For a moment, everything was still.
Jae Hoon stood at the center of the glowing glyphs, chest rising and falling in quick breaths, eyes wide as starlight. The lines of magic that had spiraled around him now shimmered faintly, then faded into the earth like whispers returning to silence.
He placed a hand on his chest, right over his heart.
It was still beating.
But something was different.
It didn't feel like his heart alone anymore. It felt like… it was beating with something. As though a second rhythm had joined his own—a pulse deeper and older than his years could comprehend.
He looked up at his father.
"What was that?" he asked, his voice quiet, awestruck.
His father rose slowly, brushing dirt from his calloused hand. The glow in his eyes dimmed, but the warmth in them remained.
"That," he said gently, "was the first breath of your mana core."
He walked toward Jae Hoon, each step deliberate, grounding. The wind had settled, but the air still carried a hum—a lingering trace of the power that had awakened.
"Inside you now," he continued, kneeling to meet his son's eyes, "is a flame that will never go out. It's small, for now. But it's yours. It will grow with you, just like your bones, your courage… and your choices."
Jae Hoon's brows furrowed. "Will I be able to use magic? Like in the stories? Like you?"
His father chuckled, but it wasn't teasing. It was warm, proud.
"Eventually. But remember—magic isn't about throwing fire or lifting stones with your mind. Not really. It's about connection. Between you and the world. Between you and others. Between your heart, and your power."
Jae Hoon looked down at his hands. They looked the same—small fingers, a bit of dirt under his nails—but they felt different. Tingling. Alive.
His father stood and offered a hand. "Come. Let's walk before nightfall. Your mother's probably worrying already."
They descended the hill together, the sky painted in deep hues of violet and gold.
But halfway down, Jae Hoon paused. "Dad?"
"Yeah?"
"Has anyone… ever messed up their mana awakening?"
His father stopped walking. The shadows of the trees stretched long around them now, and for a moment, Jae Hoon thought he wouldn't answer.
Then he did. Slowly.
"Yes. Some people awaken things they aren't ready for. Some carry burdens too heavy, too early. And some… choose the wrong path once the power answers them."
Jae Hoon swallowed. "Will that happen to me?"
His father looked at him—really looked. There was something ancient behind his eyes now, not just the glow, but a weight. A memory.
"No," he said softly. "Because you won't be alone."
They walked in silence the rest of the way.
And far above them, high on the hilltop, where the glyphs had once glowed, a faint shimmer lingered in the air. Unseen. Waiting.
Because something else had stirred during the awakening.Something older than mana.And it had taken notice.