The traits of the Moth? What exactly were they? Did anyone even know? Probably just the Moth itself, and how exactly would it teach me?

She chuckled, "Once you entered the portal, you would be told the details after the initiation. Those old fogeys may be upset at me if they find out, but you won’t let this defenseless lady be found out, right?”

Despite knowing full well that Verdenia was anything but defenseless, I found myself nodding absentmindedly.

“We’ve veered off topic for too long. Now, you’ll not leave this place until you master redirecting the power radiating off you back within. You’ve probably thought this makes you stronger. The truth is that this returns to you the power you've always possessed."

She had a point there; my thoughts were as she said. So, all of this was a process of returning my inherent power.

“Redirecting nature’s essence differs from handling your aura. Nature's essence can be as soft as a morning breeze or as lethal as a lightning strike. Because of this, you’ll need a different adjustment to rein in nature’s essence completely. Consider your brand as the source, the tree at the center of it all. Its branches and roots are dry, desperate for nourishment. Let nature’s essence be that water. Once this mental image is strong enough, you’ll succeed in returning the brand's power to its origin.”

Using the characteristics of the mind space, I conjured a vivid image of a great ancient tree. Towering above all, its roots sprawling far and wide, capable of supporting an entire continent. Its branches stretched across hundreds of miles. The more detailed I rendered the image, the greater my control of the technique became. Adding in the detail of color, bark, birds, leaves, and even a few buzzing insects, the tree was coming alive. Soon, it was populated with fairies and other mythical creatures. Slowly but surely, as that image became increasingly active, the green tint radiating from my chest became less and less. Surprisingly, the aura I still radiated out was decreasing, but at a slower rate.

"Visualize that your tree is thirsty, in need of nature's essence rain, craving for the nourishment it offers,” Verdenia instructed.

Following her guidance, the tree in my mind's eye first withered and parched. Its bark started peeling off, dark spots surfaced, and leaves turned brown rapidly. Then, a command came internally to reclaim what had been given to the world so the tree would flourish.

The result was instantaneous. The image of the tree sprang back to life, healthier and grander than before. Alongside it, the second mental image, the one of my spirit radiating aura and nature’s essence, became nearly sealed up. Nature’s essence was held entirely within now—only a faint aura of radiation from my neck upwards was left. The rest of my body’s aura was all contained within.

Looking at the image, Verdenia commented. “It makes sense that only from the neck up is radiating aura. Your brand is located below, so its influence would naturally be weaker on the parts of your body above it. For now, focus on taking back the aura from the neck up. Use whatever approach you have for your aura, but add a twist. Envision it as a vortex, either at the pit of your stomach or your head."

The issue here, of course, was that I didn’t have a “method.” The Moth practically just transferred knowledge of aura control. While this meant I could passively take some in, I’ve likely hit a wall by now. Getting the rest would be more challenging than it seemed.

“I can see your confusion,” Verdenia said, “What is there to be puzzled about? Use the same method but with a vivid vortex image, preferably at your head."

Explaining exactly what happened was an odd process. The standard way to control and contain the radiation of power was through established techniques. While it was true those blessed by a world aura beast had their path to power altered usually, I'd have a specific method. Passively absorbing as much as I did was something only grandmasters of their way to power did. The fact that the Moth did some bestowal of knowledge to me was unexpected.

Verdenia advised, "Given the circumstances, you need to feel out the method you passively know. Its suitability will be perfect since the Moth gave this to you. Meaning, even if I taught you my method, it won’t be the best for you in the long run."

Scratching my head, I pondered how to achieve that. Saying so was straightforward; doing so was another matter entirely. Looking to Verdenia for guidance, she merely shook her head. Damn, so this sort of situation was rare enough that even she had no idea what to do.

“You can only do this yourself. I'm going to leave now, and while I can't make any promises, I'll see if Lady Elnara can help. If anyone can help with this, it's her—or perhaps the headmaster of your aura camp. Unfortunately, I can’t get in contact with him. He’s one of the most elusive powerhouses of our alliance.”

Before she left, I quickly asked if I’d finally go into the portal after this. She nodded and smiled, but her final comment was confusing.

"You shouldn't be in such a rush to go." She said before leaving the mindscape.

That was odd to hear, seeing as everyone else was impatient for me to go in there. Even Hadrian said that's when the real journey starts. Their anticipation started to make me have an anticipation of my own. This new path of mine had so much to see and gain from.

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But right now, I needed to figure something out. How was I soaking up nearly all the aura coming off me passively? I started by looking closely at the parts of my body where no aura or nature's essence was leaking out. The only thing I could see was that it seemed to have something to do with my veins. Even the mana veins, slowly being pushed out of my body, seemed to be involved. This made me wonder if there were something like 'aura veins.' Maybe I wasn't experienced enough as an aura user for them to show up yet. Or that, as Verdenia said, mana was selfish; it would never allow another path to power. Maybe they couldn’t exist until the mana veins were all gone? It was food for thought.

I felt like I'd been looking at my body for days. Sure, I'd made a little progress, but I'd hit a brick wall. I knew my veins had something to do with soaking up the aura, but why weren't the veins in my neck doing the same thing? What was the difference?

Just looking at myself wasn't helping anymore. So, I decided to try something else. First, I tried to imagine the rest of the aura being sucked back into my body, but that didn't work. Then, I tried to picture a vortex, but that didn't do anything. I could see the maelstrom in my mind, but it wasn't moving. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't make it spin.

I was muttering to myself. “Why bother with all this? I still want to use mana; do I have to give it up? Can’t I use both? Aura and nature’s essence found a way, right?”

What Elder Relan said was right; my desire was being influenced. The scary part was that I couldn't change my thoughts even knowing this. The desire at the bottom of my soul welled up the mana demon. He was wrapped in chains everywhere except his mouth.

"Why are you fighting so hard? You know the answer is right here, it's me. I can always give you the path to mana. With me, mana won't just accept you; it'll make you unbeatable. Eventually, all in this world will kneel to you. Acceptance? No, you’ll demand obedience! They won’t give you what you want? Then take it. You and I both know, Falond, that in this place, power is everything. The worlds the other portals may take you to won’t be different.”

“Shut up; I know what you're up to. As much as I want mana, it’s worthless if I lose myself to get it. My mind will always be my own, and this body will always be mine."

“Don't you wonder what it would feel like to have that power? The acceptance of your family, even the respect of others? No one would call you cursed ever again. Instead of insults while walking the streets, only looks of reverence will come your way. Don’t you want to be at the top of this world, Falond? I can give that to you. You’ll still exist; you’ll still be you; I’ll just be you, too. Exile? No one would dare to do so. You could tear that letter they left you into pieces. Take your place in this world. You need only to let me in fully.”

I felt torn. My face showed a whirlwind of emotions. I knew the mana demon's promises were too good to be true. But still, what if? The struggle would be over. Part of me knew the price would be far greater than just my freedom. Many others would suffer if I gave in. This thing knew exactly how to tempt me. Why did the Moth choose someone worthless like me anyway? Why did the world give me this “blessing”? It was more like a curse, making me an outcast most of my life. The constant rejection was grinding me down.

But then I thought of Verdenia. Remembering what she said to me, what she expected. Yes, she had tricked me and taken my freedom. But she also gave up part of her life for me. She trained me and supported me. Could I spurn her so quickly? Our relationship was complicated, but it wasn’t shallow anymore. I couldn't be so ungrateful. I would find another way. A better way.

"You're not just a shadow of me filled with mana; you're something more, aren't you? You have your own identity. Who are you?"

The mana demon looked surprised for a moment. Clearly, he wasn't expecting this question. But soon, his eternal smile returned.

“Yes, you’ve grown me enough to the point where I’m halfway to being my entity; I must thank you. As for my name, you’ll come to learn it during the struggle for this body in the future. If you surrender now, I'll tell you right away. How about it?"

I almost rolled my eyes at his offer and decided not to respond. His presence had certainly rattled me initially, but I was getting used to it.

“Even demons are trying to take my new man from me, it seems.”

Even though only one person I knew would talk about me like that, I still whirled around in surprise.

“Lady Elnara, I- “

"Just Elnara, handsome," With a tone too light for the situation.

Behind her was Verdenia, and I couldn't help but wonder how both could be in my mind space at the same time. But I figured I would find out after my training was finished. I noticed that Verdenia wasn't just glaring at the mana demon but also at Elnara. What was that all about?

Before explaining myself, Elnara raised her hand, as a queen would do to silence her subjects. It was fitting, seeing as with the brand, I was a subject of hers now. Not that I had a choice in the matter.

“First, let me get rid of that nuisance. This young man of mine doesn’t need you, demon.”

Then, all hell broke loose, and her power became visible. A green light filled my entire mind, blinding me momentarily. By the time my eyes adjusted, the mana demon had evaporated into nothing. Cracks were visible where the demon had once stood. Whatever she had done, I felt it would take a long time for it to recover. At least for now, even my mind space was free of it.

“Now then, to do what I came here for,” she said.

A slight fear crept up in me at that point. Elnara had just vaporized a demon as if it were nothing more than a walk in the park and didn’t care that she nearly broke part of my mind space. That part was still healing, and judging by the slow recovery speed, the cracks wouldn't be gone for a while.

"Stay still," she instructed. She walked around me several times, eyes darting between the brand on my body, heart, and forehead. After several rounds, Elnara had learned what she needed from me.

"Falond, you need to let go of the idea that you’ll ever be able to use mana in this life. That is unless you're willing to surrender your body and mind to that mana demon of yours," she stated.

Her gaze hardened. “Let’s be clear: if you dare to accept his offer, I will not only ensure your eradication, but I'll also...”. She trailed off, muttering something under her breath that sounded disturbingly like “castrate.”

There was a lot to unpack from what she just said, but mainly, my instincts told me to protect my manhood. Ladies, there are some things you should never say to a man.

"Lady Elnara, was there really a need to say that?" Verdenia intervened. "Why not just explain what’s happening rather than being vague and issuing threats?" One would think that after witnessing Elnara's display of power, Verdenia would be a bit more cautious, but instead, she mainly seemed annoyed.

"Fine, fine, this lady never gets to have fun anymore." She pouted, a stark contrast to her actions earlier.

"Your problem, Falond, lies in your subconscious thoughts. A tiny part of you still craves to use mana, no matter what. But have you ever really thought about why you want mana in the first place? At the branding, you let slip some of your inner thoughts to me. Mana won’t give you what you want, no matter what you tell yourself.” she explained.

Elnara let out a deep sigh. "You're not going to like what I'm about to do, but it's for your good."

For my good, again? Why did everyone act like they knew what was best for me?

Elnara started to chant in a language I didn't understand. The words began to ring in my ear, pervading the mind space. The brand started to heat up to a scorching temperature. Before long, all I could do was clutch my chest and writhe on the floor.

I couldn't make a sound, a horrifying realization that came when I tried to scream, but nothing came out. There was a strange feeling of loss, a sensation of something being forcefully extracted from me. From where, though? The sensation intensified, and I saw two clear orbs of light emerge from my heart and head.

Even you can't stop me, Moth. Not yet," Elnara said, her forehead glistening with beads of sweat. Verdenia looked worried, her mouth opening and closing as if she wanted to say something but couldn't. My consciousness was fading, the edges of my vision closing in.

Elnara knelt beside me. "This was for your safety. We tried to be gentler about it. But your world, which is now also the world of my elves, can't afford you being indecisive. There is more at stake than you could possibly understand. Even if it makes you resent me, I won't let the path of mana steal you away from your fate."

To Verdenia's visible horror, Elnara leaned in and kissed me. My last thought was a jumbled mess: What had this woman done to me? And why does this feel so nice?