Chapter 10: Chapter 10. The Source of All Mana
Carlos stiffened. When he spoke, his tone was carefully measured, respectful even through the obvious irritation. "May I ask why you say that, my lord?"
Jennifer had the very same question.
"Sir," she added carefully, "the Magic Tower’s records and numerous historical documents all support that definition. Could you help us understand where you believe the error lies?"
Necrotize answered in an unhurried, almost conversational tone.
"I’ll admit my knowledge of Modern Magic Theory is limited. But that limitation doesn’t extend to Mana itself, on that subject I’m fairly well-informed." He paused briefly. "What you’ve been taught, and what you’ve been teaching, is incorrect."
Jennifer felt the ground shift slightly beneath her professional confidence. She couldn’t simply dismiss what he said, not from him. The being seated in that chair was older than this world. Whatever he had witnessed, whatever he understood, existed at a scale that defied ordinary imagination.
"Sir," Carlos pressed, his pride fighting his curiosity. "Could you elaborate?"
"You described Mana as the essence of this world," Necrotize began. "That’s the first mistake. No planet generates Mana, not this one, not any other. Mana originates exclusively from the Ancient Origins. What you’re calling the world’s essence is more accurately the Essence of Creation, one of eight. Each essence carries a different name depending on who you ask. The one associated with Death, for instance, is commonly called Dark Mana or Corrupted Mana."
Silence.
Not the polite, attentive silence of a lecture hall, but the stunned, airless kind that follows something that rearranges your understanding of the world.
Necrotize continued without breaking stride.
"Different species draw from different essences, and that’s where most of your classifications come from. Demons use the Essence of Darkness, what you call Demonic Mana. Dragons draw from the Essence of Life, which you know as Draconic Mana. What you label Divine Energy is actually the Essence of Light." He let that settle for a moment. "There are also the Essences of Time and Space, as well as my own. In all my time here, I haven’t encountered a single being on this world who uses either."
The sky, as far as Jennifer was concerned, had just collapsed.
Everything she thought she knew about Mana, every framework she had studied, taught, and built her career upon, had just been quietly dismantled by a student sitting in her own classroom.
"So," she said slowly, finding her voice. "You’re saying that all Mana in this world, all of it, originates from the Ancient Origins?"
"Essentially, yes. And not just this world." Necrotize’s tone remained calm, almost patient, the way someone sounds when discussing something they’ve simply always known. "All Mana across the entirety of this universe flows from us. You could think of it as a responsibility we carry, one we don’t have the option to set down. If we did, the universal balance would collapse. Should any one essence grow disproportionate to the others, the fundamental functions of the universe begin to break down."
The room had gone completely still.
Carlos sat with his mouth slightly open, his earlier resentment nowhere to be found, replaced by something he clearly hadn’t expected to feel. He didn’t like Necrotize. That much hadn’t changed.
But he was being forced to acknowledge, against his will, that the being sitting across from him operated on a level that most living things couldn’t even conceive of.
Necrotize surveyed the stunned faces around him, then glanced at Jennifer with something approaching genuine concern.
"I hope you’ll consider revising what you teach your students. Passing on incorrect knowledge does them no favors in the long run."
.....
Under ordinary circumstances, a claim like that might have been laughed off, dismissed as arrogance, or worse, delusion. But no one in that room entertained the thought for even a second. Necrotize’s existence was not a matter of debate. Divine scriptures across multiple traditions documented him by name. Gods themselves had bowed before him. The other Ancient Origins, too, were recorded with the same reverence. If Necrotize said something was true, then it was true, and the entire room understood, instinctively, that this was not the kind of statement anyone got to push back on.
Jennifer let out a long breath. Slowly, she gathered herself back together, piece by piece, and began absorbing the enormity of what had just been handed to her.
"Sir," she said at last, her voice steadier than she expected. "I’ll contact the Magic Tower today and make sure they’re informed."
"That’s all for now then." She closed her notes and offered the class a small nod. "I’ll see you all next time."
And with that, she left.
The moment the door clicked shut, the room erupted into hushed conversation. Every cluster of students was saying the same things, turning the same ideas over, trying to find solid ground in a landscape that had just been completely rearranged.
***
Lyra sat perfectly still beside Necrotize.
Her mind was blank. Completely, utterly blank.
A thin trail of sweat traced its way down from behind her ear. Her hand had found the corner of the desk at some point and was gripping it hard enough to whiten her knuckles. She was still struggling to fully process the reality of her situation.
*The person sitting next to me. The one who just casually rewrote the foundational understanding of Mana for an entire classroom. The one who is the source of Mana itself.*
*That person asked me to be his friend.*
Necrotize noticed the particular quality of her silence and felt something warm and quietly amused stir in his chest.
"Something wrong, Lyra?" he asked, his tone carrying just a trace of mischief. "You have a very interesting expression right now."
"N-no. Nothing’s wrong. I’m completely fine." The words tumbled out slightly faster than intended. "It’s just a bit warm in here, that’s all. Hence the sweating. Perfectly normal. You really don’t need to worry about it."
She did not quite manage to suppress the stammer.
Necrotize simply smiled.
***
The Magic Department’s next scheduled class was World History.
Necrotize considered this for exactly one moment before deciding against it.
He had lived that history. Every era, every turning point, every war and dynasty and forgotten civilization. He hadn’t read about them. He’d been there. The thought of sitting through someone else’s account of events he remembered firsthand held approximately zero appeal.
He made his decision.
Combat Department.
That, at least, might be worth seeing.
