Jacob Minute had many regrets in life. He never got to live as he wanted, he never had the chance to be more. He wasn't talented like many others in class or better at sports like most athletic kids his age, so a scholarship that way wasn't in the cards for him.
Graduation came and when he was ready to step into adulthood his parents got struck with a sickness that would forever change his family and his future. Their sickness started to quickly ravage their system before they all realized how severe their condition was.
He spent the next five years paying for his parent's medical bills, Jacob had to balance between paying his parent's hospital bills and his rent. Debt quickly accumulated, and when he tried to go to his siblings and other relatives for help they refused. With no one to turn to for help, he became depressed.
He had to watch as his parent's health deteriorated while all he could was stand by helplessly. On the day his parents died, he had to pay for their funeral because his family refused to help cover the burial costs. They all showed up offering fake condolences and sympathies. He cut all ties with his family ever since, never forgiving them for the sole reason of letting them die.
He almost ended up homeless multiple times in those struggling years of his life. However, he was determined not to be consumed in his grief and wanted to honor the wishes of his parents to live a happy and fulfilling life. Jacob dedicated the next years of his life to paying off the debts left behind from his parents' medical bills and finding a job.
During his journey, he met his wife, a beautiful and kind woman. They met at their old job. She approached him, and at first, he didn't know why she came up to him. Assuming she needed something, he asked if she needed help. But she said she didn't but wanted to ask if I was free. She asked him out to a café nearby. And seeing no reason to refuse, he accepted.
A beautiful relationship began that day. They had been together for nearly three years when she received a job offer that would pay well. But knowing that it would take them out of the country, she wanted my opinion on what to do. I told her to go for it, and that I would support her no matter what she chose.
We both decided to move out of the country. It wasn't easy adjusting to their new life but having and supporting each other, they quickly adapted. Soon enough it seemed life would only get better from then on, and it did. They had two beautiful children, twins, one a girl and the other a boy. They named their son Arthur after his father, and Cara after his wife's mother.
They spent the next five years as husband and wife; they married after discovering she was pregnant with twins.
But their happy life was not to last.
They went to a theater near their home, taking the kids with them since they wouldn't stop nagging about seeing the new movie from their favorite series. His wife was the one who suggested they all go together, and seeing the excited look on their faces, made him agree.
They exited the theater happy and slightly tired. Looking at the joy on their children's faces made the trip worth it. They chose to take a shortcut through an alley because the kids were tired, and their house wasn't that far so they saw no harm in doing so.
If only he knew what fate awaited them he would never have gone.
A hooded figure approached them wielding a gun, he shouted and threatened for them to hand over everything they had. But the shouting could never mask the nervousness in the mugger's voice or the tremors in his hands. He stood, in front of his family, hoping to protect them if the situation escalated. Complying, he handed over all of their valuable possessions as calmly as he could not wanting to scare his wife and kids. They needed him to be calm and a pillar of support in situations like this.
As he handed over the last item, someone else appeared at the end of the alley. They called out to them, wanting to know if something was wrong. But that only served to spook the mugger who in fright pulled the trigger.
What happened that day would forever haunt him til his dying breath. He recalls some fragments of that day.
He lay on the ground bleeding from his wounds when his wife tried to shield their kids. The mugger seeing this panicked and shot his wife and kids, unloading everything he had.
Looking at what they did, the mugger took off sprinting, leaving them to bleed out on the ground. The person from before ran to them, calling an ambulance. He blacked out before they arrived. He awoke in the hospital, dazed and confused, when a nurse came in informing him about the deaths of his family.
He had to sell almost everything they had to pay for their funeral. The police arrested the suspect shortly after, but nothing they did could ever fill the void left behind.
He spent the next eight years trying to cope with their death, but couldn't so he resorted to alcohol to drown his sorrows. Until one day he drank too much and got himself run over by a speeding truck.
And that brings us to now, to him lying on the concrete pavement in muted agony. The accident left him too injured to voice out his hurts. The driver from before was talking to him in panic, but he was too incoherent to pick up what he was saying.
His last thoughts were with his family. The time they spent together, and the time they argued... He died before the paramedics could arrive.
As he floated in the abyss, the scenery around him changed. A spinning wheel covered in gold sat in front of him. Texts covered sections on the wheel, such as Naruto, Warhammer, and One Piece were arrayed on it.
But one word boldly stood out from the others on the top front with a small section dedicated to "Worlds". With nothing to do and believing what he was looking at was his brain's way of coping with the trauma of his injuries, he spun the wheel. It spun for a good minute, then it stopped on Black Clover.
He recognized that series his kids always tried to get him to watch it with them. He always made excuses stating that he was too tired or too busy. But after they begged him to watch it(with his wife also helping), he finally relented. Surprisingly, he found it interesting, and ever since their passing, he started to watch it religiously—he even read the manga.
It was the only thing he had to remember them by.
The wheel changed and the top centerpiece text shifted: where once it displayed "Worlds" it now bore Race. He spun it again. After what felt like forever, it stopped on hybrid. Confused, he tried to spin it again, assuming it needed him to spin to pick his race until his surroundings changed again.
He fell, fell, and fell forever until he stopped abruptly. He felt small—he felt trapped. That was until he felt like he was being squeezed and pushed. It continued for so long that he lost his tenuous grasp on time. The light was the first thing that greeted his sore eyes. He forgot what it was like to see clearly for the first time.
Big calloused hands wrapped around him. Then he was moved to a pair of small arms. He looked up to the person holding him. A woman of dark hair and eyes of the purest ruby beamed back at him. She had sweat rolling off her and looked like she had just gone through hell. Dark rings under her eyes contrasted against her pale skin giving her an air of angelic beauty he had seen from paintings earlier in his life.
Jacob had no idea who she was but something in him felt like offering a helping hand. He reached up only to see small pudgy pale hands staring back at him. Shock filled him. How was this possible? He's... he's a baby? How can that be? As panic flooded his systems he barely realised how loud he was crying.
"He has quite the lungs, My Lady," A man wearing servant clothes grunted softly to the child in her arms.
The Lady in question didn't break her gaze with the child in her arms. Her clothes stuck to her slick skin, showing just how exhausting the child's birth was. "That he does, Luke," she replied blissfully. Despite what her current appearance may suggest, the birth wasn't difficult, but even then, her eyes betrayed just how worried she was.
"What will you name him?" the servant Luke spoke softly, breaking the woman out of her trance. The woman smiled wistfully, "Lux, after my father." She cradled the baby close to her chest as if the infant was in danger and feared that it might disappear. She looked into the baby's ruby eyes. The baby stopped crying and looked back at her as if sensing her distress.
...
Minutes later
The man spoke, his voice carrying a sense of urgency. "My Lady, It's almost time," Luke urged, worried that she might forget why they came to the forsaken realm in the first place. "It won't be long til the magic knights and his guards arrive. You already know the consequences when they do," He reminded her.
The lady's arms trembled, her eyes slowly brimming with tears. "I know." Her voice choked. "I just wished we had a little more time." She looked into the child's eye, a whirl of conflicting emotions swirling around like a whirlpool in her ruby eyes, a mournful smile graced her beautiful face. "Lux, I'm sorry, but Mommy has to leave. Before I go, I have something special to give you—my necklace. it will keep you safe, so if you feel sad or angry remember to hold it close."
She held the necklace, clutching it, before loosening her grip. The silver chain moved in the air and the ruby being carried shimmered reflecting the small amount of light in the room. She wrapped the necklace around the child's neck.
She smiled dejectedly, seeing the child's curious gaze. "Even when I'm gone, I will always be by your side."
The child stared before lifting its arms, trying to reach her, but with its arms so small, the child could do nothing but wave them about. The women seeing this, teared up, and quiet sobs soon turned to wailing.
The child could only stare as it tried to do everything in its meager power to comfort the woman. But its small frame prevented it from comforting the woman carrying it.
Luke carefully interrupted his master. "My Lady, the child will be in danger if we delay any longer." The servant Luke held out his arms, waiting for his master to give the child to him.
The woman pulled herself together and looked at the child in her arms, giving the child a pained expression. She took a deep breath to steady herself. Thoughts raced through her mind; she made peace not being there for her child, but... she had never known how difficult that choice would be when the time came.
She pinched the child's soft cheek and stroked it. The child giggled—she imagined what life would look like for her and the child in her arms if she didn't accept that deal. She handed her child to her servant with much hesitation. "Give him a better life than one he would have if he stayed with me."
Her servant nodded, lifting the child out of her arms, and surged out of the small cabin, almost knocking the front door off its hinges in his dash.
Malevolent mana blasted outward from the cabin, covering the forest in its suffocating, tainted pressure destroying everything it touched.
7 years later - Forsaken Realm
The soft gentle breeze streamed throughout the small village. The commoners began their day, shops opened, and blacksmiths heated their forges. The sun shined on the people, filling the small town with warmth. Kids played, illuminating the village with cries of happiness and sorrow. Mothers reached out to soothe their kids' hurts and discipline those who got themselves in trouble.
One person stood out in the seemingly lively background: a child on a swing that had seen better days. Time and the elements had taken their toll on the ropes holding the worn-out wooden seat, yet the child swung without care, oblivious to the state of the platform beneath him.
If someone could look into the child's mind and emotions, they would see that he embodies the same qualities as the swing he occupies—tiredness, weariness, hurting—and he appears to be just barely holding on, filled with a faint hope that someone will reach out to offer him the help he needs to heal.
Questions swirled in the child's mind, particularly about why he was still alive after everything he had done, while more deserving individuals had passed away. A gentle breeze brushed against his brunette hair, revealing his sharp features. Yearning animated the child's expression.
Memories came and went; some lingered, while others faded, but certain moments remained vivid. The time he spent with his parents and the experiences he gained were something that time could never erase. The memories that dispelled his feelings of depression were those shared with his family. He often recalled those moments when he struggled to manage the depressing thoughts that clouded his mind.
His past mustn't tie him down. He knows that being swallowed by his emotions, refusing to better himself, and moving forward would be doing a disservice to those he loved and to himself. But how can he figure out the answer to helping himself when, deep down, he doesn't feel he deserves it?
A soft rustling of leaves and branches interrupted the child's thoughts. Another kid walked out of the thick vegetation almost stumbling before stopping in front of him.
"I knew I would find you here! Why do you always come out here by yourself like some loner?" the red-haired child asked. He didn't know why his friend came here to brood like some old man, but he should leave that stuff for the grown-ups.
Lux isn't sure when he became friends with the redhead. The day they met started like any other—while walking by himself he encountered a large mana beast deep into the forest far from the village—it was the same old routine he was accustomed to.
Like clockwork, he killed the mana beast without difficulty, thanks to his strong body and intimacy with mana, making learning and using his magic as easy as he breathed. Still, it was supposed to be the same old routine, until that redhead came out from the trees shouting like some excited fan.
He didn't think it was possible for someone—especially a kid to conceal themselves from his mana sense. Thinking back to that day, when he encountered the redhead, Marcus let a stray thought pass through his mind, what life would be like if they hadn't met that particular day. He wouldn't be here—living to regret accepting that kid's request to train him, that's certain.
And yet, that's the thing. How can one teach a person to use or even utilize mana in ways that aren't feasible for the average mage? He is a prodigy, clear to anyone with a pair of working eyes. Magic came easy to him, using it to kill mana beasts was a way for him to hone his usage of magic and sharpen his senses.
So teaching anyone—a kid—to use magic wasn't something he would know anything about or even how to accomplish. So he was relieved when he found out that his "student" was also a prodigy like him. It saved him time developing methods to teach him the ways of magic.
"I just needed to clear my head," he nodded absently. "Besides, what are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be with your parents?"
"Ma and Pa are helping the villagers with their injuries, you know, the usual stuff," he shrugged.
"Since standing around doing nothing while they went healing everyone sounded pretty boring, I thought, 'Hey, I have a moody and somewhat gloomy friend. Why don't I go find out what he's up to and see if he's still brooding on that swing like an edgy protagonist from the stories we read?'" He said that last part somewhat mockingly. "So here I am. Let's train, or hunt mana beasts—anything to get you out from under that rain cloud hanging over your head."
He sighed Internally. He had a feeling he would be doing that quite often. The redhead was persistent when he wanted to be, even worse when he caught him brooding. He hoped the redhead never lost that part of himself—the part that never gave up even when the world didn't make sense.
"Alright, but stay close to me and don't recklessly charge at every mana beast you encounter, especially without a plan. I really don't want to have to tell your parents that a mana beast ate their child because of foolishness. Do you understand?" I said, cautioning the redhead, who nodded in response. "Good. Let's get moving before the forest gets too quiet and before your parents start to worry and panic in the village."
They walked into the forest. By the time they were finished, the forest was filled with the corpses and mana of the slain mana beast and other forest creatures. They went home, exhausted from training their body and depleting their mana. They practiced their magic on each other, refining, honing, and nurturing the mana in their body.
He opened the door to his small, humble house on the outskirts of the village. His father had received the house, it had been damaged by the elements and the passage of time. The village chief had offered it for free, wanting to relieve himself of the responsibility of restoring it and hoping to encourage someone to join the village. Using funds from his days as a magic knight, his father restored and slightly expanded the house while also leaving room for further expansion.
Now, his father sat at the kitchen table, both arms resting in front of him, his hands pressed against his face. His expression was cold, and the room felt even colder. He turned to face his son, his yellow eyes locking onto the indifferent ruby eyes of his wayward son.
...
This chapter took ages to write.
I apologize for any bad grammar and poor paragraphs, I needed to get this chapter out before I blew a fuse.