A warm, euphoric wave coursed through Elijah, electrifying every cell in his body as it sparked an exhilarating rush of healing energy.
"Excuse me… But I think he is awake." A girl no older than 16 was standing over a small twin-sized bed. Her silvery strands hung straight and near Elijah's face, causing an unsettling twitch at the tip of his nose.
The most unnatural aspect was the color of her eyes. A bright golden light was seen within that even by making eye contact, Elijah's worries began to wash away as if they didn't exist.
With the small wooden door wide open, Phloria worriedly walked inside with her hands in front of her pelvis. "Can you tell if something is wrong with him?"
"No, I cannot. Head pains without reason have never been noted in medicinal books, only ways to treat wounds and alcohol poisoning… I'm sorry, I can't do anything else."
"Thank you Freya, I was surprised that you were able to come here in the first place. I guess I have to thank the Weltor's for that…"
There was a moment of silence until Freya said something out of the ordinary. "Maybe because his mana core formed at such a young age, his body can't handle it."
"What?! Did you just see how his mana core is developed?!" Phloria had previously been lowering her head to stare at her dear child, but was lifted into a state of confusion with Freya's remark. It was known that anyone who awakened their core before the age of nine — even eight, were considered potential prospects who would easily soar through the ranks of power.
Don, Elijah's father, joined in on the conversation with a stunned expression and many questions. In the end, everyone parted ways while agreeing to never speak of such an event. Don yearned for a quiet life, while Phloria just wanted this nightmare to be over with.
Revealing to the world how their two and a half year old son formed their mana core would draw enormous amounts of attention.
Of course, Elijah had acted like he had no understanding of what had happened, and continued on with his life.
…
Two years later, in the midst of a stormy night, Elijah quietly crawled over the open bedroom window while his brother Julian was fast asleep.
While slowly making his way across the muddy dirt road, Elijah saw a cluster of dark orange lights in the distance — likely torches burning inside the house across the dirt road.
BAM!
When a strike of lightning lit up everything within the vicinity, a small figure about the same size as himself was seen slouching, staring into the puddle that continued to build in size.
First, Elijah noticed the outline of her messily-draped hair, then stepped forwards with a gentle question.
"Hello? My name is Elijah. What is yours?"
Their situations were completely different.
Elijah was overflowing with confusion, knowledge, and remnant memories showing up randomly as he simply "lived life".
Alexia, on the other hand, found a moment to escape the anxiety her household brought her. All she knew was the present, and felt confused as a young child.
"My parents… All they do is fight, and I want nothing to do with it…"
While their earlier conversation was quite simple with the exchanging of names and hobbies, her out of place statement made Elijah pause. "I am sorry you have to deal with that… Trust me, it will get better."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes! Our families should have dinner with each other. Maybe that would help!" The idea of being alone was a path Elijah had wanted to take to understand if this reality was, well… Real. None of these people surrounding him meant anything to him, perhaps even himself.
However, an indescribable feeling pulled him further into a conversation with her.
From this moment forward, Elijah and Alexia created a bond that seemed unbreakable from Alexia's point of view, but felt fake from Elijah's view.
Maybe the age and adolescent mind was the problem. There was more than likely not a single person he could relate to within this kingdom. Although, this was not a proven fact. The only option Elijah could take was to let time pass.
What could a child do anyway?
…
On top of a plush mossy rock that seemed to have grown more since the rainstorm, sat Elijah calmly leaning into the rhythm of his breath.
Growing at a rapid pace brought Elijah back to his twenties.
'Focus… Relax… Feel the core.'
Elijah had been waiting for the wind to abnormally pick up as a sign that something had occurred. But this time – when his bottom lifted slowly off of the mossy rock, a small but noticeable tingling feeling began to radiate within his body.
The moment Elijah's eyes opened, he could visually see himself doing the impossible — or what he thought was the impossible.
A phenomenon that did not adhere to the laws of physics.
Flight.
Elijah had noticed the difference in his method of attack. Intent was the catalyst alongside the shuttling of this foreign yet familiar energy. However, the shuttling of this energy was something that came so naturally as if it was on autopilot.
Everything had resulted in Elijah floating in mid air.
Five minutes passed, ten, thirty, and even an hour as the sun had just passed over the top of the wall.
The only reason Elijah had stopped his magical experiment was due to the loud exclamation of his mother.
"ELIJAH! DINNER TIME!"
Spreading across a bland and completely smooth wooden table were lamb chops, bowls of oxtail broths, a heaping bowl of peeled oranges, and a mixed and steamed vegetable salad.
The more "niche" cuts of meat were eaten amongst the farmers for their cheap price if they themselves did not pasture the animals. Everything was lit by a metal chandelier undeserving of its name. If one would call a messy arrangement of metallic bars holding candles, I guess they would be right…
It did get the job done as it held eight brightly glowing candles that gave the perfect amount of light for the eyes to see everything within the close vicinity.
"Elijah, you will be sitting next to Alexia." Pointed Phloria with her signature green robe and brown cotton garments.
This dinner was no ordinary dinner. Over the past few months, Elijah had been begging and begging to have dinner with Alexia's family out of the kindness of his heart. Finally, the time had come, and just maybe the smile of Alexia would naturally grow wider with every second.
The Sinclair family was a family of five compared to the Veran family of four. Alexia was the youngest daughter while Julia and Mike were consecutively two years older than her.
In the midst of the dinner, a knock was heard on the thick and smooth wooden door.
"Special delivery for Don!"
With it being past the sunset, or what these people called the sunset, important and time sensitive deliveries were still made which triggered curiosity in the mind of Elijah. Dinner had since passed, and once Elijah heard the words, "I will leave for the wall in the morning, but will be back before lunch. Don't worry, there isn't much maintenance to do as everything is already planted."
"Can I go with you!" The bedroom door opened wide.
"Elijah! Were you listening to our conversation?!" Phloria asked with a mean face.
"Sorry."
"Honey, I don't see a problem with him going. Julian has been to the wall a few times with me. It would be a good chance for him to meet someone new." Don explained to his wife while caressing her shoulders.
"Ugh. But that person is… I know he is a good friend of yours, but he is not someone I would think Elijah should get to know…" Phloria sighed.
"Ahhh, I wouldn't worry about it." Don swatted his hand lazily to the side. His face was laughable to look at, and gave Elijah an idea of what kind of person he would be meeting.
"It's not like he is going to notice his core is already formed. I think only those cyan core mages sense stuff like that." Don revealed some important information to Elijah in a lackadaisical tone.
It was decided.
Tomorrow would be Elijah's first trip to the wall. Before that, a strong inkling and desire had continuously been reaching the forefront of his mind.
The desire to see past not just the horizon of the towering walls, but the rest of this world.
A simple taste was enough for now, as there had to be a reason for the towering walls to exist.
"What the hell are we being protected from…" Elijah muttered in English while walking back into his bedroom.
His small body forced itself into the twin-sized bed across from Julian, and quickly began to reach a neutral temperature from the breathable cotton and silk fabric.