Vincent lazily opened his eyes. The remnant memory of his dream still lingers in his mind.
After lying in bed for a few more minutes, he stood, fixed the sheets, and left the room.
Another daily routine began, but he wasn't complaining. He even enjoyed it somewhat.
He was only ten years old, yet he already worked like an adult.
After all, kids in villages who were exposed to harsh work straight from childhood usually matured quickly, and Vincent was no exception.
As he left the house and walked to the fields, he couldn't help but think about what had happened yesterday.
'What was that crystal and why did my mother mention marriage to Alisia?' These thoughts would not leave his mind.
When he returned home, he decided to examine the crystal again. He hadn't had enough time to properly observe it, so that day he would do it before his mother came back and maybe find something about it. He had read nearly every book in the village. Perhaps, with careful observation, he would discover something about it.
After putting this matter aside, he thought about another one.
Marriage with Alisia.
'This must have been the reason why she left so quickly.'
In all the years he had known her, they had shared many pleasant—and not so pleasant—memories.
He had developed warm feelings for her, but not to the point of wanting to marry.
But if his mother truly insisted on it and Alisia's feelings toward him were deep enough, then… maybe it wouldn't be a bad idea after all.
Alisia was a very cute girl.
Her personality could be difficult, but he didn't mind it much.
Her cooking was also improving.
Thinking about it, he couldn't help but shake his head. He remembered when he first lost to her; she had forced him to taste her first attempt at cooking.
He had diarrhea afterward and avoided her cooking like the plague.
He then recalled his mother's words about having kids…
Vincent's face reddened slightly.
Even though he was only ten, he knew the differences between boys and girls—mostly from books, of course.
He wasn't very opposed to marrying Alisia if his mother truly insisted on it, but having kids… honestly, he wasn't ready. Even after he grew up, he wasn't sure about it.
It was a matter for the distant future. There was no need to dwell on it now.
…
"I'm home," said Vincent as he changed his shoes.
"..."
Not hearing the usual response, he assumed his mother had not yet come back.
With this in mind, Vincent quickly went to the kitchen.
After lifting a loose floorboard, he retrieved the wrapped fabric and placed it on the table.
Taking a seat, he unfolded the fabric and picked up the small transparent crystal.
As yesterday, it appeared completely ordinary.
'What a strange thing. I've never seen anything like that before. None of the books he had read mentioned anything remotely similar. Hmm,' thought Vincent as he observed the crystal, recalling all possible information from the books—but to no avail.
Suddenly, his brows narrowed as he noticed something within the crystal.
'I don't remember seeing it yesterday. Was it there before?'
There was a very thin line within the crystal that was barely noticeable.
At that moment, he heard the door creak, and shortly after, his mother arrived in the kitchen.
Upon seeing Vincent, she smiled warmly, but then her attention shifted to what he was holding, and her smile faded.
"Why did you bring it out? If you're finished looking, place it back where it was and forget about it until your future child turns 10 years old." Her voice sounded both gentle and authoritative.
"Mom, what exactly is this? Even if you don't know what it is, you should at least know where it came from, right?" Vincent asked, unbothered.
Vanessa gazed at her son for a moment and exhaled.
"I don't know much. All I know is that my parents received it from theirs and gave it to me after I failed the ritual. Now that you're ten and have also failed, the crystal has no use for you. What you must do is continue the lineage and attempt the same ritual with your children in the future. And in case the ritual is successful, there's a letter with further instructions under the floor. That's all you need to know," Vanessa replied calmly before making herself dinner.
Vincent was at a loss for words as he looked at his mother before his eyes moved to the crystal once again, wondering how to mention it.
"Mom… does the crystal always stay transparent?" he suddenly asked.
"I guess so. I never noticed any change in it. It stayed the same as always."
"..." Vincent remained silent for a while before finally speaking.
"Maybe I'm just seeing things, but there is something within the crystal that I don't remember seeing yesterday."
When Vanessa heard this, she froze for a moment before turning around. "Are you sure?"
"Take a look at yourself. It's very thin, but you should be able to see it," said Vincent, passing the crystal to his mother as she took a seat beside him.
As she held the crystal, her heartbeat quickened.
She looked at it with narrowed eyes, trying to find something unusual.
Vincent saw that his mother was unable to see it even after some time, so he decided to help.
"Here. At the bottom. There's a very small line. Do you see it?"
Vanessa was already about to give up. She knew her son wasn't someone who joked about such things. After hearing his words, she stood up and moved closer to the night lamp before focusing on the crystal again.
For a moment, she saw nothing unusual—but the next second her eyes widened and her heart skipped a beat.
She saw it.
A small, thin line—barely a fraction of a millimeter—at the bottom where Vincent had pointed.
After finally seeing it, she calmed down slightly, though inwardly her emotions were chaotic.
But there was another issue.
Something was… wrong, though she couldn't explain why.
Why hadn't she seen the reaction yesterday? Had they not waited long enough, or was there another reason?
After contemplating for a moment, she picked up a needle and turned to Vincent.
"Give me your hand again."
Now that he knew what to expect, Vincent wasn't as scared as yesterday.
With quick, practiced movements, Vanessa pricked a different finger, the previous one still bandaged.
Vincent didn't wait for his mother's words and willingly dropped a bit of blood onto the crystal.
They didn't expect any change at first, but to their surprise, after just a dozen seconds, they noticed a clear and vivid transformation—unlike yesterday.
The thin line grew larger.
At first it was barely noticeable, but as more time passed, it extended to a few centimeters before gradually stopping at around half a finger in length.
The line turned green.
Vincent and Vanessa looked at each other.
Though he was confused, Vincent was filled with curiosity toward the strange crystal. Meanwhile, Vanessa's heartbeat intensified.
"Look," Vincent suddenly exclaimed, pointing at the crystal.
Vanessa steadied herself and saw another sudden change.
A second line appeared. It was bluish, beginning as a tiny dot before gradually expanding to nearly match the green line.
What was even more surprising was that it wasn't the end—the third line began to appear.
Vanessa didn't really know what all of it implied, but something inside her told her this would change her son's life. Drastically.
The third line was black. It expanded as well, but stopped at roughly one-third the length of the other two.
"..." Both of them were speechless.