As Zaryth wandered the academy courtyard, lost in thought, a strange sensation washed over him. His heart thudded irregularly, and a peculiar warmth spread through his chest—not painful, but unsettling, as if something dormant inside him had stirred. He paused in his steps, rubbing his temples. His head throbbed, but it wasn't just the headache from waking up after seven days. This was something... deeper.
"Why do I feel like this?" he muttered under his breath.
Zaryth pressed his palm against his chest, right over where his mana core was supposed to be—a tiny, undeveloped thing everyone pitied. But as he focused, closing his eyes, he felt something strange beneath it. A pulse. A flicker. Something... else.
The more he focused, the clearer it became. It wasn't a mana core. It was something else entirely.
The moment Zaryth focused harder, he felt a tug inside his mind. Darkness swirled around him, but in the black void behind his eyelids, a glow emerged—a vibrant purple orb, pulsing softly like the heartbeat of a forgotten star. The color was unlike anything he'd seen before, rich and deep, as if it didn't belong in this world.
"What... is this?" Zaryth whispered, confused.
Suddenly, the world around him shifted. His senses sharpened unnaturally, as though he had slipped into a realm beyond ordinary sight. Particles of purple light floated lazily in the air, shimmering in patterns only he could perceive. They drifted everywhere, forming trails, swirling in loops and spirals. The more he focused, the more detailed the patterns became, as if he was gazing into the very fabric of existence.
And then, out of the swirling particles, Zaryth noticed something strange—thin threads, like strings, stretched across space.
These threads seemed to connect everything. Some flowed seamlessly, moving along with the natural rhythm of the world. Others felt jagged, twisted slightly, as if time had warped and bent them out of shape. They vibrated softly, humming with an energy that Zaryth couldn't yet comprehend.
It was beautiful. And terrifying.
Without realizing it, Zaryth held his breath. His heart raced, and the edges of his vision blurred, but he couldn't look away. It was as though the world had unveiled a secret only meant for him.
What is this? he thought, mesmerized by the threads and particles. He instinctively reached out—not physically, but with his mind—and as he did, the particles began to shift in response.
When he focused on a single particle, it slowed down, as if waiting for his command. The threads of light wavered slightly in the air, hinting at something deeper beneath their surface, something ancient and powerful. It was as if time itself trembled under his gaze.
His heart pounded faster, and an overwhelming sense of clarity washed over him. He didn't fully understand what he was seeing, but he knew, instinctively, that no ordinary magic could grant this sight. This wasn't the power of fire, water, or thunder. It was something else. Something far more dangerous.
And it was his.
As Zaryth opened his eyes, the strange purple glow faded, and the particles vanished from sight. The threads disappeared as well, snapping back into their unseen flow. He blinked several times, his heart still racing.
"What... just happened?" he whispered, clutching his chest again.
His hand trembled slightly. He knew now—his small mana core wasn't the only thing inside him. There was another core, hidden deep within him. But it wasn't a mana core at all. It was something far more complex, something beyond the understanding of anyone he knew.
Suddenly, the weight of everything came crashing down on him. The mocking voices of the students, his family's disappointment, his sister's injury—all of it made sense now. His problem was never that he was weak. It was that his power had been buried, lying dormant, waiting for the right moment to awaken.
He glanced down at his hands, still tingling from the strange sensation. "I can see things… that no one else can."
The thought both excited and terrified him. He didn't understand this power, nor did he know how to control it. But for the first time in his life, Zaryth felt like he had a purpose.
Just as he began to process the enormity of what had happened, a chill ran down his spine. A sudden, uneasy feeling gripped him, as if something—or someone—was watching him from afar. He looked around the courtyard, but there was no one nearby. Yet the sensation persisted.
Zaryth's hand instinctively moved to his chest again. The hidden core pulsed faintly beneath his fingertips, and with it came the faintest echo of a voice—a whisper so soft he could barely hear it.
"This is just the beginning..."
He shivered, feeling as if the boundaries between his mind and something far greater had momentarily blurred.
The voice faded just as quickly as it had come, leaving him standing alone under the morning sun.
Zaryth exhaled slowly, calming his racing thoughts. He had no idea what had just happened, but he knew one thing for certain: the power inside him was unlike anything anyone at the academy—or even his family—had ever seen.
And somehow, that fact felt both exhilarating and terrifying.
With renewed determination, he clenched his fists and took a step forward. If this is my power... I'll figure it out. One way or another.
He didn't know where this path would lead, but he was done feeling powerless. Whatever the strange core inside him was, he would master it.
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