A World Explained By Magic

Ridiculous. That is what was on my mind, this simply cannot be real.

Would you be able to imagine a person you have known your whole life suddenly revealing something that came straight out of a comic book?

I know I wouldn't.

But here I am, probably just dreaming all about this. I'm probably still sleeping!

I chuckled at the thought, but I would rather be chased by plant pigs again than look at Kolin as he is right now.

I involuntarily took a step back, my eyes showing exactly what I feel. I thought I was calm enough to listen, or just really take this in, but no, this being a delusion is more believable than my brother being a witch—or mage, or whatever from another world.

'Is the ground shaking...? Oh..' I realized that I was trembling.

Am I scared?

My question was answered when I looked at him again. The faint golden tinge to his eyes was moving—rotating.

Yes, I was scared.

Slowly, he approached me, but I was taking a step back. I didn't mean to, but my body was screaming to get away from him.

"Bevie, it's okay." Even his voice sounded a bit hoarser, more baritone.

Surely, he's not Kolin

I felt sweat all over my body, 'this is too much, please wake up!'. But I didn't, and still, I wasn't willing to accept this as a reality.

The overwhelming anxiety and fear inside me made me feel as if I was a bomb, about to explode with no warning.

Step back!

I took a step back, again and again until I hit a wall, knocking an expensive-looking Aztec statue, breaking it in the process.

"I—I-I'm sorr—"

"Calm down." His passive-aggressive tone made me yelp, like a criminal hearing the overused voice line of a hero.

For a split second, I saw his eyes, full of worry and guilt. He stretched his right arm, pointing his index finger at my forehead.

Then that was the last thing I remember before my head went blank.

I thought he had killed me, but his eyes told me he wouldn't.

___________________

'How interesting is this, human?' A calm voice, different from mine, sounded in my head. I ignored it, however; there are more important matters right now.

I looked at her face, even after knocking her unconscious, it was still troubled.

"What went in my head, thinking a normal person would just accept this?" I felt shame, letting my mana affect her.

'Probably the booze you were drinking before she saw your mana.' A snarky voice sounded again.

"Shut up, or I'll recycle you into my reserves." The voice that I somehow carried with me after being reborn turned silent.

I caressed her face, guiding mana gently to ease her brain. She experienced something traumatic—at least for normal people, so I need to calm her receptors down, lest I cripple her mind.

*sigh*

I was killed. Or at least I thought so, but I somehow found myself in a different body—that of a newborn child.

Alright, this is not the right time to think about this, Kolin.

I cast a spell—or a chemical reaction guided by mana that will soothe her brain and make it seem like what she experienced was just a bad dream.

While I could erase her memory, I still can't control mana enough to fully tamper with electric currents inside the body.

'Truly fascinating... if only humans in Auel were smart enough to discover this.'

I squinted my eyes at the obvious mockery of my people. "Well, an Auelean is doing this magic you're so fascinated with."

'I wonder about that.'

Auel was the name of the continent I was born in my previous world. Contrary to what he's saying, people there were quite smart—magic smart.

You see, Earth humans perceive nature way differently than how we view ours.

Earthlings have developed a peculiar way of comprehending the world they are in; they ask questions upon questions until they get a somewhat adequate answer, but they would often question whether the answer they came upon is true or not.

We, beings of mana, can only have one conclusion to settle on.

Magic.

How else would you explain a beast splitting the air in two while running? Or an orc capable of cracking the fabric of reality? Or your dad disappearing out of thin air?

We couldn't, so we just assumed it was because of mana—which is true, but it was just a part of it.

Humans of Earth, however, could come up with answers that are not just based on superstition-- but through countless observations and experiments.

And I took advantage of that.

When I came to this world, it was devoid of mana, or so I thought.

The mana was there, I could feel it, but it was dead—lying dormant.

I tried 'activating' the mana, but to no avail.

That was until I turned three years old that some mana responded to me.

And that was also when I started hearing a voice different from mine talking in my head.

Since then, a field of mana with a radius of 60 meters has been active around me wherever I went, but it would somehow turn dormant after I leave.

Somehow frustrating, but it is what it is.

The longer I stay in one place, the higher the concentration of mana it would get...

And I have been staying at this house for months... without leaving. "I messed up, huh."

I thought it would be fine to invite Beverly over since normal people wouldn't even feel a change in the air, but she somehow felt it, and even see it.

'Well, you did slam her with a bunch of mana.' A snarky voice talked as if he's scolding me.

I should've tested this more.

I've been doing test, in public, or in previous schools I attended on how people feel mana, and most of the times they're oblivious unless I physically alter the surroundings.

I have long since graduated and studied countless hours to try and figure out how mana works here.

The most plausible theory I came up with is that mana is a dormant quantum field; mana is just another field independent of the 12 currently known but can somehow alter them.

It has been sleeping, but it gets 'excited' whenever I'm nearby—and that is because I possess mana particles.

I thought it might've carried over when I was reincarnated.

With the mana wave, I can produce 'magic', like making fire out of thin air or increasing gravity ten folds.

It looks like magic, but I'm just tampering with the magnetic field or putting specific elements in the air together.

Completely different in how people in Auel viewed mana.

I'm explaining it simply, but it is way more complicated than that—I have to also consider bonded atoms which take energy to separate—amongst other variables.

Basically, mana is a quantum field that can tamper and change the other fields and somehow manipulate particles into bonding together or separating.

I guess it's because of the high concentration of mana that Beverly somehow felt it... but then, shouldn't my cat be affected as well?

Tch! No use thinking about it now.

"Urgh.." As I was mulling over what happened, I heard a groan beside me.

Beverly, who has been sleeping all this time, woke up.

She flinched slightly when she saw me.

"What's up?" I asked, thinking over what excuse should I make.

Should I tell her that she slept after we swam around in the pool? I don't know...

"Y-yo, I had the weirdest dream ever." Her innocent face makes my chest full of shame and guilt.

Should I tell her everything? I asked myself.

'It'd be easier to find out how she felt it that way, you know?' A calm voice sounded.

While that makes sense, would she believe me? Or would she just think she's delusional again?

All right, screw it.

"Beverly, I have to tell you something important." I have decided, I hope she believes me.

A V-shaped crease appeared on her forehead as she frowned.

"First of, I want you to be calm, this is real; You're not dreaming, alright?" She nodded, but I made her walk around so she would really think so.

I stayed silent, watching her walk.

She looked back, suddenly, "What is it?"

She has been always intelligent for her age, but the glint in her eyes makes her look as if she's a wise suzerain from my previous world.

Hoooooo….

I heaved a sigh.

"You see—you know how I can always remember something even if it's a small detail? Like if it's on a background or something..?" She stayed silent, but nodded, a slight confusion in her eyes.

"Well, I remember almost everything when I was born…and even before that." I looked dead into her eyes to show I was being serious.

She looked perplexed and slightly anxious, but she motioned for me to continue.

"I remember a previous life, a world different from Earth... a world with things that can only be explained by magic."