Awakening part 2:

The next day~

The sun rose up from between the mountains, bathing Sphinx village in it's warm light.Zack woke up,full of energy and opened the window of his treehouse, letting in the bright sunlight.Taking a deep breath of the fresh morning air, he started doing some light stretches.Today was a big day for him.Today he was going to finally learn magic and take his first step towards his dream of becoming a wizard.But more importantly today is also the day all of his questions will be answered. Even though he had that strange dream again last night it didn't bother him the way it usually did, because he knew he would get to the bottom of this today.

After three minutes of stretching Zack jumped down from the window all the way to the ground.After landing successfully he immediately took off as he started running through the forest for his morning run.

'There is still a lot of time till 7 a.m. I should be able to complete my morning routine till then....A strong physique is the mark of a great wizard.At least that's what the old man said.'

---

It was already 7 a.m and Zack was excitedly standing infront of the village chief's house waiting for him to come out.

"Hurry up old man!It's 7 a.m already. You promised to teach me magic today!

What's taking you so long?" Zack yelled impatiently.

"I'm coming ,I'm coming !...ughh brats these days , always so impatient.You know in my time we used to.." The chief's voice sounded out as he slowly exited his house but before he could complete his sentence he got cut off by an impatient Zack."Hey! I didn't come here so you could tell stories about your past,I came here to learn magic!"

The chief irked by Zack's attitude angrily reprimanded him saying,"Boy what's up with that attitude! Are you requesting me to learn magic or demanding me?? Have some respect for your elders!!! You should start calling me master for a change! Quit it with the old man already! I'm not even that old! I'm only 49, I'm still in the spring of my youth."

Zack remained completely indifferent to the old chief's ramblings as it wasn't the first time the latter had told him not to call him an old man.He just waited of him to finish before saying politely with puppy eyes"okay! okay! Young man Can you please start teaching me magic!?"

The chief weirded out by this strange side of Zack immediately said "Ne..Nevermind! Just follow me..sigh"

Zack puzzled by this asked,"What? where are we going? Aren't you going to teach me magic?"

"This place is too noisy; it'll hinder your concentration. We are going to the forest Tobb.Being in nature will help you in your

meditation." The old man replied while walking out of the village towards the forest.

Zack followed him quickly as he asked; still puzzled,"Meditation ! What's that got to do with magic! Are you saying sleeping while sitting is going to help me become a wizard!"

"NO! YOU FOOL! Meditation doesn't mean sleeping!!! It's to clear all the distracting thoughts in your mind and achieve a mentally clear and emotionally calm and stable state.Meditation is the most effective means of absorbing Ethernanos." The old man replied.

"Ethernanos!?" Zack asked.

"Can't you be a little patient! I'll explain everything when we reach our destination."the chief said, annoyed at the endless questioning.

"Okay~!" Zack said, a little disappointed at the lack of an answer.

The rest of the trip was spent in silence. After approximately fifteen minutes of walking in a confusing pattern they finally reached a clearing. There was a river flowing nearby with fish jumping up and down in the water.The long grass swayed in the chilly morning wind dancing to its tunes.There was a large boulder in the centre of the clearing.Zack had never been to this place despite spending almost all of his time exploring the forest.But he could tell that by just entering this place his body instantly relaxed a lot and almost all of his tension and excitement had evaporated. He experienced a calm he had never felt before.'This place is definitely not ordinary !!!...'

The old man seeing the confusion in Zack's eyes spoke up,"This is a secret place I come to once in a while to relax. Its hidden with magic arrays.Normal people and animals won't be able to come here.They'll just be sent in another direction.This place is perfect for your lessons."

Zack's eyes widened in wonder as he heard the explanation."Wow! You can use magic like this too!!?"

" Of course, magic can be used to do all kinds of different things.From commanding the natural elements to summoning otherworldly creatures to fight for you.The applications of magic are endless.There are two main classifications of Magic: Caster Magic and Holder Magic.

Caster Magic: is Magic that is expelled from the body as opposed to Magic done through the use of a weapon or outside source.

Holder magic: is Magic that requires a wizard to use an external source to produce the Magic. It usually requires the use of Magic Power. "The old man explained as he gestured for Zack to sit down.

"Whoa!!! That's amazing old man!..by the way what kind of magic do you use."

Zack asked.

"Hmm...who me!? ohh well let me tell you, The magic I use may not seem very flashy and impressive but it's the bane of all wizards. It's called Nullification Magic.I can nullify any attack that's magical in nature.I used to be the most sought after anti-mage when I was still taking jobs.But things happened and I decided to retire...sigh...hmm what are you gaping for...hahaha have you finally realized the greatness of this old man!?" The chief ended smugly,seeing the stupefied expression on Zack's face. It bought him much joy seeing the boy so lively.He usually remained all depressed and grumpy.Honestly,the boy was a monster.He was only four years old but he was already so strong and mature.To be able to defeat the 'master of the forest'.Even many B and C rank Wizards had failed to accomplish this feat.The village didn't have enough money to increase the price enough for higher ranked wizards to come and take care of it.It had remained a nuisance for the villagers occasionally attacking their cattle and destroying some farms.Thus the people of the village dubbed it 'The master of the forest'.Even he was helpless against it.It wasn't because he was weaker than it or anything, rather it was the opposite but the problem was it's speed and intelligence.The boar was very fast; disgustingly fast.Even him in his prime would be hard pressed to catch it and he was an S-class wizard. Does that mean that the beast possess S class fighting ability. Absolutely not.It was just that speed wasn't his forte.He was an anti-mage.His magic wasn't focused on physical attributes.If the boar faced an S class mage or even an A class mage head on it would be decimated.But a problem also lied there as the beast was a good magic sensor and was very intelligent. Although less intelligent than a vulcan it was still very sharp.If it can't win against an opponent it will immediately withdraw.The only way to effectively catch it is to lure it into a trap.It was a troublesome beast that's for sure. That's why it's all the more astonishing for a boy of such young age to be able to bring it down and without even using magic.If he hadn't seen the boy carrying the dead beast and dropping it at his doorstep he wouldn't have believed it. If he could already do this without even magic then what will he be able to do with magic.He shuddered to even think about it.The boy had a bright future ahead of him. Maybe he could even become one of the 10 wizard Saints.This title was awarded by the Magic council to the 10 strongest wizards in all of Ishghar.To think he could be the one to introduce a possible future wizard Saint to the world of magic was unreal.If it really happened then it would surely be the highlight of his career.He would be remembered in history books as his teacher." Hey...hey..HEY!!! wake up old man! What are you daydreaming about.Start teaching me already!."Zack yelled.

"oh.uhhmm..sorry I spaced out for a little bit.Where was I?..oh yes teaching you magic...well the sit down and listen carefully."

Zack sat down as the old man began his explanation,"To become a wizard you need Magic and Magic power is necessary to put Magic into operation.You have to materialize the magic power that's inside you and release it.The fact is that there are a great number of wizards who possess Magic in this world.To wizards, magic power is the equivalent of life force.So-called Ethernanos are the building blocks of magic power. They're in the air and can be absorbed into the body. Ethernanos that are thus absorbed become the person's magic power. Meditation is the most effective means of magic absorption."

Zack raised his hand interrupting the explanation as he asked,"I understand that Ethernanos are the source of Magic power.So is the more you take in,the stronger the Magic you can use?"

"With Ethernanos...the vessel determines the limit of each wizard's magic power, so the amount you can take in varies.But even if the magic power in one's body is exhausted after being used extensively,the body will automatically absorb Ethernanos from the air and after a while the vessel will be full again. In other words,magic power is something that can be replenished.But there's one more important thing...."the old man paused.

"Important thing?" Zack asked.

The old man looked Zack in the eyes and spoke,"To use magic,it takes more than just transforming the magic power inside your body. There's something else that's indispensable. That is...the strength of a wizard's feelings."

"Strength of feelings?"Zack inquired.

"Yes!...Unless you have strong feelings in your heart and draw upon them, it won't be easy to employ any magic." The old man finished as he stood up and turned his back to Zack."Now I'll be going back to the village.I'm the chief after all.I have a lot of duties.You can stay and meditate here for as long as you want.This area has the highest Ethernanos concentration in the whole forest.The magic arrays won't stop you from leaving.When you are done you can go back. If you have any more problems we can address them Tommorow."Saying this the old man left leaving Zack to his own devices.

---

Zack sat there and processed all the information he had received.After a few minutes he slowly closed his eyes and tried emptying his mind and focusing on the magic power within him.Slowly he tried to materialize it outside his body and to his delight it responded.But the brief lapse in his concentration rendered all of his efforts in vain.

'This is gonna take a long time.' Zack sighed, before continuing.

After ten minutes of practising and experimenting he was easily able to move his magic power.Next step was to materialize it and release it outside the body.He immediately started attempting it.

After a few unsuccessful tries he finally did it as a blue light covered his skin enveloping him whole.Suddenly blue particles appeared all around him and started merging with him.Zack opened his eyes immediately noticing this strange phenomenon.

'Are these the so-called Ethernanos. Wow! There are so many of them.They are all around me.They are everywhere.How much can I absorb...well there's only one way to find out.'He closed his eyes and continued absorbing the surrounding Ethernanos.

---

12 hours passed as Zack sat there absorbing Ethernanos.By now the Ethernanos concentration in the surroundings had reached an abysmal level.If the village chief were to come here he wouldn't be able to recognize this place anymore.The surroundings looked completely dead and barren.The grass was wilted and the trees looked as if a black hole had sucked all life from them.But that wasn't far from the truth as Zack had been constantly absorbing the surrounding Ethernanos at a faster and faster pace.His body had formed a sort of suction that sucked all the Ethernanos in its radius.This also affected the trees and the grass turning this once beautiful landscape into a barren and rocky place, with fallen tree leaves and wilted grass.

Zack didn't know for how long he has been absorbing the Ethernanos.Just as he was about to fill up his magic vessel,a suction appeared from deep within him and started crazily absorbing Ethernanos, growing faster and faster by the minute.He was pretty anxious right now as he could do nothing to stop this.He couldn't move his own body.It was like he was trapped here.Just like in his dreams. Suddenly,without any kind of warning the suction stopped.Zack was dumbfounded.

But before he could feel any kind of joy, his brain experienced a sudden influx of information as his head throbbed in pain before he eventually blacked out falling on the ground.

---

After long time, Zack slowly opened his eyes as he sat down.But something was different. The air surrounding Zack was no longer that of a naive child but of someone who had experienced life's joys and sorrows.He stood up and dusted himself off.Before looking up at the night sky full of beautiful stars.'I see.....so that's how it is...I understand now....I remember now...Ojiisan ...obaasan.....their deaths ....the vow.....Then the earthquake....my death.....the second chance'

He looked down bringing his right hand up to his eye level before clenching it firmly.A large white bubble formed around it. The blonde carefully examined the unmoving bubble for a few seconds before smashing the air infront of him.

*CRACK* *CRACK* *CRACK*

The very air cracked like a broken mirror as he dug his fist in deeper pouring more magic power.A massive shockwave wave swept forwards utterly destroyed everything in it's path. The ground shattered like fragile glass as hundreds of trees were uprooted. Gale force winds were generated adding to all the destruction.Giant waves were generated as the river overflowed. Tremors passed through the ground and the air reaching as far as the village, waking everyone up from their sweet dreams. The ground rumbled with such intensity that it was almost impossible to stand still.Houses fell down and people fled to open spaces in panic and confusion. Terror was written all over their faces as they experienced the full force of a natural disaster.A large swath of land was cleared out before Zack's outstretched fist.There wasn't a single tree or greenery for as far as he could see in the night.He had almost poured all of his magic power into that attack.And the result satisfied him.

" ..hehehe..I may have overdid it!" he grinned as he swayed a little before falling down on his back exhausted from that attack.He closed his eyes as he started replenishing his magic power while thinking about his findings.

'Those dreams; they were not dreams at all but rather....memories.This is my second life.When I reincarnated as a baby my brain was far too undeveloped and couldn't hold all those memories and experiences so it sealed them away as a self-defence mechanism.That's why as I started getting older and my brain developed,The seal on my memories weakened. So I started seeing those dreams when I was 2 years old.By then the seal had weakened enough for some memories to slip by and appear as my dreams.The seal would have broken by itself in a few years and I would have remembered everything but the intervention of magic sped things up.....Now I am finally whole again.... '

"I HAVE FINALLY AWAKENED!"