Second World

The next morning when Darmos came out of his hut, he saw Jack was awake and was still prostrating. Darmos just sat on his chair without saying anything.

Jack also remained silent.

It went on for hours. Darmos was astonished by Jack's ability to not speak all the time. He thought that Jack would at least strike up a conversation even if he was still stubborn about remaining in that position.

It was Peniel who ended up conversing with Darmos. But after a while, Darmos finally felt uncomfortable staying there. He rose and walked away as if he was going out for a leisurely walk.

When he was out of sight, he transformed back into Broidrireg and flew up into the cloud. From up high, his sight pierced through the thick cloud and look at Jack. He was sure that Jack would stop prostrating when he was not around.

He just floated up there in the cloud and waited. He waited an entire day. It was nighttime again, but Jack didn't move at all.

He was secretly touched by Jack's determination. He thought perhaps helping the kid was all right. Perhaps involving himself in the matter of the world again was okay. Perhaps being a country guardian was not bad.

He shook his head. No. He didn't want to get into the mess that was the power plays between mortals again. He wasn't changing his mind.

He flew back down and transformed into Darmos. He then walked back to his hut, whistling all the way. He walked past Jack and then entered his hut without any words.

*

This went on for days. Jack didn't rise or say any words. He didn't drink or eat. He felt hungry and thirsty but his game body didn't truly need sustenance. So, he just endured.

Darmos just did his stuff and treated it as if Jack was not there. He fished by the lake, cooked and ate, took leisurely walks, occasionally chatted with Peniel, fly around as Broidrireg above his hut, and did other things.

After several days, Darmos noticed that although Jack was not moving, he was not exactly doing nothing. He was training his mana manipulation. Darmos continued ignoring him.

Ten days passed.

Darmos sat on his chair in front of Jack who was still prostrating. He was studying Jack's mana manipulation training.

Jack had been doing nothing but focusing on his mana manipulation these past few days. His degree of control was getting sharper. He could also condense the mana to make it even more heavy, increasing its power. He was reviewing all that he had learned in terms of mana.

Some special places like the Village of Peace and Daminos Square Garden appeared to have denser mana, but the mana was the same. They simply behave differently. Even in the underworld. What Peniel called corrupted mana was the mana adjusting themselves to synchronize with the intensity of the place.

Out of all these thoughts, he concluded that mana was alive. Not alive in the sense of living, breathing, and growing like normal living creatures. More like a primitive cell that contained the most basic of functions, but was still conscious enough to respond to instruction.

What he did when he performed mana manipulation was talk to mana, in a language that mana understood. The more proficient one was in this language, the better the mana responded. Yet, this language was not spoken like normal languages. It was more like a connection of minds. A feeling. A sensation. What he needed to do to be more proficient in the language was improve this connection. Making his thought more aligned with mana. Making him one with mana.

Jack was submerged completely in these thoughts. He let himself drown in it. He could feel the vastness of mana. He could feel their liveliness. They were neither good nor evil. They were lifeforce that transcended all morality. They were simple energy. Living energy.

Darmos, who was watching Jack, could sense Jack's grasp on mana manipulation improved tangibly. He couldn't believe one could understand mana at such a fast pace. He always felt the kid was special. Now, he knew his feeling was not wrong.

"Shouldn't you agree to him by now?" Peniel asked. In between their conversations, she persuaded Darmos on Jack's behalf. "Are you going to let him stay like that forever?"

"It's his choice. It got nothing to do with me. I never asked him to prostrate before me," Darmos defended himself.

"What are you so afraid of anyway?. It's not like you will be ordered to do this or do that all the time. A country guardian mostly stays in the lair. Mount Thenias is a much better mountain than this one. I'm sure you can build a better lair there."

"As I've said many times, I have duties here."

"Those who want dragonification trial can take their trials at Mount Thenias. If you like these duties so much, we can even help you broadcast your whereabouts so everyone knows that they can take the dragonification trials there."

"No, no. Finding out about where they can take the trial is also part of a trial," Darmos said. He was not keen on a crowd of people coming and asking him for trials.

"Excuses, excuses," Peniel mocked.

Darmos was annoyed. Peniel was mocking him using his own words.

"You sound more and more like him, you know," Darmos said to Peniel while pointing at Jack.

Actually, he was truly conversing with Jack. What Peniel said was what Jack asked her to say through their minds. Since he was playing a determined person to not do anything until Darmos agreed, he had to ask Peniel to convey his thoughts.

"How long are you going to be stubborn? A lot of innocent people in Themisphere are going to die if you are still unwilling to help," Peniel uttered. Only four days left until John went ahead with the plan to attack Themelot.

"Don't you lay this on me, fairy. He is the stubborn one! I already said from the start that I don't want to be a country guardian," Darmos said.

"Just give it a chance! If it truly doesn't work. You can quit anytime."

"You think a guardian's bond can be easily cast away just like that? Don't be absurd."

"How about the bonds between friends? Are you going to just let your friend be on his own when he comes here asking for your help?"

"Who ever says that I am his friend? Argh… You people are so nagging! All right, tell you what. If he can do an impossible request for me. I will be his country guardian."

"Impossible request? What impossible request?" Jack asked as he lifted his head.