THHUMP THHUMP!
His heart clashed against his chest so forcefully that Ryan and Jason's ears perked as the sound reached them, only causing them to be more bewildered.
Each pump circulated the blood at dangerous speeds; however, his amplified blood vessels could withstand it. No damage was done, and the flow at which his blood moved nearly doubled. His natural breaths were slower but deeper, and both Jason and Ryan widened their eyes as they saw motes of mana slowly drifting into his mouth.
They twittled amongst each other in the air as the vortex pulled them into Agnus's mouth, which then entered through his lungs, and the process followed similarly to how a normal body would, as the oxygen would seep into tiny blood vessels, and supply the body with oxygen. Mana added onto this mix, as now mana entered his bloodstream directly from breathing, rather than using a technique to bring it to their mana core.
"I-Is he using a breathing technique naturally?" Ryan questioned outloud, but it was pointless; He knew the answer already.
The revelation was too much to bear in their mind. In fact, all of it was too much for them.
Breathing techniques were simple in essence, but terrifyingly hard to grasp.
It required drawing in mana with each breath, resulting in a steady stream of new mana; Something that would let a warrior fight for not just double, but triple the time they usually could without exhausting their mana.
That was what they thought, but they'd soon realize the depths of it would be far more extensive.
And alas, the most impactful sequence was underway.
Ryan observed with wide eyes as the blood finally reached his brain, and at the back of his mind, he knew, if anything was to go wrong, it would be now.
The dormant potential that a human brain possesses was gradually awakening from its slumber, and the results were instant.
Agnus's mind slowly became clearer; Memories that he naturally forgot blooded back in violent torrents. To him, the entire world was shown in a different way; everything he saw, thought about, and recalled was shown with astounding clarity, as if he was seeing it all at once. Momentarily, it seemed as if he was omnipresent; living throughout all of his past life at the current moment, while still experiencing the searing pain that clawed every atom of his existence.
On a level he doesn't understand now, each part of his brain was enhanced; His Cerebrum, Cerebellum, and his Cerebral Cortex worked in harmony, and the effect was drastic. The cerebrum, which was responsible for movements, posture, and balance, now only refined his already inhuman-like flexibility.
The Cerebellum heightened his senses as if it were already imbued with mana, in addition to the evolved senses that were enhanced by his new blood.
And lastly, the cerebral cortex.
Intelligence brimmed to life in his mind, as the memories he recalled weren't simply caused by such an agonizing experience; It was his brain evolving. Remembering things he wouldn't have been able to otherwise. Every word his father spoke, every time his mother cried in his absence.
Every person who harmed him for having the blood of a traitor.
He remembered their faces and the things they did to him.
The emotion of despair or anger didn't tie these memories down to be forever known. He felt nothing.
He still did.
But now, he knew it all.
All of his brain functions that weren't related to his emotions worked in hyperspeed.
Then, it all stopped.
No pain.
Abruptly, the world reformed.
Existence blurred as it pulled away from itself, slowly regressing to a standard scene for him to see.
Except it was anything but standard.
Colors he never witnessed before glistened in the air. Minuscule, but clearly evident motes of mana whizzed in the air, following no path or goal. They floated around as if they had their own mind, choosing to fly to cure their boredom. It made him think for a second; Was mana a sentient thing?
Would it make sense?
'If it could fuse with my entire body and impact my brain, I can already tell I'm smarter. If it can affect sentient beings in this manner, isn't that a sort of sentience in itself?
Half of sentience is emotion, which I can't experience. But my mana can feel physical things. I feel it. It feels me.
Mana is me, and I am mana.
But if that's the case, will it feel emotions when I am able to?
If so, would it be angry at me if I did something bad?
How would it be angry?
What would it do to me?
If I am mana, that means it feels what I feel.
If I'm angry, it's angry with me.
That means right now, it feels nothing besides what I touch.' He considered as his grip tensed around the table he rested upon.
CRRRRCK!
Splinters of wood exploded outward, engulfing the area in a polluted cloud of dust and wood particles. His eyes flicked over, and each speck of dust floating in the air was sharpened, their outlines defined as he was seemingly able to make out each one.
'It sees what I see. Smells what I smell.
He carelessly moved his head to the side, hearing the faintest tap of a shoe against metal as Ryan stepped forward slowly. Jason watched from behind, his eyes examining every inch of his body. "How do you feel?" Ryan's voice was low and soft.
Agnus responded instantly, "Alive. Strong." Bluntly, in his usual manner.
He swept his legs over the table and hopped onto his feet, lightly jumping in place.
'Effortless.' He thought as his soles landed upon the ground, barely using any counter-acting force to the ground, but he was able to hop nearly 30 inches in the air dozens of times without feeling any exhaustion in his legs. Jumping in itself wasn't a laborious act, but when done consecutively without pause, muscles strained until your own body made you stop.
Jason and Ryan watched in satisfied relief as Agnus was a perfect resemblance to their awakening. Going through every motion, even those as small as moving one's fingers.
The process lasted nearly ten minutes until Agnus spoke out. "What happened?"
Jason and Ryan glanced at eachother as the uncertainty still hung in the air. 'Did he even awaken? It appears more as if he evolved into an entirely different species.' Ryan marveled, as he couldn't see, but felt the mana that coursed throughout his body.
"We don't know, to be frank," Ryan admitted, "For beginners, your eyes changed color. They're a very deep blue now."
Out of the changes he couldn't feel, Agnus didn't expect that one. "Is that good or bad?" He asked like an adolescent child, "Uhhh." Jason met Ryan's gaze as he didn't reply with a straight face. "Not too sure. It's best if we find out what exactly occurred within your body, as it is something that has never happened before."
Ryan's eyes couldn't remove themselves from Agnus's body as the event was too bizarre to ignore, or even look away from the one at the midst of it all. His thoughts dated back to the day he met Agnus for the first time, a sentence his father said, chiming in his head.
'They see the potential he holds.'
Those words in particular were what caught Ryan in a bundle. Did they know this would happen? Or was it something else?