Several kilometres away from Freewind town, a young man and woman stood together side by side.
"Is it here?" Alisia asked and Vincent slowly nodded.
They stood in front of a sealed entrance of an abandoned mine within the forest. It was dusty and covered in various greenery. It looked like it wasn't touched for decades.
"Stay close to me. We're heading to the deepest, coldest and darkest spot of the mine," Vincent took Alisia's hand and walked in between the dense vines.
"You didn't take a torch though. How are we going to see where to go?" she asked in confusion.
"One of my elements is darkness and I'm already at the 2nd stage. My eyes were already slightly altered by it, allowing me to see in the dark almost as well as if it was daytime. You'll have this minor ability too once you reach the Mortal Flesh stage."
"Then I'm looking forward to it," she replied with a smile and hugged his arm instead, letting him lead her.
…
Ten minutes later.
Vincent led Alisia deeper underground through a carved tunnel in utter darkness.
It was so silent that they could almost hear their heartbeats.
Occasionally the sound of rats was heard as their quiet steps continued going forward.
…
Another 5 minutes passed and Vincent stopped.
Alisia was already trembling from the chilling cold. If Vincent wasn't so warm, she would be in deep trouble.
"Do you feel it?" he suddenly asked.
Alisia was confused as her body kept trembling, "What… do you mean?"
"Ignore the cold and focus on where you are. Do you feel something different from before? Something unusual? Anything?"
Alisia didn't reply and tried to follow his words, but it was easier to say than done. After all, it is her first time being in such a situation.
Vincent didn't rush her and calmly waited.
Several minutes later, as Alisia tightly hugged his arm, her thoughts were focused on evaluating her current state when she suddenly noticed something weird.
"I… I don't know if this is it."
"Do you feel it?"
"I think there is something, but… I just can't put a finger on it. It's… a weird feeling."
Vincent slowly nodded and asked something that surprised her, "Is that feeling… comfort?"
Alisia narrowed her eyes and tried to feel it again amidst the chilling cold.
Then her eyes widened, "You're right. It's a strange feeling as if…"
Vincent interrupted her, "... as if you're at home?"
Alisia thought briefly, "Exactly."
Vincent nodded, "In that case, your feeling is stronger than mine. When I first found this place for isolated training a few days ago, I felt that it was quite comfortable here. It looks like your feeling is stronger compared to what I've experienced."
"But why? Why do I feel this way?" she asked.
"The only logical answer is that we both possess darkness seed, but your seed is pure darkness so you naturally feel much more at ease, as if you're in your natural environment."
"By my speculation, this place didn't experience any light for years. Because of this, it slowly, but gradually transformed the world essence in this spot into a darkness essence which only became dense with time."
"Is that… why didn't you bring a torch?" she suddenly realised.
Vincent smiled and kissed her head in approval, making her heart a bit warmer.
"Yes. If I lit up a torch right now, it'll last only for a few seconds before fire will be forcefully extinguished."
"Moreover, this will also negatively affect the darkness essence here, making it less dense. So no light should be brought here."
"If my assumption is correct, the amount of darkness essence in this place can support your training from several months to a year, considering breaks for sleep, food, and other daily necessities of course."
Alisia nodded and then asked, "But if you give me this spot, what about you? Can we train here together?"
Vincent also thought about it, "It's better if you absorb all of it than me as you'll reap more benefits from it. I can always find another mine when needed."
Though Alisia couldn't see him, through his voice, she could feel that he was simply giving her this spot.
"People with dark seed are quite rare so you shouldn't be worried that you'll have to compete with others for this spot," he added.
"I speculate that in the entire North Star county, there are only around a hundred people with essence seed, and most of them don't even know that they possess one."
"If my mother didn't introduce me to the identification crystal that our ancestor left, I would never even know that I was born with one and would spend my entire life in the Mirkwood village under North Star oppression."
Alisia nodded and then chuckled lightly, "In that case, we most likely would have been married already."
"Can't deny that," he casually replied.
Alisia also noticed that he was quite talkative when it came to explaining to her about this new world which was quite not how he usually behaves.
It was as if he wanted to pass her as much of his insights as possible.
"Okay, let's begin," he spoke with a serious voice, "I'll guide you to the best of my knowledge and then leave you alone for several minutes."
"But don't be afraid. I will be nearby just in case."
Alisia nodded, feeling warmer inside.
"Sit down in a comfortable position and calm yourself."
Alisia followed his instructions.
"Close your eyes, take several deep and slow breaths and empty your mind of all external thoughts."
"Once you do it, maintain this state as long as possible."
"After several minutes, you should start feeling that something in your chest begins to heat up. Don't be scared by it. It means that the essence seed near your heart begins to naturally respond to the darkness essence around you."
"It'll work like a magnet, slowly, but gradually attracting the responsible element to itself."
"The more darkness essence it will absorb, the hotter it'll become."
"Your job is to wait as it heats up until you feel that your chest is almost on fire. At that moment, start imagining how all of that heat moves away from your chest towards other parts of your body."
"This heat will also protect you from the surrounding cold."
"But if it does not work and the heat will continue to rise up, immediately break your concentration and stand up or else, the seed will explode as well as your heart."
"I myself almost died several times, thinking I can hold up a bit longer. So don't do something this stupid."
"This will most likely bring a lot of pain, but it is an acceptable price compared to a certain death."
"And after a few hours of rest, you can try once again."
"The point of this training is for you to get accustomed to this sensation so you'll be able to do it by yourself without me being around."
"Once that is done, follow the instructions from The Threefolded Origin tome about the first stage."
"If you feel anything wrong, even if it's faint, stop immediately, understood?" he warned.
Alisia carefully remembered his words, "It feels like I'm back in school, hehe," she chuckled lightly, "Yes. I'll follow your words."