Enlightenment

Darkness, a new sort of friend that Wyll had quickly made friends with. His unconscious state flutters about in this miasma of darkness. He felt as if this was a familiar place, like a home of sorts as he took a breath or at least imagined that he did as he floated aboutIs this death? How many times has Wyll been this close to death, once as a baby when abandoned, another time was his fight with Gideon but it felt like more than that. Oh, there was that fever when he turned fifteen and almost died. That should have been hard to forget, the visions, the unbearable heat that seemed to suffocate him, his body feeling like it was going to tear itself open to escape the hellish flames that felt like they burned inside him.

The only time he felt any relief was at night with the cool air against his skin, basking in the moonlight and sitting in a cold bath. Cold… Wyll felt cold as his eyes slowly opened, finding himself in a tub of water that he almost mistook for a soup while the full moon bathed him in its light. He felt calmer, his head no longer swimming with thoughts of victory and putting down his enemies but even yet he felt deep down inside that his soul was in utter disharmony. Wyll grit his teeth as he tried to calm it down, looking about to see the bodies of the bandits, blood blanketing the grass but everyone else looked to be asleep.

Slowly Wyll stood up, pushing his hair back some as he tried to think about what he felt, the strength that he had taken with his own hands. Water cascaded down his body and dripped back into the tub as he stepped out of the tub, fully nude as he looked up towards the moon. His eyes slowly pulled themselves from the moon, turning towards the forest as he began to run. Hunting, hunting something he could never catch, a power that was obtainable not through the vigilant eyes of the {Celestials or Creators} but something to transcend them.

Wyll maintained a good speed as he ran, his stepping was almost abnormal and weird to follow to others yet Wyll found it comforting. He felt a good bit alive, the wind against his body, the leaves, moss and rocks under his feet, as if this was something normal for him to do. Wyll did not stop running, racing against an invisible force. How was he to obtain a power transcending those who created?

Destruction, complete destruction. Nothing is ever fully destroyed, only reintroduced into the cycle of life. Grass eaten by a rabbit is converted to energy, the rabbit is caught and killed by a fox, the fox eats the rabbit, the fox passes the rabbit, returning it to the soil where the grass grows. Everything follows this cycle but is it truly possible to disrupt it? What would be the consequences? Wyll shook his head as he stood atop a bluff, looking down at a lake as he crossed his arms.

He was getting ahead of himself, one thing at a time or he would get stuck. Wyll sat under the solitary tree that grew on the bluff, closing his eyes as he tried to replicate the magic he had done. He remembered the feeling, his entire being feeling as if it was covered in a sort of invisible armor, his muscles feeling as if they were coated in a flexible metal that bolstered his strength. Each individual cell in his body, enhanced and fortified but all originated in a specific spot… No, it wasn't one particular part of his body that he drew the magic from.

He searched his inner self, feeling out the circuits in his body. He remembered grabbing the mage from before, feeling that man's magic circuits and how they all lead back to a specific point on his body. His heart, which Wyll had obliterated, seemed to be the answer but even then it made no sense to store such a volatile thing like magic in it so what if Wyll circulated it like a heart would? Spreading it through his circuits and keeping it from being stagnant, allowing the surplus within his body from pooling in one specific spot.

Wyll began pushing the magic through his body, allowing any excess to slowly seep into his body as his circuits slowly pulsed, beating like his heart without resorting to his heart to spread the potentially poisonous mana to grow stagnant. Wyll felt better, lighter and even stronger as he stood up and looked up. The moon was beginning to set as Wyll began to look towards the way he came, knowing it was time to head back as he began to step through the forest like a beast on the hunt.

[[Enlightenment obtained. You have realized something few mages of this world have grasped. If mana is stored incorrectly then it can become stagnant and like water, can become poisonous. Mana Core: Body, has been obtained. Your body has forcibly been reinforced by the mana circulating through you. Beginner Magic has been obtained due to enlightenment. Reinforcement Magic: lvl 2 has been given due to enlightenment.]]

Wyll paid little mind to the notification from Pan as his stomach grumbled. His body called out for meat, for sustenance to be provided as he growled some in annoyance before noticing a rather large buck. Prey. While maintaining speed Wyll bore down on the buck, swiftly and quietly ambushing the animal as he grabbed onto the antlers as with a swift movement he snapped the animal's neck, bringing it down as he looked down. Not enough…

Bloodlust clouded Wyll as his walk became a blur of adrenaline and splattering blood, the ecstasy of the hunt filling him. Askalon woke to feel as if something was wrong, as if something was missing before a shrill scream echoed through the forest. Quickly Askalon pushed open the flaps of the tent to see what the commotion was only to see Wyll dragging several dead animals behind him as his hands were coated in blood and the only thing dressing his body was the splatters of their blood. Embarrassment washed over Askalon as he quickly grabbed Wyll, lifting him up and tossing him into the tub of herbal water as he looked back at the cadets who were all shocked.

"W-What the hell is he! Slaughtering without discretion, overpowering a mage, glowing with weird patterns, eviscerating the mage and his sister, and now coming from the woods covered in blood while naked! H-He is a damn mad man!"

Bastion cried out as Wyll emerged from the water, breaking the surface as all the blood had washed off.

"Mad? You could barely hold a sword or strike down an enemy. I had to pick up your weight and do your job. I fought to protect all of you with any necessary means and you call me mad? So what if I went on a stroll in the middle of the night and happened to catch some food? I have provided the best I can for you all, my methods may be strange but I have proved with results!"

Wyll shouted, the water covering his decency as he huffed and sighed.

"I am a {Champion of Chaos} but that does not mean I am evil. So, I will be honest with you all. The patterns on me were magic, to be specific, my magic circuits. That being said it is something I am training in, my blunder was using magic without more training. I am sorry that I made you all worried, I hope you can forgive my actions and still trust me as a leader. As for the combat yesterday, your teamwork is not bad but improvements need to be made. As we travel we will work on this. Now then, someone please butcher the animals I caught and start cooking, I am famished."

Wyll sighed before sinking back into the water, clearing his head as Askalon made his way to him. Gently Askalon set a clean towel, his armor and clothes down as he simply nodded, smiling at Wyll as the boy looked different. Askalon felt as if Wyll had grown a few inches and his body was more defined. Not only that but he could feel the mana within him circulating with each heart beat. Askalon admired Wyll for a moment, taking note of the boy's ability to surprise him every day.

As breakfast had concluded and everyone ate their fill, Fletch poked his head out from the carriage before quickly walking over to the collection of {Weapons}. He took out a small note pad and began to write down each {Weapon} before nodding, taking them to the carriage and neatly strapping them down for the long haul before taking out a small bird and releasing it to the wilds so the church would get his message. Wyll was something else and Fletch admired him for it, the strength, bravery, leadership and power at his disposal was making him a tad envious as he felt useless compared to Wyll.