“Were you… listening to everything?” Erik asked, his voice expressed his curiosity.

“Yes…” Ben responded, his posture slumped and his expression defeated. “I’m sorry, but I got curious. And now I’m worried.”

Erik almost burst out laughing at his brother's pose. Ben's eavesdropping wasn’t a big deal and would certainly be fodder for future teasing. However, given the weight of the recent conversation, Erik decided to be empathetic.

“Come on, let’s go to our room,” Erik said gently. “It seems serious.”

Ben nodded, following Erik down the narrow hallway to their shared room. Once inside, Erik closed the door softly and gestured for Ben to sit on his bed. Erik sat beside him.

“Alright, Ben. What’s on your mind?” Erik asked.

Ben hesitated for a moment, fidgeting with the edge of his shirt. “I’m worried about Mom,” his voice was but above a whisper.

Erik placed his hand on Ben’s shoulder. “Hey, there’s nothing for you to worry about.”

“But there is…”

“There isn’t,” Erik leaped out of the bed and crouched before Ben. His gaze fixed on his brother’s face. “Mom is sad now but I’m helping her. She will be alright.”

“I can’t believe you Erik,” Ben said, frowning. His eyes looked down. “She’s not herself anymore. Ever since Dad died, she’s different. She barely leaves her room, and whenever she does I feel that she’s not as energetic as before. Will things go back and be like before?”

Erik stayed in silence for a few moments. The was “I don’t know” but he wouldn’t say that. He couldn’t say that.

“I’m sure she will, Ben. Just give her some time and don’t worry about it.”

“But she broke the promise she made to you... I heard your conversation, you were mad at her. I’ve never seen you close a door like that before.”

‘Dammit, I guess I was too harsh,’ Erik cursed himself, now he had to find a way to make things better.

Erik took a deep breath, searching for the right words. “I was upset, yeah. But it’s not because I don’t believe in her. It’s because I want her to get better so badly. Sometimes, when you care about someone, it’s hard to see them struggle.”

Ben’s eyes welled up with tears. “I just want things to be normal again.”

“I know, Ben. I do too,” Erik said softly, pulling his brother into a hug. “But we have to be patient. Mom’s going through a tough time, and it’s our job to support her, even when it’s hard.”

Ben sniffled, nodding against Erik’s shoulder. “Okay.”

Erik held him for a few moments longer before pulling back and ruffling Ben’s hair. “Let’s just take this one day at a time, things will get better,” despite those being only words of reassurance to his younger siblings, it was something Erik himself needed to hear.

Hope was something that was becoming scarce to him and he couldn’t afford to not cling onto it whenever he could.

“Now, let's talk about something else,” Erik said and sat beside his brother once again. “Did anything interesting happen while I was away?”

“Actually…” Ben placed a hand under his chin. “I think I have awakened my mana core as well.”

Erik widened his eyes upon hearing that before outbursting with emotion. “Wait, what?? Why didn’t you say it earlier?!” he nearly screamed.

Ben flinched at Erik's outburst, his shoulders hunching up defensively. "I-I didn't know what it was," he stammered, his voice barely above a whisper. "It happened after... after I had that really bad fever a few weeks ago."

Ben had a weak body ever since he was little and would experience illnesses very often. Erik's expression softened as he realized his reaction was a bit too much. "Hey, it's okay, Ben. I’m just surprised about it. What exactly happened?”

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

Ben took a deep breath, his eyes fixed on the floor as he recounted the events of that fateful night. "I... I woke up in the middle of the night feeling really sick," he began, his voice trembling. "My chest hurt so much, Erik. It felt like... like my heart was going to burst. I couldn’t even move or talk because of how much it hurt."

Erik listened intently, his heart aching for his younger brother. He knew how frightening it must’ve been to experience that alone.

“And then…” he said weakly, “And then I felt this... this sudden relief, like a weight had been lifted off my chest. Before I realized it, my bed was completely wet. I told Anna and she’s been making fun of me for the past few days, saying I’m still a baby...”

Erik almost laughed at the unexpected twist, a smile curled up at the corners of his mouth, but he quickly composed himself, knowing how serious the situation had been for Ben. “That must have been terrifying, when I awakened mine, my body erupted into an explosion of flames. It was the most painful thing I’ve experienced.”

“Was it worth it?”

Erik's expression softened, and he placed a reassuring hand on Ben's shoulder. "I believe it will be. Dad told me once, 'A true mage has infinite potential'. Even though he... even though he wasn’t able to teach me how to use my mana, I hold onto his words,” he said, having trouble finding the words halfway through. “Having this kind of power will be important for us in the future Ben, we are lucky.”

Erik waved his hand, flames flickered through the air, dancing above his fingers. "See? This is what we can do. With time and practice, you'll learn to control your powers too." After a couple of seconds, Erik’s concentration wavered, making the flames disappear.

“Wow, your powers are so different than mine!” Ben said as he clenched his hands. His eyes shone.

“What do you mean they are different—“

Ben outstretched his hand, and Erik felt a pressure building up in the air. Though he couldn’t see it, he recognized the sensation of magical energy. A second later, water started dripping from Ben’s hand, forming a small, swirling sphere of water.

Erik’s chin dropped in amazement. He couldn’t believe it even though he was seeing it. Ben kept the sphere swirling around for several seconds before it began to lose its form and become unstable, making him rush to the window to not let any water spill inside the room.

‘He can even keep it going longer than me,’ Erik noted as bending his magic into a sphere shape required lots of concentration, he couldn’t keep it going for more than a few seconds.

“That was amazing, Ben.”

Ben's face lit up with a smile, and his cheeks flushed with pride. “Thank you, this is my limit though.”

“Yeah, I can’t do much more than I showed either… do you have any books about magic?”

Ben shook his head. “The old books mom had—and those that dad gave us—don’t go over that.”

Erik pondered for a moment. ‘Maybe we could ask around the village for someone who could help us or has a book…’ However, he quickly discarded the idea. Awakening your mana core was an extremely rare thing, in fact, he had never seen any villager perform magic in his life. Only he, Dad, and now Ben could.

“Well, there is a witch that lives in the woods,” Anna said, bursting into the room unannounced.

“Hey, Anna,” Erik gestured for her to sit in. “Have you been listening for long?”

She shook her head, smiling. “Not at all, I just finished skinning the rabbit and put it to dry over the fire.”

“Ohhh, we’ll have meat today?” Ben’s eyes lit up with excitement.

Anna nodded enthusiastically. “Yess, I caught it all by myself too,” she said, brushing her index finger below her nose and failing to mention that it was thanks to her brother in the end.

“What do you know about this witch?” Erik asked, interested in it since he never heard about her.

Anna shrugged, however. “It's just something I heard over the years. Our neighbors would comment on her from time to time, I went to ask Mom once and she explained it to me,” she placed her index finger on the temple, trying to recall the details. “Mom said the witch is actually Dad’s mother. She lives deep in the forest, away from the village, and has magic powers. Mom last saw her nearly ten years ago and no one has heard of her since though.”

“Why haven’t they mentioned her to us before?” Erik asked, he never even knew about her. Both of his parents never mentioned their parents. Perhaps it was a past they didn’t want to remember or it just never became a topic.

Anna shrugged again. “Mom said she doesn’t contact the village. She prefers to live alone, away from everyone.”

Erik nodded thoughtfully. “It might be worth checking out one day. If she knows about magic, she could help us understand our powers better.”

“Ah,” Anna sighed. “I’m the only one who doesn’t have it.”

Ben, who had been quietly listening, chimed in. “Maybe the witch can help you too, Anna. Maybe there’s a way for you to awaken your mana core.”

Anna’s eyes sparkled with hope. “You think so?”

Erik smiled, ruffling her hair affectionately. “I think It’s possible. Either way, let's not rush it now. We have plenty of time,” Erik said as venturing into the woods for something that might not work—and it's dangerous—just wasn’t a good idea right now. Maybe if they waited until a better season of the year.

The siblings exchanged amused glances. Besides the hardships this new situation brought, Erik felt that they were more united than ever. With their bond deepening, nothing could stop them.

That day, the three of them promised to forge their power and overcome this world.