Once upon a time, there was divinity. Divinity in the truest sense, when gods still lived alongside humans. When they prayed for a good harvest, the fields would flourish. When drought struck, the gods would bring water to the most barren of fields. If one wished for it, the cold would be staved off, and their wounds would heal. All that the gods demanded in return was faith, and piety.
'Was there magic?'
No, there was not magic. It was the responsibility and right of the gods to invoke miracles, so who were we to question it? Faith was more valuable than gold. Supplication was the highest virtue.
'So, something must have happened.'
They were tricked. Have you heard of the First Magician?
'My teacher believes in him.'
He is not one to be worshipped. Indeed, he truly did exist, all of those years ago. He, too, prayed to the same gods as us. He shared the same bread, and drank the same beer. But, he was greedy. More than perhaps any other human in history.
He stole it all. Of the divine powers the gods wielded, he stole nearly all of them for himself. No, he was not satisfied with their goodwill. He wanted to become godlike, you see.
'How is this related to magic?'
The powers he stole could not just belong to him. In exchange for betraying the gods, humanity gained the ability to use magic. But, it was not worth it. No, the fields rotted in exchange for growth magic, the rivers dried up so that we could make water, and we began being born misshapen as the price for flesh magic. Do you understand?
'It's a trade-off.'
Some saw it that way. There is nothing wrong with a bird wanting to leave it's mother's nest. But if it claws her wings off to make them it's own, who could not abhor such an action? Therefore, I tell you this.
We will remember the gods, and we will make them proud. We will never forget that which they have provided us, and we will never forgive ourselves for taking it by force. We will use magic, not like some fantastical and unlimited source of power, but in remembrance.
'You make it sound like they died.'
Gods do not die. But, stripped of everything that makes them whole, who can tell the difference?
'So, why did you believers hunt magicians with lots of mana?'
Did I ever tell you how the First Magician died? No, and there is now not a single soul who can. He disappeared, but there was never sufficient evidence to say whether he lived or died. But, the man must have had much, much more mana than any current living mage.
'That has to be me, then. I'm the First Magician?'
Your memories are mine, and my memories are yours. From what I have seen, there is no way you're the same as him. If you were, I would've tried to eliminate you at all costs.
'Well, that's reassuring.'
---
[In conclusion, a small amount of the gods' powers now resides within all living creatures. Hence, mana is divine by nature.]
'That's a unique theory, I guess.'
[Theory?]
Jane was currently lying down on a rooftop, observing his next target. It was a minor base of the faction Vanessa used to belong to.
'Hey, are you really sure about killing your former colleagues?'
[You know I am.]
'I'm off, then.'
He flew off in the direction of the unassuming house, then began rapidly gaining height. Still unsatisfied with his potential attack, he climbed up until he could no longer breathe properly, and used 'Breath' runes to further his ascent. Once the ground was too far away for even his eyes to see, he finally stopped.
[It won't work for too long, but the imbuement should have a decent effect.]
Jane formed a long spear out of metal, and then imbued projected 'Force' runes into it's tip— restrained by 'Void' runes, of course. Then, he also formed a 'Concealment' and 'Reinforce Material' on the structure, and enhanced the entire thing with a few 'Amplify' runes. He didn't use 'Lightning', for fear of natural phenomena alerting the enemy in advance.
From where he was floating, Jane pointed the spear straight down, then released the runes inside. It quickly disappeared, leaving it's fate to be determined later. Making the most of his preemptive strike, he immediately flew after the spear.
---
'Holy shit.'
[Holy shit.]
Let alone damaging the house, the entire area was wiped from existence. Bodies that were engraved with protective runes ended up as splatters of blood surrounding the area, and anything weaker was simply vaporized. The corpses of a few incredibly reinforced mages were lying in the crater, proving that their defenses were not nearly enough for such an attack.
'There isn't anything left...'
[Fighting fairly is worthless, isn't it...?]
'It really is... I'll just use this from now on.'
Grinning like an idiot, Jane walked away from the scene of the crime.