In the heart of the Abyss Nest, where the boundaries between reality and myth blurred in obscurity, Aella looked at the pop-up from her system, the first one she had gotten since initially learning of it.
“Mama, Papa! Are you out there?” She called out at the top of her lungs without care for who heard her. Her voice echoed, fading into the distance, unanswered and absorbed by the eerie silence of the new world around her.
She stood alone in the shadow of colossal, jagged peaks that stretched toward the heavens like the fingers of giants. Her eyes, once filled with youthful innocence, now flickered with glimpses of a deep insanity that lurked beneath the surface. Her small frame seemed incongruous against the vast landscape, yet to her, it felt like the opposite. A world of insignificant difficulty waiting to be conquered by her.
“Well, can’t say this is the way I wanted to experience what Abyssal Kin are like, but beggars cannot be choosers, can they?” She mused, mimicking a saying she heard spoken often by the natives of this world.
Her lips curled into a faint smile, a semblance of excitement flickering across her features. For nearly a decade, she had waited for this moment. While it was but a footnote in her once-long life, it felt far longer due to the regression of her brain. Although she suppressed it with her memories, hormones, and other biological developments that affected her mental state were unfortunately still present in her inhuman biology.
Aella’s small hands clenched into fists at her sides, the fabric of her clothes crinkling beneath her grip. Her mind ran free until she eventually let out a sigh with her mind made up, “So much for waiting a few more years. Being attached to people is what got me killed in my last life. Surely it won’t happen twice, right?”
As much as she didn’t want to fully access her Mana yet, she didn’t have much choice. Her parents, unlike her, were normal people, and she didn’t fully trust the system, saying Ane was a higher rank than the Boss.
Despite not a spec of familial love being in her heart for her parents, she had grown quite fond of them and didn’t want any pain to come of them.
“If I reveal that I broke through at 8, they’ll probably disown me for being a freak. Well, if they’re in danger, I’ll consider it my good deed before saying goodbye, and if not, I can just hide my power, I guess.” She nodded to herself while stretching. The heavy winds blew against her.
The perfect environment for her.
Sitting down, she took a deep breath and closed her eyes, preparing for the unknown. She had no idea what this would do to her body, but a mix of her curiosity and desire to protect her parents outweighed the risk many times.
Her breathing seemed to become manic, much in the same way she did years ago when first entering her Inner World, this time using the few points of MP that she had regenerated to begin interfering with the ambient mana.
The air around her seemed to tremble as she delved deep within herself, entering a trance and seeking the ethereal currents of mana that permeated the Abyss Nest. Her breath slowly began to match the winds that raged against her, syncing with the world around her in perfect harmony.
Glowing particles began to appear in the vicinity of Aella, dancing around each other with whimsy before eventually finding their way into her body.
Pain…
A searing agony that clawed at her insides like a thousand fiery talons. Aella bit down hard on her lower lip, her small form trembling with the effort to endure the torment. Every fiber of her being screamed in protest, her young body unprepared for the intensity of gathering Mana just as she had guessed.
This was just the beginning, however. “If this is all, then I worried for nothing!” She stated firmly, her resilience born from centuries of battles and hardships, Aella persevered only for the pain she went through to grow alongside it.
It was like her body was being torn to shreds by countless knives, burned in a pool of magma yet frozen completely, constant lashes across every fiber of her body while her very atoms seemed to be torn apart, tossed around, repaired, and rearranged. If there was a painful sensation in either known or unknown universe, Aella was sure she felt it here.
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“Not…Yet…” She scoffed, coughing up blood as her nails dug into her palms. Even comparing this pain to that from her battle with that damned Dragon God, it was hard to tell which was worse. At least in that bout, her pain ended with her death, but that was something she couldn’t afford here.
It felt like the once whimsical particles of Mana were rending her insides, and time quickly lost its meaning as she continued her meditation.
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The pain that she felt began to subside slightly, and slowly the pain gradually transformed into a distant ache. With each passing moment, she felt the mana within her area responding to her call, coalescing inside her body before bursting out of her body into a shimmering aura. It was an excruciating process but one that held the promise of unimaginable power.
Amid her agony, Aella’s senses expanded, attuning to the subtle vibrations of the wind that blew through the mountainous range. Then the winds stopped going against her. Instead of trying to push the girl away they flew around her, encircling her and cradling her.
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“Just… A little more!”
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Her eyes snapped open, and her body shot to her feet. The small hurricane that surrounded and protected her dispersed with the wave of her hand, her eyes blazing with a newfound intensity.
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Swiping the notification panels away, Aella’s grin became manic as blood dripped from just about every major orifice on her body.
“Cutting it close as ever, aren’t you, you damn old hag?” She giggled like a freak, referring to herself as an old hag.
Stretching her arms out, she let the wind swirl around her, sending her short silver hair, ears, and tail flutter freely.
“To have proper control over Mana again after 8 years… This feels great! I’m glad my Aetherstream is compatible with this body. If I had to make a new one, it’d be quite troublesome.”
[Aetherstreams], the ability to cultivate one’s power. Being split into 4 tiers of Lower, Middle, Upper, and Peak, Aetherstreams are the core of any competent combatant.
While the Weaker tiers only increase your power and control, Upper tiers give you command over a specific element or concept, and the Peak tier, not only gives you a secondary element but also a unique ability intrinsically tied to your very being.
Snapping her fingers, an ethereal sword came to Aella’s side.
“One is my limit right now, huh? Well, no matter, Since I’ve taken the first step back to my prime, I’ll need to be a tad bit more proactive now.”
Recalling her sword, Aella spun around until the wind guided her.
The once raging gusts turned into soothing breezes which rid her of the blood that escaped her body
“North, huh?”
Aella was an old witch with many titles. Most referred to how she slaughtered countless gods, but those titles didn’t highlight just how terrifying her abilities were.
In the wake of Aella’s mastery over the wind, over the very sounds that traveled to any who were capable of hearing. The world around her seemed to respond in kind, acknowledging her control over the elemental force. The air itself whispered secrets to her, carrying ancient melodies and untold stories within its currents. With a mere flick of her wrist, she could command the winds to dance to her tunes, guiding them in harmonious choreography.
Villages of the crooked and deceitful were engulfed in storms at her behest, clearing the way and granting the winds’ blessing to those full of the just and caring. Sailors often spoke of the being who mastered the wind, how she tore through the flesh and bone of gone.
The Whirlwind Maestra was her title. The wind guiding her to what she wanted was a simple task for her.