Before the Blessings of the Seven, people began to notice something unusual—mana. It circulated through the environment, subtle yet constant. At first, no one understood it. But during the time when the Whitening ravaged Nethoria, humanity clung to anything that could offer an advantage.
And so, they turned to mana.
Though mana had existed long before the Whitening, the ancients considered it witchcraft—taboo. Some say it was fear. Others say they simply couldn't feel its presence, their cities too developed, their lives too disconnected from the natural world. Or maybe… mana truly didn't exist back then?
No one knows for certain.
But after the Whitening, the existence of mana became undeniable.
As humanity adapted, they began to harness mana for daily tasks—lighting fires, purifying water, even easing sickness. Over time, they realized that mana didn't just dwell in the world around them. It also lived within them.
By Umbran Year 3, this truth had become widespread knowledge.
There are six known stages of mana circulation in the human body:
First Stage: Forming a mana core near the heart. Without this, no further circulation is possible.
Second Stage: Channeling mana into the brain, awakening clarity and focus.
Third Stage: Anchoring mana in the stomach to stabilize and sustain use.
Fourth Stage: Circulating mana throughout the entire body like blood.
Fifth and Sixth Stages: Lost to history—sealed or erased during the peak of the Whitening.
With each stage passed, a ring—or mana circle—forms around the heart's mana core. The more circles one has, the more spells they can command.
Back then, spells were known as Maho, and those who wielded them were called Sorcerers.
History records hundreds of Sorcerers who reached four mana circles. Some whisper of a handful who surpassed that... but they remain rumors. Shadows.
Except for one.
The only confirmed Sorcerer to achieve six mana circles was known as "The Heaven Sent", or "The One Who Reached the Gods." His name is lost to time. His face, forgotten. But his legend remains.
In Umbran Year 6, when the Seven first revealed themselves to the world, he fought them all—alone.
The battle lasted an entire year. That year marked the highest recorded outbreak of Whitening in history.
And then, in Umbran Year 7, the Heaven Sent vanished without a trace.
No grave. No body. No name.
Only silence.
With the disappearance of The Heaven Sent, all knowledge of mana seemed to vanish as well. Not just the advanced techniques—everything. As if the world had collectively forgotten what mana was, or how it was once wielded.
No records. No scrolls. No sorcerers. Only silence.
And yet, one name remained.
Evenglion.
No one knew who he truly was. His origin, his role, even his face—lost to time. But his diary, filled with detailed notes on mana, its circulations, and the art of Maho, somehow survived. It became the only surviving beacon of forgotten knowledge.
That diary eventually reached the hands of G.R.O.W., and through it, they learned how to feel mana, how to form a core, how to cast Maho. It became the cornerstone of their strength.
But how did the diary survive?
Ray was the one who brought it into the present.
When asked, he never explained where he found it—or how. His silence was sharp. Absolute.
Yet Von… Von seemed to know something. He never asked Ray. Never questioned him.
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During her time training under Elias, Stella was taught the art of meditation. Elias believed true awareness didn't come from the five senses—but from the mind itself.
By sensing with the mind alone, she began to feel the mana drifting through the air—formless, like water without substance. It took her three days of quiet stillness before she could finally perceive its flow.
Another three days later, she formed her mana core—achieving the first stage.
"Wow. Just as Ray said, you really are a genius," Elias had praised the moment she sensed the shift in her aura. "It took me a whole month just to feel mana—three more weeks to condense it into a core. And here you are, only meditating for a few hours a day, after exhausting yourself in training."
That memory lingered in her mind as she now sat by the window of the Seraphine mansion. She let her breath settle. The mana stirred.
"First Circle Maho: Wind Whisper."
A soft chant, barely audible. The wind shifted—carrying her thoughts far beyond the mansion walls, delivering what she had seen to the others.
And while her whisper traveled the world through invisible threads of mana...
—what were the others doing at that exact moment?