A young boy sat alone in the darkness in a room devoid of light. Five bottles were lying in front of him. Each contained a gray flames that burned with force despite not having any fuel. On each bottle's lid was a label with the name of each manifestation.
These were the names of the five rank 1 manifestations that Elias had received from Liandor. The boy stared at the bottles with a blank expression. He then examined the lids one by one.
'Rank 1 manifestation, misty cloud. It can create a small cloud of mist that can be used to cover the user's body. Not very useful. Even ascending it is not really worth it since this manifestation potential is not that high.'
With a sigh, Elias shook his head and focused on the second one.
'Rank 1 manifestation, Deep breathing. It allows the user to hold their breath for a long time. It could be useful if ascended into the rank 5, endless breath. But now, there is no point in having such specific manifestation.'
Slowly examining each manifestation, Elias noted the abilities. Unsurprisingly, they all were more or less linked to the law of mist or air, the clan specialty.
In most cases, clans would specialize in a specific "law," also called "element," based on their location. For example, White River Town is surrounded by numerous foggy mountains, including the one where he was reborn.
This means that beasts with a high affinity for foggy environments can be found there. Since manifestations are looted from beasts and are linked to the beast's affinities, the region where a clan settles greatly influences its specialization.
Therefore, the white smoke clan would likely specialize in fog-related manifestations because the local beasts would often drop fog-related manifestations.
Putting down the last bottle, Elias sighed and shook his head.
'These manifestations are all useless in my situation...'
Elias knew better than to dismiss any manifestation as truly useless. He understood that each one had its own unique purpose and could be incredibly powerful when used correctly or when in synergy.
As he thought about his next step, Elias heard a knock on the door.
"Elias, are you awake? It's me, your mother."
"...Come in."
After a few seconds, Yui entered the room with swollen eyes and a red nose. Slowly walking toward Elias, she sat on the bed and looked at him. "...Hi, son."
Staying silent, Elias patiently waited for her to continue.
"I know you're mad at me. And you have every right to be. I was selfish and did not think about your feelings." said Yui, her voice filled with regret and guilt."I know I broke my promise. I am sorry. Please forgive me," she said, her voice trembling.
Elias only looked at her for a moment before turning his attention back to the bottles.
"Please, say something. I am really sorry. I will make it up to you. Just please forgive me," Yui begged, her voice filled with guilt and remorse.
"Words have no meaning, mother. You should know that better than anyone else," Elias said, his tone cold and distant.
"I know. I know. I am sorry. I will make it up to you, I promise. What do you want for me to do? I will do anything. Just tell me. Please," Yui pleaded, her voice cracking.
"Anything?"
"Yes, anything. I will do anything for you. I swear."
"..."
"I know I have been a bad mother to you. I know I have not been there for you this last year. I know I have failed you. I know I have broken my promises. But I will change. I will be a better mother to you. I will make it up to you. I swear. Please, just give me a chance." Yui said with a pleading tone.
"I see. So you are willing to do anything for me?"
"Yes, anything. I will do anything for you. Just tell me what you want."
"...I want useful manifestations," asked Elias
Hearing this, Yui was surprised. "Useful Manifestation? Uuh... Sure. I can see what I can do. Everything for you. But ... Why do you ask for manifestations suddenly? You already asked for five..."
With a sad face, Elias replied, "Because you will discard me like Raymond if I have bad talent... So I need to prepare myself."
Upon listening to this, Yui felt a sharp pain in her heart. Tears started to well up in her eyes, and she began to sob uncontrollably. "Is... That's how you see me now? A monster that abandons her child if they have bad talent?"
Elias had a pained expression on his face as he continued "...I heard that it was common for the clan to abandon weak talented children. Aren't you part of the clan, too now? Don't lie again. You only care about talent like them. You are only asking for forgiveness because you discovered that Raymond is trash. Then you remembered that you have another son that cared about you no matter the talent, unlike the Xiawen family."
"I ... I ..." Yui stammered. Her heart was in so much pain. She couldn't even speak.
"You don't need to say anything. I understand. You are the same as the rest of them."
"I am not! I am not like them! I would never abandon you!" affirmed Yui, as if even the thought of being associated with the White Smoke clan was a taboo.
"But you already did once. Why would I trust you again?"
"I ... I didn't mean to. I was just happy for Raymond. I didn't mean to hurt you. I am sorry." she said, her voice trembling.
To her greatest surprise, Elias suddenly hugged her. "I know. I know. I forgive you. I know you didn't mean to. You are a good mother. I love you." Elias said, his voice filled with warmth and affection. "But... If you truly are sorry... Give. Me. Manifestations."
Hearing this, Yui was stunned and quickly nodded as quickly as possible. "I will. I will. I will get you the best manifestations! I swear. I will do anything for you. I will make it up to you."
"Thank you, mother. I love you."
"I love you too, son."
After a few minutes, Yui left the room, leaving Elias alone with his thoughts.
"It was easier than expected. I wonder if she will really bring me useful manifestations. I hope she won't disappoint me again."
With a neutral expression, he added, "Giving those candies to Raymond was a good trade."
Turning his eyes back to the bottles, Elias pensively looked at the gray flames.
"Let's use them."