Chapter 124 The Conflicting Mana

As if an outside force controlled her, Evernya robotically approached the crystal with a blank expression. When crossed the hundred meter distance between her and the crystal, her blank expression morphed into one of disgust.

A force blade shot out of her hand, only to glance off the crystal without a scratch. Rage flashed on her face as her hands shifted into claws before striking the crystal, but the razor-sharp claws slid across the crystal’s smooth surface.

With a single-minded focus, she continued to strike the crystal with ever stronger explosions of force and strikes of her claws.

At first, only tiny scratches appear on the once pristine crystal, but after an hour of relentless attacks, tiny cracks formed.

Unaware of the growing cracks, she continued to lash out in a mad frenzy without a shred of conscious thought.

Evernya leaped back, growling at the crystal as her wings formed on her back. Her natural armor spread along her skin until she looked like a draconic warrior ready to go to war.

A powerful beat of her wings sent her airborne, where she instinctively controlled her flight. She hovered above the crystal with a predatory focus. After circling the crystal several times, spotting several weak points, she dove downward, air rippling with force as her clawed hands formed a spear.

Carried by her considerable momentum, she collided with the crystal with a bang. Contrary to her expectations, she bounced off the crystal and crashed to the stone cavern floor. She shot to her feet, directing her now spinning and blurry vision at the crystal with an animalistic snarl.

Refusing to be beaten, she flapped her wings to take flight, only for a searing pain to course through her right wing. Uncaring of her unnaturally bent wing, she dashed forward as she let loose another explosion of force.

The explosion caused the crystal to rock for a moment before stabilizing with spider-webbed cracks along most of its surface.

Instinctually knowing her prey was on its last legs, she grasped for more mana, only to collapse to her knees in pain as her already emaciated body thinned further. Rage bubbled as she attempted to stand, only for her rapidly weakening body to go numb, sending her to the cavern floor face first.

Coherent thought returned as her vision dimmed, with her last sight being the crystal trembling as it struggled to contain the magic within.

A few seconds after Evernya fell unconscious, the crystal exploded. The room turned white as waves of potent mana radiated through the room.

Something was wrong, however, with the mana as instead of nourishing Evernya, her unconscious body spasmed in pain as smoke rose from her reddening skin.

The last vestiges of her mana burst forth, fighting against the seemingly endless waves of corrupted mana pouring into her body. They met on the battlefield that was Evernya’s newly reborn body wreaking havoc.

These opposing forces clashed, rebounding through Evernya’s body. As the battle raged on, no clear victor emerged despite the darker corrupted mana outnumbering the pure mana by over ten times.

At first Evernya’s body tried to eject the corrupted mana, but after each clash, both sides mixed, allowing some of the diluted mana to seep into her cells.

Each clash allowed more of the changed mana into her body until a switch flipped and her body greedily gulped down both sides of the conflict.

The pool of mana deep below rippled in worry at the change of circumstances, prompting it to fill the cavern with supercharged pure mana.

Like the corrupted mana, Evernya greedily absorbed more of the pure mana through her fangs, straining her core to its limit.

Sensing the change, the darker corrupted mana increased its presence as well from the rift where the crystal once stood. It matched the pure mana density in a moment to the detriment of the unconscious Draecath, gulping down as much of both mana as she could on instinct.

Unable to withstand the two opposing forces, the space within the cavern rippled and distort. Small explosions riddled the cavern, leaving craters in the stone.

Finally, after several minutes of conflict, the space within the cavern could take no more, ripping apart.

Evernya awakened to find herself floating in a black void of nothingness. Her eyes blinked several times as her mind fully booted for the first time since her rebirth. Memories of her imprisonment and near execution flashed through her mind before a hole deep in her soul brought a deep sadness.

Uncaring about her surroundings, she curled into a ball and wept.

A warmth cradled her, which she instinctively leaned into as her tears continued to flow in the endless void.

After spending an unknown time crying her heart out, anger took root, pushing away the sadness of the void in her soul.

“Now is not the time for anger, my little princess. You have suffered much in my absence. Now that I’m here, you are safe.”

At the words, a calm settled into her mind and with it came clarity of thought. Where am I? What happened?

Her senses prodded her surroundings, only to freeze in shock as she felt a familiar presence, though at the same time unfamiliar.

A pang of sadness radiated through the void. “I am so sorry, my little princess. I should have never let you out of my sight.”

Realization dawned on her, but with it came anger. “Why the yell weren’t you!? Do you have any idea what I went through!? How could you leave me alone if you really are my mother?”

Instead of answering in words, a sharp pain shot through Evernya’s mind as memories played.

First, a scene of her death through her mother’s eyes accompanied by deep anguish. The memory flashed forward to her mother holding both her lifeless body with her father’s wound riddled body laying next to her as she wished for death to come to her.

A memory of her mother carrying both her and her father through the newly made desert of their former home until her magic recovered and she teleported her family into a dark void.

With the magic still flowing through her father’s body, her mother created a separate dimension, complete with its own air and mana supplies. When her father’s body withered to nothing, she hugged his core to her chest before teleporting it into the vault where they had set up their daughter’s inheritance in case of their untimely death.

The memories that followed fast forwarded as her mother improved the dimension over thousands of years and enlisted help of the best magical minds on soul magic she could find to create the facility where Evernya woke up in.

A feeling a wrongness permeated through Evernya’s body as the memories paused, followed by another presence. “You don’t have the authority to reveal the great war and the aftermath to a mortal. You know the consequences of said action.”

Still reeling from the memories, Evernya floated silently as the presence she now knew as her mother counted with proud warmth in her tone. “Yes, I do just as much as I know she has earned the right to know.”

“How? She is far too young.”

The second presence turned its attention to Evernya. It drilled into her, causing her to squirm.

Rage burned in her mother. “Stay away from my daughter!”

“Or what? You will report me? Even with your standing, you have no grounds.”

“No grounds? Do you have any idea what my daughter just accomplished?”

“Sure, but it’s been millennia. Few care about that corrupted corner of the world.”

“You would be surprised.”

Beyond lost, Evernya asked, “What is going on? What did I do? And where am I?”

The presence she knows as her mother vibrated in mirth. “Why, my little princess, you are in the void after your little meal. As for what is going on, let’s just say you accomplished something we have been trying to do for over fifty thousand years.”

Evernya’s confusion only grew to her mother’s amusement. She opened her mouth to ask another question, but her mother cut her off. “Enough questions for now. I need to prepare you for what is coming.”

“Coming?”

“Shhhhh. You will know soon enough. I need to shoo away a certain pest first.”

Both presences disappeared, leaving Evernya floating in the void alone. Despite the apparent nothingness, she felt no discomfort as she stretched out. Her mind wandered to the events that led her here only for a mental block to stop her, leaving only vague memories. She prodded the obviously unnatural block but found it impenetrable.

Her attempts brought a terrifying realization to her. She delved inward, hoping she was wrong, but she wasn’t. Where her mana system should have been, there was nothing. In a panic, she scanned her body, only to find nothing within. As in, no organs at all. Yet she could breathe like she had lungs. As a test, she willed her natural armor and wings forth and found they instantly appeared. What is wrong with me? How am I alive? Am I alive?

Just before her thoughts spiraled, her mother’s presence returned. Her mother sent a soothing warmth through her daughter before speaking in a calming tone. “It ok. Nothing is wrong with you. You are just transitioning. Soon everything will make sense, but you must not look too deep quite yet.”

Evernya glared at the void as she snapped, “Just tell me already! If you are really my mother, you should know I hate not knowing.”

Her mother’s presence suddenly turned serious. “Do not question me Evernya Draor Draxia Draorxia! You will learn soon enough.”

Tears brimmed in Evernya’s eyes as she curled into a ball, hiding her face in her hair as she stroked her tail.

Warmth radiated through Evernya’s body a moment later, washing away her sadness only for anger to take root. Her furious gave shot up glaring at the void. “Quit messing with my mind! How do I even know you are my mother? You could have faked those memories!”

Deep sadness wafted off the presence before the feeling vanished as it spoke in a control tone, giving nothing away. “What I am doing is for your own good. I don’t care if you hate me as long as you are safe and strong.”

Unsure how to respond, Evernya remained silent, busying herself with the calming motion of stroking her tail despite being unsure if any of this was real.

The presence remained nearby in silent vigilance, waiting for something it refused to tell her about.

An unknown time later, as time seemed to have no meaning in the void, Evernya noticed a slight change to herself. Before she could only sense a most a dozen meters in any direction, now it was gradually increasing a few centimeters a minute.

My range limit? No, this feels different, yet at the same time similar. If only my so-called mother would clue me in!

Evernya glared out into the void but received no response from the silent presence.

Any further thoughts froze as a searing pain cut through her mind. Her gaze shot back to the void, thinking it was responsible, prompting it to speak for the first time in what seemed like years. “Don’t fight it. Let the process run its course. All will be revealed soon.”

The presence’s words fell on deaf ears as Evernya writhed in pain beyond anything she ever felt deep in her soul.