There was a stunned silence in the room as not only Nero, but everyone else came to the realisation at the same time. The abstract curse did nothing, and only floated above Nero's fire as if it was deriving energy from it. But the sight of it was too stunning.
The dark moon was one of Neire's two moons, and was the one that was always present in the sky. At night, when the normal, white moon was more visible, its silvery light illuminating the darkness, the dark moon was ironically the least visible. But it was, nevertheless, always there.
During the day, if clouds were not blocking the sky, the dark moon could be clearly seen. It never moved, unlike the other celestial bodies, and seemed to be stuck in one place.
Many people had concluded, after studying it for countless years, that it hung directly over the Jagged lands in Creta though that hardly made a difference since no one could reach the moon, or enter deep into the Jagged lands either.
If the location had any relevance to the Dark moon, then it was meant to remain a mystery, at least to the general public. But nothing good could come of it, because nothing good ever seemed to come from anything in Neire. That was doubly so for the Dark moon.
On ordinary days, it was little more than a dark blip in the sky. It was an ever present feature of the skyline, present in artwork and children's drawings, but it offered little other significance.
There were also a few days where the sun or moon would be eclipsed by the Dark moon, and that still made no difference. But during a rare triple eclipse, that happened once every few decades, where the sun and the moon were both simultaneously eclipsed by the Dark moon, curses were severely affected!
Some curses were outright destroyed, while others became extremely agitated. Some were severely weakened, while others became strengthened. There seemed to be no rhyme or reason for why certain curses reacted differently from others. Regardless, it was both a boon and a blight.
Whatever the reasoning behind it, the Dark moon was an anomaly that no one understood. Many researchers had already concluded that it was not a naturally occurring phenomenon, although then again, there were researchers who said otherwise. Nero didn't know who was in the right, and had not studied the topic in too much depth.
But he did not need to study the Dark moon to recognise it, or realise that the abstract curse suddenly turning into it was probably not normal. In fact, he was sure of it, because the moment the curse transformed, he could feel that his increased defences against external influences to his aetheric pressure had failed!
The tiny moon had silently broken through his guard, and was… he couldn't be sure, but Nero almost felt like it was absorbing something from his body.
Before anyone could react, the moon began to disperse, as if it was a mirage seen in the mist, and no longer reacted to Nero's flames. It also stopped affecting his internal pressure.
"Increase the intensity of the flame," Footer said. "Try to freeze it."
Nero complied, and summoned the strongest flame he could, engulfing his entire body, but the mist remained unreactive to it. It was as if it had no temperature for his fire to absorb, and no energy for it to clash with. No matter what Nero did, it continued to ignore him and everyone else in the room.
But after a while, Nero could not help but feel that the mist was ever so slightly thicker than it had been when they entered.
"It seems you cannot affect abstract curses, or at least this abstract curse," said one of the guards. "I think it's time we conclude this test. Your time is up."
Footer frowned, almost imperceptibly. Saying that Nero could not affect it was premature, since the curse had clearly reacted to the flames at first. But he could not come up with a proper explanation why it would turn into the Dark moon. There should be no correlation between Nero's ability and the moon.
He quickly thought back to when the last triple eclipse was. It did not happen any time near Nero's birth, so there was no ominous sign linking them either.
Regardless, he complied without causing a fuss. Abstract curses were too powerful and too unusual for him to risk anything with.
They left the room, making sure none of the mist was able to escape. All its barriers operated normally, and nothing unusual happened.
The purification process was a lot more thorough this time, where each of them, the four guards included, were led to individual pods filled with a silverish liquid and made to lie down in it.
It was not a pleasant experience at all, and lightly burned Nero's skin all over his body. There were countless steps afterwards, which revealed that Nero was not the only one who was silently affected by the curse. Footer, too, showed signs of having some curses purified as they went through the many steps.
Over all, the process was not nearly exhausting, but that concluded their training for the day. Footer had other responsibilities he needed to tend to, so he could not overlook Nero. That left him to train with Ms. Zim the rest of the day.
At night, when Nero lay in bed, he could not help but wonder why the curse had transformed into the moon. He had not kept the strange draining sensation he felt a secret, but after a thorough examination it was revealed that Nero was perfectly fine.
Perhaps others would have thought to keep that minute secret, and that is why they would die. You could not be careful enough when it came to curses, especially one that could apparently kill sages.
But if the change was special or unusual in any way, no one revealed it. No one questioned Nero, nor did the guards seem to show any special interest in him.
The next day his training underwent a subtle change, as they spent less time testing his innate ability now to come up with various strategies on how Nero could use it. Footer had also procured a number of other cards with ice related spells to see if they could serve as fuel for his ability.
They were now officially moving from the initial, exploration phase of the training to the development phase. Besides focusing on increasing the extent and precision of his aether control, the many applications of it were finally brought onto the agenda.
Foot also informed him that on Friday there would be a ceremony, in which he would officially receive his commendation. It would be a public event, and to a certain degree, he would become a public figure after that.
The stern man warned him about what that would mean for his career, should he choose to join the military. Whether he wanted to or not, he would forever be tied to the Demon corps. Nero did not have a problem with that. Instead, he asked the man the question that was on his mind quite straightforwardly.
"How can I use this to benefit my cultivation?" he asked. "Do you think I could get access to even more amazing resources?"
"Don't be greedy," Footer said, slapping the ruler in his hand. "You must not, under any circumstances, ask the sage for anything, especially in public. The only exception is unless he directly asks you if you want anything. Networking is the most important thing you can gain from this event. Make an impression on the people who will attend the ceremony.
After all, if you do manage to join the army, they're going to be your superiors."
The conversation continued onto the expected etiquettes he had to display, as well as how the ceremony would proceed. If he didn't know them, technically speaking, it would be fine. After all, army protocols were something he would be trained in once he joined the military academy. But it was never too early to make a good impression.
But Footer was not the only one who had something to say to him about the upcoming ceremony. Ms. Zim also gave him some advice, and Silas was over the moon about it, and even came to find him to let him know he would be attending.
The longest meeting he had, however, was with Gabriel.
"There is such a thing as being tied to the Demon crops," the red head said, after Nero told him about his discussion with Footer. "But there is also being tied to the Ferro family. You need to learn the distinction, and know what pitfalls to avoid."
Nero's roommate was showing his rare serious side, and thought long and hard before he began to elaborate.
"Haiden Ferro is the sage who leads the Demon corps, as you already know. That means that the Ferro family is very closely tied with it, and deeply involved in it. It's impossible to avoid all ties with them. But having ties with them, and being tied to them is not the same thing. There are going to be a few traps you need to watch out for.
I can't predict all of them, but I'll tell you a few of the common tactics used by the great families so you get an idea for them."