Jay's life was far from easy. In fact, life wasn't easy for most people living in Stonewall. Everyone had to work hard and hope that the "Awakened" could gather the resources the city needed to thrive.
Over time, things settled down. They started some farming and raised animals within the city walls. Humans could survive without ever leaving the magical barrier.
Venturing outside was dangerous. Anyone who wasn't Awakened would die from the toxic air. Jay knew this all too well. That's why he worked in the mines, extracting the magic stones that fueled the city's barrier.
At first, his job seemed important. How else could the barrier be maintained? But things weren't that simple. He suffered in the mines. The heat was unbearable, and the pay was lousy.
One unfortunate day, his life took a turn for the worse. Jay had just finished a 13-hour shift and was ready to head home when his boss showed up.
Jay's boss, the man in charge of the mine, was a fat, balding man who always walked around with a notebook in his hand.
"Jay," his boss said, looking at the paper, "Troy didn't show up for work today. You'll have to take his shift."
"What?" Jay said as he put away his pickaxe. "You've got to be kidding me. I have to dig for another 13 hours?"
Two 13-hour shifts seemed insane to Jay. His boss, with an awkward smile, said, "Well, actually, the shift will be 18 hours. Get back to work immediately. I'll bring you something to eat in a few hours."
Jay really wanted to tell his boss to shove it and leave, but this was one of the only jobs he could get. Someone like him, who couldn't use mana, was bound to suffer.
His boss was leaving when he turned around and said, "And the shift will be in section 3F. Got it?"
Jay couldn't believe it. Section 3F was a new part of the mines that had been opened, and it was very dangerous to work there. Reports of cave-ins were common.
With his equipment in hand, Jay walked through the tunnels, guided by the few lights he found on the walls. With every step, he could see the earth falling on his head.
As soon as he arrived at section 3F, Jay had to duck. Not because he was tall like a basketball player, but because the tunnel was very low.
"Working here sucks... what a disgrace," Jay complained.
He grabbed his pickaxe and started digging. Within minutes, he was sweating again. The heat of that cramped tunnel was making him sweat profusely.
His clothes were drenched in sweat. Jay took off his shirt and threw it aside, then went back to work.
Jay was the only one working there, and that made the place very quiet. On the one hand, it was good, but Jay could only imagine that if something happened to him, no one would be there to save him.
And it was after a few hours of suffering there, digging for the bright blue stones, that Jay had an intrusive thought.
'Honestly, I wish this place would just collapse... I have no family, and working here is a dead end... If only I could withstand the toxic air... Then I could find out why my parents left...'
Perhaps the universe was listening to what Jay was thinking. It was at that moment that the tunnel he was in collapsed.
Large, heavy stones fell on his body, crushing him completely. The impact was so strong that Jay didn't feel any pain. He simply died.
Everything happened so fast that Jay didn't have time to think. A few moments later, he found himself in a completely dark room, with a light at the far end.
'Am I dead?' he thought. 'Ah, I must have been buried by the tunnel.'
A mix of emotions washed over him. He felt relieved to have escaped that life of working in the mines.
Jay walked toward the light. He walked and walked, and it seemed that with every step he took, the light grew further away.
Over time, he began to quicken his pace. Jay started to run. Sounds invaded his ears.
It was as if people were talking on the other side of the light.
'What is this?'
Jay couldn't understand, but the light was the only thing present in that room. He didn't feel like running into the darkness. That didn't seem like the right move.
The light started to get closer and closer until he finally passed through it.
Jay started to cry as soon as he passed through the light, and he felt a cold wind touch his body.
"It's a boy!"
"Look how beautiful he is... Quick, bring the leather blanket to warm him up."
Some people were talking around, but Jay couldn't understand a single word. It was a completely different language than what he was used to.
'Have I been reincarnated? As a baby?' he thought.
Jay wasn't stupid. Being trapped inside the city, he had spent a good amount of his life reading some books in the library—which luckily were free.
He had already guessed what was happening. But what world was he in? Was he a normal baby?
Well, he wasn't normal. No baby could think like that at birth, and certainly didn't have memories of a past life.
Jay then stopped crying completely when he understood what was happening. This caused some astonishment to the people around him.
Jay's mother picked him up, placing him in her arms. "He's beautiful."
A man was next to her. "What will his name be?"
"How about my grandfather's name?"
"Jay, right? I think it suits him."
Of everything they were talking about, he only understood the word Jay and knew that was his name.
'Same name, different bodies...'
Despite not understanding very well, Jay felt a love coming from his parents. It was something strong for him.
He had been abandoned when he was just a baby, and he never knew why. But at that moment, he had both parents, and it was clear that they loved him very much.
'I think I'm going to like being in this new place, but the first few years are going to be pretty boring...'