"My dream wasn't wrong; you've indeed awakened your divine essence," Mama Sarfowa said in the Akan language, which took Zane by surprise as he had to take a moment to switch gears in his mind and translate; he's been using Gremorian and English so much that his Chinese and Akan — also called Twi — were a bit rusty.
"Wait, no, there is something else inside your body," Mama Sarfowa continued. "Is that nature energy? No, it doesn't seem the same as described. It should be mana, right? Were you chosen by the tower? No wonder you awakened without any training or the proper ritual."
"How do you know about mana?" Zane instinctively asked, but immediately regretted it; he could no longer lie his way out of this situation. However, given how his mother had already discovered everything and could see through most of his bullshit, the chances of that succeeding were slim in the first place.
"Unlike you — who likes to bear everything alone — your cousin told his mother and the elders the truth."
"My cousin is also a trainee? Which one?" His extended family on his mother's side was large. In his mother's generation alone, there were 4 women and 5 men, each with one or more children. And that doesn't mention other friends, neighbors, or associates who are considered aunties, meaning their children were also considered Zane's cousins.
"Ziyad."
"I figured," Zane sighed. He and Ziyad were known as the Z-Brothers or the Z-Twins among the extended family. Every visit, while Zane was praised for his intelligence and academic performance, Ziyad was praised for his kindness, patience, and respect for his family and the elders. So, with his personality, Zane wasn't surprised that he revealed the truth to his mother and the elders.
"Is he a mage?" Zane asked.
"No, a shaman."
"That makes sense," Zane nodded. Unlike him, Ziyad believed in the family's spiritual practice and had been practicing since he was a child. He probably already had mental energy before the tower. And now that he was chosen as a Shaman, his future path — at least in the early stages — will probably be ridiculously fast.
"What's the difference between shamans and mages? How do they train?" Zane continued to ask.
"I'll give you Ziyi's number, and you can ask him," Mama Sarfowa calmly stated. "And you have one more question before we start talking about serious matters."
"But I have a lot of questions."
Mama Sarfowa stared at him. She knew her son best. Once he was curious about something, he would ask a million questions, and the conversation might last hours. By limiting his questions, he'll ask the essential one and figure out the rest another day or over time. Although she normally doesn't mind these long conversations, now was not the time.
"Alright," Zane resigned himself. "I want to know why your mental energy is so vast. And more importantly, why does it feel like it's in a sealed state?" After the incantation, Zane detected his mother's mental energy, but a few seconds later, she became a normal person, without an ounce of power.
"My divine essence was nurtured by years of practice. As —"
"I know that much. What I want to know is if you also meditate."
"Boy, don't you dare cut me off. No matter how old you are, it's never too old for me to discipline you."
Zane swallowed hard. "Sorry."
Mama Sarfowa snorted lightly before continuing, "We don't meditate. We nurture our divine essence through praying to the ancestors and the Abosoms (lesser deity spirits), acts of kindness, and rituals."
Zane frowned, "I can understand praying and ritual, but what's with the act of kindness?"
"Haven't you noticed that most of our family — especially the ones who practice — are either in healthcare, do a lot of charity, or are very involved with their community?"
"Are you saying you can increase your mental energy by healing or helping people?"
"That's right. Although it's the slowest approach out of the three, it's the most steady."
"How fascinating," Zane thought. Such a method reminded him of the soul crest. Through actions that change or benefit the world, a reward is granted. "Do you think it'll work for me?"
"No," she replied without hesitation.
"Why not? I can help people."
"Your heart is not pure enough."
Zane was speechless. Although she was right, there was no need to be so blunt. Removing these thoughts from his head, he asked, "What about the state of your mental energy? What's the deal?"
Mama Sarfowa sighed, "According to Ziyad's deduction, there is a high chance that the method we used to awaken our souls is flawed, resulting in short access to the divine essence."
"How short are we talking about?"
"Most people can only access it for a few seconds to a few minutes. I can last for a quarter of an hour, and the elders can have their powers for more than 2 hours."
"Are you talking about per day?" Zane asked with a frown. He couldn't imagine having access to his mental energy for only a few minutes a day.
"For each activation," Mama Sarfowa explained. "Each person can activate their divine essence 2-3 times a day, with a short pause in between."
"Can the problem be solved?"
"I don't know, but Ziyad said he will look for a solution from the tower."
"I'll also keep an eye out," Zane nodded.
"That should be it for your questions. Now, let's —"
"Wait, I have one more."
Mama Sarforwa squinted her eyes.
"I promise it's one more," Zane hurriedly explained.
"Fine, but beware that you're on a thin line."
"I just want to know why you don't have any nature or spirit energy," Zane asked. The tester told him that Shamans used those two energies, but from his mother's body, he had only detected mental energy.
"I don't know," Mama Sarfowa shook her head. "Before Ziyad mentioned it, I didn't even know such a thing was possible."
"Is Earth's Shaman Path different from the tower? Do they only use mental energy?" Zane thought.
"What are you going to do?"
"About what?" Zane asked.
"The tower and the death training."
"What else can I do?" Zane sighed. "I'll do my best to survive and fight for one of the five spots. Then, I can take the family away from the hellhole that will descend on this dimension once the Demon Lord arrives."
"Why are you speaking so strangely? Is this some kind of new trend young people have created?"
"What are you talking about?" Zane asked, his eyebrow furrowed.
"Your mouth moved, but no sound came out. Why are you speaking like that?"
"I did no such thing."
Mama Sarfowa raised an eyebrow; she was on the verge of teaching this kid some manners. "You just did it. You said you want to do your best to survive, and then your mouth moved, and nothing came out. Then, you finish your sentence with when the Demon Lord arrives."
Zane frowned, "You mean when I said fight for one of the spots?"
"There, you did it again."
"I didn't do anything."
Mama Sarfowa was about to lash out before stopping herself; she knew her son well, and based on his reaction, she was sure he wasn't lying. Then, she suddenly thought of something, "Hold on a minute." She rushed to the only room in the apartment and returned a few seconds later with a pen and pad.
"Try writing down what you were previously saying."
Zane — who also had an inkling of what was happening — followed her instruction. And to his horror, he wrote gibberish. The first part of the sentence was fine, but the part about the 5 spots was unreadable nonsense full of symbols; anyone looking at him would have thought he was speaking in code.
"Someone placed a Secret Tongue Spell on you."
"A what?"
"It's a spell that prevents someone from spilling a secret," Mama Sarfowa explained. "Who did you offend? As long as the person is not an elder, I can help you remove it."
"It's probably the tower."
Mama Sarfowa was silent. Anyone in the magical world with decent ability has already received a warning from the spirits, patron, and unseen forces to never antagonize the Dimension Tower. In the past two weeks, a few people refused to listen, and they tried to divine or cast hexes on the tower and its people. The result was expected: they all died.
"Just keep your mouth shut from now on," Mama Sarfowa warned.
"I know."
"I'm being serious. I know how you get when you're curious about something, but in this situation, there is no room for you to make a mistake."
"I know better than you how terrifying the tower is. I'm not stupid."
"Good," Mama Sarfowa nodded. "Now you've awakened your divine essence, you must participate in the Grand Ceremony in December."
"I thought it usually happened in April?" Zane asked. The family organizes an annual spiritual ritual and a Grand Ceremony every five to ten years. Zane used to participate in all of them despite his lack of belief, but after his release last year, he chose to stay home out of embarrassment. However, according to the elders' rule, no one can miss the Grand Ceremony unless it's a life-or-death situation or a case similar to Zane's incarceration.