As the echoes of promise faded away in the alchemical chamber, like the smell of old ink and ambition, another person appeared.
A man in his early twenties stood tall and thin, clearly a dual-wielder. His tied-back hair and sharp brows framed eyes like polished iron.
He moved with quiet precision, able to slip through shadows or strike with force without looking ruffled.
"This is my half-brother," Diana said, rising. Wilson Rock. Same father. Different storms."
Wilson dipped his chin. "So you're the lord who's making waves."
Charles smiled. "And you're Wilson Rock. Inner-core prodigy. Dual rapiers. Core Realm 8. Earth affinity. Apprentice to Master Brannis, Throneshield's three-star array architect."
Wilson's brow twitched. He was surprised.
Charles crossed his arms. "Your thesis on magnetic gridwork? Elders called it 'too theoretical.' They missed the point—your design wasn't just for city defense. It could power infrastructure."
A pause.
Wilson's eyes narrowed. "You actually read it?"
"I annotated it," Charles replied dryly. "SIGMA, show him page sixteen."
A light shimmered beside him as his spatial ring opened, unfolding like a flower. A glowing scroll appeared, and Charles handed it over with a flick of his wrist.
Wilson caught it. As soon as he unrolled the blueprint, his pupils shrank.
"This—" Words failed him, breath thin.
The array was a spiraling lattice. It carried energy. A mana sink sat turned upside down. Affinity converters made layered supports.
Encoded to change automatically when leyline shifts happen. What looked like fractal sub-runes were there. The title at the top shone in an otherworldly ink:
Astral Bloom Array: Type A Variant Sigma-Zeta
"Formation for gathering mana," Charles said with a shrug.
"Your Academy's model reaches its peak at 82%. This holds 243%. It changes shape, stores extra qi, and fits in your pocket."
Wilson's jaw set. "This isn't just advanced. It's decades ahead."
Charles tilted his head. "Then I assume you're curious what comes after page one?"
Wilson's fingers trembled slightly. His voice remained cool, but the flame in his eyes had already betrayed him.
"I'd like to test it," he said, carefully.
"You will," Charles replied. "But there are rules."
He pulled out a black envelope sealed with a silver emblem showing an inverted eye surrounded by seven crescent moons.
"Nondisclosure. No leaks. Not to your master, your shadow—no one."
Wilson looked at the envelope. "You're asking me to keep secrets from my mentor."
"I'm asking you to grow beyond him," Charles corrected, his gaze intent. "I know what it's like to be locked in someone else's boundaries. My motivation is to enable you to create beyond their limits."
"You'll still be his apprentice, but what I'm offering is a chance to pursue innovation without restriction. Here, ideas are valued for their merit, not dismissed by tradition. I want to support others who have been overlooked or constrained, like you were. This is an opportunity for you to achieve what the academy refused to support."
He leaned in slightly, voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper.
I'm not here to recruit for any ordinary school, Wilson. I'm here to forge a future where your talent actually shapes change—because the world needs innovators, not mere followers. That's the goal.
There was silence. Then Wilson opened the envelope and signed without hesitation.
Diana blinked. "That was fast."
"I've waited three years for someone to call my diagrams brilliant instead of dangerous. My motivation has always been to create something new, and finally, someone recognizes that," Wilson said, reverently rolling the scroll.
"Anyone portable-izing an Astral Bloom Array is either mad—or a miracle."
Charles grinned. "Who says I have to pick?"
Geo clapped once. "Does this mean I'm the only one here not under contract?"
Charles turned, looked the boy over, and tossed him a badge made of black crystal engraved with a fluid serpentine rune.
"You start tomorrow under your mom, with allowance," he said.
"Intern. Array and Alchemy Division. Prove yourself, and I'll give you your own lab after a month."
Geo caught it with wide eyes. "Seriously?"
"You already have ink on your fingers," Charles replied. "You were born halfway ready."
Diana shook her head, grinning. "My apothecary's become a recruitment hub."
"It was never quiet," Charles said. "Just asleep."
Wilson studied him closely. "What exactly are you planning?"
Charles looked at them all—Diana with her trembling fingers, Geo holding his new badge like a totem, and Wilson still staring at the Astral Bloom blueprint as if it had rewritten the laws of reality.
He stepped back to the center of the chamber and drew his cloak around himself, almost like closing a curtain.
"Imagine a city," he began.
"Where malls hum with cultivation arrays. Where spas infuse qi from elemental geysers. Where teleportation hubs connect nobles, merchants, and soldiers in seconds. Where alchemy boutiques rival guilds, and research towers rewrite the foundation of magic."
He turned, eyes glinting.
"Then imagine who owns it."
Geo exhaled slowly. "That's Velmora?"
Charles gave a slow, confident smile. "That will be ours if we build it first."
The Pillars of AeterPharmaceuticals
The dim glow of lantern-crystals flickered through the alchemy chamber, but it was no longer a place of hushed potion-making. It had become a war room of the future.
Charles stood in front of them like a conductor leading a group of musicians. The big stone table had Wendy, Borris, Rob, Diana, Wilson, and Geo sitting around it. Some of them were cautiously hopeful, while others were completely shocked.
The blueprints on the table were only the beginning of something much bigger.
Charles said, "I'm starting a new division," and his voice was sharp but exciting.
"Not just an apothecary. A powerful force in the magical and medical markets. We will name it SIGMA AeterPharmaceuticals."
He paused, letting the name settle like a spell cast in gold.
"We're not just selling herbs in paper sacks. We're changing what wellness, enhancement, beauty, and healing mean. My motivation is to build an alchemy empire that faces the public, cares about the community, stands up to challenges, and offers real luxury."
Rob let out a low whistle. "You're not thinking small."
"I'm thinking inevitable," Charles replied. "Here's the layout."
He snapped his fingers. SIGMA projected a model midair—a rotating complex of domed towers, hexagonal clinics, and retail galleries.
"In Velmora," Charles continued, pointing to the largest holographic structure, "we'll build the first flagship branch. Not a corner store. A five-story monument of glass and spellsteel. Each floor has a different specialization."
He began counting off with precision.
"First floor: Herbal Hall. Herbs from Zephyr, Duranth, and Throm Vale, plus rare aromatics, qi-infused condiments, candies, and tinctures."
"Second floor is the Pharmaceutical Alchemy Division. It will offer pills, elixirs, potions, inhalants, bath preparations, qi patches, and bone-repair bands. Some will be available over the counter, while others will require a prescription."
"Third floor: Clinic Complex. Private, enchanted outpatient rooms, consultations, diagnostics, and an express noble channel assessment line."
"Fourth floor: Beauty and Enhancement. Magical creams, tonics, scalp oils, and a luxury salon for those who value appearance."
"Fifth floor: Research Lounge—restricted access for nobles, executive buyers, and special projects."
Wendy was grinning. "So... magical spa, military field clinic, beauty salon, and pharmaceutical titan. All in one building?"
"With a rooftop tea lounge," Charles added, "serving proprietary herbal blends created by Diana herself."
Diana blinked. "You've planned this far already?"
"I'm always twenty moves ahead," he said simply.
He turned to her now, gaze firm yet inviting.
"You'll oversee the Alchemy Division. Lead the product research, supervise manufacturing, recruit talent, and manage the mage towers. If your motivation is creative freedom, you'll have it here—your own apprentice corps, your own labs, one in Zephyr and one deep inside Dragonspire Cavern, beneath the highlands of Throm Vale. Protected. Secret. Sovereign."
Geo nearly dropped his teacup. "Wait—we get mage towers?!"
Charles grinned. "You'll begin your formal mage training with Diana's curriculum, using materials from SIGMA and me. Think of it as a private sect, only smarter."
Wilson raised a brow. "And me?"
"You'll come with me," Charles said.
"You'll return with us to the East Wing of the Ziglar estate. There, you'll work with my chief array engineer and have access to my collection of sigil scrolls. We'll develop the Array Labs of AeterPharmaceuticals together, and I'll need your help building the enchantment base for our Velmora warehouse."
"Warehouse?" Rob echoed.
"It's a separate building, three streets behind the main complex," Charles explained.
"It will store raw materials, have vaults stabilized by teleportation, anti-theft enchantments, and our secure distribution center. This is where we'll prepare all exports and imports between Velmora, Zephyr, and Throm Vale."
He folded his arms.
"And eventually, we'll reach the world."
Borris chuckled. "You're not building a business. You're planting a dynasty."
"It's the same thing," Charles said with a grin. "One just needs better interior design."
Diana's eyes sparkled as she looked over the map again.
"This will take hundreds of cultivators, builders, merchants—"
Charles raised his hand.
"And we'll have them. Recruiting starts tomorrow. My main goal is to build a team based on loyalty and potential, not just family background or reputation. Are there any competitors in the city?" Wendy asked.
"Three minor chains. One mid-tier supplier. All running outdated processes. SIGMA's already scanning their production flow and storefront enchantments. They're decades behind. We'll be open in four months and turn profitable in six."
"What if they fight back?" Geo asked, brows furrowed.
"Then they'll be fighting shadows," Charles said with a smirk.
"Our supply chain will be impossible to track. Our clinics will be cheaper and give you better results and a better look. We don't just fix bodies; we give people hope. And hope, my friends, is something that people always want more of."
Wilson let out a low breath. "What is the goal for the investment?"
"First phase: 22 million gold coins," Charles said without much thought.
"Already liquid in Stellar Bank under the SIGMA Development Fund."
Everyone stared.
Rob finally muttered, "Every time I think I've seen your limit, you casually flip the board."
"Why play by someone else's rules," Charles said, leaning back in his chair, "when you can own the whole game?"
Diana stood, now brimming with inspiration and fire. "Then let me help you build it."
Geo nodded eagerly. "And me too. I want to learn. To invent."
Wilson extended a hand. "Let's create the future."
Charles clasped it, smiling.
"Then welcome, my friends, to SIGMA AeterPharmaceuticals, where we bottle destiny and brew the future."
Beneath the soft, herbal-laced air of Glowroot Remedies, in the secret chamber carved from mana-tempered stone and lined with ancient alchemical etchings, the future was taking shape.
Charles stood at the center of the room, his deep blue sapphire eyes reflecting the glowing array of blueprints suspended in the air by SIGMA.
His silver hair, streaked with iridescent blue shimmer, caught the underground lamplight like moonlight on steel. Around him stood Diana, Wilson, Geo, Borris, Wendy, and Rob—all caught in the spell of his vision.
"What I'm proposing," Charles said smoothly, "isn't just a business. It's an alchemical revolution."
The holographic model of Velmora shimmered above the table—highlighting four separate parcels of land marked with blinking golden glyphs.
"We begin construction on the first wave of SIGMA AeterPharmaceuticals within the quarter," Charles said.
"But this isn't an ordinary apothecary. We're launching an integrated pharmaceutical empire—alchemy with teeth. Clinics for outpatient wellness, beauty lines, research labs, production centers, even therapeutic spa treatments using enchanted salt and herb fusions."
"Salt and herb fusions?" Borris muttered, raising an eyebrow.
Charles smirked. "Imagine soaking in a bath that heals your joints, awakens your qi channels, and makes your hair smell like dragon-bloom orchids. Branding is everything, Borris."
"Noted."
Wendy leaned forward. "And distribution? What's our logistical plan?"
"SIGMA will run it," Charles replied.
"We establish a private warehouse hub here in Velmora, another in Throm Vale, and one in Duranth. The Highland mountain facility—inside Dragonspire—will serve as our high-security R&D sanctum. No one outside our inner circle will ever enter it. Diana, you'll oversee the main alchemy and training divisions."
Diana nodded and crossed her arms. "And you're giving people training?"
"We're putting up two mage towers: one in Zephyr and the other in Dragonspire. You will hire, train, and send out the best talent. You will teach Geo. Wilson will follow me around in person. SIGMA will help with screening, diagnostics, and ranking."
Wilson, still amazed by the Tri-Spiral Refractive Convergence Array's plans, muttered, "You're making a pharmaceutical fortress and a magical think tank that looks like a chain of stores."
Charles gave him a sidelong grin. "Exactly."
Then the chamber door creaked.