Mana was the last thing that God created in any world. It was something that would supplement species if they ran out of food or water, or at least, that was God's first intention.
As His thought process grew from, 'serving the universe' to 'serving Himself', mana grew in capability. He gave it attributes and spells. His desire to watch his 'toys' grew, so mana grew to fit that bill. It became a key point in war and fights, pleasing the 'almighty' God.
And now, in the body of a 1-month-old boy, 'mana' was going to be forced to grow.
- This process will take a month or so as we cannot take a conventional method. Because I will be shaping the mana to fit the necessary attributes it will take time. Also, because the conventional method will limit the mana you can use, we will change that. Again, this adds time. - Fallen Star lectured Grey.
'What method are we using?' Grey inquired.
- We will turn your entire being into a [Mana Body]. - Fallen Star replied.
'I see.' Grey thought, 'Wait. What's the conventional method?' Grey asked, deeply curious about the workings of humans and other species. It was knowledge he could not have in the Demon Realm after all, and Grey, although he never acted on it during his time in Sincia, had a hunger for knowledge.
- The conventional method involves the natural creation of a secondary heart, made of mana, the [Mana Heart]. The heart takes 10 years to grow, and cannot be destroyed. Natural talent and hard work play a huge role in the formation of it. Your actions will shape the attributes of the mana. Fiery people get fire, and their second element, usually, is the opposite element. So, water, for them, for example. Some outliers exist, but this is it. A lot can be told by a person's attributes. This, however, won't apply to you, because you are not conventional. You have me. -
- In this world, like all others, there are a total of 6 attributes. They differ in each world, however. This one has Fire, Water, Earth, Wind, Light and Dark. On a universal scale, they are referred to as [Common Attributes]. - Fallen Star noted.
- This is very important, however. Do not dismiss them because they are called common. [Common] and [Uncommon] attributes are equally useful, with the latter being slightly better. Nonetheless, they are equal. [Rare] attributes, however, are on another plane. They are extremely useful and are much better in every aspect. [Common] and [Uncommon] attributes focus on 1 thing: defence, offence, speed and so on. [Rare] focus on 2-4 things, however. -
- Some very lucky people, can get an attribute from another world. In fact, from what I saw, the strongest person in the world uses an [Uncommon] attribute, 'Starlight'. - Fallen Star concluded the speech with a note about the world.
The speech about attributes greatly excited Grey. 'So, what am I getting?' He asked with palpable anticipation.
- You will get what you get. I will tell you afterwards. -
- Now. get ready. The process will hurt a lot, but you cannot let out a peep. Scream in your mind if necessary. You cannot alert your parents. -
Grey steeled his mind, but at the mention of parents, he thought of the man and woman he had spent the past 3 weeks with. Whilst he had paid almost no attention to them, he felt that he could sense their emotions when he was near them. He believed this was called 'Empathy'. His mental expression softened, the feelings he had were new to him, so they greatly affected him.
A jolt of adrenaline suddenly forced Grey's eyes open. It seemed that Fallen Star had started. His black pupils opened wide, and the maroon irises thinned to the point you could no longer see them. As Fallen Star got to work, the pain began to creep in. It started at the edge of his mind, and, like a prowling predator stalking its prey, crawled inward. Grey could tolerate the pain at the start, but the closer it got to the centre, the more painful it got.
Suddenly, like a predator pouncing on its prey, the pain intensified. It threatened to make Grey unleash an ear-splitting cry, but remembering Fallen Star's words, he kept it in.
'AAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGHHHHHHHH' An animalistic cry left Grey's mental mouth, silent as the night, yet deafening for Fallen Star. It ignored the cry and the pleas for It to stop that followed.
---
The next 5 minutes were absolute hell for Grey. He had only felt pain for the first time not too long ago, and it was already terrible. This was much worse for him. On the dot of the 5th minute, everything went silent. The pain had magically disappeared and Grey had fallen unconscious.
- Good job, Grey. Rest now, for you will do it again tomorrow. - Fallen Star comforted the fainted Grey, only to remind him of his fate for the next month.
---
Motherly Diary
Dear Diary,
I started this diary to document my precious angel Grey so that I could embarrass him in front of his future partner. However, I now feel the need to document strange events about Grey.
His 1st week in life, he was normal, yet he seemed lifeless. I couldn't help but worry, yet the doctors assured me he was fine. We found that he had no elf blood, yet his ear tips were pointed. They labelled it a mutation, yet...
For the next 3 weeks, he seemed full of life, so it seemed my worry was for nought but...
Grey has spent the past month awake only to eat, spending a total of 5 minutes awake for other activities, where he seems to be in pain. He then falls asleep for the rest of the day. I suggested that we take him to the doctor, but Lucas said that we couldn't worry them about everything.
He said that one of the doctors had told him that all babies acted weirdly and were different from each other. The doctor told him not to worry and bring him for his monthly check-ups only.
Lucas then said that I was too worried and needed to release some pent-up 'frustration', offering to 'help'. I proceeded to kick him out of the room and ignore him but soon succumbed to his handsome visage.
Anyway, I will keep this diary up to date, so that I can embarrass my baby boy. I can't wait to hear his first words.
- Samantha xoxo
---
The day after the 'treatment' finished, Grey woke up full of vigour. Fallen Star had told him that yesterday was the last time, so he accepted it with open arms.
Grey had not numbed from the pain, but he had improved his pain tolerance. At the start, he screamed the whole time, but by the end of it, he didn't feel the need to. That didn't mean that he didn't feel it though. Every second felt like hell to him. All 9000 of them. Grey admitted that it felt like 100,000 seconds but Fallen Star had done the math and found that it was not. It shocked him that those almost 30 hours of pain were only 2.5 hours.
However, it mattered not, for he was done. No more pain. Ever.
'So, what attributes did I get? Huh?' Grey asked.
- To cover up your attributes, I gave you the [Common] Light element. It's a good cover and can give you healing and buffs. Master it, however, and control [Hard Light], a theoretical concept. It will give you amazing defence. You can also use [Elementalization], another theoretical concept that allows you to move at the speed of light. -
- For your second attribute, I gave you the [Uncommon] Poison element. Considering future events, I figured there may come a time when untraceable murder is necessary, or when undetectable poisoning for resources is necessary. - It said.
Fallen Star had chosen two very useful elements, or so Grey assumed. He did not know about mana to compare it to. The concepts of 'hard light' and 'elementalization' sounded intriguing to him, but they meant nothing to him. He did not understand them.
'So what are my main attributes?' He asked, confused as to what could be better. He had heard 'amazing defence', 'speed of light' and 'untraceable', all of which sounded great.
- I was unsure in the beginning, but after careful consultation with my memories of God, I gave you Null. Null is a [Rare] attribute used in God's 10th Galaxy. It nullifies all abilities, so it is a perfect defence. Upon mastery, you can nullify concepts, like space or time, or even laws, like gravity. This gives you the perfect defence for when you face God. Also, the nullification of concepts can be used on physical objects, making it a perfect attack. Destruction of the very atoms, you see. - Fallen Star exclaimed, waiting for the response he knew was coming.
Grey had lost it at this point. 'That's not an element, that's a concept! Null is a concept!' He screeched at the absurdity.
- Oh yes, did I forget to mention that? Most [Rare] attributes are concepts. So is your next attribute. - Fallen Star said, laughing at Grey's shock.
- Your next attribute is the [Rare] Time. Control over time and such. God is ageless, but he moves through time, so he is subject to it. There is nowhere that has time mana, however, so I had to create receptors in your body that convert mana into time mana. You are the only being in existence that can control time. - Fallen Star gloated, Its tone oozing pride.
'I think you would be a better [Original] than Lucifer. So prideful.' Grey said, attempting to goad a reaction from the now arrogant-sounding voice.
- Well, Pride does need a new progenitor, I guess. I'll take your offer. - Fallen Star said.
At the mention of the demon's death, Grey realised it was too soon to try and make jokes about his past. 'Ahh, it's too soon for that, I guess. Ahh, that hurts... I'm sorry for trying to joke.' Grey whimpered.
- No Grey, I'm sorry. I brought up the death. - Fallen Star apologised and then quickly brought up the next attribute, trying to move on.
- Your next and final attribute is the [Rare] Space attribute. Light is extremely fast, but it is not instantaneous. Against God, that matters. Instant speed is the main focus, but it can be used to tighten space, slowing things down. It is a [Common] attribute in Galaxy #78. - Fallen Star finished the attribute introduction and moved on to the next topic.
- Now about your mana itself. I successfully turned your entire being into a [Mana Body]. Now your mana capacity is limited to your body, not your heart. You should have maybe 100 times the mana capacity. Numerically, that means that with 1,000 mana you will have 100,000. This is due to the size of the heart, in comparison to the body. It seems overkill, I know, but against God, well... It might not be enough. However, don't worry, mana capacity can be trained. - Fallen Star was well aware that it seemed like a lot but didn't want to get his hopes up.
- The strongest human, he has about 200,000 mana. If I put it numerically. However, you should not trust the numbers. It doesn't matter how much you have if your Efficiency is bad, does it? - It concluded the information bomb with that.
Grey, now aware of many new things, asked excitedly. 'So, what's next?'
- Now, you rest; tomorrow, we start. -
---
The new morning came beautifully, the dew drops littered the ground, reflecting the orange glow of sunlight, giving an enchanting view.
Sadly, Grey could not see it, for he was trapped in a cot.
He had spent the last day conversing with Fallen Star and did not realise that he had spent an hour at the Hospital. Reviewing his memories, he was growing worried.
'Fallen Star, what is wrong with me? Why was I at the Hospital?' He hurriedly asked, urgently seeking an answer from the only one who could give it.
- It was just a check-up silly. There is nothing wrong with you. I made sure of it. - Fallen Star chuckled.
Grey, no longer worried about his safety, realised he had not listened to Fallen Star's voice, only Its words, but now as It spoke, It sounded like an angel. Grey realised that he had been ignoring important details, and spoke to Fallen Star, in an attempt to hear the voice. He wanted to listen to the sound, not the words this time. He promised himself to be more observant.
'So, what's today?' He asked.
What came back to him was a gender-neutral voice that spoke with soft consonants and hard vowels. Grey would have assumed it was a person in their 20s, of indeterminate gender if he hadn't known the truth.
- Today is training. -