Unawakened: Rise of the Divine Archmage

Chapter 6: The Broken Seal

"Ezra! Wake up!"

A voice echoed inside Ezra's mind, snapping him back to reality.

"Ugh. My head," Ezra groaned, pressing a trembling palm against his forehead. A dull ache pounded behind his eyes, and his chest felt bruised.

He blinked again, trying to clear the haze in his thoughts. He could have sworn someone had just yelled his name, but the bedroom was completely empty.

Then, Ezra shifted his weight, and a loud, wet squelch came from beneath his back.

A repulsive, rotten stench hit his nostrils, making him gag. He looked down at his body and recoiled in horror.

A thick, jet-black sludge covered his skin.

The foul, greasy substance had soaked through his shirt and pants, pooling on the floorboards around him. It oozed from every part of his body, mixing with cold sweat to form a disgusting coating. His tongue even tasted bitter, as if he had swallowed poison.

Ezra sat frozen for seconds before realization hit him.

"Is this what I think it is?" Ezra whispered, his heart pounding.

He quickly pulled his legs inward and crossed them on the floor. Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath through his mouth to avoid the stench. He directed his inner focus toward the center of his chest.

There, resting right beneath his ribs, was a solid, glowing sphere of power.

It was his mana core.

"I did it," Ezra breathed, his eyes snapping open. "I actually did it! I formed a real mana core!"

He scrambled to his feet, wanting to jump and yell at the top of his lungs. But he quickly clamped a hand over his mouth.

"Calm down," Ezra told himself in a low whisper. "This is only the first step. Next, I have to figure out how to unlock my affinites. And to do that, I need guidance."

Another gust of the foul stench reached his nose, making him cough.

"First things first," he muttered. "I need to clean this up."

Without wasting another second, Ezra sneaked out of his room to go get cleaning tools and in a few minutes, he came back and began scrubbing his room thoroughly.

Afterward, he took a long, much-needed bath, washing away the remnants of the purification process. He disposed of his clothes entirely because there was no saving them.

Once he finished, he moved to leave his room but paused at the window. Darkness had settled outside.

"Was I unconscious for that long?" Ezra wondered, his brow furrowing.

As he sat in the silence, Ezra noticed something incredible.

Even though he was completely still, the mana in the room was naturally flowing toward him.

"It circulates even when I am not trying," Ezra muttered in wonder.

A bold thought popped into his head. What would happen if he actively guided the flow?

Ezra sat up straight and closed his eyes once more. He focused on the glowing sphere inside his chest. He visualized the mana spreading outward, like warm water flowing through tiny canals.

He pushed the energy out of the core, sending it through his shoulders and down his arms. The mana traveled through his elbows, his wrists, and straight into his fingertips. A pleasant, electric tingling sensation rushed across his skin.

Next, Ezra guided the mana downward into his stomach, through his hips, and down into his legs and toes. Finally, he pulled the current back up along his spine, returning it directly into his core.

Ezra repeated the process over and over. Each loop made the mana flow faster. His body felt powerful.

Time slipped away completely.

Ezra was so absorbed in moving the energy that he did not notice the stars fading from the sky.

A beam of bright morning sunlight cut through the window, shining directly onto Ezra's face.

It's morning already?" he muttered, confused. As he stood and stretched, he felt more refreshed than ever.

"I should freshen up and head to the library. There has to be something there that can help me." With that, he hurried out of the room.

The moment the front door clicked shut, the air inside his room began to buzz.

A blinding flash of light engulfed the room. When the light dimmed, two figures were standing silently where Ezra had just been sitting.

The first man was younger, with short brown hair and sharp blue eyes. He looked around the clean bedroom with a curious expression.

"The boy is talented," the brown-haired man remarked. "And he learns remarkably fast."

The second figure was the First Mage. His long white hair and beard gleamed softly in the morning sun. He nodded slowly in agreement.

"Indeed," the First Mage said. "Without guidance, he not only formed his mana core, but also

also instinctively began circulating his mana properly."

"But I'm confused." The brown haired man muttered, his brows furrowed as he stared ahead.

"About?"

"I'm sure he must have tried forming his mana core several times before, all unsuccessful, so how did he succeed this time around?" The brown haired man mumbled.

"That's because I had a hand in it." The old man replied as a small frown settled on his face.

"How so?"

"I don't know how and why but it looked like someone had sealed his core to block his magic. I had to unlock the seal after I found out about his potential." The white haired man replied as he stroked his beard.

"But why would someone do that? And who?" The brown haired man asked.

"No idea."

Then the brown-haired man crossed his arms. "Now I wonder which element he will unlock first."

"It does not matter which comes first," the First Mage said gravely. "What matters is the danger that follows."

The old mage walked over to the open window, looking out toward the town.

"When Ezra awakens his first element, people will treat him as a mage. By the second, they will call him a prodigy. But the moment he reveals a third element, the powerful factions of Valeria will mark him a threat."

The brown-haired man sighed, shaking his head. "Even you could not fully crush your enemies back then, could you?"

"That is why Ezra is our only hope," the First Mage said, his eyes burning with resolve. "I held four affinities in my prime. Ezra possesses five. He is a miracle that this world has never seen before."

"How many affinities does the Emperor command?" the brown-haired man asked.

"Four," the First Mage replied flatly. "None of them special. But the Emperor controls vast resources. If he discovers Ezra's five affinities, he will send everything he has to eliminate the boy."

The brown-haired man let out a long sigh. "Such is the burden of power."

"Indeed," the First Mage said, turning away from the window. "Until he grows strong enough to defend himself, I will keep watch over him."

With that the two figures blurred into streaks of light and vanished, leaving the bedroom completely empty once again.