The imp, previously silent in its bottle, began screeching in an almost mechanical rhythm.

“Alchemist greed! Alchemist greedy! A greedy alchemist! Sin: Greed! Alchemist’s greed!”

The chant repeated, again and again, growing louder with each pass.

Then—shatter.

The orb exploded, not in force, but in grotesque presence. From its center, a burst of green and purple smog shot outward, thick and vile like the contents of an ancient, rotting egg cracked open after centuries. Audree flinched, arms instinctively rising to protect himself, sure he was about to be engulfed by whatever noxious thing had erupted from the orb.

But... nothing touched him.

He blinked—and saw Haldo standing right beside him, calm and unmoving. The smog roiled and spread, filling the entire room, except the space they occupied. It curved and coiled around them, like an invisible dome held the filth at bay.

How the hell did Haldo get over here so fast?
And more importantly—how was the smog avoiding them?

“That was a rather interesting outcome,” Haldo muttered, brushing dust from his shoulder like this was business as usual. “Seems you’ve gone and broken my old keyword orb.”

Audree glanced at the bottle where the imp had been. It now lay empty, a blackened, ash-like mark scorched into the glass.

“What happened to the imp?” Audree asked, his voice uneasy.

Haldo sighed, frowning slightly. “I’ll have to explain a bit more—after we leave this possibly toxic, magical-smog-filled room.”

“Uh... how?” Audree asked, motioning to the cloud of poisonous magic swirling around them.

“Just follow me,” Haldo said, already walking toward the curtain.

Audree did as he was told—and just like before, the smog parted before them. No matter how thick it seemed, the air cleared around Haldo, creating a path through the corruption. Audree reached a hand toward the edge of their clear bubble, curious—and the smog recoiled, fleeing his touch.

What kind of spell is this?
This man… Haldo… was far more than just a grumpy old librarian.

And that realization? It sparked a rush of excitement through Audree’s whole body. This is magic.
This is real.
This is what I want to be a part of.

They stepped out of the room, and Audree couldn’t help the wide, goofy grin stretching across his face. He looked back into the room expecting the smog to leak out into the rest of the library, but the curtains seemed to have some sort of enchantment stopping the gas from leaving the room.

“Okay boy,” Haldo said, glancing sideways at him with a raised brow. “Your grin’s making the most devilish of demons envious.”

Audree snapped out of it, a little embarrassed. “Sorry—just got excited.”

Haldo grinned. “Yes, magic can be quite exciting. I have my moments of weakness too.” He patted Audree’s shoulder. “I know you have questions. Go on.”

Audree hesitated. The whole mess with the orb had shoved aside what they were even here for. His keyword. His jaw tightened. The imp had shouted about greed and alchemy. He could already do alchemy—and that wasn’t the same as whatever Haldo or Velra did. Anyone could learn it with study. But greed? And a sin at that? His mind flashed with old stories of necromancers and monsters wearing human skin.

“Uh… Haldo,” he said slowly, “that imp said my keyword was two things—and one was a sin. What does that even mean?”

Haldo scratched his beard. “Yes, it’s strange. Having two keywords is very unusual. From your dream, it seems you had one from the beginning—probably Alchemy, given your ease with it. But your lack of mana would limit how useful that keyword is beyond a passive understanding. Once mana entered the equation…” He glanced at Audree’s arm. “It seems to have activated your keyword.”

“As for Greed, I assume that’s where the absorption comes from.” He frowned. “I don’t understand why you have two words, or why one is named after a Vitia.”

“What’s a Vitia?” Audree asked.

“A Vitia is what scholars call the primal ‘sins,’ as the imp said,” Haldo replied. “A long time ago, there were creatures named for those sins—pride, greed, wrath, envy, lust, gluttony, and sloth. They fed on human vices, creating ‘farms,’ as it was called.” He grimaced. “Over the ages, they disappeared, leaving only traces. Still, it’s odd—unsettling, really—to have a keyword tied to one.”

Audree looked at his arm, uneasy. The idea of being some kind of emotion-eating monster made his stomach twist. “So you’re saying I’m connected to that?”

“Probably not,” Haldo said with a small smile. “First: imps don’t give poetry; they give pings. They shout whatever resonates most strongly in your soul space—usually one clear word for people with keywords. With that your magic parameters are shown.

“Alchemy isn’t a surprise. Although unusual, it’s your craft, your lens. Greed”—he nodded at the bandage—“is likely how your power expresses itself. Not greed for coins—greed as taking. Your arm siphons ambient energy, trying to drink from whatever is near. That’s not a moral judgment; it’s a behavioral imprint. Or something like that.”

“So I’m not… evil?” Audree asked.

“If imps could judge morality, every court would have one,” Haldo snorted. “No. ‘Sin’ is theology and culture. The imp used the loudest tag it knows for that taking instinct. It doesn’t make you wicked—it warns how your magic behaves.”

Audree exhaled, a little of the tension leaving his shoulders. “And the orb breaking?”

“Two anchors collided,” Haldo said. “Your soul-space symbols—the cauldron and that golden throne—don’t like being forced into a neat label. The orb and imp tried to identify more than it could, your mark pushed back, and… eggy catastrophe.” He brushed a bit of lingering haze from his sleeve, smiling at his bad joke. “Also, your arm was already half charged. So it probably was using the orb as an outlet.”

“So the imp…” Audree asked, glancing at the scorched bottle.

“It was bound to the orb’s structure. When the structure cracked, the contract burned. It dispersed—unpleasant, but not your fault.” His eyes softened. “Don’t lose sleep over it.”

Haldo continued, “There are too many unknowns—factors outside my knowledge—for a firm answer. You’ve truly piqued my interest, boy. Moments like these remind me why I love magic. There’s so much more to learn.”

Audree looked at his palm. “So… what does my keyword even do?”

Haldo tilted his head. “How a keyword works in magic is completely based on the user's understanding. For me I might believe that it should work one way but you understand it can be vastly different than mine. A mage can be terrifyingly powerful or disastrously sloppy, depending on control. But that is a part of the path you will follow. One of self discovery, pain, and triumph, if you choose this life. For those reasons I can't give you all the answers. It will be your journey into the greater magic world.”

Haldo paused for a moment, rubbing his beard. “But… I could be a helping hand.” Haldo raised his hand to Audree.

Audree stared at the man's hand reaching out to him, then shook it, making sure to use his arm without the markings. This had to be a dream or something. He got the old man to finally agree to help him.

Audree looked down at his marked arm, “Control. Right,” Audree said.

“Which we’ll start building,” Haldo replied.

The old man was genuinely excited—more than Audree had ever seen—and it was infectious. Audree glanced around for Lief, wanting to share the moment, but the boy was gone.

“So much for new friends,” he sighed a bit annoyed, turning back as Haldo called to him. “I guess something's got to give.” He thought back about how uncomfortable Lief was from the start. “I’ll let him know later then,” he said, changing his face to be more happy. After all this is what he wanted, what he wished for.