The Royal City of Astraea
"Woww!"
The exclamation of pure amusement escaped Stellian's lips before he could even think to suppress it. As the carriage crested the final hill leading into the city, the view that greeted him was nothing short of vibrant.
The Royal City was a sprawling masterpiece of white stone and high, pointed spires that pierced the sky. Banners of gold and crimson—the colors of the Kingdom—fluttered from every balcony. For a boy who had spent the last several years staring at the same four stone walls and a single oak tree at the orphanage, the scale of the world was overwhelming.
Aurelia watched his reaction with a satisfied glint in her eyes. She leaned back against the plush velvet seat of the carriage, watching the way the sunlight caught the white-blonde strands of his hair.
"When was the last time you actually came here?"
Stellian pulled his gaze away from the window, his expression returning to its usual thoughtful state.
"Mmm?? I don't quite remember exactly," he replied. "But if I have to take a guess... I think I was four or five."
"So you really have had a boring childhood," Aurelia teased, though there was a soft undercurrent of sympathy in her voice.
Stellian nodded slowly, though he felt no real sense of regret or sadness. He was, by nature, a quiet introvert—socially shy and perfectly content within the sanctuary of his own mind.
"But still, reading books was not that bad," he muttered.
As they stepped out of the carriage, the scene was resplendent—a sea of people, colors, and sounds that made his head spin. The reason Aurelia had brought him here was no ordinary market day. It was the Yearly Magic Festival, one of the grandest events in the entire Kingdom. It was a celebration of the arcane, where mages from all over the land gathered to show off their talents.
"Look at that guy!" Stellian exclaimed, pointing toward a large wooden stage.
On the stage stood a performer dressed in deep violet robes. To his left, a swirling black hole about two meters wide hovered in mid-air; to his right, another identical rift sat flat against the floor. The man's body appeared to be severed: his lower body was standing upright on the left side, emerging from the floating hole like a reverse exclamation mark. Meanwhile, his upper body was emerging from the hole on the right to bow to the audience.
"It's dimensional magic," Aurelia explained, noticing Stellian's intense focus.
"Dimensional?" Stellian whispered.
She nodded as they stood at the edge of the crowd.
"First, he distorted the space directly below himself to connect it to the space on his left."
Stellian stared, his genius mind already trying to calculate the logic behind the distortion, though the mechanics remained frustratingly confusing.
"How is that possible, though?"
Aurelia raised a finger, adopting a slightly more instructional tone.
"It's not that impressive for a mage of that specific path, and it isn't rare. There are massive Aether Gates across the empire that use this same method on a much greater scale to transport people and caravans everywhere."
"Oh, the Aether Gates?" Stellian asked. "I've read about those."
'The books described them as tears in the fabric of the world, but seeing even a small version of it makes the theory feel so small.'
"This is nothing," she said, gently nudging him forward. "The festival is built on foundations of magic far more amazing than this."
"Sis! Look over there!"
Stellian's eyes widened as he pointed toward a large circular plaza. In the center, a water mage stood with his arms outstretched, his eyes closed in deep concentration. From the surrounding fountains, massive streams of water rose into the air, twisting and braiding together until they took the shape of a colossal, shimmering dragon. It was a masterpiece of liquid engineering, every scale and tooth carved out of the flowing current.
"That's a water sculpture," Aurelia explained, impressed by the boy's enthusiasm. "It requires immense mana control to keep the water from collapsing under its own weight."
"And that too!"
Stellian pivoted, pointing toward the clear sky. A roar like a thousand lions echoed through the city as a 100-meter-high pillar of flame erupted from a nearby tower. The heat was so intense it could be felt even from their distance, the orange and red hues painting the clouds above.
"Wow! It's amazing," Stellian whispered, his face lit up by the distant fire.
Aurelia laughed softly, enjoying the rare sight of him acting like a child. "This festival is built on foundations of magic far more amazing than just street performances, Stellian. Every corner of this city is alive today."
They spent the next two hours wandering further. Everywhere he looked, magic was being used as if it were as common as breathing. He saw mages of Water, Fire, Wind, and Earth everywhere, though Light and Dark magicians were much rarer, making up less than three percent of the crowd. Stellian's curiosity was peaked to its absolute limit.
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"Hey! Wait here. I'll bring something to eat," Aurelia said, patting his shoulder before disappearing into the thick of the crowd.
"O-Okay," he replied.
As she vanished, his gaze fell on a massive crowd gathered on the opposite side of the plaza. The energy coming from that direction was intense, far more focused than the playful tricks of the street mages.
'Wait... did I miss that one?'
The crowd was so dense that he couldn't see the center of the attraction. Even though Aurelia had told him to stay put, the pull of the unknown was too strong for his mind to ignore.
'I'll just take a little glance.'
Stellian struggled through the sea of people, pushing past tall adults and weaving between merchants until he reached the front of the barrier. What he saw was a game of Aetherial Rift Tag.
It wasn't a normal game of tag; it required players to synchronize their bodies with the flow of mana and use specialized "Rift Techniques" to pass through tears in space to reach the finish line. It was a display of precision, speed, and spatial awareness.
BEEP!
At the sound of the signal, the runners bolted forward. Two seconds later, the Tagger rushed off, his body glowing like a flash of light. He moved with terrifying speed, passing runners in an instant. One runner tried to dodge using a similar technique, but the Tagger was faster. After five were tagged, only one remained, dashing toward the end through a shimmering rift.
In an instance, the runner traveled to the other end. The gap between the Tagger, the runner, and the finish line closed to inches. At the last possible moment, the runner crossed the line.
"The Blue Team wins!" the announcer shouted. "The scores are 4:4. The last match will decide the winner!"
'That... that was amazing,' Stellian thought, his hand on his chin as he analyzed the residual mana.
'The use of Aetherical Magic is far more impressive than I thought. It isn't just about moving fast; it's about folding the distance.'
He watched the players catch their breath near the restricted setup area.
'May I ask them for hints? Sis Aurelia will be mad... but it's just a question. Nothing will hurt.'
He looked toward the players. He saw a man with a thick black beard who looked like a mythological warrior, but his fierce expression made Stellian hesitate.
'No... he won't do it. He looks like he doesn't have the patience for questions.'
Then he saw another man sitting in a corner, applying medicine to a wound on his foot. Despite the injury, he had a kind, approachable face.
'That can work.'
Stellian approached him cautiously, keeping his voice low so as not to draw unwanted attention from the guards.
"Um... hello."
The man looked back, clearly confused to see a small child standing in the restricted setup area.
'What is a little boy doing here? He should be with his parents.'
"I was just curious about the magic you used," Stellian said, trying to sound as mature as possible. "If you could give me some information, I would be grateful."
The man smiled at the boy's spirit, though he seemed skeptical.
"But you won't understand it until you know the basics of mana."
"I know the basics. I can use my domain," Stellian stated firmly.
"You can what?"
The man looked at him in total suspicion.
"Are you lying? Most nobles struggle to unlock a domain even at ten years old. You look barely seven."
"I am telling the truth," Stellian insisted.
"Then prove it."
Stellian didn't hesitate. He raised his index finger, and a tiny, perfectly controlled flame formed on the tip. It didn't flicker; it sat there with absolute stability, showing his perfect mana control.
The man's eyes widened in genuine shock.
"Okay, I guess I can teach you the fundamentals," he said, leaning back and resting his injured foot. "First, what do you see mana as in your domain?"
"Like a hollow void filled with space?" Stellian replied, recalling the feeling of his meditation in the garden.
"Yes. To perform an Aetheric Step, you must understand that the space isn't just empty. You cannot touch the air, but if you can touch that 'emptiness,' you can push through it. You are exchanging your location with the mana."
Stellian closed his eyes. He didn't focus on the elements this time. Instead, he looked for the "nothingness" that the man had described. He visualized the mana in his twenty-meter domain as a physical weight, a medium that he could push against.
'If the space is filled with mana, then the space is a solid thing. I just need to swap places with it.'
He focused on a specific point at the very edge of his range and thought about the exchange.
In an instant, the world blurred into a streak of light. He vanished from his spot and reappeared exactly twenty meters away.
"Wow! That worked!" Stellian laughed, the sound of pure childhood joy breaking through his usual cold mask.
The man smirked and crouched down to his level, his eyes shining with newfound respect.
"You're an amazing kid. I am Alaric Kaze. Do you want to be the Tagger for the next round?"
Stellian froze. He looked back toward the fountain where he was supposed to meet Aurelia, then back at Alaric's inviting grin. The curiosity of a genius was a powerful thing, often outweighing the fear of consequences.
'Just one round,' he thought. 'I'll be back before she even finds the food stall.'