On that quiet night—where nothing could be heard except the whisper of the wind and the frantic pounding of his own heart—Alex sat cross-legged on the floor, tucked into the dimly lit corner of his room. A strange blend of awe and anticipation washed over him, thickening the air around him like a coming storm. His breath was steady at first, yet his mind boiled with a thousand thoughts.
Tonight… tonight he would attempt something unimaginable:
He would try to activate his True Name.
That mysterious force dwelling deep within his soul—more ancient than memory, more intimate than breath. For a True Name was no mere sequence of spoken syllables; it was the core of existence itself, the primordial seed from which the soul first emerged, a secret known only to those blessed with mana.
The walls around him seemed to whisper as if they understood what he was doing. The air grew denser, heavier, as though the world itself held its breath. Alex closed his eyes and began drawing mana inward. The energy coursed through his inner pathways like rivers of soft blue light—shimmering, fluid, alive—before gradually gathering in the deepest center of his being, at the heart of his soul.
In that moment, he felt his inner world settle into a tranquil lake—still, silent, disturbed only by the faint ripples of his breathing. Slowly, carefully, he guided the mana toward the core of his True Name—toward the essence of his existence. He knew his Name was composed of three distinct pillars, each reflecting a unique facet of his power:
The first: Soul Partition.
The second: Soul Growth.
The third: Soul Manifestation.
These three words echoed within his mind like ancient hymns whispered by the universe itself. Each part reacted differently to the mana, as though each sought to shape a force entirely its own.
His True Name began absorbing mana—at first gently, like water seeping between fingers, then hungrily, turning into a raging current. Alex felt his own body hollowing out, the mana that once filled him evaporating into nothingness. His face turned pale, his hands trembled, yet he kept his eyes shut with unwavering determination.
When the mana within him approached total depletion—something unexpected happened.
His True Name reached outward.
It began pulling mana from the world itself.
Alex felt the air boil around him. Every stray particle of mana inside the room spiraled toward him like a vortex of luminous dust—swirling, tightening—before vanishing into his core.
His breathing quickened. His body shook violently, as if struck by an invisible current. Mana surged from every direction, flooding into him, feeding the awakening Name until it reached its limit. After half an hour of silent agony, Alex's eyes flew open and he released a long, shuddering breath before collapsing to the ground, drenched in sweat as though he had escaped a grueling battle.
Yet through the exhaustion, he felt something new pulsing inside him—
A sense of completion.
His True Name had awakened.
It was not just energy or some fantastical concept—it was real. Tangible. He could feel it the same way he felt his own fingers. It responded to his will, moved with his thoughts, as though the Name had become an extension of his very self.
With effort, Alex sat up and leaned against the wall, trying to process what had happened. He noted the changes within him: his breathing deeper, his awareness sharper, and his soul… transformed into an entire world pulsing inside him. He could sense the finest motes of mana in the air, distinguishing their purity and density as if his eyes could now see beyond reality itself.
He closed his eyes again, diving deeper into the depths of his True Name.
There—in that vast inner world—he saw something he had never imagined:
Four small glowing flames drifting within the space of his soul.
The first stage of Soul Partition—his soul divided.
Each flame pulsed with a unique energy, each embodying a facet of who he was.
The first was calm and bright, radiating confidence and serenity—his balanced self.
The second was dark and fierce, burning with buried anger and raw strength.
The third flickered unpredictably, vibrant with creativity and conflicting emotions.
The fourth was faint, transparent, mysterious—illuminated by strange intuition and quiet awareness.
Alex understood:
Each fragment could evolve, be trained, shaped like a rare gem refined through fire.
This was the first stage of his True Name—Soul Partition.
Each part could grow, gain abilities, become something powerful.
But he did not yet understand how to use this power. He felt it—alive and vibrant—but the key to wielding it eluded him. He sat quietly, thinking, his thoughts weaving like an author crafting the birth of a new protagonist.
He remembered his childhood—his obsession with sci-fi and fantasy, the stories he had written about wandering souls and inner dimensions. That background in imagination allowed him to think beyond the boundaries of the ordinary.
A thought struck him:
"If my soul is divided…
Could one of these partitions act in my place?
Like a second self?
Or perhaps… a tool that interacts with mana?"
The idea was insane.
And yet—perfectly logical.
He focused on one of the flames—the most stable one—and pushed a fragment of his consciousness into it. Suddenly, he felt himself seeing from a different vantage point, as though his awareness had truly split in two. One consciousness moved within his inner world, while the other remained grounded in the physical body.
His heart thudded with shock.
He had done it.
He had divided his awareness.
This was the first true step to understanding his new ability. And with each passing moment, he sensed limitless possibility—his power was not merely a weapon, but a key to an evolution of mind and spirit.
"I need to find a way to use these abilities… and figure out how they can help me escape this place. Only then can I look for answers."
Alex's thoughts spiraled through countless scenarios—paths branching endlessly before him.
He realized the next stage would be the strengthening of these fragments, nurturing them into fully developed entities capable of acting independently—protecting him, fighting for him, or supporting him in moments of weakness.
As for the third stage—Soul Manifestation—it remained shrouded in mystery, but Alex felt in his core that it was the stage where he would achieve complete dominion over himself.
Despite his exhaustion, a faint smile tugged at his lips as he stared at his trembling hands.
"It seems the real journey begins now…"
And in that moment, one of the four flames flickered—responding to his words, as though it understood him.
That single flicker marked the beginning of a new era—
The rise of Alex, the one who awakened his True Name.
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