The world reformed around them in a rush of swirling light, and when the glow faded, Kael, Lira, and little Caelum found themselves standing in a vast expanse of broken stone and towering skeletal remains of what once were great structures.
The wind here whistled through shattered pillars, carrying dust and distant echoes, Eldrascar Ruinfield.
Ruined but alive with ancient whispers.
Kael drew his sword instinctively, runes glowing faintly.
Lira tightened her hold on Caelum, her shielding magic still flickering.
The robed man stepped forward and finally lowered his hood fully.
His face was sharp and composed, with silver eyes that reflected the ruins as though he had seen them a thousand times.
"I am Eryndor Vaelun, Guardian of the Forgotten Paths," he said with a hand shaken . "And this… is my place(sanctuary)."
Kael frowned.
"Eldrascar… I heard the stories. A fallen Arcanum capital."
Eryndor nodded.
"Yes. Long before your Vyxen branch existed, Eldrascar stood as the heart of your people. Their rune craft was more ancient…"
He pointed toward faint glowing symbols carved into the broken stone around them strange spirals and geometric shapes unlike the Vyxen runes Kael bore.
"These are the Eldersign Runes," Eryndor continued.
"Your clan in Vyxen uses modernized runic channels. The Eldrascar branch used far older, deeper symbols. You are safe here. Your pursuers do not know these ruins still breathe."
Lira stepped closer.
"But why bring us here? Why help us at all?"
Eryndor's gaze shifted to Caelum.
"The child," he said quietly, "is… incomplete."
Kael stiffened.
"Incomplete? Explain."
Eryndor raised a hand, forming a simple diagnostic circle in the air. Caelum's small body glowed faintly within it, swirling mana flowing strangely around him instead of inside him.
"He has a core," Eryndor said, "but it has not solidified. Not formed properly. His mana is drifting, as though unsure where it belongs."
He looked at Kael and Lira with a mixture of concern and awe.
"A newborn with an unbound mana core is unheard of. It is either a disaster… or a miracle."
Lira hugged Caelum protectively.
"So what does that mean for him?"
Eryndor smiled faintly.
"It means… he will not be ordinary."
Four Years Later
Eldrascar Ruinfield, once silent and mysterious, had subtly changed.
Ancient symbols that had lain dormant for centuries now flickered faintly at night.
Broken pillars sometimes resonated softly like distant bells stirred by wind, though no wind passed. Sometimes, when Caelum walked near the deepest ruins…
The runes would hum. Caelum stood there, small yet strangely composed, the faint pulse of his newly awakened core resonating softly in his chest. It felt like something vast and ancient had taken its first breath within him.
As if they remembered him.
He was only four. Yet his footsteps left imprints of light.
He did not notice. But Eldrascar did.
With more questions than answers.
Lira knelt not as a prodigy, not as a miracle, but simply as her son.
A long silence followed.
Only the soft hum of Caelum's mana lingered in the air gentle, rhythmic, like a sleeping heartbeat.
Eldrascar Ruinfield had become their home broken stone halls repaired through magic, old libraries restored with effort, and quiet nights lit by ancient rune lanterns and arcanists.
Caelum, now four, wandered the ruins with a curiosity no child his age should possess.
That Evening…
Stars glimmered faintly above the fractured skies of Eldrascar Ruinfield.
Caelum sat quietly beside Eryndor, tucked in a blanket, sipping warm herb tea while staring at the ancient pillars that surrounded their dwelling.
"Master Eryndor…" he said softly.
Eryndor turned. "Yes, caelum?"
Caelum looked at his hands. "When the light burst out of me… I wasn't afraid. It felt like…"
He paused, searching for a word far beyond his age.
"Like something was greeting me."
Eryndor studied him for a long moment, then smiled not with certainty, but with respect.
"Perhaps," he replied, "the world sometimes recognizes its own."
Days Continued
Training began slowly, deliberate, and balanced.
Kael taught him discipline, movement, strength, and techniques
Eryndor taught him knowledge, theory, and wisdom.
Lira taught him care, love, and kindness.
And Caelum… absorbed everything. Like a mirror made not of glass but of light.
He sat at fallen pillars for hours, tracing unknowable symbols with his fingers. When Eryndor gave him advanced runic translations, Caelum did not read them. He corrected them.
Eryndor did not say anything at first. Then he quietly rewrote his notes.
One evening, Kael watched him move through sword forms. His steps were light, but the ground reacted to him tiny specks of dust lifting where he passed, as if gravity paused.
"He's not moving," Kael whispered.
Lira watched, holding her breath.
"He's flowing."
after that…
Caelum requested a book from Eryndor and he gave him ten books.
Eryndor watched him from afar with both fear and pride.
Book 1 (Mana)
Caelum opened the first book slowly. With excitement. Not like a child. But like someone carefully reading something they once knew.
Mana is not just energy.
It is existence itself, the unseen thread that binds life, elements, stars, souls, and even gods.
It flows through every world, every being, every breath.
He traced the diagrams of breathing cycles inward pull, rotational flow, downward grounding. Mana, the book said, was not fire, nor light, nor power.
Mana was Strength, Knowledge, Consciousness. Mana is the breath of creation. It cannot be seen, only felt. It responds to will, emotion, and imagination. It flows through veins called Mana Channels and gathers in the Mana Core.
Inside every living being, there is a sleeping crystal heart. The Mana Core. It slowly grows as the person trains, experiences life, or even suffers.
When a core solidifies, it reveals the user's Affinity, the element or mana nature they are naturally bonded with.
Examples:
Fire, Water, Wind, Earth, Ice, Lightning....
Mana listens… not to words, but to intent. It answers to: Force Meaning
Emotion brings flame. Calmness brings water. Love brings light. Willpower Strong will shape stronger spells. Understanding and Knowledge improves control. Soul Resonance, when soul and mana align miracles occur.
He tried the breathing technique on the first night.
Cold air in.
Warm mana out.
Minutes passed. Then, something unusual, the wind outside shifted.
Not in strength.
But in pattern.
As though something, somewhere,
was exhaling with him.
That night, Lira paused by his door.
She thought she heard two sets of breathing.
But Caelum was alone.
"Nothing in the world is without mana. Life breathes it. Souls echo it. The universe was born from it, and one day…"
Book 2 (Runes and Invocation)
The second book was filled with glyphs.
Most children struggle with symbols before speech.
Caelum traced them with steady fingers.
Circle
Triangle
Spiral
Anchor
Weaver
These weren't just shapes. There's a lot of Symbols...
To him they moved.
During training, Kael drew basic runes on wooden boards.
Caelum didn't copy them.
He corrected them.
He drew runes in the air with his finger, no ink, no chalk.
Just intent.
For an instant the faintest shimmer sparked where his finger traced the air.
Eryndor, watching from afar, dropped the cup he was holding.
Not because the symbol glowed. But because he recognized it.
It was not a Vyxen rune.
It was older.
An Eldersign glyph. One lost before Vyxen even existed. And Caelum had never seen it before.
Book 3 (Clans)
Caelum did not react as a child.
He read like someone checking memories.
His finger paused not on races, but on Clans.
Humans (Clan Archives).
Sylvarion Clan (Solari Dominion)
Noble Sun worshippers. Order-bound, kingdom builders. Master divine magic, wield fire, light, and water with discipline. Strong leaders and priests.
Arcanum Clan (Runeborn)
Runer and seal guardians. Engrave living runes on body and weapons. Masters of barrier, enchantments, seal magic, and soul-binding inscriptions.
Valcryn Clan (Trailseekers)
Survivalists and relic hunters. Travel ruins, deserts, dungeons. Guerrilla tacticians using terrain, ambush, and mana-enhanced tools.
Veyndral Clan (Ironheart Warriors)
Stoic defenders. Runes etched into heavy weapons. Strong aura shields and physical mastery. Specialize in frontline war.
Lysvath Clan (Arcane Blademasters)
Swift, precise, magic-infused swordmasters. Elemental blades, fast movement, tactical combat focused on disruption and mana control.
Elves (Clan Archives)
Verdant Sylphwood Clan
Forest sentinels. Nature bound. Archers and spirit mages with heightened senses and mana communication with forest entities.
Elarith Clan (High Elves)
Keepers of arcane cities and ancient laws. Sky-dwellers who study stars, mana cycles, and cosmology. Elite spellcasters.
Dwarves (Clan Archives)
Kragmor Clan (Stoneforged)
Stonecrafters and earth-shapers. Forge master weapons and living stone constructs.
Brathor Clan (Thunderhammer)
Storm metal forgers. Harness sky lightning, infuse armor and weapons with thunder energy. Their hammers echo thunder itself.
Beastkin (Clan Archives)
Lycanthryl Clan
Instinct. Pack warriors. Moon-boosted senses, regeneration, and fierce battle howls.
Felithra Clan
Feline hunters. Agile, silent, fast strike before seen. Masters of stealth and precision.
Orcs / Demons (Clan Archives)
Drakthar Clan (Bloodfang Orcs)
Born for battle. Berserker strength, honor-bound, fearless. Their roar strengthens allies.
Morgrath Clan (Abyssal Horned Demons)
Curse-wielders. Dark mana, infernal flames, and corruption magic. Descendants of Veil entities.
Valtorians (Ironblood Descendants)
Ferrionis Clan (Ironbound)
Metal-bodied guardians of order and warcraft. Steel-hard skin. Perfect endurance.
Veydrak Clan (Starforged)
Forged from cosmic metal. Their bodies resonate with celestial mana, bending light and gravity in subtle ways.
Caelum did not say anything. But he flipped back to the page of Arcanum Runeborn, and stayed there far too long.
His core pulse softened.
Like it was listening.
Book 4 (Mana Beasts & Spirit Creatures)
As Caelum read it, the mana around him shifted like the book just read.
Frostmaw Wyrm (Icefang Tiger)
A tiger with crystalline legs and frost-coated fangs. It hunts silently in snowstorms, freezing prey with its chilling aura before striking.
Spiketail Crawler (Thornback Beetle)
An armored beetle with venomous spikes. It burrows beneath mana fields, ambushing and poisoning anything careless enough to step near.
Embermaw Rager
A molten jawed beast wrapped in smoke and fire. It burns mana-infused materials and weakens energy barriers with searing claws.
Veilsting Serpent
A slender, eerie serpent with red eyes and mana-corrupting fangs. It binds, drains, and slowly dissolves energy from magical creatures.
Shadowveil Mantid
A stealth predator that hides in wind currents. Strikes unseen. One slash can cripple both flesh and mana channels.
Bloodmaw Ravager (Crimson Fang Colony)
Antlike swarms with venomous shadow-touched fangs. Known for coordinated ambush hunts under dark mana conditions.
Abyssal Leviacrabs
Massive crustaceans wielding water pressure blasts and tidal defenses. They flood the ground to control battlefield terrain.
Sylvangaze Spider
Its glowing abdomen weaves both mana and wood creating radiant webs that blind, trap, and seal.
Obsidian Spinecrusher
A worm plated in obsidian and lava veins. It reshapes Earth in battle, creating walls, cracks, or crushing terrain.
Blazespike Hellserpent
A molten serpent with jagged lava scales. Its presence turns earth to fire and creates rivers of molten destruction.
Caelum turned the page… The section changed.
No classification.
No common format.
Just warnings.
Whispers of the Higher Beasts (Not categorized by scholars. No ranks. Only legends.)
Stormclaw Griffon
A thunder-winged griffon that rides storms, commanding lightning. Legend says it chooses its rider not the other way around.
Frostspike Direwolf
Its howl freezes entire fields. Said to appear where winter and mana collide.
Earthbreaker Drake
Dragon of stone and flame. Walks, and the earth obeys.
Magmahorn Minotaur
A being of molten rage. Some call it a guardian, others an omen.
Aetherstorm Seraphmoth
A cosmic moth whose wings can erase memory and drain mana through stardust.
The next page felt… different.
It wasn't a description. It was an echo.
Beasts That Do Not Hunt Mana They Shape It.
These creatures did not guard land, nor sky, nor elements. They guarded concepts. They guarded… truth.
Astral Leviamorph
A serpent made of stars. Wherever it moves, space bends… reality listens.
Chrono-Breaker Ape
Each strike breaks time's flow. It does not attack quickly… because time waits for it.
Voidshard Phoenix
Burns mana. Burns light. Burns memory. When it dies, it returns stronger because it remembers.
Omnicrystal Hydra
Every head controls an element. Destroy one three grow back, stronger, resonating.
Etherlord Chimera
When it roars, space folds. It has three faces: lion, serpent, and dragon. But some say… It once had four.
Little Caelum closed the book.
He looked at his hands.
Not afraid.
Just excited.
Just… aware.
For a moment, the wind outside paused as though something very old had noticed him reading.
Book 5 (Realms and Rifts)
Most Arcanum scholars need years to grasp dimensional theory.
Caelum grasped it in moments.
Mana Veil.
Spirit Veil.
Rift Walk.
Astral Trace.
The Fold Between.
He ran his fingers over a diagram of dimensional layers.
Not with curiosity. But with hesitation.
Like someone touching a scarLater,
Eryndor found him staring out into the ruins.
Not at anything. Or maybe, at something not there.
Caelum finally spoke softly.
"Somewhere… there is a place
that feels like before."
Before what no one asked.
No one could.
Book 6 (Relics)
Caelum's mind wanders through pages of ancient relic records…
Mortal Artifacts
Tools forged by skilled craftsmen and infused with low-tier mana. Useful, but limited by mortal bodies.
Relics
Ironheart Gauntlet
Strength-enhancing gauntlet that reacts to heartbeat, boosting power and defense, but strains muscles and cannot use magic.
Bladewind Boots
Enhances speed and balance, letting the user glide and strike quickly, but drains leg stamina fast.
Band of Clarity
Focus ring that sharpens thoughts, improves spell efficiency, and heightens awareness, but causes painful headaches.
Titanbone Amulet
Hardens bones like enchanted stone, boosts pain resistance and durability, but slows the user down.
Spirit Artifacts
Born from spiritual resonance, bonded to emotions and mana flow.
Relics
Soulweaver Charm
Boosts mana recovery, spirit awareness, and enables spirit-phase teleporting, but may cause mana overflow if spirit unstable.
Whisper Lantern
Reveals hidden spirits, illusions, curses, and even dream-realm entities, drains spirit energy when overused.
Echo Veil Mantle
Misty cloak that protects against soul damage and hides the user from spirit beings, but offers no physical defense.
Lunarflow Bracers
Enhances moon phase mana, boosts spell stability & water/lunar magic, weakest during the new moon.
Phantomcoil Chain
-Spirit-forged chains that can bind souls and phase through matter, requires extreme will and spiritual discipline.
God Artifacts
Beyond mortal craftsmanship. Relics forged by stars, divine forges, or forgotten gods.
Relics
Aethernova Spear
Divine starlight spear that controls gravity and returns to its wielder, burns mortals on contact.
Crown of Immortal Breath
Grants divine regeneration and slows aging, but causes exhaustion when removed.
Stormbound Warhammer
Wields thunder and divine shockwaves, but too heavy unless the user holds godlike strength.
Sanctum Mirror Sigil
Reflects spells and sees invisible divine beings, but shatters if overloaded.
Astrid's Runeheart Cloak
Runes surge with divine mana, boosting magic, flight, and celestial resistance.
The Scripture says every relic has a Mana core level that could revoke conditions.
Caelum's eyes glitter faintly, something inside him reacts to these divine descriptions.
Book 7 (Mana Contracts)
Caelum reads softly, almost hearing whispers of unseen entities…
Mana contracts are not agreements, they are sacrifices, exchanges between beings and mana itself. Every gain carries a cost.
Only those whose mana cores are stable and evolved can bypass these sacrifices.
Spirit Contracts
Whispers of wind, flicker of flame, echo of starlight, subtle, but powerful.
Contracts
Whisperleaf Pact
Minor wind spirit grants reflex and light body costs a childhood memory.
Ember-Shade Accord
Fire-shadow spirit grants shadow flames, steals restful sleep.
Arcanum Flaws Treaty
Primordial mana spirit grants immense mana regeneration, slowly erases the user's body. A rare Spiritual contractors that the special could make agreement
Beast Contracts
Living pacts, the user carries fragments of beast instincts and mana.
Contract
Stonehorn Pact
Grants endurance and impact resistance, but the body grows heavier.
Emberclaw Oath
Burning claws and blazing agility,
The body constantly feels heat.
Thunderback Covenant
Electric armor and speed bursts, weak in mana-null zones.
Skybreaker Drake Contract
Aerial dash and wind armor, vulnerable to mana drain.
Ironvine Titanbeast Treaty
Regenerative earth armor, but movement slows when exhausted.
Aetherstorm Gryphon Pact
Lightning flight & storm barrier, loses stamina each battle.
Frostfang Basilisk Covenant
Ice armor & petrifying gaze, body grows eternally cold.
Abyss Leviathan Vow
Void-breath & dimensional pressure, user loses a memory monthly.
Cataclysm Phoenix Contract
Resurrection & flame storms, one strong emotion erased per rebirth.
Cosmos Apex Chimera Oath
Spatial claws & reality distortion, loses major memories after battles.
God Contracts
Oaths carved into fate, sealed with the essence of divinity.
Dawnkeeper Blessing
Grants radiant healing and light blade, user can never lie.
Oath of the War-Tyran
Battle god pact grants combat instinct, increases aggression.
Starlord Mandate
Cosmic power with gravity-slice, user's lifespan consumed each use.
"Power is never free. Those who grasp Divinity are either blessed… or broken." Each mana contract has a power limitation.
Caelum closes the book. His infant body stays still, but his soul listens.
Book 8 (Weapons and Elemental Magic)
This book was different.
Not theory.
Not meditation.
It was application.
Weapons, stances, elemental affinity charts, mana compatibility grids, and forgotten forging techniques.
Kael expected Caelum to pick a weapon.
Instead…
Caelum picked three.
He traced his fingers across the diagrams of:
The Runeblade Sword— mana-infused steel that holds inscription without shattering.
The Spellweaver Staff — conductor of pure elemental flow, unstable but limitless.
The Dual Arc Daggers — used in flash-channel techniques, nearly extinct.
Eryndor raised a brow. "Those three… have no common training path."
Caelum only smiled.
"They will."
But what stunned them wasn't what he chose. It was what he touched.
There are Basic Weapons that have been used for a century. A Sword, spear, gauntlet, wands/stuff, dagger, bow…
He rested his hand on a page depicting the Origin Sigil, a symbol representing a theoretical affinity beyond the elements.
An unnamed, not listed, not studied, not meant to be touched.
The page trembled.
Just a page yet the old shelves seemed to stir.
The Basic Known Elements:
Fire
Water
Wind
Earth
Lightning
Ice
But it could have a advanced Elements
Metal
Wood
Lava
Magma
Steam
Sound
Sand
Poison
There some God Like elemental powers.
Gravity
Time
Space
Void
Chaos
Light/Holy
Darkness/Shadow
Book 9 (Races)
This time, the room felt colder.
The ninth book was not merely knowledge. It was history, and history remembered pain.
He read:
Human — versatile, adaptive, fastest to grow, fastest to fall.
Elves — mana-born, memory-bound, long-lived but emotionally fragile.
Dwarves — stone-blooded, rune-forged, hearts like iron, loyal to legacy.
Orcs — war-souled, strength incarnate, fierce honor, deeper wisdom than believed.
Demons — born of the Veil Rift; masters of pact, flame, and betrayal.
Beastkin — Half-human, half-beast. Not born chosen by spiritual resonance.
Valtorians — Mascular humanoids with metallic bones/bodies. Naturally resistance from physical attacks.
He turned the page. It was blank.
No description.
Only an etching of a single eye surrounded by broken runes.
Eryndor, watching through the door, whispered
"He saw it too."
"What?"
"The empty page that is not empty."
Week 10 (Mana Core and Power Ranking)
The final book was simple, charts, diagrams, and Classifications..
Rank based systems, used by all mana-bearing races.
(Lower, Mid, And Peak)
F Rank — Dormant core (Gray)
E Rank — Basic core/ Initiate core ( Blue) Basic mana sense
D Rank — Adept core (Orange) Elemental affinity
C Rank — Advance core (Green) Enhanced body + elemental affinity+ Mana Techniques
B Rank — Master core (Yellow) Mana core refinement
A Rank — Transcendent core (Silver)Can bend reality slightly+ Can Fly
S Rank — Divinity Core (White) Limit breaker+ reality bend+ Teleportation space+ Can fly
But at the bottom corner a note, handwritten, not printed. Older than the book.
Faded, uneven, and not meant to be noticed:
"The S-rank core is not an end.
It is where naming begins."
For one week straight, Caelum meditated.
A four-year-old… meditating on mana compression.
Eryndor, Kael, and Lira monitored him, worried but trusting.
On the seventh day
The air trembled.
A wave of pressure burst from Caelum's room, blowing open the wooden door and shaking the entire building.
BOOOOM!! Shocking and Explode!
Dust erupted as a flash of blinding light exploded outward.
Kael was the first to react.
"Caelum!"
He dashed forward, runes on his arms lighting like burning gold. Lira followed, weaving a barrier around them as debris still fell.
Inside the room, they found Caelum standing calmly
Surrounded by swirling tendrils of mana like living ribbons.
His body glowed faintly, and in his chest. A small, bright nucleus of light pulsed like a newborn star.
His mana core had solidified. But unlike any core they had seen.
Instead of a normal color, Caelum's core sparkled with
Lightning-like cracks of refracted mana.
Eryndor rushed in behind them, stunned speechless.
"This… is impossible."
The mana wrapped around Caelum like armor, then slowly faded until he looked almost normal again except for the faint shimmering veins on his arms.
Kael knelt before him.
"Caelum… are you hurt?"
Caelum shook his head, smiling softly.
"No, Father. It… feels warm. Like the sky inside me."
Kael's breath shook not with fear, but pride.
Lira placed a hand over her mouth, tears gathering.
"Our boy…"
Eryndor looked between them, voice trembling.
"Kael—Lira… your child has awakened a Primordial Core. One in a million. Perhaps one in a thousand years."
He stepped closer.
"And if this is only the beginning… you must prepare him."
The next day.
Morning sun struck the broken pillars of Eldrascar, casting long shadows across the ancient marble tiles. Kael stood in the courtyard, adjusting his stance, runeblade in hand.
"Again," he said calmly.
Caelum mimicked the stance small feet planted, posture upright. Too perfect. Too still.
Kael studied him not with doubt, but quiet astonishment.
"Good," he said. "Now breathe. Not like humans. Like mana does."
Caelum closed his eyes.
His mana core answered.
His aura rippled soft, controlled like wind brushing against water.
Kael, once a simple rune warrior of Vyxen, took on the mantle of a master instructor.
He taught Caelum:
Runeblade basics
Lightfoot movement
Rune reinforcement
Mana channeling positions
Sword stances unique to Arcanum
And Caelum learned frighteningly fast. He moved with instinct, as though remembering something he had never been taught.
Kael noticed it.
Eryndor noticed it.
Even Lira noticed it.
But none of them spoke it aloud.
One afternoon.
Eryndor watched him from afar, arms folded.
"He learns as though recalling something," he murmured.
Kael didn't look away from his son.
"…Is that possible?"
Eryndor's gaze drifted to the sky.
"If his core truly is Primordial…" He exhaled.
"Then memory is mana, and mana… has memory."
That night, as Caelum slept, the ruins whispered, and for the first time in centuries…
A faint, ancient rune flickered to life.
Faint.
Silent.
Watching.
One dusk, during training, Kael tossed a wooden practice sword toward Caelum.
Before the boy could catch it, the mana around him moved first.
It curved.
It lifted the wooden sword midair.
It placed it gently into his hand.
Silence.
Caelum blinked, confused by their reactions.
"…Did I do something wrong?"
Kael slowly knelt.
"No, son," he said softly, voice unsteady.
"You just didn't do it… alone."
Eryndor, standing nearby, clenched his staff.
"That was mana reflex. No mortal, no child, should have that."
Tension built between them, and then, Caelum, still clutching the wooden sword, softly whispered a question.
"…What does alive mean?"
One quiet night
Lira found Caelum outside, sitting beside an ancient rune stone. He was not touching it, not reading, not studying.
Just… Listening.
"Mother," he said softly, pointing to the faint pulsing glyphs.
"Do you hear it?"
Lira shook her head, gently brushing his hair.
"What do you hear, Caelum?"
He closed his eyes.
"The ground hums.
The stones whisper.
They're not speaking to me, but… they know me."
His voice softened.
"Sometimes, it feels like. I'm remembering something I never lived."
Lira's heart both trembled… and calmed.
She kissed his forehead.
That same night, Kael stood with Eryndor at the edge of the ruins.
"He's changing," Kael said softly. "And so is this place."
Eryndor exhaled slowly. "Primordial are not only powerful… they are resonant. They awaken what sleeps around them."
Kael's voice tightened. "You mean…"
Eryndor nodded toward the ancient pillars.
"They're waking up."