Ask and ye shall receive, no you cannot refuse - The Curious Alchemist

Aiden and Will sat in silence across from Mr. Lee.

What they had learned over the past few minutes was a mixture of horrifying, existential, insightful, and something else Aiden could not quite describe.

Yet despite all of that, he was not freaking out as much as he thought he would.

In an almost comical way, one could not open their system inside their own mind. So, for all Aiden knew, he was getting dozens of messages about permanent psyche damage or something similar.

Nevertheless, he and Will turned to each other.

They had each been granted a question.

Will had asked what a fateless was.

Aiden had asked about the gods.

That left the final question, the one granted because of Indigo's favor.

Part of Aiden wanted to blurt out a question about the Masks.

Yet instead, he found himself thinking.

He and Will sat there for what felt like an eternity, stewing over what their final question should be.

Finally, Will looked to Mr. Lee.

"How do we cure Selene's condition?"

Mr. Lee raised an eyebrow.

Then he turned to Aiden, as if expecting him to object.

Aiden nodded, confirming that they would use their third question on that.

"How fascinating," Mr. Lee said. "Most, when offered the chance to learn such knowledge, would ask about the future, absolute power, or something of that nature."

His polite smile softened slightly.

"And yet you give up a question that could be used to learn almost any knowledge in the world for the sake of a friend. I must say, there are few who would be willing to do such a thing."

Aiden and Will did not move.

Mr. Lee clapped his hands.

The world shifted, and they returned to the actual bookstore.

Aiden looked around in confusion as Mr. Lee quietly stood and made his way to one of the shelves.

His fingers traced along the books until they stopped on a small, tattered journal.

It looked like the kind someone would keep while traveling.

Mr. Lee walked back over and slid the journal across the table to Aiden.

"Now, Mr. Hollowcreek," he said, "may I tell you a story about that journal while you flip through it?"

"Oh, uh, sure."

Aiden opened the journal, still a bit confused.

The pages seemed ancient, like they might crumble from a touch. They were covered in what looked like formulas, with marks and notes written beside them recording results and effects.

"It was around twenty thousand years ago that a young couple set out to create what they called the Panacea Guide," Mr. Lee said. "A book said to contain the cure for every disease and ailment in the world."

"Wait," Aiden said, looking up. "If it was twenty thousand years ago, how would you know the story? Was it passed down over time?"

He thought back to the ten-thousand-year limit even the gods seemed to have.

"Not every creature is limited to the ten thousand years the divines are governed by," Mr. Lee said. "Creatures like dragons, angels, demons, and even Red and Indigo have lived longer than that."

He tapped the side of his teacup.

"I believe the oldest currently living creature in the world is Ertrerzoth, the first alchemist. If I recall correctly, he reached four million a few years ago."

Aiden stared at him, slack-jawed.

Mr. Lee glanced at him before chuckling.

"My apologies. It slipped my mind for a moment that you are an alchemist."

He folded his hands.

"Ertrerzoth is one of the three greatwyrms, dragons who have gathered enough divinity to approach the realm of godhood in power. He was the first being to make a potion, some eight hundred thousand years ago."

Mr. Lee paused for a moment.

"I believe it had been an attempt to get a stronger effect from the plants he was smoking to get high."

"So the beginning of all alchemy," Will said, dumbfounded inside Aiden's head, "started with a dragon who wanted to be even more stoned?"

Mr. Lee gestured back to the journal.

"As I was saying, the young couple were elves. The wife was an alchemist like yourself, while her husband was a pharmacist. Because of that, each held different knowledge and techniques for curing conditions through their classes."

Aiden looked back down at the pages.

"In their studies, they found a myriad of cures still commonly used today, such as basic antidotes and other such concoctions. However, the couple continued to seek more knowledge."

Mr. Lee's tone grew quieter.

"You see, their son was also born with AES, as well as a second condition caused by their first attempts to treat him. The boy's energy veins were burned, so the use of even skills with a minimal cost caused him great pain. The pain worsened the more energy he used."

Mr. Lee reached over and gingerly flipped the journal to a set of pages near the back.

"In their travels, they ventured into the continental dungeon of Telletonas, where they found themselves gathering knowledge quickly by consulting the findings of a Dr. Einwright, a genius biologist said to understand the body so thoroughly that he invented cloning, though his methods were lost."

Aiden's eyes moved across the page as Mr. Lee continued.

"Using one of the doctor's old notebooks, they managed to create three potions. One to cure their son's AES. One to cure his burned energy veins. And one to cure the extreme frostbite and other damage they incurred in the continental dungeon."

Mr. Lee tapped the page.

"Thus, they created the Elixir of Aetheric Harmonization, the Vita-Flux Recirculator, and the Potion of Elemental Equilibrium."

Aiden quickly turned to the appropriate page, his eyes flying over the words until he found it.

Elixir of Aetheric Harmonization

An advanced curative brew that realigns aether channels, seals micro-fractures in the energy core, and permanently ends all symptoms of Aetheric Expulsion Syndrome, or AES.

One full dose must be consumed over a single day.

Half at dawn.

Half at dusk.

Crafting Recipe

Base Catalyst:

Liquid Crystal — 1 vial

Herbal Complex:

Abjurasia chips — 1 unit

Aether-conductive stabilizer.

Garigne powdered bark — 1 unit

Accelerates tissue repair.

Mirena sap — 1 unit

Major restorative. Anchors life-force.

Yaretalion shavings — 1 unit

Guards against energy drain and possession.

Breakthrough's inner bark — 1 unit

Purges lingering toxic aether.

Wolfhunter leaves — 1 unit

Draws out residual poisons during detox.

Alleha grains — 1 unit

Removes exhaustion and restores vigor.

Borage fruit — 1 unit

Delays fatigue to help the body integrate the elixir.

Eldas heart-wood sliver — 1 unit

Deep-cycle revitalization.

Focus Root — 1 unit

Sharpens concentration, preventing relapse.

Equipment:

Mortar and pestle.

Lead-lined cauldron.

Silver reflux coil.

Runic strainer.

Crystal decanter with wax seal.

Brewing Instructions:

Moon-Soak:

The night before brewing, submerge the Abjurasia chips in the Liquid Crystal under open sky for eight hours to pre-charge the base with neutral resonance.

First Decoction:

In the morning, crush the Alleha and Borage.

Add them to the charged Liquid Crystal and simmer over a low flame for twenty minutes, releasing a steady golden vapor.

Vital Paste:

In a separate mortar, combine Focus Root powder with Mirena sap to form a thick paste.

Whisk it into the cauldron, stirring clockwise seventy-five to eighty times.

Detox Cycle:

Add shredded Wolfhunter and finely rasped Breakthrough's bark.

Bring to a gentle boil for eight minutes, then pass the mixture through the runic strainer into the silver coil.

Reflux and Integration:

Return the clarified brew to the cauldron.

Fold in Garigne powder while maintaining a bare simmer until the liquid turns opalescent.

Stabilization Steep:

Remove from heat.

While the potion cools to about 60°C, infuse the Yaretalion shavings and the Eldas sliver for precisely one hour.

Bottling:

Decant into the crystal vessel.

Expel all air and seal with wax.

The elixir keeps its full potency for thirty days if stored in darkness.

Administration and Recovery Protocol:

Dose One — Dawn:

Consume half the vial and meditate for one hour, allowing the Abjurasia network to phase-lock with the patient's energy.

Dose Two — Dusk:

Consume the remainder, then enter an eight-hour supervised trance.

During this trance, the Garigne-driven regeneration reverses any prior mutations while Yaretalion wards off external interference.

After-effects:

Mild fatigue for twenty-four hours.

Cured with ordinary rest.

No lingering side effects have been recorded.

As Aiden stared at the recipe, his hands began to shake.

Selene had traveled across the continent seeking aid in any way she could.

She had gone through so much because of this condition.

It was why, when she was young, she had been called a freak because of her uncontrolled mutations.

It was why she had trouble hiding her soul skill, because of the drain her condition put on her energy over time.

It was why she was always on a timer.

With this in hand, Aiden could not just help her mitigate the symptoms.

He could cure her.

No more worrying about how long something took because of her arm.

No more need to be so careful with her energy in combat because of how quickly she ran out.

Aiden slapped his own notebook onto the table and began to write furiously.

He only stopped when a hand fell on his shoulder.

Mr. Lee stood silently behind him.

A part of Aiden's mind began to panic, worried that he had offended the bookstore owner.

Instead, Mr. Lee spoke gently.

"Slow down. If you cannot read what you wrote, you cannot help her."

His hand remained steady on Aiden's shoulder.

"Take your time. No one is going to take this notebook away from you until you are done."

His words sent a soothing energy through Aiden.

Then his system screen appeared, and a strange backlog of information flooded it.

You have learned forbidden knowledge.