Chapter 6: Finding Answers

Drake Helkar's Point of View

Darkness, joy, pain, fear, rage, pleasure, and many other feelings hit my heart when I entered the baby's body.

Looks like I finally calmed down... I thought after crying intensely for several minutes. I don't think I've cried like that since the accident…

With fresh memories of everything that had happened, I decided to look around a bit. When I opened my eyes, I realized I was in a straw crib, and when I turned to the side, I saw a girl standing not far from me. Her intense gaze made me a bit uncomfortable.

But... Who is this girl? I don't remember seeing her in the shop before. The mysterious girl had shiny white hair that looked golden under the firelight from the shop's lamps, and she had beautiful eyes similar to Bernal's.

"Right? Little brother." She said suddenly, breaking my admiration as I stared at her. Wait... What did you say? 

"For now, rest, Drake, tomorrow will be a busy day." She said, gently stroking my head before going to the side of the shop to put away some things scattered on the ground.

So she's my sister. I wonder what her name is. I thought curiously. And she called me Drake, so... is that going to be my name in this world? I guess it's okay, it doesn't sound too bad.

That's right! Isn't this girl the hooded kid I saw before I was reborn? I thought, recalling the moments before my rebirth. That must be that, since they wore a hood covering their hair and face, I thought they were a boy. 

With that conclusion, other questions arose, but I ignored them due to the slight but sudden pain that came from above my heart.

This pain... Right, if the information Bernal gave me is correct, this pain must be caused by my mana heart. I thought as my body became a bit restless. Now that I think about it, this new organ that functions similarly to a heart is a bit weird.

I settled into the blankets I was on and quickly began to dive into myself to see exactly what was happening inside my mana heart.

According to Bernal, the baby died because its core didn't fully develop. I thought, remembering his instructions to fix it.

He also told me to repair it before the mana they gave me ran out. Do people in this world die if they run out of mana in their bodies? I wondered without expecting an answer.

Darkness started to take over me as my consciousness dove into my mana heart, causing me a strange warmth.

Thanks to everything Bernal told me, this will be a piece of cake. I thought happily about the help I had.

With my consciousness inside, I could see several transparent fragments scattered throughout the darkness of the place, like large broken crystals. Wow, being in here is like being in another dimension. 

The mana inside looked like a vast starry sky, similar to those shown in the anime from my past world. But among all the lights, one stood out for its intense brightness and size.

Surely that must be the Fragment of Bernal's Divine Spark. I thought before diving back into Bernal's information to investigate a bit more about it.

After searching for a while, I found some related information that managed to distract me from my goal. Ah… I know it's a priority to repair my core, but first, I need to solve these doubts.

A long, long time ago, a True God visited this world. This God liked this planet so much that he helped its inhabitants by organizing them and teaching them various things. Before leaving for space again, this God gave something to each leader of a race. This thing they were given became known as the Divine Spark. I thought without really understanding what I was saying in my head.

When looking for information about the Divine Spark, I discovered more interesting things. So, the Divine Spark allows you to use some of the Gods' abilities without your body getting destroyed in the process? Wait! Does that mean Gods actually exist?

Bernal was one of those leaders back then, so after that God left the planet, several wars broke out over the power of the sparks. Bernal had to split his Divine Spark into 10 fragments. Why? No idea. What I do know is that he hid 9 of those fragments in objects or living beings…

Shit! Now I get it! The Bernal I talked to wanted me to gather all the fragments of his spark! But why? Will he be revived or something if I do? I thought, puzzled by the lack of information.

Whatever, I don't care what he wanted exactly, because after all, he's already dead and can't force me to do it. I thought carelessly. Though, to be honest, I am curious about what will happen if I gather all the fragments, but for now, it's best to investigate that later.

Again, looking through my head, I found a bit more information. Apparently, Bernal gave one of the 10 fragments to his firstborn, along with some of his mana in case the Fragment of his Spark got lost.

Wait, does that mean the Bernal I talked to wasn't even the real one? Was he just mana? I thought, curious about the things they could do with mana in this world.

This Fragment of the Spark was passed down from firstborn to firstborn, becoming a tradition that lasted many generations. I thought before focusing back on my mana heart.

This world's history is a bit crazy. I thought as I slowly raised my hand.

All this reminds me of following a recipe for a dish. As long as I don't get sidetracked, everything will be fine… I thought optimistically.

The crystals scattered around the place were my mana core, so the first thing I set out to do was repair its structure.

Following a strange feeling in my memories, I began to gather and fuse them, right over Bernal's fragment. The whole process continued until after a few seconds, I thought I had enough crystals to start attracting the scattered mana.

Attracting them wasn't difficult because I just had to give them a fixed order with my will to control them.

As I continued with that process, I realized something that worried me to my core. Some pieces of my core started to gather at another point, causing the mana to have two options for fusion.

Damn it, I think it's because I started attracting the mana before gathering all the fragments. I'm such an idiot!

Not knowing how to stop everything, desperation began to overwhelm me as I watched the crystal pieces merge with the mana until two spheres of different colors formed.

The first sphere seemed to be filled with liquid gold, causing a small golden glow that made it stand out from the other. On the other hand, the second sphere was smaller, with a violet liquid and some black and red lines.

OK… I don't think that was supposed to happen. I reflected as the slight pain I felt at first started to decrease. In theory, each person has a core in their mana heart. This core purifies the external mana so that the mana heart can then pump it to the rest of the body. 

But… why do I see two cores right now? I thought as I looked at the two floating spheres in front of me. The fragment of Bernal is in the golden one, so I guess that's why it's bigger than the other.

Damn, I don't know what consequences this will have in the future. It's best to investigate it later. For now, I'll leave them as they are because they both seem stable. I thought before my consciousness returned to reality.

I opened my eyes only to find the shop's ceiling again. These last 24 hours were very tiring; now I can finally rest….

My young body, tired and sleepy, relaxed. But… I'm glad to have a second chance. This time… this time I'll take advantage of every moment…. I'll do what I couldn't in my past life, what I was too foolish to do due to fate.

After a few minutes of meditating and recalling some scenes from my past life, I slowly fell asleep.

…

"—get out of here before Boris sends more men."

Huh? What's going on? I thought, still half-asleep, hearing a man's voice very close to me.

Still with my eyes closed, I tried to stand up to go to the kitchen for some water, but as I did, I felt a wall blocking my way.

Right! I thought as I suddenly opened my eyes. "But Father… will Mother be okay if she travels after giving birth?"

Damn, for a moment I thought I was in my apartment….

"I understand your concern, Zoe, but while you were sleeping, your father healed me with magic." Said a soft young voice.

I tried to sit up in my crib to see what was happening, but as I did, they noticed I was awake.

"Drake is already awake. Can you bring him to me, Zoe? I want to see him." said a beauty lying on a bed.

Wow! Who is she? I thought, subtly looking at her while the girl who said she was my sister yesterday approached me. She's so beautiful….

As I was picked up, I was taken to the arms of the beautiful woman, making me nervous. From her appearance, she looks about 21 years old, but something tells me she's older than that. 

She had gorgeous crimson hair that matched her olive green eyes. Huh! Wait! Does she have horns? What race is she? I wondered as I observed the two black horns on her head.

"Here you go, Mother." Said the girl before handing me to her arms. Mother? What? No!! Wait! Does that mean this beautiful young woman is also my mother!? I thought, shocked and regretting the way I had looked at her a few seconds ago.

Ahh!!! How can I think that about my mother!? What the hell is wrong with me!? I thought before starting to feel a small shiver down my spine.

"I'm glad to see you're okay." Said the woman, revealing a genuine smile before hugging me sweetly.

"Alright, so without any more worries, we're leaving in half an hour" Said the man from yesterday after waiting a few seconds. "Meanwhile, Zoe, you'll help your mom with whatever she needs." Said the man before leaving the tent.

"Understood, father." Said my sister, confirming the obvious. Just as I thought, that man is my father.... I thought, feeling a bit uncomfortable.

"Zoe, go feed Mork and Ness, they'll need to be ready for the long trip ahead, I'll stay with your brother for a bit to check on him." Nodding, my sister left the tent without a word, leaving my mom and me alone. Huh?

"My little Drake, I'm glad you're okay." She said, gently caressing my head. "This morning, while you were sleeping, I felt something weird with your mana heart, so I thought something bad had happened to you."

Oh, if only she knew.... I thought, cutting off the sweet moment.

"Right, you must be hungry." She said before lifting me with her delicate hands and putting me in a familiar position.

Wait! Could it be? I thought, a bit anxious. No, no, no, this is normal for a baby, I don't need to freak out or they'll suspect!

Closing my eyes just enough to blur my vision, I started sucking my food after my mom showed me one of her powerful weapons.

Don't think about anything! Don't think about anything! I screamed repeatedly inside my head. "Huh? Looks like you were hungry, Drake." AHHH...!!!

After a few minutes of mental torture, my mom fixed her clothes and left me on her bed for a moment before picking me up again.

That was.... I thought, dizzy. I-I better not say anything. She walked slowly until she moved the piece of cloth that served as a door with her beautiful hands.

"Wa." I said unconsciously, feeling the sun on my skin. Ahh... I had forgotten this strange feeling.

"Huh? Do you like the sun?" My mom said with a smile, seeing my relaxed expression. "Guess what, I like sunny days too."

As we moved in a direction I didn't know, I started observing the surroundings.

Wow, we're literally camping in a desert. I commented to myself. Since it was night yesterday, I couldn't see much of the camp.

We kept walking on the sand for a few seconds until I saw my young father taking things out of the other two tents and gathering them in one spot.

After my parents exchanged a look, my mom kept carrying me for a few more minutes through the vast desert until we reached the top of a large sand dune, where I saw two huge figures in front of us.

What are those things? I thought, scared, seeing two reptilian beasts as big as two or three houses combined. Are they... dragons?

But why? What are they doing in this desert? My doubts and fears dissipated when I saw my sister under them, feeding and petting them. Ahhh... I get it, I get it, they must be Mork and Ness.

Zoe, which was my sister's name, noticed our presence and came over immediately.

"How are Mork and Ness?" Asked my mother. "They are fine when I came I saw that they were still a bit upset by yesterday's events." Commented Zoe looking at the gigantic dragons. "But now that they are eating they are calmer."

Without saying another word, my mother approached them leaving Zoe behind us. "You're right daughter they are better." She said finally after observing them for a while.

How did they manage to tame these dragons? I asked myself full of curiosity. Does my family have a lot of money? No I don't think it's that because after all we are sleeping in tents in the middle of the desert.

Despite having little information thanks to Bernal I knew nothing about my family's situation which made me a bit frustrated.

"Zoe" Said my mother. "Kadian must be finishing up so pick this up and let's go help him." "Understood Mother." Responded my sister picking up some things that were near the dragons.

Since I didn't see any other people in the camp I suppose Kadian is my father's name. I thought before my mother suddenly held me more firmly.

"Let's go Drake. Huh? And where are we going now? I thought before my mother answered me by jumping onto one of the dragons.

What the heck! Even though they were more than 10 meters high my mother made a great leap with such elegance that made me question my relationship with her once again.

I'd better stop thinking about that.... I thought before clearing the bad thoughts from my head again. Right now that I think about it didn't my mother give birth yesterday? If so why is she so healthy and fit to jump 10 meters?

Thinking about how powerful healing magic is in this world I didn't see how Zoe had reached the back of the other dragon. Wait when did she do that?

My mother still standing on the dragon's back gave a gentle step on its back somehow indicating that it should prepare to fly.

Wow.... I thought amazed as I noticed Zoe's dragon was also preparing. Seconds later both stretched their wings and took a gentle flight that made me excited and scared at the same time.

They flew slowly towards our camp finally landing beside the things my father had already finished disassembling and gathering.

"Zoe get down to help me load everything up." Said my father. "Sure" Responded my older sister. After they finished loading everything onto the sides of the dragons my father climbed onto one of them.

"I'll go with Mork" Said my father as he looked at me in my wife's arms. "And you Zoe will lead Ness along with your mother and Drake." "Alright." Answered Zoe before both dragons lifted off the ground.

Once up my father extended one of his hands towards our camp making my body tremble for a few seconds before my mother noticed it.

"Right! Forgive me Drake I forgot you can't put a mana layer over your body yet." Said my mother enveloping me with her mana making the cold wind and fear I felt a little while ago disappear.

What? What is this? It-it feels so warm. I commented to myself. I need to learn this mana layer she's talking about as soon as possible.

My father started to lift his hand slowly and as he did immediately all traces of our camp were buried by a fierce sandstorm that rose several meters high.

Wow! How did he do that? I wondered amazed. Without an answer his dragon took off into the sky almost instantly and a couple of seconds later ours did too.

Both Mork and Ness ascended to such a degree that they disappeared into the clouds of the sky. I know this is normal for them, but for me, it's contradictory... I don't know what to feel, whether fear or happiness from these sights.

"Mother, where are we going now?" Zoe asked, turning her neck despite the strong wind. "This morning we talked with your father, and we decided to stay in the southern part of the kingdom of Flock, specifically in a village called Birton."

"What? In Flock? But that's on the other side of the world," Zoe commented doubtfully.

On the other side of the world? But... why are we embarking on such a long journey? Confused, I quieted my thoughts to continue listening to my mother's words.

"That's right, I know it's very far, but it's the best place for us to stay for a few years until Drake grows up." Said my mother. "I understand... And how long will it take us to get to Birton?"

"According to the route we chose, it will take between 190 to 200 days." What!? Are you telling me we'll spend half a year traveling like this!? I thought, alarmed.

"And mother, don't you think it's a bit long considering we don't have enough supplies for a trip like this?" Asked Zoe before looking ahead for a moment to confirm we were following Kadian.

"Yes, we know, that's why we'll make some small stops in the Central Continent to stock up on provisions."

Nodding, Zoe turned again to look ahead.

The Central Continent? I think there are many things I have to learn about this world. I thought, full of excitement for the things to come.