"Ugh!"
"Ouch!"
William and Sarah were tossed into an individual cell together, one that was held together with duct tape and crumbling grey bricks. This was most likely an old cellar built years ago.
After the Conquest Knights wearing bloodstained black armour threw them in, they locked the door and made sure they did afterwards, before leaving them alone.
"…Ha…"
William sighed out of resignation and sat against a wall. The Chief General displayed a kind of strength that was unfathomable. If he saw that kind of power again, he was sure that he would only fall and despair against such an almighty and intense dominator.
But, the one saving grace was that, just before they were captured, the Chief General implied that they didn't kill anyone as they conquered, but instead kept them as slaves or cheap labour. This meant that his mother could still be alive, and Sarah's parents could still be alive too.
"…After seeing that kind of strength, I think I've gotten an idea of the kind of world we're living in," Sarah said, "A world where you need to dominate to survive. It's either that, or you need to be useful in some type of way."
William nodded. He chuckled, as he remembered that he used to think like that even before all this happened. He had yet to fully overcome his edge lord phase by the time Twilight's Dawn came to be, but now he could see things a little bit more realistically.
"Hey, William… what's that?"
William glanced down at his body and noticed a small mark on the side of his chest. He was half-naked, but fortunately had enough coverage on his body for him to not appear as a naked pervert.
But, the mark that was there near his chest looked too detailed to be a smudge of ink or anything like that and didn't look like any sort of birthmark either. Rather, it looked like a tattoo.
"Hm…"
Sarah walked closer and inspected it, causing William's face to flush red.
"…It looks like a half-closed eye…?" Sarah said, questioning her guess.
"Is it there because of your powers?"
William shrugged.
"Your guess is as good as mine. I have no clue how it got there. I can just ignore it anyway."
Sarah stared at his face for a moment longer and then turned around, hiding her own flushed face. They were still awkward with each other, despite having been together for quite some time.
William truly liked her though. And, he wouldn't change his opinion about her, even if his life was on the line.
"…This world has changed so much since yesterday. So, what are we going to do?" Sarah asked.
"…Survive, I guess. Getting stronger is a luxury that only those people, the Goldenblood from other worlds, have."
"I agree. But, if we do get the chance to grow stronger…"
"Take it, no matter what. I've read a lot of novels that have played out similarly to how the world is right now, and I can tell you personally, that strength is all that matters. In fact… isn't this place the perfect opportunity to grow stronger?"
Sarah nodded in agreement, as she stood up.
"Let's take this chance, then. I've been meaning to show you something anyway."
Sarah closed her eyes and focused, concentrating as hard as she could, and then, pure, visible Mana was emitted from her body. Since her power came from her benefactors, she was one of the special cases. She didn't need a specific personality or quality to access her power.
But, this also meant that Mana, which was not often able to be used by her, built up instead inside of her body, which could cause long-lasting, detrimental consequences to her body if left unchecked. This was the fatal flaw within her to maintain balance and one of the first things the Eleven Visionaries told her about.
However, since the Mana she discharged around her was unused, it was also "pure". Meaning that it could be absorbed into another person's body.
"When I died back then and I met with my benefactors, the Visionaries, they were formless, but had a special aura about them that seemed to cast me under an enchantment."
"Then, they told me a lot of things for a certain price, most of which I've already explained to you. And, among those things, they told me a method I could use to freely manipulate Mana so that I wouldn't end up dying from an excess of it."
"But, if I can teach you this method, I think you'd possess the power to face enemies like that Chief General in the future."
"Really…?!" William responded, his eyes displaying a tentative gaze.
Sarah nodded her head and smiled. She directed him to sit down, and she sat down behind him, placing her hands on his back. She slowly began to siphon Mana from his body, which slowly sapped him of all energy, but then, it flowed back into him, making him feel more lively than ever.
"Mana is way more important than I first thought. I didn't fully understand what the Visionaries meant when they told me about it, and I just assumed they meant it was a form of magic. However, this somehow seems more like… life force."
"…Anyway, I think I'm just spewing nonsense, you should just focus on drawing some Mana out of the circuit. The rest should come to you naturally. At least, that's what I hope it does."
William nodded and concentrated on the circuit Sarah was doing. It felt like he was the only person in the room now as if he was floating in his mind.
Black ink splashed all around him as if he were inside an active volcano, and William wondered whether this was the effect that his ability had on his mind. However, he continued to focus and eventually felt the circuit of Mana flow back into him. Time was distorted in this place, making things feel way slower than it was, and due to this, William could feel the Mana clearer than ever before.
It filled him with energy, and with that sort of boost, he could finally draw out some Mana for the first time, completing the circulation process. He did this a few more times afterwards and proceeded to circulate Mana by himself, without Sarah's help.
"Whew… I didn't know you were such a fast learner, William."
William didn't respond, and his closed eyes indicated he was still deep in concentration. Black ink was slowly produced through his skin, and for some reason, flowed as if it were a snake, before forming a short sword on the ground.
Finally, William opened his eyes and grinned. He picked up the short sword and swung it around.
"I'm gonna be the next Tan Xuan!" He declared.
Sarah giggled, and so did the cat that stared at him with curiosity by her legs.
"What… what the…?!" William exclaimed, tripping backwards out of surprise.
"…No, no, continue what you were doing. I'm quite intrigued by you, you see." The black cat said, walking on two feet.
"…A walking, talking cat?!" Sarah gasped as if she had never seen something so beautiful.
"Hmph. I am not merely a cat, but something else beyond your wildest dreams." The black cat said.
Immediately after, the cat transformed into a tall individual, with a unique appearance.
"I am the Wildflower Mage, and I have come to free you two, with the reason being you two have caught my attention." The Wildflower Mage said, approaching the cellar door.
"So, what are we waiting for? Let's go."