A/N: For transparency sake, English is my second language so my grammar is quite bad, and i did use quillbot to fix those grammartical mistakes. One thing I took notice of is that quillbot tend to use ";" a lot, so if you don't like it I will remove it in future chapters (This was written when this book is release so the prologue would experience no changes unless I have a lot of free time.)
---
In the beginning, there was no light.
I can hear the cry of a baby, like a shout to the sky, proudly at its birth through impossible odds. It was my voice...
Murmur filled the room I was in; the sound was muffled, my senses were dull, and a cacophony of an unknown language assaulted my sensitive ears. My mind is groggy as if I am dreaming.
I vaguely remember the last moment of my life when my heart stopped beating. I was filled with a mix of panic, relief, and… helplessness.
It seems like I have been reborn.
Quickly after that revelation, my newborn body gave out and fell into deep sleep. The cognitive function of a baby can't support the mind of an adult after all.
Not long after that, I can feel piercing wind and cold rain on my delicate face. I am crying; instinctively, a sense of danger forebodes me. Are we moving somewhere?
I could hear the sound of a woman scrambling in the darkness. The rain no longer hits my face, and the wind calms down.
Creek.
A door opened, and eventually, I was picked up and placed inside a cozy abode; at least that is what I think.
The 25th of December was when I was born.
That night, a storm hit the Ignis Empire. It was a cold night to be born.
***
Time passes, seasons change, and days for me are like a dream each time I wake up.
But something continues to remind me of my reality.
I can smell the wooden floor while navigating around the complex I called home.
I could feel the texture of the spoon I was holding; it was rough and grainy.
I can taste the juicy meat of rabbit and hot soup with occasional hard bread; it was my first meal aside from breast milk.
But even with all those senses I have regained throughout the 10 years I've been living in this world.
My sight hasn't.
I am still living in this darkness even in this life.
Is this my fate?
I wondered that every day when I woke up.
It wasn't always like this. I recall a time when I could see my parent's face, the marble floor of my house, the road I walked on traveling to my studio, the pedestrians talking on the side of the street, the cat strolling by my house every afternoon, the blurring vehicle, the streetlight, the blade of grass, the ground, the night sky, the blazing sun, and… the visage of my wife.
How I miss my vision so, so much.
Now.
The dilapidated smell of wood hit my nostrils. Despite the unpleasant smell, I've already familiarized myself with it due to living in this orphanage for 10 years.
Initially, I thought that this place wouldn't be suitable for raising children. But the remnant of laughter of my siblings lingered on my mind.
At first, I assumed that I was the only child here due to the quietness. Nonetheless, I was proven wrong.
At least in this life, I wasn't alone. That's something to be grateful for.
I recall yesterday's shenanigan, a smile etched on my face.
'This isn't so bad.'
After all, this is still a warm place filled with the joy and innocence of children, a place suitable enough for raising good-natured adults. That is what matters at the end of the day.
Rising from my bed, I used one of my hands to try touching my eyelids.
It was a ritual, almost, a vain hope that maybe I hadn't opened my eyes properly today.
It was wide open, trying its best to reflect the light from the Sun.
Slight disappointment washed over me, but it was what I had expected.
"Raon! Are you awake?"
A somewhat muffled shout came from my left.
"I am, mother."
I shouted back.
Terrisa is probably worried; it seems I have woken up later than usual again. I guess I was exhausted because of yesterday's adventure.
It happens a lot these days; maybe I'm getting older… or younger?
Pushing myself off the bed, I headed to my right to touch the wooden wall. I trace the texture of old wood; it is more bendable than it used to be five days ago. With little force, my hand could punch through the wall, breaking it.
'Should I ask Terrisa to replace this wall... It should be fine for a couple more years.'
We are not in a very good financial position after all.
Slowly moving towards the door, I skillfully dodge my table and chair.
Even though I know where the door should be, I don't want to risk injuring myself by going straight and hitting a wall.
It was simply my cautiousness.
Finally, I touched the doorknob—or something similar—and I opened the door prepared to walk out.
But I stopped momentarily due to the hurried breath of one of my siblings.
"Stella? What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be helping Mother?"
"Brother Raon! Mom asked me to check on you, so that's why I'm here."
How caring. This is Stella, my sister, an adorable hamster-like kid. Unlike most kids her age, she is very hard-working; if anything, she seems eager to do menial work for the whole orphanage.
"Ah... Is that so? Thank you, then."
"No problem; Stella is very hardworking after all. Anyways, Stella must go help Mom now. Bye-bye, brother Raon!"
She then dashed away to where she came from, which is to my left.
She is always in a hurry to do something else; unless Terrisa tells her to stop, she will find a way to work. I don't have much experience with children except for a couple of meetings with my cousin, but she is definitely a strange kid.
However, it still feels quite weird to me how capable a nine-year-old can be. From my observation, here children at the age of nine can do quite a lot more than an average nine-year-old on Earth.
There is a reason for this discrepancy in children's capabilities.
That is the presence of Mana.
Seven years ago, when I was still in a cradle—because Terrisa couldn't afford a bed back then. I feel a weird sensation in the air; it feels as if soft and warm cotton balls were surrounding me.
Those were the ambient mana in the air that my skin instinctively accumulated outside of my body, ready to be absorbed.
At the time, I didn't know what it was; I simply followed my instincts and absorbed the mana to try and form a core.
From what I have learned now, there are two outcomes when you start absorbing mana.
You either succeeded in forming a core and becoming a mage. Which only has a 10% chance of succeeding.
Or you fail, and the mana spreads throughout your body, making it less concentrated and therefore much weaker than a Mana Core performance.
But that's only applicable to 70% of the population. The other 30% when failed to form a core, the mana will instead awaken the dormant Mana Circuit in your body, granted if you have one.
And that's what I have awakened, a Mana Circuit.
With a mana circuit, you can become a warrior rivaling the mages of this world.
But of course, I am blind, so that path is simply a dream. I could barely swing a twig at the right angle. How could I wield a sword or weapon in general? Even if I had awakened a core, it would still be the same story; after all, I can't read books, and a mage requires extensive knowledge to become successful.
But enough of those depressing thoughts; I should get going; breakfast wouldn't wait for anyone.
Carefully navigating the corridor, I can hear the hurried steps of other boys from the orphanage.
"Raon! Good morning.
"Good morning, Ruben."
"Haha, it's nice to see you. You are later than ever before; this should be the youngest's new record, isn't it?"
"I think he woke up later last year on Moon's Day; apparently he can't tell if it was morning or not due to the cold."
"It's probably because yesterday, you guys were so eager to catch that rabbit that you ended up lost. I have to venture deep into the woods with Ter-mother and Dain to get you guys back. Also, good morning, Ethan and Ruben."
"It was so close, though; I could already feel it in my grasp back then."
"I was just trying to follow him in case Ethan fell and cried!"
"Sure, sure. Whatever you said, Ruben."
"Hump! You shouldn't treat your older brother like that!"
"Yes, yes."
"Well, what do we have here? Isn't it the sleepyhead! Good morning, Raon."
"Good morning to you too, Dain. Can you continue reading yesterday's book again, the one about adventurers?
"It's alright, though how many times have we read this already? Shouldn't we move on? Mother said she acquired a new book recently; we could read that."
"Well, you could say it is preparation. I want to know about how adventurers work. I worried about the two muscleheads beside us."
"Bleh. Nerds!"
"Nerds!"
…
The cheerful laughter fills the hallways to the dining room.
These kids are my brothers: Ruben is older than me by one, Ethan by two, and Dain is by five months.
Despite being pretty much the same age, they insist on calling me their younger brother or the youngest. At first, I was annoyed, but not anymore. I can't exactly argue with children having fun, can I?
Besides, I find it quite charming, actually; it is like having twins that fight over who is older by the second. Kids will be kids after all.
Maybe I am getting old...
"Tomorrow is the annual ceremony celebrating the Sun God! I am so excited! I hope that the church will give out free food like last year!"
"I also hear from adventurers nearby that this year is going to be much grander than last year! I wonder if they are going to add meat to the menu, though; the vegetables there taste worse than the ones Mother grows."
"I want to finish reading the book; can you guys go for me?"
"Dain, you know that unless you go there in person, you won't get the food! Even if you don't want to go, Mom's going to force you to go. I remember last year Mother said that if you don't go this year, she won't buy you new books to read!"
"Ugh."
Last year, I remember Terrisa led me and the trio to go to the nearby church to attend the sermon, after which a meal was distributed to the poor and the homeless.
Of course, as an orphanage-in-name, the food the children and I got was slightly better than that of the others.
I haven't mentioned yet that this orphanage that I'm currently in only has the six of us living in a wooden house. Though it was officially registered as an orphanage, Terrisa, for reasons unknown, doesn't intend to take in more children in need.
At first, I thought it was because she was a terrible person in disguise and embezzling money or something; after all, this house could barely be qualified as an orphanage designated by the government.
As it turned out, we are just poor, due to the previous caretaker of this orphanage embezzling funds. After a purge, Terrisa became this orphanage caretaker, but the government already decided to open a new orphanage somewhere else right before Terrisa became Laviet—my orphanage's name—the new caretaker.
Since the Laviet already has a new caretaker, it couldn't be taken down without legitimate reason. Slowly the funding for the orphanage dwindled, and Terrisa had to somehow manage to keep this orphanage afloat, so she sold most facilities, leaving behind a storage room where she renovated it to become our house now.
So, our Laviet orphanage at this point is in name only. As we are on the edge of losing our status due to inadequate facilities.
It isn't the worst, though; since Terrisa hasn't sold the garden, the playground, and some unoccupied land, our orphanage can still keep its title as long as we have enough land and the children living here haven't been mistreated.
Terrisa had considered leaving us at the newly opened orphanage, but after a round of inspection by a government official when I was just one year old, the new orphanage had been shut down due to malpractice and potential child trafficking.
So, there was an influx of homeless children on the street with no place to call home. Even the kindhearted Terrisa can't do anything as it jeopardizes her current children.
After all, she can't possibly take care of all the kids.
Nine years have passed since that situation, and a new orphanage has been built, but we were too attached to Terrisa at that point, so reluctantly she decided to take care of us here in this barely orphanage.
As for the fund of Laviet orphanage, it is still being siphoned by corrupt officials, so we remain a poor family of six.
…
"Do you think they're going to have another firework show at night like last year, Ruben? It was a new technology, right? Something about illusions, sounds, and stuff; I heard nearby adventurer parties mention something along those lines last year."
"Maybe you have to ask Dain about that, not me; he is more knowledgeable than me after all."
"There will be; if you want to watch, I can ask Mom to let us climb onto the roof to have a better view."
"Oh cool! Let's ask Mom then; last year I only saw it outside of my window."
"..."
I stay silent as I hear the trio discussing the fireworks show at night. Last year wasn't my favorite as it reminded me of the memories of the past.
It was almost painful for me to hear the amazement of my siblings along with the loud banging noise of the fireworks back then.
"Children, sit down; we're about to eat."
A delicate and gentle voice sounded lightly in front of me. Startling away from my depressing thought, Terrisa's voice wakes me up at just the right moment.
It seems like we've reached the dining room.
Suddenly, I feel a pair of calloused hands pick me up.
"Yippee!"
Teresa's voice was cheerful and happy. The upcoming festival seems to brighten her mood from what I observed.
Though she still sees me as just a young child, it wasn't exactly annoying. I was used to it at this point; oftentimes I felt like she was more mature than me even though I was older than her.
With everyone ready to eat, Terrisa started praying to the Sun God with the children following suit, myself included.
We stayed silent for around a minute and a half, praying to the deities above. As an atheist back on Earth, I wasn't too keen on the concept of the Sun God, but since my reincarnation and the discovery of mana, I'm not too sure.
"...Praise the Sun."
Those are the only two lines we are supposed to say out loud. For the most part, the prayers are in your head, but I usually don't chant them; it would feel insincere to pray to a God I don't believe in. That's my respect for the religion as an unbeliever.
"Let's eat, children."
***
"… With the culmination of the party efforts and Rally's bravery, the ogre fell. Its body remains motionless, yet its vigilance doesn't waver; Rally knows that the battle has just begun. The Rift is still an unexplored cavern of opportunity…
I don't know how many times I have heard this story; it wasn't my favorite one inside the orphanage's collection, yet no matter how many times I've heard this tale, I always managed to realize something new and discover more and more peculiarity of this world.
Under the shade of the tree not too far from our house, Dain and I sat together. Dain diligently read the book while focused on listening to his gentle voice.
Not too far from the two of us is the duo of Ethan and Ruben. They are also diligent in their own right. Currently, Ethan is practicing swordsmanship, and Ruben is training his archery.
Ethan has always wanted to become a valiant swordsman dancing on the battlefield, killing hordes of monsters.
As for Ruben, he got scared when animals approached him, so he decided to become an archer and shoot arrows from afar so that he didn't have to go face-to-face with the wildlife.
"Do you need water? You must be thirsty, right, Dain?"
Stella moves toward the tree; her voice is dainty and high-pitched. That means she is currently bored and has nothing to do.
"You could go to the nearby village to play; you don't have to help us that much, Stella."
"I agree; if you keep cooped up doing chores like this, you will never make friends."
"Eh… But Nema said that the village is really boring right now. That's why I'm back at home."
"Well then… Would you like me to read you this book?"
"Um…"
"You could lie on my lap if you want."
"Ok!"
After a bit of coaxing, Stella relented, and she lay her head on my lap. In terms of relationships, Stella is closest to me and Terrisa. It's probably because I behave more like a father than a young boy that she grows more attracted to me.
"Hum~"
"Stella, Raon, stay here for a bit; I'm going to get the book real quick."
Dain stood up and went inside the house.
Stella hummed leisurely while turning her head to the melody; it tickled. I used my hand to comb Stella's hair; she let out a satisfied purr.
'Is she a cat?'
Smiling, my mind relaxed. I have been having too many dark thoughts today, so the comfort that Stella brings does make my mind less agitated.
After a while of tranquility with occasional shouts of motivation from Ethan.
"I'm back! I haven't read this book yet; I was waiting for you to request this, but you insist on reading that boring adventure story."
I could feel Dain's gaze silently poking my side. It hurts my conscience a bit to force a kid to read the same old book for an uncounted amount of time.
"Haha, sorry brother, I just really like that story."
"You only call me brother whenever you want to, sorry. Hump!"
"Ahaha."
I scratched my nape; my conscience was hurting a lot.
"HEY! WHO ARE YOU GUYS AND WHY ARE YOU HERE?"
A loud shout snapped me out of my embarrassment. It was from Ruben; he spotted them from afar and then called them out with his booming voice.
'Intruders?'
"Erm, we come in peace; we are Bright Night, an adventuring party."
The voice of a young man responds to Ruben's question.
I could hear the rapid footsteps of Terrisa; she ran out of the house trying to protect her children in case of hostile individuals.
Dain beside me also stands up; as the oldest, it is his responsibility to take care of his younger siblings.
This is a very rare occasion; after all, the only people who come to this orphanage are government officials trying to take it down or loan sharks. So, an adventure party is very uncommon.
Today was a beautiful day.
And an eventful day also.