Free Web NovelChapter 40: The Sleeping Shadow
Silas did not enter the Time Mind World immediately. After returning to his dormitory, he spent five hours meditating.
On the surface, he told himself he was preparing his mind and reaching the best possible mind state before entering. In reality, he was simply terrified of facing the Shadowheart and was searching for excuses to delay the inevitable.
He even prepared another bowl of noodles. Eventually, however, every excuse ran out.
Silas found himself standing inside the bathtub, submerged in warm water.
’Should I tie myself up first? Just in case that bastard takes control again?’
He glanced around the bathroom before dismissing the thought. If the Shadowheart truly decided to seize control, a few ropes would accomplish nothing.
With conflicted emotions weighing on his mind, Silas sank beneath the water, closed his eyes, and drifted into the Time Mind World.
Darkness swallowed everything.
The sounds of the world faded away, leaving only endless blackness and relieving silence. He continued sinking until his descent finally stopped.
Then, he saw something utterly unbelievable. The Shadowheart floated peacefully in the darkness, its eyes closed and its body motionless. Seeing this made Silas freeze.
He did not take a single step forward. He barely dared to breathe as he stared at the dark silhouette for an entire minute. Yet, nothing happened.
’This...’ freewёbnoνel.com
An impossible thought surfaced in his mind.
’Don’t tell me...’
’It has been asleep this whole time?’
The realisation struck him like a hammer.
The terrifying existence that had prevented him from using the help of this world, the reason he had avoided relying on it despite countless opportunities, had simply been sleeping all along.
This time, it was not fear that rooted him in place; it was shock and rage.
’I really let myself be intimidated this badly?’
His fists clenched tightly.
’If it’s asleep now, what happens when it wakes up?’
The moment he imagined the Shadowheart opening its crimson eyes, throwing itself at him, the anger vanished, and dread immediately returned. The fearful thoughts changed to imagining himself approaching the entity instead, touching and awakening it from its sleep.
’No. Let’s not test my luck.’
He even looked away, worried that staring for too long might somehow disturb its slumber.
’So... what now?’
Silas had spent days imagining countless scenarios for dealing with the Shadowheart. Since none of them was necessary, he suddenly found himself at a loss. He didn’t know what to do by being here.
’Shall I get out?’
The mere thought made him shake his head.
’I’m here now, so why not explore the place?’
After a moment, he glanced toward the sleeping monster one final time and began walking in the opposite direction. It was only then that he realised this was the first time he had ever explored this place.
Every previous visit had been driven by necessity. This was the first time he had entered without a goal. Realising this gave birth to something new inside: curiosity.
As he walked, he discovered just how vast the Time Mind World truly was. The surrounding darkness had always made it feel confined, yet he continued walking for nearly half an hour without finding any boundary.
Gradually, he forgot all about his fear and frustration, keeping himself busy looking around.
’Perhaps it expanded because of meditation.’
The thought immediately reminded him of something he had been neglecting. Originally, he believed meditation would help him connect with Gaia. Yet despite practising diligently, he had never received any calling.
Laros had once described Gaia as the world itself and Mana as the force that flowed through it. He had compared meditation to diving into a bottomless lake. In that analogy, Gaia was the lakebed, while Mana was the water.
Silas glanced around once more, searching for evidence of meditation’s effects. Unfortunately, his earlier assumption that the world had expanded remained impossible to verify. He had never known its original size in the first place.
Then, just as he was lost in thought, he noticed something. A faint white glow appeared far away in the darkness. Seeing this forced Silas to stop. The mere existence of something other than black within this world was shocking enough.
Without hesitation, he sprinted toward it. Oddly, the closer he got, the weaker the glow seemed to become.
’Don’t tell me it’s disappearing.’
Fortunately, it remained where it was. When he finally arrived, he discovered a sphere of pale white light floating quietly in the darkness, with a radius less than half a meter.
The sphere appeared completely natural, as though it had always belonged there. Strangely, it reminded him of the sleeping Shadowheart.
Curious, Silas extended a hand. The moment his fingers passed through the glowing outline, understanding flooded his mind. He felt warmth, intimacy, and power radiating from that ball through his fingers.
Then, his eyes widened with a realisation.
’Mana.’
He kept his hand inside the sphere.
’This is my Mana.’
The discovery left him stunned. Several minutes passed before he finally withdrew his hand and began circling the sphere. It resembled a newborn star, or perhaps a dying one. Its glow was so weak that it barely illuminated the darkness around it.
’So this is my current strength.’
’A fragile candle struggling to produce a spark.’
Surprisingly, he did not feel disappointed. Instead, excitement filled him, as for the first time since becoming an Enhancer, he had finally found his Mana. A faint smile appeared on his face.
’You look pathetic right now.’
His fingers brushed across the glowing sphere as though caressing a priceless treasure.
’But I’ll change that.’
’One day, I’ll turn you into a true, majestic star.’
Then he frowned.
’If that’s the case, why hasn’t meditation helped at all?’
No matter how he examined the situation, his Mana seemed almost unchanged despite an entire week of training. Something felt wrong.
’I need to find a way to absorb Mana and increase it in my heart.’
’Wait...’
Silas suddenly remembered where he was. It was the Time Mind World that always provided him with answers to impossible dilemmas. If this place could recreate scenarios and provide answers, perhaps it could solve this mystery as well.
Focusing on the problem, he imagined the process of meditation. At once, a shadow emerged from the surrounding darkness. The figure looked exactly like him, sat cross-legged and began meditating.
At first, nothing happened. On top of that, realising the shadow was perfectly mimicking his meditation without any edits or changes made Silas frown.
’Are you kidding me?’
Then he noticed a subtle disturbance. Faint black ripples were spreading around the shadow’s body. The effect was easy to miss against the darkness, but impossible to ignore once seen. Silas stared at it for several seconds, then the realisation dawned. frёewebnoѵēl.com
’Are you telling me I’ve been meditating in the wrong place?’
The idea sounded absurd. Yet the more he considered it, the more sense it made.
The Time Mind World was created by his Time attribute, something directly connected to his Mana Heart. The Shadowheart’s existence within this space only reinforced that conclusion.
If this world were linked to his Mana Heart, then meditating here should naturally produce far greater results than meditating in reality.
He didn’t know on what grounds this logic fit, but something made him sure it would. The possibility sent a surge of excitement through him. Without wasting another second, Silas sat down, crossed his legs, and closed his eyes.
He never questioned how meditation inside this world would connect him to Gaia or draw Mana from the real world outside. Fortunately, the results did not require understanding. Otherwise, he would have failed before even beginning.
The moment he entered a meditative state, he felt the difference.
Nearby, the sphere of white Mana began pulsing softly. Its glow brightened, while its size increased ever so slightly.
Yet Silas remained unaware that, for the first time since awakening his Mana Heart, it was finally growing.
