Gasps of air echoed through the room as the man standing in the darkness struggled to comprehend his creation. A metallic device lay on the cluttered table, surrounded by countless sketches of failed attempts. Soot covered his hands, and prototypes littered the floor, a testament to years of relentless effort.
The room was lit only by the device, casting the man's shadow on the walls. He was a towering figure, enveloped in a long, dark trench coat. "I did it," he muttered as if he couldn't believe it. "I did it!"
"Sir, the council has agreed to meet us!" His assistant burst through the door, letting in streaks of light that couldn't overpower the device's blue glow.
"I'm coming. Come with me, Davies. We... we are going to change this world!" he exclaimed, grabbing the boy's shoulders and hurrying down the corridor toward the council room with the spherical device. As he opened the doors, the council members stared at him for a split second.
He adjusted his spectacles and presented his work—a metallic, opaque ball, sealed at the sides with multiple screws. A translucent film at the center covered a vibrating blue plasma. The councilmen stood up and applauded.
"Davies, explain to them what this is," he said proudly. Davies had stood by the professor even in the darkest days, enduring self-doubt, hesitation, hatred, and anger, all while providing valuable insights. At just fifteen, he was often described as a "Boy Genius."
"Yes, sir." Davies brought the device to the center of the circular table, surrounded by the councilmen. "To start, my professor, Julien Manarez, discovered tiny particles floating in the atmosphere a decade ago. Before I joined the institute, Dr. Manarez identified these particles as a form of energy, similar to thin plasma. He named this discovery 'Mana'."
He twisted the device to show its entirety. "This is the mana stone, a source of energy using radiation from mana. We've created a device that can absorb mana from our atmosphere and turn it into usable energy. While mana has different attributes, this device standardizes it into a laminar flow, producing almost endless, renewable energy!" The young boy's voice rang with pride. He had assisted the professor for years, enduring starvation and sleepless nights. The professor smiled, arms folded, watching on.
The applause grew louder, and murmurs turned to genuine praise. "Could we get a look?" one councilman asked, and Davies obliged, handing over their century's invention, the cornerstone of a new era.
The councilmen passed the device around. "Interesting... I assume this notch controls the mana intake?" one asked.
"Close, sir. It's a pressure valve. If the mana pressure gets too high, you can release it slowly using the valve. Just turn it like this..." Before Davies could finish, the councilman turned the notch, seeing the gauge err to one side. "Sir, that's wrong—" In an instant, the translucent film cracked, and the councilman dropped the device in shock. As it fell, Davies's mind went blank.
"Davies! Davies!!" The familiar voice of the professor woke Davies. His face was scratched and bruised, and the room was in shambles. "Davies, you have to get out now, NOW!"
Davies struggled to move, his body screaming in pain. He groaned and tried to regain his balance, looking at his professor kneeling on the ground with shards embedded in his back. A wave of sadness hit him, but it was short-lived as the bright blue ball in the center of the room caught his attention. "Thank you," he said, running immediately.
As Davies ran through the corridors, the outside world came into view—littered with boulders, displaced cars, and rubble from houses. He sprinted out of the building, seeking shelter, but was sent flying into a nearby wall by a controlled yet powerful explosion. Harmless-looking shockwaves pulsed around the world, marking the start of the Mana era.
. . .
"As I stand here today, I remind everyone of the terrors of the incident that occurred over 40 years ago in Orua. While it is safe to say we had no involvement, we should celebrate the successes that followed. As Javanians, we must appreciate the new era these discoveries have ushered in. Let us all pay our respects to the great Professor Julien Manarez!" the president declared.
The new era brought people with mana attributes similar to elements and the ability to use this mana in everyday life. Elements included Fire, Air, Water, and Earth, essentially eliminating the need for fossil fuels. However, humans weren't the only ones affected. The need for mana beast hunters emerged, becoming a lucrative job as companies sought the most talented hunters. Mana cores from beasts could be sold for fortunes.
Among the crowd stood a boy who had recently moved to the city of Javan—Yonu Hachinan. He was not among the 'most talented,' or so he perceived. A young boy without a dream or goal, he yearned for a normal life.
He stood with his head held high, looking at the unfamiliar president. The president had a somewhat sharp, yet average-looking face, with dull orange eyes and brown hair streaked with orange. Yonu was slightly built from working on his family's farm. He wore a gray windbreaker over an orange tee and black, slightly oversized black cargo pants which somewhat accompanied the luggage beside him.
His other hand held a slip of paper with directions to his rented apartment near his new school. Overwhelmed by the city's high-rise skyscrapers and never-ending traffic, he looked back at the paper and made his way to his new home.
Unbeknownst to him, lies, pain and deceit lay beneath the surface of this country and the world.