Chapter 3: Shapes and Echoes
Sometimes... the deepest understanding is not born from words...
but from the language of perfectly meshed gears...
and the silent melody that harmonizes between two creators.
— From "A Craftsman's Dialogue"
Time in an infant's body passed slowly. But for me, it was a period of adaptation, of learning to "live," not just "survive."
I discovered that my MP, or "Mental Power," had clear rules. It was constantly being drained by the "Shadow" that clung to me, but it could be restored from two main sources: one, from "new understanding" gained by analyzing the world around me with my brain, and two, from "good feelings" received by my heart, especially from my father and mother.
Every day thus became a balancing act between these two things...
At nearly two years old, I began to crawl and pull myself up to stand. My world expanded from the wooden crib to the cool floor of the house. My father... Aether... was a quiet, taciturn maintenance man. After work, he would always hole up in the shed next to the house. That was his kingdom... filled with gears, steel plates, and strange-looking tools.
I would often crawl after him... sitting quietly in a corner of the room, watching him work. Father never shooed me away... he would just glance at me and then continue with his work. For me... this shed was the best classroom in the world.
[...You have understood the 'principle of a pulley system'...]
[...MP restored by 1 point...]
[...You have analyzed the 'structure of a copper alloy'... found a minor flaw...]
[...INT increased by 1 point...]
One day... Father was getting frustrated with Mother's old music box, whose melody had gone awry. He had disassembled the parts and laid them out, but still couldn't find the fault. I crawled closer... used the [Gaze of Structure] that I was getting better at controlling, and focused on the small panel of gears... and then I saw it.
One of the brass gears... had a chip so small it was almost invisible to the naked eye. It caused the rotation to stumble for just 0.01 seconds... but that was enough to throw the entire melody off-key.
I didn't know how to communicate... I couldn't speak yet...
So I decided to do the simplest thing... I reached out my small finger... and tapped on that very gear...
Aether froze... He looked at my face... then followed my finger to the tiny gear. He picked it up... peered at it closely... and frowned, before walking over to get a magnifying glass to inspect it...
"Gods help me..." he murmured softly. "It really is chipped."
He turned back to look at me again... His eyes held not just surprise... but for the first time, a clear sense of awe and pride.
[...You have received the effect of 'Paternal Acknowledgment of Ability'...]
[...MP restored by 3 points!]
That night... the clear, sweet melody of the music box once again filled our home.
While Father was my classroom for "physics and mechanics"... Mother... Elena... was my world of "biology and chemistry."
Her herb garden behind the house was my laboratory. I loved to crawl out and sit, watching her till the soil, gather leaves, or grind herbs. She would always explain to me what this plant was used for, what poison that one contained.
"This one is called 'Silverbell Leaf,' Faelix... It's good for reducing fevers, but if you use too much, it will slow the heart down."
Faelix...
My name...
Every time she called this name with love... I would feel an invisible shield form around my mind... The [Blessing of the Name] was the most valuable skill I had.
I learned the names of various plants... memorized the molecular structures of the substances she described (even though she called them the 'power of flora').
[...You have understood the 'medicinal properties of Silverbell Leaf'...]
[...You have analyzed the 'reaction of alkaloids on the nervous system'...]
[...MP restored by 1 point...]
My life in this world... was a life of learning in order to resist the "Shadow."
But deep down... I was still just an "observer."
I perceived love... but never "returned" it.
I understood words... but never "spoke" them.
Until my third birthday...
Mother made a small fruitcake... Father crafted a wooden toy bird that could flap its wings...
They sang "Happy Birthday" to me in the language of this world... it was a simple and warm melody.
When the song ended... Mother picked me up and kissed my cheek.
"Happy birthday... my Faelix."
In that moment... I looked at the faces of my father and mother, smiling happily at me. I saw their unconditional love... their goodwill with nothing hidden.
And a question rose in my mind...
'Do I... truly deserve this?'
The feeling of being "unworthy" was so intense it squeezed my heart... but at the same time... the feeling of "gratitude" was overflowing, impossible to hold back.
[...Conflicting emotions within the soul have reached a critical point...]
I looked at their faces... gathered all the mental power I had...
And uttered the clearest... first sentence of my new life...
"...Thank... you."
The whole world went silent for a moment... before tears of joy began to stream from my mother's green eyes... and the widest smile I had ever seen appeared on my father's face.
[...You have successfully used the skill 'Heartfelt Words'...]
[...The emotion 'Gratitude' was at maximum intensity...]
[...MP restored by 10 points!]
That day... I learned the third rule of this battlefield.
'Expression... is liberation.'
And it might just be... the first step of true healing.