Chapter 6 – The Awakening of the Dual Core
Ezra's tiny chest rose and fell rapidly, each breath carrying more weight than his fragile form suggested. His infant hands clenched the golden silk of his cradle, and his brow furrowed with a concentration that no newborn could possess. Within him, two separate streams of energy stirred—white, radiant threads of his knight core and subtle, elusive currents of his latent mana core.
He had stabilized the knight core before, but now he dared more. Now, he reached simultaneously for both, coaxing them to awaken in perfect harmony.
"Knight… Mage… both paths… I will not fail." His voice was barely a whisper, yet in the radiant chamber filled with the light of the Nine Suns, it sounded as though even the universe itself had heard him.
The crib beneath him, gilded with the finest gold and cushioned with silk softer than clouds, seemed almost small in the vastness of the energies he now summoned. Every wall of translucent sunstone shimmered with a golden glow, carved with intricate elven artistry, depicting heroes and battles long past—yet none of these ancient scenes could hint at the transformation about to unfold.
Threads of mana shimmered and reached out, drawn to the embryonic world-core floating gently within his chest. The knight's aura radiated outward in blinding white and molten gold. Together, the two currents began to intertwine, spiraling around each other like twin galaxies in a cosmic ballet. Colors Ezra had never imagined painted the space around him: liquid silver, molten gold, deep violet, and azure streaks brighter than sunlight. They wrapped around him, forming a cocoon of impossible power.
A strange, almost dizzying sensation washed over him. His tiny form stretched beyond its mortal boundaries, feeling simultaneously immense and infinitesimal. His knight core, the embodiment of discipline, defense, and martial might, fused seamlessly with the mana core, boundless and ever-expanding. Together, they became something else entirely—pure Aether, unbound by flesh or space, unconfined by time itself.
"I… I am… everywhere… and nowhere," he thought, mind reeling with the enormity of it. "My body… my soul… even my consciousness… it is… infinite."
In an instant, his Divine Sea opened. Ezra had read about such things in his previous life—an internal cosmos, a living, conscious reservoir of spiritual energy—but never had he imagined it so vivid, so immediate. This was no mere store of mana. It was aware, reacting to his thoughts and impulses, expanding and contracting with his will.
He reached outward with it, feeling the currents of the world around him. The Divine Sea extended a full kilometer in every direction, sensing ley lines, faint magical signatures, and even the gentle heartbeat of creatures moving through Sunhaven. He felt the Nine Suns themselves, each pulse of light and heat echoing within the depths of his awareness, vibrating through the embryonic world-core that now hung inside him like a miniature floating continent.
Mountains of golden stone, rivers of molten silver, valleys of crystalline spires—miniature and yet real—swirled inside him, feeding the Divine Sea with energy as if the embryonic world itself were alive, a beating heart of creation. With each thought, the mountains shifted, the rivers ran, and the air shimmered with raw potential.
Ezra floated above his crib, no longer an elf but entirely hydra, a being of pure energy. His scales was white full golden patterns traced across his skin, casting light like the sun itself. The room seemed to respond, the golden sunstone walls humming faintly, the suspended crystals vibrating with an unseen rhythm, as if recognizing the monumental change occurring within the newborn.
"I… I can feel everything," he whispered internally. "Not just mana… not just aura… the very flow of existence. And yet… the Fate Codex… it is still silent. But now… I can see threads… probabilities… futures. One step forward, one choice made… and I know how the currents might shift."
The sensation of time sharpened in his mind. He could feel potential outcomes, glimpses of the immediate future, the flutter of possibility before it manifested. Good fortune, misfortune, success, failure—they whispered to him along invisible threads. Every heartbeat, every flicker of energy, every exhalation of air was now a node in the vast web of existence he could perceive.
His embryonic world-core pulsed in response, radiating bursts of energy into the Divine Sea. A mere thought could summon mountains, raise gusts of wind, or paint the sky with light. He was no longer just an observer. He was a child of creation, a newborn architect of reality, a mind spanning both infinitesimal and infinite.
"So this… this is true power," he murmured, awe and fear colliding. "Not strength or skill… but awareness, intuition, creation itself. My cores… my embryonic world… my Divine Sea… all as one. I am… infinite."
And yet, despite the overwhelming sensation of omnipotence, Ezra's awareness found calm. Nothing in Elfheim, the Magus World, or the realms beyond could touch him once he reached his full potential. He was a newborn in age, but the Infinite Hydra bloodline, fused with his embryonic world-core and the awakened Divine Sea, had elevated him beyond natural law.
Ezra's infant eyes drifted across the gilded chamber, taking in the intricate carvings, sunstone walls, floating crystals, and the eternal Nine Suns blazing high above. A quiet thrill coursed through him, tempered by the chilling understanding of his own power.
"I am… no longer just Ezra. I am the Infinite Hydra. And I will survive. I will surpass. I will see the truths hidden even from gods themselves."
And as his cores pulsed in perfect harmony, the embryonic world inside him shimmered with latent power, the Divine Sea stretched infinitely, and a sense of boundless potential radiated outward, unbroken and eternal.
The golden book hovering above him trembled. Its surface reflected the Nine Suns, the room's gilded walls, and the miniature aether surrounding him. The book shivered, pages fluttering as though caught in a gale, then twisted and folded until it became a massive hydra, infinite heads writhing in impossible angles, each maw radiating hunger beyond comprehension. The very air thickened with unbound magical tension, and Ezra's tiny heart raced in awe and terror.
Guided—or perhaps commanded—by the Codex, the Hydra bit into the void. Space shivered, time quivered, and colors multiplied infinitely, fractals of light and shadow spiraling around him. He felt the universe stretch and fracture, chaos and order bleeding into one another. Ancient wars, eldritch beings, and unimaginable forces of destruction cascaded across his awareness. He was everywhere at once, yet still anchored in his crib, a newborn perceiving eternity.
And then, as suddenly as it began, the chaos ceased. The Hydra collapsed back into the golden book. The Nine Suns shone, the sunstone walls glimmered, and the room appeared untouched. Yet Ezra knew everything had changed.
A torrent of knowledge poured into his mind. Memories, truths, and probabilities were rewritten, encoded directly into his consciousness by the Fate Codex. Reality had shifted subtly, reshaped to protect him from a fate too cruel to endure.
The golden book floated down into his chest, merging seamlessly with his awareness. At first, he felt nothing but a gentle warmth, like the dawn over a sleeping landscape. He looked at his silver skin and saw the intricate rune patterns fading, disappearing as if they had never existed.
"Is this really my novel?" he thought, voice trembling inside his mind. "Who was that silver-haired man fighting? Why does he feel so familiar? Who orchestrated my reincarnation? And… what is their goal?"
Even as questions swirled, one truth was undeniable: the Fate Codex held the answers. It remained silent, unyielding, yet its presence anchored him, a lighthouse in the storm of infinite awareness.
And then he looked inside his chest using divine sense. The white core in his chest—the core he had nurtured, stabilized, and now awakened—was no longer a simple sphere of light. Within it, a small, floating, barren landmass appeared, hovering about a kilometer in diameter in a void of darkness.
Ezra's eyes widened in wonder.
"So this is my core is a miniature world?l." He reached out with his awareness. It wasn't soil or rock—it was pure energy, radiant, infinite potential, feeding the Divine Sea. The embryonic world could generate power on its own, a self-sustaining engine amplifying his abilities. He realized instantly: the more complete this world became, the stronger he would grow. Every mountain, river, and valley added mana, every ecosystem strengthened his Divine Sea, every heartbeat amplified his Aether form.
He drew in a deep breath, small but resolute. His first command to this new system of power escaped as a whisper of both curiosity and authority: