After dinner the family of four sat down to watch TV for a while before bed. Will was startled as he stared at the moving images on the screen.
What is this thing? Having never seen such a device his eyes were wide with wonder, and soon he was drawn into the story on the screen.
As Will was watching the show, the other three were secretly keeping an eye on him. Xia MingWen and Xia JianYu were amused and slightly distressed at his reaction. His life before was too poor!
On the other hand Ning Huan was annoyed. Everything this brat did drew attention to how poor the conditions she had left him in were. With MingWen's attention to him, would he think less of her? That couldn't be allowed. She began to think of countermeasures to this very irritating problem.
While the four people were each deep in thought, time passed by quickly and soon it was time for bed, so Xia MingWen scooped up Ning An and pinched his little nose. "An An let's go truck you in, ok?"
His soft voice made Will blush. "Alright Daddy!" He was very obedient. Even though he had taken several naps today and wasn't very tried, he would go to bed.
Xia JianYu followed the two of them into Ning An's room, ready to accompany little An An to sleep again. After all An An was so timid, what if he had nightmares? So he assisted his Dad in tucking An An in, gave him his little bear and then hugged him to sleep.
This idea turned out to be a prudent one, because as Will drifted off into sleep he found himself among his childhood memories.
He was very young, his little hands clinging to a door frame as he peeked around. He was staring at the warm picture of his biological father, Mrs. DeWitt the legitimate wife, and his half brother, eating dinner together.
Will's mother had died during childbirth, her status had not warranted a healer be on site only an old midwife who tried her best. Therefore Will grew up in the big mansion as an unwanted illegitimate child.
If it weren't for the fact that his talent in magic was so high, perhaps he would have long been sent to the orphanage. Despite this, he always longed for the warmth of his family.
The dream wore on, obviously different times but similar scenes, he was alone in the corner while his father smiled and joked with the mother and son. He wasn't resentful, just envious. He had always wanted to be in his brother's place, if only just for a moment.
Mrs. DeWitt was never cruel to him, only cold and distant as if he was a stranger, he understood. Who would give a good look to the product of your husband's infidelity? His brother followed her example, and treated him as if he was invisible.
The servants in the house took the cue, and he would hear their sneers and jeers as he walked past. His only goal had been to be better, so that he could have his father's approval, thus he worked hard in his studies and blocked out any unnecessary people or things.
As he watched, the dream shifted at last to his happiest and most painful moment. That day he had rushed home in excitement, because he had just succeeded in expanding his Mana Reservoir. Once this was reported to the school, he would be the youngest bronze level wizard in the country's history.
When he told his father the news, for the first time his father smiled at him gently. At that moment it seemed as if all his hard work and sleepless nights were worth it. He finally achieved his goal, his father was finally looking at him.
His father then patted his head and told him that he was proud of him. He was so happy that he felt that he would burst. But then, it ended.
Will watched as his father cast a binding spell on him, and then ordered two servants to drag him away to the dungeon where he spent his final hours.
Although the use of magic was predicated on strength of will and mind, your body's talent was important as well. It determined how much magic you were able to cast at any given moment.
Despite the fact that there were ways to make up for deficits in mana reserves, it was still a difficult comparison to someone who far outstripped you in that regard. Will had both shocking talent and he worked extremely hard. This allowed him to quickly advance.
However, his half brother was not nearly as talented as him, and having been coddled most his life he was very lazy. So, his father as head of the DeWitt family spent many resources to procure a type of taboo magic spell.
It allowed one to drain the already refined mana from one person and transfer it without side effects to another. Allowing that second person to advance smoother in the future. The only caveat was that the two must be related by blood otherwise the mana would riot and trigger an explosion within the recipient.
The magic spell was originally developed by an ancient magic clan for the purpose of inheritance, but over time its use was distorted.
In the dream, Will seemed to feel the icy cold all over again. His body began to shiver uncontrollably, he tried to wake himself up but nothing seemed to work. He was trapped alone in the dungeon, with no escape.
Outside, Xia JianYu woke up feeling the person next to him shaking. He looked at An An in confusion, his eyes still blurred with sleep.
He jolted awake when he realized that An An was shivering and his teeth were bit harshly into his lips. He took An An by the shoulders and shook him gently at first and then harder as Ning An remained locked in troubled sleep.
"An An wake up! It's just a dream An An, snap out of it." He spoke urgently into An An's ear, worry etched deeply on his face. He hugged Ning An, hoping to transfer some warmth to the shivering body in his embrace.
This seemed to do the trick as Ning An's eyes shot open in panic, his chest heaving rapidly as if he had just escaped drowning.
Will locked his eyes on the person holding him, registering that it was his big brother, his body slowly began to relax. He clutched the other boy's hand, as if it was a lifeline. He couldn't seem to speak, only stare hard at the person who was hugging him tightly.
He heard the other boy's voice in his ear, "It's okay An An, I'm here. Just breathe An An, just breathe. It's all over now, I will protect you."
After hearing that last line, Will seemed to feel his heart shake. He was technically fifteen before he died, he should be the one who is more mature than the ten year old boy in front of him. But staring into the solemn eyes of Xia JianYu, he suddenly felt that it wasn't so bad to be a little younger. He could make up for all his regrets in his childhood with his new family. For a little while, just let him be a carefree child.
After a few minutes, Xia JianYu was able to coax Ning An back to sleep. Staring at the sleeping boy in his arms he sighed. Good thing he stayed here with him. Or else wouldn't An An have had to face that nightmare all alone?
He strengthened his resolve to grow up faster. Even though that wasn't exactly possible, couldn't he try harder at his studies so that he could learn more things to take care of An An better? Yep, that's what he would do. Xia JianYu clenched his small fist as he thought up to here. Then he closed his eyes to sleep as well.