"Hunger." Kayden began channeling mana exclusively to this mage. He wasn’t necessarily the strongest of them all—he was at the top, but still the weakest among the strong—yet there was intelligence in his eyes, something Kayden had not expected.
Kayden continued feeding this mage exclusively. All the mana went directly to him. Not only that, but Kayden prevented the others from killing him. It didn’t take long before the mage reached the seventh realm and…
"Insane." The strength of this being in the seventh realm was equivalent to that of a tenth-realm mage. Not only that, but he had an utterly insane capacity for learning. It didn’t even take a minute for him to grasp something profound.
"Monarch." The mana creature’s voice came out slow and dragged, but Kayden understood perfectly what he meant—Kayden had been recognized as a Monarch. Not just any Monarch, but the Monarch of Mana.
"Hunger?" Kayden asked, and the creature shook its head.
"No." Their interaction ended there. The creature stood beside Kayden without saying another word. Meanwhile, Kayden continued creating other beings and testing their abilities, but none were remotely similar to the first one. It was like finding a needle in a haystack.
Kayden’s soul continued filling with stains every minute he used the mana stone. He managed to generate dozens of seventh-realm mages, yet not a single eighth-realm mage emerged from the entire process. It seemed there was something more required for them to reach that level.
Intelligence was also something strange and difficult to find among them. Most were intelligent, but only in a basic sense, like ordinary creatures with no true depth. The only exception was the first mage Kayden had created.
"Shadow." Kayden named him after a few thousand years. The name came from this mage always following behind him without taking any significant action or speaking—he was just a shadow.
"What do you know about these blue stains?" Kayden opened his soul for Shadow to see. The mage looked at them for a moment and…
"Soul mana." That was all he said. Kayden understood almost nothing from that explanation but simply nodded. He had already grown accustomed to his servant’s brief and vague responses.
Kayden’s soul would always fill with tiny mana spots until it reached a point where it completely shattered—only to be restored as if nothing had happened. As time passed, he began learning how to control the effects of the mana stone. Not only that, but he started to grasp the Law of Mana.
"Where does my soul come from?" After a few million years, Shadow’s intelligence exploded, and he became a curious child. He began learning how to manipulate mana, and Kayden taught him how to manipulate his own soul.
The creature’s strength was terrifying. His talent for controlling mana was second only to Kayden. Apart from that, there was virtually no other mage in all of Kayden’s life with such an immense aptitude for mana. The creature’s power in the seventh realm was colossal. Probably, not even Kayden himself would have been able to rival him when he was in the seventh realm.
"From the River of Souls, a place where all souls go after death until they await rebirth." Kayden explained and continued his training. During this time, he managed to create other creatures just as strong as Shadow, but not a single one was as intelligent as him.
Strength was superior to everything—except potential. Kayden was taking great care of Shadow because of this. The creature had the ability to control its own hunger for mana, something none of the others could master. His sustenance was based solely on consuming other mages who reached the seventh realm as well.
Over this period, Kayden provided Shadow with the mana of tens of thousands of galaxies. However, he was nowhere near reaching the eighth realm. The seventh realm was likely an entry barrier, something he wouldn’t be able to surpass quickly. Shadow continued growing steadily, and Kayden kept learning from him.
"Monarch, this space is too small for two princes." One of the creatures one day openly challenged Shadow’s position. Kayden was surprised. He had already noticed a certain hierarchy among these creatures, but nothing had ever happened before.
Kayden didn’t interfere and simply let it play out. Shadow was one of the most composed beings when it came to hunger and primitive desires for power, but that didn’t mean he was weak—far from it. He was the creature Kayden had nurtured the most during this entire period.
Shadow simply crushed his opponent and consumed him directly. There wasn’t even an exchange of blows. The prince merely eliminated his challenger without any reaction or difficulty. Such challenges never occurred again in the future—Shadow’s strength had been proven.
The existence of the mana creatures began taking on new dimensions. Some started developing new forms of consciousness, fragments of unknown memories that seemed to originate from the very flow of mana. Kayden realized these beings were not just puppets made of energy but rather vessels of something ancient—a lost knowledge whispering in the void.
The Law of Mana was embedded in each of them. They were practically living mana in soul form. Kayden couldn’t explain or even fully comprehend what they were, but little by little, he was getting closer to something superior. He was racing against time because, at that moment, his strength was still not enough to place him in the top ten of the universe.
Atlas, Netero, and many others had already developed to nearly the peak of the mortal realm. Atlas had reached a point where he could no longer advance—he was far beyond anything this universe had ever seen in a mortal. Not even the lower gods possessed such strength. Another mage who was progressing even faster was Matheus, but unfortunately, he would need much more time to truly develop.
Author’s note: my trip was extended and I really didn’t have time to write much, as soon as I get back I’ll start catching up a little bit.