I felt lost and without direction, dazed in my thoughts. It all felt… dark… corrupted. Forced against its own will. But a moment later, a light broke through the darkness, letting mana return to the vacant landscape. I eventually felt something… something calling out to me.

“Uhhhhhhhaaaaaaa.” I startled awake with a yell, leaning forward, but something was immediately wrong, very very very wrong! I felt the coldness of the ground and the trees rustling back and forth in the wind, but it was missing.

My eyes and the darkness they brought.

I threw my arms up and felt my face. A silky texture met my hands, with a crusted cloth coming out the edges. “NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO.” I forced the air out of my nose as my mind caught up to what happened, realizing what I was missing.

Nothing… was there. It felt wrong. I felt nothing! I sensed nothing! My chest was pounding at the thought. I felt something well up from within me as I placed my head in my hands, trying to take it all in, taking a deep full breath, letting my lungs expand to their full capacity. I held it for a second and let it slowly expel in one fluid motion.

I couldn't even remember what happened, but something definitely went wrong after I met ‘the man.’ I was still alive, but at a substantial cost. But it was odd, there was no pain, not even an itch.

At a moment, I felt someone sit down next to me. I lifted my face and flinched back at the unknown. Whether it was a threat or help, I had no clue, outside of my control.

“How are you doing?” The voice sounded out, a familiar one, but I struggled to figure it out, missing any image to aid. I looked up after a moment, with a strained look. “Who are you?” Still confused.

I heard them shift away as some fabric ruffles. “Royse, from the Barren Moons. We are currently resting in the forest.” The voice was crystal clear, as I had nothing else to focus on.

“What?” I said. From the Barren Moons group? Ah… Yes. I remember. The memories from last night filled my mind. The painful rain causing everyone to stay indoors, my conversation with them, the [Evil Myconid] invasion, jumping across the rooftops, and the encounter with ‘the man.’

“Ah… I remember, where is the… the man?” I would deal with whatever came my way. As long as that man wasn’t nearby, I could at least do something instead of being a helpless animal being cornered by a bear.

I tried to recall the memories in more detail, but it’s… it’s all blurry. Nothing connected, just a mess of thoughts bouncing around.

“He ran away when we encountered him and I’m afraid… afraid that as he left, he… he… he damaged your eyes.” She said the words with extreme care, almost afraid of her own words.

“I... I guess that makes sense.” Thankful that I escaped with my life. The mana around the man was almost enough to kill me, and I barely survived when we met in the Pioneering Merchant building, so surviving a second time was a lucky draw.

But what am I supposed to do…. I’m just a helpless lamb. I already know little to nothing and somehow it got even worse than it’s already been. A puff of air left my nose. Yark my luck, but at least I’m not having another panic attack.

I’ve only been out of the underground box for 6 days and I was bedridden for half of them and I’ve already had enough fun for a decade. This is why I wanted to leave quicker. I would’ve left the night before if it didn’t rain so hard, but my luck is just that awesome.

The sarcastic thoughts uplifted my mental state a little, of which I needed desperately to not push me past the edge, the edge with no bottom.

Ok, get it together Ayla. I need a solution, not mindless thoughts that take me nowhere. The word is crazy and I can’t do anything to change it, but the craziness may save me, especially the abilities of mana.

Mana is mysterious in its ways. I’ve sensed emotions at times, but it's just a fuzzy feeling. Regardless, if the books taught me anything, then there should be a solution somewhere, considering that mana supposedly brings life to this world. I don’t know what or how, but it powers life itself, right?

It gave those without it the ability to do incredible things; myself included. It already saved me a few times, no reason it can’t do that again. And my class should give me a leg up on others, especially with the free forming nature of my abilities.

Ok, you got this, Ayla! Find a solution and if there wasn’t a way, then I’d make a way. I ain’t gonna go down like that. I want to live my life and experience the world and what it offers. The world is crazy, and that's fine by me. Make use of it and live a life worth its ten thousand year stature.

With a puff, I address Royse. “Thanks for the help.” I brushed my hand along my bandages. “And for the bandages.”

“Yes, it was the least we could do.” I heard a more uplifting tone than before as she responded, almost hearing her smile.

We?

I tilted my head. Wait, there were 2 others in the group. I felt for the mana surrounding me, and the 2 mana cores besides my own. The one closest is obviously Royse and the other should be Issac. I turned to the other mana core and spoke out. “Thanks Issac… And Garnot as well.” At least I remember their names.

Before I got further, my mouth opened, realizing a mistake. How the yark does a blind person know where someone is?! I snap my head back, facing forward. My heartbeat rose a few points, and I tried to not give anything else away. Ow man, I am just a blind person doing blind person things. Please don’t notice. The worst part was I couldn't even see if they noticed that I could tell someone’s location.

I let out a sigh. Whatever, I’m alive, still breathing and… mostly working. Just needed to find a solution.

Wait…

Didn’t I just sense someone’s location based on their mana core? But…. but is there any reason why I can’t take my mana sensing further than just someone’s core?

Although there wasn’t much information in the library, it said mana was the life force behind everything, so can’t I use it to sense that? If it’s everywhere, then I ought to sense everything else. I can already sense mana. I just need to take it a step further to sense everything in the physical world. It may be difficult, but it’s at least worth a try.

I immediately pushed my mana senses and focused on the jubilant particles. They remain in their plane beyond the physical world, drifting around. I sensed the 2 nearby cores gently absorbing mana, regenerating their pool. But it just wasn’t enough. I need to sense past this. Every movement, every fluctuation, needs to be within my grasp.

I let some time pass, just absorbing the sensation and cutting off my other senses. The particles moved around like the wind, twisting in some areas while in others, laminar. I calmed down further, letting my heart rate drop.

It’s just me and the mana. I recalled my class description.

[Manaborn]

You have waited for your time to become something more. Your body becomes one with mana, as it has understood you. Without your existence, mana loses its purpose.

I’m one with mana, but I have yet to feel that way. My senses give me a more intimate understanding, but not to the point of being one with it. If mana loses its purpose without me, then I should have that understanding. The freely floating particles, unrestricted by the physical world.

I felt light jitters of mana as they bump into each other… But it’s still not enough!

Every movement, every trajectory, every impact, every shift. The joy and suffering. Everything. Its plane of existence isn’t different, but interconnected with the physical world, giving life through its mysterious ways.

Heed my call mana. I am one with you, as you are one with me. We are one and the same.

“When do you think she will wake up? Should we just carry her back to the Town?” Issac asked. He looked up to see the last rays of sunshine skimming across the tree line. The temperature has dropped considerably from a few days ago and from the rain the night before.

“The guards probably have the town on lockdown now. We barely made our way in earlier today for some food, so it's probably too late now. That said, I’m not sure how public we want to be about this, so we better stay away until she’s awake.” Garnot said.

Royse responded. “Yes, agreed. The town’s still unknown at the moment, especially with the lord still alive somewhere. He probably ran off by now, but with the lack of information, anything is possible. Let's just stay out of sight and make our way to the next town and we should be good. Next to Bellmare is an outpost, so making our way there would work, but it’s not really our decision to make, with a Curator here. If needed, I can stay with her and you two can report to a vice leader at the outpost.”

“Ok, sounds good. The quicker we can report to a vice leader, the better this is going to be.” Issac agreed and Garnot nodded.

“Uhhhhhhhaaaaaaa.” But before this conversation continued, a yell of shock comes a few lengths away.

They immediately looked over to see a yelling individual sitting up from the ground. She threw her arms up, feeling the dried blood along the bandages on her face.

“NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO.” The panicked words follow, immediately making the situation uncomfortable for those watching.

They share a look between each other before the two locked eyes with Royse, who was already pushing herself off the ground. They had a talk earlier in the day that Royse would be the one to work with Ayla, so she made her way over with caution as the distressed individual sat with her head in her hands.

A few subtle steps later and Royse took a seat, using her hands to guide her down gently next to Ayla. She flinched at the sudden motion before lifting her head to Royse. The direct look sent a shiver down Royse’s spine, especially without her eyes.

Here goes nothing. Royse took a second, calmly delivering the question. “How are you doing?”

She tilted her head with a look of confusion. “Who are you?”

Shit, damaged memories. “Royse, from the Barren Moons group. We’re currently resting in the forest.” She hoped that the damage wasn’t too far. Their memories were unparalleled, so this wasn’t a good start.

“What?” The word comes out slow.

…

..

.

“Ah… I remember, where is the… the man?”

Royse let out a sigh, her heart calming at the response. Oh, thank mana. She only lost the last few seconds.

Royse told her the basics of what happened last night, not wanting to cause more mental damage by reminding her in… more detail. Ayla contemplated on the information, her mood changing quickly, coming to terms with her damaged eyes, a testament to a Curator's will.

“Thanks for the help.” She brushed her hand against the bandages. “And for the bandages.”

This went a lot better than I would’ve thought. If she freaked out, we could all be dead within seconds. “Yes, it was the least we could do.” Royse responded with an uplifting tone.

She tilted her head at the words, confused about something. She took a second, but turned directly towards Issac and Garnot observing from a few steps away. “Thanks Issac.”

What? Royse thought.

Issac's stunned face tells it all. Isn’t… Isn’t she blind?

She remained facing towards the two. “And Garnot as well.”

“Wha…” Garnot mumbled.

Ayle snapped her face forward after the words. The two look back at Royse, asking the silent question. Royse stared at Aylsia. She’s still blind right? How did she know… Did they move, make a noise? No, no, they didn’t… Hm.

Ayla sat quietly, basking in the air. Her breathing slowed to a crawl as Royse sensed a subtle shift in the surroundings, disturbing her senses.

What.. What was that? Looking back at the two standing nearby, their faces remain unchanged from a moment ago. Royse looked around. The… mana?

Aylas’ breathing slowed further, her body relaxing against the tree. Royse and Issac's spine shivered as something brushed from within. Issac shook a little as his breathing picked up. “What the fuck was that?” Issac said, holding his arms across his chest, trying to protect himself from whatever that was. Royse looked back at him as he shared a very similar look to that of hers.

Issac spoke out. “Ro… Royse, what was that?” His voice was shaking a little.

“I’m not sure, it felt like mana, but something was different.” She looked at Garnot.

A troubled look presents itself on his face, as he cannot understand without a mana core, shrugging his shoulders.

“Aylsia, did you feel that?” Royse called out. If anyone knows, it should be her.

Ayla remained still, unresponsive. Her chest rose up and down as a pulse rang out… originating from that very individual. Royse realized as her eyes widened. She swung her hand back, signaling the other two to get further away. What the fuck is this.

She took one careful step at a time, backing away from Ayla. Her mana senses going haywire.

The two individuals farther away took her signal seriously and backed away themselves, Issac faster than Garnot as his face twisted in discomfort, clearly feeling it as well.

They waited and watched with peeled eyes. Royse tried to look further at her senses. No matter how occasionally it actually worked, it normally signaled that something was wrong, but this time, it felt beyond her. “BE PREPARED.” She yelled out to the other two.

Another unnatural feeling came across Issac and Royse, but this time they felt it everywhere. Through every part of their body and into their soul. “Crk, crk, crk, crk, crk.” One of the nearby trees cracked along the twisted bark, almost splitting the tree in half, startling them as they looked over.

It felt like bugs were crawling in and all over the two as they shivered with their hairs standing up.

Garnot remained unfazed, since he was without a core, but with confusion at his companions. Something was clearly happening, yet he couldn’t understand. The crack in the tree continued upward, providing very real evidence of the discomfort the other two were feeling.

The unsettling feeling calmed down as time passed, much to the relief of the two. It went from insects crawling all over their bodies to a light brush stroke against their skin, but they remained silent and focused, just as their training taught them.

What the hell was that! What the hell! Are they normally supposed to do this? That’s definitely not normal. I think that confirms it. She’s not your normal curator, if you can even call them normal.

She looked over to Issac with his face clearly saying the same understanding. No one they’ve ever met could mess with mana in its natural state, as that was a right reserved for mana itself.

And as they were taught, mana only allows itself to be used if it deemed such, and it was the main limiting factor of any mana ability user. We’re allowed to use mana based on its permission, but I’m afraid this went against what I’ve learned. This is going to be one hell of a report when we get back.

The tingling felt down their spines decreased further, but it didn’t get rid of the anxiety present on their faces. A once in a lifetime experience, even if it was uncomfortable, this very feeling could help them drastically in their understanding.

Even if it was only a single hair, it was more than everything else they had combined on true understanding of mana.

Ability [Sweeping Sense] learned, well done

The words took over my thoughts once again.