(Unknown Place)
Kael Lanpar's POV
When I opened my eyes, I had no idea where I was. My head was throbbing, and honestly, I couldn't remember much about what I had been doing before waking up here.
Strange things had already been happening to me these past few days, but this... this was terrifying. I was in a dark place, far removed from all existence. Here, light seemed like something parallel to reality— a distant illusion. I couldn't even see myself.
I spent a few seconds trying to figure out where I was, drawing conclusions that, unsurprisingly, made no sense. Little by little, I began to realize I wasn't going to get any answers.
At least, not right away.
After a few minutes wandering through the vast emptiness of a place where the only thing I knew I had was my own consciousness, a light began to appear.
Faint… but visible. That's something.
The first thing I saw was a house. A strange thing to find in a place like this. Although... now that I think about it, the space around it is starting to distort. I suppose I'll have to find out what's inside.
I began walking toward it, slowly, and started to feel things I couldn't quite understand. Not because I had never felt them before, but because I didn't know why I was feeling them.
A cold that burned. A fear that consumed my soul. And a nauseating sense of madness that started to spread through my entire body.
What began as a small house transformed, with every step I took, into a mental asylum. Something about its presence made me tremble.
The house looked normal… even peaceful, if it weren't for the millions of bodies of darkness scattered all around. I didn't know what this place was trying to tell me, but for a moment... I felt peace.
And that would be good news… in any other context. But not when you're surrounded by bodies that are still moving, trying to escape something already deeply buried in the ground.
I felt sorry for them, though I didn't know why. They were incorporeal bodies, without feelings or emotions… or so I thought.
I was so absorbed in my thoughts that I didn't notice how the place began to flood with a reddish liquid. It wasn't water. It was blood. And it was already reaching my knees.
I didn't hesitate for a second when I saw there was no other way out. I ran straight to the house, slammed the door open, and fell to the floor...
...in a place that could only be described one way:
A cozy home.
The smell of freshly baked bread was comforting. But so confusing. I had just come from a place where everything reeked of death, so this… this felt unreal.
I didn't know anymore if my sanity was beginning to fade… or if it had always been like this. I leaned on one knee to try and stand, and when I looked up, I froze.
I couldn't fully grasp what was happening, but I knew those people very well.
That was my family.
My original family.
I wanted to run to them. To hug them. To tell them how much I had missed them. To beg for forgiveness for everything I had done.
But I couldn't.
It felt as if invisible chains held me back, condemning me to be nothing more than an observer… in a world I would choose to return to only one more time.
—"Son, you're back," my mother said, raising her arms to hug someone. "How was school?"
But she wasn't looking at me.
I realized it when a child —a boy I immediately recognized— walked right through me, as if I were nothing more than a memory.
—"Mom! Dad!" —the boy shouted as he laughed and ran to hug them— "I missed you so much! How have you been? Where's my sister?"
I watched them talk, laugh… enjoy each other's company, while I wept.
I had already known what it was like to watch others be happy while you suffer, but it had never hurt this much.
My eyes burned. I didn't know if it was from the tears… or from seeing them happy again.
Seeing myself, so small, in one of the most innocent moments of my life… unaware of the hell that awaited him.
They laughed and sang. They were happy.
But happiness… is always a curtain.
A curtain that hides a tragic end.
Suddenly, everything fell silent.
The sound of existence… vanished.
And then I saw it pass by.
A shadow.
A figure cloaked, half of its body hidden beneath a dark mantle.
A sword dripping blood, swaying side to side.
It approached them.
I wanted to warn them. I wanted to break free from this cursed invisibility...
But I couldn't. Once again… I could only watch.
I could only see how it approached, step by step, raising its weapon…
And did something that made me scream from the deepest part of my soul.
Slowly, my family's heads fell.
All of them except… the boy.
My younger self.
He just watched them die, crying, paralyzed.
He couldn't move. He couldn't wake up.
"NOOOO!!!" —I screamed with everything I had.
That was when the invisible chains that bound me shattered, and I felt the intoxicating power of Astral magic coursing through my entire body.
Without hesitation, I unconsciously forged a blade of fire around my left arm and charged at the killer. I leapt with all my rage, trying to slice him in two.
But he didn't move.
He just stood there, watching me.
And in an instant, he caught my arm and squeezed it so tightly I felt my bones break.
I screamed with everything I had before he let go… and kicked me in the stomach, sending me crashing into a bookshelf.
"Shit!" —I yelled, clutching my shattered arm.
But the energy surged through me again. The fury… ignited.
This time, I didn't hesitate.
I rose with a pure, ancient hatred burning inside me, running toward him as spikes of solid earth formed with every step I took.
He smiled.
And said something that hurt more than any blow:
"Calur," the shadowed being whispered.
Time… stopped.
"Goddamn it…" —I muttered, frozen— "That's me."
I couldn't do anything. I had no body. I could only watch.
And now I understood…
I understood what my enemies had felt in my former life:
That feeling of helplessness. Of facing a destiny so inevitable that not even all your strength could change it.
The "me" from the past just walked in circles, watching me.
As if trying to understand what I was.
As if disgusted… by what I had become.
And then he smiled.
A sadistic, monstrous laugh.
So disturbing… it made me question what I had once been.
"Calur," he whispered again.
Time began to move once more.
The moment I felt everything shift again, I backed away immediately.
I knew how dangerous that version of me was.
I knew how sadistic I could be.
Back then, my view of the world was blood, death, despair.
Now I know where I am.
I'm inside the consciousness of who I once was.
I took a breath. Sharpened my gaze.
And looked at that being's face.
It wasn't darkness.
It was emptiness.
An emotional void I knew far too well.
—"If I want to stop him, I know words won't be enough," I said. "Astral magic is still active."
I saw the black and white aura radiating from my body.
This time, I moved slowly.
Lightning sparked across my entire being, enhancing my speed and reflexes. I knew time was crucial.
He saw me. Swung his sword.
Ready to fight.
Ready to die.
But also… aware of what he had lost. That there was nothing left.
I vanished in a burst of speed.
Reappeared beside his sword.
Took advantage of my height to strike his blind spot.
A clean blow to the heel.
He couldn't dodge it.
But he wasn't going to give in that easily.
I had to end this before he could activate Calur again… or I'd be finished.
I dodged a strike aimed at my face, ducking just in time.
I positioned myself right in front of him.
Looked him straight in the soul.
—"It's not your fault," I said.
I summoned electric claws.
And drove them… into his neck.
My former self didn't scream.
He didn't resist.
He only looked at me… emotionless…
Before collapsing to the ground and beginning to cry blood.
I saw myself in him.
In that moment when I died.
When the Prophet took my life.
But because of that… I was given another.
—"You're not a monster.
And you never were," I whispered, pressing my forehead against his.
"Life doesn't judge…
Humans just think they know everything."
Then, I saw him smile.
A faint, broken, honest smile.
And then he began to fade…
Turning into white butterflies.
They enveloped everything.
The place vanished.
And the world became an endless sea.
It wasn't deep.
It was perfect… for resting.
I let myself go.
Exhaustion overtook me, and I let myself fall into the water.
I sighed…
Looked up at the sky, watching the butterflies.
So beautiful.
So pure.
I closed my eyes.
Thinking of shattered innocence,
Of stolen joy…
The best way to understand something so beautiful.
I forgive myself.
(Back to reality)
I hadn't been able to remember why I was in that place… and honestly, I still couldn't.
But the moment I opened my eyes, I knew: I had returned.
The first thing I saw was a white glow, like strands of light floating before me. It was hair.
Then, the clear image of my sister's face appeared: her eyes reflected worry… and something else.
Something like fear.
Saying I was confused would be an understatement.
I didn't understand anything: how did I get here? Why was everything in ruins… covered in ashes?
—"Kal…" her voice sounded distant, distorted by my daze. "You were asleep for a long time. I'm glad you finally woke up."
—"Yeah… I guess," I mumbled, rubbing my head, trying to get my bearings. "What happened here?"
—"More like… what did you just do?" Mai replied, now with a mix of awe and curiosity in her voice.
I fell silent. My eyes scanned the area, shifting side to side—until I realized I was lying at the center of a massive crater.
Minutes passed before Mayrei caught me up, guiding me through what had happened. According to her, I had come here to train under her supervision… because Alfin was still in a coma.
I still blame myself for that.
For not doing more.
For not preventing the inevitable.
But I'm no god.
And frankly, I doubt even a god would've bothered saving a life like ours.
Back to what matters: what I experienced in that dimension… had a purpose. According to Mai, I was trying to unlock my mana core—a process only achievable by reaching a state called Reyheart Expansion.
A state where the three parts of the Astral align: the soul, the memories… and the heart.
Yeah, it sounds ridiculous. But in this world, things rarely mean what they seem.
—"I see…" I said, scratching my chin. "Well, actually, I don't get any of it. Can you repeat that?"
—"Haah! Come on, Kal, I just explained it to you!" Mai groaned, placing a hand on her head.
—"Look at it this way: there's mana, and then there's Astral energy. That much is clear to you, right?"
I nodded.
—"Good. The core is the third piece: the heart. It's where your mana and Astral coexist and converge."
As she spoke, she conjured a floating sphere of fire and stared directly at me.
—"The strange thing is… you have five primary elements," she said, still frowning.
—"And that's not normal?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.
She looked away, clearly uncomfortable. She didn't know how to explain it. How to tell me that… I wasn't normal.
That word… anomaly. I had heard it before. But where?
I shook my head. I didn't want to think about it. Not now.
—"Doesn't matter. I'll worry about it later," I muttered.
According to Mai, most mages master two to three elements. That's the average.
But I…
I'm not the average.
If someone with four elements is already considered a limitless prodigy…
then how improbable must it be for the variables to align and produce someone like me?
A one percent so small, so absurd, that it results in someone with five elements.
—"Maybe I just got lucky," I said, raising my hands as if fate was slipping through my fingers. "Come on, be happy, Mai. You've got a brother who's absurdly powerful!"
But she didn't respond. She just lowered her gaze, and softly whispered:
—"I would be happy… if it weren't for the fact that your magical awakening came through corruption.
And… I don't know what kind of consequences that might bring. We should talk to Father."
—"You're right," I replied, bitterly.
Corruption.
What a word. So heavy. So feared.
And if it really affects my magic, then this could be a problem.
A serious one.
This world doesn't forgive weakness—or mistakes.
Just as I was about to get up from the crater, a tremor shook the ground. But it didn't come from my legs, or from my still-dizzy body.
It was something else.
Something far deeper.
I confirmed it when I saw birds fleeing in flocks from Luzarion, the capital, crying out in the sky at the arrival of something that clearly wouldn't be pleasant.
Mai and I froze. Our eyes locked on the horizon, where the silhouette of our capital towered above the trees…
…until a brutal explosion shattered the silence.
A blast shook the castle.
It was so fast, so sudden… I didn't know how to react.
—"Kael! Move! We have to go!" Mai shouted. But I couldn't move.
Not yet.
Then I saw him again.
Him.
My past self.
He stood there, in front of me, with his hand extended.
Offering me power… with no price attached.
But this time, I felt no rejection. We had already made peace.
I knew what his appearance meant: it was time to act, no matter the cost.
Because my family's life was at stake.
And I won't let anything happen to them.
—"Kael, let's go!" Mai yelled again. "I'll go ahead. When you get to the kingdom gates, wait for me near the sword academy, got it?"
—"Got it!" I replied, just before seeing her vanish among the trees, running toward the chaos.
As for me, I channeled my magic.
The air whirled around me, as if the world itself knew something important was about to happen.
And then I shot forward, at full speed.
I knew this wasn't a good sign.
And deep down, I feared the worst was already happening:
The revolution has begun.
If the intel I extracted from Nova was correct…
then many will die today.
As I ran, I remembered every word she told me:
"The people's choices are shifting. A new ideology is being born.
I don't know when… or how.
But the reign of the Lanpars won't last much longer.
The golden blood… will be spilled. Slowly, piece by piece.
Because those who once promised prosperity…
…now live only off their lies."
Nova isn't the kind of person who would betray anyone.
Much less a clan she considers the last good thing left in this world.
But her words were clear.
The golden blood will be spilled.