Yao was having dinner with Saya's family—he ate slowly, but never stopped. Strangely, the amount of food on his plate seemed to increase on its own.
"If you're still hungry, Xi Yao, just let me know. I'll make more," Saya's mother said with a warm smile.
"Thank you… ma'am," Yao replied softly.
During the meal, Saya's mother spoke again, her tone thoughtful. "Didn't the village chief say he already requested a mission to investigate our village from Thornres City? Why hasn't anyone shown up yet, dear?"
Yao and the grandmother both turned their attention to the question immediately.
"It's been almost a month now… and they even took our money and valuables as payment for the mission…" she added with suspicion in her voice.
"Calm down—the city of Thorn might be going through a power vacuum," the uncle responded as he scooped more food. "I heard the Thorn family collapsed due to some internal issue. That probably explains why no one has taken up the mission request from our village yet."
A mission? What kind of problem does this village really have...? Yao thought as he chewed silently.
"Is that so…? But there are rumors again—people disappearing… only bits of flesh found the next morning," Saya's mother said in a low voice.
"Just rumors. Don't get scared, dear," the grandmother reassured her with a steady tone.
"You should be more careful too, Mom. You've been coming home late lately. Don't get too caught up chatting with your friends."
"When I was your age, I was scared of these rumors too, you know. But now… I think it's nonsense. Even if someone investigates the village, they won't find anything..." The two began to argue softly.
"That's enough, both of you. We have a guest today. Don't act so disrespectfully," the uncle said firmly, and the conversation quieted.
"Sorry about that, young man—Xi Yao, I forgot you were even here. Haha~"
"It's alright…"
In fact, I'd like to know more—but maybe later…
"Then I'll go ask the village chief to hurry up and get someone to investigate. It's about time we got some answers."
After that, the atmosphere returned to normal, and everyone continued eating as usual.
—
The room was bare, windowless, and silent—cut off from the outside world. Nothing was inside except an old mattress in the center of the rough wooden floor. A faint scent of dust floated in the air as Yao sat down.
In the stillness, the driver's words still echoed in his mind:
"There are two types of power in this world… called Animus and Vis. They say everyone has them inside, but only a few ever learn to listen and hear them respond…"
Yao closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He tried to "listen," to feel the thing called Animus—the power of the soul, the origin of magic…
But nothing answered back.
No echo.
No glimmer of light.
No warmth.
No tremor.
Only emptiness. And a heart that felt too quiet.
"…What a shame. Looks like Animus isn't my thing," he muttered to himself.
But—when he changed his approach, not from the heart but from the body… he inhaled sharply, as if trying to awaken something inside him—
Something responded.
A faint pressure from his inner muscles.
A subtle tremor beneath his skin.
An indescribable sensation.
It wasn't warm.
It wasn't peaceful.
But it was real.
Vis—the power of will—responded slightly, as if watching him in silence.
Yao opened his eyes, uncertain.
He slowly tried to "gather" it into his palm, willing it to come together—but…
It wouldn't move.
The pressure wasn't enough. The power was still too faint.
Like trying to grasp fog in the air—there was no center, no weight for it to become a first-tier power.
Yao began to pant softly. Sweat dotted his forehead. Even though his body barely moved, it felt like he'd gone through a battle inside.
"So this is… Vis…" he whispered, eyes trembling.
"Just… not enough yet."
He leaned back onto the mattress, exhausted, and drifted off to sleep.