„Who is he, dad?" Briony asked her father.
„I don't know. He was admitted to the bed next to yours." He answered and looked at me for an answer.
„Haru Henka, that's my name."
„Thank you, Haru. You saved my daughter, I owe you one." Declan Wise thanked me.
„What are these blue particles?" Briony asked.
Declan Wise and I looked at each other, thinking of what to call this phenomenon.
„It doesn't have a name. I'm sure you'll find a good name for it." Declan Wise said to his daughter.
„Hmm, let me think. It reminds me of the magic I read about in a novel. Let's call it Mana!" She announced excited.
‚I would've come up with a better name…' I thought.
Time passed and Declan Wise and Briony talked about what happened. He also explained that technological equipment was somehow now useless. Guns were the only modern invention that worked.
It was around 10 am, and Declan turned to me to speak. „Haru, don't you have family? I hope they're well. Go look for them and come back here if you have nowhere else to go. I owe it to you after you saved my daughter. I might even make you one of my bodyguards. How about it?"
„If we find out what Mana really is, I might become someone more than a bodyguard." I agreed and joked.
„Hahaha, okay."
I went out to look for my family, on the way out Mul-Soo came to me and I explained the whole situation to him. He too went to look for his family.
***
When I arrived at my house, I saw it collapsed. The smell of blood and concrete invading my nose.
I heard my brother call out for me, he was still alive. He asked for help. ‚So funny to ask for help now! You would rather cut off a few of your fingers than to ask me for help.' I thought.
‚This is my chance to cut ties with them, they'll die anyways. Why not put some salt on the wound while I'm at it.'
I declared that I would leave both families to Niam. He was of course shocked and angry at my words.
„Put the world's weight on my shoulders, huh?" I repeated and laughed.
***
I was freed from family and stupid traditions. The only thing that remained was the Warm Light style my father passed onto me. Surprisingly, I didn't feel sad while walking back to the hospital. If Mana was more than just light, I was sure it would help me reach the top. Together with Declan Wise, practically nothing stood in my way.
I arrived at the hospital.
The armed bodyguards stood at the entrance of the hospital. ‚Why are they still working for Declan Wise instead of looking for their family?' I wondered.
Each one of the 7 bodyguards looked similar to one-another. All were shaved and had short black hair, a big nose, a strong jaw and the same build. They wore an all-black suit with bulletproof vests and sunglasses that hid their eyes' colors. Two of them had a machine-gun while the rest had holstered pistols. They'd seen me before, so they made way for me.
When they moved and opened the way , a familiar girl caught my eye. Briony looked a lot more different than before. Now that she had gathered her strength, changed her clothes, made her hair and was standing in a good lighting, I could see her features well. She was about 175 centimeters tall, had long curly and brown hair, thick lips, a thin nose that was covered in freckles and dark-green eyes. She wore a tight pair of jeans that went over her hips, a blue sweater and black boots. She had a plump butt and an average sized chest. ‚Totally workable.' I grinned inwardly.
„The boots don't fit the outfit." I said with brutal honesty.
Briony was taken aback by my words. „They're the most practical shoes for all of THIS." She said back while opening her arms to show her surroundings.
I looked around to see collapsed buildings, cracks on the ground and a few corpses that weren't cleaned up yet.
I changed the topic. „Where's your father?" I asked.
„He should be here soon." She answered and sat down in the hospital's waiting-room. When she noticed I was still standing, she tapped on the seat to her left and signaled me to sit there.
I sat down, leaned back and sighed.
„I'm sorry for your loss." She said.
I opened my eyes in surprise. I hadn't told her that my family was dead. Except for Niam, who still survived being crushed by rubble. But I was still considering him dead. „Thank you. They were buried under our house's rubble." I answered, trying to sound as sad as possible.
‚I feel like Niam, lying and acting to deceive. Feels disgusting!' I realized.
Briony looked at me with a pitying gaze. She lifted her left arm and patted my right shoulder.
I looked at her and smiled genuinely. ‚She is a kindhearted person.' I realized. ‚She must have lost someone after the impact too.'
„Your family?" I asked.
„My mother, but she died a few years ago."
„I'm sorry." I answered.
„Don't be, I'm over it. But I still miss her."
„I see you two getting along. That's great!" Declan Wise said as he appeared in the waiting-room.
But when he saw the both of us looking rather sad and depressed, his smile turned into a nervous frown.
„Mister Wise, they didn't survive." I said and stood up straight.
„Sorry to hear that, kid. And please call me Declan from now."
I nodded.
Declan signaled Briony to stand up, and when she did, he spoke. „Briony, Haru, we'll now go to the European Union, old England, to be exact. We'll pay our way through, of course. Money, gold, gems, I have 'em all."
„When?" I simply asked.
„Tonight! The director of the hospital said that there is a hospital right at the end of the Union bridge. So, we'll simply walk over the bridge. It'll take a few hours to go to the hospital. Then, we spend the night there and continue until we can manage to get horses. Anything unclear?"
Me and Briony shook our heads.
Some time later, we were already on our way to the European Union. Mul-Soo wasn't back yet, so I left him behind.
***
We arrived at the hospital, stayed the night and went on the next day.
I saw Mana all the time. It was comforting and addicting.
On the 3rd day of our trip, I noticed a huge amount of Mana around Declan's bag.
„Yo, Declan!" I said.
„What is it, Haru?" He asked.
„Can you give me that thing in your left back-pocket?"
„Sure." He answered and handed me a small sack full of small gemstones.
„These stones are full of Mana. If we just…" I stopped mid sentence as I gulped a few stones down my throat almost instinctively.
„What are you doing, kid?" Declan asked.
But before I could answer, I lost consciousness.
When I woke up in my tent, I could feel that my strength had been multiplied. And weird information was in my head.
I found out that Mana gave powers. Something like superpowers from movies.
I explained it to Declan and Briony as we sat in my tent. After explaining, they ate a few gemstones too. They too, awakened powers.
***
Our journey continued. We found horses on the 5th day of our journey and bought it from a farmer for 10 gemstones.
***
We arrived in old England a few days after getting our horses.
Declan separated from me and Briony and left us in a military camp. He said that he had to „Shape the world!".
***
A week later, Mana was known and wielded all around Superio.
I became a soldier, tasked with killing enemy Mana-Wielders and Bearers.