Chapter 42: The Awakening of the Core
Chapter 42: The Awakening of the Core
The dim, shadow-draped alleyway was eerily quiet.
Beside the crumbling brick wall, fourteen-year-old Sigrid stood frozen like a stone statue. His eyes were wide and unblinking, his posture locked, and his breathing reduced to a faint, shallow rhythm. The black obsidian cube in his right hand hummed with a barely perceptible vibration, holding his consciousness captive within its isolated training domain.
Aurelia stepped closer to her older brother, her small hands trembling as she wrapped her arms tightly around his waist. She buried her face against his worn coat, feeling the faint, reassuring beat of his heart against her cheek.
"Brother..." she whimpered softly into the fabric of his coat.
A wave of profound worry washed over her, but beneath that anxiety burned a growing, unyielding warmth. She knew what Sigrid had done. The moment he pressed the button on that strange device, he had stepped into the dark unknown, taking on an unimaginable burden purely to find a way to feed and protect her.
Aurelia slowly unclasped her arms and stepped back, looking up at his motionless face.
Images of their past flashed through her mind the painful memories that had haunted them for the past year. She remembered the gentle warmth of their parents' tailor shop, the sweet scent of lavender her mother used to sell, and the dreadful night the debt collectors shattered their lives. She remembered her father’s lifeless body lying in the damp rain, and her mother succumbing to illness in a dark, cold room. Since that day, Sigrid had shielded her from the cruelest realities of the world, starving himself so she could eat the few scraps of crusty bread he managed to beg or scavenge.
In this world, the weak are trampled without mercy, Aurelia thought, her fingers tightening into fists at her sides. My brother is willing to suffer and bleed to protect me... but I don't want him to carry this nightmare all by himself. I don't want to be a helpless burden anymore. I want to stand beside him.
Aurelia reached into her coat pockets, carefully retrieving the two gifts the mysterious young man had bestowed upon her, the [Null Orb] and the rolled parchment scroll.
She raised her left hand, staring down at the smooth, deep glass orb resting in her palm. It felt weightless, like a sphere crafted from solid shadow, cool to the touch yet humming with latent, dormant power.
She remembered the words of the mister who had handed them these items.
"If you drop a single drop of your blood onto this orb, it will bind itself permanently to your soul," he had said, his calm voice echoing in her memory. "And this scroll will grant you a random magic spell suitable for your essence."
Aurelia stared at the orb, her mind racing. In the Kingdom of Smaragdus, magic was an elite privilege strictly reserved for noble bloodlines, wealthy merchant guilds, and prodigies accepted into the grand academies. Commoners like her were never taught the secrets of mana circulation. Bypassing decades of study and exorbitant tuition fees was a feat that sounded like nothing short of a divine myth.
Yet, the mister had handed her this key without asking for a single coin in return.
"If this orb can truly give me the power to learn magic..." Aurelia whispered, her small voice steadying as her resolve hardened. "...then I will take this chance."
Aurelia raised her right index finger to her mouth. She gritted her teeth, placed her sharp front teeth against the tip of her finger, and bit down firmly.
"Kghk...!"
A sharp sting pierced her finger. A small, bright droplet of crimson blood welled up on the skin. Without hesitating for a single second, Aurelia held her finger directly over the top of the [Null Orb] and allowed the drop of blood to fall.
DRIP.
The moment the crimson droplet touched the pitch-black glass, the orb reacted instantaneously!
The blood didn't run down its smooth surface; instead, the glass absorbed the crimson drop like dry sand drinking rainwater. A deep, pulsing violet-blue glow erupted from the core of the orb, sending a warm shockwave rippling through Aurelia's hand.
HUMMMMMM...
The orb lifted into the air, floating gently three inches above her palms! It revolved slowly, spinning on an invisible axis as a soft, rhythmic humming sound echoed through the alley.
"W-What...?" Aurelia gasped, taking a small step back in awe.
The floating orb adjusted its position, drifting through the air until it hovered directly in front of Aurelia's chest, right over her heart. Before she could react or raise her hands to shield herself, the sphere glided forward.
SWOOSH.
"Eh?!"
Aurelia braced herself for an impact, but no physical collision came. The [Null Orb] passed straight through her coat, skin, flesh, and ribcage as if her body were made of clear water! She felt no pain, no tearing of skin, and no blood spilled.
Instead, a strange, hollow sensation bloomed in the very center of her sternum.
The orb settled deep within her chest, anchoring itself at the center of her spirit.
THUMP.
The moment the orb locked into place, a sudden, explosive surge of heat radiated outward from her chest!
"Kgghk...!" Aurelia gasped, dropping to her knees on the hard stone floor. She clutched her hands over her chest, her breathing turning hot and shallow.
Inside her body, a complete, terrifying metamorphosis had begun.
The [Null Orb] was converting itself into a pristine, artificial Mana Core a foundation that normally took noble children a decade of grueling meditation to construct. The newly formed core immediately unleashed a wave of raw, unrefined energy that rushed through her circulatory system.
VEINS GLOWED BENEATH HER SKIN.
Every blood vessel, capillary, and nerve ending in Aurelia's body was being forcibly expanded and reinforced. The raw mana acted like a torrent of liquid fire, burning away centuries of dormant mortal blockages within her bloodline.
"Ugh... it hurts...!" Aurelia groaned, tears welling in her eyes as her body temperature skyrocketed.
Foul, dark impurities that had clogged her mana pathways since birth were forced out through her skin, evaporating into thin wisps of grey smoke as her starved, malnourished body was purified from the inside out.
Finally, the radiant heat surged upward, rushing straight into her mind.
A sharp, throbbing headache echoed behind Aurelia's eyes. The core was gently restructuring the neural pathways within her brain, expanding her cognitive threshold so her mind could process the complex calculations required to mold, cast, and control magic without suffering mental backlash. It unlocked her brain's absolute capacity to perceive and manipulate the ambient mana of the world.
The intense heat gradually subsided, replaced by a soothing, cool wave of serenity that washed through every fiber of her being.
"Haah... haah..."
Aurelia lay on her hands and knees against the dusty floor, gasping for air. But as she pushed herself back up, her eyes widened in profound astonishment.
The heavy, lingering fatigue that had plagued her body for months was completely gone. Her eyesight was sharper, her hearing clearer, and her body felt light, as if she were floating on air.
When she looked down at her hands, Aurelia gasped.
Floating around her arms, wrists, and fingers were hundreds of delicate, glowing threads of luminous white light. They drifted through the air like ribbons of ethereal silk, coiling around her skin in a gentle, welcoming dance.
"What is this...?" Aurelia whispered, raising her trembling hand. She watched in awe as the luminous white silk reacted to her thought, gently wrapping around her fingertips like loyal pets. "Don't tell me... is this mana?"
Without needing anyone to teach her, her newly reconstructed mind instinctively understood. The white silk was the ambient mana of the world, recognizing her as an adept casting vessel.
Filled with newfound wonder, Aurelia turned her head toward her frozen brother.
She focused her eyes on Sigrid, viewing him through her newly awakened mana sight. Surrounding Sigrid's body were also faint threads of white silk, but unlike her own rich, vibrant ribbons, the threads around Sigrid were sparse, thin, and brittle barely holding together around his limbs.
A soft, understanding smile touched Aurelia's lips.
"Brother... it seems you really aren't suited to be a mage," she murmured softly, validating why the system had guided him down the path of a swordsman instead.
Aurelia took a deep, refreshing breath, standing up on her feet. Her heart beat with a firm, brimming confidence she had never felt in her entire life.
She looked down at the last gift resting in her pocket the rolled parchment spell scroll.
"Now..." Aurelia said, her eyes burning with determination as she unrolled the ancient parchment with steady hands. "Let's see what spell the mister left for me."