Ana realized the opportunity of a game changer when she got her chance to study Miasma.
After defeating the Demon Lord, Lydia, she had been able to get samples from her—including a huge chunk of her body that contained tons of exhaustible materials for research.
Thanks to the heteromorphic nature of the Demon Lord of Blanc, Ana was able to carry out tons of experiments with the flesh samples—watching as it changed as long as she preserved the cells from dying off.
It was time-consuming, and it took a large portion of her time.
But—
“I did it! This is it, right? Miasma!”
She was able to understand the fundamental nature of Miasma thanks to her exposure to the Demonic Energy.
Her hope? To surpass Lewis Griffith, and even Jared, but also discovering a way to use both Mana and Miasma that no one had thought of before.
Thus, she studied the two energies side by side—down to their atomic structure and microscopic qualities.
The interaction between the two energies was that of repulsion, but she had to understand why?
What made them so distinct? Just how distinct were they?
This question nearly drove her to the edge of insanity, but she persisted.
Finally, she realized something.
“They share one similar element.
A corresponding link.
The fragment is small, but they’re fundamentally similar…”
Ana initially assumed it to be a fluke, but after examining many samples, she was able to confirm her suspicion.
Mana and Miasma were related by a connecting link.
“There’s something present in one energy system that’s also present in the other.”
Unfortunately, anytime she tried to bring them together, the opposing elements of Mana and Miasma would interfere and the two energies would cancel each other out.
It was frustrating, to say the least.
Just what was this connecting factor? It was so miniscule that it would have escaped her notice had she not been actively searching every nook and cranny.
She had to isolate it in some way.
Ana felt very lucky that Lydia’s body was very regenerative once connected to the proper nutritional source.
It didn’t decay, and she was able to restore lost parts as long as more sustenance was pumped into it.
The best part about the specimen was it’s ability to adapt to whatever Ana wanted.
When Lydia was still alive, she could utilize both Mana and Miasma thanks to her shapeshifting abilities.
This change occurred down to her most basic level, so Ana was able to generate completely different results based on what she wanted to test out using the Demon Lord’s flesh.
Thus, she did.
Upon isolating the element from the energy by slowly draining the excesses, she was able to have two light sources—fragments so miniscule that she wouldn’t have been able to notice them normally.
She examined the one from Miasma, and then the one from Mana.
They were the same.
Then, the next thing to do was capitalize on their similarities and bring them together.
Thus, that day marked Ana’s encounter with the sublime energy that permeated the world.
The power of Aether.
*
*
*
“I created more samples and underwent the same process—isolating the new energy —until I had enough to make it visible as a power source.
It was pure white, and the concentration of power was unlike anything I had ever felt.”
Kuzon and Beruel silently listened to Ana’s explanation.
They might not have displayed it, but the two men were awfully impressed.
The Fairy King even felt downright stupid in the presence of Ana’s genius
“I figured if humanity could tap into this power, we’d be able to advance our Magic use as a species, you know? Sigh.
I’ve not achieved nearly enough in my research, and there’s a lot of work to be done, but…” Ana’s gaze fell as she stared at Kuzon.
“But what?”
“You said it yourself.
It has already been discovered.
There’s a lot you know about it—at least, more than I do.”
Ana’s cheeks were flushed with frustration.
It was only natural that she would feel upset, considering she just lost her only ticket to a victory against Lewis Griffith.
“He probably even discovered Aether and didn’t include it in his works.
I wonder how he would be able to discover it without any Mana, though.
Even I found difficulty—”
“Lewis Griffith probably never discovered Aether.
If he ever came across the energy, that means someone showed it to him… and that’s next to impossible.”
Ana’s eyes widened as she stared at Kuzon.
His smile was genuine and he shrugged.
“It’s impossible to even dream of coming close to interacting with Aether unless you have a Special Grade Mana Core.
You have to have a vast amount of Mana, and you have to be special in some way.”
The young girl’s eyes could understand Kuzon’s words, but she couldn’t comprehend what they meant.
“Aether is the Hallmark of power.
Only when Mana or Miasma is refined to the utmost degree will Aether manifest.
Those other sources of energy are adulterated, inferior versions.”
Beruel nodded in agreement.
While he was never able to use Aether beyond the manifestation of his Arcana’s ability, he still had a fair idea of how it worked.
That was how he was able to infuse the energy from his Arcana into his newly made clones—granting them that power.
“The Midas Race studied Aether and learned to harness it.
That’s not because we isolated the particles from Mana and Miasma like you did, but because we refined our Special Grade Mana Cores and artificial Mana Cores to the limit.”
“I-I see…” Ana responded to Kuzon.
She still didn’t understand why he was telling her all of this.
It was only proving her right as to how she was steps behind in Aether’s discovery.
“You were able to do all of this from the scratch, Ana.
That makes your process of discovery amazing—better than anything anyone has ever done.
Do you know why?” Kuzon moved closer to the girl.
“Why?”
“Because this is a method that guarantees the utilization of Aether by the ones who aren’t special.
Think about it.
If you can harness Aether… what does that mean for the rest of the world?”
Ana’s eyes widened in surprise.
She hadn’t seen it in that dimension.
Kuzon had just opened her eyes to a new possibility she had never thought of before.
A way to achieve her goals and best Lewis Griffith.
Still, though…
“… Are you saying I’m not special, Kuzon?”
“Haha, well… you are special to me.”
Ana’s eyes narrowed at the golden-haired boy and he took that as his cue to step back, raising both hands in surrender.
It was enough to cause Ana to break into a smile.
“Thank you, Kuzon.
Really… thanks.”
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