It''s been a week since I created that little thing, resembling a star-shaped mist but strangely similar to a humanoid body...


    During this time, I''ve just been relaxing my body and breathing deeply, trying to direct whatever it is toward that black thing I feel in my body. Sometimes, it''s in my hand, arm, or foot, but usually, it prefers to stay near my chest, close to my heart.


    And now, over the past week, it seems to have grown at least a centimeter and has become denser. It no longer looks like a mist that could be blown away with a single breath.


    At night, I wake up again, looking at Aragi and Sophia sleeping in the bed, easily seeing them since the bed is low.


    I sit with my back against the wooden bars of the crib, placing my right palm facing upward. I quickly close my eyes and try to summon the black thing. Having done this every night for the entire week, I easily summoned the black thing from within me without even making a sound. Clearly, it has grown more, with a stronger color and no longer in the form of mist.


    It now looks more like a humanoid body, with a head, arms, and legs clearly distinguishable. It even seems to have something like long hair falling, though it still has a slightly light color and a somewhat misty appearance.


    I really think I''ve created a familiar. Maybe you''re still too small to communicate with me, or maybe you never will...? I don''t know. Either way, I should start thinking of a name for you... But I''m terrible with names. It''ll take a while.


    Flügel speaks to himself in his head, but with a small thought that perhaps this creature can hear his thoughts.


    I''ll start practicing soon.


    Flügel thinks with an excited tone, as today he will try something new and not just continue trying to direct whatever exists in this world toward the creature he created.


    Placing the creature on the crib''s pillow and sitting comfortably, he closes his eyes and raises his hand.


    He begins to visualize a layer of something over his skin, like a second skin, but made of some substance. He tries to recall the same sensation he felt when he created the black creature, first attempting to create just a thin layer over his right hand.


    After five minutes of trying to visualize and feel this, he senses something running down his arm and stopping at his hand, but quickly feels the black creature enter his right hand and suck up everything that was flowing, causing the sensation of something moving toward his hand to stop.


    What the hell?! Flügel opens his eyes angrily, looking at his right hand, seeing the black creature''s head sticking out of his hand, just the head staring at him.


    Damn it, I was starting to feel like it was going to work!


    However, Flügel feels the creature completely enter him and move from his hand to his brain. As soon as it reaches his brain, Flügel senses some emotions: worry and even anger. But he knows these emotions aren''t his; they belong to the black creature he created.


    Oh? I can feel your emotions... Maybe something would have gone wrong if I continued doing that?


    Flügel thinks to himself, and although he doesn''t hear anything, he feels that the creature is satisfied that he understands.


    Flügel smiles a little, happy to have actually achieved something, even if it might have caused something bad. At least, he discovered something new, and that''s enough to make him happy.


    Ah, I already have a name for you... I''ve been thinking about it this past week, and I think Nytheris would be good. What do you think? I combined ''night,'' since you''re dark, and ''aether,'' since you looked like mist when I first created you... Maybe you don''t know the words ''night'' and ''aether,'' since they''re from a language in my past life... I mean, I''m talking to you in my head using my native language... Maybe you learned it because you can see my memories, or is it because I''m your creator? I don''t know... But whatever, do you like the name?


    Flügel didn''t get an answer to his questions, but he feels that Nytheris is happy to receive a name, and that makes him happy too.


    Alright, Nytheris, help me out, okay? If you notice something bad is going to happen with whatever I''m doing, stop it immediately, okay?


    Flügel spoke to Nytheris in his head. And then he began to try something new: he will attempt to make something float. He still doesn''t fully understand this power, but he suspects it''s something similar to the mana he knows from the many novels he''s read.


    Flügel just stares intently at the blanket in his crib. He will try to do something with it. He takes a deep breath and thinks about what to do with it, deciding that he wants it to levitate. He starts using a bit of mana, and sees the edge of the blanket lift. Smiling as he continues to make the edge levitate, Flügel quickly feels dizzy and collapses against the crib, fainting.


    ---


    "Flügel, wake up, my baby. It''s time to eat." Flügel hears his mother, Sophia, speak as she strokes his head. He opens his eyes, looking at her, still confused, since just a moment ago, he was making the edge of the blanket levitate. But he quickly understands: he must have run out of mana. If he ran out of mana so quickly, then it means that while he was giving mana to Nytheris, he was giving very little, since he hadn''t fainted even once while "feeding" Nytheris. And he didn''t even know if it was mana, but he assumed it was.


    "Nhaaa..." Flügel babbles. Actually, he was trying to complain about the light coming through the window, but being a baby, he couldn''t speak.Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.


    Sophia carries Flügel to the kitchen. Arriving there, there''s already a small bowl with a small spoon and some mashed contents.


    Oh, so they''re starting to introduce solid food to me besides breast milk? That''s good. I can''t stand the embarrassment of nursing on this girl''s breasts like a son anymore... But I''m happy. Yesterday, I managed to use magic... Was it telekinesis or gravity magic? Probably gravity, since I didn''t try to grab the edge of the blanket... But this is quite an evolution, and I remember the sensation too... I want to do it again.


    Flügel thought to himself as Sophia brought the spoon with a bit of the contents from the bowl to his mouth. He thought it was fruit, since it''s more common to start with mashed fruits for feeding a baby. And it was slightly sweet, which only reinforced his thought that the purple stuff was mashed fruit.


    After Sophia fed Flügel and changed his used cloth diaper, made from old rags, she went to clean the house. Flügel''s father was out, as always. Every day he leaves in the morning and returns in the afternoon or, on some days, later in the evening.


    Flügel doesn''t know what he does for work, but he''s sure it''s not something that brings in a good income, and he often wonders why such poor people would have three children. This brings him anger, but he also can''t judge. Sometimes, everything started going wrong for them when Sophia was pregnant with Flügel, so he doesn''t think too seriously about it.


    Now, he was sitting on the floor, next to Elijah and Mael. Mael has black hair, Elijah has gray hair, and Flügel has dark brown hair.


    During this time, he discovered that Elijah is 3 years old and Mael is 4.


    He also discovered that, apparently, his family''s surname is Aurion.


    Mael and Elijah were playing with little wooden dolls that their father, Aragi, had bought during Mael''s pregnancy. So, they were already a bit worn out. Mael had a toy resembling a warrior. Despite that, it didn''t have proper armor. If it did, it was poorly made, as it seemed to lack it. But it clearly had a shield and a not-too-long sword, also made of wood.


    Elijah had one resembling a robe, as the wood fell behind the doll''s back. He held a wooden staff. Something Flügel hadn''t noticed yet, as he had just been lying down, honestly pretending to be asleep, but was breathing in a controlled and deep manner, still channeling whatever this world considers magic to Nytheris.


    He felt Nytheris in his chest. Flügel, in his past life, always felt alone, despite sometimes playing with his brother and mother, laughing, and telling stupid jokes. But in the end, he felt like a leech, just wasting his mother''s money. That''s why he stopped taking his depression and anxiety medication. He never managed to improve, and he felt like he wasn''t even trying. So, on New Year''s, he promised himself that he would kill himself if he couldn''t return to school and start studying again.


    Flügel kept the promise he made to himself and felt it was the only good thing he did for his mother and brother. Without him, the electricity and water bills would decrease, as would the cost of his medication, which was 50 to 80 reais, depending on which new medication the psychiatrist would switch to, since the old one, as always, had no effect on Flügel.


    But now, with Nytheris, Flügel doesn''t feel alone. He feels embraced. He can feel that Nytheris loves him, something he imagines even his mother and brother didn''t feel for him, as he couldn''t truly feel it. He always doubted that someone like him could be loved by anyone.


    He, a piece of trash who developed social anxiety, even though nothing happened to him, even without reason, he developed it and stopped studying. He and his brother had the same wretched past, thanks to their alcoholic father, but his brother continued studying normally, and that made Flügel sick. He was jealous of his brother.


    And even when he felt like this, Flügel felt extremely apathetic about everything: about spending his mother''s money without giving anything in return. He didn''t particularly feel that bad, but it became distressing for him, and that was what made him the most sick.


    Flügel was trying not to lose focus on channeling whatever it was to Nytheris, but it was hard with Mael and Elijah playing whatever they were playing. He opened his eye and looked at Mael and Elijah, as if trying to warn them that he was trying to concentrate. But he noticed Elijah''s hand. That, clearly, should be a mage.


    He had seen a figure like that countless times in his past life, both in the anime he watched and in the illustrations of the light novels he read, as well as in the mobile games he played.


    And that intrigued him. Surely, now there was concrete proof that there were mages in this world. Perhaps the source of their power was different from something like mana, but now he was sure that he wasn''t the first to do something magical. And that made him so happy he could jump for joy.


    He looked a little to the right and saw two more wooden dolls: one resembling an Orc and the other a tiger. That certainly looked like a tiger, despite both being crudely made. He could clearly see the resemblance those dolls had to the orcs he saw in fantasy stories, as well as the photos of tigers he had seen.


    And that made him even happier. He had already imagined himself living in a magical world, killing monsters, and participating in epic battles.


    He crawled closer to Elijah. Mael had the knight in front of Elijah, as if they were really setting up a strategy.


    Flügel reached out his small hand to take the mage from Elijah''s hand. Elijah looked at Flügel and smiled, the same gentle smile he always gave him, and which made him a little envious. Elijah has a gentle and beautiful smile. Flügel had spent hours in the morning, when he was alone at home, practicing smiling in front of the mirror, but always smiled in a strange and ugly way.


    Elijah let go of the toy and said, "Do you like it, Flügel? This is a mage. Mages are those who use magic to support their friends on the front lines, or they themselves can be the ones who deal the most damage in the team."That was it. Elijah mentioned mages. There truly were mages who participated in teams, and that excited Flügel. He deduced that these teams Elijah spoke of were the adventurer parties.


    Yes! It''s confirmed that there are at least orcs and tigers in this world as monsters, and mages! And since Mael has a swordsman, there must also be some kind of technique for them to be able to fight an orc!


    Flügel makes baby noises, very happy to have all these doubts confirmed.


    "It''s a shame that to become a renowned mage, you have to have talent and can only do it with books that are expensive... I... wanted to be a mage."


    "And I wanted to be a swordsman... But it''s also very difficult. You have to have talent, and fencing schools are expensive... Dad doesn''t have money for that, especially now..."


    Mael said with a sad tone. Elijah had unshed tears in his eyes.


    Yeah... I guess it''s normal for a child to cry when they see their dream won''t come true, especially when it''s something as cool as being a mage or swordsman...


    Alright, it seems that if I show myself as a genius mage from childhood, it won''t work... Maybe I''ll try to get money somehow, buy a magic book, and then pretend I found it on the street.


    It''ll be something hard to do, especially getting money on my own as a child, and not being able to show my magic to others... If I even have anything incredible... So far, just levitating light things and having a familiar isn''t that amazing, I guess.


    Flügel just kept looking at Mael and Elijah. After a while, Mael stood up, and Elijah was sad because he wanted to keep playing. And then, he got all teary. Flügel couldn''t let this little boy cry in front of him and do nothing. So, he crawled closer to him and patted his back—at least he tried.


    At night, Aragi came home from work. During dinner, he sat at the table after giving Sophia a hug and a kiss on the cheek, and greeting all the children with a kiss on the forehead.


    Today, again, it was soup. Flügel ate a mash of some fruits, while Mael and Elijah ate the soups with only two different vegetables and two pieces of meat each. The same for Aragi and Sophia.


    "Dear, Flügel has grown so much, hasn''t he?" said Sophia, watching Aragi feed Flügel the mashed fruits, the same ones he always bought.


    "Yes, he''s already so big. It''s been six months, right." replied Aragi, putting another spoonful of mash into Flügel''s mouth, the last one. He picked up the bowl and was about to get up to take it to the sink, but Sophia took it before he could stand.


    "I''ll take it, dear." said Sophia, with a genuine smile, very happy to see the scene of her husband feeding their son, even in these precarious situations.


    As she turned and took the bowl to the sink, Aragi quickly took his pieces of meat and gave one to Mael and the other to Elijah. He put his index finger to his lips, asking for silence, since he knew Sophia would scold him for giving his meat to Mael and Elijah. He needed to be well-nourished to work properly and not faint on the street. But Aragi couldn''t bear to see his children eat so poorly. He felt guilty for making them go through this.


    "Aragi isn''t a bad guy."


    Flügel thought with a smile. At least, he''ll have a decent father in this life. He yawned, but it was forced. He wanted to go to the crib to practice his magic.


    Sophia, returning to the table, saw Flügel yawning and immediately picked him up.


    "My boy is sleepy now, right? Let''s go to bed, Flügel." she said, carrying Flügel to the crib. He didn''t smell bad, but she checked Flügel''s diaper to be sure, and that always embarrassed him.


    Putting him in the crib, Sophia stroked his head for a while. Flügel had already become a master at pretending to be asleep to be left alone.


    Sophia smiled, seeing Flügel sleeping carefree, with a content face.


    "Good night, my precious." She said, kissing his forehead and leaving the room to finish dinner.


    Flügel waited for the door to close before quickly sitting up, before his baby body couldn''t take it and he fell asleep for real.


    Finally alone... thought Flügel, with a smile. He called Nytheris, something he had already gotten used to doing.


    Alright... Now, I can spend hours making the edge of the blanket levitate. Maybe my mana has grown, right? I''ll try something else now... I need something offensive.