It was early in the morning, so early that the sun was not even out. Sister Mary was starting breakfast, quietly singing to herself. Izeurik was now four, walking around looking at and analysing everything to satisfy his curiosity. There wasn't that much else to do for entertainment. It became a part of their daily routine.
Izeurik quickly realised Sister Mary didn't like answering his questions while cooking, so he figured it was best to find his own answers when he could. This morning Izeurik thought about exploring the small library in the church again, going to the back of their farmhouse where it connected. Even he realised that he was a little different than other children his age.
He could understand words far easier, but this he soon realised was only spoken words. Over the five years of his prolonged pregnancy, He went from hearing nothing to gradually beginning to hear more and more words from within his mother's womb, often toning them out.
The words were just noise without any meaning. Some of those words, however, carried feelings. One of those noises constantly directed a feeling toward him. He later found out it was his name. The constant noise back then made it easier to understand those same noises with context.
Even with that failed endeavour of reading in mind, Izeurik still indulged in his curiosity. Carefully pulling one book from the shelf and flipping through it, he would replace the book with another if it didn't have pictures. Pictures thus far were far easier to attempt to understand.
The different places, people, gestures and signs. Even when he didn't know where to begin, he at least enjoyed the colours.
"Ize!"
Hearing the distant, harmonious cry out for him, Izeurik quickly put the books away and ran as fast as his little legs could take him back to Sister Mary. He was happy she began calling him Ize, like he suggested. Unlike the other times Izeurik heard his name, it didn't give the same warm feeling as when someone precious says it.
"I'm on my way!"
He announced with joy, eager for breakfast. Once arriving, he climbed up on his chair that had a few pillows stacked on each other to help boost him up to sit at the table more properly. Sister Mary served their meals of steak, mashed potatoes and vegetables before sitting across from him.
"Did you run off back to that library again?"
Sister Mary spoke with a knowing smirk, slowly beginning to eat her meal while watching Isaac enjoy his own, nodding his head in response.
"I was. Mother Mary. Can you teach me how to read? It's harder finding books with pictures and harder to understand the pictures too."
Sister Mary couldn't help but let out a little giggle, looking at Isaac's bubbling excitement while anticipating her answer.
"My, my, aren't you the eager one? No harm starting a little early to properly teach you than pointing out words here and there. Once we're done with our church obligations, we can spend some time each night studying."
After a short victory cheer, Izurik went back to eating with renewed vigour. Stabbing his fork into the steak, he bit down as hard as he could, pulling and ripping a piece off, causing another giggle from Sister Mary, who couldn't make up her mind if he was outright refusing to use the knife or had completely forgotten about it in the height of excitement.
One thing Sister Mary noticed when slowly feeding Izeurik tougher foods was that his baby canine teeth gradually became a little longer and sharper. She knew the reason why, but was surprised his father's abilities worked so naturally with him. She knew it was subconscious, at least for now. After they finished their meal and cleaned their dishes, they proceeded with their next daily routine, going out to the farm and doing a bit of labour.
The sun was beaming over the horizon with a fresh morning warmth and cool air. The birds chirped all about with songs of their own. Ever since Izeurik started to walk around more steadily and grab things, he was eager to help out. It was harvest season, and it was his job to collect all the smaller items and put them into a basket for Sister Mary to grab and bring to storage to be handled later. After some time passed, they both returned to the farmhouse to get cleaned up.
Once that was done, they headed to the storage outside, grabbing a few prepared baskets. Izeurik even brought a basket along with some of the lighter items on his wagon. Making their way around the house, they passed through the wooden gate, a big fenced wall separating the church side from the farm side for privacy.
Once past the gate, they proceeded into the side of the church that led into the kitchen. They prepared a big quick meal of chowder to serve out. Izeurik never truly understood why they gave half of their harvest for free. He didn't think it was wrong, but he had seen several of these people before when they went into town. Some of them had jobs. What Izeurik couldn't understand was how, if they worked hard, they still had nothing, and how others could work little or not at all and have more than enough.
Even though Sister Mary explained it, he never truly understood. Then again, he still couldn't properly understand how she could have so many siblings. He learned what sister meant in the family dynamic, but this was a sister that wasn't family. Something to do with religion, something he knew he was definitely too young to understand and felt no desire to try to.
After all was fed and they left, Izeurik and Sister Mary had a bowl of their own before the next group of people came in. The buyers, although half of the harvest was free as meals, all of the extra they didn't need to sustain themselves was for anyone who wanted fresh grown food. As Izeurik came to learn, Sister Mary was quite popular for her generosity, good prices, and also being one of the few farms nearby.
From watching Sister Mary, he knew it has something to do with her ability for farming and some God's protection, to offer so much food. He couldn't understand the details and didn't really feel necessary to ask further. After selling for a while, they both closed down the church, other than the main area that was always open for people.
Sister Mary did this because she knew some people needed to rest, while others wished to come at all hours of the night for a proper place to pray. Sister Mary and Izeurik left through the back of the church to enter their farmhouse. They took time to relax like normal, but tonight was different. Tonight was about learning, and Isurik's excitement never dropped.
He spent most of his time relaxing, glancing over at Sister Mary, knowing he was just waiting for her. Sister Mary leaning her head back on the couch, closing her eyes and taking deep breaths, enjoying the downtime after day of labour before she couldn't help giggling, feeling the constant little bounces on the couch from Izeurik's patience manifesting.
"Alright, alright little guy, let's start teaching you how to read."
Spoken with a warm tone as she picked Izeurik up, spending the end moments of their shared relaxing time in the library, starting with the basics, slowly gauging how well he memorised written words. Connecting his impressive spoken memory to the words he already knew. As some more time passed and the darkness took the sky fully, Sister Mary brought Izeurik back to his room, laying him down in bed right next to the window.
It always brought a little smile to her eyes watching his fascination with the moon shining through, reminiscing how when his bed was across the room. As soon as he learned how to climb and crawl, all his countless escapes just a crawl closer to the window, eventually just rearranging the room to let him rest under the moon.
"Remember not to stay up too late, Ize, my little scholar."
Sister Mary tenderly kissed him on the head after she laid him in bed. Izeurik reached up and wrapped his little arms around her neck, giving a big warm hug while replying.
"I won't, Mother Mary."
After breaking away their embrace, Sister Mary returns to her own room, leaving the doors cracked open. As Izeurik set up in his bed facing towards the window, staring out into the big blue moon shining down on him, the moon always filled him with a type of comforting emptiness, a beautiful sight that washed away all other thoughts. It was peaceful, hard to look away from, even when the moon shone in the daylight. Once he noticed, he couldn't help but to look up and adore it at least for a moment, basking in moonlight while he closed his eyes.
Once again he began thinking about what he learned from pictures, thinking about his own body and how it flows according to the images, taking deep breaths in and out. It was easy to visualise his body after the moonlight emptied all his other thoughts, feeling the air around him, his heartbeat and the feeling of his blood flowing. The more he focused on the way one thing leads to another, he gradually got a better clear picture of his own body. It took longer, but the same for the inside of his body as well.
It was a strange sight, a very strange feeling. Although he could see and feel it, he didn't quite understand what any of it did. One thing that fascinated him most was this invisible energy that somehow disappears or leaves within his body. It was like the air around him, but different. After so many nights trying to follow the feeling of this energy travelling through his body, trying to find where it leads. The ones that disappeared were absorbed by his blood, the rest led to the right side of his chest.
After finding where it all led to, he spent most of the nights trying to feel what exactly happened and why. Tonight, Izeurik found that some of this energy flows right past it like a crossroad, with this being the centre of all roads. Others linger for a moment. The more he focused, the more visible this energy began, turning a light blue. That's when Izeurik remembered one of the pictures he didn't quite understand from his recent books. At first, he just thought of different arrows indicating direction.
The blue arrow was the blue energy. thinking the red arrow must indicate what goes into his blood, both going down the same path to meet at the crossroads to form some shape. The picture showed three shapes. The first looked like a night star, several sharp points in all directions. The second looked like a sphere, and the third was a weird amorphous blob shape.
Unsure if he was meant to pick a shape or watch it form, nevertheless Izeurik focused his attention on his blood where some of the blue energy would disappear. It was now much easier to find, although the energy was no longer blue. Some were green and others were red. Izeurik intensely focused on the green and red colours. He knew he had, or should have, control over them, since how else would they follow the same path to the crossroad, since they're not doing it on its own.
As he continued to focus, they eventually started to move slowly in a twitching manner, gently pushing the energy out of the blood and onto the path. Gradually, one by one, he continued before checking the intersection. Happy when he saw on the right side of his chest the three energies started to combine, pushing against each other, redoubling his efforts, gathering more green and red energies. It was slowly progressing more smoothly before he felt something.
When Izurik brought his attention back to the crossroads, he could feel a slight pain in his chest. While watching, he saw the green energy attempting to block out any more blue energy. Meanwhile, the red energy gradually turned the blue energy into red or green. Coming to realise a problem, there was no longer enough room to pass through the path. He knew he could probably just disperse it all to clear the path and ask Mother Mary why things happened.
But that thought was before the panic started. He didn't want to give up just yet. The slight pain was gradually increasing with his heartbeat. He pushed more energy down the path to slam against the crowded intersection. The second wave of panic came when he realised the overwhelming blue energy was gradually retaking what little green and red he had managed to gather, equally threatening to make all his efforts pointless.
Izeurik came up with a very crude, rushed plan. 1, use the green to block out the blue, letting in only a little at a time. 2, Use the red to turn the blue into red and green. 3, Search for more green and red energy in his blood to push along the path. 4, divert the path to stop the slamming into the middle. Everything seemed important. With his young, stubborn, four-year-old panic brain, he didn't know where to start first, so he decided to do it all at once.
A little here, a little there, a little here.
Then a little there, a little here, a little there.
Then again, a little here, a little there, a little here.
Again, a little there, a little here, a little there.
More pain, more pain, more pain.
The process felt slow and exhausting. He looked past the feeling of his chest being ripped to pieces and his head splitting, moving his gaze and concentration throughout his body back and forth. Eventually he was successful. The success was very bittersweet, especially since he didn't even know what he had done. One thing he did find was white energy.
It quickly turned into the other colours once touched, Due to his haste, he ended up commanding the white energy to join the fray. Slowly feeling relief take over, Izeurik focused his attention on the finished product. Currently, the green barrier appeared submerged in blue energy, but it wasn't the case.
Izeurik had tried to create a path going around like a circle, but due to the stress, the slamming energy started to forcefully increase the process as well as create its own pathways. In his panic, instead of focusing on the current path, he slowly made multiple paths, just trying to ensure it didn't build up too quickly. Something he also learned was that it caused more pain when it got too big.
The large amount of blue energy carved a cavern around the centre. After helping to make a proper flow in and out, the blue energy slowly started to dissipate. Once his heart rate finally stabilised and his stress was gone, the rush of blue energy returned to normal, a very thin layer. It flowed in the quickest route throughout the cavern across to the other side, around the transparent green hexagon barrier suspended directly in the middle.
Green energy latched on to the sides of the cavern to keep it steady. Inside the green transparent hexagon barrier was the flowy red and white energy. Eventually, his body just started to naturally produce white as well as green and red. He wasn't quite sure when this happened. The weird, flowy movements definitely reminded him of the third picture in the book. Although he didn't see any hexagons, he thought it was similar enough to the sphere.
Izeurik also noticed periodically one of the hexagons would open up, allowing white and blue energy to come inside, turning green or red, if not remaining white. It pushed out the excess to disperse back into his body. The extra blue energy always found its way back out of the body, as if just passing through. With everything looking good, Izeurik slowly began to open his eyes. That's when he realised it was still dark. He was also no longer in his pajamas, just his underwear. He was drenched in sweat with a wet towel on his head. His body felt lighter and exhausted. Sister Mary was cradling Izeurik in her arms with tears in her eyes and a look of relief.
Before he could process any further, several thin blue transparent rectangular screens appeared before his eyes with a ding and words written on them.
[ Ding! You've received a notification.
You have successfully gained the ability to sense the World Mana and shown some control over it. With all the conditions now met, you gain the title Sentient, in the eyes of the gods, rising from Primal. ]
[ Ding. You've received a notification.
For gaining the ability to sense world mana, you've unlocked your personal ability screen.]
[ Ding. You've received a notification.
You have successfully gained a Mana Heart, resulting in your awakening. Due to the lack of strength and other qualifications, your title remains at Sentient in the eyes of the gods. ]
[ Ding. You've received a notification.
due to your achievements without guidance and young age you've gained the attention of a few gods. ]
[ Ding. you've received a notification.
Ability screen:
Rank: Sentient.
Evolution: Minor Awakened.
Mental: Sentient.
Physical: Primal.
Dna Seed: None.
Ability count: Two
Inherited abilities: Two.
First inherited ability: Mind and Body.
Second inherited ability: Illusionary. ]
The ringing brought phantom pain to his head and chest. With a quick glance, realising his blurry vision made it pointless to try to read, he just wanted it to go away. The screen suddenly disappeared. With heavy eyes glancing up at Sister Mary, seeing the look on her face, he couldn't help but want to comfort her.
His weak hand slowly reached up to her face, gently brushing away a tear from her cheek. Trying to stay awake, feeling his body slowly drifting into slumber, he made a last attempt to keep his hand from falling by gently grabbing onto her hair. Izeurik tried to speak while looking up into Sister Mary's eyes, but as fast as a blink, he passed out…
As time passed Sister Mary was indulging in one of her favourite books after putting Izeurik to bed sometime later she felt something she never thought she would, so soon. She felt the mana in the air starting to flow, abnormally. using her manna senses, sending a pulse out of her body and following the abnormality to the source. Her heart sunk in her chest when her senses peered into Izeurik's room.
She nearly fell off the bed in her haste, rushing out of her room as quickly as she could and into his. Sister Mary focused more intensely at Isaac's collapsed body on his bed. She watched a small portion of the surrounding manor funnelling into his body from all sides, travelling through his body towards the right side of his chest before out again. With her fears and assumptions confirmed, Sister Mary gently picked up Izeurik, cradling him in her arm, putting on a brave, worried face, all the while blaming herself for the situation at hand.
"I... This is all my fault. I didn't think you understood. I didn't think you would try such a thing. I should have paid more attention. Please be careful, my sweet Ize."
The more she spoke, the harder it was to stop the tears from pouring down. Her eyes were glued onto his body, sitting down on a nearby chair. For the rest of the night, she barely blinked while watching over Izeurik, intensely staring at him with her mana sight to watch the progress of him creating his own Mana Heart. Sister Mary knew the process was dangerous, one she couldn't simply interrupt.
Interruption or failure to create a manaheart can easily lead to dire consequences. She decided to wait for the very last moment before stopping him, a decision that weighed heavy on her heart and mind, but a decision she knew was the best. When morning time came, she had to convince herself to eat. That neglecting herself wouldn't help anyone. That morning was the first time Sister Mary didn't sing to herself when making breakfast, and the quietness did her no favors.
While eating, she decided to revert back to breastfeeding for Izurik. She believed and hoped it would be a more natural feeling and instinct that wouldn't distract from his concentration. After breakfast was done, she gently covered Izurik to block him from the sun, using her ability to turn their wooden chair into a nice big wooden basket. adding some nice cushions, a handle and a little shade curtain to block the sun. She knew he never really liked the sun much. With a broken smile, she spoke as softly and sweetly as she could with a slight cracked voice.
"There you go, little guy. Don't you worry, I won't be going anywhere."
She carried him out to the morning air. She took a deep breath in while trying to remain positive, going about the daily routine of gardening that took far longer than usual. Sister Mary couldn't help but to stop numerous times to watch Izeurik's progress closely. Eventually, when the work was done, she returned inside to clean themselves off. Afterwards, carrying Izeurik to the storage, collecting what they need before heading to the church's kitchen.
When people noticed behind the counter that Sister Mary finally arrived, the chattering grew. One of the men approached the counter just to check in on her, his voice was filled with concern and worry.
"Hey, running a lot later than normal, is…"
The man couldn't finish what he wanted to say before he noticed Izeurik. The man's voice dropped heartbrokenly.
"...Oh, how?... Oh dear child."
Other adults slowly begin to realise the situation. Their chatter turned into murmuring as words spread amongst each other before turning completely silent.
"Don't worry Ralph, everything's fine. Sorry for running late."
Sister Mary reassured with a stutter and while doing her best to hold back tears and snot. She didn't anticipate others' emotions to make it so much harder to be strong. With one hand she tried to prepare the food. Without hesitation, Ralph walked around the counter and immediately stopped her from preparing their food with a gentle hand. The head of a little girl also peered around the corner with her Icy blue eyes. Ralph's voice was more soothing, gently resting his hands on her shoulders, trying to offer comfort and support.
"Hey, don't you worry about this. We can handle it for you. Just head home, that's far more important. I promise you we won't burn down the kitchen."
Ralph let out a small chuckle, an attempt to help lighten the atmosphere. Others gathered around the counter offering their own comforting words, all the while agreeing with Ralph's declaration. Sister Mary wanted to protest, but Ralph was already guiding her to the back of the church.
"We will even take care of the buyers too. Just come back after closing and we'll give you a report of everything that happened."
Sister Mary could only nod her head. feeling it becoming harder and harder to maintain her composure. She reluctantly put her trust and those who she cared for so often, entering back into her farmhouse and closing the door behind her. Ralph and the others began talking amongst each other about the situation. From the homeless to the less fortunate and those struggling with their own businesses, they all knew the seriousness of the situation.
Before they did anything else, they all got on their knees and prayed for good fortune for Sister Mary and Izeurik. They all agreed to not share this information to anyone outside of who's gathered here. They knew even harmless information could be disasterful in the wrong hands. Those who knew how to cook all stepped forward to help prepare food for all, and cleaned up far better than it was before after eating. When the buyers came, most of the people stayed mainly as witnesses, although a few were willing to step up if they decided to take advantage of Sister Mary's absence.
Ralph and a few others helped run the shop, marking down everything that was sold. There was a few questions of Sister Mary's absent, but they all just shrugged, and said Sister Mary needed a little vacation with the kid to enjoy mother and childhood. It was convincing enough to not resort in any other questioning. When the store shut down, Sister Mary returned for a moment, just to receive the update, and collected the money with little words exchanged.
They all gave their last condolences before going their separate ways once more. After returning, Sister Mary went back to her room, laying down on her back with Izeurik resting on her chest. She knew it would be another sleepless night, and so it was. On the second day, that was more of the same. She made breakfast, fed Izeurik, although she didn't tend to the garden. Sister Mary did drop off some prepared food early in the church's kitchen.
Even for the brief moment outside, she didn't even hear birds singing this early, a small feeling she didn't like. Sister Mary left a note for Ralph and the others to help themselves once again. Afterwards she returned to her living room. cradling Izeurik in her arms. She thought she was doing well so far. That was before Izeurik's temperature started to rise, the whimpering in pain accompanied by the twitching and squirming.
Her composure finally broke as tears were pouring out like rivers from her sore, tired eyes. Sister Mary kept a good look on Izeurik. She knew what he was doing was far reckless, but she saw steady progress. She felt she probably wouldn't have to step in and everything would be okay. And yet none of that mattered when listening to the pains of her child, when knowing the same pain.
Sister Mary reminisced on when she had her own mana channels ripped, stretched, crushed and more. The pain that was labelled a war crime for being inhumane torture. Many people felt such pain before, rather it was from failed training exercises, ego or just a desperate situation when you use everything you got to the limit. The idea her child is suffering such a thing broke her heart.
A day she thought she could handle was being tested by the worst agony she ever felt. The sun wasn't even over the horizon and now she must listen and bear witness to his suffering. Given the progression, she knew it was going to be a long day. Sister Mary didn't do anything beyond the necessary. As his fever went up, she did the best she could to make it more comfortable, only keeping him in his underwear to help cool him down, just patiently waiting.
Many times she debated bringing out the TV, or a radio, or anything for other noise. Izeurik's whimpering and squirming gradually went up and down throughout the day. Eventually, Sister Mary did bring in the TV, but she didn't turn it on. She noticed the sun went down and decided to go outside, taking a deep breath when greeting the night's fresh air, sitting on her porch under the moonlight. Rocking in her chair, she looked upon the moon in silence.
The longer her eyes lingered, the more she understood some of the fascination. Even without realising, Sister Mary began softly singing once more while rocking back and forth, a soft voice echoing through the silent air. A gentle smile appeared on her face, caressing Izeurik with a wet towel to help keep him cool. She could see how much energy he burned by the loss of a lot of weight.
Such a fragile look, she thought. Before she realised, there was a crow that landed on the railing of the porch. Once Sister Mary noticed, she was filled a little with curiosity. It wasn't unheard of for her singing to attract animals, but given the circumstance, it could easily be another.
"Hello there, little critter. Did you come to hear a song, or perhaps you've come looking for a master?"
As if waiting for an answer, Sister Mary continued her singing, watching the little bird hop onto her lap. She gently petted the little bird's head while releasing the crow as they looked at Izeurik, silently answering her question. The crow was analysing Izeurik carefully. The fascination slowly hushed Sister Mary's singing, leading the crow to look up at her. She couldn't help but let out a little giggle. For a moment everything felt back to normal.
A more genuine smile rested on her face. After checking the time she realised it was getting a bit late. Gently shoo the bird as she stood up, the bird hopped back on the railing while Sister Mary returned inside, opening the side window for the crow who decided not to enter. After shutting down the house, Sister Mary made her way to her room, tucking themselves in with Izeurik laying on top.
She checked his progress one more time. She knew it would be just one more night or so, which means another night without rest for her. Throughout the night, while gently stroking Izeurik and wiping the sweat off, his temperature was still high, but it looked like the pain was subsiding. Then Sister Mary noticed the same crow resting on the windowsill. As if inspired by another set of eyes, she softly smiled and decided maybe she could just close hers and give them a break for once.
Although Sister Mary didn't sleep, when morning came her eyes felt refreshed. Glancing over noticing the crow was gone, she got up and started the daily routine once more. The third day was similar to the second, breakfast and delivering the fresh food to the kitchen. Deciding she needed to move around a bit more, she spent a good portion of the day out in the garden holding Izeurik, harvesting some food at a very slow pace. It was more about enjoying the fresh air and keeping busy than anything else.
While working, Sister Mary recognised a familiar feathery critter. After a simple greeting, she continued her gardening. The few times when she needed to put Izeurik down, she noticed the crow would sit on the edge of the basket watching him. The little bird even stole a few small pieces of the harvest and delivered them to Izeurik with intentions to feed. She thought the little critter could probably sense the state of Izeurik and let it be.
Eventually, she returned back inside to get themselves freshened up, trying to relax for the rest of the day. only doing the bare minimum for herself. Eventually she decided to head back to Izeurik's room, sitting down on a chair right next to the bed and window, watching the sun go down and the moon come out to illuminate the room.
She used magic to drain another towel before placing another wet one on his head. Sister Mary looked down after feeling Izeurik squirm a little, her eyes began to fill with tears of joy, watching his eyes finally open, shining bright emerald under moonlight. She had a guess what probably happened, seeing Izeurik's eyes quickly moving back and forth before focusing up on her.
She couldn't stop the tears, happy it was finally over. Sister Mary watched as Izeurik reached up, caressing away a tear from her cheek before grabbing a handful of her hair as a last attempt to hold on with his weak, fragile hand before passing out as fast as a blink.
A wave of relief flew over Sister Mary, seeing it was finally over. She took a good look at his Mana Heart while laying him down onto his bed, wiping away the last of the sweat, knowing he'll be okay and back to normal in the morning. She couldn't help chuckling with hysteria.
"You are so grounded."
Wiping her own face clean, she noticed in the windowsill the bird watching over Izurik. Sister Mary tucked him in and left the room for a moment, returning with pieces of food, a pillow and a blanket. She set the food out across the open window right next to the crow.
"Make sure you get some rest, he'll be happy to see you in the morning."
Spoken sweetly before saying her goodnights to both of them. Giving Izurik a kiss on the head, she could finally feel.
When Izeurik awoke he immediately froze in fear and surprised. A dark blob resting on his chest. Once his eyes focused he realized it was a bird. Investigating this creature, Izeurik slowly brought his hand from underneath the cover and gently pet the feathery critter. With each stroke of his hand he regained his normancy. Lifting his other arm out as he stretched, helping to shake the sleepiness away. Noticing his arms, he can't help but to think they looks a bit thinner.
As Izeurik glanced back down at the bird he noticed Sister Mary asleep down by his foot side. While he's slowly sitting up right, gently holding the bird who slowly wakes. Izeurik props himself up against the headboard. The bird begin softly cawing while gently being placed in his lap
"Hello, you... What are you doing here?"
Izeurik spoke with a curious tone which was only replied with another caw. Before he could propose another question he noticed Sister Mary starting to wake up. She was mumbling while sluggishly sitting upright on the opposite end of the bed, yawning loudly.
"It seems you met your new friend... What time is it?"
Mumbling more to herself while glancing out the window, the sun was already over the horizon. The sight was enough to wake her up fully as she hopped out of bed and stretched.
"Time for lunch!"
She announced cheerfully before her tone changed to more stern and demanding that left no room for negotiation.
"-And time for you to be in big trouble, Little Mister. Without holding suspense, you won't be training anymore without my say-so and supervision."
Seeing Sister Mary approaching Izeurik he held onto the little bird once more while she picked him up. Beginning to carry him down to the kitchen all the while peppering his face with kisses. Now seeing an opportunity to speak, Izeurik started to bombard Sister Mary with questions about why she was crying, what he did to his chest, why he is in trouble, and more. Those questions were vaguely answered but finally silenced when Sister Mary finished with a light harsh demanding tone and her concern and worry filled each word.
"You shouldn't be worried about such! You could have hurt yourself so badly if not worse. You're reckless. Very reckless! Far too young, Izeurik! I will teach you a few things but you are not allowed to do anything without my say-so."
Sister Mary tried her best to end her words with a more warm loving tone with Izeurik sitting on the counter. Playfully she patted him on the head with the back of the wooden spoon, looking him in the eyes intensely. Izeurik let out a deep defeated sigh. Rubbing his head where he was struck even though it wasn't painful.
"Yes, Mother Mary. I won't study on my own without your permission... But can I still learn how to read?"
Izeurik was prepared to accept any answer but a small smile quickly formed the moment he saw Sister Mary nod her head even though her attention shifted back towards the food.
"Yes, I'll still teach you how to read, and eventually a little math. but your primary job is now to be a kid so things are going to be done differently around here starting today."
She spoke cheerfully and excitedly. Although he was curious, Izeurik no longer asked any questions. Patiently waiting on the counter while analyzing the bird he held close to his face. His green eyes met their brown with curiosity. He knew most animals tend to run away from him, mainly because he tries to chase them away from the garden.
Thinking of food, he decided to put the bird down and hop off the counter. Making his way to the table to get ready. The bird tip-tapped to the edge of the counter before leaping off and gliding all the way to the table to follow. When the food was ready, instead of Sister Mary bringing the plates to the dining table, she walked into the living room and put them on the coffee table before returning to the kitchen and repeating the process with the drinks. Confused, Izeurik decided to hop down and head into the living room.
When Sister Mary returned for the third time to deliver the room she had a bowl of bird feed and water. Placing it right down next to the rest, the bird didn't hesitate to start eating. Izeurik was still watching as Sister Mary got settled down and turned on the TV. He gasped in surprise as she flipped through some channels before landing on some cartoons.
"Now you get to watch TV, and play outside. No helping with gardening or anything, just fun times before we study at night. Now let's eat up!"
She proclaimed before she began digging into her own food. Izeurik was speechless with excitement. He saw a few TVs a couple of times when they went into the village but he never had a good look. Never seeing much technology around. After his shock lessened just enough for him to speak, he couldn't help but comment on everything, only leaving Sister Mary giggling as she replied all the while reminding him to eat before it gets cold.
After they were done eating she began cleaning all of the dishes, bird feed, and water. Kissing him on the forehead before she began walking to the door, speaking quickly along the way.
"Oh, and take good care of that bird, and don't give her a name if you didn't already, and be ready to send her on the way if you don't like her by the end of tonight. Also be warned, if you name them it will be a lot harder to get rid of them. You will learn more when you go to school, but they get attached easily. So get to know them today while you're playing. Okay that's allll"
Ending with an extra cheerful squeak to her voice before heading out to the garden for a while before heading to the church's kitchen. Meanwhile Izeurik couldn't respond since he was too busy processing her fast words. After a moment of silence he turned towards the bird who was looking at him intensely from the coffee table. He reached out and gently stroked her head, down her back.
"Hmm, So... No names, watch TV, and have fun"
Hushly spoken more towards himself. Thinking what to do, a light bulb lit up in his head. Hopping to his feet and immediately starting running back to his room. Without hesitation the bird flew right behind him. When he looked behind him to see the bird a spark ignited in him making him completely forget his attendant purpose. Giggling as he begins running around the house while the bird follows. Izeurik turned it into a game trying to see how far he can get and if he can hide. After some time he ran into his room where he remembered the original reason he started running. Panting heavily and trying to catch his breath while the bird flew and landed on his shoulder.
"Oh yeah... I was... going to show you my toys"
Spoken in between breaths. Feeling exhausted he turned it into a slow tour. Talking with the bird while describing everything in his room before going to Sister Mary's room, then the bathroom and eventually the rest of the house before returning back into the kitchen for drinks and snacks. Scooting a chair to the counter to stand on. Reaching for one of the plastic cups and bowls before using the jug in the refrigerator to get some water. To fill them both up enough. Grabbing some berries and putting them in the bowl. Afterwards he slowly and carefully brought them both to the living room to sit back down. Setting the bowl on the coffee table, Sipping his cup of water while watching TV while the bird drinks and snacks on the berries beside him.
After some time passed Izeurik couldn't help but to think about what Sister Mary said about training. He wanted to poke and prod and observe what he did with his Mana Heart. Doing his best to resist the urge to disobey her. Most of his questions were answered the same, having to wait until school. Remembering she said he would have to wait until around 10 to go to school and get answers he wants. His solace was that Sister Mary did say she will still teach him some things related to it just with a lot of restrictions. With that it was easy to brush away the urge and rise back to his feet.
Gently holding the bird as he carries her outside. Glancing up at the sky and noticing the sun is half way down until dark. Not knowing what to do, Izeurik did exactly what he never did before, explore. Putting the bird on his head, he began roaming around the garden enjoying the fresh air. Randomly talking to the bird about all the things in their garden. Sometimes getting a caw in reply. Eventually Izeurik made his way to the big hill in the back of the farm with a big tree. He thought about climbing it but decided it was too big for now. Instead he looked out to the horizon over the fence, their home and the village they so often visit. Even from here still didn't look all that grand, almost like it's abandoned and left half destroyed.
To the left was a place Izeurik had never been to. Inside the giant wall that reached into the sky. Remembering what Sister Mary said, that's where the main residents live, behind the second walls and that they're actually inside of the first circle. The first wall was almost too far away to see. Izeurik figured the inner wall is where school would be since he rarely sees kids in village or church. Sometimes playing with when he does. Remembering Sister Mary says the school kids can visit once in a while. Lost in his thoughts up until the moment the sky slowly darkens, light only peering between the trees on the horizon. The moon shining more brightly down, his thoughts slowly fade while gazing up at it. With a clear mind he gently picked up the bird, held her near his face, and gave a soft humming grunt.
"Hmmm... Mother Mary says I should probably get rid of you if I don't like you... I never thought about having a pet. Do I want a bird? A dog? Rabbit? Would I have to wait to go to school to pick another pet?.. Hmm, Mother says you chose me, is it wrong to say no?..."
Izeurik questioned the bird but also to himself with a sense of confusion. Only a short slightly soft caw was a response that he couldn't quite make sense of. Izeurik glanced back up at the moon as if seeking guidance. Without him realizing at first, the bird as well looked up to the moon. Stretching her wings that cover that blocked the from Izeurik.
"Hmm... I remember a word from the book... I'll call you, Ciela. 'Little Heaven and Sky'. I think that's what Mother said it means."
He declared with a warm smile that was immediately replied with a loud excited coo with approval from Ciela. She turned her gaze towards his own, in the next moment Izeurik's mana energy started to flow from him to her. Sparkles of red, green, and white. Ciela's own blue energy transferred over to him. This process lasted a few minutes as they both looked in awe. Izeurik didn't feel anything different at first, but slowly a second awareness formed in his mind. After focusing on it he came to realize its Ciela presence. He could tell exactly where she was beyond by simply looking. He could even tell that she was getting a bit hungry.
Meanwhile Ciela's energy was gradually turning from blue to green with little specks of red and white. As the energies continue to flow back and forth between them both, Izeurik's own energy begins to lessen. More of his green energy was prioritized. Ciela's eyes slowly change to emerald green. Eventually they became identical between them both, intertwining with each other before their energies combined to form a line that connected them till it faded.
"That was a strange feeling. Are you in my head now? Are you hungry?"
Izeurik asked with certainty and a tone of curiosity. Ciela's eyes widened before she bounced excitedly on his arm with a loud caw. Izeurik's eyes immediately widened as well. He could now understand that intent behind her noises. He could tell what she meant but there weren't really any words to connect the feeling. Looking at her with a growing fascination while beginning to stand up.
"Let's go get you some food. It is getting a bit late, Mother Mary should be done with the church any moment."
Izeurik declared. He began to place her onto his head. Even while Ciela wasn't making any noise he still could feel some level of intent. It was much less as if not fully directed towards him. Instead, Izeurik followed the intent and held Ciela up high into the air. Without hesitation she began to fly towards the house.
"So strange... It's like I can tell she wanted to fly... Hm... I can still feel her in my head as she gets farther away, so strange. Maybe Mother Mary knows."
Spoken quietly to himself. Walking back down the hill and towards his home. He eventually started to run when hearing Sister Mary call out for him. After responding to confirm that he's coming it took no time at all before arriving right at the porch. Even though he ran only for a little he felt exhausted again. Just another reminder how skinny and weak he is now.
"Now don't push yourself too hard. Don't forget what that curiosity did to you, Little Scholar."
Sister Mary teased a reminder with a smile that reached her eyes. Giggling as Izeurik ran and jumped right into her arms, sharing her laughter.
"We're hungry! And I have questions!"
He announced, hugging her tight. Meanwhile Celia comes down from the sky after roaming around. Landing right on his head. Sister Mary glanced at her for a moment.
"We? Ah yes I see now. Yes yes, We got a lot to talk about. First let's eat."
She spoke softly while she carried him inside. Sitting him right on the counter before starting to cook. Sister Mary even allowed Izeurik to ask questions while she's cooking. They talked about what they did today and what happened when naming Ciela. Izeurik learned it was a familiar bonding that can share thoughts and senses.
When the food was done they sat down in the living room at the coffee table. All three of them enjoyed their big meals. After Sister Mary was done eating she laid back on the couch as usual. Once everybody was done Izeurik and Ciela continued watching TV a little longer before Sister Mary got up and started cleaning the dishes. Once that was done she brought him back to the library to continue teaching how to read. Ciela was perched on his shoulder looking at the words trying to learn as well.
The reading lesson was a little shorter than the first time before Sister Mary picked Izeurik and brought him to his room. They sat on a soft rug in the middle.
"Alright, Ize, time for a little basic mana training, A few things normal people do immediately after forming Mana Heart. You're going to need to learn how to conceal your Mana Heart and also basic ability triggering. You have two, green and red. After learning this then you're free to do as you please with these colors, as long as you don't fiddle with your Mana Heart."
Sister Mary spoke firmly. She began a small conversation making sure Izeurik can sense the mana. Afterwards she began explaining the overall process of Surrounding the walls of his cavern with his own Mana, like putting on a layer of paint with one or both colors. To think Like you're trying to hide it from the inside out. Practicing concentrating until you can keep it on the walls subconsciously. Izeurik didn't get it right away but he understood the concept so Mother Mary moved on to the next. She told Izeurik to focus on the red color mana and try to sense what it can do. While doing so he felt it just better help him since his whole body, this he explained. Mother Mary thought for a moment before speaking to clarify.
"With this you lack too much knowledge to make it useful. It comes from your Father. The more you understand your body, the stronger and more useful this will be. For now it will probably help you see better, get stronger easier, and minor things like sharper stronger teeth since you love biting so much"
Izeurik took a moment to process what she said before they moved on to the next. The green energy, the more he focused the more of a feeling he got from something fake. Something there but not really. He didn't quite understand it, something that was obvious by the look of his face. He soon felt it required something else. When he opened his eyes and began looking around for something. Sister Mary held out a silver coin.
"Here, try it on this coin."
She smiled eagerly, enjoying watching the process of his mind trying to figure things out.
"Thank you."
Politely responding as he held up the silver coin. He closed his eyes once again while imagining the green energy doing something. The green energy from his body slowly traveled through his arm until reaching his fingertips. Izeurik opened his eyes while concentrating on the coin. The energy started to coat and soak into the coin before suddenly right next to it another silver coin appeared floating in the air. It was see-through and with a green glow that almost hid the silver. Flickering like an unsteady image. Eventually the bad illusion of a silver coin vanished.
"Whoa, That was kind of cool. So it makes fake things?"
Spoken through excited confusion, smiling up at Sister Mary.
"Yes, pretty much. You get that from your mother. As you can see, unless you have a very clear image and a very good concentration, it can be very easy to tell it's a fake."
Sister Mary clarified. She was going to say more until she noticed another bad illusion of a coin floating in the air, this time coming right from Ciela. Quickly vanished soon after as well. Izeurik couldn't hold in his excitement as he cheered.
"You can use it too? Awesome!"
Izeurik held her up high while looking at her. Ciela made excited caws and coos. Flapping her wings to further express glee.
"Yes, from what you told me about your bond. You didn't simply bond, you offered to share her energy in full and she accepted it. If she had any abilities of her own you would have a chance of getting them as well."
While explaining, Sister Mary smiled as she watched them together. Then she began to stand up, brushing herself off.
"That's pretty much all of the basics. You can practice your abilities throughout the day and we can just focus on your reading and math at night. Now it's time for you to go to bed."
While listening to Sister Mary's words, Izeurik begins getting up as well. Tossing Ciela into the air. She began flying to rest on the safety bars of his bed. After taking quick showers she helped tuck him into bed. Ciela snuggled again close by his head. After saying they're good nights Sister Mary kisses them both on the head before returning into her room, leaving both doors cracked open.
Izeurik said his own good nights to Ciela who softly cooed in response. Slowly they all fell asleep peacefully throughout the night. When morning time came they began their new daily routine that would barely change for many years.
Izeurik and Ciela would wake up and make their way downstairs where they find Sister Mary humming and singing softly to herself. Izeurik and Ciela would sit down by TV until food arrived and they all ate their big breakfast that slowly helped regain Izeurik's strength, although he always remained a little bit thinner than he did before the event of gaining a Mana Heart.
After breakfast and despite Sister Mary's objection, all three of them went into the garden to help grow and harvest food. Along with his own ability training, he also tried to learn Sister Mary's gardening ability. With his Mana Sight and a lot of questions he understood how Sister Mary influenced the garden. Even with that he never got close to using it as an ability, although it did help him be a better gardener.
After gardening Izeurik and Ciela would watch TV, play around the house and or outside, as well as practice their abilities. After a few months when he properly managed to maintain the concealment around his cavern they were allowed to return to the church where he was warmly greeted for his return by the others. Mainly by his friend, the quiet girl with icy blue eyes. She smiled which was something she rarely did and hugged him tight. She was one of the few kids in the village, and she started to show up at the church more often and alone.
Izeurik didn't always go to church after gardening, often choosing to practice and play with his illusionary ability, but it was normal to help out in the church and sometimes play with others when they showed up. Although he wasn't allowed to show them his ability, even though he secretly did share with his only friend Alice.
After church, if Izeurik and Ciela were both with Sister Mary they would all eat after serving everyone else. If they didn't join, Sister Mary would make a nice quick meal after the buyers left and she returned back home. After eating Sister Mary would take a shower and collapse across the couch for a few hours while they watched cartoons.
After Sister Mary was done with her nap she would spend time with Izeurik and Ciela. Playing games, watching TV, or just relaxing together. Afterwards Sister Mary would start her teaching lessons once again. Helping them both learn how to read, as well as teaching Izeurik a bit of math until she thought he was efficient enough with both. When he was, the study time was spent for a little more training with his abilities if not relaxing more with Sister Mary. After all was done for the day they each would go to their own room for another peaceful slumber under the moonlight.
Month by month as time passed Izeurik's and Ciela's played with his friend Alice as much as possible, who often stayed over. Izeurik and Ciela's illusionary abilities quickly grew. Izeurik slowly learned how to maintain 6 perfect illusions of himself comfortably around the room. Ciela managed to do three times as much with 18 illusions of her body. When trying to do more, mental exhaustion and head pain quickly followed. There were several flaws with their illusions such as being stationary and not making any sounds, but with their illusions it boosted their training and fun a lot more with playing hide and seek trying to find the real ones of each other.
As Izeurik reading improved with time he eventually turned his attention back to the ability menu to have a proper look. Thinking of summoning the blue transparent rectangular screen once more.
[Ding… Ability screen:
Rank: Sentient.
Evolution: Sentient.
Mental: Sentient.
Physical: Sentient.
DNA Seed: None.
Ability count: 2.
Inherit abilities: 2.
First Inherited Ability: Mind & Body.
Second Inherit Ability: Illusionary. ]
Izeurik noticed one change, his physical condition improved. While trying to focus on what he was looking at a few additional pieces of information popped up labeling what Izeurik could only describe as different levels of progress. Primal, Sentient, Awakened, Chosen, Divinity, Ascension, and Monarch. While focusing closer on each individual progression no additional information was shown. When Izeurik focused on his abilities on the other hand more information was provided.
[ Mind & Body, a mutation combining the individual abilities of Mind and the ability of Body. The ability Mind & Body gives the owner greater mental and physical control and manipulation of one's own mind and body. This ability has strong affinity with Mental and Physical traits. ]
[ Illusionary, the primary ability to make intangible creations. Secondary effect, the ability to create constructs after increasing the density. This ability has strong affinity with Mental traits. ]
After reading his abilities Izeurik had a better understanding of what he can do. Although there were no descriptions he had a good idea what Mental and Physical was given the more he used his illusionary ability the more tired and exhausted he mentally became, as well as giving headaches.
Despite having a barrier as a Mana Heart, Izeurik never thought of creating a barrier construct until that moment. Giving it a quick try he realized It was far more challenging to create and maintain a barrier regardless of how small it was. Deciding to make it his primary training and leaving illusions as a game not to take so seriously. Ciela had an even harder time with the barriers.
Year by year time ticked by. Izeurik and Ciela slowly stop going to the church, mainly when his friend stopped showing up. He never quite understood the religion. Deciding it would be better to spend their time doing extra work in the garden using all they learned. They weren't as skilled as Sister Mary but with the overtime, it freed up time for her. Leaving them more time to bond each morning.
Izeurik and Ciela's illusionary ability made significant improvements. Although they could create far more illusions of themselves comfortably, they decided it's more effective to keep the original 6 and 18. The decision between quality or quantity, they choose the quality. Gradually able to make their illusions move all at once and at greater distance. Eventually even making them speak and caw. The hardest thing to copy was the slight noises, such as walking or breathing. It was the main way they could spot the fakes while playing hide and seek.
Izeurik and Ciela also learned something by accident when experimenting. The ability to see through your illusions eyes as if they were your own. Izeurik learned It was very easy, embarrassingly easy to spot the illusion when using Mana Sight. Spotting the one not made of mana as the real one. This led to Izeurik and Ciela practicing concealing not only their Mana Heart but their whole body just beneath the skin as well as creating illusions of not only the outside but the whole insides of their bodies. The extra improvements took a while to get comfortable with, all the more believable. Even Sister Mary was having a hard time finding them.
When training his barrier, Izeurik eventually manages several hexagons together to create a transparent green barrier a few feet in front of him. Manage to shield his body head to toe. The problem lies with how long he can hold it. Managing 10 seconds before collapsing and can withstand a few blows before breaking. Barely over a second if he was if he was actively using illusions as well and only surviving one blow.
After 5 years, Izeurik was now 10 and shaking with fear. Realizing the time has come to go to school. He thought he wanted to go to school to learn but he quickly realized just how long he'll be away from Sister Mary, the only family he knew.