The First Mage On Earth

Magical Cave

Now that I'm feeling better I look around again. Things I saw were unnerving. The water I get out of was no water at all. It was blue and incredibly shiny. I could say it was magical. This shiny blue liquid comes from massive blue crystals. They were shining so much that it takes some time for my eyes to adjust themselves. Did I fall into some kind of... eh, I don't know anything to compare with this. It looks fantastic.

There is just a little, even tiny thing that worries me. My necklace, it was used to be my grandpa's. It is blue crystal covered with black strings. Blue crystal in it was like glass. You could see through it. But now it is shining. Just like the surrounding blue crystals. I am a little confused right now. Did my grandpa fall here too? I don't know and it is hurtful to imagine. But I can breathe here. Which means there is air. Then there should be a way out of here. First I have to check my phone and flashlight. But my flashlight isn't here and my phone is in the shiny liquid.

I tried to get up but the moment I stand up sudden dizziness attacked me. I fell on my knees and the back of my head painfully throbbed. When I put my hand at the back of my head I felt something slimy there. Then I looked at my hand I saw blood. What!

"Shit! Did my head crack open!?"

"Are you okay?"

"Ah, sorry. It's just, I feel disconnected from my body. I guess my body can't really keep up with what's happening."

"Hmm, it's understandable. Even if I'm barely qualified I'm still a Great Spirit. My mana has outstanding quality. It might take a while for you to get used to it."

"I guess so."

I can clearly feel something foreign inside of my body. This should be the mana. I can also feel huge discomfort in my left arm. I can't yet distinguish both. So I guess I can't still understand the difference between normal mana and Spirit Mana. I focused on the feeling of the mana and a while later I could feel it around me.

It is very faint but it is there. Is it about that blue liquid? Maybe the crystals too. There is nothing else around. Only dark brown rocks. The ceiling is again full of those shining blue crystals, although some part of it looks like collapsed. Well, I hope this liquid isn't poisonous. I don't want to die. Hmm... I feel numbness in my eyes. Weird, I never thought I could feel something like this.

"Arghhh!!!"

"Oscar! What's going on?! Are you okay?!"

My eyes! They are burning!! I can't see anything! What is happening? Suddenly my eyes hurt like hell and my vision goes dark. But I didn't blackout. After a few seconds, my head started to hurt too. What happened after that is blurry. I somehow lost my senses. And lie there weakly. I couldn't move even a finger. Before long my vision gradually come back. The first thing I saw was Kairi.

She was clearly worried about me. It warmed my heart actually. I don't have many people who are worried about me. Seeing that I was okay now she relaxed and a gentle smile appeared on her face. It was captivating.

"You worried me."

"Sorry. I don't really understand what happened either. Suddenly my eyes hurt like hell."

"Your eyes might be evolved."

"Evolved? How so?"

"Try to look around. I can feel a minuscule amount of mana in your eyes. They might have gained some kind of power."

What is this?! My vision is the same as before but I saw the world differently. Previously shining blue crystals are now at least tenfold brighter. And I could see something in the air.

It wasn't like anything I saw before. It was blue and like some kind of gas, it was in the air. Moving with air. Exist with air. But unlike air, it was visible very much so. And when it comes close to me I could feel it. It was some type of energy. Shiny, blue, and energy. Wait!

Could it be, another energy that is mostly used in fantasy novels? Well, I don't really expect its name would be the same. Still, is it really Aether? There is mana then there is Aether. It's certainly the best thing I've ever experienced. I'm going to enjoy this to my heart's content.

"Hey, this energy on the air. Is it called Aether?"

"Well, I heard some spirits refer to it World Mana and some referred to it as Aether, back in the days before I went into a cocoon. So it has two names as far as I know. Still, it is distinctly different from the mana. And as far as I know, no one can control it directly."

"I see."

Cool! Maybe I can research more into Mana and then somehow create a method to control Aether too. After all, spirits seem to not research much. Maybe I can find something useful.

I slowly get up. My head still hurts but it already healed. My necklace still shining with energy. Now that I could think clearly about these shining crystals, I guess they are mana crystals.

"It's really beautiful."

"Yes. The mana crystals are beautiful."

I turned around and saw Jason and Hope on the ground. Right. I was with Jason and Hope. I get lost in my thoughts while thinking about mana. They were unconscious. What happened to them?

"Oh, you are awake, nibi! Wait, who is the one next to you, nibi?"

"A talking rabbit?"