Kael froze.
The forest suddenly felt colder, as if the wind itself had stopped moving.
Clare was still staring at him, confused, but Kael barely noticed. His eyes were locked on the crow perched between the trees.
Then the laugh echoed again—soft, ringing, and disturbingly close.
Not from the forest…
…but from inside his head.
"Did you hear that?" Kael asked Clare again, fear spreading across his face.
Clare looked at him, even more confused and slightly surprised.
"What? Hear what? Are you okay, Kael?" she asked, leaning closer as if trying to inspect him.
Kael paused. It seemed like he was concentrating, trying to hear the voice again.
"A voice… a woman's voice… right now. Did you hear it?" Kael asked.
Clare kept staring at him.
"No. No, I didn't," she said firmly.
Kael didn't know what to say. He had clearly heard it… so why hadn't Clare heard it too?
Kael looked up again. The crow was still there, staring at him as if it understood exactly what was happening.
"Are you sure you didn't hear it?" Kael asked again.
Clare now looked at him, dumbfounded.
"Of course I'm sure, you dummy. I'm pretty— I'm pretty sure I would remember if I heard a woman's voice," she said, crossing her arms.
Kael stayed silent for a moment, then replied quietly.
"Okay."
He was deep in thought, trying to figure out how he could explain it to Clare without sounding insane.
He continued sitting there, staring at the crow, while Clare sat beside him, also glancing up at the treetops.
"…Could it be mana exhaustion?" Clare suddenly asked, looking at Kael.
It seemed like she was still trying to make sense of what her friend was talking about.
Kael looked at her, raising an eyebrow.
"What's that?"
Clare stared at him in disbelief.
"Wait… you don't know?"
Kael looked her dead in the face.
"Yeah, I don't. I told you before—I've never done magic before. I don't know most things about it," Kael said.
Clare stared at him for a moment, then sighed.
"Oh… I kinda forgot."
Then she spoke again, her voice turning more serious.
"So basically, mana exhaustion is when you use large amounts of mana to perform magic, but you use more mana than your body can safely circulate. When mana becomes dangerously low, the body begins to struggle to maintain control over its own mana flow," she explained.
Kael sat silently, trying to process what Clare had said.
After a few moments, he shook his head.
"I don't think it's mana exhaustion," Kael said. "I feel fine even after trying to make the mana ball."
Clare became silent for a bit.
"Yeah… I guess you could say so."
"Then what could it be?" she asked.
Kael replied honestly.
"I don't know."
A moment of silence followed. Both of them sat there, thinking about what could have happened.
Clare then asked, "Are you going to try again?"
Kael smiled faintly, trying to lighten the mood.
"No. I'm going to rest for a bit, then practice my swings again," he said.
Then he glanced at her.
"And you? What are you going to do?"
Clare stood up and stretched as if the answer was obvious.
"Isn't it obvious?" she said.
"I'm going to practice magic, of course."
Kael nodded.
"Oh… okay."
Kael stood up as well and stretched. His small body ached a little, but he brushed it off since it wasn't too painful. He also felt slightly dizzy, but he shook his head and forced himself to ignore it.
He wasn't sure if he could do a lot of practice swings, but he was going to try. He didn't want to sit around and do nothing.
Kael was also scared that he might hear the unknown voice again, so he wanted to keep himself busy.
While he had been sitting earlier, he had also been thinking about what he was going to name the move he had learned from the figure in his soul realm.
After thinking for a while, he finally decided.
Slash.
It was simple. Easy to remember. Easy to say.
Kael stood still for a moment, trying to clear his thoughts and focus.
Then he reached for his practice sword—his trusty stick.
Clare had already started practicing magic. She was sitting cross-legged, focused, with a golden mana ball already formed in her hands.
Kael picked up the stick and took his usual stance. The stick was in front of him, both hands gripping the end tightly.
Then he began swinging, trying to perform Slash the way the figure had done it in his soul realm.
It wasn't too hard. The movement was simple, but it required control.
Even though he was slightly fatigued, he continued.
He became extremely focused.
And as he swung, an arc formed in the air—a faint glow that followed his stick as it came down.
Kael's eyes widened slightly.
He was surprised… but mostly happy.
His swings looked almost exactly like the ones the figure had performed.
But after several swings, his arms began to shake.
He was tired.
His muscles burned, and his grip felt weak.
That was his cue to rest. At least he had made real progress today.
Kael walked over and sat near Clare, breathing heavily. He didn't want to disturb her, because she looked like she was completely in the zone.
She continued manipulating the mana ball, shaping it into different forms and sizes.
Kael watched with amazement.
He was surprised… and slightly jealous.
"I wish I could do that," he thought, feeling a little dejected.
But he didn't let it crush his mood.
He was sure that one day, he would be able to use magic too.
Clare's talent was obvious. Kael could tell she was gifted just from watching her.
After a few more minutes, Clare finally opened her eyes and let out a tired sigh.
"Are you done?" Kael asked.
Clare looked at him with tired eyes.
"Yeah… and I'm so tired. I used a little more mana than I usually do," she said, leaning against the rock.
Then she glanced at him.
"I see you're done too."
Kael nodded.
"Yeah… though my arms are burning," he said, laughing slightly.
"That's what you get for practicing the sword," Clare replied, laughing too. "You should focus more on improving your magic."
Kael sighed and shook his head.
"Nah. You've seen it yourself—I don't have an ounce of talent for magic," he said.
Clare laughed even more.
"You never know. Maybe you do have talent… not like mine, of course," she added proudly, puffing up slightly while smirking. "But you could still become good at it."
Kael rolled his eyes.
"Okay, okay. But I'm not going to focus more on magic. I'm going to train with the sword every day," he said, determination in his voice.
Clare smiled.
"Your loss then."
As they continued speaking, something happened.
The same pain shot through Kael's right eye again.
It wasn't as harsh as it had been in the morning. It didn't make him lose consciousness…
…but it still hurt.
His eye flickered, turning crimson red for a split second.
Kael didn't know if Clare had seen it, but he covered his eye immediately.
"Let's go home. It's getting late," Kael said quickly, making up an excuse as he turned away, his hand still covering his face.
Clare looked confused for a moment.
But she had seen it.
She didn't ask any questions.
"Okay… wait up," she said, hurrying after him as he started walking faster.
But as she followed behind him, one thought remained in her mind.
Just what are you, Kael…?