Chapter 4 - Hardship

I Was looking upwards. It was getting very hot, and some of the walls had already collapsed. I just wanted to die.

I could hear everyone screaming around me, especially children. Everything I was feeling at that moment was replaced by anger. Why did those stupid kids have to cling to their parents, watching my house burn, while I had my parents killed in front of me and was about to be swallowed by the flames?

My anger turned into hatred, but it disappeared just as quickly.

"It's not their fault. It's mine," I muttered as I realized I was the one who had refused to spend time with my parents and had only caused them trouble.

"I just want to die," I thought. Then I remembered Lili. She wasn't killed, but the two men had taken her. They didn't look like heartless people, given that they hadn't killed her on the spot and the way they questioned me.

Still, I managed to get on my knees. Most of my body was already burned.

"I have to save her," I thought. Determined, I got on my feet. "I must do at least this for her."

I made my way out through a big hole in the burning wall. I was met with about a hundred people who happened to be nearby. Outside, it was dark. All of the people were staring at me, and some children started screaming, thinking I was some kind of monster.

To be fair, I did look monstrous with burns on my arms, face, and legs. My clothes were partially burned, but I figured most of the burns wouldn't leave scars.

However, none of them did anything to help me; they just stared. I didn't care and decided to go to my dad's cousin. He wasn't the nicest man, but my other option was my aunt, and getting to the other town would take too much time.

I got there in what felt like ages. All the streets were empty. To be honest, I had no idea how that many people had gathered around my place.

My dad's cousin was named Jan. I knocked on his door. His wife opened it. She had silver hair and looked around 25, despite her obviously being older.

"Dear, Akira came!" I could feel the frustration in her voice, but I had no choice. A minute later, I saw Jan. He looked me straight in the eye.

"What happened to you?" he asked, not particularly worried.

"I'll tell you, but I need to get in," I said.

"No," he replied flatly.

"Please, my family got killed, and Lili was taken away," I pleaded, a little shocked.

"Can't you hear? I said no. And I don't care," he said as he closed and locked the door.

Even though I expected such an outcome, I was still shocked by his indifference. It felt as if everyone had left me, like I was completely alone and abandoned.

I had never imagined that I could be in this situation. I was still completely broken by my parents' deaths, but I had to move on. "For me and Lili," I thought.

I was starving, so I tried asking for food at a few houses, but I was treated like filth. With no choice left, I had to scavenge through different trash bins until I could find something edible.

I lay next to a big house and fell asleep immediately, praying that when I woke up, everything would be back to normal.

I woke up to someone yelling. As I stood up, I saw a man who looked around 30.

"Why are you sleeping near my house? Don't you have a home or something?! I don't want to be seen as someone who helps homeless trash! Get out now!" he yelled, continuously insulting me. I left quietly.

I had never realized how miserably people like the current me were treated. I believed that my family was treated badly, given our status, so I had never thought about anyone else.

I needed to find a way to master my usage of mana, so I decided to go to the beach again. I intended to try to reform the sand itself, and on my way there, I thought about how I could achieve that.

When I got there, I sat on the sand with an idea in mind. I gathered mana in my palm and touched the sand with it. I tried to transfer the mana from my palm to the sand. I visualized it, and it seemed to work. Partially.

The problem was that every time I tried to transfer the mana, one of two things happened. Either I lost focus and blew the sand away, creating a big hole, or I barely managed to transfer anything. It felt as if something was blocking or rejecting my mana.

"Regardless, I must be on the right track," I tried to comfort myself. And so I kept practicing.

Before I realized it, it was already evening. The sky had a beautiful reddish color, so I decided to forget about everything—my parents, Lili, Jan, and even all the people around—and just watch the sunset. I hadn't made any progress in transferring mana, but for the first time since it all started, I relaxed.

It didn't last long, however, as I realized I hadn't eaten anything that day.

Frustrated, I made my way to the town to look for some food. However, something caught my eye.

I saw a bunch of children, younger than me, sitting near the beach under a few big trees. Facing them was the old man who had warned me about my attitude. The children seemed to be practicing magic, so I knew this had to be a sign. I approached them.

The kids got scared, immediately stood up, and ran away. "This is better anyway," I thought.

I turned to the old man.

He spoke first. "Hello, can I help you?"