"Swallowed your vital energy?" Imani repeated, confused. "What? How?"
"I don't know," Doctor Phillips said. "I just drew a little energy to detect if anything was wrong with it, but before I could even detect anything, the mark swallowed the wisp of energy. If I hadn't cut the connection in time, I think it would have continued to swallow up my vital energy."
The doctor's phrase left everyone in the room dumbfounded, some in complete confusion, while some with pensive deductions. Unfortunately, none of them possessed enough knowledge to draw a conclusion.
And then there was me.
"Question," I asked, "What is vital energy again?"
That seemed to pull everyone from their contemplation as a few pairs of eyes locked on me. Nobody answered at first before Imani decided it was time to educate the poor fool about the things.
"It is exactly the thing you imagined," she said. "Basically, the fuel to most magical manifestation."
