Chapter 2: chapter 2
'To understand how a core allows the beast to use magic without any prior knowledge, we must first understand what magic is. Magic is the use of the soul's energies to manipulate the constituent energies of the universe.
The blanket term for this energy of the universe is manna.
Only five per cent of all existing matter is real in the traditional sense. Everything else is undetectable and unmeasurable by all technological apparatus, and it remained that way until humanity discovered the soul.
A phenomenon that was also undetectable and unmeasurable but was proven to exist when the first individual used magic.
Anatomically, the soul is located in the brain and much like the brain that is distributed throughout the body in the form of a nervous system, so is the soul.
Magic is produced when soul energy is shaped into specific forms, these forms are called runes. The soul naturally produces runes, to store information and experience.
Runes are formed at the point of experience. Therefore, if you threw a punch, runes would first form in your arm before being stored in your brain, just like electric impulses in the nervous system.
A core absorbs manna and uses it to reinforce the rune at the point of creation. Allowing a simple punch to, over time, become magically enhanced.
Humans have made magic that could be said to be superior to this in many ways. But that does not take away from the beauty of this product of evolution.'
Excerpt from "Demon beast anatomy and how the core facilitates magic." By Unella Thorn.
Now that he knew that magic without a soul space was possible, and had sufficient motivation to go through with it, Syonas became obsessed with beast cores. He studied every book about demon beasts he could get his hands on.
From what he had been able to glean, although the ability to form runes in your body was a powerful gift, a mage could easily do the same without the gruelling repetition. What truly intrigued the mage community was the ability of demon beasts to evolve.
A gift, attributed to the demon core. Of course, mages tried to study and replicate this in humans, but every attempt failed for the same reason: transplant rejection.
No matter what kind of conditioning or alteration that was made to the beast core, it always ended with the beast core attacking the new body.
If he wanted to do this he had to find a solution.
Syonas' train of thought was interrupted by the feeling of warm breath on the side of his face and a low mellow voice in his ear.
"Demon beasts? Most kids your age are to obsessed with magic to be interested in such things." a decidedly male voice said right into his ear.
Syonas flinched away from the voice and almost fell off his seat. H looked to his left and was greeted with the handsome silhouette of the principal.
He was middling in age with brown steaked blonde hair in a ponytail, fluorescent green eyes, and a chiselled jaw. He was dressed very casually, a green sweater with some yellow designs, black dress pants and black dress shoes. He stood at an intimidating 6'4, yet somehow gave off a very comforting and fatherly aura.
"I'm not most kids my age." Syonas said after taking a moment to compose himself.
"indeed." The dean said as he sat across from him.
"How may I help you sir." Syonas said while closing his smart watch.
The principal folded his hands, leaned back in his chair and began to inspect Syonas carfully. A pregnant pause filled the air between them.
If anyone else was here they would be shocked by how casual the principal seemed to have been with Syonas. It has to be taken into account that this was no ordinary principal, this was the principal of hero academy an institution that had produced many mages and was known to have innumerable connections to the higher ups of society. This was not just some school principal; this was a man with power.
Yet here he was personally coming to see Syonas.
A few minutes slowly passed by; the principal did not speak until Syonas most liking waiting for Syonas to visibly squirm in his seat. That wasn't happening
"You were late." The principal said in a seemingly light hearted tone.
"I was busy, I apologise." Syonas replied with a bowed head.
"you are an exceptional student, which affords you certain privileges but do not abuse them" the principal continued his voice taking on a slightly warning tone.
"I was busy, I apologise." Stones gave the same reply, and another pause ensued.
It carried on for a while before the principal finally spoke up.
"haaaaa..... Children, your age should smile more often. Anyways the magical aptitude test is on Friday next week, make sure to show up" the principal said in an exasperated tone of voice as he rose from his seat and gave Syonas head a fatherly tap before walking out of the library, leaving Syonas sitting there in stunned silence.
'I don't smile often?' Stones thought to himself while reaching up and touching his pallid face.
***********************
Later that day.
Syonas disembarked from the bus and began his short trek home, while slowly contemplating the potential repercussions of swallowing the core in his pocket.
Worst case scenario is not death, that is closer to the middle. No, the worst thing that could happen is the project succeeding, and the core being successfully implanted. Still, the following physical alterations that he would undergo might veer off course, ending with him becoming a mindless mutant beast.
Whether he would be violent or not would be based on the effects such changes will have on his psyche. Still, if he succeeded, he would most likely not be human anymore.
'human, huh?' Syonas thought to himself as his gate slowed and he can to a stop.
Syonas raised his head to the sky and gazed at the dark expanse. There was something about the city's night sky that calmed him, gave him clarity.
'human? do I care anymore?' soon as thought to himself as the image of his parents flashed through his mind.
With reinforced determination Syonas steps became more determined. He would go home consume the core and begin his-
Urglrrrrrrrrgh!
His steps stopped and his hand came up to rest on his aching belly, he had somehow forgotten the fact he hadn't eaten in the last twenty-four hours.
'It seems I will have to make a stop at a supermarket before getting home.' Soon as thought diverting off his path to a nearby store.
You might ask what kind of store is open in the slums at night. The answer is a place owned by people you don't want to mess with. There are many stores and restaurants open in the slums if you're okay with horrible service and halfway decent food, and Syonas was not picky or that polite to begin with.
The doorbell rang as Syonas stepped into the supermarket. The vacant isles gave the normally busy business setting a desolate air that was enhanced by the sterile looking fluorescent lights that gave of a constant buzzing sound. Thomas hated coming to these places at this time. Given, he did enjoy the sterility of a computer screen but for some reason late night supermarkets just bugged him.
He walked up to the counter and asked the man at the counter if they had ramen noodles. He has dark brown hair, pale skin covered in acne and green eyes.
"isle four." he said through crooked yellow teeth before putting a cigarette in his mouth and lighting it before blowing out a cloud of smoke.
But by then Syonas was already on his way to isle four, hoping to be in and out of here as soon as possible. On his way to isle fourhe heard the sobs of a woman, he decided to ignore them at first but the more he listened the more familiar the sons sounded.
Failing to suppress his curiosity Syonas made a slight detour into another isle, when he stepped in to the isle he saw a familiar set of trembling shoulders.
"Anna is that you."
Anna froze for a few moments after hearing his voice then she hastily spun around while concealing something behind her back.
"oh! Hi, Syonas I was just passing through, I'll see you around." She said not even bothering to try and cover up her tears before hastily trying to walk past him.
"he couldn't have" Syonas said in a voice of repressed rage.
Anna froze where she stood and slowly turned around to see Syonas staring at the isle she was just standing in front of.
They where lined with pregnancy tests.
"Mr. Aziz...... He didn't...... He couldn't....." Stones stuttered while staring at the shelf
He turned to face Anna whose eyes had gone red again and was only barely suppressing the sobs from escaping her throat. Without even thinking Syonas crossed the distance and enveloped her in a hug. They stayed like that for a while.
After she calmed down, they left the supermarket and found a secluded ally. nobody would use a public toilet in the slums of they even marginally cared for their physical health.
A few minutes later both syonas and Anna where sitting on the curb pregnancy test in hand. Syonas was browsing his smartwatch to pass the time when an upside down pregnancy test was shoved in his face.
"I can't do it." Anna said with her face turned away from him.
In this moment Syonas couldn't help to give her a once over. She had blonde her in two braids down the sides of her head, and they would look beautiful but years of malnourishment and maltreatment had left them shrivelled and dry. Her face had the natural cuteness of a twelve year old girl but it was marred by her extreme emaciation and her blue eyes seemed dulled and red from all the crying that she most definitely did on a daily basis.
She was wearing a ratty old coat that went from her neck to her calves, exposing her thin and bruised ankles that rested above an old pair of cheap snickers. She was the picture of an abused child.
As he watched her, his heart broke. He couldn't help but think of the fact that there where tens maybe even hundreds of other children in her position.
Syonas blinked and returned to reality, before thing the test out of her hands.
"what does it say." Anna said, still not looking at him.
"your pregnant." Stones said never being one to beat around the bush.
Surprisingly she didn't start crying again, instead she started ahead with a blank look of despair.
"What now?" Anna said to no one in particular.
"Now yo-" Syonas was interrupted by the screech of car tires as a pull up truck came to a stop in front of the curb they where seated on. He recognized that truck.
It belonged to Mr. Aziz.
"Do you know how hard it was to find you bitch." Mr. Aziz said as he disembarked from the truck with two other thugs in tow.
Mr. Aziz had the same hair and eye colour as Anna, and a face with similar features except for a scar running across the lower left side of his jaw.
"You shouldn't have left, I told you what I would do if you-" Mr. Aziz was interrupted by the definitive form of Syonas standing between him and Anna.
"oooohh! What do we have here boys?" Mr? Aziz said as a vicious smile spread across his face.
"I think we have a genuine, modern day hero boss" one of the tattooed muscle bound gorillas behind Mr. Aziz said before they all burst into raucous, mocking laughter.
But this did not phase Syonas, he knew he could not beat them bit he couldn't simply watch as Mr. Aziz took her back to that house to be tortured.
He still had the pistol on his back pack but he would most likely only be able to shoot one before the other two came after him, but he would just have to cross that bridge when hi got there.
He slowly reached into his back pack but was met with emptiness, when the sound of laughter coming from the thugs ceased and the cocking of a gun rang out from behind him.
"Anna? What are you doing?" Stones said while slowly turning around and meeting Anna's eyes.
"I'm sorry Syonas he will hurt me if I don't" Anna replied in a trembling voice.
"Anna just put do-
BANG!!
Blood and brain matter splattered onto Syonas face as Anna's cold body fell to the ground.
"wow in the end she did have some guts, well she was my daughter" Mr. Aziz said in a painfully casual voice before turning around and heading back to his car.
"Ahhahhaaaaaahh!!" Syonas prepubescent voice cracked with the force of his scream as he dashed toward Mr. Aziz in a fit of blind rage.
A single back handed slap from Mr. Aziz was all that was required to put him on his back and knock him unconscious.
"your lucky I'm in a good mood tonight kid. I won't kill you but I want you out of that house by the time I get back. It's property of the ice locker now" Mr. Aziz said and that was the last thing stones heard as his vision was obscured by the bottom of one of the thugs boots and he was knocked out for good.
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