"Huff… huff… huff… huff… So many… stairs…" I heaved as I finally got to the bottom of the seemingly infinite staircase. Sure, it was going downstairs, but they were so slick and thin and shiny and slippery and just horrible to walk down as I kept slipping. "I thought I was going to die."
·ƈθm As I approached the large metal door, making this humble abode seem more like a vault rather than somebodies house, I began to sweat heavily. A heavy pressure hung just at the entrance and as I grazed my eyes upwards against the heavy gate, a single glowing red eye planted into a metal socket squirmed down towards me.
Nell didn't say anything about this, so I just stood still, assuming it was some kind of pupil scanner that confirms your identity.
"Confirmed," A voice rang out before a gust of dusty wind blew out of the opening double metal doors. The pressure only got thicker, but a strange smell of must, sweat, and grime hung in the air as if somebody had shit their pants and let it marinate there for what seemed to be centuries.
"Ugh… does this guy not fucking shower," I muttered, stepping through the clearing smoke that revealed a single demon lord sitting in a lotus position. Legs crossed over each other, hands relaxed in his lap, straightened back, and a head locked in place with two closed eyes. His entire structure was perfect as a gust of dark wind swirled around him. "But what is this black sweat?"
"Foooooo…" The demon lord suddenly let out a long breath of black air which had seemingly filled his lungs. It dispersed into the air with ease, but as I took a step toward the demon lord, it snapped toward me. Blades suddenly formed with the intent to kill, only to be shut down instantly by a wave of the demon lord's hand.
"What are you doing?"
"Breaking through the next layer of my mana core… also, it seems you've been slacking off on that department. Have you ever considered training it or do you just let the system temper it by itself?"
I looked at him with a puzzled expression causing him to give me one back. But, just like the stars aligning, that graceful piece of knowledge entered his brain and allowed him to lightly chuckle right then and there. I was still confused yet strangely I felt at ease as his pressure dispersed.
"I see… so that knowledge isn't common on the overworld now… I understand… come here. I want to show you something," The demon lord smiled gently and with such a peaceful gesture I couldn't just reject it.
So, I walked towards him and sat down right where he was sitting previously. The smelly stench was gone as a gust of wind tumbled through, and as I sat down, the demon lord swirled behind me, crouched, and pressed his hands against my back.
Like a dam opening once again, I felt a rush of mana slide into my body. My mana veins widened with the help of the demon lord yet I doubt this was what he was trying to show me. So, I focused up and let myself sink into a meditative state, relaxing everything but my mind and focusing on just what this man wanted to teach me.
A minute passed. Five minutes passed. Ten minutes passed. Fifteen. Thirty. An hour. Two hours. And then… I felt it. A glowing bubble at the bottom of my organic cavity. It seemed like it hovered right above my large intestine… no, it was going up. It traveled further and further upwards until it scraped my heart. I felt it beat and pump something. Not blood… but miasma.
I always thought my miasma just constantly flowed through my body with the help of the system, but it feels like something more ingrained. It feels like something that was there even before the presence of the system… what can you call it…
"A mana heart," The demon lord started to explain. "An organ that allows us to utilize mana. It isn't the System that guides and controls the mana in our body, but this organ that reacts naturally to your will. But at the same time, do you have to think of your heart in order for it to beat? No, right. So, the mana heart is the same but is also under the direct control of the subconscious brain."
"But I don't have mana. You used mana to help me guide it, but I think you forget… that I have no mana. I only have miasma…" I muttered, the core right beneath my heart beating faster and faster until black veins all over my body strained against the skin, like snakes trying to escape from a straitjacket.
.
[Congratulations, you have discovered your [ERROR]
[Your [ERROR] throbs with growth]
[Your [ERROR] adjusts to your level, class, and evolution]
[Congratulations, you have reached the-
.
[Revamping System in accordance with the anomaly]
.
[Congratulations, you have discovered your Miasma Heart]
[Your Miasma Heart throbs with growth]
[Your Miasma Heart adjusts to your level, class, and evolution]
[Congratulations, you have reached the Second Ring of your Miasma Heart]
.
"Incredible. Your ancestors are absolutely incredible. How were you able to withstand miasma as mere mortals long enough to pass down the genes of a species that could develop its own core? You're right… you don't have mana. You don't have a mana heart, but a heart made completely of miasma."
The Heart of Miasma bumping in my chest slowed down in accordance with the panels. For a split second, it was trying to make its presence known to the world even if it meant sacrificing me, but thankfully everything worked out perfectly in the end.
"Now, we must shed the impurities. This is especially an important process for you since Miasma has so much more impurities than mana that could cause your core to shatter. Actually, we should probably stabilize it first," The demon lord started talking to me but devolved into a muttering mess as he smiled at this new discovery.
