Was Shang actually composed of Mana?
The answer seemed evident. After all, every living being was made of Mana.
Yet, the black energy treated his body in the same manner as it did with Abominations and Entropy Ore.
Furthermore, all the black energy that made up the Abominations had also been absorbed by Shang.
Lastly, Shang remembered the Bloodline Infusion.
Shang's body had been replaced with the body of an Abomination that had been shaped to resemble his old body.
Shang's body was composed of Abominations, and Abominations were made of this black energy with a trace of Mana.
So, Shang was also made of this black energy with a trace of Mana.
Shang was fundamentally distinct from all other living beings in Aterium.
And then, Shang had another thought.
'Could the Life Concepts even work on me?' he pondered.
Shang looked at his left arm.
His left arm wasn't truly his own. It was created with Mana and was essentially like another person's arm, fused with Shang's body.
In fact, Shang couldn't even sacrifice his left arm to Entropy since it wasn't a part of him.
It was essentially just a prosthetic.
If someone knew the level five Concept of Life, could they even regrow Shang's eyes and left arm?
Shang's eyes and his old left arm had been composed of Mana and black energy, and the person with the Life Concepts couldn't possibly control this black energy.
So, they wouldn't be able to assist Shang with his missing eyes or left arm.
Shang wasn't certain about his soul, but he assumed that his soul was probably also different from normal souls.
'Did Lucius have the ability to absorb Abominations? Could he use the power of Entropy?'
'The Lightning Emperor didn't see any evidence, but perhaps Lucius simply managed to regrow his body with his Life Concepts. After all, he probably wasn't made of this black energy!'
'Wait, if Lucius wasn't made of this black energy, would he even have the ability of Entropy?'
'What is Entropy even? I used to think that Entropy meant equalizing everything and turning everything into nothingness.'
'Yet, some things are different. I didn't know about the existence of this black energy before, and it explains many things.'
'If I'm not mistaken, the force of Entropy might actually not be the concept of entropy people from Earth know. This might be something completely different.'
'As far as I see, Entropy represents antimatter more than actual entropy!'
'I suppose that's what I will call this black energy!'
'Entropy Energy.'
'Or just Entropy.'
Shang manipulated the black energy in his hand.
The only person who knew of the existence of Entropy was probably Lucius, but Shang didn't know what name Lucius had given it.
'This is Entropy,' Shang thought as he manipulated the black energy.
'When Entropy comes into contact with Mana, all the energy stored in the Mana and Entropy gets converted into a destructive force that annihilates more Entropy and Mana.'
'Abominations can absorb a bit of Mana from the surroundings and store it. When they need to explode, the Mana touches an unstable part of their Entropy.'
Shang recalled the moment when the sphere of Entropy had moved toward the piece of ore.
'Entropy seems to be attracted to Mana, and if the piece of ore had been much lighter, maybe it would have also moved towards Entropy.'
'Like two opposing magnets, Entropy and Mana are drawn towards each other.'
'So, when the Abomination combines the bit of Mana it absorbed with some of its Entropy, its entire existence explodes, scattering its Entropy across the surroundings, and since the world is filled with Mana everywhere, the Entropy immediately explodes.'
'The Mana and Entropy used to fuel the explosion will be forever gone, and whatever the explosion touches will also be forever gone.'
'It appears that Mana and Entropy are converted to pure destructive energy, which then gets used up as it destroys more Mana and Entropy.'
'Wait, do Mana and Entropy actually cancel each other out? What if they don't both vanish but actually combine into something new, which then cancels itself out with everything around it?'
Shang contemplated many different ideas.
'I think it might be possible. Entropy and Mana combine into an extremely destructive energy, which then destroys everything around it.'
'Mana remains Mana as long as it doesn't touch Entropy.'
'Entropy remains Entropy as long as it doesn't touch Mana.'
'This third force can't persist because it vanishes as soon as it touches anything.'
'This force can't exist naturally anywhere, and it can't be stored.'
'Based on Entropy ore and Abominations, I can tell that Entropy can be used to create something, even though it still needs Mana.'
'I'm very certain that this third force can't be used to create anything.'
'It's the purest form of destruction.'
'I think that's what I'll call it.'
'Destruction.'
Mana, the white sphere, touches Entropy, the black sphere, and they transform into Destruction, a grey force of pure annihilation.
'But then, what is my Affinity?' Shang thought.
'Is my Affinity the control of Entropy or the creation of Destruction?'
'I don't think it makes any difference. As long as I can control Entropy, Destruction will automatically follow since I am always surrounded by Mana.'
After many years, Shang finally managed to somewhat understand his Affinity.
Shang had seen many details of his Affinity, but only when he had already comprehended the level five Concept of his Affinity did he finally see the entire picture.
Shang's Affinity was the control over a force that represented the opposite of Mana.
Like two magnets, the two forces were drawn towards each other, and when they collided, they would create Destruction.
'Is this why Abominations exist?' Shang thought.
'Abominations are beings of Entropy, and Entropy is drawn towards Mana.'
'Compared to beings of Mana, Abominations have nearly no consciousness at all.'
'Is that why they appear in Aterium?'
'Maybe, there is no real reason for why they are invading.'
'Maybe, they are just here because Mana pulls them here.'
