Alone, surrounded by stones, Lucretia was inside a grotto. It was a peculiar and unique place, with a small thermal spring.
In it were several of the girl's personal objects, piled under a small improvised tent she had set up. It was her secret refuge.
On the wall, there were some markings. A small notebook, different from the other one hidden in her room, contained various notes.
There were notes about the name Wallerian and that there was no record of anyone with that name in the past. Notes on how to make money, status, and power. But mainly, on how to awaken a singularity.
And here, as she regularly did, Lucretia was trying to follow the steps described in notes.
'When the mind and body align, the singularity emerges. There's no way to explain it, but it's something you just feel, flowing from the center to where it needs to go.' Those were Siegfried's words when Lucretia asked how he uses his singularity.
"This time it's going to work."
Standing still with her arm extended, she tried to awaken her abilities. Even closing her eyes, meditating, concentrating for the power to come, simply nothing happened.
"Daamn! Damn! Damn! Damn! Why won't this crap work!? Ow, ow."
Frustrated and irritated, Lucretia landed a punch on the stone. The pain made her anger subside a little, but didn't diminish her frustration.
Getting into position again, she desperately tried to make her powers emerge, but without success.
"I don't understand. Am I really that weak?"
Looking at her right hand and holding it, the girl sat for a few moments, thoughtful. Even though she strived every day, she couldn't awaken her singularity. She questioned whether she had any ability or not.
This generated in her a great feeling of being good for nothing.
"If I am strong, I won't be alone. I need to find a way."
Now lying beside the crystal-clear water that sprang up nearby, she decided to bathe in the warm water. She removed her clothes, placing them on the edge of the spring.
Sinking into the water, she felt her body relax.
Now less stressed, she was thoughtful. Lucretia hadn't given up trying yet.
She remained in the bath for some time and decided to return soon, before they noticed her absence. Nightfall would arrive shortly.
Returning home, night fell. After dinner, with everyone present, Siegfried was already getting ready to leave on a mission.
The farewell wasn't very warm. He always said it was awkward to see someone again after saying goodbye in a sad way. So he just left, said a few brief words, and departed on his journey.
"I am strong and I will be back soon."
Those were the only words he said.
Lucretia didn't think much about it and just went to sleep, as she had class the next day.
At the Three Dragons Academy, the student was having a usual school day.
These days consisted of watching lecture classes and taking notes on the content. Little was developed regarding ancient magic or anything of the sort.
Singularities didn't require any type of formal education. This is because they were awakened and could be learned intuitively by the user. Thus, magical learning was seen as dispensable. So much so that what was formerly known as Elemental Magic was now called Ancient Magic.
Although some people saw this as a mistake, others saw it as progress. A replacement of an archaic and bureaucratic system for the future. This system also helped a new political structure that governs human cities within the Empire.
And today, the class was exactly about the history of singularities.
"Well, the singularities constitute an unprecedented historical phenomenon, a watershed that allowed humanity to break through its paradigms and ascend to a new condition of existence. Freed from the shackles of the oppressive and segregationist apparatus of traditional magic, an ideological framework that monopolized arcane power only for those with formal magical training, individuals began to experience a process of de-alienation of mystical knowledge. With the advent of the singularities, magical power previously expropriated by the ruling elites was finally democratized, reaching the hands of the proletarian masses. It is, ultimately, a dialectical consummation that enshrines the historical emancipation of the working classes, don't you agree, Lucretia?"
"Huh? Ah yes, of course."
Lucretia answered, disinterested in the professor's content. He continued the class.
"Thus, singularities constitute a radical epistemic rupture in the historical fabric of magical society. They not only eroded the foundations of traditional arcane hegemony, based on hereditary privilege and the institutional exclusivity of magical knowledge, but also established a new paradigm of accessible power. For the first time, arcane power ceased to be the monopoly of the technocratic elite and began to flow through the veins of the previously subjugated masses. From now on, possessing even a minimal amount of channelable magical energy was enough for an individual to break the symbolic chains of servitude and, thereby, emerge as an agent of their own liberation. And even those who do not undergo an individual awakening are not discarded by the emerging new order, for the power of the collective reabsorbs, reintegrates, and makes them whole within a society founded on the pillars of substantial equality, distributive justice, and solidarity-based communion. A true structural revolution, not in the name of kings, but of the people."
"That means the poor little blonde there has no mana at all then?"
"Weaaaak!!!"
"Silence. Don't interrupt the class."
Lucretia didn't answer the provocations.
At the break, all the students went to the school courtyard to eat together. Lucretia, on the other hand, went to the East corner of the school, behind the natural sciences block. It was an almost uninhabited place.
Taking out her snack, prepared in the morning, she ate quickly.
(What a useless class), she thought. (What difference does knowing that make? I want to know how to awaken.)
"Generally, people start to awaken at 12 years old. But that doesn't mean it is the right moment for everyone."
Suddenly, a voice sounded from the corridor. It was a familiar voice.
"What are you doing here, Celina? Get lost or something?"
"No. I'm just saying there is a time for everything. A late awakening is a rare event, but not impossible. Besides, you can still live a good life. See, my father is interested in hiring intelligent and obstinate people."
Lucretia stood up and began to leave.
"Even if it doesn't look like it, you are smarter than many people. The professor, for example, uses words even he doesn't understand. But you understand who you are, you have grit and can rise very high…"
"Enough Celina. You are very far from home. I know very well what I want. And I won't be anyone's subordinate, much less yours."
Lucretia put her hand on Celina's shoulder and went back to the classroom.
(I will reach my dream, whatever the cost. Everyone will see my worth.)
Lucretia thought, while keeping her eyes firm on the horizon. On the future.