While we walked back home, the fresh morning air made the path feel more pleasant.
A gentle breeze passed through the trees, and the low sun cast a soft light over everything.
"Big sis Mada?" I asked, tilting my head slightly to look at Matilda, who was still carrying me in her arms.
She sighed, still holding me.
"Alright, alright, kid. You've got no patience, huh?" she said, shaking her head. "I said I'd explain it, so I will. But where do I even start…?"
She glanced around for a moment, thoughtful, before continuing.
"Mana is like the wind. You can't see it, but you can feel it."
A soft breeze passed by, moving her hair.
"It's everywhere… no matter how insignificant it may seem. Without mana, there would be no life."
'Interesting… so mana is the energy that sustains everything. That makes sense. After all, everything has mana,' I thought.
"As for elemental mana… it's how mana interacts with the environment."
I tilted my head slightly.
"It can be created in two ways," Matilda continued, matching Sabrina's pace.
"I'll give you an example."
"The first way…"
She gestured vaguely ahead.
"Imagine an active volcano. There's a huge amount of the fire element in that environment. Over time, mana starts to bind to that element… and that's how fire elemental mana is formed."
'So it's still mana… just with a characteristic attached to it,' I thought.
"The second way happens through natural elemental treasures."
She turned to me with a faint smile.
"Like the flax you found."
My body stiffened for a moment.
"Over time—or across generations—that plant can develop an elemental affinity."
"It starts attracting mana… and once it becomes strong enough, it begins to manifest an element. It could be wood, fire, ice, wind…"
"The mana around it binds to that element, forming elemental mana."
I looked at her, surprised.
'Okay… but what's the practical difference between the two?' I thought, frowning slightly.
"Hahaha… no need to make that face," Matilda said, amused, lightly tapping my forehead.
"Regular mana is what you absorb to recover energy spent on spells."
"Elemental mana, on the other hand… is used to strengthen your affinity and increase the power of your spells."
"So if I absorb elemental mana, I can improve my affinity?" I asked, leaning forward slightly, excited.
"You can… but there's a reason why few people have high affinity," she replied, a mischievous smile forming.
'Of course… it's never simple,' I thought, feeling a slight tightness in my chest.
"Absorbing a pure element is impossible."
"But when it's bound to mana… it becomes possible."
She paused briefly.
"The problem is… since elemental mana is practically the element itself… it hurts. A lot."
I understood immediately.
'So that's the price…,' I thought silently.
"That's the difference between regular mana and elemental mana," she concluded.
"Right… and what about natural elements? How do they interact with mana?" I asked, with a slightly provocative smile.
Matilda narrowed her eyes.
"Hey, little genius… are you testing me?"
"Hahaha… you caught me," I replied.
'I have to use what I've got to my advantage,' I thought.
"That's simple," she continued, resuming her walk.
"Since everything has mana… everything can interact with it."
She pointed to a stone on the path.
"See that rock?"
I looked.
"It has an almost insignificant amount of mana. But with enough time and exposure… it can become something much greater."
"An elemental spirit, for example."
My eyes widened slightly.
"Mana is neither created nor destroyed. It simply exists… omnipresent and omnipotent."
"It can turn into elemental mana… just like water can freeze or evaporate."
'This world never stops surprising me…,' I thought, feeling both curiosity and unease.
"A long time ago, when the barrier still protected this world, there wasn't as much mana as there is now."
"When that barrier disappeared, mana began to flow into the world—both from the universe itself and through portals from other races."
"Over time, everything evolved into what we know today… and it's still evolving."
She finished and glanced at me.
"Big sis Mada is really smart… and beautiful," I said.
"Rerere… and you're very clever and cute," she replied, hugging me tighter against her chest.
Behind us, my mother watched with a faint smile, walking calmly.
Then she spoke:
"Why do you think powerful races came from all over the universe… but didn't take this world from humans?"
I blinked, surprised.
"Because they were too strong?" I answered, half-joking.
Our steps stopped.
Matilda stopped.
Sabrina too.
The air seemed to grow heavier.
"Why do you think that?" Matilda asked, turning slightly.
"Because… if they were too strong… maybe they couldn't enter a world that had just gained mana," I replied hesitantly.
Matilda looked at Sabrina.
"Your husband is going to lose it when he finds out about this… after your father beats him half to death," she said.
"...I won't let him make me a widow," Sabrina replied calmly. "But I might let my father vent a little."
She turned back to me.
"You're right."
"They were too strong for the world to allow them in."
"If they tried to force it… the universe itself would annihilate them."
"That's a rule meant to prevent a world from being destroyed by invaders."
I nodded slowly, absorbing every word.
"So they only sent the weaker ones… or young elites," she explained.
"Awakened? The world is alive?" I asked.
"Of course, silly." She smiled softly. "If a plant or a stone can awaken… why couldn't the world?"
'That makes sense…,' I thought.
"But not the way you're imagining," she continued.
She stepped closer and took me from Matilda's arms.
"The world isn't going to grow legs and walk around."
"It follows rules too."
"When it awakens, it gains a consciousness. But that consciousness can't directly alter the environment."
She adjusted me in her arms.
"It's like your body."
"When you get sick, you take medicine. But before that… your body was already trying to heal itself."
"The same applies to the world."
"The only way to fight threats… is by creating a physical body."
"But like any medicine… there are side effects."
"If that body dies, the consciousness dies too."
"And the world needs time to create another one… a very long time."
I felt a slight tightness in my chest.
"Mom… are we the disease?" I asked.
"We are both the disease and the cure," she replied, continuing to walk.
"And that physical body… can it awaken?" I asked.
"It can. And when it does… it becomes extremely powerful."
"During the War of the Races, the first consciousness created a physical body and guided humanity."
"So it was the one who started the resistance?" I asked.
"Yes."
"Is it still alive?" I asked.
"No."
"It died in the war."
We walked in silence for a while. The weight of her words still echoed in my mind.
"While the races were fighting, the Abyssals were destroying the world."
"It had to intervene."
"After awakening a group of humans and raising their levels to the limit of that era, it began forming alliances… but it wasn't easy."
"Everyone wanted the world for themselves."
"So it made them realize that if they didn't unite, there would be no world left to conquer."
"They managed to repel the Abyssals… but the world's consciousness died in the process."
"Some Abyssals are still hiding, waiting for a new portal to open," Sabrina concluded.
"How long until another consciousness is born?" I asked.
"Between three and five thousand years," Matilda answered.
"It hasn't even been fifteen hundred years yet."
"We're in the year 1203 Post-War."
"So it'll still take a while," I said.
"Exactly."
Not long after, the house came into view.
"We're home. What do you want for lunch?" Sabrina asked.
"Anything you make is good, Mom," I replied.
"Look at that sweet tongue… I bet you'll trick a lot of innocent girls in the future," Matilda said with a mischievous grin.
"My little angel is going to be a heartbreaker," Sabrina added, nodding.
"I learned from Dad," I said quickly.
Silence.
Sabrina raised an eyebrow slightly.
"Oh… really?"
"I'll have a talk with him when he gets back."
"I told you that scoundrel was a bad influence," Matilda commented with a victorious smile.
'…'
'Sorry, Dad…'
'I'll pray for you when you're gone,' I thought solemnly.
…
A few kilometers away—
"Achoo!"
Arthur rubbed his nose, confused.
'Are they missing me already?'
Little did he know…
his real problem was waiting for him at home…