Rain pattered softly against the windows, a quiet rhythm that filled the silence of the small cottage. The hearth crackled steadily, casting amber light on the wooden floorboards. Aleron lay still in his cradle, eyes half-lidded, body unmoving, mind sharpened to a singular point of focus.
It had been nearly two months since the first whisper of the system stirred his thoughts. The path to completing his wizard core was nearly at its end.
[Core Formation Progress: 97%]
Condensation Phase: Stabilization in Progress
The number glowed faintly in his vision. It had been rising slowly for days now, each fraction of a percent hard-earned through concentration and restraint. The closer he drew to completion, the more his body protested. Strain pulsed in his temples, his nerves flickered with fatigue, and his breaths grew shallow.
But he endured it. He had to.
Stabilizing a core wasn't about force. It was about balance.
He had formed the spiral, condensed the energy, layered it until it felt dense as stone and fine as silk. But to anchor it—to make it permanent—required precision. A small error, a misaligned rhythm, and it would scatter. He would have to start again.
Aleron spent days reviewing the fundamentals he once taught. He visualized every detail—the spin, the density, the threads of energy weaving in harmony. He adjusted his breathing to the rhythm of mana pulses, created three-dimensional constructs of the core in his mind, even calibrated heat signatures through pulse regulation.
His method had always been more than theory. It was obsession. And it brought him to the edge of mastery.
Aleron drew in mana slowly. He shaped it carefully around the spiral within his mind, letting it soak, saturate, settle. He could almost see the layers locking into place, like rings of crystal snapping together.
His whole body trembled.
And then—
The spiral fractured.
He hadn't miscalculated the structure, nor the rhythm. But the density—
This world's mana was richer. Denser. More potent than the world he came from. And he hadn't accounted for it.
A wave of energy surged through his system, wild and uncontrollable. Pain shot through his limbs. His heart thundered in his chest. His vision swam.
[Warning: Mana Overflow Detected]
[Caution: Core Instability — Collapse Imminent]
He tried to adjust—redirect the surge, vent the excess—but his infant body couldn't handle it. His focus wavered. Consciousness flickered.
Then—
[Emergency Override — God's Whisper Intervention]
Stabilizing Core... Please remain still.
The system seized control.
Aleron's vision dimmed.
Then darkness.
He opened his eyes to a sky of stars.
Weightless. Soundless. Floating in a pale expanse that was neither sky nor void. A single figure stood in the distance, feet resting on an invisible floor, arms crossed beneath her flowing silver cloak.
Nyx.
The God of Death.
"Hello again, candlelight," she said with a smirk. "You've got a knack for almost dying, you know."
Aleron blinked. He looked down. He wasn't in his infant body—he looked like William again, or something close to it. Taller. Stronger. Whole.
"I—Did I die?"
Nyx shook her head. "Nope. But you almost melted your little brain trying to force a high-compression formation using principles from a world with barely any mana."
Aleron winced. "I didn't account for the mana density..."
"No, you didn't," she said lightly, walking toward him. "You tried to shape a core using a recipe for soup—then dumped it in a boiling ocean."
He groaned. "I thought I had it right."
"You did," she said, her tone softening. "You would've succeeded. Brilliantly, even. But not in this world. Mana is too rich here. Too... alive."
She leaned in.
"So I stepped in. You're welcome."
Aleron lowered his head, breath shaky. "What happens now?"
"You sleep," Nyx replied. "Not dead. Not gone. Just... resting. Your body needs time. Your mind does too. We're putting you on ice for a bit. Let things settle. Let that beautiful core of yours finish cooking."
"For how long?"
"Two years, give or take," she said, already beginning to fade. "You'll wake up eventually. And when you do... well, let's just say the world won't know what hit it."
Aleron reached out, but the light swallowed everything.
[Core Formation: Complete]
[Core Type: Wizard]
[Core Color: White → Blue → Violet]
[Note: Current World's Core Colors Are Fixed Upon Formation]
[Core Grade: High]
[Stasis Mode Activated — Consciousness in Dormancy]
[Recovery In Progress... Estimated Duration: 2 Years]
In his previous world, Aleron had studied core development deeply. White was the entry point, but he had heard of mages reaching gold and beyond—rarities in his lifetime. S-class wizards held gold, sometimes silver. He had managed to condense and refine his own core two stages beyond white.
Here, he believed, that growth would continue.
But what he didn't yet know was that in this world... your color was your limit.
Back in the quiet cottage, the rain still whispered against the windows.
Rina would check on him soon, unaware that the soul behind those silver eyes had slipped into silence.
The sage had fallen asleep.
But the flame remained, burning quietly in the dark.