Time crawled by in tiny pieces.
Ares had no clue how many days had passed since his birth. The castle didn't exactly have a baby-friendly calendar hanging around. All he could use to track time was the daily routine, Junia's visits, Beatrix's soft lullabies, and how the sunlight crept across his window throughout the day.
But something was getting clearer with each passing hour.
Not the world outside, no. He was still trapped in this pudgy, helpless body with arms that flapped like wet fish and a voice that only knew how to cry and hiccup.
The clarity was coming from inside.
From that warm, coiled thing sitting behind his ribs.
Mana.
It wasn't just sitting there anymore like some lazy cat. It was starting to talk to him.
---
He couldn't boss it around yet, not even close. But he could feel it better now, like slowly learning to understand whispers in a foreign language.
When someone got close to his crib or picked him up, he started noticing tiny differences in how they felt.
Beatrix's touch came with warmth that never burned. Steady and smooth, like a fireplace that never went out. Her mana felt... intentional. Like she knew exactly what she was doing with it.
When Junia rushed around the room, usually because she was running late or stressed about something, the air around her got jittery. Like invisible threads were tangled and fraying. Her mana felt messy, not dangerous, just... untrained. Like someone who'd never learned to tie their shoes properly.
He couldn't see any of this stuff or smell it. But he could 'tell'. It was like having a sixth sense that only worked for magical energy.
'So mana isn't just raw power sitting in your body. It leaks out when people feel things. Stress, calm, happiness, fear... it all leaves fingerprints in the air.'
'This is what "sensing" really means. Not reading numbers on some video game screen, this is listening with parts of you that don't have ears.'
---
He decided to try copying it.
One night, after Beatrix had dozed off in her chair, he focused on the warm spot in his belly, the thing that sometimes pulsed when he got excited or curious.
He reached toward it mentally, not trying to grab it, just... paying attention to it.
Nothing happened.
He tried again, gentler this time, like trying to pet a nervous kitten.
A tiny flicker.
Something warm tickled his fingertips from the inside.
It was like trying to hold smoke with his bare hands. He couldn't grab it or shape it, but he felt it push back against his attention, almost playful.
His baby face scrunched up in concentration.
'That's the secret. It's not about wanting it to move. It's about 'meaning' for it to move.'
'Mana responds to intent, not just wishful thinking.'
He let go, breathed out softly, and let the feeling fade away. But he couldn't help smiling in the darkness, his eyes bright and satisfied.
'Progress.'
---
The next day, while Beatrix sat reading beside his cradle, Junia whispered something about Lord Sigmund coming back from the Cradle soon.
Ares barely twitched at the news.
'That'll matter eventually. Big time. But not today.'
'Right now, I'm learning the world one heartbeat at a time.'
---
He started paying closer attention to everything.
The way Junia's mana got all buzzy and scattered when she fibbed about getting enough sleep the night before.
How Beatrix's emotional state changed the very air around her, worry when she was writing letters, peaceful calm when she hummed those little songs.
Every person left their own mana fingerprint.
He couldn't name the different types of mana yet, couldn't tell fire from water or earth from air.
But he was building a mental notebook, page by page.
'This is how I'll get ahead of the game. Not by being the loudest or flashiest, but by learning the rhythm before the music even starts.'
'Sigmund might already be a walking weapon, all sharp edges and deadly skill.'
'But I'll be something completely different.'
'A storm that's still gathering strength. A forge that's just starting to heat up.'
'Let's see what kind of sparks fly when I'm ready to show the world what I can really do.'