Chapter 2: Right & Wrong
There's not many things I'm able to do as a little infant child. But the things I am allowed are life enhancers. One of such things being the warm baths with an opened window for the sun to shine through.
At first I was lost.
Why the hell is there a window in a bathroom… Right next to the bathtub? A question I never got the answer to until I was finally big enough to get in it.
That time came quicker than expected, because within a couple more months, I was already standing at a whopping three or so feet. With strong sturdy legs able to move me around.
Anyway, the other thing I'm allowed access to so far, is my mom's extensive amounts of books within her home library. They all tell a different story about this world's history and its geographical contents.
And it also gave me an idea of the population's grasp on magic… And it's safe to say that I'm highly disappointed. Though not completely terrible, it is still mediocre in terms of understanding.
The best professors who've studied mana, have totally seemed to dial down the information given to normal commoners… Classic government manipulation.
But, I understand why they did that. Considering that if they had hundreds of white core mages running around the power hierarchy would be in complete ruins.
That is if, my speculation on whether or not the world leaders actually know as much about mana as I do. It is strange how they group their mana core stages though.
Black, to red, to yellow, to silver, to white. And then from that point on being a mystery. Purifying one's mana core was always a priority, even in my world. But our identification system was a little more difficult.
I guess when we made it, we were trying to seem overly smart… Which ended up with us looking less intelligent than most really were.
Anyway, The world, or continent I'm on is called Dicathen. And Dicathen is split up into four regions. The Beast glades belonging to no one, a sort of neutral gray area on the map.
Within the beast glades are a bunch of scary monsters identified as mana-beast, signifying their well endowed innate mastery of mana.
Beside the beasts, that is also the region where the occupationist, Adventurers, reside for most of their career. They make a killing due to the ever increasing dungeons that house the mana beasts.
Almost like a nest with a spawner in it designed perfectly for.. Well exactly that- refilling the nest with more mana-beasts.
"Joziah? Oh- Aren't you so studious~? I guess you get that from your father." My mother walked into the room, an apron covering her casual clothing underneath. Smiling slightly, she lifts me up and into her arms.
Groaning, I push down the humility forming within me and whined-
"Moooooom~ I'm able to walk now… you don't need to keep carrying me everywhere." Too which, she smacked her lips.
"Okay? You're still my son, young man, and not to mention, you're only what? Two months old?" To which I rolled my eyes. She frowned, playfully sighing as she put me down.
"Fine… I guess you are too big to be carried… Now who am I supposed to hold onto for comfort?" Raising her voice in a princessy tone, she sighed dramatically and leaned out the nearby window after opening it.
I stared at her, deadpanned.
"Mom… Don't you ever feel embarrassed?" Glancing back at me to see if her plan was working, and when she saw it wasn't, she smacked her lips again.
Almost like a sassy teenage girl.
"Who taught you to talk like that anyway? I sure as heck didn't…" She grumbled and put dinner on the table. I smiled and climbed into my wooden chair.
"Ouu~ Smells good!" Salivating at the mouth, I rub my hands together and wait impatiently at the table. My stomach grumbling and roaring for food every few seconds.
My mother snorted, hearing the loud demands of my gut. "What? A mans gotta eat." I shrugged, and that prompted a surprised and curious look.
"Okay, Okay.. Seriously… Who taught you to talk like that?" She questioned, plating the table and setting out silverware in the meantime. I froze and I struggled for an answer.
I'd be lying if I said I never thought about telling her I was really a reincarnation of some three hundred year old war veteran revered for his physical and magical prowess.
But something in me said that it was a bad idea, so I avoided it.
"I got my hands on a couple other books… Our neighbors are really nice people you know." I say in response, to which she laughed sarcastically.
"Yeah right… You expect me to believe a four month old kid walked over two miles, alone, through the forest? Try again." I sighed. But I kept quiet.
The house followed my silence after my lack of verbal response. But the sounds of clinking metal silverware on glass plated plates filled that hole.
After a while, my mother sighed.
"..Fine, you don't have to tell me… But I'm your mother. I always will be, and no matter what, I'll always be on your side." Her eyes never met mine while she spoke.
I listened, and I was comforted knowing I had a permanent ally… It was a great feeling.
"...Yeah, thanks. I'll tell you… But, I'm just not ready yet." I responded. To which she nodded with a smile.
"I understand, I'll be waiting."
…
I went to sleep that night thinking about her words. Wondering if I was really making the right choice keeping her out of the loop on who her son really was. No matter how many times I've told myself, and came to the logical conclusion, that it was for the best…
I still struggled to not feel somewhat guilty.
And I have a feeling that guilt will only get harder and harder to bear.
As the shine from the midnight moon glazed over my eyes and lit up my bedroom, I felt myself finally start to drift off to sleep.. Until a loud thundering strike roared me and my mother back to life.
The wind outside whistled like mad, threatening to rip the roof straight from above our heads.
The ground rumbled and shook violently, knocking picture frames and other items off of shelves. Furniture included.
My mother quickly got off her bed and immediately started circulating mana throughout her entire body. Strengthening it seven fold.
My eyes widened seeing that, I never knew my mother was a mage… And definitely not a white core mage at that. However, I had no time to marvel over my mothers prowess.
Something was coming, and it was strong.
The purple motes roared to life around us in the atmosphere, leaving the elements they guarded so closely with haste. I frowned.
'Does this mean it's an element?' A singular thought that left me baffled crossed my mind. But I had no time to explore it as my mother wrapped me in a bubble of air and threw me out of the window.
"Run!" She screamed, leaving me incredibly confused. But still, before I hit the ground, I circulated the mana and the purple energy within me all throughout my body, strengthening it ten fold.
As I crashed to the ground, It felt as if I landed on a blanket. Rolling to a stop, my gaze instantly shifted back to the house… More specifically, what was floating above it.
Anger, worry and fear swirled up within my chest in an instant.
My mother was seen bleeding, held up in the sky by a singular entity with one arm on her throat and the other on a blade driven straight through her gut. Other wounds riddled her body, leaving me insanely lost.
'There was no signs of battle! What the hell is going on!?' I cursed mentally, trying to get a grasp on what was happening. Clearly my mother is dying right in front of me, but why!? By who!?
The entity's eyes landed on me with a swift turn of the head, enveloping me in an unworldly pressure. My knees buckled instantly and my head shot straight to the ground.
"This must be the spawn.. Filthy thing…" A deep grumble escaped the entities mouth, following behind it, my mother-
"You wretched dragon! Leave my son out of this!" She roared, the mana in the atmosphere following with her intent. The air itself began to vibrate and I was lost in the sight of the elements in the air dancing around like a plucked string.
But my attention immediately fell back on my mothers situation.
"M-Mom! Hang on!" I cried, gritting my teeth and pushing the energy within me to every pore, bone, muscle fiber and joint to get off the ground. A warm liquid began to pour down my cheeks, but I ignored it.
My eyes stayed stuck on the man holding my mother.
With a single thought, I commanded the fire element in the atmosphere to converge and form into a giant fire arrow, and within a second it formed, though different.
A blazing amethyst purple flame roared to life right next to me and shot off into the air within an instant. A single blink and it already hit its target.
My mother grunted as she began to fall out the sky, and with another mental command, the wind elements formed a blanket under her that swiftly guided her to my side.
The pressure that once assaulted me lifted after the attack, giving me the chance to gulp down oxygen I didn't know I needed. Glancing over at my mother, I formed a deep metal wall out of the ground, but just like the flame spell, this one too had a deep amethyst hue to it.
"You okay?!" I asked my mother, keeping an eye on the smoke where the entity was floating. Jutara coughed, but grunted in acknowledgement.
"I-I'm fine… Just get out of here! I told you to run!" She gripped my ankle, yelling at me. I stayed silent.
"I'm not going anywhere! This bastard intruded upon my home, I have a right to fight!" I responded back, freeing my foot from her grip. Groaning in pain she began to cry.
"Wow… Aether infused attacks at this age already? Maybe three years of age and already this advanced. Remarkable, truly remarkable!" A deep, gruff voice coming from the settling smoke put me on guard.
I began to conjure spell after spell, wanting to bombard the enemy with attacks before he could get his own off, but it was all for nothing when a palm the size of my face covered my vision and slammed me into the earth below.
My head rang as my vision went blurry. A blood filled cough escaped my mouth, causing my nape to ache.
"Ugh!" My mothers voice called back to me, with great struggle, I opened my eye and witnessed the man stomp on her sternum. Cracking it in the process.
My eyes went wide as panic filled my veins.
"M-Mom? Mom!" I cried, conjuring ten spells consisting of metal spikes coming from the earth below, purple flamed arrows and amethyst lightning balls.
Utilizing wind, I conjured a great blast, sending the entity flying off my mother to be chased down by the latter spells.
Taking my mother in my arms, I shook her.
"Mom? Mom! Come on, please.. Mom!" Not a single response. The world began to quiet down as the storm clouds of roaring thunder and pesky showering rain took the stage.
The heavy winds died down, leaving me with my thoughts. But a laugh kept me from delving too deep into them.
"Kaizell deserved better. A lesser like her could never bear his children or carry his name. Especially when all she's going to do is dirty his lineage with that filthy elven bloodline." The man spoke. Completely unharmed by my strongest spells.
I heard as his footsteps approached from behind me, stopping just before me.
"All that stands in my way is you." And with those words, time around me stopped as his hands gripped the back of my neck. I groaned in pain as he strengthened his hold, my neck creaking under his pressure.
'This is dumb. Don't let him kill you.' A line of thought told me.
'Your mother is dead because you were too weak to defend her.' Another gave its input.
'You're stronger than this. You're THE Joziah King. The strongest mage to ever exist.' Adding line after line of thought, I chose to fight.
Running mana throughout my entire body, I threw an elbow to his ribcage, as well as conjured a metal spike. Each of which had no effect.
His grip tightened.
I grunted.
My bones began to crack.
'Come on! Come on! Joziah, this is embarrassing!' I conjured spell after spell, I threw a hit after hit, but nothing worked. The man cackled-
"Is that all you got? No wonder you're dying here." I squinted as i was ready for a last resort. Releasing all of the energy within my core in the form of a huge explosion. It'll render me a cripple, but it should give me enough time to get away.
"I love it when they struggle.. Even though it's for nothing!"
CRACK!
My world darkened instantly.
My consciousness faded soon after.
…
I died.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone