Cesar

I had the distinct feeling Azzeck was not going to get any work done in my absence. Not that I cared, as Julius was ‘sick’ today. I definitely did fake my son being sick to get a day off to spend with him and Cleo.

“Cesar, you are zoning out again.” Cleo lectured.

I looked at her, and she was exceptionally beautiful today. Her sand colored skin seemed absolutely radiant today. Her emerald eyes danced in the morning light. Cleo’s elegant oryx like horns gently came through her forest green hair.

“Sorry dear, I just am not used to having a lot of free time. Is Julius still asleep?” I asked.

“His schedule has been getting better. He should wake up in the next thirty minutes or so.” Cleo replied.

“Okay. How is his <Magic> developing?” I asked.

“Stop asking about that, he will develop at his own pace. It’s normal for it to take around six months for them to start using <Basic> level <Magic>.” Cleo snapped.

“I am sorry Cleo. I am just worried.” I replied.

“Just relax Cesar. It’s your day off. Julius is going to grow up big and strong just like his dad.” Cleo comforted.

I needed to remember that Nil was the one off scale. I’d be lying if I didn’t secretly hope my son would have that level of talent. Everyday he grows more and more; now he has a <Familiar> as well. Today is my day off, I have to let this go. I let out a deep sigh. Why did this bug me so much? My son let out a small little cry.

“Someone’s hungry.” Cleo chimed as she began to feed our son, she looked absolutely stunning as she did it too.

Once Julius was fed, we began playing games with him. Cleo and I were waiting to get Julius <Appraised>. Thankfully, between our salaries we could comfortably afford to have it done once Julius turned one. Cleo and I were hoping that Julius inherited my <Fire Affinity>. Not the most spectacular or rare <Affinity>, but a good one that left a lot of doors open.

After about an hour of playing with him, Julius looked like he was tiring. Cleo picked him up, yelped, and immediately dropped him. With dad level reflexes I caught him, and received a painful shock for my efforts. I grit my teeth and set him down carefully.

“<Lightning>!” Cleo exclaimed.We excitedly hugged each other. <Lightning Affinity>! Thank the Lords of Tenebrae.

“A rare <Affinity>. A top tier <Affinity> too!” I cried.

Such a powerful <Affinity>! Second highest level <Affinity>! Not <Divine> like Nil’s, but much better than my and Cleo’s <Standard> level. A <Mythic Affinity>. I could feel Cleo shaking in my arms. It was a dream come true. He can become strong, get a well paying job, and support his family. He has access to so many futures.

.*

Nil

My progress with the infernal ball was definitely not good; this ball was beginning to taunt me. There was laughter emanating from it. Okay, maybe Lux, but still. It had been a week since Lux started using me as a morning punching bag, and it felt like I had barely made any progress. I could somewhat lift the ball now. It was by no means steady, but I could lift it and keep it in the air for a solid two seconds.

<Domination> was proving to be quite tricky. I had tried using it in the imperfect form I currently could use on Lux. Turns out, moving a living, speeding, and for absolutely no apparent reason angry creature was way harder than moving the ball. I was currently <Tempering> to increase how hard my body was. As long as I kept it up, at least Lux hurt her paws on my face. Take that Lux. My mom entered the room, and took me to the dining room for breakfast.

“You always look so dirty in the mornings. You and Lux must roll around a lot.” my mom chided.

Thankfully, Uncle Nox kept potions handy each morning. The taste of potions was not something I think I would ever get used to. I think the taste was starting to give me nightmares.I shuddered just thinking about it. Why do they taste so bad?

At the breakfast table, my dad was eating a piece of toast, looking like a zombie. I guess I never have said, ‘papa is the best!’ outloud at the table yet. He looks like he could use it today. My mom set me down in my chair, and fed me. My Uncle took his seat next to my dad.

“You look chipper this morning.” my dad groaned at Nox.

“I met someone the other day, and I think we are off to a fantastic start.” Nox replied excitedly.

“Who are they?” my mom asked while giving me a spoonful of what I think was broccoli.

“For the last time, I am not telling you two anything.” Nox replied. My parents just shrugged.

“Way to go brother!” my dad chimed. He sounded dead inside as the words left his mouth.

“Papa is the best!” I exclaimed. My mom whipped around, shooting my dad a death glare. On the other hand, my dad’s face absolutely lit up.

“That’s my boy!” my dad exclaimed.

“You taught him that phrase! You coached him didn’t you?!” my mom snapped at him.

“When would I have had time to? He must have gleaned from context.” my dad retorted. My mom’s eyes got really narrow. She seemed to be trying to melt his brain through his eyes.

“Come on Nil, can you say, ‘mama is best’. I know you can.” my mom asked.

“Mama is best!” I repeated. She seemed really happy with that.

“Can you say Nox is best?” my Uncle asked.

“Nox is worst!” I replied. His eyes seemed to bore holes into my soul. I really should be nicer to my uncle; it’s just so fun to mess with him.

“And before I try to assault a baby, I am off.” my Uncle announced, simply vanishing from existence.

Breakfast ended seven minutes later, and I was under the care of Helga. I was trying to use <Dominate> on this blasted ball. You will move the way I want you yet! Again, I got the anchor to form on the ball. This step was becoming easy to me in general. I imagine this anchor sensation is in a lot of <Space Affinity Magic>. Was it the reference point? Maybe what I am using my <Magic> on? I don’t know. I wish I had more formal training with <Magic>. What was I doing wrong? The breathing for keeping my <Mana> stable was becoming second hand to me, and I was focused on it, trying to enter some focused state. Nothing as I expected.

I felt the issue was in how I was using my <Mana>. I mean, duh, the <Magic> is not working as intended. I chided myself. When I used <Magic Sense>, it felt like waves I was emitting, kind of like sonar that I was using to feel and sense around. I tried feeling my <Mana>, to no avail.

Maybe my <Arcane Eye> could shed some light. I still haven’t seen a bird, so that sensation was not right yet. I flowed my <Mana> into using my <Arcane Eye>. I could feel the strain that accompanied it activating. My vision sharpened a bit, and the odd sense of exertion that followed. I tried forming my <Mana> again. A black blob slowly emitted from my hand. It was malformed, oddly shaped, and frankly like I made a club of <Mana>. My eyes were starting to feel quite strained. Helga lunged over towards me.

“NIL! STOP NOW!” she yelled at the top of her lungs. I stopped immediately, just looking at her confused.

Helga quickly produced a ring, put it on, and snapped her fingers. Magus Erli materialized in an instant. She took a quick look at me, and immediately began inspecting my eyes. They felt fine, why were they so concerned?

“<Backlash> from using his <Arcane Eye>. Good thing you stopped him. I would try to heal it, but eyes are quite tricky and beyond what I can fix without risk. Thankfully, you stopped it before he did any real damage.” Magus Erli replied. My mom burst into the room. Mama bear sense was definitely tingling. Or she heard Helga scream. Actually, knowing her, she probably has some <Magic> keeping an eye on me.

“WHY ARE HIS EYES RED?” my mom asked as she rushed over, again inspecting my eyes. Lux let out a groan in the corner, showing her displeasure at the loud noises.

“Empress Senna, he strained his eyes from using his <Arcane Eye>. There is no serious damage other than his eyes will be a bit bloodshot as they heal.” Magus Erli informed.

My mom looked at them, and seemed to let it go. She picked me up, and hugged me close. Maybe it is not my <Arcane Eye> that is the problem, it is probably I have no idea how to use it. And apparently the <Backlash> is a bit more than I realized. My mom

It did give me some insight onto my problem though. My <Mana> control absolutely sucks. That was a malformed mass at best. I tried to form my <Mana> again, trying to form it in something more streamlined. I had no idea how I was doing.

I could kind of sense around it. Wait, I can sense around it. I tried narrowing what I was sensing. It slowly narrowed; this was awkward. Mentally taxing to say the least. After struggling for over an hour, I was getting the hang of it, but it felt like my head was about to split in half. Why does using <Magic> in new ways cause such mind melting headaches?

After the world started to appear to be twisting around the edges of my vision, I stopped using <Magic>. What was something I could do in the meantime? My <Mana> supply was quite full still. <Tempering> always seemed to be a good idea. I began circulating my <Mana> through my body as usual.

It was normal, until it reached my eyes. Lemon juice mixed with hot sauce would have been less painful. But my <Mana> did not stop. It felt like my <Mana> was trying to make my eyes explode. I quickly circulated it away, which made the pain subside. Unfortunately, it went to my heart, where it felt like my body was revolting.

In all honesty, it felt like my heart seized. I quickly compressed my <Mana>, trying to quell it. Something cracked, and instead of the usual wave of heat, this was pure magma. What is happening? I quickly circulated my <Mana> through my body. I needed to power through the pain. Once it reached my eyes again, I about passed out.

Why was this so painful? What did I do wrong? At this point, I noticed Helga and Magus Erli probably having panic attacks behind me. I could hear Lux growling at them as they got close. The cycle alternated. Flaming agony in my eyes alternating with what felt like my body melting. I pushed my <Mana> through my body desperately.

It hit my eyes again. I tried compressing my <Mana> in my eyes, similar to how I did it in my heart. Please subside the pain. It had an effect. Definitely not one I desired. I thought the pain before was bad. This was so much worse. It felt like I strapped a car battery to my optic nerve. But I couldn’t stop it. If anything, it was getting worse, until a large crack reverberated through my body. Words could not describe the pain that followed.

I felt a massive fluctuation of <Mana>. My eyes were best described as having a hot poker coated in lemon juice and hot sauce, while a car battery flows current through it, slowly twisted through my eyes. The magma from my heart just flooded into my eyes. My <Mana> was being forcefully circulated between the two, cooling, compressing, and exploding from each. My <Mana> was absolutely out of control. I think I heard Grand Archmagus Solomon.

Desperate, I tried to force my <Mana> out of my body. Oh boy was that a next level bad idea. Once it reached my skin, the <Mana> surged along my skin, giving the sensation I was on fire. The pain was overwhelming; this was not going well to say the least. I forcefully drew the <Mana> back in, and the heat only increased. Why is this so painful? What is causing this? I wanted to rip out my own eyes.

After a minute of the heart to eye hell cycle, my eyes made a pop sound. All the pain subsided. I opened my eyes. I could still see. Then my eyes felt like they got hit with a sledgehammer. My senses felt they were being overwhelmed. I close them, the sensation dies down. I felt my mom pick me up, and cry out my name. I couldn’t muster any strength to respond. My body felt like an empty husk. I heard my dad calling out my name as well before I finally succumbed to the pain my body was in and passed out.