The Married Life Of Immortals

Bane winced, but the slap hadn't been as hard as he had expected. Ignoring the slap, Bane was more concerned about what this exactly was supposed to be. He assumed he was just doing training of some sort, but Lysia's agitated tone suggested there was more to this all. Yet, asking her was clearly not a good idea at this point. All Bane could do was listen to her instruction, and try to command the mana within him.

The process was slow and frustrating, but Bane persisted. He focused on the center of his body, visualizing the mana as a swirling vortex that he needed to contain and control. As he did so, he could feel the energy responding to his will, albeit reluctantly. It was like trying to tame a wild animal, but he was determined to succeed.

Lysia watched him closely, her sharp eyes missing nothing. "Good. Keep going. Don't let it disperse. Hold it there and feel the power building."

Bane gritted his teeth, sweat forming on his brow. He could feel the mana starting to coalesce, gathering in his core like a storm. The sensation was intense, almost overwhelming, but he kept his focus, determined not to let it slip away.

After what felt like an eternity, Lysia finally spoke again. "Now that you have control of it, you need to hold it in place," Lysia said and began pouring her own mana into the palm of her right hand. "Since something is preventing you from manifesting magic, in turn, stunting your mana base growth, I have an idea. Since this force wants to keep you from doing anything flashy, I don't think it should be opposed to me forcefully increasing your mana base."

Bane's hot sweat from the exertion of concentrating for so long and intently became cold as he listened to the psychopathic little girl behind him. He didn't understand half of what Lysia was talking about, but there were a few things he did understand. The part about forcibly increasing his mana base was the most concerning. The increasing amount of mana coming from behind him where she stood was also not making him feel any better.

Bane's pulse quickened as he felt the surge of Lysia's mana gathering behind him. The air around them seemed to hum with energy, and the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end. He braced himself, holding onto his focus with every ounce of his will.

"Stay calm," Lysia's voice came from behind him, sounding both soothing and firm. "This will only work if you remain focused. You need to trust me."

Bane nodded slightly, taking deep, steadying breaths. He could feel the mana in his core responding to his concentration, a swirling vortex of energy that he was barely keeping contained.

"Here we go," Lysia said, and a sudden rush of her mana surged into him.

The sensation was like nothing Bane had ever experienced. It was as if a torrent of energy was flooding into his body, threatening to overwhelm him. He could feel the foreign mana mingling with his own, pushing against the boundaries of his control. He gritted his teeth, determined not to let it break him.

"Hold it together," Lysia's voice cut through the chaos, her tone commanding. "You need to direct the flow. Imagine a dam, controlling the flow of water. You are the dam."

Bane visualized the dam in his mind, channeling the energy as best as he could. The torrent of mana was fierce, but he forced it into the vortex he had created in his core, feeling the power building to a nearly unbearable level.

"Good," Lysia said, her voice softer now. "You're doing well. Keep holding it."

The intensity of the energy was almost too much, but Bane could feel something changing. His body was starting to adapt, the mana integrating with his own reserves. He could feel his capacity growing, the vortex in his core becoming more stable, more powerful.

After what felt like an eternity, Lysia finally withdrew her hand, the flow of mana ceasing. Bane sagged, feeling both exhausted and exhilarated. The energy within him had stabilized, a newfound strength coursing through his veins.

Lysia walked around to face him, her expression unreadable. "How do you feel?"

Bane took a moment to catch his breath before answering. "Like a cooked chicken. I feel stronger, but the mana feels like it is cooking me from the inside, just not in a bad way? I don't really know if that makes any sense, but I feel gross and hungry again."

Lysia gave a rare, small smile. "That's to be expected. Your body is adjusting to the increased mana reserves. It will take some time for you to fully adapt, but this is a significant step forward."

Bane nodded, still feeling the residual tingling of the mana infusion. "I guess this means my training just got a whole lot harder, huh?"

Lysia's smile turned into a smirk. "You have no idea. But for now, get some rest and eat something. You've earned it."

Bane sighed with relief, grateful for the temporary reprieve. He headed back to the kitchen and rummaged through the pantry, pulling out ingredients for a simple meal. As he cooked, he couldn't help but reflect on how far he had come since arriving in this strange village. Despite the constant challenges, he felt a sense of progress, and that was enough to keep him going.

After eating, Bane cleaned up the kitchen and made his way back to his quarters. He collapsed onto his bed, feeling the weight of the day's events finally catch up with him. Sleep came quickly, and his dreams were filled with visions of swirling energy and fierce battles.

The next morning, Bane awoke to the sound of birds chirping outside his window. He stretched, feeling a strange mix of soreness and strength in his muscles. Remembering Lysia's words, he took a few moments to focus on his breathing, feeling the mana within him more clearly than ever before. The energy was still there, a steady presence that felt both comforting and powerful.

Bane let out a sigh and smiled. After Senior Bai had tried basically the same thing, Bane had half expected to wake up with the same pathetic mana base. Thankfully, that was not the case, and he felt even more powerful.

As Bane sat up and got ready to get out of bed, Eve spoke up. ‘I am glad to see that everything worked out with Lysia. I was concerned at one point, but it seems that Onyx doesn’t care if you store energy inside of you or increase the amount you can handle. Though, I still wonder why you can’t create a cultivation base to collect energy?’

Bane could only shrug at this as he left his room. It was still plenty early, so he decided to head to see Morgana before meeting with Senior Bai and Brother Wei. Once he arrived, Bane moved to knock on the door, but it opened before he could. Morgana was standing there in a white dress, and she had a warm smile on her face.

“Sorry for not coming yesterday. I used too much mana, but Lysia helped me out. She forced mana into me, and now my body seems to be able to hold a bunch more,” Bane explained, but to his surprise, Morgana’s smile vanished, and she waved for him to follow her inside. Bane frowned but followed along.

Once inside, Morgana led him back to the area where they normally train. Once they were standing in the center, Morgana began to walk around Bane, pulling at his cheeks and lifting his arms as she examined him. The entire time Bane stayed silent, having no clue what this reaction or examination was about.

Finally, Morgana stepped back to frown at Bane. “What she did was very reckless. She did much more than expand your mana base. Look, put your hand into mine, and then feel the mana I summon, and how it flows.”

Bane took the offered hand, and then concentrated as Morgana summoned a ball of water to her hand. As she did, Bane felt a single stream rush to her palm. Letting go of her hand, Bane tried to do the same thing, but something different happened. Normally, nothing other than the feeling of mana rushing to his palm had happened. This time, the mana felt like a rush of blood through every vein in his hand, and now his hand felt more dexterous.

“What she did was something that takes even elves years to accomplish. Your mana is now enriching your blood. At your current level, you can direct it to parts of your body to have different effects, but the more mana you gain now, the closer you become to an immortal being. Mana will, at one point, completely replace your blood, and in time, you will form a Mana Core to replace your heart,” Morgana explained, sounding worried, but Bane didn’t understand why.

“Why are you getting so worked up about this? What part of what you just said isn’t amazing? Who wants to die? Why wouldn’t I want to get stronger?” Bane asked, feeling like he might be missing something.

Morgana sighed and then rubbed her fingers to her brow. “Do you know why elves hate most races, and normally never leave their forests?”

Bane shrugged. “I think I know what you are getting at. They hate short-lived races because anyone they get to know just dies in less than 100 years. For someone that can live 500 times that I can see why living a long time could suck. Still, if you think that I am going to be mad about this, or at Lysia, I’m not.”

Morgana shook her head in defeat. “Fine, but this means much more than your dense man brain thinks.”

Bane smirked at this. “I am sure of it, but none of it really matters at this point. Everything that everyone is doing for me is to help stop whatever is coming, right? Who knows how long it might take?”

“Fine, but I think we will suspend our lesson for today. Now that you have mana veins, I need to rethink how I am going to teach you. I also would like to have a word with that elf. Just because she is older does not make her wiser!” Morgana growled but then Bane put up a hand with a sigh.

This might get him in trouble, but Bane didn’t want Lysia to get in trouble for something he was perfectly fine with. This needed to be said regardless.

“Rather than go talk to Lysia, I think you should go talk to Ezio. I don’t know how you feel about the guy, but he clearly has a thing for you. If you feel the same, maybe use this extra energy to tell him how you feel. You and I both know that cold-blooded killer will never work up the courage to tell you, so you are going to have to take the first step,” Bane said without taking a breath.

The room went silent, but Morgana’s face slowly started to turn red. Bane hoped it was a blush, but he was also mentally prepared to be hit with some 4th tier magic. Thankfully, it was the latter, but Bane didn’t let his guard down.

Morgana's cheeks flushed a deep red, but she didn't lash out at Bane. Instead, she took a deep breath and composed herself. "I appreciate your concern, Bane, but my personal matters are my own. Let's focus on your training and the mission at hand."

Bane nodded, relieved that Morgana hadn't reacted more violently. "Fair enough. I'll be ready for whatever you throw at me next."