The first step in pursuing this new goal was the creation of its vessel, the evolved human which would trigger humanity’s advancement. It first drew upon the current human body, understanding this version of humanity’s flaws, as well as on its archive of the more evolved mortals that it had come across, some of which were very similar to humanity.

It first increased the concentration of mana in the blood to levels that would never have been possible to achieve naturally and gave it a body that could more easily absorb mana from its surroundings. But the physical aspects of the body was not forgotten, the body must be strong in order to support such a strong concentration of mana. And while this body could not compete with trained warriors or those who dedicated themselves to physical strength, it would be enough to prevent the body from self-combustion.

As for its soul, the Observer took a piece of its own body and gave it an energy of its own, after all, in order to collect information on the life this child would lead, it would need to study its soul. And to make sure that this soul could be collected upon the experiment’s conclusion, it must not originate from the original cycle of Life.

And since it had witnessed the Cycle of Life so many times, and since it even discreetly studied a few souls, the creation of a soul was not all that difficult. So the child itself was created, but there was still worry. Such a child could be destroyed in its infancy or may never realize its full potential.

So, the Observer would have to carefully watch over the child to make sure that it could grow into what it was meant to be. It had toyed around with the idea of introducing an already full-grown specimen but eventually tossed it out, this world may outright reject the specimen and do their best to destroy it. No, it had time and it would use it well.

The specimen it had to create must feel as if it is a part of Agleon, and Agleon feel that the specimen is a part of it. And for that to happen, the Observer must have patience, slowly introduce the specimen and its power to the world to allow Agleon to acclimate. And so, it decided to remain with the idea of inserting the specimen as an infant. But next came the problem of where it would insert the child, where would it be raised?

It analyzed each kingdom of men and out of them all, it chose Athera. It was a Kingdom that was average amongst its peers, but with the potential to rise. Its King was wise and strong with heirs that could climb to even greater heights, and with its specimen, the Observer was sure that through this nation, the child would be able to affect the world.

And so, the Observer delivered this child unto Athera, letting it be found by peasant foragers of a village. But the manner the peasants found the child left them wondering about the boy’s origins, for in addition to the child's strange features, there was absolutely no trace of other people, it was as if the baby just appeared there.

But, to ensure the child’s safety in its infancy and younger years, the Observer maintained an especially close watch over it, watching from the shadows as it always had. But since personal action may influence the experiment too much, it ordered the shadows to watch over the boy themselves, for while the actions of a being such as itself would be noticed by others such as Light or Night, the actions of shadows were beneath their attention.

Already, it may have exposed itself too much by creating this child, but seeing as Light and Night had not yet acted against it, it supposed that it was fortunate enough to have avoided their interests. But, it could not blindly trust fortune again. It had to be very careful, to ensure the best result of its experiment.

And while its actions were not noticed by higher powers, they were certainly noticed by the humans caring for the child, although they chalked it up to the gods that they already knew. They believed the child to be blessed by the Gods themselves, and so they gave the boy a fitting name. Ieros would be his name, meaning “sacred” in an old language that was now only spoken by a dwindling few. But despite the name, and the boy’s unique beginnings, the villagers gave the boy as good a life as they could, treating him as one of their own.

And Ieros lived his childhood happily until the day came that he was nine years old. It was the age that the mana concentration in most children became thick enough to determine whether or not they had the potential to become mages. Once a year, the Academy of Veneria would send out adepts to recruit prospective children to be brought up at the Academy, where their talents could be fully realized.

The day of recruitment arrived, and Ieros was finally brought up to test, the mage taking his finger and taking a small sample of blood. It was a test like any other, except the crystal used shone brightly, brighter than it ever had before, before it promptly shattered.

Bright enough to warrant a call to the Academy and the Head Master himself, to confirm what the mages suspected. But such a thing could not be done over communication crystals so the Head Master himself decided to travel to this remote village, bringing with him a high-quality appraisal stone.

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It was the most action that the village had seen in generations, there were actual mages walking amongst them. The ones from the stories, blessed by the Gods themselves to wield powers beyond their imagination, who make fire from nothing, cause the earth to tremble, make statues move, and walk on water. These were veritable gods to the peasant folk and now there were five of them at the village, one of them being Headmaster Azorin himself.

Azorin upon his arrival went immediately to the two adepts, demanding to know where the boy was. They led him to the boy’s house, Ieros’s father blocking the door. He gulped nervously as he stared at Azorin but he refused to back down.

“What are you going to do to my son?”

Azorin glanced at him before he pushed past, his eyes searching the contents of the cottage before his eyes alighted on a small boy which hid behind his mother’s skirt. He approached, focused solely on the boy as he knelt before him, his face suddenly soft as he held out a hand to Ieros.

“You are Ieros.”

Ieros nodded, although he did not go to shake Azorin’s hand.

Azorin smiled slightly as he said, “I need to see your hand, my child, for another test.”

Ieros shook his head.

“I’m going to break it and get into trouble.”

Azorin chuckled, “I promise my child, you won’t get in trouble.”

Ieros looked up at his mother for confirmation, the mother giving it uneasily as she lightly pushed Ieros towards Azorin. Nervous, Ieros hesitantly held his hand out, Azorin taking it gently. He drew blood again, healing the wound with a breath as he took out the appraisal stone and applied the blood to it. Almost at once, the stone began to devour the mana in Ieros’s blood, and despite the blood being such a miniscule amount, the stone began to glow with a light so bright that it was as if Azorin had bled a gallon of his own blood onto the stone. Upon seeing this, Azorin’s eyes lit up as he stared at Ieros with a newfound desire.

This boy, he was the one that he had been waiting for, he was the Pupil that he had sought for all these years, the one who would realize all of his theories. The light of madness danced in Azorin’s eyes as he stood up, turning to the mother and father.

“I am prepared to pay whatever amount you desire, but I must have Ieros.”

The father objected, “No you cannot, we will not accept any price!”

Azorin said, “This boy is something beyond what you could ever imagine. He is destined to be the leader of Humanity and your selfishness will deny Humanity the crucial piece to advancement! He will be my student, and he will live a far better life than you could ever give him. I promise you, he will not be treated harshly, just the opposite. He is the hope of Humanity and will be treated as such! Only a life blessed by the Gods themselves will this child live, is that not what you want?”

The father, while he could not argue, couldn’t just let them take his son.

He was about to speak when his wife grabbed his arm, saying, “He is right...”

She shook her head helplessly, "He's right."

The father looked helplessly between his wife and the mage, before he finally bowed his head in defeat.

“Take him then, just... just give us some time with him.”

Azorin smiled.

“Of course.”

Azorin withdrew from the cottage, the father hesitating as he turned to Ieros.

He fell to one knee, staring Ieros in the eyes.

“Son, I am sorry. But you must go with the mage, he will teach you many things and you-”

Ieros shook his head, running over and hugging his mother’s leg tightly.

“No! I’m not going, I want to stay here with you and mom!”

The father shrugged helplessly, “You must my son, I don’t want you to go either, but this is for you.”

“Mom, please tell father to change his mind, please I-”

The mother knelt down, cupping Ieros’s face in her hands.

Tears began to well up in her eyes as she said, “My love, you have to go. I promise, we will meet again one day, but now, you must go.”

Ieros shook his head, crying as he hugged his mother tighter. The father made his way to Ieros, hugging the two of them.

“My son, be strong. You are destined for great things, things that will help your mother, me, and everyone else in the village. what you will do will help them. So promise me, promise me that you will use your power to help them. Promise me son. If you promise me this, then I promise you that I will come to meet you no matter what it takes. I will bring mom, your friends, everyone. I promise.”

Ieros finally nodded tearfully, sniffling as his father patted his head.

“No matter what Ieros, you are our son. Nothing will change that, as long as you know this, we will never truly leave you.”

Ieros nodded again, “I promise dad, I won’t forget you, and I will help everyone.”

The father smiled, “That’s my boy.”

He then stood up and led Ieros outside, where he saw Azorin. Azorin smiled as he held out a hand to Ieros, Ieros once more glancing up at his father who gave him one last reassuring smile. He squeezed Ieros’s hand comfortingly before he let go. Azorin then took Ieros’s hand and began to lead him away, motioning for one of the mages to pay the father for his loss. The father took it emotionlessly, staring at the pouch of gold coins before he directed his gaze back at Ieros, waving goodbye.

His wife joined him at his side as they both waved, following the mage’s carriage all the way to the end of the village, waving until they could no longer see him. She then burst into tears, clutching at her husband who cried silent tears of his own.