Mana.
Ki.
Qi.
Inner breath.
Aether.
Across cultures and centuries, humanity had given many names to the same idea—an invisible force whispered about in myths, guarded by mystics, dismissed by science. A power that was never proven, never measured, never real.
It was believed to be fiction because it could not be observed.
Because it could not be tested.
Because it did not belong to the world as humanity understood it.
What humanity did not know was that the energy they imagined had always existed—contained, distant, sealed at the deepest foundation of reality.
The Source.
The origin point of all arcane potential. Not a place of worship. Not a god. Simply a wellspring where raw existence condensed into power.
For eons, The Source accumulated.
And then it reached capacity.
The moment of saturation did not cause an explosion.
It caused a release.
Genesis.
The first complete manifestation of mana into a world that had never known it. The First World. The First Universe touched by open arcane integration.
Reality did not break.
It adapted.
The laws governing matter, energy, and life rewrote themselves in real time. Space expanded. Worlds were reforged. Living beings were altered at the most fundamental level.
There was no trial.
No selection.
No exemption.
Humanity did not awaken magic.
Magic awakened humanity.
And so the First World took its first breath.