Mama, placed a shimmering bowl of blue liquid in front of me that smelled like a mixture of rain, dirt, and ozone.

“Before I drink this mama, could you tell me what it really is?” I asked expecting her to refuse me an explanation.

She grabbed the bridge of her nose in thought.

“Sorry honey, I'm sure you realized those pills were not really vitamins...” She said with a tinge of guilt.

“Sorry honey, I'm sure you realized those pills weren't really vitamins...” She said with a hint of guilt in her voice. “I wanted to keep the world of magic hidden from you so that you could have a normal life with your Earthian friends, but I must have been too obvious about it. Those pills were actually pure mana pills. You needed to take them to supplement your mana core because, as I mentioned earlier, your body is a magical construct, which means you need more than just food to be healthy and grow. This liquid is called condensed essence. It's similar to the pills but much more potent. Oh, and it also contains some divine essence from our patron goddess Kumiho-sama as a parting gift.” She said, gesturing to the idol of the kami behind her.

“Wait, she’s real?” I looked at the idol sitting behind mama and began bowing my head instinctively.

“Hahaha!” Mama burst out laughing. “Of course, she's real. I’ve been head priestess here for fifteen years, don't tell me you thought I was a fraud."

I shrunk down in an awkward show of guilt.

She laughed.

"It's fine, dear. I did teach you to be skeptical, but make sure to send a prayer to Kumiho-sama.”

Mama’s let out a bittersweet smile.

“She adopted us when we came to this world. She genuinely believes herself something of a godmother to you."

I raised my head and gazed upon the idol.

“How should I greet her when I meet her?” I asked, looking forward to seeing what a nine-tailed fox kami looked like.

“Oh. . .”

Mama's voice trailed off as she considered my question.

"When you meet Kumiho-sama, you should greet her with respect and gratitude. She has been a protector and guide for us since we arrived in this world, and she deserves our thanks. You can bow your head or offer a small gift as a sign of your appreciation. But most importantly, make sure to listen to her and heed her advice. She has wisdom and knowledge that surpasses our understanding."

I nodded, taking in Mama's words. I couldn't wait to meet Kumiho-sama and learn more about the world of magic that I had only just discovered.

“When can I see her?” I asked eagerly.

“She probably won’t be able to materialize for a while. Maybe in a hundred years or so.” She said.

“Mama! I will be dead in a hundred years!” I shouted.

Was she messing with me again?

“Oh, honey…” Mama said with a slight amount of feigned condescension. “Your body is made of magic; you don’t need to worry about anything like aging or disease, and when you reunite with Eve, well. . .”

She paused, and a wicked grin took her face.

“You'll be as immortal as Kumiho-sama and Everlyse are. One hundred years will pass like the changing of a season.”

Indeed, I had never been sick before. Maybe this magic thing. . .

"Wait. WHAAAAAAT? Did you say I'll be immortal?"

That’s when it clicked in my head.

“Is that why you look so young, mama? Are you made of magic or immortal like Everlyse too?”

“Nope.” She said curtly with a smile on her face.

I raised my brow at her expecting more of a response, but her expression didn’t change. She then pointed at the liquid and gestured for me to take a drink.

"Let's finish this first." She said.

I hesitated before picking up the shimmering bowl of blue liquid. The smell was overpowering, a mixture of rain, dirt, and ozone. I took a small sip, expecting it to taste as strong as it smelled, but it was surprisingly pleasant. The liquid felt light and cool, like mist, and as it slid down my throat, it left a tingling sensation. It tasted like a wheatgrass smoothie made with rainwater. After finishing the bowl, I expected to feel a rush of energy like I did after taking Mama's mana pills, but nothing happened.

I looked at Mama, confused.

She smiled and said, "This will be different from our previous sessions. I need to make an adjustment before the magic takes effect. Trust me, it's not a dud."

Tuning was a regular part of my life. Mama would measure and check my body, give me a mana pill, or even perform what she called an "adjustment." Adjustments were rare, but when they happened, they could take anywhere from ten minutes to several hours. During the process, Mama would place her hand on my abdomen and enter a state of partial meditation. While it may have seemed strange to others, I enjoyed the time spent with Mama and would use it to catch her up on my friends and life at school. It was a special bonding experience for us.

“Lyn, stand up straight and take off your shirt” Mama said as she approached me.

“First, I’m going to activate your mana engine so that it can integrate with the rest of your body.”

“My mana what?!” I interrupted, but she pretended not to hear me.

“This is going to feel really, uh… maybe… just a bit uncomfortable, just a bit. Bear with it for a moment dear.”

Mama stood before me; her eyes closed in concentration. A bolt of lightning lit up the room, illuminating her form. Sparks of electricity shot out of the ground, surrounding her in a halo of blue light. The electricity was drawn into her left hand, glowing with intense white light. I took a step back in shock, never having seen her cast a spell before. The power she wielded was awe-inspiring, and I couldn't help but feel a sense of reverence as I watched her work.

“I promise it will be worth it in the end.” My mother said apologetically. “Make sure to stand perfectly still.”

Before I could react, Mama slammed her palm into my stomach, knocking me off balance and onto the ground. She caught me with her right arm, maintaining contact with my abdomen with her left hand. I felt a cool and sharp sensation enter my belly through her hand, becoming more intense until it felt like wire tendrils connecting between her hand and something heavy inside my belly. She turned her hand, causing the strange object to rotate in tandem. She gently set me down on the floor, releasing me from the spell.

"Your body is held together by the pressure in your core, but it remains separated from it. Instead of having a human body, it's more like your body is loosely orbiting your core in the shape of a human. This has been your body's arrangement until now, so think of it as your phase one. The loose arrangement allowed you to grow and mature, but now that you've mostly grown up, it's time to directly connect your core to the rest of your body. Normally, this would be impossible because, unlike in a human body, where the core and body are two separate things, you are your core. That's why I invented the mana engine - to make this connection possible."

I felt a surge of terror as the sharp tendrils erupted from the object in my belly, bursting out like the roots of a tree. They formed jagged paths that painfully weaved through my muscle, organs, sinew, and bone until they finally reached the boundary of my skin. I couldn't help but scream in agony as I lost control of my body.

As the tendrils burrowed through my body, I felt my limbs grow heavy and stiff, as if my blood had been replaced with molten iron. My muscles began to spasm and contract, and waves of warm energy pulsed through the torn flesh where the tendrils had formed. I struggled to catch my breath, and when I started to feel my consciousness fading, I prayed for the darkness to take me away from the pain.

But mama was here. I felt her gentle voice in my ear. "It's almost over, Lyn. Just hold on a little longer," she said, her tone reassuring and soothing.

I felt her squeeze my hand, offering me warmth and comfort, and despite the pain, I stayed conscious. As the sensation faded, I felt my body return to its normal state, and I let out a sigh of relief. I was exhausted, but at least the pain was gone.

But even as the pain began to subside, I couldn't help but feel a sense of dread and terror at what was happening to my body.

She placed my head in her lap, and reached her hand out to touch my cheek, but before I could relax–– My hair fell off my head.

“Mma… My hair!”

I reached up to feel a perfectly smooth scalp.

“It will grow back. Just be patient dear.” My mother chided.

As I sat up, my hair began to grow at an alarming rate, spewing out of my head like a firehose. It continued growing until it reached my lower back, cascading out of my scalp in a golden waterfall.

"Hahaha! The look on your face was priceless, honey. How do you feel?" Mama asked, her eyes sparkling with amusement.

I stood up, feeling light and strong, with a sense of power radiating throughout my body. Every breath felt like a surge of energy, and I could feel the magic coursing through my veins. I felt like a new person, completely transformed by the magic that Mama had unleashed within me.

“I feel… Warm? It’s… Wait, what was that!?” I said so fervently that I was almost tongue-tied.

What did she do? Was her hand glowing? The lightning! I knew it.

“I knew it! I was little, yeah, then a lightning bolt. Booom! The roof of the temple! Right!?"

“Yes, that did happen, and we can discuss that later. The next part is *cough* time-sensitive.” She said impatiently as she crossed her legs in a meditation pose. “Please sit like this and close your eyes.”

“But... Mama. You said you would explain as you–– “

“Ok, ok! Listen. That, just now, was the integration of your core and the mana engine with the rest of your body. Now we need to expel all of your impurities and top off your core. . .” I could feel the urgency in her voice. “Quickly, Lyn. Relax your body as best you can.”

I took a meditation pose and sucked in a few breaths. My body felt warm, like I had just left a hot bath. A really, really hot bath.

As I waited, I heard mama shuffle away from me till she reached the edge of the room.

“Mama, is it done yet? Why are you moving away?” I said.

“Stay still. I will tell you when you can move again.”

As I sat in meditation, the raging storm outside seemed to grow louder and more chaotic. I could feel the power of the wind and rain swirling around me, and in my mind's eye, I saw the blue glow of lightning and the vortex of wind and water churning in the sky above. I felt drawn to the storm, and as I relaxed my body further, I could sense it more clearly. Then, I felt it sense me back.

The storm was alive, it was a freight train of crushing water, dancing wind, and lightning.

It knew me.

It wanted me to be part of me.

The winds howled, the rain pelted, and the lightning flashed, but it was all mine. I was a black hole capable of devouring the storm itself, and I consumed it.

The storm was mine, and it was pleased.

And when I opened my eyes, the storm was gone, and in its place was a sense of calm and power, unlike anything I had ever experienced before.

And then I caught on fire.