Matthew couldn't believe what he was seeing. He stood there, frozen in shock, his eyes fixed on a gray star shining brightly in front of him. "Am I imagining things?" he wondered, trying to stay calm. He closed his eyes and felt the resonance once more, confirming that it was real and coming from the gray stone. "How is this even possible?" despair filled his heart. If he couldn't awaken a mana stone, everyone would think he was useless and make fun of him. They would treat him like garbage, and nobody would care about him. He desperately looked around, hoping to find another resonance , anything other than that terrible gray star. But there was nothing. His last bit of hope vanished, and he felt like the whole world was against him. With a heavy heart, he directed his consciousness on the gray star.
Suddenly, a blinding light engulfed the star, and Matthew found himself back in the awakening room. When he opened his eyes, everyone was staring at him with shock and disdain. His mana stone had briefly lit up before going out. Feeling ashamed, Matthew lowered his head and slowly left the room. People whispered and gossiped about him, saying he had failed to awaken his mana stone. Sophie hurried to catch up with him, worried about how he was feeling. But Matthew, overwhelmed by shame, ran away as fast as he could. He went back home, crawled into bed, and cried his heart out. He cried until it was nighttime. Strangely, Sophie didn't come to comfort him or talk to him, even though the awakening ceremony was over. Little did Matthew know what had happened to Sophie that day.
After Matthew left, Sophie was called up. She walked over to a crystal ball, looking back at the direction Matthew had gone. Placing her hands on the ball, she closed her eyes and waited. Suddenly, the room was filled with a bright red light, and everyone started panicking and screaming. They didn't know what was happening. In the midst of the chaos, a commanding voice shouted, "Stop!" It was the Town Lord. He announced that Sophie had a special mutation within her mana element. Most mages had one of the four basic elements, but some had unique mutations that could be awakened. For example, water mutates into blood , earth mutates into metal, fire mutates into light, and air mutates into lightning. In Sophie's case, she had awakened the power to control blood, and it was very strong. However, when she opened her eyes, they looked cloudy and hazy, which made it hard to see clearly. She stumbled outside and went back to her room, where she fell into a deep sleep. After an hour passed, she woke up, but this time, she looked different.
Now, instead of her usual bright and cheerful eyes that brought comfort and happiness to everyone, there was something strange about them. They looked empty and had a hint of mischief. Her irises also had a touch of red. Her face also had major changes that made her look Sophie went about her usual tasks for the day and had dinner before going to bed. But when she woke up, everything seemed different. Instead of being nice and friendly to everyone as she always had been, she ignored them and responded harshly, looking at them with disdain.
After walking out she went to the town center ,strangely, as if she knew something. After walking there there were many people crowded around a line of carriages. These carriages all bore an emblem that resembled a golden tiger. "Wow those carriages belong to the Duke of Bovia!," "Really?," "Yeah." The sound of people chatting enveloped the place as everybody was talking about how a Duke had come to their little town. "SILENCE," a voice boomed out, "We are the Knights of the Duke, and we are here to escort our Young Master Gustav to the Corrupted Rainforest for experience in combat." We will be staying here for today so you all better not cause trouble while we are here, because we won't hesitate to kill if we feel Young Master Gustav is threatened." "Alright, Devon, there's no need to be so serious, after all we aren't here to cause trouble, right?" Another younger voice ran out with a hint of sarcasm in it. Suddenly the biggest door carriage in the front opened and a handsome teenager in golden robes stepped out...