Chapter 3: Sign of a New Era
A mana vortex.
Basically, a worm hole that forms when the mana in an area is extremely unstable or when it has been rung dry.
Exactly like a rotating tornado, but ten times more deadly.
Its purpose is to absorb mana towards it like a black hole, but this also means that any nearby object or creature would be sucked into it, before being shredded to pieces as their mana reserves coalesce with those in the surrounding.
It is a surefire way to die for any novice mage/knight, not to talk of normal humans.
The viciousness and ferocity is determined by how much damage initially caused it, or, even better, how big the wormhole is.
So, what about one that forms when both conditions are met? That would be downright catastrophic, sort of what was happening right now.
The wormhole expanded in the span of a minute, and began to suck in everything on the surroundings, starting with the air, which instantly killed two-thirds of the already-injured knights that were still alive.
And as if that wasn't enough, it began shredding all nearby objects, granting the suffocating knights a quick death as it turned them into mush, their mana forcefully taken and added to the wormhole, which made it increase noticeably in size and speed.
Yet, the two levitating swords stood firm at their position and began to rotate under what was left of Kevin's body, pinning it to the ground.
The sword's rotating speed kept increasing, and would have caused a whirring sound if the wormhole had not sucked all the air away.
Now we see something translucent come out of Kevin's remains, causing the body to decay at a speed visible to the naked eye before becoming ash, which were sucked into the vortex.
The swords, whose hilts were now broken, shattered, and their pieces fell like raindrops, leaving behind miniscule crystals the size of raindrops in place of each sword, which then came together to form two crystals the size of a fingernail, which then came together once more to form a rhombus shaped ocean blue gem that gave the feeling of serenity, which shined like a star before its light faded.
All this while, the translucent object was floating just to the side, and if a master rank mage could see it, he would be astounded, for it was a soul.
A soul with a familiar face, Kevin's.
The still blue gem suddenly moved, embedding itself into the soul and causing a ripple of blue energy on the soul.
Kevin's soul opened its eyes, which were shining blue, but remained motionless with its face facing the mana vortex that threatened to swallow it.
That's when it moved, but very unexpectedly, it went into the wormhole headfirst.
We now see something shining with a greenish-blue color in the chaotically swirling body of the vortex. And then the vortex begins to shrink and slow down, with its body becoming smaller until it becomes as small as a wisp of smoke before completely vanishing, or rather, being absorbed. Because of that, Kevin's soul was now shining, so much so that he was blinding, then his soul moved again.
This time, it simply raised its right hand and slashed down slowly while leaving a trail of green light, before using his two hands to open it up and enter into it.
It enters, only to arrive outside the planet, yes, you heard me, it arrived in space, and then he connects a strand from the blue gem to the world.
The soul started absorbing terrifying amounts of mana, giving it an obese look, like a ballon on the verge of bursting.
The soul then stops and begins to wear it on the soul's exterior, shaping it like a piercing blade. It then filled its inside's with mana and began moving opposite the planet's orbit.
Its speed began to noticeably increase, from 400 km/h to mach 3 and above. A speed that would rip even grandmasters to shreds multiple times.
By now, it was practically invisible, moving lightyears in minutes and going faster, as we begin to see changes.
Night coming before the day, the stars becoming disarranged, everything was moving backwards.
After an unknown amount of time, a green line becomes visible as Kevin's soul abruptly stopped moving, but failed to do so, as it did not know the laws of motion.
Like a Ferrari going at its fastest speed when the driver pulls the handbrakes (not sure if it has one, but you get the point), it cannot immediately stop, but slows down drastically as the tire screeches to a halt.
The same thing happens here as we see Kevin's soul, which had now deflated with its luster having dimmed, some parts of the blue gem (tire) having been lost due to the abrupt stopping (screeching), and it wasn't stopping, it kept cracking every second, and would most likely, dissipate in a minute.
Alarmed at the situation, the crystal dives into the atmosphere of Orion, as people worldwide see a shining star in all its glory for a split second before passing on, as it was moving at crazy speeds, and unfortunately that was also increasing the rate of dissipation.
Mages all over the world felt something wherever it passed through, the mana in their bodies reacted in an unexplainable manner, and when asked, they would say...
"Like a child jumping in joy" for some, while for others...
"Like a starving beast given food"
Mages of different origins gave different answers, but the event was later agreed upon as a sign of the coming of a New Era.
As for whether it was a good or bad thing? No one knew.
While at the present, the object of discussion kept falling, searching for a suitable vessel for Kevin's soul.
And as the clocking was ticking, time was running out, but fate shined on the soul as the crystal sensed a vessel, though not 100% compatible, it would do the job.
It didn't have the luxury of being picky after all. there was no guarantee that it would find another before completely dissipating, and as so, it made the decision in a split second and took a dive into a particular room in a majestic castle where it lodged itself in the body of a newborn baby, with just three seconds before it completely dissipated, and became dormant.
The maids didn't notice anything because it was too fast for their eyes, but the mother of this particular baby felt it, but wasn't sure of what she had felt. For it was neither fear nor apprehension, just that something had happened to the baby in her arms.
After pondering for several minutes, she gave up.
'Maybe it was just my feeling' she told herself, and looked at the baby in her hands, reminding herself that she had become a mother.
A smile of inexplicable meaning formed on her lips, as she looked at the child, something so fragile, something to be protected, and she would do just that.
That was when a maid came with ink and a piece of paper, writing down several things before asking...
"My lady, what is his name?"
The woman looked behind the maid instead of answering, at a man with golden hair and beards, who sat on a shiny piece of furniture with his eyes closed and his hands folded, as if asking..."Well?"
The maids, including the one writing, noticed this and all kept quiet, which caused tensions to rise, the atmosphere reached a breaking point when the man suddenly opened up his eyes, and said...
"Ezra"
It was then that the dormant crystal woke up, and began the second part of its mission. Sealing up Kevin's soul with the exception of miniscule amount that was added gently and carefully to the fragile soul of the newborn.
The man's body was constantly moving, either the feet moving up and down, or he looked at the clock on the wall every passing minute.
One could tell from all this that this man was dying to get away from this gathering, and it was disheartening, especially to the baby's mother, that he hadn't even held the baby in his arms, and seemed to be concerned little about the boy.
She was used to this sort of treatment, even though she wished he would treat her better, but that was mostly wishful thinking, of which she also knew.
The clock ticked as the door clicked, signaling the arrival of someone, a man slender but graceful, revealing an aged but wizened face with little white hair and a long beard of the same color.
His body covered in a draping white robe holding a staff with a gem carved skull at hand.
He takes a look at the newborn and its mother, examines them for any anomaly, and fails to detect anything. He does this once more before giving a statement.
"The boy is healthy, with no diseases found. As for his aptitude to become a mage, that is yet to be seen"
He said while facing the man with golden hair. Which asks...
"Are you sure?"
"Absolutely, your majesty" he replied without hesitation.
"Then thank you, Sebastian" he says with no real change in expression.
"No, thank you, your majesty, and once again, congratulations" Sebastian bowed slightly before standing straight and saying...
"I will be on my way then, your majesty" Sebastian says and leaves the room.
The man seated suddenly stood up, took a few glances at the mother and her newborn, before leaving the room.
Other wives might have called him back to ask about the celebrations and family gatherings, but she knew that it was a blessing that she got to keep her son. And she was unbelievably happy with this alone.
What she didn't know was that karma had paid off, fate would be on her side. For her son would shock the world more than once.
This was the (re)birth of Kevin Reed, now Ezra Miller.
This was the beginning...of the rise of a great Sovereign.