II

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  Arc II Chapter 10

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  13th Anima Lunar VIII AAC 753

  The night had passed and morning had arrived. The sun returned, and the golden rays of dawn filled the land with life. Bathing in the sunlight, Aurora yawned and stretched her arms, enjoying her wonderful new morning. Because every day was a good day. Because every morning was a good morning.

  Her little nap refreshed her mind, reinvigorated her senses. Her fatigue had disappeared, and her soul was adjusting to her new body. Her soul was synchronising with her mana, but progress was slow. Mana synchronisation was an exceedingly delicate affair, not to mention a time consuming process. It took time for her soul to stabilise in order to access the full spectrum of her powers. As it turned out, reincarnation was a fickle affair. Not only had she been reborn, but she had also crossed the physical boundaries of time and space. Both had taken a toll on her capabilities, with the metaphysical half of her existence suffering considerable damage. Her reincarnation had nearly sundered, nearly fragmented her soul, with multiple fractures now threatening its cohesion and weakening her magic. Mending them would require a substantial amount of time and effort. Time she did not have, and effort she could not spare, but those were problems for a future Aurora. Her priorities for the time being were to survive, and to enjoy the beautiful morning after a night of intranquil dreams. Memories of the distant past had paid her a visit. Memories of pain and sorrow, of emotions deeply etched into her psyche.

  Aurora greeted her cute doll with a smile. “Good morning, Aurora. A wonderful day, is it not?”

  “...” Her doll agreed. And it was certainly not her who was moving her doll’s head up and down.

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  Residing on Arwing’s lap together with her doll, Aurora was tangling her feet in the air and taking in the surrounding scenery. Their journey continued, and their cart travelled along the trail, crossing the ancient forest.

  Abandoning the safety of Arwing’s comfortable lap, Aurora jumped down the cart and made her way to Iris, the least grumpy member of the adventurer party. While the man named Lambert and company maintained their guard, Iris’s open nature made her an easy target. The woman had proven to be a reliable source of information. The talkative mage had provided her with useful intelligence, even sharing her fire magic with her, which Aurora approved of. They both appeared to cherish fire and magic. Two things that they had in common.

  “La~. La~. La~. La~.” Aurora strolled along the dusty trail in search of her newest friend. Her hands tugged at Iris’ clothes, her wide robe proving an ideal victim. “Sister Iris~. Sister Iris~. Sister Iris~.”

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  “Yes, little one?” A beam adorned Iris’ face. Her heart squealed. The woman thought her and her cuddly doll adorable.

  Aurora poked her most recent friend. “Sister Iris, can you pleashe show me your magic again? I want to see your fire!” Her eyes sparkled, filled to the brim with childish glee.

  “Of course, little one.” Iris giggled in delight, unable to resist her pleas, and infected by her enthusiasm.

  “Yay~.” Aurora bounced in joy. “Fire~. Fire~. Fire~.”

  “Watch and learn.” Channelling and calling forth her mana, Iris manifested her magic. A blazing flame appeared, floating on her palm.

  “Aah.” Aurora marvelled at the cute little flame, inspecting it from all sides in a supreme display of theatrical skill. Her curiosity had to appear genuine, otherwise she would arouse suspicion.

  “Hehehe.” Iris giggled in response, amused by her reaction. “You know, you remind me of the children in Freyburg. Always so eager. Always so curious. They always love my little magic tricks. I take that you like fire?”

  “...” Aurora nodded vigorously, clenching her fists with determination. “I do. I do love fire~. Fire is beautiful~.” It was not even a lie to begin with. It was the truth. After all, fire and darkness were her elements. Not that Iris needed to know.

  “That’s wonderful~.” Iris didn’t bother to hide her shared enthusiasm. “People say that fire is a destructive, uncontrollable, and dangerous element, but don’t listen to these ignorant naysayers. These fools have no idea what they’re talking about. They simply don’t understand the flickering, crackling, blazing beauty of fire.”

  “...” Aurora mustered a weak smile before merely nodding. All things considered, Iris was ... a peculiar person. No doubt, she suffered from her fair share of pyromaniac tendencies on her own, but still ... Iris was peculiar. Her doll agreed. But to be fair, all mages tended to be a tad peculiar.

  Her hands tugged at Iris’ sleeves again. “Sister Iris, I’ve an important question.”

  “Yes, sunshine?”

  “You told me you’re a fire mage.” Aurora tilted her head.

  “Correct.” Iris nodded.

  “And that’s why you are able to cast fire magic.”

  “Correct.” Iris nodded.

  “...” Aurora and her doll exchanged meaningful looks. “Sister Iris, does that mean that I can also become a mage like you?” Her eyes sparkled with hope.

  “...” Iris’ smile faltered in an instant, confronted with a question that she had been probably asked countless times before. It was not difficult to guess the answer based on Iris’ reaction. Her hesitation sufficed to make her understand. It was as she had suspected. This world was like hers. Magic was a rare gift, a privilege of a few, not a right. Such was the harsh reality. Considering her good hearted nature, Iris was reluctant to shatter a girl’s juvenile dreams, her dreams.

  “...” A heavy sigh escaped Iris. “... That’s a complicated topic, little one. It depends.”

  “... on what?” Aurora and her doll tilted their heads in confusion.

  “...” Iris fell silent. “Tell me, are you familiar with the fundamentals of magic, little one? Are you versed in this ancient and noble art?”

  “Not that I know of.” Aurora shook her head. Technically speaking, it was not a lie. It was true, she was not familiar with the magic ... of this world.

  Iris elaborated, “Have you perchance ever heard about mana?”

  “Mana~?” Aurora feigned ignorance, her eyes blinking in confusion. The word piqued her curiosity. It sounded familiar. Unfortunately, she was only a cute and innocent girl. Little girls did not know about magic. They did not know about the basic principles of magic theory and their practical application. Certainly not her.

  Iris sighed, exhaling a heavy breath. “Thought so, but don’t worry, few people do. Listen, magic is an arduous path. The secrets of sorcery are not a matter of choice and wanting, but a matter of destiny. The sad truth is that you are either born with magic, or not. Magic is a rare gift, a talent bestowed upon the few chosen, not upon the many. Years of training, effort, and dedication are required to master the arts of magic. Sweat, blood, and tears are needed to rise to the heights of the arcane arts and beyond.”

  “...” Aurora fell into despair, hugging her doll. Her voice trembled. A cloud of gloom was hovering over her head as her dreams deflated.“So you’re saying that I will never be a mage?”

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