Kael stood there motionless for a full two minutes, his hand moving slowly across his face. He tried rubbing his eyes, hoping they would return to their original color, but sadly they did not.
Kael was amazed and scared at the same time. He had so many questions.
"Why don't I feel any pain?" Kael asked himself as he looked into the mirror.
His amazement was justified, since every time his eye had changed color before, it had always been followed by severe pain in his head.
Kael didn't quite understand what he was feeling, but he felt refreshed, as if he had just taken a cool shower. His body also felt lighter than before.
At the same time, he was scared that the change might be permanent. If it was, his mother would surely ask him a lot of questions.
Kael's heart began beating faster, but he wasn't going to let his mother notice anything. He was also slightly reassured, remembering that whenever his eye had changed before, it usually returned to normal after a few minutes.
Kael stared at his reflection for a few more moments before turning and leaving the bathroom.
As he walked, he felt something strange.
His steps were light and made almost no sound.
Kael was surprised.
"Just what did that feather do to me?" he wondered as he sat on the edge of his bed.
A sudden thought came to him.
He wanted to try forming the mana ball that had previously challenged him. He didn't have a wand, but strangely, he felt confident that he would be able to do it. He didn't know where the confidence came from, but he could feel it deep within the core of his being.
Before doing that, however, he decided to try sensing the mana around him first.
Kael took a few deep breaths, closed his eyes, and focused.
This time, Kael could perceive mana much more clearly than when he had first tried with Clare. He could feel the very essence of mana around him. The sensation was incredible and strangely calming, making him feel as if he were one with the mana itself.
Slowly, he opened his eyes while maintaining that awareness.
What he saw left him speechless.
He could see countless lines of golden light intertwining through everything around him—even through his own body.
But his body was different from the rest of his surroundings.
It seemed to radiate golden light that was far thicker and brighter than anything else around him.
Kael was stunned. He hadn't realized that he had so much mana within him.
After a while, he stopped focusing and his vision returned to normal.
Now it was time to test whether he could form the mana ball.
He paused briefly before trying again, not wanting to risk mana fatigue.
Closing his eyes, Kael sat cross-legged on the floor and held his hand out in front of him. He began picturing a mana ball in his mind.
This time, he didn't struggle to imagine it.
Slowly, he opened his eyes.
To his surprise, he had succeeded.
A golden mana ball floated quietly in his hand. It was slightly larger than the one Clare had created in the forest.
Kael was extremely happy.
He had finally done it.
He couldn't believe it. For a long time, he had thought he would never be able to manipulate magic.
Grinning widely, Kael began playing with the ball, tossing it into the air and catching it as it fell.
As he played with the floating sphere, his mood brightened and a smile stayed on his face the entire time. Then a sudden thought crossed his mind.
Kael was a very curious kid.
"Is a mana ball all I can make?" he asked himself excitedly as he sat up on his bed, catching the falling mana ball in one hand.
His heart began beating faster at the thought that he might be able to create almost anything.
His face lit up with excitement.
"Can I really do this?" he whispered to himself.
"It's going to require a lot of mana… but I think I'll be able to," Kael reassured himself. Ever since the feather had entered his body, he had felt stronger.
Kael sat silently for a moment, thinking about what he should try next.
"Ah—" he said suddenly, nearly falling off the bed.
"I'll try making a mana sword. I'm not sure if it'll be possible, but if I can picture it clearly in my mind, it should work… right?" Kael said, though he still wasn't completely sure.
Even so, he decided to try.
He sat cross-legged on the bed again and held the mana ball in his hand. First, he tried calming himself down, since his excitement had caused his heart to race.
After taking several deep breaths, he finally relaxed.
Closing his eyes, Kael focused on picturing a sword in his mind.
The mana ball was already there—all he needed to do was mold it into the shape of a sword.
He concentrated intensely, deciding to make a short sword since a full-sized one would be much harder.
As he focused, he could feel mana flowing through him.
At first, nothing seemed to happen. The mana ball remained perfectly round.
Beads of sweat began forming on his forehead as he continued trying.
Then, slowly—very slowly—the ball began to change shape.
It stretched into a small stick, then gradually grew longer.
Inside his mind, Kael carefully shaped the mana, guiding it bit by bit.
Minutes passed as he concentrated.
The effort was draining him. He could feel his energy slipping away as he used more and more mana.
But he refused to stop.
He had come too far.
The stick slowly sharpened, beginning to resemble a blade.
It was difficult, but Kael finally managed to form the blade of the sword.
Now only the guard and the hilt remained.
Sweat ran down his face.
Still, he refused to give up.
After several more exhausting minutes of shaping the mana in his mind, the sword was finally complete.
It wasn't perfect, but it clearly looked like a sword.
Kael opened his eyes, completely drained.
He collapsed backward onto his soft bed, breathing heavily.
For a few minutes he simply lay there, trying to recover.
When he finally regained a little strength, he sat up to look at what he had created.
The mana sword floated in the air.
It looked surprisingly similar to a real sword, even though it was shorter.
Carefully, Kael grabbed the hilt.
It felt incredibly light—almost weightless. Kael doubted it could actually cause any real damage.
But that didn't matter.
He was thrilled.
"I really did it!" Kael shouted happily.
"It took a lot of mana, but I did it," he said as he lay back down on the bed, placing the sword on his desk.
Kael was beyond ecstatic.
He could create almost anything—as long as he had enough mana.
"Next, I'm going to focus on building my mana reserves," Kael told himself, still smiling.
But he was exhausted after using so much mana.
As he lay on the soft bed, his eyes slowly began to close. Even though it was still early in the afternoon, drowsiness overtook him.
Kael tried to stay awake, but the exhaustion was too strong.
Within moments, he drifted off into a deep sleep.