Chapter 6: Mana
As they settle around the fire, Takehiko waves a branch with fibers wrapped around it, looking at the others with a slight hint of impatience. "Hey, how are we going to light this fire? Isn't this going to take forever?"
Kaito, grinds as he shoots out a concentrated laser beam shooting out to ignite the dry wood instantly. The flames flicker to life. "This is a better way," Kaito says, his voice tinged with pride.
"That's amazing!" Takehiko exclaims, his eyes wide with awe. Sato and Maria share the same expression of surprise as they watch the fire crackle to life.
As the group starts preparing their meal, the sound of crackling fire fills the air. After a brief silence, Sato speaks up, his voice laced with doubt.
"Do these wolves even taste good? What if they're disgustingly bad?"
Kurou shrugs nonchalantly, turning his attention back to the fire. "We don't have much of a choice, Sato. This is our food for now. We need to survive."
He looks at Takehiko, his eyes narrowing in curiosity. "By the way, what should we call you? Takehiko? Ryouichi? Or do you prefer something else?"
Takehiko chuckles, shaking his head. "Call me whatever you want. I don't have those kinds of preferences, like the rich people."
Lisa smiles, clearly amused by his straightforward nature. "So, Takehiko," she starts, leaning in with curiosity. "Those moves you used against the wolves—what was that? It was deadly!"
Takehiko looks towards Kurou, raising an eyebrow.
"I'm sure Kurou already knows what my powers are, right?"Kurou smirks. "Gravity manipulation, isn't it?"
"Gravity manipulation?" Lisa's eyes widen with astonishment. "That's an incredible power! You can control gravity however you want? Does that mean you can change its intensity?"
Takehiko nods, his expression serious. "Yeah, but it's not easy. It takes a huge toll on my body."
Kurou's voice cuts in."That's why you were barely able to move after taking down those wolves."
"Then why didn't you take the chance to attack me, Kurou?" Takehiko asks, genuinely puzzled.
Kurou gestures to his waist, where a black belt is clearly visible. "I'm not stupid enough to pick a fight with a black belt martial artist."
Takehiko bursts out laughing. "Haha! You're observant—I like that!"
Kurou shrugs, a grin on his face.
"You're just too dense."
The whole group chuckles at the friendly banter, appreciating Takehiko's straightforward and sincere nature.
"You'll make a great addition to the team," Sato says with a grin, and the others nod in agreement.
But then, the mood shifts slightly. Maria speaks up, her voice hesitant.
"But seriously, those wolves were stronger than anything I've ever seen. What's going on with that? Why were they so powerful?"
Kurou pauses, the fire casting a flickering glow on his face. "Do you remember the golden river that flowed through the ground, the one that gave us our powers?"
"Yeah, what about it?" Kaito asks, clearly intrigued.
"Those particles in the river... they affected the animals too."
"Wait, are you saying every animal on this planet has turned into some kind of monster?" Takehiko asks, his tone filled with disbelief.
"Not necessarily," Kurou replies. "Like us, the animals could have gained different abilities, but the wolves didn't seem to have any superpowers—just size, strength, and a hell of a lot of bloodlust."
"So, what about the birds? They're just flying around. Does that mean they didn't get any powers?" Kaito wonders aloud.
"Well, the black-tailed godwits we saw were huge for how high they were flying. Maybe the birds that didn't come in contact with the particles are still normal, but it's hard to say," Kurou says, pondering.
Maria raises her hand shyly. "Um, can I say something too?"
Kurou nods, encouraging her. "Yeah Maria, what is it?"
"When I use my power," Maria says, her voice steady but still a little unsure, "I can see particles in the air. Exactly like the ones in our bodies..."
Sato gasps. "Wait—what?! There are particles in the air too?!" He turns to Kurou, his eyes wide with confusion. "Does that mean...?"
Kurou gives a silent nod, a bead of sweat rolling down his temple. "Yes. Everyone in this world has been affected by the particles"
"Aagh!"
Takehiko suddenly screams, his voice cutting through the tension, and he throws his hands up in frustration.
"Can we stop calling them particles?! It feels like we're stuck back in chemistry class!"
Lisa laughs softly. "What do you suggest we call them, then?"
"How about mana?" Kaito proposes. "Like the magical energy in novels, comics, and anime. It fits, doesn't it?"
"Mana," Lisa repeats thoughtfully. "I like it. Sounds fitting."
Takehiko nods with approval, clearly relieved. "Mana it is!"
Lisa tilts her head, still curious. "Wait a minute, though. How are you so strong, Takehiko? You wiped out that entire pack of wolves with by just touching them once!
How did you know your powers could do that?"
Sato jumps in, equally excited. "Yeah, seriously! I want to know too!"
Takehiko's eyes narrow, and he laughs softly. "Well, at first, I almost flew off the planet when I got my power."
"What?!" Kaito exclaims. "You almost flew off the Earth?!"
"Yeah," Takehiko says nonchalantly, "I sent into space before I figured out how to control the gravity of anything I touch. So I just set the gravity of myself to keep me grounded. I had to hold my breath got a good minutes before coming back down."
"You were in space for a whole minute?" Lisa says, her eyes wide. "That's insane!"
Kurou clears his throat, redirecting the conversation.
"Maria, you said you could see mana in the air, right? What happens when you use your powers?"
"Yeah," Maria says, her fingers idly tracing patterns in the air. "When I use my time control power, the mana stands still. It doesn't move."
"Wait," Kurou muses, "if the mana stops moving inside your domain, does that mean your powers freeze it in place?"
Maria nods slowly. "Yeah. I guess it's like... everything just pauses when I use my ability."
Sato, suddenly thinking, chimes in. "I see mana too when I use super speed. It's like I can see everything moving in slow motion."
"There is one theory which states that , if one is possibly able to go in a speed of light, time stops for you. This is what might be happening to you, if you could stop the time entirely, the mana particles stop to flow, same with a person moving extremely fast, in your case Sato, you might be able to see mana particles move slowly because you are not moving at exactly the light speed."
Lisa thinks for a moment before speaking up. "Does that mean mana is like an entity tied to time itself?"
Kurou shakes his head. "No, I don't think so. Mana still flows with time. It behaves like an object—like water vapor in the air. It's not alive, just... everywhere."
Takehiko laughs. "I'm not great with this complicated stuff, but in short... mana is just small particles everywhere that we don't normally notice?"
"Exactly." Kurou says, grinning at the simplicity of his conclusion.
The group falls quiet for a moment before Maria suddenly speaks up again. "Okay, enough of this for now. The food's ready!"
"Hope it tastes good," Sato says, wiping a bead of sweat from his forehead as everyone eyes the cooked wolves warily.
As the sun begins to rise, the group gathers around the fire, sharing a moment of nervous anticipation before their first taste of the strange new world they find themselves in.
It tasted bad...