I began to hear a familiar sound next to me, a gentle voice. It was my mother's voice, speaking with my father. I still couldn't see anything; my vision was unclear, and I couldn't remember what happened before I fell asleep. It felt like I had forgotten for some reason. I wanted to go back to sleep. That's what every part of my body was telling me. But I decided to open my eyes. I couldn't. It was incredibly difficult. I couldn't understand what my parents were talking about either, but I wanted to focus my willpower and wake up. I still couldn't do it.
I was curious about their conversation. I wanted to get up. But my body felt like that of a drunken old person on the verge of death. I couldn't tell if I was awake or still dreaming. I tried one last time to open my eyes—and finally succeeded. At first, my vision was blurry, but it cleared soon after. It looked like I was in my bed, and my parents were sitting at the edge of it. Then I remembered what happened. My father did something to me after my mother told him to do "that thing." What was that thing? Suddenly, they noticed I was awake.
"You're awake? That's good. We didn't know when you'd come to," my mother said with a gentle and worried tone.
"I think so. Also—" I started, but she cut me off.
"You want to know why you lost consciousness, right?"
I wanted to tell her that interrupting people wasn't polite, but then I remembered I was still acting like a child. Children pretend to be adults, and here I was pretending to be a child. How strange. So I answered her.
"Yes."
"Well, what your father did was to awaken your mana. Normally, mana awakens naturally at the age of ten. But we used a method that's not entirely natural. This will give you more mana than usual, but there was also a chance you wouldn't wake up at all."
Everything seeme—
"What?!" I shouted in fear as I realized there was a chance I could have died.
"It's scary to think I could have stayed asleep forever," I added.
"It didn't happen, so there's no need to worry," my mother said, her voice calm and reassuring.
I wish I had her mindset.
"Also, your brother woke up two days ago. You can go talk to him. You've been asleep for eleven days, and he slept for nine."
Shock was evident on my face when I heard how long I had slept. But I also felt a bit sad. My awkward and jealous brother had woken up before me. I wanted to cry, but that didn't matter much anymore. I still felt a tinge of disappointment. I thought I'd go see him, so I told my mother:
"I guess I've slept a lot. I'll go meet Edward now."
"I'll take you to him. Do you want me to carry you?" she said, teasingly.
"Mom, I'm not a baby anymore!" I yelled in a childish manner.
"Alright, alright. Try going to him on your own."
I tried standing up, but I lost my balance immediately. I almost fell, but my mother caught me. She smiled warmly, a smile so full of love it sent shivers down my spine.
"You think this is easy? Having active mana inside your body, especially at your age, is quite difficult."
She carried me in her arms, and I blushed, which reminded me of when I was still a baby. Although my memories of that time were hazy, it seemed like I still have a mind of my current age. My body was so small. Also, I didn't fully understand what she meant by "active mana." It seemed like she hadn't told us everything. That much was clear. Understanding the whole magic system felt too surreal to be true.
---
Edward's Perspective
While gazing out of the window next to my bed, I heard footsteps approaching, as if someone was about to enter the room. A few seconds later, my mother walked in, carrying Emilia in her arms. She seemed fine, which relieved me a little. I decided to talk to them since I was usually the energetic one. I waved my hand with a big smile on my face. Mother waved back, while Emilia seemed lost in thought, even after being placed at the edge of the bed.
I couldn't read her. She was special, that much I knew for certain. Finally, I asked in a concerned voice:
"Are you alright?"
"I think so. I'm just really tired and feeling a bit nauseous. Mom, how long will this last?" she asked, her voice feigning concern. I could tell it was fake, but why? I didn't know. Maybe that's what made her different from everyone else. I spoke up:
"Mom, I'm worried. Will this last long?"
Our mother hugged both me and Emilia with a smile.
"It won't last long. You could say I've never seen it last more than two weeks. But for your bodies to fully recover, it'll take about a month or a month and a half. Once you've fully recovered, I'll start teaching you how to use magic. Doesn't that sound exciting?" she said, her energy infectious.
I don't know where she got all that energy from. Deciding to match her enthusiasm, even though I was exhausted, we ended up talking for hours until Emilia fell asleep. Mother carried her to bed, and I decided it was time for me to sleep as well.
---
Emilia's Perspective
Three weeks had passed since everything happened. I could walk again and perform most of the daily tasks I needed to. Even my brother had returned to his usual energetic self. It seemed our mother was planning to teach us magic now that we were fully recovered. That was likely the reason she called us outside the house. After a few minutes of waiting, she arrived, dressed in an outfit that looked like it belonged in a fantasy novel. Then again, this whole world felt like that.
"You know why you're here, right?" she asked.
We both nodded.
"You're lucky. I'll be personally teaching you. I'm at a Commander level," she said, proud of herself.
Then, in a loud voice, she suddenly shouted, angry that we weren't showing much interest: "Do you even realize how special that is? Only 5% of hunters reach this level! It's rare even among adventurers. It's said that a Commander is worth thirty Beginners, and you two aren't even Beginners yet!"
"Alright, alright," Edward and I replied in unison, trying to stay calm.
"You've disappointed me. You think I'm not amazing. Fine, let's get started," she said, quickly shifting her mood. She seemed more like a child than Edward, but strangely, that put me at ease.
Mother closed her eyes and calmed herself, becoming one with the surrounding nature. Then she opened them again and said:
"Mana is always inside our bodies, and we can always draw from nature when some of our reserve is empty. Today, I'll teach you the most important thing: how to use it and release it from your mana reserve. There won't be any practice today; you just need to feel your mana and gain a slight sense of control over it. This is the hardest part. First, stop moving and talking. Close your eyes, and try to feel yourself. Listen to your spirit and body. Clear your mind of any thoughts. After some time, you'll visualize a liquid in a container in your mind. The size of the container doesn't matter, and the color of the liquid will be different for everyone. Once you've done that, tell me the color. One note: don't fill your mind with the idea of the container, or everything will fail. This has nothing to do with your individual level; it's purely a matter of focus. So don't compete with each other—it'll only make things harder. Just relax. You can sit, stand, whatever you like. Just focus. Now, begin," she said in a calm voice.
I decided to sit in a yoga position, thinking it might help with concentration, and began clearing my mind of any thoughts.
After a while—though I couldn't tell how long—I lost track of time. I started visualizing something in my mind, like a pool. It was red in color, though it didn't resemble blood despite the similarity in shade. For some reason, I could move freely, as if I were in a dream. Mother hadn't mentioned anything about this. I decided to approach the liquid, and as soon as I touched it, my awareness returned to the real world. But there was a flame above my hand. At first, I was terrified, but it didn't burn me, though I could feel its intense heat. Was this magic? I looked around to see both my brother and mother staring at me in shock, and then the flame extinguished. Mother asked:
"How did you use magic before I taught you anything? And was the liquid red? The color of your container?"
"Yes. I touched it to make this happen," I said.
"You touched it? How? I've never heard of that before," she said, astonished.
"It felt like I was in a dream," I answered.
"That's strange… Anyway, you both succeeded, so I'll cook your favorite meal as a reward. Let's head back home," she said with her usual smile.
And with that, we returned to the house.