(A/N):
Drop a meme here that you find funny. Or reflects your mood.
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King's Palace...
Research Chamber...
The chamber buzzed with arcane hums —
The low thrum of mana circuits weaving through crystal conduits,
The faint glow of sigil arrays pulsating across the floor like a living heartbeat.
Pulse~
Ben stood before Flintoff Draintip,
And the assembled mages,
"____"
"____"
"____"
Arms folded as he observed the prototype before them —
A sleek, prismatic construct no larger than a human heart.
Within its crystalline shell,
An artificial mana core pulsed softly,
Pulse~
"____"
Emitting threads of light that bent and refracted like liquid rainbow fire.
"Stabilization ratio's improving,"
Draintip muttered, adjusting the dials on the mana meter.
"But the resonance still fluctuates beyond fifty percent under sustained pressure."
Flintoff nodded grimly.
"If we can't balance the core's output, the prism will fracture. Again."
Ben exhaled slowly.
"Keep the flow at sixty-two Rimas. The core will self-adjust if we let it find equilibrium."
Before any of them could respond, a bright, delighted voice chimed behind him.
"Ohhhh! What do we have here?"
Ben's shoulders tensed for a split second —
Then he turned.
"____"
Julius Novachrono stood at the threshold, eyes wide, a grin stretching from ear to ear.
Grin~
His golden hair shimmered under the crystalline light,
And his expression was pure childlike wonder as he took in the prism, the runes,
The hovering instruments —
Everything.
"Is that what I think it is?"
Julius asked, already stepping forward before anyone could stop him.
"An artificial mana core? You've actually done it?! Ohhh, the refractive layering! Look at that mana density! It's so smooth—so clean!"
Flintoff and Draintip exchanged a look —
Part awe, part panic —
As Julius leaned dangerously close to the unstable prototype.
Ben sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose.
Sigh~
"Julius."
The Wizard King blinked innocently,
Hands clasped behind his back like a child caught with a stolen cookie.
"What? I'm just looking! You know I can't resist a new magic mechanism—especially one humming with this much raw potential."
"Yeah,"
Ben said dryly.
"That's what worries me."
The prism flickered —
A sudden surge of unstable mana rippling through the air, making everyone's cloaks flutter.
Julius's eyes lit up even more.
"____"
"Ohhh! It's reacting to me!"
"Of course it is,"
Ben muttered under his breath, stepping forward before the core could overload.
"It reacts to anything with excessive curiosity."
A ripple of laughter moved through the chamber,
Easing the tension —
Though the prism's pulse remained sharp and erratic,
Almost as if it could sense the two most dangerous minds in the kingdom standing side by side.
Julius's gloved fingers were already halfway toward the prism when Ben's voice cut through the air —
Low, calm, and commanding.
"Don't."
The single word froze the Wizard King mid-reach.
His hand lingered just above the shimmering crystal, the mana glow reflecting in his wide eyes.
For a moment, Julius looked like a child caught in forbidden territory.
Ben exhaled softly, not unkindly, but firm.
"You touch it, and we'll be scraping what's left of the lab off the ceiling."
Julius gave a sheepish grin and withdrew his hand, muttering,
"You always ruin my fun…"
Turning away, Ben gestured to the engineers.
"Flintoff Draintip. Begin the process."
He nodded, exchanging wary glances before adjusting the control array with other mages working with him.
"____"
"____"
"____"
The mana conduits began to hum —
Low at first, then rising in pitch until it vibrated deep in their bones.
Runes lit up one by one along the floor and walls,
Forming a lattice of glowing symbols that converged on the prism.
"Mana sync at eighty percent,"
Draintip reported, his voice trembling with both fear and excitement.
The prism responded to the energy surge,
Its upper section rotating with a smooth, mechanical click.
Click~
The top split open like the petals of a metallic flower,
Revealing a slender mechanism within —
A silver-tipped conduit etched with impossibly fine runes.
Ben's eyes narrowed as mana condensed at the tip, forming a brilliant sphere.
"Stabilize the output,"
He ordered.
A resonant hum filled the air —
Deep, vibrating, alive.
Then, with a pulse that rippled like a heartbeat through the chamber, the prism fired.
A surge of light exploded outward,
Lancing through the air and racing across the walls.
The sigils flared once, then dimmed —
And in the next instant,
The entire room was swallowed by darkness.
Not just dimness —
Total absence of light.
The glowing instruments winked out.
Even the air seemed to thicken,
Pressing down on them as if the world itself had paused.
"Ben…"
Julius's voice was quiet now,
The playful curiosity replaced by sharp focus.
"What did you just activate?"
In the pitch black, Ben's silhouette was barely visible —
But the faint outline of his eyes caught the dying afterglow of the prism.
"____"
"____"
"____"
The chamber remained cloaked in darkness for a long,
Tense moment —
The only sound the faint mechanical hum of the artificial mana core.
Then, from within the gloom, a faint click echoed.
Ben reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a small, green-glowing chip —
Crystalline in form, humming faintly with its own mana pulse.
The light refracted off its facets, scattering emerald sparks across his face.
Flintoff blinked.
"That's… the memory crystal you mentioned?"
Ben nodded.
Nod~
"Version three. Fully stabilized. Let's see if the core can handle a full projection cycle."
He walked toward the prism projector,
Thud. Thud.
His boots echoing sharply in the otherwise silent lab.
The mages instinctively stepped back,
Watching as he slid the chip into a narrow slot beside the artificial mana core.
Click.
The moment the chip connected, runes flared along the prism's surface —
And then the wall ahead came alive with a countdown in glowing numbers.
5… 4… 3… 2… 1…
A pulse of mana burst from the projector,
And for an instant the room was blindingly white.
Then —
"____"
"____"
"____"
Silence.
And light.
Before their eyes, the whiteness shifted and formed images —
Moving ones.
An ocean shimmered in impossible clarity, stretching endlessly beneath a painted sunset.
A majestic ship emerged from the mist, vast and elegant, its hull glinting gold in the light.
Gasps filled the room.
"What… what is that?"
Whispered Draintip, awe lacing every syllable.
Julius leaned forward, eyes wide as a child's.
"It's like a memory spell… but it's alive!"
The sound of rushing water filled the air,
Followed by distant laughter and the soft melody of a piano.
A young man and woman appeared on the deck of the ship,
Their laughter carried on the sea breeze.
Ben folded his arms, watching the projection —
The faintest smirk playing at his lips.
Smirk~
"It's a film. I created through imagination and recorded in the memory chip called Titanic. Consider it… the first complete playback using artificial mana stabilization."
The research mages stood transfixed.
The clarity, the color, the sound —
Everything was vivid, real, alive.
Flintoff's voice trembled as he spoke.
"So this is… what you've said before my king. A world where mana and memory become one."
Ben said nothing.
"____"
He simply watched as the projected ocean glimmered before him,
The ship cutting through the waves, and the hauntingly beautiful score filled the air.
Julius, utterly entranced, laughed under his breath.
"Incredible. The Clover Kingdom has never seen anything like this."
Ben's green eyes gleamed in the reflection of the moving images.
"And this,"
He murmured,
"is only the beginning."
Meanwhile...
Clover Capital...
The glow of enchanted chandeliers bathed the Clover Kingdom's capital skyline in golden light.
Inside Le Amour du Mana,
One of the city's most exclusive restaurants, soft orchestral music filled the air —
The kind of place frequented by nobles, dignitaries,
And former Magic Knights seeking quiet away from the public eye.
At a corner table near the window,
Nebra Silva sat opposite Noelle,
The younger sister she had once treated with disdain.
The polished marble table shimmered under crystal light, reflecting two glasses of sparkling mana wine and a half-finished dinner of roasted mana trout and sunberry sauce.
Nebra leaned back,
Her posture elegant yet relaxed —
A stark contrast from her usual haughty demeanor.
Her long lilac hair shimmered under the light as she took a delicate sip from her glass.
"You've grown, Noelle,"
She said softly, setting it down.
"Not just in power… but in poise. You're not the trembling girl I remember."
Noelle blinked, surprised by the tone —
"____"
Gentle, almost sisterly.
"That's… kind of you to say, sister."
Nebra smiled faintly, the curve of her lips almost wistful.
"Kindness isn't something I used to value, was it? But things change."
She glanced outside at the bustling capital streets, her reflection overlaying the lights beyond.
"Ben showed me that. His way of seeing people… it's strange. He never cared for bloodlines or family names. When I spoke to him, I realized how… shallow and foolish I'd been for blamming you for something you have never done."
Noelle lowered her fork, sensing the gravity beneath her sister's calm words.
"____"
Nebra's cheeks colored slightly feeling her sister's gaze.
Cough~
"Yes. Him."
Her fingers toyed with the rim of her glass.
"After meeting him, I started seeing you differently too. What you endured, how you trained under him… I was blind not to see it before."
There was a silence —
"____"
"____"
Warm, but tinged with the weight of years unspoken.
Then Nebra exhaled, leaning forward slightly.
"You know, when brother Nozel decided to send you to the Black Bulls, I was the first to object."
Noelle's eyes widened.
"You were?"
Nebra chuckled lightly.
Chuckle~
"Solid nearly jumped in joy. I glared at him so hard he actually agreed with me for once."
A small laugh escaped Noelle —
fu~
Genuine and bright.
"That must've been a sight."
"It was,"
Nebra said, smirking softly before her expression softened again.
Smirk~
"But Brother Nozel wouldn't budge. He said it was final…"
Noelle looked down,thinking.
"Maybe it's better this way. I got to stand on my own — and I think that's what all of you wanted, deep down."
Nebra studied her sister for a long moment —
The maturity in her eyes, the calm confidence in her posture. A quiet pride stirred in her chest.
"You've become a fine woman, Noelle,"
Nebra said finally, voice low but sincere.
"And tonight… I wanted to tell you that. But also… about mother."
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(Author's POV)
(A/N)Thanks for reading the chapter!
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