A loud sound echoed, reminiscent of waves crashing against the shore. Aiden paid no attention to what was happening outside. The residents of the Phoenix estate—from the guards to the maids—seemed unconcerned, as if the phenomenon had nothing to do with them.
The Phoenix estate was located atop a mountain overlooking Searing Flame City. As one of the seven great clans of humanity, the Phoenix Clan controlled a vast territory with businesses and resources that were mind-bogglingly deep. The people of Searing Flame City, however, were on the receiving end of the phenomenon created by Ryker's birth. Unlike the Phoenix estate, which was shielded against mana cyclones, the city itself did not have a anything capable of blocking mana. After all, who would go out of their way to create a formation just to block out the lifeblood of the current world—mana?
Mana was what allowed people to wield their extraordinary abilities. By absorbing the ambient mana, one could improve their mana core, increase their attributes, and power their techniques. Under normal circumstances, the influx of mana should be a blessing. For the Excitatus within Searing Flame City it was. For the normal people who hadn't awakened to mana, however, it was a nightmare. Absorbing mana past a certain threshold was essentially fatal for them.
When the Earth awakened to mana two thousand years ago, many people died of mana contamination due to absorbing mana beyond their body's threshold. This was not done intentionally; at the time, humans did not understand what mana was. This became a serious problem with no immediate solution. Coupled with the threat of beast attacks, humanity was nearly driven to extinction. It was only after the emergence of the Excitatus that humanity was saved and able to carve out a place for themselves on Earth.
Even though humans have come a long way since then, mana contamination remains untreatable unless those infected can awaken a mana core. The problem is that only one in ten thousand can succeed in doing so, making it a difficult illness to cure. This is why the mana cyclones were not a good thing for the non-Excitatus inhabitants of Searing Flame City. Panic spread among the city's residents, some raving and weeping, thinking they were under attack. The whole city became chaotic.
The Excitatus guards and law enforcement immediately took to the streets to restore order. Those informed knew that the heir of the Phoenix Clan was due to be born today. They suspected that the phenomenon was connected to this event and knew that the powerful individuals within the clan would handle it—and they were not wrong.
Back in the main mansion of the Phoenix estate, Blaze, after admiring his grandson's greatness, finally decided to address the problem. He knew neither Aiden nor Zelda considered the situation an emergency. "I think I know what to give my grandson as his first gift from grandpa," he mused. He stepped forward, tapping the air delicately with his forefinger. As soft as that touch was, its effects were profound. The tens of miles-wide mana cyclone began to compress rapidly. Before long, the cyclone of mana covered a distance of only 50 meters compared to the tens of miles it had previously spanned. Blaze waved his hand, and the mana was stored in a bottle-like object. He waved his other hand, and a box appeared. He stored the bottle in the box and then placed the box into his spatial ring.
With a smug look, Blaze headed back to the room where Aiden and the rest were. When Blaze returned, he saw that Amara, Zelda, and Aiden had surrounded little Ryker, playing with him. The baby seemed to be enjoying it, giggles escaping his mouth. Blaze stepped forward, taking the child from their midst. "You guys are disturbing my poor grandchild. I, as his noble grandpa, must save him from you villains," he declared.
Just as he turned to leave, Zelda stared daggers at her husband. "Blaze, if you take one more step without returning Ryker to me, you can forget about sleeping in the bedroom for the next twelve months."
Blaze was speechless. He immediately raised his free hand in submission and turned to face them with an awkward smile. He looked towards Aiden and realized the boy was looking at him with a mixture of amusement and mockery. Blaze gritted his teeth, wanting to smack the living daylights out of that pompous brat, but knew he couldn't do that with Zelda present. He huffed to show his unwillingness and handed the baby to Zelda. She nodded in satisfaction, a smile lighting up her face.
Amara implored everyone to leave the room so that Lila could rest and recover. As an awakened, she only needed to sleep for one day to be as good as new. Once everyone was out of the room, Zelda excused herself to put the baby to sleep. Sasha opted to remain with her daughter in case she needed anything.
Zelda carried the baby to the prepared room, where she laid him in his cot. She sang a few lullabies, and before long, he was asleep. She then assigned several maids to ensure little Ryker was taken care of at all times and instructed them to call her should he wake up from his slumber. She exited the room, looking forward to when the child would awake.