"What are you doing?"
Adam awoke again in the town.
He didn't know what to do.
Loyalty, justice, kindness, humility... all of these positive qualities were replaced by despair. No matter what Adam did, it ended the same way. The last time, he rushed to the mage's mansion and was caught by soldiers. The mage tortured him with ancient magic, and after fourteen days, Adam gave up and died.
The two souls fought for dominance -- the pure, white soul of Adam, and the grey, ugly soul made of despair.
The souls gnawed at each other, tearing each other apart.
...
Meanwhile, the trial has come to an end. Mage Ryan and Mage Kino lowered the rune barrier, and removed the potion's effects and gathered the surviving apprentices together.
A month ago, a hundred people entered the trial ground; today, less than forty remain. Everyone had mixed emotions -- joy and hope, relief, sadness; everyone looked for familiar faces, and every familiar face caused great joy.
William survived the trial as well thanks to his training in Adam's laboratory. Thanks to his talent in fire magic, he became the de facto leader of some apprentices in the trial ground. During the trial, he assembled a team of more than a dozen people. Combined with his leadership skills, all of them were able to survive.
"William, who are you looking for?" a female apprentice asked.
William smiled, "Someone."
His mind was frantic, though, "Where's Adam? Where did he go? Did he die?"
Adam desperately looked for Adam, not believing that a great apprentice like him would fall to a meager trial like this.
There was still no sign of Adam, and everyone could tell William was worried, "William! What's wrong?"
"Did any of you see Adam?"
Adam? Everyone looked at each other, and only then did they realised that Adam was missing, "Could it be... that he died?"
After a moment of silence, someone gloated, "Wasn't he the most powerful apprentice among us? Hah! With his shitty character, nobody wanted to stick by him. Now, he's probably some monster's excrement!"
William frowned at this comment. If Adam was already dead, then it wouldn't matter. However, if Adam wasn't dead, then this person would pay the price.
The two mages walked up to the crowd and announced, "Congratulations! All of you have passed the test. After returning to the Academy, you can choose to become a free apprentice or sign a contract with the Tower -- however, all of you are qualified apprentices."
"Rest here for an hour, then, we'll return to the Academy to begin your real Academy life."
The two returned to their house, and William followed them. He cautiously knocked on the door and said to the mages, "Dear Respected Mages, good day."
Mage Ryan answered the door and said, "Good day, apprentice."
"Sir, may I ask, are we all the surviving apprentices?"
Mage Ryan nodded, "Of course."
William froze and thanked the mage. Did Adam really die?
Mage Kino came up to the door and looked at William, "Do you know that apprentice named Adam?"
William immediately nodded.
Mage Kino looked at Mage Ryan, and let William enter.
Mage Kino brought William over to a bed in the guest room, and William's eyes widened, "How did he become like this?"
Adam's body was withered -- his lean body had withered to skin and bones, his body was constantly twitching, and William could see an evil, grey mist emitting from his body.
William muttered, "An antimage?"
Mage Kino looked at William in amazement, "Good observation."
"Adam and I once fought against a group of antimage apprentices -- Adam killed all four of them and saved Bran Village," William said.
Mage Kino glanced at Mage Ryan, who was sitting outside, "If that's the case, it's no wonder that antimage took such a big risk to kill your friend here. Adam must've killed his junior."
William boldly asked, "Can you tell me what happened to Adam?"
"A qualified antimage sneaked into the trial ground and Adam was struck by ancient soul-tearing magic. Your friend here is very strong, fighting off the despair in his soul."
As soon as Mage Kino spoke, the grey aura swept across the room, and Adam's face contorted in pain. Mage Kino chased William out of the room and pulled Mage Ryan to him, "Is this it? Is his soul destroyed?"
Mage Ryan closed the door and looked at Adam's pained face, "I don't think he can hold on any longer. Don't you want me to kill him?"
Mage Kino frowned. He didn't know if he should, but he gave up on the idea.
"Look -- ancient curse magic targets the soul. The magic aims to destroy the soul, but look at him," Mage Kino pointed. "His soul seems... fine. Have you ever seen something like this?"
Mage Ryan's eyes peered into Adam's body, peering into his soul before jumping out in surprise, "This is strange. What did he do?"
The natural curiosity of mages saved Adam's life. They decided to save Adam -- maybe they could study something interesting from him.
Mage Ryan conjured several runes that shrouded Adam's body, hiding the negative energy emitting from him. "This is a temporary measure, or the law enforcers of the Academy won't let us in."
Mage Ryan explained the situation to William, and he frowned. William returned to the gathering space, not sure what to think of Adam's condition.
Now, he knew why Adam couldn't leave with them. He couldn't imagine that Adam had fought a qualified antimage and survived.
However, Adam was obviously in danger -- not necessarily death, but a prisoner. He knows how powerful Adam's psychic powers were, so he had no doubts that he would survive.
He didn't know what to feel about Adam either. He once hated Adam, so he should feel relieved that he was incapacitated; however, he became stronger thanks to Adam as well. If Adam died, he would have no one to guide him in terms of meditation.
Moreover, even though he didn't want to admit it, Adam shouldn't die in such obscurity. Greatness must be recognised.
The apprentices subconsciously sat further away from William, noticing his foul mood. Nobody wanted to offend the person who was probably the strongest apprentice after Adam.
However, they couldn't help but mock Adam. They had the idea that if more talented individuals fell, they would have a greater chance to achieve greatness.
William thought their conversation was funny, rolling his eyes.
People like these will always blame their own inability on others instead of focusing on cultivating themselves and minding their own business.
He shook his head, trying to forget Adam's current dilemma. All he could do was silently pray for him. He had to think of what to do back at the Academy.
An hour passed and the mages walked out of their house. With a single click, the house shrank rapidly and disappeared into their hands. They then conjured a portal where the house was.
After a month, everyone, including Adam, returned to the Academy.