William looked at the awakening door with determination; his little hands curled up into a fist as he slowly began walking into the chambers.
William and the rest of the family walked into the chamber.
William gasped a little as his gaze fell on the glowing orb floating in the center of the room.
The room had multiple magic circles intricately layered on top of each other on the ground, and mana stones the size of adult fists adorning its walls.
Gaia walked over to William and said, "Little William, all you have to do is sit under the glowing orb and meditate and try to sense the mana around; the rest will be taken care of by the orb itself." She said it with a reassuring smile on her face.
William looked back at his family for support, and his gaze fell on his father, Ophiscus. Ophiscus looked at his son and nodded his head in support of his son.
William slowly walked over to the center of the room, sat on the cold floor under the glowing orb, and started meditating.
The glowing orb came to life as it rotated more fervently and began humming. The mana stones in the wall shone as they channeled the mana contained in them towards the glowing orb.
It shone in golden light absorbing all the mana sent by the stones and redirected it to the magic circles underneath William. They lit up, shining in blue light. A golden dome surrounded him, creating a barrier.
'It's chilly.' William thought as the mana engulfed him from all sides.
William had entered a trance the moment he closed his eyes, which was humming as it sent some portion of the mana to him.
The process continued for a few minutes, with the mana sent to William increasing minute by minute. But there were no smiles among the spectators.
'What's happening? Why is the awakening not complete yet?' Ara was worried; her hands were beginning to shake as she looked at her son, who was in a trance.
'Why is little brother taking this much time?' thought Orion, remembering his own awakening.
Ophiscus, noticing Ara was starting to panic, placed a hand over her shoulder and whispered, "Do not worry; our son is a bit special; therefore, he might take more time than usual," he comforted.
Gaia, who is overseeing the awakening process, frowned in distress. 'At this rate, all the mana in the magic stones will be diminished, leaving the process incomplete.'
Vela, noticing Gaia's frown, asked, "Lady Gaia, what's wrong? Why is William taking this long?"
"Him taking this long is not that surprising since he is special, but the rate at which he is absorbing mana is astonishing; at this rate, all the mana in the stones will be depleted before he completely awakens." She said it in wonder.
"What will happen to William?" Ara whispered, her eyes quivering in worry.
"If more mana isn't sent to the orb, the awakening will fail and William will live as a cripple for the rest of his life." Gaia muttered, her face solemn.
"Then what is the solution?" Asked Vela.
"I will provide my own mana." Gaia said as she stretched out her hands. Mana, purer than the ones emitted by the stones poured into the glowing orb.
The orb, receiving much purer mana hummed in delight as it sent more and more waves of mana towards William.
Minutes trickled into hours, but the process still continued.
Everyone had worry etched on their faces looking at William, and Ara was the worst of them all. She was on the verge of having a panic attack.
Her breaths were shallow, and her hands and legs quivered in intense fright.
Ophiscus couldn't look at Ara like this; he knew that she loved her son a lot, but this is just too much. He then looked at Vela and said, "Vela, can you take Ara to her room? She is too stressed to be here."
Vela looked at her sister-in-law with eyes full of pity. She understood her concern and worry, but staying here might harm William.
Vela walked over to Ara and said, "Sister-in-law, you have to go. You are not in the right state; you will hurt William if you stay like this." She muttered.
"NO! I am not leaving my son here alone." Ara yelled.
"He is not alone here, and the mana around you is reacting to your emotions; if you stay in that state, it will harm William," Ophiscus said, his expression heavy.
Mana reacts to a being's emotions and embodies the being's desire with itself; the more powerful the being, the more the mana tries. Since it was now reacting to Ara's emotions and her desire to be with her son, it might affect the awakening process.
'I know this is cruel on you, but you have to leave,' he thought as he looked at his wife and put on his stoic face.
"Do you want to hurt your son?" Ophiscus asked, with each word weighing down on him more than the last.
Ara shook at her husband's words, and she slowly began walking towards the door.
..............................
William's mental space,
'Where am I?' William questioned himself as he looked at the endless sea of stars, with neither an end nor a beginning.
"Are these things mana?" William murmured as he noticed particles of light in different colors floating around him.
He stretched his hand out to touch one of the mana particles. The mana rushed towards William, creating a cocoon with William in the center the moment he touched the mana.
'Whoa' William looked at the cocoon in excitement as different kinds of images formed with mana as a medium.
First, a tree of immense size formed to his right; its roots dug into the endless stars. A stag formed in the center, its antlers sparkling like constellations. To his left formed a solar system, which shone brilliantly as it showcased its magnificence.
William was amazed as he looked at the three newcomers. But then a tremor ran through the cocoon, and it began swirling erratically.
A torrent of emotions washed over him—emotions so chaotic and filled with sorrow and anxiety. He recognized it instantly; how could he not? It belonged to his mother, Ara.
"Mama…" William whispered as drowsiness started to settle in. Sleep, called him, whispering to him to fall into her embrace.
"Mama, don't go..." William mumbled before he fell asleep.
..............................…
Outside,
Ara nodded her head, shakily. She craved to stay with her son but also didn't want to hurt him.
'I'm sorry, my son,' she apologized in her heart and began to follow Vela with each step, looking back at her son. Just as she reached the door.
BANG
The door slammed shut. Mana surrounded the door, not letting anyone go out.
Silence filled the room as they saw Mana itself guarding the door.
"It looks like someone wants you to stay," Gaia muttered with a smile while looking at William. "Do not worry, he is alright." She said that, reassuring everyone.
.
.
.
Sebastian, who was in the mansion overlooking the arrangements made before William's awakening, frowned as he felt the mana in the air suddenly turn erratic.
'What's happening? Is it because of the young master's awakening?' Sebastian wondered.
KNOCK KNOCK
"Enter"
A maid hurriedly entered the room as soon as Sebastian gave permission.
"Mr. Sebastian, you have to come outside." The maid said hurriedly, not giving Sebastian a chance to talk.
Sebastian, noticing the maid's serious expression, nodded his head and said, "Very well, let's go."
They both rushed out of the mansion, 'I hope it's not something as ridiculous as when the second young master was born.' But he would be disappointed.
Sebastian's eyes widened in shock as he saw what was happening. The entire ground was charred black with deep craters, as if a lightning mage had attacked the place. Fires erupted everywhere and spread from the craters due to the howling wind, it speeds reaching the sound barrier.
'What was-" just as Sebastian is about to ask what was happening.
BANG BANG BANG
Lightning hit the ground once again, each more powerful than the last. The wind howled with more fervor, and the fire raged on and on, consuming everything in its path.
High up in the sky, mana began to gather around itself, forming a sphere of mana the size of the Spade mansion.
From the sphere emerged six eyes, with three pairs stacked vertically on top of each other. It looked at the world like it was a speck of dust. Its arrogance is backed up by the immense amount of power it's emanating. The left three eyes are black in color, with little gold particles shining in the darkness, illuminating them. The right eyes are golden-colored, with dark-colored particles swirling in the golden sea, threatening to devour the light.
'What is that?' Sebastian screamed internally. He tried to take a look at the eyes, but the moment his head turned up, his eyes began to bleed.
"AHHH!" Sebastian screamed in agony. He immediately turned his head down while panting in relief as the pain subsided.
"What kind of being is this?" He murmured as he tried to control the bleeding.
The eyes then turned towards the awakening chambers. It stared at the chambers with an intense gaze. The particles in its eyes swirled in a frenzy as it stared at the chamber, specifically William.
William stayed in a deep sleep for two whole days, unbothered by the chaos going on outside. The family, too, stayed in the room with William, not wanting to leave him.
Finally, he opened his eyes, looked at his family, and smiled. Ara, who noticed her son wake up, immediately rushed towards his side and hugged him tightly. She shook once in a while as relief washed over her after she hugged her son.
The rest of the family walked over to him, and Gaia slumped in her place, shock etched deep on her face.
'It took ten percent of my entire mana to awaken him' . Gaia thought, gobsmacked by William's energy requirement to awaken. It might not seem like much, but Gaia is the world itself. Therefore, it took ten percent of the entire world's mana for William's attribute to awaken.
She gathered herself and began walking towards William, who was being embraced by his family members one by one.
"So little William, what attribute did you awaken?"
At this question, everyone turned to William; they were dying to pose this question to him but were afraid to spoil the mood.
William turned to Gaia at her question and answered,
"Nature."