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The moon hung high above the Crystal Empire, casting a pale glow across the palace walls. Midnight had arrived, and all was silent save for the distant howling of wind brushing against stone.
Kaida sat alone in his room, the flickering glow of a single enchanted crystal dimly illuminating the space. He leaned back on the edge of his bed, hands clasped together in his lap, eyes fixed on the ceiling. His mind was anything but quiet.
The memory of earlier events swirled in his thoughts.
That feeling—that overwhelming pulse of energy that surged through his body, the way time slowed, and the way he moved… it was still so vivid. It hadn’t just been a moment of adrenaline. It had been something deeper—something alive.
“Mana Burst,” he muttered to himself.
He exhaled, eyes falling to the floor. And then—
A soft flashback slipped into focus…
Earlier that Day – Post Training
“Holy crap,” Seraphina breathed, walking up to Kaida, her hands on her hips, sweat dripping from her brow. “You really just vanished, huh? I thought Alric blinked you out of existence or something.”
Kaida chuckled, rubbing the back of his head. “Yeah… I didn’t really mean to do that.”
“Still,” Alric added, stepping up beside him and clapping a hand on his shoulder, “that was impressive. I didn’t activate my first skill until I was nineteen. You just got here… and bam.” He shook his head with a grin. “Fast learner.”
Seraphina grinned wide. “Maybe you’re not as hopeless as I thought, Samurai boy.”
Kaida blinked. “Samurai boy?”
“Yeah,” she winked, “has a nice ring to it. You’ve got that serious-dork energy going on.”
Kaida groaned. “You’re worse than my sister.”
“That so?” she teased, nudging him. “Sounds like a good compliment to me.”
Lorien adjusted his glasses as he walked over. “Statistically speaking, the odds of activating a skill purely through instinct with no magical trigger are… well, very low. You’re either extremely lucky… or your mana’s more in tune than expected.”
Kaida frowned slightly. “That a good thing?”
Lorien shrugged. “It’s interesting.”
Then, without saying much, Lysara approached. She didn’t say anything at first—just gave him a small smile and a firm pat on the back.
“Good job,” she said simply, before walking off.
It was brief—but something about the way she said it stuck with him.
Now – Midnight
Kaida leaned forward, his elbows resting on his knees as he pulled up his menu screen. A soft blue glow washed over his face as he scrolled through the various tabs—Class Info, Inventory, Skill Tree.
There it was:
Active Skill: Mana Burst [Level 1]
A sudden acceleration skill triggered by raw instinct. Increases movement speed and reflexes for 2 seconds. Cooldown: 30 seconds.
He stared at it for a while, then clicked into the magic tab… but it was still blank.
“Why was I able to activate it?” he asked aloud, even though no one could answer. “Was it just instinct? Or something else?”
Knock knock.
He blinked.
Another knock, softer this time.
He stood up cautiously, unsure who it could be at this hour. When he opened the door—
“Lysara?”
She stood there quietly, wearing a long, pale blue sleeping blouse that fell just past her knees, her hair loosely tied back. She looked… softer. Less composed. More human.
“Can I come in?” she asked gently.
Kaida blinked. “Y-Yeah, of course.”
She stepped inside without another word, her bare feet silent against the stone floor. She sat on the edge of his bed, her back straight as always, though her shoulders seemed a little more relaxed.
Kaida sat across from her on a nearby stool.
For a moment, neither of them spoke.
Then Lysara exhaled. “I apologize for the late visit. I hope I’m not disturbing your rest.”
Kaida shook his head. “It’s fine. I wasn’t asleep anyway.”
“I wanted to speak to you, about earlier,” she said, her gaze meeting his. “That skill you activated… it wasn’t just impressive. It was extraordinary. Most people train for months, even years before their mana awakens like that.”
Kaida rubbed the back of his neck. “I didn’t even know what I was doing. I just… moved.”
She nodded slowly. “Sometimes, our instincts know more than our minds do. But… that wasn’t the only reason I came.”
He tilted his head. “Oh?”
Lysara looked out the window toward the moonlight. “I wanted to know more about you.”
Kaida blinked. “Me?”
She glanced back at him. “You’re from another world. You speak differently. You fight differently. You think differently. And yet… you try. Despite the pain, the confusion—you still try.”
Kaida smiled faintly. “Well… what else can I do?”
She chuckled lightly. “You remind me of someone I used to know.”
He leaned forward, resting his chin on his hand. “Your turn then. I wanna know more about you.”
Lysara hesitated, but then nodded. “I’ve lived here in the Crystal Empire my entire life. As Princess, my path has always been clear—study, train, prepare. From a young age, I was told I would lead. That I had to be perfect.”
“That sounds… exhausting.”
“It is,” she admitted. “But I do it because I care about my people. My kingdom. I don’t know if I’ll ever be perfect… but I can try to be strong.”
Kaida nodded. “You already seem strong to me.”
Her eyes softened. “Thank you.”
A comfortable silence settled between them.
Then Lysara stood, brushing down her blouse. “I should return to my quarters.”
Kaida stood as well. “Right. Thanks for stopping by.”
She paused at the door, glancing over her shoulder.
“Let’s both do our best, Kaida,” she said with a small but warm smile.
He smiled back. “Yeah… we will.”
With a nod, she slipped out the door and vanished down the corridor.
Kaida exhaled, leaning back against the wall.
Today was wild. And tomorrow promised to be even more.
But somehow… he wasn’t scared.
Not anymore.
