Chapter 104: Sharing the Secret (Part 2)

"What do you mean by seeing mana?" Rowena tried to understand the kid’s words. "Do you mean you can detect it?"

Seeing and detecting were two different things, as there was a vast difference between them.

"Nope, I can see it." Magna repeated while pointing at her abdomen area. "I can see your mana. It’s very bright and light-colored."

His finger turned to Celeste. "Yours is bright as well, but a little darker in color."

He also looked at the two Shadows, but there was no mana showing on them. His eyes could only perceive some hue when they wore their armor.

"That’s..." Rowena finally understood what her granddaughter was hiding when she saw her unsurprised face.

"O Blind Mother of Ash And Ruin..." She was so shocked she whispered the Matriarch of Death’s honorable name, as she then turned to Celeste and said, her voice turning grave, "Celeste, do you know what that means?"

Celeste nodded, still gazing fixedly on those golden eyes. "He looks like he inherited the eyes of the Matriarch."

This time, it was Magna’s turn to be shocked. "What does that mean?"

He thought they would be shocked to learn he had suddenly awakened a bloodline trait, but it turned out to be something much grander than an ordinary bloodline trait.

"Magna, have you read the history books about the 5 Great Mothers yet?" Celeste asked, trying to look gentle with a smile, though her stress was clearly apparent.

Magna shook his head, as he had no time to read them, finding no spare moment away from other things he deemed more important.

Just reading and memorizing all the books about mana-rich resources took up so much of his time.

Celeste, seeing his response, let out a heavy sigh as she explained. "Do you remember what I explained before?

Matriarchs are the 5 Great Mothers, the progenitors of the beginning, responsible for everything your eyes can see, your ears can hear, your nose can smell, your skin can feel, your tongue can taste, and beyond your senses."

Magna nodded, as he remembered that, as these were the words she said in the carriage to him on the day they first found him and brought him to Winterborne City.

"Do you know all the Mothers’ honorific names? The last ones are fine," she asked again.

This time, Magna nodded.

Silent Mother of Rain and Sea was the name of the Matriarch of Life,

Blind Mother of Ash and Ruin for the Matriarch of Death,

Unfeeling Mother of Luck and Destiny for the Matriarch of Fate,

Tongueless Mother of Youth and Age for the Matriarch of Time,

...and lastly, Breathless Mother of Law and Marble for the Matriarch of Order.

Magna, when he first read about them, found them quite intriguing, as all five names were representing one sense or, more specifically, a lack of sense, but he hadn’t dwelt on it much at that time.

But now, as the topic was brought up, he became quite curious.

This time, Rowena stepped into the topic, continuing as her voice was solemn this time, with incredible respect and reverence that could be felt as she spoke.

"Every name carries a history behind it. The five stages of genesis. The greatest sacrifice this world has ever known."

She didn’t explain all the history, as she just recommended Magna research it himself by reading books, but she only dwelled on one name right now that was relevant to the topic.

"During the second genesis of the beginning, the Matriarch of Death sacrificed her sight for her ultimate spell. As a side effect, it resulted in the emergence of many concepts like souls and races like spirits in today’s world."

She took a deep breath to steady her voice, which was starting to waver. "Humans are considered today as hybrid physical and spiritual beings, so in our bloodlines, we carry the Matriarch of Death’s bond within our souls.

Up until now, it was just a legend I had only heard rumors about, that there would be some people with a bloodline trait derived directly from the Matriarchs, with even some of them living in the Tower under the care of the greatest Witches.’’

She paused a second to look more deeply into his golden eyes. "So far, I was quite skeptical about empty legends and rumors, but... Looking into your eyes, maybe it wasn’t just a legend or some hollow gossip after all."

She then turned to Celeste and asked for the third time the question she hadn’t received an answer to in the previous two. "Celeste, this time I’m not asking out of curiosity, but I beg you. Where did you find this child?"

It had now become something she would die to learn.

Knowing someone in the world had a direct bloodline to one of the Great Mothers, especially considering the possibility that he was sitting at the same table sharing a meal with her right now, was almost driving her crazy.

Celeste finally found it hard to withhold her answer, as a Witch who was her elder was looking at her with pleading eyes.

"We found him in a cave, raised by a goblin. Later, Lady Azelith came and checked his origin, concluding that he is from one of the ancient families abandoned after birth."

Rowena’s eyes widened slightly, as it finally made sense. "A boy from an ancient family, huh?"

It would make more sense now, as those families are known as the oldest and purest bloodlines, so their lineages being directly rooted in the 5 Great Mothers wasn’t so surprising.

Still, even in those families, it had to be extraordinarily rare, like a phoenix feather, for someone to awaken a bloodline trait like this.

Rowena suddenly started to laugh all at once, as if forgetting all her shock, startling everyone at the table.

Even Corvo was taken aback by this sudden outburst.

Though, hearing her next words, they also found it quite amusing.

"I would love to see their faces when they learn the boy they abandoned, thinking he was useless, is actually a child of a Matriarch."

This would definitely be something worth seeing.