Michael floated in a warm, liquid sea, a cocoon of muffled sounds and gentle pulses. He was a fetus, his soul bound to a forming body, the Architect's wishes etched within. The peace was fleeting, broken by a jolt of pain"his mother's. Light flooded his senses, and he was born, gasping air in a wooden room in Ashber Town, Sapin. Mana-infused tapestries glowed faintly, casting soft light on a woman's cries.
Come on, Elisa, you can do it. Just one more push! an older woman urged. I can't, it hurts! Please make it stop! Elisa, his mother, cried. After an eternity, Michael was born. Congratulations, Elisa! It's a boy, and he's beautiful,said the older woman, Maria, a retired adventurer with black hair and kind black eyes. She was Elisa's friend, a mother figure in this mana-rich town.
Let me see my boy,Elisa whispered, her golden hair damp, her red eyes weary but loving. No, young lady, you need to rest. You're in bad shape, Maria said. Please, let me see my boy one last time, Elisa pleaded. Michael's infant heart sank. His enhanced senses, a gift of his wished-for body, detected Elisa's faltering heartbeat. What do you mean last time?Maria demanded, enraged. Why didn't you tell me?
I'm sorry, Elisa said, tears falling. I can't let my baby die. It was the least I could do, even if it meant my death. Maria's voice broke. Idiot, we could have found another way! Elisa shook her head. No, even if I didn't give birth, I'd be crippled. That's not the life I want. I'd still choose my child.Ashber's healers, reliant on mana, had no cure for her rare heart disease, a curse of Dicathen’s wild magic.
But I'll be leaving this world, Maria, Elisa said. Please, I ask this selfish request: take care of him. Maria nodded, tears streaming. œYou're an idiot, a special kind of idiot. Of course, I'll care for him. What name do you want to give him? Elisa smiled weakly. He will be called Alex, Alex Heart.
He will be called Alex, Alex Heart,Michael heard as he opened his eyes, his wished-for body granting newborn clarity. He saw Elisa, breathtakingly beautiful, her golden hair and red eyes outshining Earth's models. Maria, wrinkled but kind, held him. So cute, look, he has my eyes and his father's hair. You're going to be a lady killer, I just know it,†Elisa said. I wish I'd been there for you, my Alex. Now, youâ're mother will be going somewhere, so I'll leave you with that grandma. Be nice, okay? I hope you live a wonderful life, my child.
Elisa's tears fell, and Alex wailed, his adult mind raging. He'd lost his parents once, and now, in Dicathen's Sapin, history repeated. Why does this always happen? he thought. Am I cursed? Maria, seeing them cry, wept too. Elisa's disease, a mana-corrupted heart ailment, had no cure, even in a land where mages wielded fire and wind. Maria, it's time, Elisa said. Please take the child away. I don't want him to see me in pain.
Her heart ached, perhaps from disease or the pain of leaving Alex. She handed him to Maria, saying, Please, always tell Alex to never give up and be happy. I want only for him to be happy.†Maria nodded, tears falling. Don't worry, Elisa, I'll make sure he lives a life of happiness.Alex cried louder, sensing the end, as Maria walked away. In Ashber, where mana beasts roared beyond the town's rune-warded walls, Alex Heart lost his mother, his path to godhood just beginning.