Surging Maelstrom

When simplified to it's very essence, mana is the materialization of the chaos of the universe. Controlling such a volatile element therefore directly contradicts its nature, forcing it to reach an ordered state is almost impossible for most.

Spirits such as Adeline broke this logic. To a magical creature, manipulating mana is akin to moving their own limbs.

Of course, even with this intrinsic advantage, a spirit must first become learn to guide the mana around them until it becomes habit.

Like a child learning to walk for the first time, Adeline was stumbling through the process of controlling the maelstrom of mana that was rushing into her solar plexus.

'Since I've woken up in this world, It's been one painful experience after another' thought Adeline, before promising herself a well deserved rest in the near future.

Having no solid plan of attack, Adeline thought back to what she had learnt about spirits during her time reading and studying.

Failing to apply any external force onto the mana in an effort to control it, Adeline decided to focus directly on the mana. As she attempted to sense and focus on the mana rampaging in her body, she began to feel it slightly subdue.

Feeling the pain also begin to subside, Adeline began to guide the motes of mana together. Their motion, which started sluggish and inconsistent, quickly turned to an elegant flow that resembled a whirlpool.

At the center of the whirlpool, the absorbed mana collected and began condensing, growing from a tiny speck to a sizable, raven black spherical orb the size of a fist.

As the orb grew, Adeline found her control over the swirling mana growing as well. This had the positive side effect of completely extinguishing the stabbing pains she was experiencing, with the only feeling remaining being a calming warmth swirling around her center.

'How relaxing, I could get addicted to this' thought Adeline as she continued to absorb mana with increased vigor.

As Adeline was focused on her core formation, the rest of the fairies in the hall had turned silent as they witnessed the phenomena occurring,

"I assumed she was special given that the matriarch was teaching her personally, but this absorption rate is far too extreme!"

"I know! She is taking in more mana than I've seen before, will she really be able to handle it?" discussed a pair of fairies on the opposite side of the hall.

Similar conversations could be found throughout the hall. All those who spectated felt a faint sense of reverence and intimidation stemming from Adeline. From the moment she had begun meditating, a cloud of dark mana had begun obscuring her figure. This aura surged into a raging maelstrom orbiting around Adeline's figure, as more and more mana converged around her core.

Still unaware, Adeline continued condensing her core and reinforcing it with as much mana as she could grasp. The entire process had become muscle memory for her, isolating dark mana from the surroundings, absorbing them into her body and circulating them around her core.

Abruptly, Adeline suddenly felt a wave of mental fatigue wash over her. As opposed to the painful mental experiences she had met recently, Adeline felt as if she had been awake for weeks. The tiredness was a powerful force that lulled her towards sleep.

Just as she felt her consciousness fading, she felt her control over her condensed mana core also waver. Suddenly, this hyper condensed ball of dark mana began vibrating as if threatening to explode at any second.

"Her core is destabilizing! this is not good, with the amount of mana she absorbed she could end up destroying this entire hall!" thought Constance, who until noticing the sudden change had been as mesmerized by Adeline's performance as the rest of the onlookers.

"Adeline! Focus, you need to get a hold of your core and finalize it before all this mana escapes! Imagine forming a solid outer layer onto your core with mana!" Instructed Constance hurriedly, hoping that Adeline was wary enough to heed her advice.

Fortunately, Constance's nearby panicked cries were enough to rouse Adeline momentarily. Fighting through the urge to rest, she took command of the erratic mana once more, condensing the outer layer even further than she had done the rest of the core, until it had coagulated into a thin film.

As she completed the outer layer, she also stopped absorbing the ambient mana. The maelstrom of dark mana that had been rampaging around her as she cultivated her core gently subsided until all that remained was Adeline's petite figure sitting cross legged on her stool.

The entire hall stood in silence at the extravagant show that had just occurred before their eyes.

"That amount of mana was outrageous! most young fairies only absorb a fraction of that when forming their core. Is that the difference between us and progenitors?" mumbled an adult fairy in astonishment. Although the younger fairies who had not been present at Adeline's trial were unaware of her identity, the majority of the older fairies had been informed at some point upon her arrival of the colony.

The news of a new progenitor fairy had been very surprising for them. While many were excited for another powerhouse to have been added to their species, some felt concern at the idea of an infantile being automatically becoming their hierarchical senior.

"That black mana was mesmerizing! No other fairy has every displayed such an element before" exclaimed a child to their peers. All throughout the hall, fairies were mumbling and discussing the unprecedented phenomena they had just experienced. Other than Constance, no other fairy present had experienced the magnitude and majesty of the phenomena caused by a progenitor fairy forming their core.

"Very Well Done Adeline! Your mana control is truly astonishing for a beginner! no wonder you were able to form such a formidable core in your first session! We will stop here for now" exclaimed Constance excitedly as she fawned over Adeline.

At that moment, Adeline's body fell limp in her seated position, as she slowly tilted back. It seemed the fatigue had finally caught up to her, forcing her into a deep sleep right in her seated position.

"NO!" exclaimed Constance as she lunged forward, barely catching Adeline's petite body before it reached the ground. Cradling the young girl in her arms, Constance was relieved to see Adeline's peaceful sleeping face as her breathing became uniform.

"Poor girl, it seems you've overworked yourself again. What a bad habit" chastised Constance, although her gentle motherly smile seemed to contradict her words. Moving slowly so as to not disturb the girl's sleep, Constance lifted her up before wordlessly making her way out of the hall, not taking a second to acknowledge the droves of fairies watching the entire event from around the hall.

As she slept in Constance's hands, Adeline's mind deliriously moved through series of scenes, of her family, of her friends, of the people she had used to interact with on a daily basis. In each scene, she watched as those she loved walked away, fading into an endless abyss, leaving her alone in a plain uniform world of nothingness.