In the days that followed, Noah went through a transformation. It wasn't very visible, but how could anyone who had been with him every day for the past years not notice?
"Do you think we should intervene?" Penny asked Nick as they watched Noah staring out from the balcony. His gaze was distant, as if he were looking at the world from far away.
"He's always used emotions as fuel for his magic. It's part of his essence as a wizard," Nick replied with a sigh. "So, when his emotions are a mess, it's only natural for him to act strange."
"This mind arts business is horrible." Penny grimaced. "I hate it."
Nick said nothing.
Over the past few days, he had noticed Noah drifting between sadness and annoyance, and even flashes of anger and hatred seemed to pass through his mind. He had never dared to treat Noah as an ordinary child.
Nick knew Noah had a unique view of the world, and that relying on emotions for magic was, in a way, a dangerous path. That was why he didn't want to interfere. Perhaps it was selfish, but he felt that if Noah overcame this obstacle on his own, he would master his mind and emotions—and that would raise his magic to another level.
In the end, I'm a terrible godfather, Nick sighed inwardly. I need to think of a way to help him. I didn't live six hundred years for nothing, right?
So, during their morning alchemy lessons, Nick did his best to talk to Noah, but the boy was becoming more and more closed off.
That afternoon, Noah was in the laboratory. Wearing a protective mask over his face, he carefully manipulated a drop of blood with a needle.
"The iron in the blood seems to react well. Maybe if I could separate it—" Before he could finish his thought, Penny's voice echoed, calling him for afternoon tea.
Noah's hand trembled, and the separated iron fused back into the blood.
"Damn it!" he cursed, slamming his hand against the table.
"Hey, watch your mouth," Nick scolded.
Noah sighed and apologized. "Sorry. Tell Aunt Penny I don't want to eat. I need to finish this."
Nick shook his head. "You've been skipping tea with us a lot lately. She's quite sad, you know? You know how much she cares for you."
Noah rubbed his face. He was exhausted. A dull pain had been nagging at his left eye these past few days. He thought it might be stress.
"Tell her I'll come for tea tomorrow. I promise."
Nick stood and walked closer to him. "Don't make promises you can't keep. Words hold power, especially a wizard's promises."
Noah opened his mouth, but Nick stopped him. "I'll tell her you'll join us tomorrow. But I want you to put aside your experiments and deal with whatever's making you act so strange."
Nick placed a hand on Noah's shoulder and gave him a gentle smile. "You can talk to me if something's bothering you. I won't tell anyone if it's a secret. And if you've been dabbling in some dark art and a cursed ghost is haunting you, I can help with that too."
Noah chuckled. "No ghost could torment me. I'd just put it in a jar and study it."
Then he sighed. "You already know it's the mind arts I'm studying."
"I know." Nick nodded. "But—"
"My emotions are just out of order, that's all," Noah cut him off brusquely.
Nick sighed, releasing his shoulder and turning to leave.
But before he could exit the laboratory, he heard Noah's trembling voice.
"N-Nick?"
The old wizard turned. "Yes?"
"What if I can't keep it?" Noah asked, shrinking in on himself as if in pain.
"What if I make a promise and I can't keep it? What do I do then?" His voice was tight, as though he were holding his breath.
"That depends on you. Can you live without regret for breaking the promise? Or would it leave a hole in your heart?" Nick spoke gently, his calm voice reaching deep into Noah's mind. "Breaking promises is like lying to yourself. Remember what I said: words carry power."
"If I don't keep my promise to join tea tomorrow, would Penny hate me?" Noah asked.
Nick shook his head. "She would be disappointed, of course, but she wouldn't hate you. Because she loves you, like a son."
Noah clenched his fist. "If—and only if—I failed to keep the promise, would there still be a way to redeem myself?"
Nick smiled. "You could show up for tea the day after, or the day after that. Isn't the promise to come tomorrow just another way of saying you'll change? It's never too late. People change. What matters is learning, without leaving anything behind."
Looking straight at Noah, Nick continued, "After living as long as I have, I've learned something important about self-awareness. It's our mistakes, our broken promises, our wrong choices and actions that shape our identity. Wanting to forget a trauma is never the way—because that trauma makes us who we are. What we can do is accept our flaws and understand they're part of us."
Noah's eyes widened at the word trauma. Had Nick read his mind?
That couldn't be it. Even though he hadn't mastered the mind arts yet, Noah was sensitive enough to know.
Nick chuckled at his expression. "Don't worry, I'd never look inside your mind. But I'm not blind either. I know you're studying the mind arts, and I know the steps involved."
Though Nick had never fully studied Queen West's teachings, he still knew the process.
"That's why I know the part about facing and accepting our memories. I don't know what kind of situation drove you into a dead end at such a young age, but knowing you, I wouldn't be surprised at anything. Maybe it's just some of those intrusive thoughts our minds create. Whatever it is, my advice is simple: don't run from it. Accept it."
Though Noah's protective mask covered his face, Nick knew his words had been heard—and understood. Whether they would reach his heart and mind was now up to Noah alone.
With that, Nick left the room, leaving Noah by himself.
Noah removed the mask and pressed his face into his hands. He wanted to cry, to scream.
It was the first time since arriving in this world that he felt weak. His sense of self was breaking, this current version of him being replaced by the weak, incapable Noah of his past life.
"I hate this feeling."
He knew it was only in his mind, but for a moment he thought he smelled blood. Reflexively, he wiped at his nose—only to find nothing there.
He sighed.
Standing, he left the laboratory. He needed fresh air. Avoiding the balcony where Nick and Penny were having tea, he went straight to the front door and stepped outside.
Once he was gone, Penny glanced toward the door.
She sighed, and a hand touched her shoulder. She didn't need to turn to know it was Nick.
"You feel it too?" she asked.
Nick squeezed her shoulder and nodded.
"His emotions are overflowing. His magic is affecting the world without him realizing it," Nick said.
Near the doorway where Noah had left, a potted plant had withered completely, as if all its liquid had evaporated.
"Is that bad?" Penny asked. In all her six hundred years, she had never seen anything like it.
Nick stayed silent. Am I being too selfish?
"I don't have an answer to that," he said at last, turning to comfort her. "But don't worry. He's a good boy."
Penny nodded, though she couldn't shake off her concern.
"What's going on in that little head of his?" she murmured.