Chapter 6: Echoes (2)

A searing pain shot through his body almost instantly, causing him to fall to the ground and writhe in agony. The sensation was similar to what he’d experienced earlier in the crater when absorbing the chaotic mana, but it was much worse.

Why… Why me?

As he experienced the torture once more, Michael grew tired and his mind began to fracture. To feel such pain and loss over and over again, he began to lose the will to carry on.

Make it stop… Please.

Having lost the only person who had ever cared for him in this world, just what was there left to live for? Wouldn’t he see her in the afterlife anyway?

Michael’s eyes began to grow heavy as his body began to give out. His vision darkened while a sense of peace washed over his young mind, providing relief from the torture.

I’ll see you soon Mother.

“Michael…”

Michael’s mind jolted after hearing the tender voice. It was a voice that he would never forget, no matter how much time had passed.

Mother? Where are you?

“You have to live Michael… Be strong.”

“I can’t… It hurts so much.”

Even though he’d vowed to never cry again, Michael’s cheeks were wet with freshly shed tears. His strong mind pushed to the limits from the torturous pain wracking his body.

“You can do it sweetie, just breathe. Mother is right here with you.”

The loving voice coaxed him, pulling his heartstrings tenderly. Michael opened his eyes, only to see a transparent figure from above, smiling at him gently. Her eyes looked upon him with affection, evoking even more tears.

“M-Mother…” He reached out, wanting to be held by her one last time.

But in the next moment, something changed.

“Michael, you need to hurry!” She screamed, her expression morphing into desperation. A look of panic and worry beset her transparent features as she gazed down upon him.

Just as he was about to respond, his mother’s apparition imploded, turning into motes of light which scattered into the surroundings. They past right through his hand, giving off a warm sensation.

“Mother?!”

“NOOOOO!!” Michael shrieked, the sound of his vocal chords grating against one another giving off a harrowing sense of grief. His body surged with rage and indignation, causing the pain from the chaotic mana to swell into a crescendo.

But instead of giving in, he gritted his teeth and fought back. Tears of blood leaked from his eyes, painting a gruesome sight upon his face.

Michael painstakingly got up from his back and sat cross-legged on the stone floor. He closed his eyes, trying to fight through the torture and focus his mind. Unlike the small amount of chaotic mana last time, this was far too much for his body to process on its own.

If he wanted any chance of surviving, Michael needed to purify the mana himself before he was torn apart.

It took a few attempts, but he was eventually able to enter a meditative state and peer into his body with his mind’s eye. What he saw was dreadful, but he had no choice but to dive right in.

His mana was currently wrestling with the chaotic violet mana which had its own will. Since it belonged to a violet ringed mage, its will was not something that he could compete with and come out on top.

But if he didn’t, there was no stopping the rampage taking place inside his body.

Mages were able to freely control the mana in their bodies with their will, as long as they concentrated enough. Michael, who had a strong will despite his meager strength, was adept at doing so.

He took a deep breath and focused, sending a strand of mana to investigate the violet mage’s mana. The moment they came into contact, Michael felt an overwhelming will threaten to take over his own.

Even though the owner of the mana was dead, his remnant will still remained. As a violet ringed mage, there was no way that the remnant will would be pitiful.

“Y-You bastard…” Michael’s hoarse voice sounded out as he pushed back against the onslaught. Now not only was his body wracked with pain, his will was also being assaulted.

In a head to head battle of wills, there was no doubt that he fell short. And when it came to both quality and quantity, Michael’s mana was also severely lacking, putting him at a significant disadvantage.

But what he lacked in those areas, he made up for in persistence.

One after another, Michael controlled strands of his mana to assault the intruder, hoping to whittle away at the monstrous will that laid within. Every time they would clash, it felt as if he had been punched in the back of the head.

After a few minutes, he had already exhausted his mana reserves, but the foreign mana was still wreaking havoc.

Damn it! Once my mana runs out, it will be the end. Michael gritted his teeth, trying to come up with another solution. If things persisted as they were, he would run out of mana in less than 20 seconds.

I need mana… he reasoned. But the problem was, the Mana Scarred Lands only possessed chaotic mana. While its will might not be as strong as the violet ringed Mage’s, there was still no way for him to divert any attention to absorbing it, let alone refining it.

Wait. There’s already mana in my body… Can’t I just refine it?

Usually, refining or purifying mana would only be performed on mana without an owner. There was no precedent of this process being performed on foreign mana which still held a will, and probably for a good reason.

This was because purifying and refining mana was performed by the soul.

It was a crazy idea, but he was out of options.

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