3. Origin

The concept of time and space was always vague for humans. For the human mind the concept of time can be described as the amount of information it can absorb or process in one given instance of time.

We only see the explosion and not the process of gunpowder igniting, as it produces immense heat and pressure which cause its container to expand outwards until it reaches its limit and breaks apart with tremendous force.

Our mind can not process that much information in that small time frame, so the only thing we see is the result.

That's exactly what happened to Jack. The only thing saw was his father disappearing from his seat

Booooooooom!!!

Jack got from his sit, his mind was blank and hazy

He frantically turned around after hearing pain streaked voice

"Too late"

Said the man with a completely covered face and body.

Jack absent-mindedly touches his face which feels sticky and wet for some reason, only to realize it was blood that made it sticky.

And suddenly everything clicked in.

As to why his father said those words

'like him'

Jack looked at Joshua whose arm was still penetrating the the chest of that man. Blood was slowly pooling under him.

The two guards he had seen outside of the room some time ago were surrounding Joshua with their flaming blades covering his blind spots. they were very vigilant and ready for any possible threat that may come next.

Jack looked down at his blood-stained palm and finally noticed a bright orange hue that surrounded not only his palm but his whole body.

'Mana, its father's fire attribute mana'

Mana what a wonderful thing it was, truly marvelous and miraculous at the same time with mana everything was possible, that's what ignorant fools who couldn't use it believe but in reality, it was a fundamental part of nature.

It was an energy that was present everywhere and could be harnessed through one's soul. As to what exactly is soul no one really knows. Some say it is the origin of life and some say it is the spiritual container that holds one's consciousness together.

Jack had been told that his soul was more powerful than the average person's due to his genetics, which is why he had managed to sense mana at the age of four. Even in history, no one has managed to do that, not even elves who were known for their mana sensitivity. Most of the geniuses had managed to do the same at the ages ranging from 14 to 16. That's why everyone in the castle was very excited but their excitement was short-lived. Even after six years of intensive physical and spiritual training, his body showed no sign of awakening.

it is said that awakening happens when one's spiritual body (Soul)and physical body sync together perfectly. which allows one to have basic control over mana that had been accumulated within their soul.

Which in Jack's case never happened.

It came as a huge shock for a ten-year-old boy who had been told he was a prodigy blessed boy god, a peerless genius, and whatnot.

'Why I am remembering it now'

Jack wipes his face clean of blood with his handkerchief as speaks.

"Don't kill him, we need him alive "

"He is already dead "

Joshua answers as he removes his bloody hand and tosses assassin's body away.

"figure out he managed to bypass the security also do an intensive search of the whole city and report me if you find anything or anyone suspicious "

"Father ... "

Jack hesitated for a moment as he waited for the guards to go and deliver the message

before speaking again.

"Father since when "

Joshua looked at Jack with an approving gaze and a satisfied smile.

"Not only did you remain calm but also managed to think straight in this situation truly impressive Son. I think our little trip to the north was worth it ha ha ha "

"Oh I thought going to deny it, let me guess was it when he entered the castle or when he hid in the shadow of your one and only son, I wonder how it feels to endanger your life with your own blood, must be exciting "

Jack had felt something was off with this whole ordeal of things from the start. A mere awakened assassin managed to infiltrate not only the city but also the Castle and also managed to hide in the shadow of the duke's son. And Duke Joshua von Ignis remained completely unaware of it.

'Like hell that's possible'

His father was one the strongest humans alive after all. A true peerless genius unlike him.

"Okay, that's enough. go your sword instructor must be waiting for you at the training grounds "

Joshua looks at his son one more time before leaving.

***

"Focus more on your swings young masters, it won't do you any good if you just train halfheartedly "

Jack had been swinging his sword nonstop for nearly 4 hours, drenched in sweat from head to toe.

But still, his demon of an instructor wasn't satisfied.

After one more hour demon leaves and has finally some time for himself. He hurriedly rushes towards the bathroom to wash himself clean of dust and sweat.

Just when he was about to step into the worm water prepared by maids for him emergency siren sounds fouling his plan for worm relaxed bath. He hurriedly puts the cloth on as he hears the knock on the door

"Young master please open the door, it's an emergency"

he hears a familiar panic-stricken voice come from outside, as he hurridly opens the door, and in front of him stands a beautiful teenage girl with long red hair tied in a ponytail and pale white skin, she was 2 to 3 inches shorter than him with an exquisite hourglass shape body. Her usually charming face now had panic and fear written all over it.

"Tell me what happened"

Jack hurridly strides forward as Sindy follows behind him answering his question

"Duke has issued an emergency summons for all military and civil staff "

"But why!!"

"th....the .... city has been breached !! "

Jack Albert stops his fast-paced strides for a second and resumes his walk with even faster speed than before.

" how many "

Sindy struggles to keep up with him

"That ... I don't know "

Jack had really nasty feelings about it.

'First the assassination and now a full-blown attack, just what the hell is happening? Father definitely knows something about it. Earlier today, he definitely knew someone was going to Infiltrate the castle but he allowed it nevertheless. I think there is a bigger picture at play here. Just who dares to mess with us? guess I will find it soon enough '

Jack was panicked for sure but he wasn't afraid because there wasn't any need to. Sure enough, the enemy had caught them off-guard but they had underestimated the Ignis family the family of FIRE.

'let em burn'