The night hung heavy and silent, a darkness so thick it swallowed all but the flickering lights of the village below. Ren crouched in the shadows near the forest's edge, clutching the thin, ragged cloak that did little to shield him from the biting autumn cold. Hunger gnawed at him, a familiar, dull ache, but tonight he had managed to scavenge some half-rotted berries and a scrap of dried meat he'd found in the forest.
There were others like him in the world—those who'd been born with barely any mana, powerless in a world that revered magic above all. But for Ren, life as one of the lowest caste felt like a punishment that never ended.
He was about to turn back toward the village when he heard footsteps approaching. His heart skipped. Out of the shadows stepped a figure cloaked in rich, embroidered fabric—a young noble from the high-mana families. The boy's gaze landed on Ren's meager collection of food, and a sneer twisted his face.
"Is this where the rats come to feast now?" the noble scoffed, his voice dripping with contempt.
Ren's hands tightened around the small pile of food, and anger flared hot and unexpected inside him. He knew better than to fight back, but tonight, something in him refused to stay silent.
"Leave me alone," he muttered, barely loud enough for his own ears. But the noble heard.
"What did you say?" the noble demanded, a dangerous glint in his eye. With a flick of his wrist, a small flame burst to life in his palm—a casual display of power. The noble smirked, holding the flame close to Ren's face. "Careful, little rat. Or you might get burned."
The flame danced in the noble's hand, casting flickering shadows across Ren's face. A deep, furious ache surged within him, and without thinking, Ren reached out—not physically, but with a strange, wild pull he felt from somewhere within his chest.
The flame stuttered, then died out.
The noble's smug expression faltered, confusion flashing across his face. "What… what did you do?"
Ren staggered back, equally shocked. He didn't know what he had done; he only knew that something had shifted inside him, some strange, raw power that defied everything he'd been taught about mana.
"Stay away from me," Ren whispered, barely able to keep the tremor out of his voice. And as he turned to flee, a sharp, agonizing pain tore through his chest, dropping him to his knees. It felt as though something inside him was trying to claw its way out, leaving him gasping for breath on the cold ground.
In that moment, he understood—this was no gift. It was something wild and dangerous, something that came at a terrible cost. And whatever it was, it was now a part of him.