Chapter 3
Auron gasped. For a moment, the world went utterly silent, as if time itself had stopped to witness. The only sound was the faint whistle of the wind threading through the pines.
Then it began.
A warmth, gentle at first like the glow of a campfire on a winter night which relaxes and rejuvenates the body and the soul this feeling slowly spilled through his veins then into his entire body.
His body relaxed for a heartbeat, smoothened by the comfort, by the strange familiarity of it. But comfort turned quickly to torment.
The warmth which felt like a gentle glow moments ago, changed into something sharper auron felt as if that gentle flame had became the flame of hell burning his body from the inside.
Every vein in Auron's body screamed with torment of the heat he was experiencing, as though his blood had been replaced with liquid flame. His heart thrashed against his ribs, hammering to the rhythm of war drums. His vision blurred, his bones felt like they were facturing from within.
Auron collapsed to the frozen ground, clawing at the snow as if, it could cool the inferno devouring him from inside.
"AHHHHH!" His scream ripped into the night, it sounded raw and feral, like the cry of a beast being burned alive.
His thoughts spun, looking, clawing for any possible reason that could explain his predicament
"What is happening? What is this pain? Am I cursed? Is this heaven's hatred for me?"
The fire slowly climbed into his chest. His heart was set aflame. He choked and spat a mouthful of blood into the snow, its steam rising like smoke from a pyre. His vision darkened. Each second dragged him closer to unconsciousness, closer to the abyss.
Is this the end of me? What sin did I commit to be born only to suffer? Why was I even allowed to live at all?
Dark and despairing thoughts clawed at his mind. He felt himself slipping, sinking beneath waves of pain and hopelessness.
But then he remembered.
The corpse of his grand father in his arms. The vow he carved into his soul. The promise he had whispered to Godfrey through blood and tears.
"No…" His voice cracked, but conveyed resolve he had made. "No… I will not die here. I will not give up. I will fight through this pain. I will endure. I will avenge you, Grandpa—no matter what happens to me." auron said to himself further steeling his willpower.
With trembling hands, he forced himself upright, crossing his legs, spine straight despite the torment wracking his frame. His teeth ground together until they bled as he began the breath circulation technique Godfrey had drilled into him a thousand times beneath the cold night sky.
Inhale. Hold. Exhale. Again. Again.
Each breath dragged fire deeper into his lungs, but it also gave auron control over it. He imagined the inferno not as an enemy but as a wild beast one that could be tamed.
Slowly, agonizingly, he gathered the roaring flames and dragged them downward, guiding them with sheer will into his lower abdomen. Into the dantian.
The pain reached a breaking point. Then-
BOOM.
Something exploded inside him but it was not desruction rather it was creation of something
A luminous core ignited within his dantian, a swirling nexus of mana spinning faster and faster until it solidified into a circle of light. His first magic circle. His body no longer screamed—it settled down. His veins pulsed with new found strength, his muscles knitted tighter, his spirit steadied.
And then… something stranger happened.
Another surge slammed into his heart. The same explosion, but different. Another circle formed, etched not in his dantian but in the very core of his heart itself. Two nexuses of power, connected yet separate, blazing like twin suns.
Auron gasped, eyes wide, sweat freezing on his brow.
This was unheard of. A man was blessed if he could forge one circle. But he bore two. One in the heart, the seat of spirit. One in the dantian, the seat of will.
Mana, the primary energy source of Terra was the essence that wove the world together, now coursed through him in ways that defied every law he has ever been by godfrey.
To hold and store mana, one needed a vessel. For most people, this vessel took only one form: either a dantian within the body, or a magic circle formed through ritualistic refinement.
The dantian, a core of energy forged in the lower abdomen, allowed its bearer to draw mana inward, strengthening muscles, bones, and flesh. Warriors with a dantian could wield mana to enhance their speed, endurance, and physical power, becoming living weapons on the battlefield.
The magic circle, by contrast, was etched not in flesh but in spirit. Formed through meditation and resonance with the world, it was a symbol of control over mana outside the body. With it, a man or woman could bend the air, shape flame, or call lightning to their command.
Those who succeeded in creating either vessel were called Neophytes—the first step on the long path of advancement.
Even the weakest Neophyte was worth ten ordinary armed men in combat, for they could summon strength or sorcery far beyond a commoner.
With time and talent, Neophytes could advance further, imprinting Stars upon their dantian or magic circle. Each Star deepened their mastery, multiplying their power, until the greatest could become GODS.
But Auron's awakening had broken every known rule.
In one violent, impossible moment, he had forged both: a magic circle that would let him command the forces of the world, and a dantian that made his body a vessel for raw mana itself.
Such a thing should not exist. A man was meant to walk one path or the other. Yet within Auron's heart burned two lights , two sources of power where only one was ever meant to shine
but he felt it, He was no longer a helpless boy. He was stronger.
auron was still only eleven. He did not understand the absurdity of what had just happened.
but auron only cared about one thing which was getting stronger.
"i don't care if 2 or even 3 vessels are formed as long as they fuel my growth i accept it"
"this phenomena was due to this bracelet" auron said aloud.
"As soon as i wore it,a strange power coursed through my veins, there is no way this 'thing' wasn't responsible for it"
auron being to questions the power and origins of this heirloom he had taken,
"is it rejecting me because i have taken this from godfrey's corpse? have i not earned it?" auron started searching for possible answers.
Yet he could not believe Godfrey would ever intend to give him something to harm him. If this was power, then it was a gift. And he would wield it.
unable to do anything currently, auron made it a future goal to uncover the secrets of godfrey's past and unveil the power of this heirloom
a sudden sharp pain rose in his chest. his mana was slipping out of his control
"once i am strong enough, i will find out but first i need to consolidate this power"
he once again resumed his lotus position and started breathing slowly. His mind calmed. The agony receded, replaced with the quiet clarity of strength newly forged.
****
Minutes bled into half an hour.
He sat unmoving, locked in trance, he was consolidating the storm into stillness, he need to bring bring order to his newly found strength.
Snow fell quietly. The world seemed almost peaceful.
Then—
Crunch.
The unmistakable sound of something pressing into frozen earth