Chapitre 13: Chapter 13: Recovery.
Aiden's body hit the ground with a dull thud, his eyes rolled back and limbs twitching uncontrollably.
The white of his eyes glowed faintly, an eerie sight that sent a chill down Finn's spine.
"Aiden!" Finn's voice cracked as he dashed toward his fallen friend, his lightning-enhanced speed blurring his form as he slid to his knees beside Aiden, his hands hovering uncertainly over him, unsure whether to touch or hold back.
Panic flared in his chest as he noticed the unnatural spasms wracking Aiden's body. "Aiden, can you hear me?"
Jaxon was just a step behind and even he couldn't keep the tremor out of his voice. "What happened? He was fine a second ago!"
Jaxons' hands shook as he reached out, trying to sense any connection to the mana within Aiden but found only an unsettling void. "This isn't right—this isn't normal!"
Mira stood frozen, her breath caught in her throat.
The sight of Aiden, the one who always seemed so unshakable, now so vulnerable, paralyzed her.
"This…this can't be happening…" Her voice was a whisper, filled with fear and disbelief.
The world around her felt like it was closing in, the leaves in her hair trembling as her wood magic responded to her distress.
Finally, she snapped out of her shock and rushed to Aiden's side, her hands glowing with a soft, greenish light as she tried to channel her healing magic.
"Come on, Aiden… you're stronger than this," she muttered.
She didn't understand what was going on, but she could do whatever she could possibly do to keep him alive.
However, the glow in Aiden's eyes remained, the white aura flickering ominously, as if mocking their efforts.
Finn clenched his fists, frustration and fear warring within him.
"We need help, now! We have to get him to someone who can—"
"Who can do what?" Jaxon interrupted angrily. "This is beyond anything we've ever dealt with. And you know how strict Aiden is with his magic."
"Stop it you two!" Mira snapped fiercely as tears threatened to fall from her already brimming eyes. "We will save him. We have to."
The three of them knelt around Aiden, each with their own thoughts when all of a sudden, an effeminate sounding voice broke through their thoughts.
"What are you guys doing over there?"
As if in sync, the trio jerked their heads towards the direction the voice came from, spotting an elderly woman approaching them.
She was draped in a deep violet robe that belayed her rank as an arch mage.
Finn was the first to come to his senses and respectfully replied. "Aiden—he just collapsed! We were sparring, and everything was fine, but then… this happened."
He gestured helplessly to Aiden, still twitching on the ground, the white glow in his eyes flickering eerily. He didn't have any issues reporting to the arch mage about this since Aiden was quite famous in the Tower.
Jaxon beside them took a breath and added. "We've tried everything we know, but nothing's working. It's like he's cut off from his mana. We don't know what to do."
Mira, who was still using healing magic on Aiden, bit her lip nervously. "Please, we need help. We don't know what's happening to him."
The elderly woman approached Aiden's body slowly, her gaze narrowing as she examined the strange magical energies that resonated majorly with the magical traces she had felt attracted to, surrounding him.
Her expression remained calm, almost indifferent, as she knelt beside him, extending a hand to hover just above his chest.
The air around her shimmered slightly as she murmured something under her breath.
A moment later, she let out a small sigh and stood up, brushing her hands off as if she had just completed a minor task. "He'll be fine. His mana is in flux, which is causing the spasms and the white aura. It's a result of his body trying to adapt to a new source of power he's tapped into."
"New source of power?" Finn gasped as his eyes widened in horror. "It's that force thing he spoke of."
"He says it's a new form of energy…perhaps it.." Mira gasped and covered her mouth. "It can't be…"
"What's wrong Mira?" Finn asked. Mira's reaction was unnatural and it was worrying.
At that moment however, the elderly Archmage who had been studying Aiden stood up, her expression as unreadable as it was when she got here.
She turned to face them just as Finn had asked that question. "What Aiden is experiencing right now is not merely a collapse. He'll be fine regardless of the outcome."
"What is that supposed to mean..?" Finn asked worriedly. His brow furrowed in discontent at the lack of an actual explanation.
"It's a test per se, one that will determine his worthiness. The sources of power he'll tap into will determine his potential and abilities for the future."
Finn, Jaxon, and Mira exchanged confused glances, unsure of what she meant.
They couldn't outright call her out on it since she outranked them in both status and strength, so they could only look to each other in hopes one of them got her meaning.
The Archmage continued, sensing their uncertainty. "Magic, as you know, is not a simple process. It requires the execution of three fundamental principles: Inspection, Intervention, and Manifestation."
The three young men nodded their heads as they weren't novices.
INSPECTION is the ability to tap into the mana of the world.
Mana exists in everything, elements, curses, emotions. They all hold mana in various forms.
INTERVENTION is the ability to intervene in the rudimentary nature of that mana, to convert it into the form you desire.
It's what allows a sorcerer to transform the raw potential of magical energy into something usable.
MANIFESTATION is the ability to bring that desire into reality, to give it form as magic.
Every magic-attuned creature performs this process instinctively, either by thoughts, chants, drawings and certain rituals.
Seeing the three nod their heads, the woman continued. "Certain sources of power operate differently. Dimensional energies, solar energy, star energy, chaos energy… These are examples of higher sources, each with its own unique properties and conditions for use."
The Archmage's gaze hardened slightly. "The higher the rank of the energy, the more taxing it is to wield. These sources are not kind to the unworthy. They test the resolve and strength of those who seek to tap into them…some are kind…some not so much."
Finn's eyes widened in realization. "So, Aiden is being tested by the source he's trying to access?"
"Exactly," the Archmage confirmed. "What he's enduring now will determine the source he'll connect with and how powerful he will become as a result."
Mira and the two boys stared at Aiden with renewed awe.
The idea that he was undergoing something so profound and critical left them speechless.
"But… how come we've never heard of this before?" Jaxon asked as he tried to search his memory.
The Archmage gave a knowing, ambiguous smile. "No source would allow information regarding itself to linger in the memory of the undeserving. Knowledge of such things is reserved for those who have earned the right to know."
Before any of them could respond, the Archmage's snapped her fingers and before three young sorcerers could register what was going on, the ground beneath them glowed with the formation of a Teleportation circle, and in the blink of an eye, they found themselves standing in a clinic.
The sudden change in environment disorientated them, but they quickly came to their senses, with the Archmage stood before them. "Take Aiden to one of the healers. He needs rest, but he will recover."
With that, she turned and walked away, leaving the three of them standing there, still trying to process everything that had just happened.
As they watched her disappear into the shadows of the clinic, "Was that…Teleportation magic?" Finn asked in amazement.
"Obviously you dunce." Mira snorted in disdain and turned towards the lying Aiden. "As expected of an Archmage… I wonder when we'll be able to reach that level."
"I don't know about us, but the sight of Aiden as an arch mage is a sight I can't get out of my thoughts…" Finn said and gently lifted Aiden up and placed on his shoulder.
"Be careful," Jaxon let out seeing how Aiden was carelessly hanging from Finn's shoulder.
Finn rolled his eyes at Jaxon as they three proceeded to look for a vacant bed to place Aiden.
Moments later, they found a vacant medical room with a serene yet functional space. The walls were lined with glowing runes that gave off a soft, calming light which aided in healing.
Gently placing Aiden on the bed, Finn walked over to Mira. "Come, Aiden would need his rest."
Mira however shook her head at him and said. "I'm not leaving. It's not like my presence here would affect anything."
Seeing her being serious and stubborn, Finn could only smile wryly and motion for Jaxon to leave with him, causing the room to fall into a pin drop silence.
Looking at Aiden's flickering white eyes Mira couldn't help but bite her lips as she pushed his hair out of his face. "I know you'll make it…I believe in you… I always have."
***
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