We move to the back of the large welcoming area. There are two halls branching off it and a wide spiraling staircase. We take it up and step into a plain looking hall with four doors.
I unlock door number 3 and lock it after she follows me in. The inside is dimly lit by softly glowing crystals stuck in the upper corners. There’s no furniture as the floor is dominated by a written spell. It’s in the shape of a circle, compromised of hundreds of symbols and calculations. Nine stones are arranged around it, embedded into the floor.
“I’ve seen something like this before.” Kierra removes her hood and kneels in front of the spell. “Not exactly like this but…these symbols…” Her brows are furrowed as she examines it. Then she chuckles. “I see. This is very similar to our spell for measuring children.”
“That’s not surprising. There may be dozens of races and different notations but mana speaks one language.” I shrug off my cloak and toss it carelessly into a corner. “Right. Best to get this over with.”
“Mm.” Kierra stands up. “If it is the same, you shouldn’t need much from me.”
“Nope. Unless something goes terribly wrong.” Please don’t let it go wrong. I’ve never heard of someone injuring themselves during a test but I’ve also never heard of anyone becoming half-elemental. “Here we go. The first step toward my new destiny.”
“Good luck.”
I know that was sarcastic but her smile is genuine. I take some comfort in that as I sink to my knees and place my hands on the edge of the spell.
Taking a deep breath to settle my beating heart, I call on my mana. Like usual, a heat rises from my navel and hits my heart before spreading out. I direct the flow into my hands and out into the spell. It soaks it up greedily, the symbols beginning to glow. A blue line appears over me, a second one quickly being drawn.
Each of those lines represents a coefficient of 5 and they’re rapidly appearing. Doesn’t take long before the twenty of them appear. Before I was sent to the Grand Hall, my coefficient was measured at 35. Now I have proof of my growth.
“Ugh.” Though I’m not in a mood to celebrate. After channeling so much mana, it’s starting to get painful. I feel a tight pain in my chest as I continue to force the power out and it’s not feeling any better. But this will only be successful if I push out every last drop.
When I was a kid, Father paid for an examiner who is specially trained in mana manipulation. Any caster can learn it but it takes talent to manipulate someone else’s mana with your own. It was even more torturous than now but I needed the help. I’m not one to intentionally suffer.
This is different. I have a goal and plenty of motivation. I close my eyes and grit my teeth as the world starts to spin. The flow of mana from my hands slows down but it never stops.
Sweat beads down my brow as the ache in my chest grows in intensity and spreads outward. My arms shake as an uncomfortable tingle goes through the muscles. Not yet. This isn’t my limit.
And Kierra is behind me. It’s clear who the ‘man’ in our relationship is, at least most times, but I’d rather not look pathetic. I do have some pride.
After what feels like days, I push the last of my mana into the spell and collapse on top of it. Everything hurts, even the ragged breaths I take. Strong hands lift me up and lean me back. I groan pitifully and Kierra shushes me. “Easy, dedia. My special love. Though even I couldn’t have guessed how special you are.”
I slowly open my eyes but immediately shut them against the weak light. Ugh. The effects of mana strain are nothing to joke about. If those were normal lights, I might have been blinded.
I don’t know how long I lean against Kierra while she strokes my hair, her magic doing its best to help me. It’s relaxing but can’t do anything about my strained mana channels, the source of my pain.
When the pounding in my head lessens a little and I don’t feel like I’m going to hurl if I move, I try to get to my feet. Kierra sees and helps me stand, supporting me with her arms around my waist. I open my eyes for the second time.
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This time, I keep them open. Hovering about the formation are 33 translucent blue lines, the last one not quite as long as the rest. That would put my coefficient at 164, more than double what it was. It’s amazing but I already expected as much in the Enchanted Forest.
The surprising part is the stones. Each one can absorb mana of a specific affinity and fluoresces. They’re used to divine affinities.
Rubies for fire, sapphires for water, emeralds for earth, alabaster for air, blue moonstones for mental, five-banded agate for physical, dragon isle glass for light, obsidian for null, and thousand-year diamonds for celestial.
The last time I was here, the ruby gave off a weak light, showing my fire affinity.
Now, seven of the nine stones are glowing. The exceptions are the obsidian shard and fist-sized diamond. I’m not disappointed. That still means the other seven are glowing, and not faintly. I have seven affinities. This goes beyond legendary. I can’t find the words, let alone a single sound to express myself. My lips move uselessly as I stare at the stones.
“Seven affinities,” Kierra whispers in my ear. There’s something in her voice that wasn’t there before but I don’t know what it is. “The Great Spirit that saved the elves is believed to have five and it is an existence we consider a god.”
Ha! A god? Cosmo gave me a part of himself and I gained six affinities. On top of that, I know he has the celestial affinity because that’s what Crowley used in his summoning. What are the chances he also has the null affinity? I think pretty good.
A being that has every affinity. I can’t wrap my head around that. And that…deity remade me with parts of himself.
“I’m a god,” I breathe out. The words are ridiculous and blasphemous. Belief in gods is outdated. With the widespread knowledge of summoning, it’s commonly believed those people our ancestors worshipped were just visiting elementals. Belief in the saints is far more accepted.
But what else can I call an existence like Cosmo? He is truly above all the races. That can only be called a god. “I’m the daughter of a god,” I say with a bit more strength. I turn my head to look at a wildly grinning Kierra. “Lucky devil. You married into divinity.”
“Infant divinity. I can still take you.”
I nod seriously. “Of course. My potential has been…drastically increased but I’m still inexperienced. But when I learn how to cast…” A seven-affinity caster. The world isn’t ready. “Saints shield me, if anyone discovers what I can do before I’m ready, we’re so screwed.”
Forget a threat to the nation, I’m a threat to the world. People with multiple affinities can cast blended spells. They’re stronger, nastier, and almost impossible for a single affinity caster to defend against. No one would be able to stop me.
“Not only that.” Kierra pulls me tighter against her. “I think that being that saved you…as powerful as it is, it might have more than these seven affinities. And since you are part of it, then with time, you might also gain the null and celestial affinity.”
Her words stupefy me. This crazy woman. I’m already something beyond human understanding and now she’s saying I might become even more unreasonable with time? The craziest part is it might actually come true.
I laugh. It bubbles up suddenly and is uncontrollable once it starts. Pretty soon, Kierra is laughing with me. Our voices echo in the small room for several minutes as the lights from the spell slowly start to dim.