Chapter 7: Youngest Mana Cultivator.
The silence that followed Aiden's words seemed to stretch on forever.Jonathan and Sara stood frozen, their minds blank, unable to process what their son had just said. The faint light from the shattered ceiling filtered through the night, illuminating the dust and fragments that still hung in the air, and in that stillness, only Aiden's quiet breathing could be heard.
For a long moment, no one moved.Then, Sara blinked, her eyes trembling with disbelief. She turned toward Aiden, her tone sharp but filled with concern.
"Aiden," she said softly at first, then more firmly, "why are you lying to us? I examined your whole body for abnormalities, but I didn't sense any mana heart in you."
Aiden froze.Her words struck him like cold water. He could feel it — deep inside his chest, pulsing faintly, something that was not like his ordinary heart. It felt real and alive. Yet his mother, a skilled and experienced mana cultivator, said there was nothing there.
His brows furrowed as doubt and confusion began to take root within him.Was it an illusion? He thought. No… I can feel it. I know what I felt. So why can't she?
Before he could gather his thoughts, Jonathan's low, composed voice broke the silence.
"Sara," he said slowly, his gaze fixed on her face. "Are you sure? Did you examine him properly? You didn't find anything resembling a mana heart?"
Sara turned to him with a determined expression. "Yes. I examined every inch of his body twice. There's no sign of a mana heart at all."
Jonathan fell silent, eyes narrowing slightly as he turned toward Aiden. His voice dropped to that calm, commanding tone that left no room for evasion.As he said, "Aiden, are you lying to us?"
Aiden looked up immediately, his dark eyes wide, his small hands trembling at his sides. "No, Dad, I'm not lying!" he said quickly, his tone almost pleading as he said, "I can feel it. There's something inside me — something different. It's exactly like what was described in the book! I can feel it in my heart… but…" He hesitated, his voice softening, "I don't know if it's real or just an illusion."
Jonathan remained quiet for a moment, watching his son's honest and frightened eyes. His expression softened slightly as he sighed. he said, "Sara, check him again. Just once more. We need to be sure if he has any problems in his body or not."
Sara nodded slightly as she said. "Okay."She stepped closer to Aiden, kneeling in front of him. Her hands, pale and steady, she placed them above his chest. Then, she pressed her palms lightly against him, and a soft white glow began to radiate from her fingertips.
Warmth spread through Aiden's body, like sunlight seeping through his skin. He could feel the mana moving through him — her mana, gentle and pure, scanning every part of him.
Minutes passed in silence.
Finally, the glow faded. Sara withdrew her hands and looked up with a solemn shake of her head. "I can't detect anything," she whispered.
Jonathan's brows furrowed deeper. He asked slowly, turning toward Aiden, "So, do you still feel it — the sensation that there's a mana heart in your body?"
Aiden nodded firmly, his voice calm but sure as he said. "Yes, I can feel it clearly."
Jonathan let out a long breath, then crouched down in front of his son. He said gently, "Aiden, I think what you're feeling might be the aftereffect of the mana backlash. When your body went through that explosion, your mana channels must've been strained. It could be making you feel something that isn't really there. So don't worry. It'll fade with time."
Aiden nodded slowly, but inside, something disagreed. The feeling in his heart was too real to be a mere illusion.
He hesitated for a moment, then looked up at his father again. As he said suddenly, "Dad, I still think that I really have a mana heart."
Jonathan and Sara both glanced at him in surprise.
"So," Aiden continued, his tone calm yet determined, "why don't you teach me how to use the mana stored inside it? If I can use mana and cast a spell, that would mean it's real. But if I can't, then it's just the backlash — just an illusion. There won't be any danger since you and Mom are here, right?"
Jonathan fell silent, staring at his son. The boy's logic was sound — simple but reasonable. He exchanged a glance with Sara, who seemed hesitant, but after a brief silence, Jonathan gave a slow nod.
He said, finally. "Alright, we'll test it this way."
A faint smile of resolve crossed Aiden's face.
Jonathan stood up and turned toward the door as he said. "Let's go to the garden, that's where I train."
Sara followed quietly behind as Jonathan led the way down the dim hallway, the floor creaking under their steps. The night outside was cool and calm, the scent of grass and dew drifting through the air as they stepped into the garden behind the house. The moon hung low, bathing the yard in soft silver light.
The training ground was simple — an open patch of soil, a few wooden dummies lined up along the fence, and faint burn marks scattered across the ground from Jonathan's earlier sessions.
Jonathan turned toward Aiden, his expression serious as he said. "From this point on, everything I tell you — you must remember carefully. Understood?"
"Yes, Dad," Aiden said firmly.
Jonathan nodded, crossing his arms as he began to explain.
"For any new mana cultivator to harness and control mana, the first step is to understand what type of element your mana heart can create. All the mana in this world is neutral. It doesn't belong to any element until your mana heart transforms it. For example, my mana heart can turn ordinary mana into both fire and water. Your mother's mana heart, on the other hand, converts mana into light."
He paused, looking at Aiden thoughtfully. "As for you, when I saw you floating in the air earlier, I felt the presence of wind. So I believe your mana heart has an affinity with the wind element."
Aiden's eyes widened slightly. "Wind element…" he repeated softly.
Jonathan nodded. "You may have other elements as well — like me and your mother — but we don't have the instrument to test that now. For now, we'll focus on wind."
He stepped closer, lowering his voice slightly. "To convert your mana into wind mana, you must use the breathing technique while focusing on the movement of air around you. Feel the wind — its direction, its rhythm, its calmness and strength. Once you can sense it clearly, imagine your mana as your blood, flowing through your body. Then, guide it to your hand using the breathing technique. When the mana gathers in your hand… push it outward. When it leaves your body, it should take form as wind."
Aiden listened intently to every word, nodding with concentration. "I understand, Dad."
"Good." Jonathan stepped back and gestured to the open space before them. "Now, try it."
The air was still. The faint sounds of insects echoed in the background. Aiden closed his eyes, taking a deep breath as he began using the breathing technique — five short breaths, three long, five normal — his chest rising and falling steadily.
He focused on his surroundings.
He tried to feel the air.
At first, there was nothing — only silence. But after some time had passed, he slowly felt that something had changed. He began to sense it — the gentle flow of air brushing against his skin, the invisible current swirling through the garden, even the faint movement of the wind dancing around his parents' bodies.
It was as if the wind in the garden itself had opened itself to him.
Aiden's expression hardened with focus. He visualized the neutral mana within him, the pale energy pulsing in rhythm with his heartbeat. He imagined it moving like blood — down his chest, through his veins, flowing toward his right arm.
And then, as if responding to his will, he felt it move.
A soft hum resonated inside his chest as mana surged from his heart, flowing rapidly through the newly formed mana veins. It coursed from his heart to his shoulder, then into his arm, filling his hand with warmth and power.
Aiden took one final deep breath and exhaled sharply.
Then, using the breathing technique, he pushed the mana stored in his hand outwards. In that instant, the mana burst from his palm — a fierce gust of wind howled through the air, slicing forward like an invisible blade. It struck the wooden training dummy in front of him with a resounding crack, splitting it clean in half. The upper portion flew backward, crashing into the fence.
Silence filled the garden.
Aiden stood there, stunned, his hand still raised. The faint breeze from his spell rustled through his hair, as if whispering the truth that neither he nor his parents could deny.
He had done it.
He had conjured wind.
He had become a mana cultivator.
Jonathan's eyes widened, disbelief flickering in his usually composed expression. Sara's hand flew to her lips, her eyes trembling as she stared at her son — the boy who had just performed what was thought to be impossible.
Their seven-year-old son… had created a mana heart. He had become the youngest mana cultivator in history.
But what left them even more shaken was not this, but what they couldn't see or detect: Aiden's mana heart.
Sara, a Stage Four mana cultivator, an expert in body examination, had failed to detect any mana heart in Aiden.
Jonathan's mind buzzed with questions. What kind of mana heart could remain invisible to even a high-level mage? How can it not be detected by Sara?
The quiet night continued, and beneath that silver moonlight, Sara and Jonathan exchanged a look of awe and uncertainty, realizing that their son had done something extraordinary.