Mana Core

FALIYA ELWAY'S P.O.V

It has been four years since our son was born. I was afraid he would favor Mel over me and say "papa" first, but when he said his first words, "sissy", I couldn't help but smile. Mel and I were utterly defeated.

I don't know why, but ever since I met Mel, we always tried to one-up each other. Back when we were adventurers, we used to compete on the battlefield to see who could kill more monsters or who could complete a contract first. We were always dead even...well, until that day.

That stupid Melvin could have gotten himself killed, all over my blunder. That day he saved me from the behemoth beast...I think that was the day I fell in love with him.

Ugh, I'll never admit it! Not to his face anyway. It's like saying I've lost, and that stupid Melvin would never let me live it down. Hmm, now that I think about it...it may have been before the behemoth.

I pulled myself out of the precious memories as Myla walked into the room.

"Mom, let's go spar outside. I'm getting better at your sword style, but practicing by myself just isn't the same."

"Of course, dear." I got up from the kitchen table and followed Myla outside. Myla had awoken two weeks ago. The day she did, it put her room in shambles, her bed had broken, and her study books flew everywhere. I was lucky enough to get her outside before she threw up impurities.

When a person awakens, it happens out of nowhere, with no warning. We weren't ready and had to wait until our little village had an affinity orb on the market.

An affinity orb is a tool used everywhere on the continent of Lotia, so it wasn't a long wait. The affinity orb is used to see the elements a newly awoken mage is adept at. In this case, Myla. She awakened not too long ago, so she can't use her magic just yet. Once someone awakens, they have to get used to the changes their body goes through, which can take anywhere from 1-3 months. That's why most people have an affinity orb on hand so they can go ahead and see what their element or elements are.

Unlike me, who only has the wind element, Myla has wind and water. Since she has wind and water, she could probably use sui generis ice magic in the near future. With her sword skills she's been honing since she was five and her innate talent as a mage, we could even enroll her in one of the Vintess academies.

Zeph lives in the capital so he could keep an eye on her.

"Alright, are you ready, Mom?" Myla asked eagerly and ready to spar.

"Come at me whenever you're re-"

*BOOM!*

Before I could even finish my sentence, I whipped my head toward the sound of the explosion.

It was the house.

"Mom, Fal and Dad are in the house!" Myla screamed.

I rushed toward the house, enhancing my body with mana and wind magic to increase my speed. The first thing I saw was Mel on his knees in front of the half-blown-up study room, wide-eyed and mouth agape. "He's only four...how?"

I looked in the study, shocked by the sight. In the middle of all the dust and dirt in the air was Falyn. He was meditating, a translucent aura surrounding him. A translucent aura only surrounds a mage when refining their mana core, for him to be doing that at four years old is...

"T-This is unheard of Melvin, what do we do?" I stammered, worried about my son.

***

FALYN ELWAY'S P.O.V

It has been four years since I started gathering mana particles into my solar plexus. It took longer than I expected, but it's finally done. Over time, the particles in my body started moving slightly faster. My theory is that as you get older, the particles move faster.

I started moving the last particle to condense and form my mana core. Once the particle got to my solar plexus, I went into a deeper meditation.

I felt a bizarre and calm energy coursing through me, screaming to be unleashed. I opened my eyes to test out the newly formed mana core, but when I did, I saw something unexpected. My mother and father were staring at me.

My mother had a mixed expression of worry and unbelief, while my father was on his knees, mouth agape with shock and worry, but I could also see the excitement in his eyes.

Over the past four years, my parents have been teaching me how to read and write, but unbeknownst to them, I already knew how. It was a waste of time, so I played the role of a prodigy. With this, I was able to get away with casual speech and do things that any normal four-year-old probably couldn't.

I was confused as to why they were just looking at me. Since I could walk, I would go to the study room to read books and meditate. I'm pretty sure this was their first time seeing me meditate, though. Aren't four-year-olds supposed to meditate? I guess the only thing I could do was ask, right?

"Mom, Dad, what happened? Why are you just staring at me?"

My mother and father gave a light laugh, but the worry on their faces was still evident.

My sister, Myla, came into the room laughing. She was the only one who didn't seem worried, instead, she was excited.

"No silly, you awakened! Just look around you!" Myla said, laughter and excitement in her voice.

I did as she said, and to my shock, the whole study room was in shambles. The walls, half of the roof, and the bookshelves were no longer standing, their remains blown and scattered all over. Books were everywhere, some of them that I had learned from all these years were no longer usable as most of their pages were torn to bits, or the hard covers were blown off along with their pages that scattered in the open wind that now entered the house.

Did I do this?

I quickly turned around, and a cold sweat appeared on my face. "I'm sorry!"

I wasn't saying sorry to my father or Myla, but to my mother. Over the years, she could be as gentle as a flower, but everyone knew she held the reigns.

"It's okay, dear, we can rebuild. I'm more worried about you. How do you feel?" My mother asked.

"I feel fine, great even, I just-" before I could finish my sentence, a black goo started coming out of my mouth, filling the whole house with a horrible stench. I was shocked at first, but quickly realized what was happening. The impurities.

Everyone saw this, and my mother acted quickly. "Mel, take Fal outside. There will be more impurities coming. Myla will stay here and help me clean this up." Everyone quickly followed my mother's orders.

My father scooped me up and ran out of the hole I had made through my awakening. Then, he set me down and handed me a bucket. "Throw up your impurities in this bucket, and don't try to hold it in. You have to let all the impurities out, or it could damage your body."

"Okay," I hissed, my body feeling like it was going to explode from the inside out. Despite the pain, I thought back to when Myla awakened. She had thrown up impurities, but she didn't seem to be in pain. Was it because I had formed my mana core on my own?

About twenty minutes later, all the impurities were out of my body. The pain was still there, but it was much less intense. I got up from the ground and tried to walk, but my legs gave out, and I fell. That was when I realized I couldn't move any part of my body.

"Son, what's wrong?" My father asked, worry etched on his face.

"Can't... move," I groaned.

He rushed towards me. "Here, let me take you to your bedroom to rest."

My father tried to pick me up, but before he could, pain hit me like a freight train. I let out screams of agony as it felt like every bone, muscle, and organ in my body was being crushed, burned, and reformed.

Myla and my mother quickly ran out of the house. "Mel, what's happening? What is happening to our son?" My mother screamed, tears streaming down her face.

Soon their voices faded, and I succumbed to the pain.