15 Origin Of Mana

Austin assumed he would be welcomed into a new world.

There was nothing.

He walked into the void and stayed in the void. Total emptiness surrounded him in all-encompassing darkness. If it wasn't for the fact he could still see his body, Austin might've thought he had dissipated into nihility. Being in this world of utter darkness, Austin was attacked with a sense of delusion. 'Am I... still alive? What am I...' He brought his arm up to touch his face, but could not feel the stimulation of his senses. He watched his body move in accordance to his thoughts but was not able to make out if he was the one in control.

It was a peculiar feeling to say the least, like his body was a puppet moving to the strings of his imagination. There was no resistance, no warmth, no coldness, no feeling. The only thing keeping Austin from losing his sanity was his ability to think and feel. He felt confused, intrigued, but also a feeling that was all too unfamiliar - fear. No matter what the situation was, he had always been the one in control. There was never a time when Austin experienced the true despair of powerlessness. Right now, however, it was enshrouding him in full force.

There was nothing Austin could do, he was but a leaf against a raging storm. Except it was even worse because there was no storm, no sounds, and no movements. If this was a form of torture, then it would be one of the most excruciating ways possible. One could at least distract themselves if they saw a sword plunged into their heart and felt blood pouring out of their body. But here, there was no pain, nothing that could be used to keep one's mind intact against the enemy that is insanity.

Austin's tempered mental fortitude and unbreakable will allowed him to endure this world of nothing that would have long driven anyone else mad. But even he could feel himself breaking in some ways, slowly but surely detaching from the things that made him alive. Austin was on the edge of a cliff and his hands were holding on to dear life. Although his hands were strong, they could not hold on forever.

Austin had no sense of time. He was drifting in and out of consciousness and could not tell if he was awake or asleep. Minutes? Hours? Days? Who knows how long it has been. Obviously this trial, if it could still be called that, was not for the weakhearted. They would not even last for a single second under the tantalizing doom Austin was experiencing.

He did not regret entering the gate, but he was unwilling. 'What kind of a trial is this... Where are the monsters I have to fight? No puzzles and riddles to pass? No boss to defeat? I thought we were dealing with magic here... I don't even get a chance to use any of my spells? Damn... If this continues...'

Austin's thinking was not wrong, he had simply underestimated how the stars had reacted to his potential. First, they saw his talent. At seven years old, he had learned five spells to perfection. His affinity to the elements was an abnormality. To be blessed with all six Magical Attributes was being blessed by magic itself. Even so, If it was just for his talent, the stars would not have 'chosen' him.

Talent was never what determined the strongest. Passion, determination, courage, patience, confidence, wisdom, strength. Each quality is as important as the other. And the stars saw it all in Austin, in the untethered way he lived his life, in his pursuit of peace, in his desire to change the world and in his ability to do so.

A world that was riddled with war and slaughter, to a world filled with many 'Great Eras' of peace and prosperity. The past and future - all were revealed to the stars with the actions of one man starting it all.

And thus, Austin brought forth a reaction from the stars never seen before. A reaction that would change the universe forever...

Suddenly, light!

A trace of light appeared in this empty dark world. Austin's eyes narrowed and his pupils dilated. He lifted his chin with pursed lips. The tiny sparkle of light was expanding, becoming a ball infused with unknown colors that were growing bigger and bigger. The brightness of it was many times greater than that of the suns. For some reason though, Austin had no trouble looking directly into it. Rather, the light was drawing him in and his eyes could not turn away.

It kept growing, turning larger and brighter as each second passed. It was so dazzling white but could not be defined within the boundaries of color. It wanted to rid this world of the total darkness and breathe existence into it. 'The nucleus of the universe...' Austin subconsciously uttered.

Suddenly, it stopped expanding.

Then, it exploded.

There was no sound. Everything it contained rushed out, instantly filling the dark and empty world with a dark blue essence. As it washed over Austin, he twitched in dismay and was struck with flashing eyes. He could not mistake this feeling. It was the same as the one that resided within his body.

Mana.

It was the origin of mana!

In this empty world, mana was visible unlike in Fantasia. The mana was coming together, bending and twisting in several different places. Unbelievably, physical matter started forming out of these places. It continued to grow as more of the dark blue essence charged into it, evolving into what would become planets. Witness to the birth of the first stars, Austin was in the center of it all.

It was the creation of the universe.

"This is insane..." Austin was in awe at the sight unfolding in front of him. In this once empty space, worlds were being meticulously fabricated left and right. Mana essence combined together, gifting them the elements of nature. Fire, Water, Wind, Earth, Light, and Dark. They were all created at this moment.

In normal circumstances, a human's, no, any living creature's eyes should never be capable of perceiving any of this.

But inexplicably, everything was seen no matter how far the distance or what blocked his sight. Light erupting in darkness, water dividing from land, heat balancing the cold. Austin's violet eyes captured it all and not a single detail was missed. Not only so, but he was also somehow interpreting all that was happening, as if the events were being recalled from an eternal memory rather than sight.

Austin's eyes shined brighter and brighter, the myriad of colorful lights emitted illuminating a good part of the dark universe. Meanwhile, he stood at the core of a magical whirlpool. The dark blue essence was revolving around him and smoothly flowing into his body without restriction. The mana that constituted the world's elements was becoming apart of him.

Austin was not aware of this as images continued playing in his head. His understanding of magic reached a new dimension. This was not a dimension within the bounds of a Mage, but one that contained everything that was magic. Between this boy and the everflowing essence in the universe, a unique bond was established.

The countless possibilities of mana.

The limitless power of magic.

The origin of the universe and the genesis of life.

At this moment, all was understood by Austin.

...

"Ughhh." Waking up with unfocused eyes, Austin found himself back in the star constellation. Touching the back of his neck, he tried to remember how and when he fell unconscious. Alas, no answer came to him after a lengthy moment in search. Find authorized novels in Webnovel，faster updates, better experience，Please click www.novelhall.com for visiting.

"What the hell... was that really the creation of the universe... Hai, this whole thing with magic is just getting more and more surprising. Well, not that I'm complaining, life is only fun this way."

Getting up, he immediately noticed that there were no longer any stars in the star constellation, and all the light was now coming from the dark marbled ground beneath him. Behind him, the entrance to the gate was now completely blocked off by gigantic branches. Not even a fly would be able to sneak through. But the most surprising change was the shining stone tablet placed on the ground meters away from him.

"Star tablet!"

Picking up on this, Austin's flashing eyes danced with excitement. 'With that kind of insane trial, I must have received something good.' He stepped forward and bent down to pick up the star tablet, holding it in his hand. It felt cold, hard and light as a feather, seeming to be unrestricted by the laws of gravity. He read the ancient text inscribed on it.

'Bronze Class Advancement.'

??? Grade: Chosen by the stars.

Your body contains the origin star energy.

The laws of the universe do not apply to you.

Godly Grade: Eyes of Magic.

See through all magic.

You can identify every spell with all its power revealed.

"Wow..."

"Godly? That's the highest Grade in the star constellation. I was expecting a good reward, but who would have thought I would get the best one possible... It certainly was weird, but was my trial really that hard?"

"See through all magic? Isn't that too overpowered... I will know every spell a Mage possesses? If I know what it does as well then who'd be able to match me... won't I be too strong...?"

"Chosen by the stars? The laws of the universe? What is that... there is no grade for it either... I wonder what it does..."

Reading over his star tablet, Austin was dumbfounded. On top of being able to use all magic, he could now see through all magic? Once he learned more spells, he'd be an unstoppable demon king. There was that unknown skill as well... As far as he knew, there wasn't such a thing as a skill not having a Grade. And what are the 'the laws of the universe not applying' supposed to mean? Did he become God? Austin chuckled in amusement.

Luckily, one's skills from their star tablets could not be found out. Otherwise, the whole world would be out for his head.

Placing his hand over the texts. He chanted the name of the skills and they disappeared from the tablet. Austin's eyes shined briefly in an indiscernible shimmer but his body did not feel any different.

The star tablet vanished from his hands after its rewards were claimed. Austin stood up straight. He looked around the star constellation and placed his gaze on the gate. "You've treated me well friend. See you next time." He bid farewell with a smile.

Extending his arms upwards into a stretch, "time to head back." The thought entered his mind and he vanished.