Did my dream end?
I remember I was trying to keep that magic spell from destroying my arm.
I also remember firing it and getting blown back. I think that's when I lost consciousness.
Now, I'm seeing darkness again.
...
But it's different this time...
Amidst the darkness, I could faintly feel my body.
What is this?... I can feel a warm and gentle feeling flowing through me...
Not just that. Although It's dark, I think... I can feel something holding my hand.
I lightly squeezed my hand with all the strength I could muster.
Yes, I can feel it.
"Oh, he's waking up!"
I can hear now... Could that be...
More of my senses began coming back to me.
Did I survive that plane crash after all?
I slowly force open my eyes. It's blurry, but I can see them.
...
"Mom? Dad? Is that you?"
My sight slowly returns to normal.
I really thought I woke up from the dream, but then...
"Touma!"
...
No... It's only Glenn and Leyna...
"Oh, I'm so glad you're awake." Leyna says in a relieving voice.
...
"Are you feeling okay?" He asks.
"Yeah, just a little tired."
I turn my head. Using my eyes, I explore the bedroom that I was in.
This must be my room. After my little accident, they must've carried me in here.
Speaking of which, that was a seriously painful experience. However, I don't feel any pain right now. I'd expect it to at least feel sore.
I slowly lift my head to look at my arm to see if any damage was done to it.
And what I saw, was a miracle being performed...
Leyna... Is... healing my arm?
This must be the source of the warmth and gentleness I felt. Is this one of the other types of magic that I wasn't able to do?
She was holding both of her hands to my arm and a yellow light was constantly emitted from them.
It's different from Isamu's though, his magic involved a circle with symbols, while for her it's just a yellow light emitting from her hands...
I think I understand a little bit now, these abilities are probably spread differently among everybody. that's why I couldn't use any of the others.
After coming to that conclusion I proceeded to just lay my head back down and rest.
...
I ended up falling asleep, and after an hour I woke up feeling good as new.
I lifted myself up to a sitting position to see Leyna fast asleep at my bedside, and Glenn staring out the window.
I looked at my arm and it didn't look or feel any different than it did before my accident.
After hearing me shift around in bed, Glenn turned around and quickly walked towards me.
"Oh, you're awake... Here, have some water."
"Thank you."
He sat in the other empty chair that was by the bed and looked at me while I downed the cup of water.
This water feels... different, I can't place my finger on it, but I feel a little bit lighter after drinking it.
"You probably won't understand at your age but your mother infused the rest of her light magic into that water to help you get your strength back."
"Oh, I see." I looked at her as he explained what she did for me.
"She used a lot of her magic to heal your arm, and that exhausted her quite a bit."
"Oh... I'm... Sorry for the trouble."
"It's ok, we're just glad you're alright now. But..."
I look back at him, and he had a somewhat serious expression on his face.
"Touma. How did you cast out that much dark energy?"
"I honestly don't know."
"How did it even happen?"
"Well, I was curious after watching Isamu use his water ability, and wanted to try it myself."
"Were you able to use water magic too?" He asks curiously.
"No." I respond.
"What about the others?"
"It was just the one ability." I assure.
He sits back in his chair and starts stroking his chin.
"You were able to let out that much power just because you were curious?"
"Was it that powerful?"
"Very much so, you made 5 trees and a few rodents disappear into the darkness you created."
Oops.
"What did you chant when you activated it?
"I didn't chant anything. I wasn't concentrating either, It just appeared after I said-"
"After what?"
"I don't want to say it again. That's how it got out of control, but it was after I said the name of its element."
Now leaning forward in his chair with his curiosity piqued "Wait a minute, what?? You JUST said 'Dark' without concentrating and it appeared?"
"Yes, I tried to stop it but it just kept growing."
"Hmm," He leans back in his chair and begins thinking out loud to himself. "I guess that's the main issue here then. It seems you have a plentiful amount of mana and the natural talent of calling upon the affinity, but you can't control the output yet."
Mana? Affinity?... I'd ask him about those, but I'd look suspicious taking in even more info than I am right now.
I'm surprised he hasn't caught on to how easily this conversation is flowing between him and a 6-year-old kid.
"Touma."
"Yes?"
"Try calling on it again."
...
"...But, I won't be able to control it."
"It's fine I'm here this time I'll guide you through it."
Although I was reluctant I agreed.
"Okay."
"Now then, lift up your arm and hold up only one finger, that'll make it easier to control how much you let out."
I don't fully understand that reasoning, but it somehow makes sense in a way...
"Okay."
"Now when you activate it, I want you to concentrate and imagine that you are opening up a door to your mana, you're only going to be scooping out a small fraction of that. and putting it into your finger... Do you understand?"
"...Yes."
"Okay, try it."
Concentrate and imagine huh? Is that really all there is to it?
"Okay"
...
I close my eyes and take in a deep breath.
A door opens, only a small fraction, and focus it into my finger.
I let out a long exhale...
"...Dar-" "Don't you dare conjure it up again, Touma!" Leyna jolts up and grabbed my hand, completely ruining my concentration.
"Oh, o- okay." I respond, not really sure what to say.
"Glenn, What do you think you're trying to do getting him to conjure it up again right after I healed him!?" She yells across the bed.
"It was fine I was helping him so he could maintain control over it."
"He's only 6 years old he won't understand you're explanations."
Well actually I'm 23 years old, but whatever...
"That's why I was using a simple shortcut explanation."
"That makes it even worse you idiot!"
She swung a deafening smack across Glenns' face, that could be heard for miles.
...
After a few minutes of Glenn getting punished by Leyna, the room finally calmed down.
Wow... There is a perfect handprint on the side of Glenn's face right now.
"Please, don't look at me, Touma." He says as he moves his gaze out the window.
"Anyways, Now that we know it's a controlling issue. Touma I don't want you trying to conjure it up anymore. At least, not until you can control it properly." She explains.
"Alright, I won't." I respond.
"And don't ever listen to your father again." She adds.
"Wha??"
Glenn wanted to say something back, but Leyna just looked at him like she was about to kill him.
He then backs down, hiding his face from Leyna.
Wow, she has him on a tight leash.
Trusting Glenn was a bad idea from the start, but Leyna seems wiser so I'll trust her judgment.
Just then the door to my bedroom opened, and Isamu walks up to my bed.
"Oh. Hey Isa-"
A sudden smack to the top of my head caught me off guard.
"That's for hitting me in the face with a door you brat." He says.
"When did I-"
(..."Wait a minute!" "Touma, are you-" BAM!...)
oh.... right, that did happen.
...
"I'm sorry."
"Don't apologize after I just hit you, now I feel bad!..." Ahem. "Anyways I'm glad you're okay." He says.
"Oh... Thanks."
...
The room just became slightly more awkward than before.
Leyna claps her hands to break the silence "Now then you boys, let's get out of Touma's room so he can rest a little longer. We missed lunch so I'll make us an extra large dinner."
...
After 2 hours passed of resting in my room, I felt better than ever.
Leyna finished cooking dinner, so I walked down the stairs and was greeted by a full dinner table with this family.
They were talking for a while amongst themselves, but I stood in the doorway watching as this scene played out.
Leyna would eventually notice my presence.
"Come on Touma, you don't want your food to get cold." she reasons.
"Okay."
I walk over, take my seat, and press my hands together.
"Thank you for this meal."
I looked up to find them staring at me.
"...What?" I ask.
"Is that your food-eating ritual?" Isamu scoffs.
Not sure what he was talking about until I finally realized.
"No... I just... really like steak." I say.
After saying the first thing that popped into my head, I awkwardly picked up the fork and the knife and began cutting my steak.
After being in Japan for a month that sort of became a habit.
I cut the first bit of steak and took a bite, but I had to take a quick pause.
...Why is this steak so delicious??
I continued tearing into the steak on my plate.
"Don't eat too fast, and make sure to eat your vegetables too, Touma."
"Mmkay." I respond continuing to stuff my face.
While I was going for another bite Isamu suddenly spoke "Oh dad, I forgot to ask but did you see any monsters in the forest yesterday?"
Wha-!?
I nearly choked on my steak after hearing that sentence.
I managed to dislodge the steak from my throat and let out a loud cough.
"That's why I said don't eat too fast. Here, drink some water." Leyna says handing me a cup of water.
"Thanks, I'm okay..."
Do they mean actual monsters from fiction?
How interesting I wasn't expecting this dream to have monsters...
...
Actually... Why am I still convinced this is a dream?
After what I've experienced there should be no way that I'm still here unless I'm in a coma, but that's unlikely, there's no way I could've possibly survived that plane crash.
I have no reason to believe this is a dream but it's the only logical explanation.
I need to test the limits of this reality I am seeing. whether it's real or a dream.
I looked at my hand.
How do I go about testing it though?
A flashback appears, back to the dark magic incident.
Pain.
I look up and at the knife by my plate.
In dreams, pain can still be felt, but it will hardly be accurate compared to what caused that pain. Take for example you get hit by a bat but it felt like a pillow...
I reach over and grab the knife.
Sure that incident gave me a lot of pain.
But with my mind clouded with panic and trying to think of solutions I couldn't take the time to completely comprehend it.
I've accidentally cut myself before so I know what that feels like, but since the pain in my arm was something I couldn't have possibly ever felt before, how could I know it was an accurate assessment?
I put the knife on my left index finger.
This is a reckless strategy, but it's all I've got. There is a chance I'm just thinking about this too much and I'm just in denial, but I have to be sure.
It's also definitely safer than jumping off a cliff and I end up just killing myself coming to find out I was indeed awake in a different world.
Sliding the blade into my skin I made sure to cut in a way to make it seem like an accident. and to avoid touching the bone.
The pain continuously grew at a reasonable rate.
This sensation... It's accurate.
Leyna cuts me off in my thoughts and quickly grabs my hand.
"What happened?" "Are you ok??" She exclaims.
"I accidentally cut myself cutting the steak." I say.
She panics at every little thing I do, but I guess it's a given; most parents tend to be overprotective of their children.
My mother back home was the same as Leyna.
"Here, hold still."
She puts her hand over my finger and begins healing it.
I watch closely as the wound magically closes up.
In a matter of seconds, the cut has completely faded away along with the pain.
It's still weird for me to see it, but it's still interesting to watch...
"There you go." She says.
"Thank you."
After healing me she proceeds to cut the rest of my steak for me, so I don't cut myself again.
Honestly a big help. Smaller hands made the task quite harder.
Meanwhile, the other two carried on with their conversation.
"There were a few small beasts but it was nothing your old man couldn't handle."
"Cool! when I get older and get my own sword, I'll become as strong as you!" Isamu proclaims.
Glenn laughs heartedly.
"I'm looking forward to it!"
Isamu seems to hold a high amount of respect for his father.
...
Watching this family talk happily with each other, reminds me of when I would sit with my family at the dinner table. Sitting close to them but feeling so distant...
I finished eating and excused myself.
However, as I was getting down from my chair...
I misread the distance to the floor and bashed my head against the chair.
Damn it... I forgot I'm a child now.
Leyna once again healed me.
...
Feeling kind of bored I decided to explore the house. Wandering through every room.
"This must be Glenn and Leyna's bedroom... It's quite spacious."
On the wall opposite the bed, was a flashy-looking sword that was mounted up. Along with a robe hanging next to it.
After seeing their room, I walked further down the hallway to another room that looked like a study with a wall filled with books
I walked up, took a book off the shelf, and tried to read it.
How odd. People here speak Japanese but this writing doesn't look like any language I've seen.
After exiting the study and having nothing more to explore I went back to my room.
...
Now In my room, I sat by the window and looked up at the stars.
Monsters and beasts are here along with magic... And swordsmanship seems to be the main thing here as well.
It's similar to the fantasy game that I played when I was still a kid.
This world is quite interesting...
Although part of me still wants to say it's a dream realistically, it's safe to say this isn't a dream.
I let out a long yawn. "I'm getting pretty tired maybe I'll turn in now."
As I'm walking toward my bed I glance over to my right.
"Is that a mirror?"
Now curious about what I may look like, I walked up to it and took off the sheet that was covering it.
...
What the hell...
This small body is a spitting image of myself when I was younger.
My black hair, my slightly pale skin tone, my facial features. They all look the same. The only thing different is my eye color, back then they were gray, but now they look hazel.
Surprised by my appearance I didn't know what to say. I just reached out and touched my reflection.
This body... The pain that was in my finger... The mere fact that I couldn't have made it out of that crash alive...
I am here and I am alive.
I don't know the reason for being sent here... But I do know one thing.
This time... In this life...
"I'll find it."