Three days later, we stood at the cornerstone. Mother had kissed Father goodbye from inside the house. Today was the day he was leaving for Manyblood's capital. As he hugged us tightly, Astraya said, "I wish Mother could be here to see you off." It was clear she would miss him the most. He patted her head and said, "Don't feel sad, Astraya. I'll be back before you know it, okay?" Then, turning to me, he added, "And for your mother, she can't step near this barrier; it would be dangerous for her." Astraya still didn't understand the price Mother had to pay to create this barrier.
Now speaking to me, Father smiled. "Now, Astraga, take care of your sister, okay? She may be taller than you, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't protect her and Mother." He grinned, patting my head. Why did Father have to make me feel a bit emotional now? We hadn't seen the world in years; things might have changed.
As Father stepped towards the barrier, he had coated his whole body in purification water. With half of his hands and legs on the other side, he said, "Oh, Astraga, don't forget to look after my fishes for me, okay? I am leaving that to you." I would be almost five years in a few months, and he was trusting me to do that? The high standards were crazy, but all good, as this would give me time to use the seal in secret.
Waving goodbye, Father then completely vanished to the other side. Astraya was rushing to go back, as Mother was training her again. She had gotten so much better in a few days at an alarming rate, and Mother was happy that Father was getting her a teacher, as Mother was running out of things to teach. The only thing Astraya hadn't learned was sealing.
"Go without me," I told her. "I want to check on Daddy's fishes. Tell Mother I'll be home soon."
As Astraya ran towards home, she said, "Alright, Astraga, don't wait outside too much."
Smiling and waving to her, this was it.
---
Finally arriving at the fish pond, I began checking their tiny injuries inflicted by dragon magic. Still no results. As I had read the book Father had given me, to be honest, there was no real information on Ascendant Beasts that I could use. Besides, I didn't even have mana yet to try manipulating the pond or something. Would the water in the pond need mana to be inside of it, as they would then be floating in mana? If only Father wasn't so stubborn about being a pioneer in this type of mana beast creation, I would have had enough examples or references. "Well, nothing I could do now," I said to myself.
Reaching in my pocket was the seal Mother had made for the jar. I had removed it, as the liquids were still in layers. The only difference was that if it got shaken or fell, it would mix. "Hopefully Mother doesn't notice the fake paper seal I created," I thought. "Heheh, might as well pat myself on the back for my mischief."
Now holding the paper seal against the sunlight that managed to sneak into the cave fish pond, I thought, "Wow, I will learn how to use these seals soon. But now I must apply it to my stomach as hopefully it reaches my core."
"Let's see," I said, talking to myself as the fishes moved effortlessly in the water. Removing my shirt I had prior to today tried doing some ab workouts, but unfortunately, I hadn't been able to do much with this small body, as mana worked well with a fit body I placed the seal on my stomach. Now, taking a meditative pose, I started to focus on my core. "Yes, I can feel it! Wow, I'm a genius, it's working!" The seal was already shaping my core as I could feel it awakening. My eyes first glowed red, and then blue, and then white. "Heheh, this was going to be easy," I said as the seal began to act weird. A sharp pain hit my abdomen, and I gasped as saliva and mucus spilled out of my nose. The pain then grew stronger. Could it be this seal was searching for the fourth mana type, but I couldn't think at that moment as my whole body began to burn.
"Ahhhh! Make it stop, it hurts!" The pain was unbearable. Losing consciousness as it felt like my organs were collapsing, I thought, 'MOTHER WAS RIGHT, I WAS A FOOL!' As my organs continued to compress, the koi fish pendant on my neck began to glow as it elevated me mid-air. It was as if the pendant was defending me against the seal's destructive properties. But before I could realize it, a large amount of energy poured out of the pendant, creating a sphere barrier around me. I then lost consciousness.
---
"Where am I? Damn it, did I die again?" Opening my eyes, I noticed a blue sphere covering my body. It appeared my body had healed. Looking at my shirtless body, I saw the seal. I immediately tried pulling it out, but then I realized it was a bad idea, as it hurt the more I yanked on it.
"So stupid. I should have tested it more. How could I compare a jar to a human body?" I said, smacking my forehead. I had definitely died. But before I could come to that conclusion, a sudden, eerie feeling, one that I had felt since I was a child, came again. This time, its intent to kill was tremendously terrifying. Turning my head within the blue sphere created by the koi pendant, I saw it. The sphere brightened up the cave of some sort, and now I could see the being that gave me chills to my bones.The figure emerged from the swirling mists, a phantom coalesced from shadow and despair. Its form was an indistinct, roiling mass of black, the edges of its body trailing off into tendrils of ink that bled into the gray, mottled background of the cave. Skeletal branches, sharp and twisted, sprouted from its shoulders and head, like a crown of thorns woven from the very fabric of a nightmare.
But it was the eyes that held the true horror. Two points of searing, white light burned within the inky abyss of its head, twin stars of malevolence in a universe of darkness. They glowed with an unsettling, intelligent intensity, promising an eternity of silent torment to anyone who dared to meet their gaze. The creature was not simply a beast; it was a void given form solely for destruction.
Before I could react, the creature closed the distance with such speed. Its punches were clearly going straight for my head, but the shield was ever-present in my favor. Notwithstanding, I still had to deal with the immense force of the creature's punch, as the impact sent me flying mid-air. While I was still recovering, the creature, catching up to me, appeared above me, smashing me into the ground. Its new punch created a crater in the ground. Fear took control of my senses, and I was in a frozen state as the monster continued to smash my shield with immense force. With each strike, the sphere shined brighter on impact. "This taste for destruction... what is this creature?" I thought. "Could it be?" As a heavy scream flowed from its mouth and its size increased, it joined its shadowy hands together and said, "Die! Die! DIE!" And then my worst fear was realized: the sphere began to crack.
CRACK…