Capter 248: Living Mana (Patreon)

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AN: Got some editing suggestions? Suggest it on the Google Docs here:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/13UH7wEWy_vQrUkofmgT9Js4ALypd1be2gq4oOL3HNZM/edit?usp=sharing

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I watch as the leftover storm cores attract and repel each other, eventually combining into two storm cores that dance around each other, unable to get any closer.

It’s a process that took several hours, and we got some valuable information from it.

“Each element has two others it attracts, but three it repels. If there is equal mana in both cores as there is in these two, they can never naturally form a superstorm core.” Kayafe concludes our observation.

“Yes. This storm formed because of the Earth Elementals, and the second strongest element was fire from the Fire Elementals, which doesn’t repel earth. The sheer quantity of these two elements easily combined and pulled in more types of mana after that. So it’s safe to say that once the main core is removed, the leftover mana and sub-storm cores will not be able to naturally form another superstorm.”

“Do you want to help it out?” Kayafe asks with a mischievous grin.

“Not while it’s this close to the Nexus.” I shake my head. “Let's capture the pieces for when we get it to a safe location.”

If we capture enough storm cores, we can artificially create superstorms. However, I only want to keep one contained just in case it gets freed somehow. Having multiple get out would be very bad, and considering how a superstorm can easily rip the barrels apart from the outside, one let loose could turn into all breaking free.

I didn’t get any Legendary points, probably because I asked for Kayafe’s help. However, if we can make more, then it’s only a matter of time, assuming I can even get one for single-handedly containing a superstorm.

We capture the remaining storm cores and return to the Nexus while Ryan returns to Alaxan. I had almost forgotten he existed. Not like I can, but rather, he was just out of my mind. The Nexus is safe, and we have new materials to study. I still have one more thing to do with the Oathbound, and Tk’Thalim said he’d introduce me to a powerful gazer after, but right now, I really just want to study this superstorm core. There’s so much about hyper mana that I don’t know, and there’s still that other type of mana I haven’t discovered; perhaps I should ask Alexander to wait a few more days? Yeah, let's do that; I can’t wait to see what I can learn from the core!

Alexander instantly agrees to wait for three more days, saying it will give him more time to prepare and sort out the recent mess; it’s not just the battle and the huge hole in the ground. The runaway Earth Elemental also created several long chains of hills, destroying farms and blocking roads. And then there’s the need to fortify the villages and towns near the Elven border.

Afterwards, I have a long discussion with Kayafe, explaining everything I’ve figured out about hyper essence.

“So why is the identity of essences so much lower inside the core than outside the core?” Kayafe asks.

We are back in my house, where we made a lower floor to store the large industrial-sized containment barrels.

“I don’t know.” I shrug. “We can’t actually see what’s responsible for identity in mana. We can see its effects, though.”

“You can’t see it at all?”

“Nope, I can’t find even a trace of it.”

“Hmm…” Kayafe taps her temple in thought. “If you can’t see it, and I can’t see it, despite our incredibly high Skill levels, then is it just not a part of mana?”

“That or we are fundamentally wrong in our guesses,” I say while flicking a tail.

“I find that hard to believe. There simply must be something related to the identity of mana; how can it be anything else?”

“And that’s the problem. We know what it does, but not what it is.”

Kayafe frowns. “Most materials are conceptualized by their properties. We wouldn’t have even been able to get [Sense Mana] if we needed that amount of knowledge beforehand; how is this any different? We managed to see hyper essence despite not knowing whatever identity is, only its properties. I can only assume that it’s not a part of mana; that’s the only answer that even remotely makes sense.”

I get two tingles from [Inventive Perfection]. What Kayafe says sounds right, but I’m not entirely convinced. There is some precedence, though. Density is not an intrinsic property of mana; it’s just a description of the distance between mana particles. Intensity could be argued similarly; it represents energy, but what even is that energy? Actually, isn’t primordial mana related to intensity? It seems a lot more like energy rather than particles like normal mana. Something to investigate some other time.

Maybe we just need to accept mana identity as something similar? But the answer for why hyper mana doesn’t exist in the core of a storm hinges on figuring out what identity is.

“What if identity is created by the storm? The closer it is to the core, and the stronger the storm is, the more of that identity there is. But the core of the storm is an entirely different environment; it’s not a mana storm, though it does cause one. This means that mana entering the core will lose that identity. Problem solved, right?”

Now it’s Kayafe’s turn to think silently for a good long minute.

“Hmm, I’m not entirely convinced. The core is just as, if not more, extreme of an environment as the storm. The only thing that would change is the form of the identity.”

Kayafe makes a good point. At most, the environment only influences the expression of the identity, not how much there is. I guess I didn’t think that argument all the way through.

[Inventive Perfection] nudges me again like a buzzer going off in my head. There’s something about what Kayafe said that I am overlooking. I replay my memory, and [Inventive Perfection] reacts as Kayafe says “conceptualize.” Why?

Because essences embody a concept. Beauty, cold, gravity, space, life—

Ding! [Inventive Perfection] practically yells at me, making my tail fur stand on end.

A memory replays in my mind, something that Kadona said, “Anima is life in concept.”

I’ve been calling it identity, but identity is a form of actualized concept.

Like a meteor smiting me from the heavens, I realize what the missing piece of the puzzle is. Anima. That’s why Bond mana can only be made at my current Bond stage. I cast it by sending mana along the flow of my Bond through my anima, which infuses a strong concept of beauty into the mana!

Elements turn into essences, which then turn into sub-essences, then Bond mana and… that unknown form of mana? Or is it the other way around, the unknown one, then Bond mana? Or is Bond mana an outlier that requires a Bond? Either way, if I am correct, then the unknown mana could be… umm… Living mana? Mana with a lot of anima?

To confirm my suspicions, I take a look into the contained superstorm core, examining the unknown mana.

Ting! Sense Magic has met the requirements for a breakthrough and will continue leveling past level 1120!

56th Breakthrough: You have seen Living mana; this will help you study the actualization of mana.

Ting! Sense Magic has obtained levels 995-999!

All the colors of mana I’ve been seeing my whole life gain a whole new level of vibrancy, as if the saturation has been increased. It’s like I’ve been seeing mana as dead and gray all my life, and I've just seen color for the first time. There’s just a whole new depth to mana now that I can’t explain.

Mana has life to it, in such a way that just looking at it fills my mind with a different impression depending on its expression of identity. Fire is warmth; it is blazing and hungry but also life-giving and sustaining. Beauty fills my heart and mind with soothing serenity, inspirational awe, seductive allure, and more. It’s as if I am seeing all of what an element or essence can be all at once, and all I need to do is nudge it in one direction.

It makes it seem like my previous treatment of mana was a barbaric manhandling and tyrannical control of it.

Is this what Uloru and Kadona see when they see anima?

I can only see anima as it pertains to mana, but it’s strange how I haven’t gotten a specific breakthrough for it. Or perhaps it’s not that strange. Getting the breakthrough for seeing elements and essences had similar effects.

Re-examining the storm core, I see that the amount of anima is uniform throughout. I don’t know if that’s because it’s contained, but assuming there’s ambient anima, and it has no way of pulling more in, then there must be loss somehow as mana enters the core. Too bad we had to contain it before this discovery, but I’ll likely need Uloru and Kadona’s help in getting the full picture anyway.

“Alysara? You’ve been quiet for some time now. Did you figure something out?” Kayafe shakes me gently.

“Hmm?” Like being awoken from a deep sleep, it takes me a second for my brain to process Kayafe’s words. “Yes! I got a new breakthrough!”

I explain everything to Kayafe, and while she looks slightly skeptical, the look on her face completely changes as she quickly gets the breakthrough too.

“I… This is incredible!” Kayafe says, at a loss for words.

“This doesn’t answer our original question, but at least it gets us a step closer,” I say. We still need to figure out how mana is getting more anima, especially in the storm.

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Post Chapter POV:

“Did you catch all of that, Lin?” Ryan asks through the telepathic link as he flies back to the Palace.

“Yes, but I didn’t understand a word.”

“You don’t need to. The most important part they discussed that I understood is that the storm seems to be caused by an imbalance of mana and that if there is a roughly equal amount of mana, such a powerful storm cannot naturally form.”

“So, if we really wanted to, it’s possible to pool our strength and make one?” Lin asks. “We’d probably have no way to control it, but by studying mana currents, could we create one that would pass over our enemies’ lands?”

“Yes… but that would kill a lot of innocents, Lin.”

“We have lost too much strength, Ryan; if it’s a matter of us versus them, then it’s better to wipe them out. The Runalymo have proven their ability to handle these storms, so as long as we warn them, no harm will come to them. Besides, you know how the Elves are. All of them would kill our citizens if they had the chance; there would be no innocent among them.”

“Just because other races have barbaric tendencies doesn’t mean we should punish them as a whole. Also, what about everyone between where we seed the storm and the Elves? They will be in danger,” Ryan tries to reason.

“Who would that be, Ryan? Who lives near the borders of the Elven lands? They all died in Elf raids. I’m not suggesting we create such a storm on just anyone, but the Elves are a fitting target. Plus, There’s the vast, inhospitable desert beyond the mountains that separates the Elves from the rest of the continent; it’s completely uninhabited. The geography is perfect for seeding one of these storms and having it only affect the Elves. The Dwarves are getting bold since we lost so many of our brothers and sisters, and the Elves are looking for any gap in our armor. We have to take the offensive to weaken one of our rivals. This plan isn’t about Elven barbarism; it’s about our survival. I know this goes against our ideology, but if we don’t do this, all of our work may be undone with our destruction.”

“I suppose. With how bloodthirsty our neighbors are, we have to do what we must to survive, but I don’t like it,” Ryan finally agrees.

“I’ll propose the plan to the Emperor when you get back.”

“How are we supposed to achieve unity between the races when we try to annihilate each other?” Ryan mutters to himself.

Days later, Ryan arrives back at the Palace and greets his Oathbound brothers and sisters with a pulse of his Bond. He returns to his room to remove his armor before heading to the Lounge. Only Elizabeth and Jordan are here as most other Oathbound are off on their duties. Their numbers are stretched too thin, so there isn’t a proper rotation of on-duty and off-duty.

“How goes the Oathbound Trials?” Ryan asks as he relaxes into a sofa.

“Slowly,” Elizabeth replies without giving any more context.

“Hard to keep up the image of invincibility now,” Jordan says. “Previously, people would be swarming the colosseum for an opportunity to join us; now they won't risk the meatgrinder that is the Trial when there could be another ‘culling.’ Your debriefing is in a few hours, by the way. Lin filled us in on the summary as well as his plan.”

“What do you think about it?” Ryan asks as a servant brings him wine.

“If we can pull it off, then we should,” Elizabeth says. “They’ve been doing everything they can to undermine us, and it’s about time we avenge our fallen. Give them hell for those Cannibals!”

“As much as I hate to say this, Elizabeth is right. We need to retaliate. Continuing to sit idly by and letting them do what they wish only emboldens them.”

“Revenge, huh?” Memories of his friends flash by, friends that would still be alive had the Elves not perpetrated the cannibal incident and rebellion.

It’s accepted that all of them will die in battle eventually. That’s just the nature of Legendary beings; you won’t die otherwise. Learning how to move on when your loved ones die is a part of becoming a Legendary being. With their numbers reduced and the Empire to keep safe, they were kept busy and didn’t have time to entertain the idea of revenge.

Now, however, when they can retaliate for that without risking their already small numbers, this changes things; it’s possible to get revenge. But those most affected by a storm will be people who had nothing to do with the cannibal incident; it would be an injustice to punish them.

Soon enough, it’s time for his debriefing meeting, and he joins the Emperor with Lin, Elizabeth, and Jordan in the meeting room.

He gives a detailed report, and the room falls silent. Only the scratching of pen on paper is heard as the scribe finishes writing everything down. There isn’t much to say about his mission, so the rest of this meeting can only be about Lin’s idea.

“You are dismissed,” The Emperor tells the scribe once he is done.

The Human servant bows his head elegantly and gracefully leaves.

“I assume you all know of Lin’s proposal by now?” the Emperor says.

Everyone nods.

“I can see now why he came up with the plan. It should be possible to make the conditions for one to form. I have my own doubts about it, so Lin, give us your reasoning.”

Lin clears his throat and makes a more structured version of the argument he told Ryan. Elizabeth and Jordan also speak up with their approval and reasons for supporting the idea.

Afterward, the Emperor sat in silence for several minutes before giving his reply.

“I am convinced. We are too weak and have been too docile in our responses so far.” The Emperor raises one finger. “However, we lack the ability to actually make one of these storms. It took several Elementals in addition to our full force for one to form; we simply can’t do this on our own. If it were before the cannibal incident, then I’d say we’d have a good chance of making it happen.”

“Then we will have to ask for Alysara or Kayafe’s help,” Elizabeth says, to which the Emperor nods.

“But will they?”Jordan asks.

“I may be able to convince Kayafe, but Alysara appears to be much more impartial,” the Emperor says.

“They will gain from this too. That’s another storm core they can get. At least Kayafe seemed eager to get another,” Ryan says.

The Emperor chuckles. “Not happy enough with one material that comes from a country ravaging storm, she wants two. I wonder what they will make from those?”

“The Runalymo are going to enter the world stage as a new superpower,” Lin says. “One unbound by equally powerful neighbors like us.”