His heart was racing. The confusion was so overwhelming that Tyler almost forgot the rest of the world—until Isabell did something that froze him in place.
With a simple motion of her hand and strange words, water appeared out of nowhere. Warm, gentle, it shaped itself in the air and wrapped around him like a liquid cocoon. For a moment, he floated, suspended.
Tyler's eyes widened.This… again. No cables. No valves. No science. Just gesture and sound.
"Ah…" Isabell sighed, exhausted.
The water vanished as quickly as it had come. The cloth was clean. His body too.
Even covered in soot, dried tears, and exhaustion near to death, she still managed a faint smile."There… all clean now, Ashira."
The name fell like a sentence.He didn't grasp it immediately, but that was the first time this world had named him.The first time he ceased to be Tyler—because to her, he was Ashira.
He glared at her in silence, eyes narrowing.No. This isn't a trick. Not an illusion. It's real. Tangible. Reproducible.And if it's real, then I can unravel it.
Obsession stirred within him.Nothing comes from nothing. Everything has a source. Energy? Matter? What fuels it? Where's the cause?
…
Days passed. Isabell rarely used those tricks, as if conserving strength. But when she did, Tyler watched feverishly, recording every detail. Every motion. Every strange word.And still—nothing.
In his mind, he tried to replicate it. To imagine the gesture, the sound, the command. But the infant body refused to obey.Something was missing.
He sighed, sinking into the cloth, bitter rage gnawing at him.Damn it. Fine. One day, I'll figure it out.
Time went on. And thanks to Isabell's odd habit of speaking to herself, Tyler began to pick up fragments of words. Enough to understand that, to her, his name was Ashira.Tsk. What a ridiculous name, he muttered, so low only he could hear it.
Gradually, another truth became clear: Isabell wasn't his mother. There was no maternal affection—only duty, and mourning. And above all, she wasn't even human.She was an elf.
Obvious to anyone raised on fantasy. But in his world, such beings didn't exist. And that changed everything.
One morning, Tyler saw her differently.Isabell sat cross-legged, eyes closed, breathing deeply. The air around her shifted, a faint pressure like an unseen breeze.
This? Meditation? Tyler frowned.
But it wasn't just focus. Something beyond her was breathing too. The air itself had rhythm, weight.Energy wavered around her, almost like a silent discharge.
Is she… recharging? Like a battery?
He shut his eyes, straining to feel it. Observation wasn't enough. Logic wasn't enough. This followed no known rules.It's not something I can dissect with formulas. It's something I have to feel.
Awkwardly, he copied her posture. The baby's body fought him, but he forced himself to mimic her breathing.
Time bled away. Gradually, a warm pulse began to rise within him, beating with his breath. Something invisible filled him, as if the air itself were being drawn into his body.
This… this must be it. That strange energy. I can feel it!
Hours slipped past unnoticed.
When Isabell's eyes finally opened, what she saw froze her blood.
The baby.The baby was absorbing mana.
"T-that's not possible…" she whispered, her voice trembling.
No newborn—not even the most legendary prodigies—could ever do such a thing.And yet he was. Naturally. Effortlessly. As if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
"How are you… doing this?" she breathed, horrified.
Tyler opened his eyes, startled by her sudden voice.A forced cry burst from his lips."Waaah…!"
Damn it! She caught me! I don't know if this is normal here… I need to be careful.
But Isabell had no doubts.She had seen it.
And she wasn't horrified simply because he absorbed mana.
She was horrified because he had done it… at less than three months old.