Someone from the past

We headed inside the cove and then entered a cave. It had the ordinary makings of a cave, it was damp and cold. But that was just the entrance. As we head in deeper, everything seemed to become clearer.

We entered and walked and only stopped when we reached what seemed to be the current checkpoint of the cavern.

= "There are hundreds of them here. It seems like we are the last ones to arrive." = Viryon said.

= "We had to pick them up so it could not be helped." = Van said as he pointed towards me and the survivors.

Inside the cavern was a large space with a large number of other kids. There were those whose body had the fluctuations of mana around them while the others were normal. There were those who seemed tough while others frail.

This was the Blue Crown Cavern, the place where only a select few are taken. A place where they weed out the useful ones from the useless.

Five minutes into the whole thing, someone stepped up to the stone podium in front. It was a middle-aged man with a scar on his face. He was the Cavern Master, the one who will supervise our improvements.

He said some pleasantries but never said anything useful. It was but useless banter about how we will gain power if we get through this whole thing. At the end of it all, we were assigned to different dwellings.

The dwellings were rooms shabbily carved out of the cavern walls. There were hundreds of us and we were divided into numbers and areas. I was number 069, a familiar number. I was moved to Area B of the Cavern. Viryon and Van were both with me in the area.

Area B was for those who had already awakened as Mana Manipulators.

Viryon was 073 while Van was 089. Our rooms were lined up beside one another. I entered my room and then meditated in order to increase my Mana Pool and the purity of my Mana Core.

That night, I was still doing what I do best. Patiently meditating and practising my mana manipulation. But that was a night I would never forget because it was at that time that I managed to unlock something that changed my life.

Crack! I heard something crack in my Mana Core. The Silver Mana Core that I always had since I was a kid began to show cracks and before I could react, it shattered and shed its previous light.

I was a Silver-Class Rank-3. But my Mana Core began to lose the luster of silver and regressed to bronze. Its size was also small. I reverted back to Bronze-Class Rank-1!

What is happening!? I did nothing wrong and my mana did not deviate. I am not injured by this, so what happened?

I questioned myself and became frantic. It was a first for me, but I knew that the power that I previously grasped in my hands had slipped away without my knowledge. Even though I was originally not that strong, I began to feel even weaker than before.

= "Hoooo! 069, stop being so frantic, I did not create you to be like so." =

A voice sounded out in my head. I thought I was going crazy and looked around. But I found no one. I regained my calm as I thought about the words of the voice.

= "Good, it seems like you were taught to become obedient by Von." =

I creased my brows, = "How did you know of Von?" =

= "Calm down, I am not an enemy." =

The voice said that and a middle-aged woman appeared before me. She was about 30 years old and had beautiful features. The more I looked at her, the more she seemed familiar.

But I have no time to think of such matter because what concerned me more was the place where the woman came out of. She came out of my chest and her body was actually transparent.

Her white lab gown draped over her body and touched the ground. She smiled at me with her white teeth showing, she was harmless. But in my shock, I jumped back and subconsciously formulated a spell.

= "Who are you!? How did you come out of my body!? What is that spell!?" =

= "Put that wand down. You will not be able to kill me with that. Also, I am not your enemy." =

= "Do you think I'll believe that? What do you even want from me?" =

She smiled, = "I won't harm you, I am your creator after all… 069, I am Lethias, the one who gave you life." =

I did not believe her, but she proceeded to give a proper explanation shortly afterwards.

= "Sigh, being careful and untrusting is good. I like how you grew up. Well, I think I should give you a proper explanation as to what is happening. First, I am Lethias…" =

= "I have seen Lethias before; when I was in that lab, she was older and had wrinkles… but, you do look kind of similar to her." =

She creased her brows as she continued, = "Do not interrupt me, also, you just revealed some interesting things. So you were already awake then? Well, this is going to be easier. To make matters easier. The reason why I am younger is that my soul was reformed when I put the Mana Core in your body. Also, this is me when I was in my prime. I'll tell you that I have sent you to Von so he can nurture you and that you have twelve Mana Channels in your body." =

I lowered my wand and with a sigh, I began trusting her a little. After doing so I gave her the chance to explain what she is doing here.

And from what she said, she was going to be grooming me. She will pass down her legacy to me like she originally planned and that she wanted me to revive her at some point.

At this point, I had no way of telling that this was the first time that I stepped out of the starting point of my life.