Everyone's dreamed of it at some point: lying at home, feet up, completely relaxed, while your perfect clone handles all the boring, soul-crushing stuff in your place. Work, school, endless errands — let the duplicate deal with it.
I used to fantasize about exactly that.
I really, really wanted that ability…
But let me tell you from personal experience — it's not nearly as wonderful as it sounds.
You can't just lie around doing nothing. You have to constantly supervise that damn clone. And trust me, that's a full-time job in itself.
…Okay, fine.
Actually, it is pretty amazing.
Not only because you can do two things at once, but because it's insanely efficient.
Still — let's put that aside for now.
In a world soaked in mana, a talent like mine would be worth hundreds of millions. Maybe even billions.
Unfortunately, talents are non-transferable. They're unique, one of a kind.
And honestly… even if I could sell it, I wouldn't. Not for any price.
I'm fifteen now.
Just recently awakened.
Of course I'd been waiting for it — both my parents are awakened, so it wasn't exactly a shock. Still, I was happy when it finally happened.
Now I can no longer be called an ordinary person.
More importantly — I'm pretty much guaranteed never to worry about unemployment. Awakened people are in demand everywhere.
And with my particular talent?
My future looks ridiculously bright.
Awakening happens when mana begins to condense at a single point in the body, gradually forming a dense sphere. Once it reaches critical mass, the body restructures itself to withstand the new power and creates a mana core.
In that moment you feel your soul.
For me it was like suddenly noticing a warm, gentle light inside my chest that had always been there, but I'd never paid attention to before.
The core forms right next to the soul.
Mana wraps around it, almost merging with it.
The soul is that invisible source of life hidden deep in the center of every living being. Mana is the energy that flows through everything alive.
After awakening, a person learns to control mana: circulate it, strengthen the body, absorb other cores. Over time a physical core forms as well, and that changes everything — the body grows stronger, mana becomes denser, you start to sense it, and eventually project it outward.
A talent is a gift engraved directly onto the soul.
Usually it manifests later in life, but some people — like me — get it early.
I'd seen the runes on my soul two years ago and spent ages trying to decipher them, quietly studying runic language on the side.
And when I finally understood what they meant…
The creak of a door hinge snapped me out of my thoughts.
A soft, familiar female voice floated in from the hallway:
"Lyk! Stop daydreaming and come eat breakfast already!"
Mom, obviously.
"Coming…" I muttered with genuine regret.
I really, really didn't feel like going to school today.
I rolled out of bed, threw on my school uniform, hastily shoved textbooks and notebooks into my bag, and left the room.
At the kitchen table sat a man with a short beard and sleepy eyes. He was nursing a mug of fragrant coffee. When he noticed me he slowly turned his head. Bright green eyes met mine.
"Morning, son," he said in a voice still thick with sleep.
"Morning," I mumbled, dropping into my chair.
I waited for Mom to bring the food.
Dad took another sip, looked at me again. His gaze gradually sharpened. After a short silence he spoke:
"So… what about the Academy? It's about time to start preparing for the entrance exams."
I stared blankly at the table for a few seconds, then lifted my eyes to him, gave a weak smile and answered quietly:
"I think… actually, I want to go to regular high school. Get a normal education. Maybe even follow Mom's path. But I'm not going to the Awakened Academy. I don't want to risk my life."
He took another slow sip, watching me over the rim of the mug. Then, with a small smile, he said:
"Alright. If that's your decision, I won't push you.
But remember — there's still time. If you change your mind, just say the word. I'll make sure you pass the practical portion of the exam. After all, with your—"
Mom appeared at the table, set a plate of food in front of me and shot my father a sharp look.
"Stop pressuring him. He's got his own head on his shoulders."
And so my morning began.
Soon after, I headed to school.
***
14:50.
Only ten more minutes until the final bell.
I sat at my desk, half-heartedly listening to the history teacher for the hundredth time explaining the days of the Lost Era — the time before mana existed in our world.
"So, in the twenty-first century," the teacher swept his gaze across the classroom, "people already had smartphones, cars, the internet… All of this you know from textbooks. But back then the world was fragmented. There were nearly two hundred separate countries, each with its own government, laws, even languages."
A hand shot up.
"Why do we all live on the single Human Continent now?"
The teacher nodded approvingly, as though he'd been waiting for exactly that question.
"Everything changed after the First Cataclysm. Mana flooded into our reality." He made a wide, dramatic gesture through the air. "It didn't just give us magic. Within a few months it wiped out a quarter of humanity. And then *they* appeared."
"They?" someone echoed from the back row.
"Other races. Elves, orcs, dwarves…" The teacher's voice dropped. "Mana didn't just transform the land. It changed living creatures too. Humans found themselves on the brink of extinction."
A heavy silence settled over the classroom.
The teacher continued quietly:
"Old borders collapsed. No single country could survive alone. To have any chance at all, the remnants of humanity united. That was the birth of the Human Continent — our last stronghold."
A voice from the front:
"But did that solve everything?"
The teacher gave a sad smile.
"No.
But it gave us a chance.
Now we're no longer two hundred weak states.
We're one shield against anomalies… and against the other races."
The bell rang.
While I was gathering my things, Gloria, one of my classmates, walked up.
"Hey. You awakened, right? Got a talent?"
I glanced at her reluctantly.
"Yeah."
"And? What is it?"
"What about you?" I threw the question back.
She shrugged lightly.
"Mine lets me sense all living beings in a certain radius. I can even roughly estimate their rank."
"Wow. That's actually really strong. Any guild would kill for someone like you."
She snorted, half-amused, half-annoyed.
"Yeah, obviously.
Now your turn. What's yours?"
I hesitated for a second.
"…Honestly? I haven't really figured it out yet. And anyway, I'm not that interested. I'm planning to go to regular high school."
That was, of course, a lie.
I just didn't want anyone to know.
Not even my parents.
Not yet.
Gloria suddenly burst out laughing — loud, mocking.
"Hah! Seriously?
If you don't have a talent, just say so. You really expect me to believe someone with a talent would choose regular school?"
"Think whatever you want. I'm heading home."
She clicked her tongue, gave me a strange, unreadable look, turned sharply and walked away.
I let out a long, tired breath, watching her disappear through the doorway.
If you only knew what kind of talent I actually have… you'd probably be even more annoying.
You definitely wouldn't believe I just want to live like a normal person.
You'd nag me about it until the end of the year.
Yeah.
That's exactly how it would go.
***
19:57.
After classes I came home, wolfed down some food, and decided to step out for a short walk — just to clear my head and think properly about the future.
Truth is, I already knew exactly what I wanted from life.
A stable job. A couple thousand dollars sitting comfortably in my account. And, of course, a perfectly ordinary family.
Risking my neck chasing fame and fortune? Yeah, that's definitely not my thing.
A quiet life — that's the goal.
And my broken-as-hell talent was going to make sure I got exactly that.
[Talent: Soul Division]
[Talent Description: Long ago, a being that enraged the gods — known only as *** — was sealed inside *** for all eternity. Centuries passed before it devised a way to escape its punishment. *** recreated its own soul with astonishing precision — the two souls were completely indistinguishable. Around this newly created soul a body formed, an exact replica of the imprisoned original. On that day it became the greatest soul sorcerer who ever lived… and no one ever knew. Thus a fragment of its soul slipped free from captivity, and so began its revenge against the gods.]
[Talent Abilities]
[Perfect Duplicate: Allows the creation of an exact copy of one's own soul. Creation consumes one fifth of the owner's soul. A body forms around the copied soul that is completely identical to the original. The duplicate is under the owner's total control.]
[Soul Link: Allows redirection of the owner's soul power to the Perfect Duplicate and vice versa.]
[Penalty: If the Perfect Duplicate is destroyed, the owner's soul may suffer severe damage or complete annihilation.]
Yes, at first glance it might look like just another cloning ability.
But it's actually far more complicated — and far more powerful.
Of course I never got a full professional runic translation.
Still, even with the parts I managed to decipher myself, I could already see the insane potential.
By spending twenty percent of my soul I weaken myself temporarily… but in exchange I get a fully functional second body.
Two bodies, each operating at eighty percent of my original power.
And if I channel everything through **[Soul Link]** into one of them?
I can actually push past one hundred percent.
But the real cheat code is efficiency.
Life doubled.
Sleep in one body while training in the other.
Study while working.
The possibilities were endless.
A vendor's voice snapped me out of my thoughts:
"That'll be one dollar!"
"Here you go. Thanks. Bye."
"Come back soon!"
I paid for the ice cream, stepped out of the little shop, peeled open the wrapper on my plombir and started walking home.
Then the siren screamed.
A second later the district-wide broadcast boomed:
"ATTENTION! ATTENTION! ANOMALY DETECTED. IMMEDIATELY LEAVE THE STREETS. RETURN HOME. CLOSE ALL DOORS AND WINDOWS. TURN OFF ALL LIGHTS AND ELECTRONIC DEVICES!"
"Fuck… what the hell?" I hissed, panic rising fast.
I was already turning to sprint back into the store when right in front of me
the air tore open.
A portal.
"Shit—shit—shit…" I whispered, frozen.
Run? Will I make it? Back to the shop? Play dead? Use the talent?!
A foot stepped through.
Encased in black metal shackles that seemed to drink the light itself — forged from pure darkness.
The portal wasn't large — maybe two meters tall, less than a meter wide.
Chains clinked loudly as the shackles struck the pavement.
Then the man emerged.
Young.
Short silver-gray hair.
Eyes like polished blades of pure silver.
Muscular, taut body wrapped in the plain gray robe of a prisoner.
Heavy black shackles locked around wrists, ankles, and throat.
The pressure rolling off him was indescribable.
Like Death herself had decided to personally stare me down.
I couldn't breathe.
Couldn't move.
He slowly scanned the street…
then his gaze locked onto me.
"Аглянур интес?" he asked in a language I'd never heard.
"…What?" I barely managed, nearly dropping my melting ice cream.