Taking a Flight

"Are you okay, little Jo?"

"Yes, mother. Can't we eat something and talk to Pops at the same time?"

"Here, mama has a spiritual fruit we can share."

Lady Isis was a breathtaking sight, her beautiful black hair flowing in the breeze. Her dress glimmered with pink crystals, and each hand was adorned with three blue gem rings and a purple-silver necklace around her neck. She rode silently atop Synergy, the Wind Spirit Wolf, galloping through the estate grounds. 

She used her pure force to block wind and turbulence, shielding her son from harm. But at the same time, she couldn't help but feel guilty for what she was about to do. A knife of milky white energy appeared on one of her fingers to slice open the spiritual fruit in her hands; it could potentially ruin her son if not managed correctly. Though the guilt remained alive in her heart, Lady Isis continued with her experiment - one that she didn't plan to cause any harm. 

Yes, this was an experiment. 

Not every child could become a Sage or even a Saint. Most of the world were mortals whose lives would remain uneventful and unchanged. The world was full of mortals, the vast majority of people who would never become Sages or Saints. The only way to join this elite group was to pass through rigorous tests.

But for this boy, his mother sensed something special: a potential to ascend beyond normal limits, to become one of the rare few Sages.

His body held abundant origin energy, mana, which can be found everywhere in the universe. Planets stored and refined ambient mana like life stars could refine and produce it. Even living things could do that. 

Mana is the glue of the world. This was a common saying in Pangaea. 

Her son was born with a physique that could naturally produce mana, the Origin Body. He was guaranteed to be a Sage. That phenomenon from before made this a certainty.

On the other hand, the potential for one to be on the Saint Path typically had to be tested unless it was a Celestial Body, one naturally attuned to and comprised of essence.

Planets were similar to cultivators in that they could refine and reproduce their absorbed energies. Life stars refined ambient mana from the origin energy of the cosmos, just like pretty much anything living. Usually, around age five, kids born with an Origin Body will start to exhibit talents or abilities related to their souls and bloodline limits.

This period is called the 'awakening.'

Lady Isis was curious: whose bloodline did the boy inherit? If it was hers, then this was incredibly dangerous, and she would have to take her son and leave far, far away immediately.

Her bloodline limit was an absolute secret. No one could know of it. It simply wasn't something this domain could handle. Then again, even if it was the bloodline limit of Osiris, would it necessarily be less dangerous? Maybe in the upper domains, but not by much in their current setting. After all, many people would kill to understand Osiris' energy arts. Nonetheless, Isis had no answers to these questions she had.

So, she decided to test it out.

Despite his young age, Jody was obviously in his 'awakening' state.

Isis could feel a strange heat emanating from her son that didn't exist before. He definitely had the power of those peculiar flames, but that ability seemed to originate from his combat soul. Isis hadn't seen many bloodline traits appearing on the child, but she was almost sure he possessed a unique flame. It was similar to diving flames, yet different. This was a crazy turn of events.

The thought of Jody using that power recklessly and out of control terrified her. If he inherits the right bloodline, that wouldn't be a problem but could lead to others. The blood of Isis would give him an increased ability to detect danger — an intrinsic warning about any substance capable of harming him. The difference would be in his manner of rejecting the fruit. Wolves had an incredibly heightened sense of smell and thus could indicate poisonous substances easily. Isis' family had powerful instincts about these things, but those instincts couldn't be explained normally. 

If Jody didn't like the smell, this would suggest his father's influence. If Jody felt suspicious but couldn't provide a reason, she would pack all their belongings and leave the estate tonight.

If Jody still tried to eat it, she would find an excuse to dispose of it.

Jody sat in front of his mother with bright blue eyes. He was busy observing how outrageously huge and pretty his home was as their ride traveled towards the rear center of the estate where the House Lord's manor was located. This was Jody's first time cruising through the main estate like this. His mother seemed to be taking the scenic route. The buildings were all stone and clay, seeming rustic by modern standards, but still looked luxurious and high profile.

There were several temples and elegant halls, and the walls aligned with hieroglyphs radiating powerful mana fluctuations. Even Jody could see what looked like a heat mirage in those areas. Opening his mind's eye, he noticed four different energy flows being drawn to the glyphs from the surroundings. Jody also realized for the first time that this estate alone was the size of the major cities from his past life.

There were several temples, one of which Jody recognized as a place he had seen in pictures—the maids knew it as The Hall of Hieroglyphs, home to many powerful spells.

Yet it seemed natural to him that this place would have such things; he assumed this world was bursting with magic for it to be so prevalent in such a remote countryside. Even Jody felt a strong push toward those walls at certain points because of the power contained within them. 

Lady Isis sensed her son's curiosity, and she knew he would be a handful. 

In the distance, Jody saw a giant golden statue of a heroic-looking young man with a giant wolf. The young man had fang-shaped diamond ear gauges, wielded dual sickle swords, wore a wolf pendant around his neck, and sported an all-seeing eye badge on his shoulder. He looked like a country-conquering hero.

Jody marveled at this magnificent statue of his father as a subtle sense of pride took seed in his heart.

There were many places of interest in the estate. Majestic pavilions, palaces of varied sizes, training fields full of experts practicing their arts, and even shopping centers where beautiful women gathered. He was amazed at watching people wield flame swords and shoot ice at each other in battle.

What was amazing?

This was amazing!

There was so much going on that Jody didn't know where to place his focus.

Isis was tickled watching her son look all around everywhere like a kid at a theme park. She had nearly forgotten that he was a young child who had never seen much of the world. Even if he was a Fallen, he might need more time to start unlocking memories. Well, this boy did seem a bit wild and opinionated.

He acted far above his age for the most part, but a few things were strange. After he heard his mother say that she had food to share, Jody took five minutes to turn his body halfway back and grab a slice of fruit before his hand stopped. Lady Isis' brow twitched slightly. Wasn't this instinct?

[Bloodline detected fatal threat.]

[Poison detected in the cellular system.]

[Spending nine twilight stars to brand host with God's Appeal spiritual art.]

[Activating God's Appeal with 50 twilight crystals.]

[Analyzing. Completed. Dirty Jank Fruit. Touching with skin results in brutal poison.]

[Consuming results in fatal damage to organs and blood vessels.]

[Spend one twilight star to dispel poison?]

[Yes/No?]

'No! Wait, what?!?'

[Confirmed. 120 Stars and 250 crystals remaining.]

Jody: ୧(ಠ益ಠ)୨

Nine stars and fifty crystals gone just like that! Jody was more than vexed.

This twilight imp was like a candy machine stealing his quarters while asking for more. It just wasn't fair! Plus, why was this a poisonous fruit? His mother had decided to kill himself? Jody's nose twitched lightly.

"Ma, this smells weird. The fruit… I think it's janky." Jody covered his nose and turned his head in disgust.

Even without the annoying warning from his blood, his sense of smell had reached the apex. With the terrible aroma hidden within this fruit's skin, it wasn't anything nice. He could easily detect something was off with this fruit. However, he would not waste a Twilight star on this if he didn't have to.

He didn't really suspect his mother...completely.

"Janky?" Isis was dumbstruck.

Wasn't this the Dirty Jank fruit?

'What have those servants been teaching this boy?' She sighed as her hand suddenly blazed with a pale blue flame, incinerating the spirit fruit, which diffused a dark green mist as it evaporated.

As this was Jody's first time seeing a fire like this, he was dazed and amazed. It had such a mystic aura, not at all like regular flames. It wasn't even hot. When he inhaled the dark green mist, he suddenly felt warm and cleansed, like he had just taken a hot shower and eaten a fulfilling meal at the same time.

The poison had just been silently removed from his body, and the fruit's nutrients had been added.

"Janky, indeed."

Lady Isis had absolutely no idea where this kid learned his crazy vernacular. It troubled her heart that her baby was already so mysterious to her! The little boy was a walking wonder. If he was indeed 'waking' as a mere three-year-old…

Trouble!

The news couldn't spread.

His two younger siblings had very little hope of catching up to him in this lifetime. Jealousy would be a constant battle up a steep hill. At this moment, Jody glanced up and saw something unusual high in the sky. Clashes of energy were causing shock waves as two nobles of the House faced each other in mid-air. Lady Isis followed her son's eyes and took note of this intrigue.

"Synergy, slow down for a minute," Isis called out to the Wind Spirit Wolf, then looked down at her son. "Do you want to see, my little sun?"

Jody's eyes lit up in surprise. He asked in almost a whisper, "Can I?"

His mother smiled gently, making the whole world dim a little. Isis picked her son up in her arms, and the next thing Jody knew, he was shooting up into the sky!

"Mom, you can fly!?"

This revelation blew away Jody.

How could he remain calm after such a thing?

"Who told you that your mother couldn't fly?" laughed Lady Isis in her bell-like voice. "I can do much more than this. Come, let us watch."