The First Cultivator

Azura could hear her mother opening windows. That and her constant complaints. She tried to ignore it as she continued to scrub.

"At least I managed to burn the clothes before she saw them," Azura muttered. She wrinkled her nose as she peeled more of the black gunk from her skin. After thirty minutes of scrubbing, she didn't smell like a dog's colon after a meal of spoiled meat. With no clothes to wear, Azura wrapped herself in a towel and dashed to her bedroom to get dressed.

Azura could hear her mother cooking dinner and took time to look inside herself. Her ki was flowing smoothly only… why was there no mana? Previously, a torrent of mana had flooded her, converting to ki. Or was that ki left over from her initial conversion? She was unsure. It had all been very confusing and sudden. Now, however, there was nothing but ki inside her. Weird.

Azura reached out to the mana in the room. She mentally stumbled as she failed to find any. The mana was gone! All of it. Had… had she used it all up? No way. She had to know.

Azura dashed out of the room. Before her mother could even turn around, she was out the door, running down the street. Then she was past Toren's house. She blinked. What in the… That was at least a minute run. She had done it in seconds. She temporarily ignored the impossibility of what had just happened and felt for the mana around her. Azura stood still in awe as all the surrounding mana began swirling like a tornado with her at the epicenter. The mana then funneled toward her core, where it seemed to vanish.

No… that wasn't quite right. Mentally squinting, Azura peered at her core at the point where the mana ceased to be. What was… Ah hah! There! A drop of liquid ki so small that at first she missed it was forming by her core. She watched intently as more mana condensed into the drop. As she watched the drop form, she could feel the local mana begin to thin. A minute later, the local mana was barren, and she had a new ultra-tiny drop of ki which drifted off to join the ever-flowing river. The conversion rate was horrible! That is to be expected if she were honest with herself. After all, she had condensed mana for years, which became her tiny puddle of ki.

She turned to head back home when she noticed that everyone was looking at her. What… Okay, maybe spacing out on the road wasn't her brightest idea, but it's not like she hadn't done weirder stuff than that before. Did she forget her trousers? She looked down. Nope. Good. Rather not repeat that one time.

She felt distinctly awkward as she went home at a more normal speed. Paranoia built as all eyes turned to follow her. So creepy. Was something wrong with her? Oh no… was some of the black goo still on her? Damn, that must be it. She did a quick check. She didn't see anything… Azura decided to move a bit faster.

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

***

Coralline was just finishing making dinner when the door opened, and Azura's voice came out.

"Fricken weirdos!"

She sighed and wondered what her daughter did now. At least she could beat up anyone who annoyed her.

"Mom! Is dinner ready?"

"Just waiting for you," Coralline called. A rush of air told her that Azura had taken her seat. She turned and set the plate down. Then she stopped. Was that Azura? That concern was immediately resolved as the half-cat-kin grabbed the biggest piece of meat possible and shoved it into her mouth. Okay, this was definitely her daughter. She looked the same, yet not. It was like every flaw she had was erased. Her skin was perfect. Absolutely, perfect. Utterly free of even the tiniest of flaws. Coralline leaned down, ignoring Azura's surprise, and focused on her skin. She focused intensely, trying to see any faint lines or usual marks. Small crevasses where skin lay atop fat and muscle. It was natural. Azura now had none of that. It was as if her skin were one continuous piece of flawless marble. She moved forward more as Azura leaned back, her mouth stuffed. Her hair and fur were incredibly smooth, as if they were silk. A quick touch confirmed this.

"What happened?" Coralline asked.

"HMmraahasa goohrm," was the reply. Coralline sighed. No matter what happened, her daughter was the same.

"Please chew," Coralline said. "I couldn't even make that one out."

A minute passed as her daughter finally managed to swallow.

"What are you looking at? Do I still smell?" She raised her arm and took a whiff.

"No… well, that's not true. You smell… clean," Coralline said, surprised.

"Oh, thanks Mom! I would like you to know that I bathe regularly. I even use soap and shampoo… when I feel like it."

"You smell extra clean, and your skin looks great. It looks like you had your entire body reworked by a mage beautician. Is that what you did?"

"No way! I wouldn't let a mage alter me. Besides, only rich old women get that kind of treatment."

"Well…" Coralline prompted.

"You know that breakthrough I was working on…" Azura started.

"Oh, that," Coralline interrupted, then took on a high falsetto. "Mom, I need extra dessert. My breakthrough depends on it! Mom, I can't fold my laundry. It might destroy my attempt at a breakthrough!" Then she took an even higher falsetto to the point where it could shatter glass. "Mom, rub my poor paws. I've been on them all day. I need it for my breakthrough!"

"In all fairness, that last one did help," Azura said.

"So, you achieved this breakthrough you've been whining about for the last month?"

"Way to take the wind from my sails, Mom. But yeah, I did. It's complicated, but I think every part of me improved. What you see on the outside is nothing compared to the inside."

"Really? Like what?"

"I don't know. I have to test it out tomorrow."

"Do it soon," Coralline said, her tone sad.

Azura paused regarding her mother. "What happened?"

"The kin at Fortunia died. All of them."

Azura gasped. She knew kin there. Fuck, Toren's brother was there.

"Toren, does he…"

"He was there when I found out. You should give him some space. His family is probably grieving. See him in a day or two. But in the meantime," Coralline said, looking at her daughter earnestly. "Get as strong as you can. I think we will all need it soon."