing else.
No furniture.
No decorations.
No windows.
No doors.
Nothing.
There was something deeply unsettling about the room.
As though reality itself had been stripped bare.
William took a single step forward.
Then suddenly—
His lungs stopped working.
His eyes widened.
Air.
There was no air.
Or at least, he could no longer breathe.
Panic seized him.
His vision blurred.
His chest burned.
Instinctively, he tried to inhale.
Nothing entered his lungs.
His heartbeat accelerated.
The old man merely watched.
The silver-haired woman remained silent.
His thoughts descended into chaos.
His body screamed for oxygen.
Then—
A memory surfaced.
Mount Everest.
The summit.
The freezing winds.
The lesson.
The old man's voice.
"Feel the air."
William's eyes widened.
He immediately closed them.
Ignoring the panic.
Ignoring the pain.
Ignoring the instinct to struggle.
He focused.
He searched.
He listened.
And finally...
He felt it.
Hidden currents.
An unseen flow.
A concealed presence surrounding him.
Not air.
Something deeper.
Something beneath air itself.
William inhaled slowly.
The sensation entered his body.
A moment later, the burning in his chest vanished.
Then another breath.
And another.
Until his breathing finally returned to normal.
Or at least...
Normal for this place.
The old man nodded.
"Good."
William looked around.
"What is this?"
The silver-haired woman answered first.
"This room is special."
Her voice echoed gently throughout the white expanse.
"In this place, nothing functions automatically."
William frowned.
"What does that mean?"
She raised her hand.
"Outside this room, entire systems operate without your awareness."
"Your body regulates itself."
"Your muscles move."
"Your senses gather information."
"Your lungs breathe."
"Your heart beats."
"Countless processes occur without your participation."
William nodded slowly.
The woman smiled.
"Not here."
His eyes widened.
Suddenly, he noticed it.
His body was not moving naturally.
Every movement required intention.
Every movement required focus.
Even standing demanded effort.
He tried to speak.
Nothing happened.
For a brief moment.
Then he forced the words out.
"What..."
His voice sounded strange.
Slow.
Delayed.
"...is happening?"
The silver-haired woman nodded.
"You noticed."
William stared.
Even speaking required deliberate effort.
If he stopped concentrating...
The words stopped as well.
His eyes widened further.
Then he decided to try something else.
Walking.
The first step nearly made him fall.
His body refused to cooperate until he consciously directed every movement.
One muscle.
Then another.
Then another.
Like manually operating a machine.
The realization disturbed him.
Hours passed.
Then days.
William gradually adapted.
Breathing became easier.
Walking became easier.
Speaking became easier.
Eventually, he was able to function within the room without making constant mistakes.
Only then did he ask the question that had been troubling him from the very beginning.
"What is the point of all this?"
The silver-haired woman glanced toward Andrew.
The old man smiled.
Then he finally answered.
"The issue lies with your ability."
William frowned.
"My ability?"
Andrew nodded.
"Remember the past."
His voice echoed through the empty room.
"When we first met, what could you do?"
William remembered immediately.
"I could hear thoughts."
"Exactly."
Andrew nodded.
"And after that?"
William answered automatically.
"I learned how to influence minds."
"And after that?"
"The control became stronger."
"Then?"
William hesitated.
"Atoms."
Andrew smiled.
"And after that?"
William's expression changed.
"Cosmic energies."
The old man nodded once more.
"Every stage expanded the scope of your influence."
He walked slowly through the white room.
"You began with thoughts."
"Then minds."
"Then matter."
"Then energies."
His eyes locked onto William's.
"And one day..."
His voice lowered.
"You will influence things far greater than those."
Silence filled the room.
The old man continued.
"Your ability is different from most abilities."
"It does not specialize."
"It expands."
"It requires understanding."
"It requires mastery."
"It requires knowledge."
Each sentence felt heavier than the one before.
Then Andrew gestured toward the empty white space surrounding them.
"This room exists to teach you a simple lesson."
William waited.
The old man's gaze sharpened.
"If you wish to influence everything..."
"You must first learn how everything works."
Silence settled over the room.
And for the first time...
William understood why this training was so different.
He was not learning how to use his power.
He was learning how existence itself functioned.
One process at a time.
One law at a time.
One truth at a time.
And somehow...
He suspected this was only the beginning.