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English translation:
My vision began to blur. The pain intensified to the point where I wanted to scream, but I couldn't even open my mouth. My entire body was rigid, motionless as mana flowed out of control.
I'm going to die. Again. I'm going to die for being too greedy.
And then I felt Arthur's hands on my shoulders.
His mana—refined and controlled—flowed into me. Not aggressively, not to attack or suppress, but to guide. Like a master taking the hands of a trembling student and showing them the correct path.
"Breathe, Kael." Arthur's voice was firm and strong, an anchor in the storm. "Listen to my voice. Focus on me. Let my mana guide you."
I followed his voice like a lifeline in a raging ocean. I felt his mana intertwining with mine, creating a structure, a pattern I could follow.
Slowly, guided by Arthur's control, I began to reduce the speed of the rotation. Not abruptly, because that could also damage my torso, but gradually. Like slowing a runaway horse, reducing its speed little by little.
The vortex weakened. The particles stopped converging frantically. The rotation slowed to an intense, but manageable pace.
And finally, guided by Arthur's mana, I managed to stop it completely.
The silence that followed was absolute.
I collapsed forward, gasping, soaked in sweat. Arthur caught me, preventing me from falling face-first onto the grass.
"What the hell was that?" Arthur asked, his voice slightly trembling—not from fear, but from sheer astonishment. "Kael, you just absorbed more mana in less than a minute than most mages do in an entire week. Maybe a month."
I couldn't answer. My throat was dry, and my body was shaking from the residual effects of channeling so much power.
Arthur held me firmly as he extended his senses toward my core, searching for damage. His eyes widened even more, if that was even possible.
"Your core," he murmured in disbelief. "Kael, it advanced. From solid orange to dark yellow. Almost reaching orange again. In less than a minute. Do you have any idea how impossible that is?"
I managed to weakly shake my head.
Arthur sat down on the grass, still holding me, his expression a complex mix of concern, fascination, and something close to fear.
"This isn't normal," he said, more to himself than to me. "Even with mana rotation, even with exceptional talent, this level of absorption is… impossible. Unless…"
He stopped and looked at me with piercing intensity.
"Kael, when you were absorbing mana, I saw the particles. I saw how they were coming toward you."
"And?" I managed to say.
"That means you have perfect affinity with all the elements."
He closed his eyes for a moment, processing the situation. When he opened them again, he had made a decision.
"Kael," he said, "since you have such control over mana…"
It was the question I had been dreading. The question I had no answer to without revealing the Legacy, without revealing my reincarnation, without revealing everything.
"I don't know," I said honestly, my voice still weak. "Mom and Dad say I'm special. That maybe I have a blessing from the elven spirits. But they don't know exactly why I'm like this. They only know that I'm… different."
It wasn't the whole truth, but it wasn't completely a lie either.
Arthur studied me for a long moment, then sighed, running a hand through his hair in a very adult gesture.
"All right. We all have secrets, I suppose." There was a deep weight in those words, as if he too carried secrets he couldn't share. "But Kael, listen to me very, very carefully."
I straightened a little, looking at him directly.
"You can't use mana rotation like that again. At least not without supervision, and not until you learn to control that absorption. You were minutes away from exploding your core. If I hadn't been here to stabilize you, you could have—"
He didn't finish the sentence. He didn't need to.
"I'm sorry," I said sincerely. "I didn't mean to… I didn't know that would happen."
"I know. It wasn't your fault. Your power responded to the technique in a way that… that even I didn't expect." Arthur stood up, offering me his hand to help me to my feet. "But we need to find a way for you to control that mana absorption. Because if you really have that kind of affinity and that kind of potential…"
Arthur looked at me with an expression that was half admiration, half concern, completely serious.
If only you knew, I thought, feeling the weight of the Legacy pulsing in my core. If only you knew it's not 'might.' It's 'will.' Because I have to be. To change the future. To save everyone.
But out loud, I only said, "Thank you for teaching me, Art. And for saving me just now. I owe you one."
"You're welcome." Arthur ruffled my hair with a small smile. "But next time you practice this, let me know first, okay? Preferably before you try to explode your core."
We laughed, and the tension of the moment eased a little. But as we walked back toward the palace, I could feel Arthur's occasional gaze on me.
He suspected something. He didn't know exactly what, but he suspected I was much more than I appeared. That there were secrets in me that went beyond simply being a prodigy.
And he was right.
Someday, I thought as we entered the palace, I'll tell you the truth, Arthur Leywin. Someday I'll tell you that I'm like you. Someone who doesn't fully belong in this world. Someone who carries the weight of knowledge they shouldn't have.
But not today.
Today, I just need to recover. And then, in secret, master this technique.
Porque el tiempo se acaba. Y sé exactamente lo que viene.
Continuará…