Jason, Ryan, and Agnus stood alone in a reinforced room, metallic alloys surrounding them as reinforcing spells illuminated the area around them with a resonant blue.
Jason was stern-faced as Agnus lay upon a bare white table, his eyes shut as Ryan planted his palm against his bellybutton with a constant flow of mana injected into him. With his optic nerves imbued, he intently observed as threads of mana, thinner than a hair, were numerous and pricked into multiple places on his stomach.
He did not understand the concept of Runes, his knowledge limited to the mere existence of them, and how to differentiate them.
Ryan, on the other hand, was nearly the complete opposite, as his insight into the divine happenings of Rune's was nearly flawless.
Each thread inserted mana with surgical accuracy; every mote that glowed within Agnus's soul space served a purpose, whether individually or as a mere percent of a grander plan.
A bead of sweat trickled down Ryan's face, but he could not feel it as his consciousness was implanted within Agnus.
His body floated through the air, his eyes cold as he examined each rune, mana following his command as if it were his second self. He did not need to move; he did not have to look. Mana followed his intent, and it was as simple as a mere thought.
A brief spike in his aura caused the mana to surge forward and pounce on the rune of stillment as if a million ants found a piece of discarded food.
It was relentless as the mere streams of mana evolved into gushing rivers, seeping into every orifice, every indent, and every detail of the rune before it all thinned, condensing into a perfect shell that cradled the rune within.
Sound wasn't an existence within the soul space, and Ryan watched with an accomplished sense of pride as a single crack, barely enough to see, erupted into a cobweb that flared outward, dividing the rune into millions of pieces as it tore apart.
White light tore through the soul space as Ryan instinctually closed his eyes, his consciousness returning to the physical world.
From Jason's perspective, his eyes worrily danced between Ryan and the boy as Agnus's body violently convulsed, his stomach arched as if an invisible force yanked him upward.
His eyebrows arched downward as uncertainty fogged his mind, his thoughts expecting an outcome far contrary to the confidence Ryan exuded before the operation commenced.
Ryan's eyes flicked open, and he ceased the streams that seeped into Agnus, retracting his hand as he stood up with a drawn-out breath.
"Well?" Jason spoke out, an edge of worry tainting his tone.
Ryan didn't let his eyes leave the boy as he responded calmly, "He's fine. He'll be awakening."
A brief flash shone in Jason's gaze as the surprise was a temporary shock to his mind. "How?"
The pillar didn't answer, his optic nerves blanketed with pristine mana that allowed him to see the process of awakening that was underway.
Agnus's veins pulsated with a vibrant blue that Ryan couldn't see, each speck that coursed through acting as oil for his core that would begin forming very soon.
Seconds passed, and the silence stood comfortably in the air, and Ryan furrowed his brow as he immediately noticed the absence of mana swelling within his chest, signifying the start of the process.
Mana didn't merely join hands with his blood as it entered his blood flow as it should; It took a mind of its own.
It absorbed into his blood, and by the naked eye, it would appear as if they were mixed together, but it went far beyond that.
Each mote of mana intruded a white blood cell, targeting the nuclei and altering the DNA on a molecular level, enabling the latent genes that lay dormant for far too long. The blood cell evolved, and it roared with new life, its presence affecting the blood cells throughout his veins and muscles like a fast-spreading disease. Each blood cell enlarged, bulging with reformed energy that bustled through his body.
It was as if primal senses that stretched far beneath the chasms of time, reaching all the way to his greater ancestors, were awakened.
His body convulsed, an array of enlarged veins that transformed into a royal blue bulged throughout his body, as if vines were entangling him. "HEUK!"
For the first time in his life, Agnus felt a burst of pain assault his mind.
Every sword that lashed him, every fist that bashed into his face, never stung. He couldn't feel it. He merely felt their skin, his head being whipped to the side from the force, and his skin caving in from the impact. Pain was a mystery to him, just as emotions were.
Yet, he embraced the pain.
It was the first time in his life that he felt something.
His mind sharpened, his eyes narrowing as the pain intensified and ravaged his organs and muscles as the very structure of his DNA was modified.
"RYAN! WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON!" Jason cried out, his tone jagged like a broken blade, but carrying a raw flare of anger, colliding with worry.
Ryan nervously observed his condition, but the ghastly claws belonging to dread were clamped around his heart, forcing a dry gulp. "HE'S AWAKENING!" Ryan bellowed in turn, heaving exaggerated breaths as the worry retreated, as if listening to his words. "It's just... Not in a way that should happen."
Jason stepped forward and seized Ryan's collar, his fingers digging into the fabric and drawing him in until Ryan could feel Jason's breath; Disorderly and faltering. "I swear to FUCKING god, Ryan-" Knuckles whitened, his hold clutching tighter, "If he dies, I will do EVERYTHING IN MY FUCKING POWER TO MAKE YOUR LIFE A LIVING HELL." He muttered, each word forced through clenched teeth.
Ryan's gaze slimmed as he smacked his hand away, "Now is not the time to be arguing amongst each other, and if you LISTENED, I said that he was awakening." Jason's eyes grew fiercer, his aura palpable as it bore upon the room, the alloy weeping as it suffered under it. He held his words, as if expecting Ryan to say more.
Ryan adjusted his shirt and hastily returned to Agnus, who was exhaling crude breaths, each one raw and filled with torment. He planted his palm against the chest of Agnus; Where the mana core should be. Seconds passed that seemed like forever to Jason, as his eyes narrowly darted around the room, his hand running down his face as the worry slowly tainted his mind.
Awakenings rarely ever went wrong; Unless it was caused by an unnatural means, or someone interfered, it would always proceed normally. The former held true for the progressing tiers; failure was only a possibility if they attempted a breakthrough far too early, their body unable to possess the strength they would gain.
"T-The fuck?" Ryan whispered, just audible enough for Jason to snap his head over.
The words weren't intentional, as the sight he saw caused an involuntary curse to spew from his mouth, which only worried Jason more. "He's awakening... But there's no core forming. The mana... It's fusing with his blood...?" His tone peaked as the revelation shook to his depths, and Jason stood there dumbfounded.
To awaken, one must be not only in physical shape, but also to withstand not only the pain but also the physical strain. Then slowly, once enough mana coalesced within their body, an automatic process would start as if by instinct, and it would all flow into one point in their chest, creating the mana core.
Mana and blood were two different energies within the body, as blood stayed in its same state before awakening.
Ryan knew this, and that's how the process occurred for all of humanity. Yet, before his eyes, a spectacle that would never be considered was arising right in front of his eyes.
The blood that streamed through Agnus's body slowly seeped into his muscles, empowering them with newfound strength, which slowly bled into his bones. His muscles tightened, stretched, warped, and reformed themselves. His ligaments snapped off and readjusted themselves before automatically reconnecting, their new shape changing how Agnus's body would work, simultaneously strengthening.
It was slow and brutal, but with each passing second, Agnus felt the birth of power he never thought he'd experience. Immense power swelled in every fiber of his body, every muscle strand evolved.
His bones didn't go through such a profound process, yet he could feel every bone in his body burn with blazing heat before it stopped. The blood inside his bones transformed without a direct touch, slowly spreading its influence throughout. Next was the marrow, which only amplified the blood further. His bones grew threefold more dense as if he were slowly turning indestructible.
Slowly, every nerve was doused in the new energy, each sense in his body being torn apart, rebuilt, and amplified. The world was a thousand different colors, each object in the room blended into one, creating a wild hysteria that flooded his mind like a plague.
The myriad of smells assaulted his nose, a rancid stench that would've made him... Well, what would make a normal person gag wouldn't evoke an action out of Agnus.
Is hearing became increasingly loud until the sound of his own blood coursing through his body was the only thing he could hear, muffling out the sounds of his own screams.
Both Jason and Ryan watched intently, every sense in their body enveloped with a layer of mana, heightening their senses to detect any faint trace of possible danger. Despite his appearance, there was truly nothing grave about this process.
No bleeding, coughs of blood.
He was undergoing something greater, without the need of a mana core.
Typically, the mana core acted as a medium; It allowed a person to control mana to cast spells, among other things, whether it be the mana present in their body or in the air. Until they awakened, aside from drawing the mana into their body, they couldn't do anything else. They couldn't move the mana within their body or utilize it. It remained dormant.
But for Agnus, he could sense it all. He knew that if he wasn't in severe pain, he'd be able to grasp the fundamentals extremely easily.
Unfortunately for him, it was going to be quite a long few minutes before he could try.
The blood-infused mana reached his organs, first impacting his kidneys. Then, it slowly seeped into every other organ before reaching his heart.