The fifth day of the sixth month of 327. The halls of the Academy were bustling with energy and excitement. Students chattered nervously amongst themselves, trying to relieve the stress of the examination that was soon to come. Shaden and Mistilia were no exceptions.
But unlike the others, the two young examinees were under very little pressure. They, after all, didn’t have the danger of being expelled even if their results were lacking.
“I wonder how big my mana pool is,” said Mistilia. “It’s my first time doing this! But I’m probably the best of the best, right Shaden?”
Shaden shrugged. The wolf girl’s striped tail was furiously wagging with vigor, her golden eyes focused on the door in anticipation. They had been told to wait inside the room while the examination area was being set up. As the youngest students of the Academy, they had the priority when measuring their mana levels.
Shaden, too, was curious about his mana level. After all those spells and practicing, he should have a giant mana capacity, right? He couldn’t wait to surprise everyone.
Finally, the door swung open and Instructor Reedock stepped inside.
“Alright, kids. You ready?”
“Yes!” answered Mistilia and Shaden at the same time.
They followed the Instructor out of the room and walked through the walls. Mistilia couldn’t control her enthusiasm and was jumping up and down the whole way. Shaden supported his hands with his head and nonchalantly took his steps.
They entered the cafeteria, now re-decorated as the Great Hall. All of the tables and chairs had been removed, and the red-gold banners of the Academy hung down on the walls, the notable silver sword decorated lavishly on the center. The examination had not officially begun, so the servants were still scurrying around polishing and perfecting the area.
At the front of the Hall, the Headmistress’s great table had been replaced with a large stage that seemed to be made out of solid, cut stone. The moment Shaden lay his eyes on it, his head spun. A giant magic circle was engraved on its surface, decorated with numerous patterns so small and intricate they were too many to count. A small elevated circle was placed at the center of the magic formation like a platform. Most notable of all, four giant pillars stuck out from the stage.
“Is that…the mana-measuring device?” asked Shaden with uncertainty. He had expected something like a ball that he would place his hands on.
“It is.”
“That’s so cool!” exclaimed Mistilia. She would have jumped right on if the Instructor didn’t grab her by the collar.
“Calm down kid. We need to wait for the Headmistress.”
Mistilia crossed her arms and repeatedly struck her long, fluffy tail on the ground with impatience.
“Instructor? What are the four pillars for?”
“Those? Let’s see… The first and second pillars show your mana capacity. The third and fourth pillars display your mana control ability.”
“Why are there two pillars for each of them?”
“Good question. Usually, there would have been one, giant pillar for each evaluation, but they kept on toppling over, so the Headmistress ordered the people who made it to shorten it. Hence, this.”
That was an unexpected answer. “So…nothing measures your affinity with elements?”
“Hmm? What do you mean?”
“Like if you’re good at fire magic, or earth magic, or healing, light—you know?”
“Kid, I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“Umm…” Shaden became flustered.
“A disposition to certain types of magic? Is that what you mean?” said the Instructor.
Shaden nodded his head. The Instructor scratched his beard and thought.
“Hmm…true. Certain people are good at certain magical fields. But magic is not necessarily determined from the moment you are born. Let’s say you were better at kicking balls at a young age than throwing them. But if you practiced throwing balls rather than kicking them, you would become much better at throwing. Catch the drift, kid? Just because you are good at something now doesn’t mean you will be good at it later.”
“Meaning?”
“The magic you are good at now doesn’t determine your future steps. It can, but there are plenty of other directions you can go off to. It’s absurd to label someone as a certain magic-user. Even more absurd when that person hasn’t learned any type of magic. Can you imagine telling your kid, ‘hey, you have good leg muscles, so you should become a scout'. Absolutely illogical!”
“I see.”
“Absolutely illogical…” The Instructor’s eyes seemed to wander into the distance, and a kind of pained expression passed his face. He blinked, smiled, and cleared his throat.
“Anyway kid, everyone chooses what they want to learn.”
He caught Mistilia who was trying to sneak away with his lightning-quick arm. “Patience, wolf-girl. It’s almost time.”
“But I smell the Headmistress!” the girl complained. “She’s almost here. Let me go greet her.”
“Just wait, kid.”
Mistilia puffed her cheeks out and crossed her arms again. She turned towards Shaden.
“Don’t be so sad if your mana level is low, okay?”
She totally saw him as a kid. Shaden gave her a sarcastic ok signal with his hand, at which the wolf girl cocked her head.
“What does that mean?”
“Nothing. Don’t worry about it.”
The sound of whispering noises could be heard from the hallway to the northeast. Shaden turned his head. Mistilia already had her gaze towards the coming noise, her ears twitching as it picked up the voices.
The sound of footsteps grew louder, and the Headmistress entered the Hall, surrounded by men and women garbed in simple red and black uniforms. They were talking amongst themselves.
“Headmistress!” shouted Mistilia. Before Basalm could stop her, she jumped away on all fours and landed right before the old lady.
“Child. How many times have I told you not to walk with your hands?” scolded the Headmistress. But her eyes were soft. “Did you wait long?”
“No. It was okay,” replied Mistilia sheepishly as her head was pat with a gentle, wrinkled hand.
The Headmistress clapped her hands. “Instructors! Assemble the students.”
The uniformed men and women bowed and dispersed instantly. The Headmistress adjusted her glasses and spotted Shaden.
“Boy! Come now. We haven’t got a second to waste.”
Shaden approached the platform and stood next to Mistilia in front of the old lady. Now that he realized it, the lady barely radiated any presence either. But even without the feeling of mana, the air around her was as intense as ever. Like being in front of a Lion behind bars.
“Which of you will go first?”
“Me! Please, let me go first!” cried Mistilia while jumping up and down.
“Goodness! Calm down, child. Now, step on the little circle over there and stand still. Could you do that?”
“Yes!” Mistilia smiled and jumped on top of the circle, at the center of all the magical formations. “Now?”
“Stand still.” The Headmistress ordered. She floated across the floor within her robes and stepped onto the platform. “This will be your first time, so listen to me carefully. When I activate the spell, you will feel something like threads envelope your body. But do not worry. They are there to measure your mana and control over it. Are you prepared?”
Mistilia stopped wagging her tail and clasped her fists. “Yes.”
“Good.”
The Headmistress raised one hand, the other tucked within her robes. A faint blue light seeped out from the palm, creating shapes in the air. A magic circle. The symbols connected, and Mistilia let out a small gasp.
At that moment, the engraved lines of the stone platform started to glow with a bluish-white light.
“Something’s flowing out of me!”
“Do not worry; it is only a portion of your mana based on the total amount you possess,” assured the Headmistress.
The first pillar stated to light up from the bottom. Or more precisely, the engravings on the pillar started to light up. The waves of blue crawled up the stone, coiling around the cylinder like snakes. Then it halted just above the half of the cylinder.
Mistilia opened her eyes, and upon finding that everyone’s eyes were looking behind her, she turned her head around. “That’s it? Is that good?”
“Very much so for a girl of your age. Now, circulate your mana,” said the Headmistress.
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Mistilia closed her eyes once again and took a deep breath. Shaden felt her aura increasing from six meters away. It felt impressive as usual.
The third pillar started to light up just like the first one. This time, the color was a deeper shade of blue, fluctuating with streaks of purple and red and other mysterious colors. The lines of light rose rapidly, easily overtaking the half-point then reaching the top.
The fourth pillar lit up at the bottom. The markings rose rapidly—then stopped abruptly, slightly above the bottom of the pillar. Unlike the first pillar, the fourth pillar’s threshold violently fluctuated, moving slightly up and down as Mistilia concentrated.
“Splendid,” commented the Headmistress. “As expected of a Humanoid race of wolfs. Child, you may come down now.”
The wolf girl let out a deep breath and opened her eyes. “Did I do good?”
“You were excellent for your age,” stated the Headmistress.
Mistilia smiled and jumped down. “Ha! I’m the best!”
“Boy, it’s your turn now,” the Headmistress said. “Go on up.”
Shaden nodded. He got up on the stage, and like before, the Headmistress cast a spell on him. Just like she had said, something like spiderwebs covered his body.
The ground lit up with light and Shaden waited with confidence. It was finally time to show the world how great he was. He looked at the pillar and waited.
The floor radiated blue light, and everyone waited for the pillar to light up.
The light from the floor covered Shaden’s face, casting a shadow on the ceiling.
The carvings on the floor were illuminated with light, shining steadily as time ticked by.
Shaden raised his eyebrows. The pillar wasn’t lighting up. Not even a speck. It remained lifeless, its engravings dull and dark from the lack of mana.
“What!” exclaimed Shaden in disbelief. He turned his head towards the Headmistress, who looked confused as well. Her eyes were squinting at the pillars intently as if expecting them to light up at any moment.
“Boy, what are you doing?” she asked.
“I don’t know!” cried Shaden.
“You aren’t trying to fool me, aren’t you?” she said. She raised her palm to Shaden, and a yellowish-red mist-like substance came out of her hand and covered him, disappearing in an instant.
“What was that?” Shaden demanded.
“A dispelling spell.” She turned her eyes towards the pillar again, which was still lifeless as ever. “How very unusual. Boy, begin circulating.”
“But—”
“Now.”
Shaden lowered his eyes and nodded. What in the world was happening? He concentrated deeply within himself, rotating the mana that flowed like a murky canal now.
The third pillar began to light up as the engravings rapidly elevated upwards. Then just between the midpoint of and top of the pillar, the light stopped.
“How very unusual. Boy, your control over mana is magnificent considering your age. However—”
She pointed towards the empty first and second pillars.
“What is this?”
“That’s what I want to know!” Shaden complained. He had wanted the pillars to crack and fall before his magnificence. He had wanted them to possibly blow up under his extraordinary amount of mana. But nothing? Nothing?!
“Get down, boy.”
Shaden weakly stepped off the platform.
“Pfff—”
Mistilia covered her mouth with her hands and stifled a laugh, her ears turning red. But her tail was wagging like nobody’s business. Even the Instructor looked bewildered, his eyebrows up and his mouth twisted on the side.
“I do not know how to explain this. Are you sure you aren’t tricking me, boy?”
“No! Absolutely not,” promised Shaden.
“I have noticed the depth of your mana pool. But this…how very, very unusual,” the Headmistress muttered.
She stepped off the platform. “Show me your arm, boy,” she told Shaden.
Shaden obeyed, and the Headmistress grabbed it with her left hand. Then with her right, she cast a spell in a chant so fast that Shaden’s ears could not comprehend it.
Suddenly, Shaden felt the mana flow out of him like a river. Then the Headmistress let go.
“Do you feel dizzy?”
Shaden touched his arm. “No.”
“Hmm…” The Headmistress inspected her left hand. “You do possess mana. Yet it feels so…uncharacteristic. So natural.”
“What?”
“It is not important,” stated the Headmistress. She waved them off with her hand. “The examination is over. You may stay and watch or return to train.”
Shaden nodded while Mistilia jumped in excitement. The Headmistress then turned around and headed towards the side of the room to prepare herself for the actual examination.
Instructor Reedock cleared his throat. “So…do you want to stay?”
“Yes. Yes! Yes!” said Mistilia while running all over the place. “There will be swordfights, right?”
“Of course. What is an examination without crossing swords?”
“Yeeeesss!”
Shaden sighed. He didn’t feel accomplished. But at least he would see his brother, which would be nice.
“Let’s find some seats,” suggested Instructor Reedock.
Shaden and Mistilia both nodded and followed their instructor to the side of the Great Hall.
〄 〄 〄
It turned out to be rather bland.
“Should we just go?” asked Mistilia. The rows and rows of students were being called up on stage one by one, and after a quick exchange of blows with one of the Instructors, they went back down to their seats. It was an extremely boring and slow process without much of the action they had expected.
“What happened to the swordfights?” she asked again.
Instructor Reedock scratched his head. “Well, the last time I saw the examination was…I don’t know, three years ago?”
“You didn’t teach anyone for three years?” asked Shaden.
“I did, but there was another Juvenile Instructor who took them over. So…”
He shrugged. “Guess things changed. Back in my day we had prolonged swordfights.”
“Back in your day?”
“I wanna go…” complained Mistilia.
Instructor Reedock let out a deep sigh. “Alright kids, let’s go.”
They got up and returned to their training room, just moments before the students below age ten finished. If they had stayed for a while longer, they would have witnessed amazing swordfights conducted within the school arena.
〄 〄 〄
A couple of weeks after taking the examination, Shaden had a weird feeling in his head and chest. Something light and heavy at the same time. Something very similar to what he had felt when training with Mistilia. The feeling continued throughout the whole day, but he couldn’t manage to improve on it. No amount of training would allow him to move on to the next step.
So, he asked his father what it was.
“Now is the time to meditate. Breathe in and focus. Make your mana flow. You are just moments away from making a breakthrough in your control over your mana.”
As his father had suggested, Shaden holed himself in his room and meditated. He focused on the deep nothingness inside of him. He knew what true nothingness felt like, and he built his breathing upon that experience.
Then a change came over him. His mana began to slow down. No amount of pushing would make it faster. But Shaden did not give up. He focused his everything onto his body, focusing and excluding all other thoughts. The trickles of mana felt heavier, more solid, and bit by bit, the mana spread all over his body, entering his fingertips, his toes, his everything. The mana became a part of his body even more so than before.
Then finally, everything came to a halt. Shaden ceased all thinking and felt the mana in him, not flowing but sealed. Like a cocoon. He finally understood it. All he had to do was be patient.
It reminded him of when he was about to be born again as Shaden. That calm nothingness, that peaceful yet tension-filled atmosphere.
He was going to be born anew.
Now, he had to break the cocoon.
〄 〄 〄
The twenty-sixth day of the seventh month of the Saitonian Calendar.
Shaden opened his eyes and took the deepest breath he ever took. The sun was shining into his bedroom, and he realized that it had already become morning. Everything was quiet and calm, but Shaden felt it all. The small footsteps of Melany in the living room; the birds chirping outside the window.
Shaden stood up on the floor. He felt so light. He looked at his hands and opened them, closed them, repeated the process. He felt new. He felt so much more alive and vibrant. Realizing he was hungry, he opened the door and stepped outside.
“Shaden!”
A very worried Melsei shot out from of the living room and embraced Shaden in a giant, motherly bear hug. “I was so worried! Are you okay? Do you feel fine? Don’t you feel hungry or want to use the bathroom? Maybe some water—”
“Mom, I’m perfectly fine. I feel hungry, but other than that, I feel so good. Everything feels so clear.”
“Absolutely. You have to eat and drink.” Melsei picked up Shaden in her arms and placed him on a chair in front of the dining table. Out of nowhere, a heap of food was presented on the table like magic. Shaden’s stomach growled like a beast, and after briefly giving thanks, he dug into the pile of food, stuffing his face with great vigor. Why was he so hungry?
Melsei’s face oozed relief as she saw her son energetically replenishing himself.
In just under thirty minutes, the massive amounts of food that had been on the table was gone. Three giant bowlfuls of meat, bread, cheese, and vegetables—all gone into Shaden’s stomach. Melsei was just happy that her son seemed healthy.
Shaden patted his stomach and burped. “Rother should have woken me up. I need to go to school.”
“We tried, but you just wouldn’t. You were so still like a statue. You didn’t react to anything we said. Your father told me not to worry, saying that you were going through a transformation, an awakening of some sort, but how could I not worry? You were like that for two days!”
Shaden spat of the water he had been sipping. “Two days?!” he exclaimed.
“Yes, two days. Do you realize how worried I was?”
“I’m sorry Mom.”
Melsei hugged Shaden again, this time even tighter. “It’s good to have you back.”
“Mom—I’m choking—”
His mother refused to let go for a few moments.
“Today, just rest at home. Okay?”
“Okay, mom.”
Shaden returned to his room and closed the door behind him. Two whole days? He hadn’t even realized that so much time had passed.
*Meow*
A familiar sound entered his ears like music.
“Shidey? Shidey~ Come here, Shidey! Where are you?” said Shaden while looking around the room. No, he didn’t even have to look. He could feel things now, even better than before.
He closed his eyes and felt Shidey on top of the drawer.
“There you are!” he said while he turned his eyes.
Shidey’s yellow eyes stared into his. Her black fur was nowhere to be seen.
“Shidey…?”
The cat meowed sweetly and jumped down from the drawer. Her camouflage became undone, revealing a set of three tails. She sat on the ground and licked her paws, then meowed again.
Shaden went to the cat and stroked her sleek, soft fur. It felt softer than before, even softer than silk or any other known material. It felt like he was touching something shadowy. His cat now had three tails and could camouflage herself. Was this what his father had warned him about?
“Well, well, well…you aren’t a monster, are you, Shidey?”
The cat meowed and rubbed her fur against Shaden’s legs.
Things were changing in Danark.
〄 〄 〄
Demund opened his eyes. Immediately, the full shock of his body struck him like a hammer on a nail. He had felt the difference between his bodies numerous times ever since the accident and ever since he had started to circulate. His real body stayed the same, but his dream body improved at an incredible pace. Now that he had broken through his restraints, his real body suddenly felt much heavier, much more sluggish and dull.
Demund groaned. His clear mind didn’t help the situation at all. In fact, it worsened it, telling him how horrible his body was.
By no means was Demund unfit. But compared to a body assisted by mana, it just felt that way.
Demund stretched his arms out and yawned. It was Friday, April 12th, so he had school today. He checked the time. He had woken up thirty minutes earlier, yet his body felt completely refreshed like always.
He still remembered the sensation of mana flowing through him. Like his father and brother and every other awakened person had said, it had flown through him like a violent river, coursing through his everything. He had felt alive and powerful.
Demund looked at his hands. He felt none of it here.
A crazy idea formed in his mind. Now that he had mastered circulating in his dream, couldn’t he do it in real life too? He knew the feeling by heart. If he learned how to play the piano in his dream world, he would be able to move it over into reality. Wouldn’t circulating be the same?
He sat down cross-legged on his bed. He had a lot of time. It couldn’t hurt to try. He closed his eyes and concentrated on the emptiness—and began to meditate.
Within the nothingness. He tried to move his mana.
“??!?!!!?”
Demund doubled over as a disgusting feeling like oil being substituted for his blood filled his whole body. His head hurt, and he felt nausea wash over him.
“Gah! Eck—hah!”
He coughed a few times trying to rid himself of the sickening sensation and took a few deep breaths. His head was throbbing—not with blood, but something else. Mana? It felt far too hard, far too tacky to be considered as mana.
And yet…it felt similar.
After catching his breath, he tried again.
Something drove a nail into his head, making his skull crack into a million pieces. With a silent cry of pain, he fell onto his bed. His body felt stagnant like he was running on tar instead of blood. It was disgusting, sickening, absolutely horrid; it felt unnatural.
Like he was trying to breathe underwater without gills.
But something had definitely moved. He had circulated something. Was it mana? He didn’t know. He was even more confused than before. He had believed magic didn’t exist in reality. There were superpowers that seemed like magic, but they were fundamentally different.
But what was it?
He decided to stop trying. He would only be able to breathe underwater in his dream. Trying it in reality was harmful.
He put on his clothes after barely wiping off the repulsive, abnormal experience from his mind.