Tanaka lay on the ground, his body shivering severely. His teeth chattered loudly. He was so cold that he could barely think. The only thing on his mind was finding a way to heat himself.
He crawled along the floor of the cave, slowly getting up as he went. He wandered into the darkness. But despite him no longer being in Mal's presence, Tanaka could feel himself getting colder and colder. He could now see every breath he took. He rubbed his hands together in hopes that he'd be able to salvage the situation. Unfortunately, Tanaka's attempts were in vain.
Tanaka could now feel frost forming on his skin, but he continued walking.
"Poor child." Someone said from behind Tanaka.
Tanaka stopped walking. He knew that voice. He slowly turned, and his eyes widened as he confirmed that Sargon Grimshaw was hovering behind him. Tanaka then gritted his teeth. His eyes swelled with rage. He began walking towards him.
"Y-you! Why d-did you do this?" Tanaka's teeth continued to chatter as he spoke. "Wh-what did I d-do to you? Do I-."
Thud!
Tanaka fell to the ground, spasming as he continued to look at the cloaked man in front of him. Tanaka stared at Sargon, trying to move with all his might, but his body betrayed him.
Sargon sighed solemnly as he looked down at Tanaka. "I'm so sorry, child, but this is for the good of everyone on your homeworld." He then sorrowfully looked to the side. "Hmm, I wish there was another way, but there isn't much else I can do, I'm afraid."
'Send me back! Now! What do you mean you can't do anything!? I refuse to believe it.' That was what Tanaka wanted to say, but all that came out of his mouth were garbled grunts.
"Well, there are some things I can do for you." Sargon then stretched out his hand, and an orb of fire materialised in the air. It then descended into Tanaka. Tanaka flinched as the glowing orb reached him, but surprisingly, it didn't burn him. Instead, he felt himself warming up again, and he slowly regained his ability to move.
"Now, I know you have questions, but-"
Swoosh!
Tanaka swung his fist at Sargon; however, Sargon merely flicked his wrist, and Tanaka was completely restrained and gagged by wisp-like black tendrils. Sargon then rubbed his temples before continuing.
"Sorry about that, but I don't have much time left. There's still another Tanaka I have to deal with."
'Stop saying sorry and but! Send me home! And another Tanaka? What, is your name Ash or something?' Tanaka's muffled screams echoed throughout the cave as he struggled to free himself.
"Although I'm honestly surprised. I didn't think you'd figure out how to use mana so early." Sargon chuckled as he shook his head. "Good! You should keep up that momentum, and you'll be home in no time. Now then, listen to me carefully. The information I'm about to give you will help with your survival here."
'You're going to leave me here?!' Tanaka grumbled and groaned in protest.
"Never ever go back to Veilora, and forget about 'Bell'. He's not your friend." He said sternly.
He then spoke more jovially, "And since you've now gained access to your mana reserves, you should focus on increasing your supply. That'll be of immense help to you going forward. I will also leave you with these 3 Principles: 1. Turbulence 2. Fluidity and 3. Rigidity. This should help you to figure out how you should use your mana."
He then placed his hand on his chin as if he were thinking of something, before quickly adding, "Oh, and don't remove that green stone from your soul, it'll help you grow stronger, more quickly."
Sargon then folded his arms, and then the black tendrils withdrew from Tanaka. "Pah, puh", Tanaka spat as he was released. "Why should I remember anything? You could just take me back home. Please? Take me back."
"Haha, sorry, young man. I can't do that." Sargon then gave a two-finger salute to Tanaka, before saying, "Sayonara."
"No! Wait!" Tanaka tried to tackle the man, but Sargon had vanished in a puff of smoke. "I don't even know how to cook." Tanaka clenched his fists tightly. He had been so close to Sargon, but he wasn't able to do anything.
Tanaka then slammed his arm into the cave wall in frustration. 'If he won't take me back, then I'll just have to find my own way back. Mal did say that I wasn't strong enough to get back yet. Although she could've been lying, but Sargon also seemed to imply that getting stronger will help me get back home. Regardless of whether they're telling the truth or not, I'll just get stronger, and when I next meet either of them, I'll just force them to take me back home.'
Tanaka then got up, with newfound determination now burning within him. He then turned to continue down the cavern, after all, he still needed to find something to eat.
...
As Tanaka was walking down the cave, he noticed something strange. Whenever he walked past the faintly glowing crystals, he could sense something coming from them. It felt like the energy he'd used earlier, when he entered Veilora. 'So this is mana?'
He walked up to the crystals and placed his hand on them. He then closed his eyes and focused on trying to suck up the mana in the crystals. As he did, he felt his mana bubbling like it had earlier. It felt weaker than it was when he first did this. Probably because he used some of it to travel to Veilora.
'Alright, now just transfer the mana in the crystals to me and-'
Tanaka quickly removed his hand. He could feel that his mana reserves had now shrunken even more than when he had used them earlier. 'I see. I guess it's not that easy to get stronger. Hmm? Maybe I'll try to do this whilst using those principles Sargon told me about when my mana reserves recover. Wait... They do recover, right?
Tanaka threw his hands into the air in resignation. 'I guess I'll find out later.' He then continued making his way down the pathway.
Growl.
'How long does this pathway go on for? I'm starting to get really hungry.' Tanaka looked around as he walked, trying to see if maybe he'd missed some pathway out amidst all the darkness.
Tanaka then stopped as he could sense something. 'Is that...mana? There's no way, right?' What Tanaka could sense was very far below him. However, the mana he was sensing was massive, at least compared to what he'd previously sensed.
Tanaka then looked down at the floor as he sensed the large pool of mana start to fluctuate. His eyes widened as he remembered the earthquakes from earlier. 'Oh no. I need to get out of here.'
Tanaka hurriedly made his way forward, and as he sensed the mana below him fluctuating more and more, he began to grow more and more panicked. 'Nononono. Where's the exit? How did I even get here?' He was now running, throwing all caution to the wind. He did not want to be in the cave when that earthquake went off. Whilst he might have been lucky earlier, this time the cave could collapse with him still in it.
Brakoom!
The first tremors went off, causing Tanaka to stumble. He quickly regained composure and began sprinting down the pathway. He came up on a corner and quickly made a turn into a wide open cavern with multiple different paths. 'Oh, thank goodness. Now I just need to-'
Boom!
Tanaka was violently thrown to the ground by the force of the ground shaking underneath him. He scrambled to get to his feet, but then he noticed cracks forming on the floor beneath him.
Crack!
'Welp. It was good whilst it lasted.' Tanaka thought as he solemnly smiled to himself.
Kroom!
"Aaahhh!" Tanaka screamed as the cave floor completely collapsed beneath him. He flailed around in the air as he plummeted down into the depths.