Two years have flown since the Chaos Syndicate's brutal raid on the Satoshi home, and though time moves forward, the wounds from that night still linger. Paulo may be three now, but the trauma hasn't faded.
In response, Saiko wove a powerful enchantment around the house, shielding it from any location-based magic after Gaku and his crew ambushed them. The cost? She was knocked unconscious for nearly a month.
Driven by secrets uncovered in ancient texts hidden within the tengu's chamber, she unlocked a new passive ability: Mana Sense.
Meanwhile, outside, Paulo wobbles with fierce determination along a narrow wooden beam behind the house. Satsuki guides him gently, breaking down acrobatics into tiny, toddler-sized lessons.
Satsuki stepped away from her daughter's side, handing Daiki the responsibility of watching Paulo for the rest of the day, her body still reeling from the brutal clash with Gaku. The chaos katana had torn through her mana pathways, leaving her right arm a dead zone for magic.
That single strike didn't just wound her; it shattered her arsenal. Most of her S-rank spells? Was gone.
"We need a plan," she told Saiko, voice tight as she slumped beside the maid. "The Chaos Syndicate's leader is still out there, and he flooded my body with unstable magic. I severed my own mana strings to stop the spread, but now this arm's useless for casting."
"I could amputate it. Regenerate a new one. The mana channels wouldn't come back, but at least you'd have full movement, just no magic from that limb." Saiko's eyes had flashed with urgency as she reached for a spellbook, already flipping pages, until she caught Satsuki's expression.
She froze. No more suggestions. No pushing. She wouldn't add guilt to the injury.
Suddenly Paulo had arrived to learn mana sense more so under Saiko's watchful guidance, Paulo takes her first daring leap into Mana Sense. With a tap to her glabella, darkness crashes over her vision like a tidal wave, sudden, total, suffocating.
But just as fast, it unravels. Colours snap back into place. The ghostly halos and phantom shapes evaporate into thin air. The room looks normal again, but inside Paulo's mind, chaos reigns.
Her skull feels like it's splitting open, stretched beyond its limits. Flashes of fractured images burn across her sight, and a haunting whisper floods her ears, repeating like a broken chant:
"Chaos… King… Find… Me…"
A sharp stab tears through her forehead. Instinct screams at her to lash out, to destroy something, anything, just to silence the storm. She grimaces, shaking her head violently, fighting the urge.
"Vision acting up? Hearing voices that weren't there before?" Saiko asks, standing close, voice laced with quiet amusement.
"Yes, what do I do?" Paulo grits out, clinging to clarity through the mental hurricane.
Saiko smirks, then chuckles. "That's the Mana's raw energy spilling over. You can't contain it yet. So, listen, focus. Your mind's panicking because you're trying to hold the whole ocean. Start with a single drop."
Paulo zeroes in, summoning the image of her black silk mask, the texture, the curve, the weight of it in her hands.
"Lock onto it and build it in your mind. Trace the edges. Repeat. Is it easing?" Saiko urges, her tone smooth, almost melodic.
Slowly, the whispers fade to a hush, then vanish. The jagged afterimages align, no longer chaotic blurs but layered pieces clicking into place.
"Yes, It's better." She breathes, exhaling tension, her mind finally steadying. She scans her body, no changes, no visible signs.
She taps her temple twice, her mana sense flicks off, and the world snaps back into ordinary focus. Paulo sways, head spinning, but honestly? That was inevitable.
Later that week, she's back, same room, same eerie silence where she once uncovered the Tengu mask relic. Shelves line the walls, crammed with tomes pulsing with potent spells.
One truth had echoed in her mind; to unlock any of this power, she needs a magic core with intact mana pathways that wasn't damaged at all.
And hers? Shattered. A year ago, Gaku made sure of that. But still, hope flickers. Maybe, just maybe, the status window could bypass the damage. Maybe it could hand her one spell, just one, so she could taste magic again.
"Come on, spell," she mutters, scanning the shelves like a hunter on the edge. "Show yourself."
Then she found a book emblazoned with the sigil of Lightning. Flipping through, she counts over a hundred spells crackling within its pages. She focuses, reaches out through the system, but nothing. No notification. No gain.
Of course. Her core's fractured, poisoned by Gaku's chaos magic. A broken key for a locked door.
Shoulders slumping, she turns toward the exit, bitterness rising. This life, she wanted to wield magic, to feel that surge again. And some Syndicate bastard stole that from her.
With a sharp click, she shuts the door behind her. What doesn't she see? A silent popup flashing into existence. Something did happen.
[════════════════════════════════════════════]
(!) NOTICE YOU HAVE UNLOCKED A NEW SKILL
[════════════════════════════════════════════]
[ACTIVE SKILL ACQUIRED]:
LIGHTNING ENHANCMENT LV.1
INFORMATION:
[ENHANCES YOUR BODY BUT BARELY AS IT COSTS MANA POINTS]
[════════════════════════════════════════════]
For the first time in her new life, she stepped into the village alone, and instantly felt its pulse. Horses trotted down dusty paths, laughter floated in the air, people moving with easy rhythms, completely at peace. Then, out of nowhere, the chief appeared, towering before the tiny three-year-old.
"So, you're the child Satsuki would die to protect, the one she loves beyond reason?"
Paulo froze. She'd never seen this man before. Fear flickered in her eyes, until Daiki stepped in, calm and composed, offering the chief a respectful nod.
"Yes, this is my daughter, Paulo Satoshi."
But before he could say more, Paulo buried herself in his side, clinging tight. She didn't trust strangers. Not anymore. Only family felt safe. Daiki was stunned, this wasn't like her.
His daughter had always been bold, curious. Now, she hid her face completely, trembling. The chief leaned in.
"Can she use magic yet?"
Paulo just shook her head, silent and small. Daiki's voice softened, heavy with sorrow.
"She can't. Not since the Chaos Syndicate attack last year, they shattered her magic core." As he spoke, tears slipped down his daughter's cheeks, quiet but breaking something inside him.
That's right, I can't use magic anymore. I want to be like mom.
However, as the silence continued, the rage and heartbreak in Paulo's expression made her accidently use a skill. This accidently shocked Daiki sending him flying back.
"How the hell. Guess now the time is right."