As sunlight spilled over Kamar-Taj one morning, Xia Zuo slowly woke from his sleep.
After washing up, Xia Zuo walked out of his room. This time, however, he did not head straight to the magic library. Instead, he took a familiar path deeper into Kamar-Taj and made his way to an ancient hall, with three doors set into three of its walls.
This was Kamar-Taj's teleportation hub, with stable portals leading to the Three Sanctums. As Xia Zuo learned more about Kamar-Taj, he discovered that the Ancient One had granted him far greater access than he had imagined, allowing him into far more areas than ordinary visitors.
Xia Zuo opened one of the doors with practiced ease, then walked straight through, stepping into another space. This was also a hall, but it was much larger than the central hub he had just entered.
"Back again, Xia Zuo?"
A monk who looked East Asian was sweeping the hall. Seeing Xia Zuo arrive, he greeted him with a soft chuckle.
"Morning, Lao Chen."
Xia Zuo waved familiarly, then made his own way out of the hall. Beyond its doors was no longer Kamar-Taj, but a bustling street. He could even hear familiar vendors' calls, accompanied by familiar aromas wafting over.
Xia Zuo made his way to a familiar breakfast shop. The owner smiled as soon as he saw him and spoke in fluent Chinese. "Little Zuo, the usual?"
"Yes, the usual," Xia Zuo said with a smile.
That was right: this time, Xia Zuo had come to the New York Sanctum in Hong Kong. After becoming familiar with Kamar-Taj, he had discovered just how much access the Ancient One had granted him-even the hub connecting the three halls was open to him.
Xia Zuo was not about to waste such an opportunity. He had been craving Chinese food for a long time-fried dough sticks, soy milk, all things unavailable in the United States. So he often came straight here for meals through the Hong Kong Sanctum, just as he had today. Even the shop owner here had gotten to know him.
Only after finishing breakfast did Xia Zuo return to Kamar-Taj and head to the magic library again to begin another round of reading.
It had been nearly a year since Xia Zuo arrived at Kamar-Taj. During that year, he had done only two things: read in the magic library during the day, and meditate at night to temper his mind.
Xia Zuo had done nothing else. He had not even truly studied how to use actual magic. After all, with his Copy Eyes, he had no need to learn how to use magic.
On the other hand, Xia Zuo also intended to read through every magic book in the library in one sustained effort, so that he could develop the other abilities of his second Eye Ring. After all, he did not know how long he would stay at Kamar-Taj, so he planned to finish all the books here first.
It was just like his First Eye Ring: Geass Eye. If Xia Zuo wanted to improve the Geass Eye's abilities, his only option was to collect emotional changes. That was both the condition for unlocking the First Eye Ring and the condition for improving it. Now, if he wanted to improve the abilities of his second Eye Ring, he had to keep gathering magical knowledge, just as he had when unlocking it.
For that very reason, Xia Zuo had already read many of the magic books throughout Kamar-Taj. His knowledge of magic ranked among the very best in all of Kamar-Taj; he could be called an expert in magical theory.
An empty hall stood utterly silent, without a sound, as though no one were there. Suddenly, the center of the hall slowly shattered like a mirror, and a bald woman in white monk's robes slowly stepped out. It was the Ancient One.
"Sorcerer Supreme, you've returned." A monk with an East Asian face hurried into the hall and addressed the Sorcerer Supreme respectfully.
"Yes, I'm back. Wong, has anything happened over this past year?" the Sorcerer Supreme asked the East Asian monk softly. The man attending her was Wong, the current heir of a family that had served the Sorcerer Supreme for generations.
The Sorcerer Supreme had not stayed at Kamar-Taj during that year. After all, she bore considerable burdens. She was responsible for protecting this world from invasion by beings from other worlds.
So she sometimes needed to travel to different worlds to check whether any unusual changes had occurred there. Shortly after Xia Zuo had arrived at Kamar-Taj, the Ancient One had left again to inspect various places, only returning to this world in the past few days.
"Nothing has happened. All the disciples have been practicing magic diligently, and there has been no bad news from the Three Sanctums. You can rest assured on that front. As for anything else... there has been one strange thing."
Wong faithfully reported what had happened at Kamar-Taj over the past year to the Sorcerer Supreme. Toward the end, however, his words grew hesitant-or rather, uncertain. He was not sure whether that matter counted as strange.
"What is it? Tell me."
The Sorcerer Supreme looked at Wong curiously. She could see his uncertainty, which made this interesting. There was actually something that even Wong could not decide whether to call strange.
"Do you remember the child you brought back a year ago?" Wong asked the Sorcerer Supreme after a moment's thought.
"Xia Zuo? What happened to him?"
At Wong's words, the Sorcerer Supreme immediately recalled Xia Zuo. She could hardly help it; he had left such a deep impression on her that he came to mind at once. But she was very curious. What had happened to Xia Zuo now?
"He now has a title: expert in magical theory. That's because the only thing he has done this entire year is read magic books in the library. He hasn't done anything else. He hasn't even practiced magic."
At those words, the Ancient One was immediately astonished.