Eren woke up feeling wet licks on his face, His dark vision didn't help at all but that was usual. He patted ava away. In two years ava had grown a lot, it's appearance more fluffy and bigger.
Eren had grown as well afterall he was now fourteen years old, over the time his height reached 1.65 meter and his body toned, it was more than toned. He exercised hard and attained god like physique, his body maintained between complete buff and ripe musculanity. His muscles clearly visible over his skin along with veins that only accentuated his manliness. His face more sharp but at the end he still looked like a handsome teenager.
This change was inevitable, Mana infusion was slowly making his body sturdier and adaptive to mana. In a way mana acted as catalyst but at the end eren held the choice to utilise it and he did.
Eren got up and walked outside with ava following behind, in this past two years eren had became so attuned to his senses that now he could get feel of surrounding even without mana sense, Alena said it was echolation. It was interesting concept to learn, our body naturally spreaded frequency outward and most of peoples remained ignorant to it. But some disabled peoples had this gift to sense it and some learned it through sheer persistent effort.
Eren was such genius.
It was nowhere advanced as mana sense where one could see different things but it was still useful to utilise mana in other productive way.
Coming out of mansion he stood for a moment.
Eren felt soft wind brushing pass his face, his long black hair swayed gently. Eren stood silently, feeling this gentle beauty of world.
Morning felt soft and warm but opposite to it days were hot and nights were cold, it was time of early winter and eren liked this time of day, serene and relaxing.
He walked further ahead to river. Heavy sound of spalshes and gently sprinkled waterdrops gave him slight cold feeling. Eren removed his clothes and without any hesitation jumped in. Cold water made his skin shiver but just a moment and his body heat adjusted to it.
His lax body warmed up nicely and after washing his body neatly he walked out, completely naked and dropping wet.
What he didn't realise that red eyes watching him from behind the waterfall. Alena after expressing her feeling out loud was left rejected but that made her emotions even more resolved. She knew this feelings were one sided and had very minute chance to get reciprocated afterall she was fox monster and once eren formed a core or failed, he would leave with not particular reason to stay here anymore.
Her feeling eventually grew, something she didn't expected afterall rejection is hurtful and living with someone who rejected is definitely awkward but over the year, their relation had grown into beautiful friendship, especially since eren had matured into fine young man and Alena had become more friendly, rather than prankster Fox.
Hiding behind the waterfall she observed Eren's naked body, his ripped muscles, chiseled face and long hair which he tied behind roughly.
' Maybe he knows I'm here that's why he never shows his front, I wish I could look.' Alena thought, her lust taking over and body slowly heating up.
It was weird when Alena first became aware of her lust towards eren, especially when she thought of physical relation between human boy and 10 meter tall monster, it left disturbing thoughts clouding her psyche but she couldn't help but lust after him, especially since everyday she could gaze upon his naked body.
' His butt is sure is tight.' She didn't even realise her saliva dripping over but to her dissatisfaction eren put new clothes on and went inside.
When her manical side finally resided she realised that today was important day, Today is judgement day.
Eren was accumulating mana over four years, enduring pain of ripping muscles and breaking bones. Alena ingested only minute amount of mana yet it was horrible feeling, as eren had described it to be something alive eating his inside voraciously.
His body that grew stronger and more adaptive to mana was no longer so much affected by Alena's little amount of mana and so the dose increased as well, it was optional but upon hearing that more pain meant more gain, eren didn't back away.
As Alena said, judgement day.
His mana core was forming nicely but that was an illusion or rather existence between dynamic and adynamic world.
Mana is ethereal energy, his core is solid and incomplete but once it's completely formed there is a chance that his body will not able to adapt to it, it depends on natural constitution. Meaning of he fails all this effort will be wasted and core will wither away, his body will always remain halfly adapted to mana and wouldn't ever be able to form mana core.
Of course positive thinking was that he'll succeed and will have his mana core, more powerful then most. Reason being Alena's highly dense mana.
This whole process of mana infusion was a mildly completed theory of Alena, she experimented on many animals to evolve them into monsters having mana core, and she succeeded but ratio was 1:1000.
She desired with all his soul that eren would succeed even if he had to leave afterward. Thought of eren leaving disturbed her heart yet that didn't affect her prayer at all.
All her thoughts becoming more and more complicated, she sighed in defeat and closed her eyes.
Inside the mansion.
Eren prepared breakfast, It was only few neatly cut fruits, simple and healthy. Same for ava, eva and Alena.
Eren didn't gave them luxury to eat meat in breakfast and they had no choice but to make do with fruits.
Chomping little pieces down his thoughts reached the same defeat and complication as Alena, it was big day afterall. And to get this negativity out of him, eren walked outside mansion to train. It helped him greatly when his mind was occupied with disturbing thoughts.
He did push ups, sit ups, pull ups and weigh rolling exercise with all his effort, till he could no longer hold back his muscle ache. His heart pulsed in his head and chest rose up and down erratically.
His mouth gasping, hungrily biting air. Despite how tortuous this training felt, he did it everyday. He held unyielding determination. And even now this wasn't over yet, he stopped only because now it was time for lunch.
He could even endure hunger but Alena wasn't compromising, sitting beside him as she eyed him, pointing towards something obvious.
Eren sighed, lifting his heavy body up stood up but Instant that he did, he felt intense pain sipping deep in his sternum. He couldn't even detect when a mass of dense energy which came out of nowhere crashed to his chest, slowly making its way in as it tried to corrode Eren's mana.
Alena's senses were alerted in Instant, she couldn't understand how it happened but a moment passed and she saw a human figure materialise just before eren. She held no hesitation and dashed forward, her big paw slapped golden hued completely materilised human far away, crashing into big tree.
Her intense bloodthirst directed towards unknown human reached peak, she wanted nothing but to rip that human to shred but before she could take any action, She heard Eren's weak voice calling her.
" Ale...na.." His mouth filled with blood and his body in shambles with all violent energy causing him intense pain. But more it was dangerous especially since two mana were mixed in, it was poisonous.
" Eren, Hold on." Alena's huge face near eren.
" We..Have to do it...right now." Alena's heart shook hearing his words.
" No-"
" Don't waste any time." Eren held the pain to bay and shouted, his words silenced alena. She couldn't decide or rather the choice was obvious but she wasn't ready to take it.
A foreign volatile mana was corroding his core and eren needed to overpower it, But how?, his source of mana was someone else, Alena. She needed to help him.
But it came with risk, unlike mana infusion this was more painful and dangerous, Alena didn't had a choice in the matter but watching him writh in pain was already hurting and her next action would elevate it even further, She had never felt so weak in life.
" Alena.." Eren shouted activating his mana sense, his pain increasing by second.
" I'll come back for you..Aagh... because I love you." Eren grabbed her face, hugging it closely.
Alena felt shocked run throught body, what was she supposed to say?What was she supposed to feel in this situation?
She couldn't fathom the situation but one thing became clear, they both had one shot. It was hard choice for both of them but destiny was fucked up thing.
Alena's face transferred large amount of mana causing him even greater pain. Eren let go of her face and held his chest tightly. He wanted to control this energy, to hold it together but pain so great assaulted his mind and soul. He couldn't think, much less control even part of it.
Precarious situation turned deadly when his senses slowly became cold, his mind became hazy, he tried to hold it together but his senses finally gave away and his body went limp and unconscious.
Alena's heart trembled in fear but next second something unexpected happened.
Eren's body started secreting black gelatinous liquid, in mere moments it completely covered him into huge jelly like egg. Not even a moment passed when this egg turned solid and everything inside of became mystery.
Alena couldn't even comprehend when she felt huge surge of energy rising in her chest, her body quickly got covered in white prismatic light and soon she also los her senses.
Along with their vulnerable self, there was someone else. Someone who caused all this ruckus in the first place. Eren and Alena were both consumed into something unexpected when unknown individual moved towards them.