Lux remained inside his room for several days after the incident.

  From the outside, it looked… strange.

  Servants passed through the corridor and whispered among themselves.

  Guards exchanged uneasy looks.

  Because whenever someone walked past the prince's chamber, they could hear him talking.

  Talking constantly.

  Sometimes quietly.

  Sometimes as if he were debating with someone.

  The servants had begun to worry.

  "Has the prince truly lost his mind?" one maid whispered.

  "He nearly died from poison," another replied nervously. "Perhaps the shock damaged him."

  The guards said nothing, but their expressions showed the same doubt.

  After all…

  Whenever they entered the room to bring food or clean, they saw the same thing.

  Prince Lux sitting alone.

  Speaking to empty air.

  But the truth was very different.

  Lux was not alone.

  He had not been alone for a long time.

  Because inside the room, drifting quietly through the air…

  Were the two spirits.

  Aru.

  And Ver.

  Their transparent forms floated lazily near the tall window where sunlight spilled into the room.

  Lux sat on the edge of his bed, leaning forward slightly.

  His voice was calm but curious.

  "So… you truly lived during the ancient era?"

  Ver drifted closer.

  His body glowed faintly with the mixed colors of water and earth.

  "Yes," he answered.

  "We existed long before the current kingdoms of this world."

  Lux blinked slowly.

  That meant something extraordinary.

  "You've lived for thousands of years?"

  Aru laughed softly.

  A strange, light sound.

  "Spirits do not measure time the same way humans do."

  He floated upside down in the air while speaking.

  "But yes… you could say we have witnessed many ages."

  Lux leaned back slightly.

  His eyes sharpened.

  "Then you must know a great deal."

  Ver tilted his head.

  "About what?"

  Lux hesitated for only a moment before answering.

  "Magic."

  The word hung in the air.

  Lux continued.

  "There are many things about magic that scholars in the kingdom still don't understand."

  He paused.

  Then asked something that had been bothering him for a long time.

  "Can a person be born with both magical ability… and the talent of a knight?"

  The moment he finished speaking—

  Aru burst into laughter.

  Not a small chuckle.

  But genuine laughter.

  He spun in the air dramatically.

  "A mage and a knight?"

  He wiped imaginary tears from his glowing eyes.

  "Oh, that is priceless."

  Lux frowned slightly.

  "What's so funny?"

  Aru eventually calmed down, still smiling.

  "You humans really have forgotten almost everything."

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  Ver sighed quietly.

  "It is not their fault."

  He turned toward Lux.

  "In your current age… the system of power has been simplified beyond recognition."

  Lux leaned forward.

  "What do you mean?"

  Ver spoke slowly.

  "The magic system used by humans today…"

  "Is incomplete."

  Lux narrowed his eyes.

  "Incomplete?"

  Aru nodded.

  "Incredibly incomplete."

  He floated closer.

  "In fact… compared to the ancient system…"

  "The system your world uses now is extremely weak."

  Lux felt a slight shock.

  "Weak?"

  Ver continued calmly.

  "In the current age, power is divided into two main paths."

  "Mages."

  "And knights."

  Lux nodded.

  That was common knowledge.

  Mages used mana to cast spells.

  Knights infused mana into their bodies and weapons.

  But Ver shook his head.

  "That division… is artificial."

  Lux frowned.

  "What do you mean?"

  Aru raised a glowing finger.

  "Let me explain."

  "In your modern system, mana flows inside the body."

  "Mages train to shape that mana into spells."

  "Knights train to reinforce their bodies with it."

  He shrugged.

  "But both are limited."

  Lux crossed his arms.

  "Limited how?"

  Ver answered this time.

  "Both rely entirely on internal mana."

  Lux understood immediately.

  Every mage had a mana capacity.

  Every knight had limits to how much mana they could channel.

  That was why the evaluation ceremony existed.

  To measure potential.

  But Aru shook his head.

  "In the ancient system…"

  "There were two completely different types of individuals."

  Lux's curiosity grew.

  "What types?"

  Ver raised two fingers.

  "The first type was called…"

  "Mana Bearers."

  Lux repeated the words quietly.

  "Mana Bearers."

  Aru explained.

  "These are the people your current system is based on."

  "They possess mana inside their bodies."

  "They refine it."

  "They train it."

  "They become either mages… or knights."

  Lux nodded slowly.

  "So the modern system is based on them."

  Ver nodded.

  "Yes."

  "But they were not the most powerful individuals."

  Lux raised an eyebrow.

  "There was something stronger?"

  Aru's voice grew slightly serious.

  "Much stronger."

  Lux felt tension in his chest.

  "What were they called?"

  Ver answered in a quiet voice.

  "Mana Lords."

  The room fell silent.

  Lux repeated the words slowly.

  "Mana… Lords?"

  Aru nodded.

  "In the ancient world, they were the rarest beings alive."

  "Even during the golden age of magic…"

  "There were never many of them."

  Lux asked,

  "How rare?"

  Ver thought for a moment.

  "At the peak of their era…"

  "There may have been ten."

  Lux blinked.

  "Ten?"

  Across the entire world?

  Aru nodded.

  "Perhaps fewer."

  Lux frowned.

  "That doesn't make sense."

  "If they were so rare, how could they matter?"

  He leaned back slightly.

  "Surely they couldn't influence the world that much."

  Ver and Aru exchanged glances.

  Then Aru smiled.

  "You underestimate them."

  Lux crossed his arms.

  "Then explain."

  Aru's expression slowly became serious.

  "Mana Bearers possess mana."

  "But Mana Lords…"

  "Control mana."

  Lux froze.

  "What?"

  Ver continued calmly.

  "The difference is enormous."

  "Mages require incantations."

  "They must recite spells."

  "Knights require weapons."

  "They channel mana into swords or armor."

  He gestured toward the air.

  "But Mana Lords do not require any of those."

  Lux leaned forward.

  "Why?"

  Aru answered simply.

  "Because they command mana directly."

  Lux felt something shift in his mind.

  Ver continued.

  "They do not need spells."

  "They do not need weapons."

  "They do not need catalysts."

  Lux stared at them.

  "Then how do they fight?"

  Aru smiled.

  "However they wish."

  He raised his tiny glowing hand.

  "Fire."

  A faint spark appeared in the air.

  "Water."

  The spark dissolved into mist.

  "Lightning."

  A tiny flash crackled.

  "Wind."

  The air in the room stirred.

  Lux's eyes widened.

  "You can use every element?"

  Aru shook his head.

  "No."

  "But Mana Lords can."

  Lux's breath caught.

  Ver continued explaining.

  "In the modern system, humans are restricted."

  "A mage might possess affinity for one element."

  "Perhaps two."

  "He spends his entire life mastering that element."

  Lux nodded slowly.

  That was true.

  But Ver's voice grew heavier.

  "A Mana Lord has no such limitation."

  Lux whispered,

  "Why?"

  Aru answered quietly.

  "Because they do not rely on their own mana."

  Lux frowned.

  "Then what do they rely on?"

  Aru pointed toward the window.

  "Everything."

  Lux blinked.

  "What?"

  Ver spoke softly.

  "Mana exists everywhere."

  "In the air."

  "In the ground."

  "In the ocean."

  "In every living thing."

  Lux knew that.

  Scholars called it ambient mana.

  But it was normally impossible to control.

  Ver continued.

  "A Mana Lord does not use internal mana."

  "They seize the mana of the world itself."

  Lux felt his heartbeat quicken.

  "They… control ambient mana?"

  Aru nodded.

  "Perfectly."

  Lux whispered,

  "That would mean…"

  Ver finished the thought.

  "They are not limited by mana capacity."

  Lux's mind reeled.

  Every mage had limits.

  Every knight exhausted their mana eventually.

  But if someone controlled the world's mana…

  They would never run out.

  Aru continued.

  "And that is not all."

  Lux looked up slowly.

  "What else?"

  Aru's voice lowered.

  "A Mana Lord can do more than cast spells."

  "They can reshape mana."

  Lux frowned.

  "What does that mean?"

  Ver answered calmly.

  "They can reinforce their bodies like knights."

  "They can cast spells like archmages."

  "They can heal wounds."

  "They can manipulate elements."

  "They can create barriers."

  "They can destroy entire armies."

  Lux felt a chill run down his spine.

  Aru smiled faintly.

  "In other words…"

  "They are both mage and knight."

  Lux sat completely still.

  The question he had asked earlier echoed in his mind.

  Can a person be both mage and knight?

  According to the ancient system…

  The answer was yes.

  But only for one kind of being.

  Mana Lords.

  Lux swallowed.

  "You said when one is born…"

  Ver nodded slowly.

  "The continent changes."

  Lux asked quietly,

  "Why?"

  Aru answered with a calm smile.

  "Because such a person can shape the future of the entire world."

  The room grew silent.

  Lux's thoughts raced.

  Then another realization struck him.

  He looked up suddenly.

  "Wait."

  Aru tilted his head.

  "What?"

  Lux spoke slowly.

  "You said Mana Lords don't rely on internal mana."

  Ver nodded.

  "Correct."

  Lux's voice dropped to a whisper.

  "And my mana…"

  Aru finished the sentence.

  "Doesn't exist."

  The words hung heavily in the air.

  Lux felt his heart pounding.

  The healer.

  The poison.

  The void inside his body.

  Ver watched him carefully.

  "Your internal mana circuit is gone."

  Lux stared at his hands.

  "But if Mana Lords don't use internal mana…"

  Aru smiled.

  "Then the absence of mana…"

  He floated closer.

  "May not be a weakness."

  Lux looked up slowly.

  Aru's glowing eyes met his.

  "It might be the very thing that allows you to become one."

  Lux felt the world shift.

  Mana Lords.

  A being that could command the mana of the world.

  A being without limits.

  A being capable of wielding every element.

  Lux whispered,

  "Is that… possible?"

  Ver answered quietly.

  "We don't know."

  Lux frowned.

  "You lived in the ancient era."

  Aru shrugged.

  "And even then, Mana Lords were myths to most people."

  Lux leaned back slowly.

  His mind spinning.

  But one thought burned in his chest.

  If what they said was true…

  Then the evaluation crystal had not revealed weakness.

  It had revealed something else.

  Something far more dangerous.

  Lux looked at his hands again.

  And for the first time…

  He wondered if the healer in the forest had known exactly what he was doing.

  Aru floated closer to him.

  His voice quiet.

  "Lux."

  The prince looked up.

  Aru's eyes gleamed faintly.

  "Would you like to try?"

  Lux's heartbeat quickened.

  "Try what?"

  Aru smiled.

  "Commanding mana."