《From a Tragic Death to Ascension》


 Reincarnation misfortune

    NT: I used chatgpt to translate my work, so if there are any grammatical issues, please excuse me. I will use this writing to differentiate the thoughts, so if you want me to change the style, let me know. :)


    January 17, 2024


    In a very poor house in Brazil, in the countryside of a Brazilian state, a young man has been completely reclusive for three years. In the morning, he wakes up. Since his mother has gone to work and his brother has gone to school, he is alone in the morning. And his father? Probably in another city, passed out on the floor of some bar or street after drinking too much.


    I sigh and get out of bed, groaning from the pain in my back.


    ¡°Damn...¡± said the boy with wavy hair, tan skin, and a height of 1.69 m. He is not fat, but he is not that thin either. He has some body fat.


    ¡°I¡¯m doing it today.¡±


    I walk through the living room and into the kitchen. Since the house is very small, I don¡¯t have to take many steps. I sigh heavily and keep walking toward the backyard. I go to where we keep some junk, grab a rope, and pull on different parts of it to check if it will break.


    Seeing that it doesn¡¯t, I walk into the yard, grab a chair that was outside, and head to the dirt area, holding the rope in my right hand and the chair in my left. Reaching a large tree with some green mangoes hanging from it, I throw the rope over a branch and tie three knots.


    ¡°This is going to be a hassle to undo later... I hope it¡¯s the ambulance or the coroner who takes care of it.¡±


    I tie the rope around my neck, tight enough so it won¡¯t slip when I jump. Making sure everything is ready, I take my phone out of my pocket and dial the emergency number.


    ¡°Good morning, you have reached emergency services. How can I help you?¡± said a gentle voice on the other end of the line.


    ¡°I need an ambulance at 90th Street, house 765, lot 89. It¡¯s urgent, please. My father fell and passed out in the backyard.¡±


    Right after that, I hang up the phone and stand still, waiting to see if they will actually send the ambulance. When I hear the sound of sirens, I knock over the chair, my neck caught by the rope as I start to suffocate.


    Without struggling or swinging, I remain still, choking as I lose air.Stolen story; please report.


    I see paramedics running through the hallway of my house, coming to the backyard.


    Ah... At least it won¡¯t be my mother or brother who finds me first.


    Damn... If only I had tried harder... If I weren¡¯t a complete failure and hadn¡¯t isolated myself... I don¡¯t want to die.


    I start to struggle in fear of dying, trying to remove the rope from my neck, scratching it with my nails and slightly injuring myself.


    No! Dying is too scary, I don¡¯t want to die anymore!


    These are my last thoughts before I completely lose consciousness and die.


    Why can I still think...? I should be dead... Is this death?


    I hear tearful voices in a language I don¡¯t understand. I feel something moving past me and hands touching my body. I try to open my eyes, and sighs of relief and smiles appear on unfamiliar faces: two small boys, a young blushing woman with small breasts looking at me. She is sweaty and out of breath. The boys have tear-filled eyes, crying with relief, and a man with short, slightly spiky black hair has deep dark circles under his eyes.


    What the hell... the boy said, but all that came out was baby noises as he looked around with wide eyes.


    Looking around, I see that the house is very poor, with wooden walls and floors. The sound of rain is loud, and there are leaks dripping near the bedsheets.


    Poor again, huh? Just my luck. If this world doesn¡¯t have magic, it¡¯ll be a total disaster.


    The blushing woman takes a cloth that the man hands her. He says some words the boy doesn¡¯t understand, but from his gentle smile, it seems like he is congratulating her. She just gives a tired smile and nods, wiping me down and covering me.


    She lifts me slightly and kisses my forehead while smiling with tears in her eyes.


    This is so embarrassing, man.


    Oh...? I¡¯m getting sleepy... Maybe because I¡¯m a newborn?


    I quickly fall asleep in the woman¡¯s arms.


    I wake up three hours later, alone, inside a poorly made crib, clearly not crafted by a professional.


    So I really am poor, huh? I might be the youngest child too... But why did I reincarnate? Is this really what happens, or did something go wrong and I ended up reincarnating with my memories?


    Well, I won¡¯t be able to figure out what happened to me as a baby. Does this world have magic? Maybe it does, maybe it doesn¡¯t... But my family seems really poor. I doubt they own any magic books.


    I¡¯m so hungry... I say out loud, but only baby sounds come out of my throat.


    ¡ª Uaaah! Oaaahh! ¡ª


    Quickly, the same woman who gave birth to me enters the room and walks up to me, carefully picking me up. She pulls down her blouse and brings my face closer to feed me.


    What? I don¡¯t want to suck on a girl¡¯s breast... Not like this... Damn it.


    I turn my face to the side and close my eyes.


    Cover yourself, lady! I¡¯m a guy, not your child!


    The mother looks at me in surprise.


    ¡°Oh... Little one, you need to eat to grow strong.¡±


    She presses my face against her breast, but I refuse to nurse.


    ¡°Come on, son... Mama doesn¡¯t have money to buy a bottle...¡±


    Even without understanding her words, I see the sadness and fear on her face, so I start drinking.


    Damn... This baby phase is going to be hell.

 Chapter 2: Testing Things

    NT:I changed the thoughts to italics, I didn''t see that it was possible to write in italics here, sorry.


    It has been six months, maybe? I''m not sure... Damn, being a baby is so embarrassing. And it''s very tedious. Well, at least I''ve already learned the language of this world.


    I think this as I grab the wooden crib and try to climb down slowly, but I end up falling to the floor, not having enough strength to hold on, since I used most of my energy to climb up the crib''s wooden bars. I let out a small groan of pain.


    Damn, I''m so weak.


    I crawl through the house with one goal in mind: looking out the window. Reaching the shabby kitchen, I feel a great sense of disappointment, just like I always do when I see that I''m poor again.


    I''m really unlucky.


    Before I realize it, I''m picked up by one of my brothers.


    Ah?! It''s this kid again!


    The gray-haired boy picks me up and walks toward the window. He drags a small stool, kneels on it to reach the height of the window, and lifts me up so I can see too.


    "Fl¨¹gel, you can''t go around alone. Do you want to see the window again?"


    The view beyond the window shows shabby houses, people walking along the dirt road¡ªthough not many, since it''s nighttime. And in the distance, a large wall bathed in moonlight.


    So my name is Fl¨¹gel, huh? I think while looking out the window.


    But why does this boy have gray hair? The woman who seems to be my mother has brown hair, that man has black hair... Unless he''s from a different father.


    I extend my small hands, wanting to touch the boy''s hair. He lowers his head so I can reach.


    I touch a strand of his hair, slightly squeezing it.


    It feels like normal hair. I don¡¯t know why it¡¯s gray. But it¡¯s also really pretty. Maybe this kid really is from another father.


    "Do you like it, Fl¨¹gel? The other kids say I¡¯m adopted because my hair color is different from Mom¡¯s and Dad¡¯s."


    What do you think a baby is going to say to you? I''m a baby, I can''t even talk.


    Fl¨¹gel furrows his brow and opens his mouth, trying to speak.


    ¡ª Uaaa... Boooaaa...


    Damn, it sucks not being able to say what I want.


    The boy just strokes Fl¨¹gel¡¯s head and smiles, seeing his little brother struggle to speak.


    Fl¨¹gel turns his attention back to the window, watching the people and the large wall blocking the view beyond.


    Well, then I live in some kind of kingdom, right? And apparently, I was born in the slums of this kingdom. I''m way too unlucky.


    "Mael and Elijah, come eat!" calls Sophia, the mother of Fl¨¹gel, Mael, and Elijah.You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.


    "I''m going!" Elijah says as he carefully climbs down from the stool.


    So this kid is Elijah. Looks like he''s the middle child. Maybe he''s three or four years old? I don¡¯t know.


    "Fl¨¹gel, you''re heavy... Go by yourself, okay?"


    Elijah places Fl¨¹gel on the ground. Fl¨¹gel starts crawling toward the table. Mael, who was sleeping in the bedroom, comes out and stops to pick up Fl¨¹gel, carrying him to the chair.


    Thankfully, Mael showed up. I didn''t want to have to crawl, it''s exhausting.


    I sit still in the chair, looking under the table since I¡¯m too small.


    "Mael! You can''t put Fl¨¹gel in high places like that."


    Sophia says, picking Fl¨¹gel up and placing a bowl of soup with only two pieces of meat for Mael and Elijah. The soup has only two pieces of meat for each, some small chopped vegetables, and nothing more.


    "Sorry, Mom." Mael says, looking at the soup as he picks up a spoon and takes a sip.


    "Thanks for the food!" Elijah says before following his brother¡¯s example and starting to eat.


    "It¡¯s okay, eat up, kids. Your father will be home late tonight."


    Sophia carries Fl¨¹gel to the bedroom, where she and her husband, Aragi, sleep.


    After breastfeeding Fl¨¹gel and changing his diaper, made of old fabric, she places him in the crib to sleep.


    Finally alone... I can keep trying to find out if there''s magic in this world. Apparently, I¡¯m in a kingdom, and judging by how people dress and the lack of technology, I¡¯d guess this is the medieval era... Well, maybe there''s magic, or maybe I just reincarnated in medieval times, which honestly would be complete garbage.


    I''ll try to continue with that breathing technique. I remember seeing it in some novel I read... If I recall correctly, it was about relaxing the body and breathing... This way, making mana circulate throughout the body and the mana core.


    Fl¨¹gel even clasps his hands together, placing his thumbs together and the rest of his fingers as well, forming a circle in front of his belly while sitting, leaning against the crib¡¯s wooden bars that seem like they could give way at any moment.


    Hm... I don¡¯t feel anything. I''ve been trying this for at least three weeks, and still nothing...


    Fl¨¹gel focuses even more, trying to empty his mind and control his breathing. He tries to imagine something flowing through his body, like blood. He remains in this state for two whole hours until he starts hearing footsteps and opens his eyes. He lies down and pretends to be asleep.


    Damn, nothing new today.


    Fl¨¹gel continues lying down, still feeling the presence of someone watching him. He doesn¡¯t realize it, but he ends up falling asleep.


    Huh?


    I sit up and rub my eye.


    Did I fall asleep...?


    Fl¨¹gel looks at the window with the curtain closed.


    It''s already late enough to sleep; Sophia and Aragi only close the curtain when it''s bedtime.


    Fl¨¹gel tries to stand up, leaning on the wooden bars of the crib and peeking through the gaps at the bed, where Aragi and Sophia sleep peacefully, covered by a thin blanket. He sits down again, leaning against the wooden bars.


    If I get out of the crib, I¡¯ll have to wake someone up to put me back... I don¡¯t want to wake them, so forget it. I¡¯ll try to use magic.


    I think to myself while getting into a meditation position.


    Maybe if I try meditating, I can discover something... But I don¡¯t know how to meditate. I''ve never tried it, nor have I seen anyone talk about it.


    I let out a long sigh and try to clear my mind.


    However, thoughts like "Why did I reincarnate?", "Who did this?", "Are there other reincarnators like me in this world?" and "Is this another world, or just Earth in the past?" keep running through my mind.


    Damn, thinking about this won¡¯t help at all. When I get older, I can try to find out.


    I take a deep breath and exhale, just sitting there with my eyes closed. I try to imagine something flowing from my chest to the tips of my fingers, focusing as hard as I can to visualize this image.


    After an hour, I lose my patience.


    Damn it, am I seriously not going to be able to use magic as a kid?! I wanted to be like those novels I used to read... Damn... But maybe I''m just doing it wrong. Well... What if I just try the way I did back on Earth? I remember simply imagining something in the palm of my hand. Well, who knows if there was some hidden power on Earth and people just never discovered how to use it?


    Alright, I¡¯ll try that... I¡¯ll try creating something in the palm of my hand, maybe a mana ball... If mana even exists in this world.


    With that in mind, I take a deep breath, trying to control my breathing, focusing whatever it is into my palm. Keeping my eyes closed, I push myself to the limit.


    After an hour, I start sweating, my breathing becoming a bit heavy. Despite this, I''m afraid to open my eyes and see nothing, getting frustrated or losing focus.


    But I decide to open them, and looking at my right palm, I see something like a small black humanoid. Actually, it looks more like a star than a human-shaped figure.


    What the hell?


    I speak without even thinking, but only baby sounds come out of my throat.


    I bring my palm closer to my eyes, staring directly at whatever that black thing is. It looks like a shadow, a mist. I breathe slowly and gently, afraid that even my breath might make it dissipate and I¡¯d lose all my effort.


    In a way¡­ I kind of feel something with you? I don¡¯t know exactly what, but apparently, I have some kind of connection with you¡­ Did I create a familiar?


    I think to myself, even though I have no idea what this thing is. Somehow, I know I created it, and I can feel a connection with this black figure in my palm.


    You¡¯re really small¡­ You¡¯re probably about two centimeters tall?


    I hear the rustling of the bed sheets behind me. I freeze, afraid that one of my parents might wake up and see this thing in my hand.


    Before I even realize it, the thing sinks into my palm. I can feel it, and I can sense it inside me in a strange way.


    Seizing the opportunity, I just lie down and pretend to be asleep. I feel eyes on me¡ªprobably my mother, who woke up and came to check on me, since I feel a gentle caress on my head.


    With that, I end up falling asleep once again, feeling a bit happy for making some progress in whatever it was that created that being. I still have no idea if mana exists in this world or if there¡¯s some otherkind of power.

 Chapter 3: The Little Black Mist

    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.


    Fl¨¹gel speaks to himself in his head, but with a small thought that perhaps this creature can hear his thoughts.


    I''ll start practicing soon.


    Fl¨¹gel 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?! Fl¨¹gel 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, Fl¨¹gel feels the creature completely enter him and move from his hand to his brain. As soon as it reaches his brain, Fl¨¹gel 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?


    Fl¨¹gel thinks to himself, and although he doesn''t hear anything, he feels that the creature is satisfied that he understands.


    Fl¨¹gel 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?


    Fl¨¹gel 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?


    Fl¨¹gel 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.


    Fl¨¹gel 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, Fl¨¹gel quickly feels dizzy and collapses against the crib, fainting.


    ---


    "Fl¨¹gel, wake up, my baby. It''s time to eat." Fl¨¹gel 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..." Fl¨¹gel 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 Fl¨¹gel 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.


    Fl¨¹gel 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 Fl¨¹gel and changed his used cloth diaper, made from old rags, she went to clean the house. Fl¨¹gel''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.


    Fl¨¹gel 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 Fl¨¹gel, 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 Fl¨¹gel 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 Fl¨¹gel 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. Fl¨¹gel, 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.


    Fl¨¹gel 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 Fl¨¹gel.


    But now, with Nytheris, Fl¨¹gel 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 Fl¨¹gel sick. He was jealous of his brother.


    And even when he felt like this, Fl¨¹gel 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.


    Fl¨¹gel 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.


    Fl¨¹gel reached out his small hand to take the mage from Elijah''s hand. Elijah looked at Fl¨¹gel and smiled, the same gentle smile he always gave him, and which made him a little envious. Elijah has a gentle and beautiful smile. Fl¨¹gel 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, Fl¨¹gel? 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 Fl¨¹gel. 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!


    Fl¨¹gel 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.


    Fl¨¹gel 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. Fl¨¹gel couldn''t let this little boy cry in front of him and do nothing. So, he crawled closer to him and patted his back¡ªat 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. Fl¨¹gel 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, Fl¨¹gel has grown so much, hasn''t he?" said Sophia, watching Aragi feed Fl¨¹gel 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 Fl¨¹gel''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."


    Fl¨¹gel 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 Fl¨¹gel yawning and immediately picked him up.


    "My boy is sleepy now, right? Let''s go to bed, Fl¨¹gel." she said, carrying Fl¨¹gel to the crib. He didn''t smell bad, but she checked Fl¨¹gel''s diaper to be sure, and that always embarrassed him.


    Putting him in the crib, Sophia stroked his head for a while. Fl¨¹gel had already become a master at pretending to be asleep to be left alone.


    Sophia smiled, seeing Fl¨¹gel sleeping carefree, with a content face.


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


    Fl¨¹gel 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 Fl¨¹gel, 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.

 Chapter 4: The Spirit Half-Breed and the Rejected Dragon

    Damn, but an offensive spell could damage the house... Should I just try casting a really weak one? No, that would be too risky... I could try a light spell, if that''s even possible, but if it works, I might end up hurting my eyes... I could try some healing, but if I cut myself in this crib and can''t heal it, I might catch some disease, and I don''t think this baby body can fight off a disease without medicine. Damn, I''m out of options?


    Nytheris, if this spell gets too strong, stop it, okay? I''ll try to cast a really weak one. I can''t wait until I can leave the house.


    Damn, I''m so stupid. I can just use wind magic. If I make it weak enough, it''ll just be a breeze. I''m thinking too far ahead. Let''s do this, wind is something really powerful.


    Fl¨¹gel takes a deep breath, trying to visualize the air molecules spinning in the palm of his hand, like a small vortex. He feels Nytheris in his right hand, the same one he''s trying to form the small vortex with. He knows that if something seems dangerous, Nytheris will stop the spell immediately.


    He starts to feel that light, simple breeze, seeing the small vortex in his right palm.


    Fl¨¹gel smiles, but the small vortex quickly disperses because of Nytheris, and with that, Fl¨¹gel looks ahead and sees Aragi at the door, walking towards him.


    Thanks, man. I was so absorbed in the spell that I didn''t notice the footsteps.


    Aragi walks up to Fl¨¹gel''s crib with a smile on his face and strokes his head.


    ¡ª You still haven''t slept, Fl¨¹gel? Hm... Not sleepy? Daddy will tell you a story. ¡ª Aragi says with a big smile on his face as he strokes Fl¨¹gel''s head and hair.


    ¡ª Let''s see... Ah, Daddy really liked a story when he was a kid. It''s about the spirit of ice. They say he has a beautiful appearance, like a handsome boy with light blue hair, eyes as blue as the sea, and skin as pale as a sheet of paper. But even though he looks human, he''s a spirit, and one of the greatest. ¡ª Aragi says, smiling, remembering when he was told this story.


    ¡ª One day, a dragon, yes, a fire dragon, appeared in the far north, a wandering dragon. He was hurt and ended up meeting the great ice spirit, Nivareth. ¡ª


    Is this story true or is it just a tale? But at least I''ll have a basis for some tales with this story.


    Fl¨¹gel thinks to himself while paying attention to the story so he doesn''t miss a single detail. For him, a reincarnated person, it will be good to learn the common things in this world early on.


    ¡ª As soon as they met, the foolish dragon attacked Nivareth without hesitation. Even though dragons are known for their strength, the flames the dragon spat at Nivareth did nothing. And then, furious at seeing his attack do no damage, already badly hurt, the dragon just gave up. That dragon had been alone for a long time, as his family had abandoned him. Dragons are known for their incredible strength and fire breath, but this dragon had a very weak breath. The worst among all fire-breathing dragons, he was expelled from his family while still young. As a teenager, because when they''re adults, they leave to start their own families and live their lives, but only when they''re able to defend themselves. Not that a fire dragon is weak as a teenager, but you get it, right? ¡ª


    I''m having to really focus to understand, Aragi. You''re terrible at telling stories.


    Fl¨¹gel thinks to himself, seeing how bad his father is at getting lost in his words.


    Aragi looks at Fl¨¹gel''s slightly confused face and feels ashamed of himself for not being able to tell the story properly to his son, but he decides to continue.


    ¡ª And so, that dragon wandered alone through the mountains, flying and following, almost killed by a pack of wyverns several times. Even though dragons are stronger than wyverns, wyverns always travel in packs, and that dragon could call himself the weakest dragon of all, and no one would say otherwise. And then, after so much wandering, already an adult, nearly dead from a long battle against wyverns, that dragon just followed the wind. The colder the wind got, the more comfortable the dragon felt; he never liked fire. Fire had abandoned him; he, a fire dragon, the one said to have the strongest fire breath, didn''t have it. His was weak; by human standards, he was strong, well, we''re quite fragile, but by dragon standards, it was even humiliating; just looking at him would make you feel ashamed. And so, he headed north, where the wind hit him and the cold penetrated his scales. That cold was comforting; fire dragons live far from the cold and hate it, but for him, it was comforting. And so, he fell, plummeted from the sky, and thanks to his incredibly resilient body, he didn''t die, but he was hurt even more. And now, this miserable dragon is face to face with this figure. He knows this isn''t a human; this presence could never be human, not even his parents, fire dragons, had a presence as strong and terrifying as this small being in front of him. But to his surprise, that being wasn''t angry. "You''re hurt..." the boy said, approaching the battered dragon and touching its nose. The dragon is so weakened that after its breath, it collapsed without strength. The dragon, fearful and hesitant, opened its eyes. It felt the comforting cold penetrating its scales; before, its slightly reddish-gray scales, now completely blue. It felt healed, more powerful than it had ever felt. "You''re alone too, aren''t you?" the boy said, looking at the dragon, once a fire dragon, but now, it''s an ice dragon. ¡ª


    Fl¨¹gel is absorbed by that story. He doesn''t know if it''s true, but if it is, then a spirit can even change the nature of beings, and that intrigues him.


    ¡ª It''s said that the ice spirit, Nivareth, was once human. They say his mother had a child with the true ice spirit, a forbidden love, and then, when he was born, with blue hair, cold skin, even though he was alive, eyes, eyelashes, and eyebrows as blue as the sea... That boy certainly wasn''t human, and with that, his uncontrollable power began to show, until he was expelled from his village after losing control and freezing all the children who were intimidating him because of his appearance, and even assaulting him. After hearing his own mother call him a monster and being driven out of the village with knives and other weapons, he wandered to the far north. With every step he took, tears streamed down and froze on his chubby cheeks. When the boy got tired, he sat down and cried like a child. And there, his powers went out of control, freezing everything around him. And that''s how the far north was born. There, it''s a great desert of ice. Nivareth was consumed by the hatred of his father, Glacien. And so, he sought revenge. He found his father; he didn''t know how, but he kidnapped his mother. He still loved her, so he didn''t harm her. But he swore to kill her if his father, Glacien, didn''t show up. When he appeared, Glacien just killed his mother when she went to hug him. Nivareth saw his mother die; despite the things she said to him and even expelling him from home, he still loved her. He lost control again. When he regained consciousness, the ice was thicker around him; Glacien was headless, and in his hand, Glacien''s head was dissolving and turning into mana. He saw his entire body covered in a layer of ice, like armor. He stayed like that, in shock, even as Glacien disappeared; he didn''t change his position. Until he looked around and saw that he was alone again. As always, he would remain alone, even though he was just a 12-year-old boy, there he was, completely alone. That''s why, when he saw that wandering fire dragon, and he knew that fire dragons didn''t go north, because of the stories he heard before being expelled from the village. And that fire dragon, abandoned by its own family, just like him, he decided to make it his family.Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.


    Aragi speaks with a nostalgic tone in his voice, smiling goofily, even though he''s telling the story to Fl¨¹gel. Apparently, he still loved this story.


    ¡ª And nowadays, that dragon is called Pyroclast; he''s known as the King of Ice Dragons, and it''s said that he can even speak, think, and communicate like humans and even in other languages. He lives with Nivareth in the far north; nowadays, they see each other as brothers... Well, I don''t know if this story is true, but it''s very beautiful and sad at the same time, isn''t it? This story is from centuries ago; no one even knows how much of it is true... But even I''ve heard stories about some king of ice dragons, even though I''m not from the northern continent, so it must be true. And they say he''s lived so long and developed this intelligence because he''s become almost a spirit too, half dragon and half spirit. No, he''s half fire dragon, half spirit, and half ice dragon.


    Fl¨¹gel stares directly at Aragi''s face. He''s clearly happy; more things have been confirmed for him: there are spirits in this world, dragons, and even wyverns. But he''s also very interested in knowing if this story is true.


    Man, I want to fight a dragon... But I hope it''s not this dragon king, since he''ll also be accompanied by this Nivareth guy. Well, I at least hope I''ll be strong...


    ¡ª Alright, son, go to sleep now. ¡ª Aragi says, kissing Fl¨¹gel''s forehead.


    I think my dad is a bit dumb. Should a baby as young as me be able to understand what he''s saying? Maybe he just wanted to tell this story to someone or he''s just a chatterbox.


    Fl¨¹gel sighs inwardly, afraid that Aragi might be a foolish man.


    Aragi blows out the candle in the corner of the room, near Fl¨¹gel''s crib, and quickly leaves the room to help Sophia clean the dishes and put the other children to bed.


    Fl¨¹gel, who was lying down, now sits up and starts trying to make the small vortex again in his palm. In less than a second, he manages to create the vortex, the wind lightly swaying his clothes. And a smile appears on his face.


    Maybe I''m not so unlucky to be reborn in a world like this... Nytheris.


    Just by saying his familiar''s name, he appears, emerging from his chest and stopping in front of him. He''s a bit bigger now. Maybe he''s four centimeters tall now.


    You''re growing fast, huh.


    Fl¨¹gel thinks to himself, and Nytheris nods his head, content. He seems to have a more human-like form now.


    Alright, Nytheris, I''ll feed you until you get really fat!


    Fl¨¹gel stops the wind vortex and tells Nytheris to go back into his chest. As soon as he does, Fl¨¹gel lies down and closes his eyes. He starts feeling the mana flowing through his body again. He remembers the sensation of it going to his hand and coming out to transform into a vortex of mana, or even when he makes the tip of the blanket float. He''s intensifying that sensation and directing it straight to his chest, where Nytheris is. And he feels Nytheris content with it. After an hour of this, he passes out from exhaustion. In the last twenty minutes, he felt tired and started sweating, until he fainted.


    And so several more months passed. Fl¨¹gel was always training his gravity magic and even managed to lift the entire blanket at once. Now, at one year old, he''s 70 centimeters tall and can walk easily, although his coordination isn''t very good. He can say small words, but with difficulty.


    During this time, he continued feeding Nytheris with mana, making him grow a lot. Now, he''s 30 centimeters tall and can even say a few things, not just transmit feelings to Fl¨¹gel.


    Now, he also has a much more human-like appearance, with holes for eyes, a small mouth, hair falling down his back, even though it''s confusing since he''s entirely like a shadow, but his hair is slightly smoke-like.


    And during this time, Mael, who was 4 years old, turned 5, and Elijah, who was 3 years old, turned 4 yesterday, as today is Fl¨¹gel''s birthday.


    And with that, Fl¨¹gel discovered that birthdays happen, but birthday parties happen every five years. But for them, they don''t happen, as they''re too poor. So, the children only get happy birthday wishes every year.


    They''re still poor, too poor. Fl¨¹gel noticed how Aragi has gotten even thinner, as has Sophia. Both are always skipping meals to let Fl¨¹gel, Elijah, and Mael eat more.


    On the night of his birthday, Fl¨¹gel is sitting by the window, looking at the sky, as the view below isn''t enchanting at all. Aragi has his hands on Fl¨¹gel''s waist, also looking at the sky.


    ¡ª Daddy... Are we poor? ¡ª


    Fl¨¹gel tries to say, doing his best to speak this new language correctly, still unfamiliar to his voice.


    Aragi, with a bitter face and a not-so-happy smile, says: ¡ª Yes, son... We''re poor now, but we weren''t before. It''s Daddy''s fault we''re like this now, I''m sorry. ¡ª Fl¨¹gel looks back and up, seeing Aragi''s face, with a sad and guilty look. He''s old; he shouldn''t look so old, as two months ago, he heard everyone congratulating him on turning 23, and Sophia turned 25.


    ¡ª Why? ¡ª Fl¨¹gel says, curious, wanting to know why they became so poor, so poor that everyone in the house is malnourished.


    Aragi swallows hard and makes a face, as if he''s swallowed something bitter and bad. ¡ª Daddy was a merchant, son. Our family comes from very well-known merchants... We weren''t rich, far from it, but we lived without worrying about money, of course, not spending without thinking... But we lived well. And with that, we did well for a long time. Your grandfather, in his old age, was the one who started this business. My father also did well, even left us a house... ¡ª Aragi takes a deep breath, as if holding back tears, not wanting to seem weak in front of his son, Fl¨¹gel, especially when those dark brown eyes are looking directly at him.


    ¡ª But Daddy, when he went to make a delivery... It was for an old owner of a village nearby who bought a necklace, a necklace from the adventurer''s guild nearby... And since they made the deal through letters, they needed someone to deliver it... Since it was a very expensive ring, as it was a magical item, I even hired two mercenaries. They were strong; one was rank B and the other, rank C. When we were about to reach the village, we were ambushed by a thief. He killed the two mercenaries in an instant and stole the goods. Even so, I went to the village, told them what happened, and the old man wanted the money he paid... I had to sell our house and give everything... He only left me the cart... I had to give everything that old man wanted, even though he was just the owner of a small village. He would definitely have pursued our family if I didn''t pay. And then, returning to the kingdom where we live, I had to sell my cart to at least rent a house, this house. That''s why we''re so poor... But I also know how to sell and work, but that old man and the guild master spread that I didn''t deliver the goods and even stole for myself... They slandered our names: "The Heldans don''t work!" That''s what they say. That''s also why Sophia and I decided to give you the surname Aurion, not Handels... And after that, we found out Sophia was pregnant with you, Fl¨¹gel.


    ... I don''t even have words to say anything. So that''s why they''re poor but have three children. I need to make money soon, but I''m only one year old... But if this continues, I''m afraid Elijah or Mael might get sick, even Aragi and Sophia... I could also get sick, since I''m a baby.


    A tear rolls down Aragi''s cheek, and he quickly wipes it and picks Fl¨¹gel up from the window, placing him on the floor. He lifts his face, as if to stop the tears from falling, and takes a deep breath. He closes the window and says: ¡ª Alright! Time for bed, little guy. ¡ª Aragi says, forcing a smile.


    Fl¨¹gel walks with his hands raised in front of him, afraid of falling and not having enough time to put his hands out to protect himself... This has happened before, which is why he decided to walk like this.


    When he reaches the room where he sleeps with Aragi and Sophia, he stops by the crib. Aragi picks him up and puts him inside. ¡ª Goodnight, son. ¡ª Aragi says, kissing Fl¨¹gel''s forehead and blowing out the candle. He leaves the room.


    He must blame himself when he sees the state of his family because of that robbery... But it wasn''t his fault... Well, I''d blame myself too if that happened... What do you think, Nytheris?


    ¡ª Aragi fool...¡ª Nytheris says in Fl¨¹gel''s head. Fl¨¹gel always smiles when he hears Nytheris''s soothing voice, seeing how much he''s grown.


    Goodnight, Nytheris.


    ¡ª Goodnight, Fl¨¹gel. ¡ª Nytheris replies.


    Fl¨¹gel wakes up in the middle of the night, feeling slightly tired, as Nytheris now takes mana from Fl¨¹gel on his own while he sleeps, but not enough to make him pass out, just very tired. And that''s why he''s grown so much in just 6 months.


    Fl¨¹gel stands up in the crib, looking at the bed and seeing Aragi and Sophia hugging. Probably, Aragi felt too sad and even cried in his wife''s arms. Fl¨¹gel smiles slightly, seeing how loving they are, even in such poor conditions.


    Fl¨¹gel gets out of the crib, careful not to fall or even knock over the crib. Before landing on the floor, he uses a bit of gravity magic to make himself lighter, so he gets out of the crib without making noise.


    He walks carefully through the dark house, reaching the front door.


    ¡ª Are you going out? ¡ª Nytheris says in Fl¨¹gel''s head.


    Yes, I am, I just don''t know how...


    Fl¨¹gel stands in front of the door. He could use gravity magic to rotate the key and the doorknob, but it would make too much noise. Fl¨¹gel has been thinking about how to solve the noise problem of the door for months. And for that, he trained.


    Fl¨¹gel points his hand at the door lock, sending mana. He creates a ball of air, using it to envelop the doorknob and the entire lock. He creates a small hole in the wind ball, using small jets of wind to push the air out. He''s trying to create a vacuum wind ball.


    And he uses a vortex to expel that air. But instead of creating, he''s just manipulating the air inside that ball. So, when the air inside the ball runs out, the vortex disappears, and he quickly seals the hole in the ball. He creates a thicker layer of wind, to not let the sound escape or the air re-enter. The ball becomes slightly translucent and whitish.


    Alright, it worked!


    Fl¨¹gel is sweating from the effort. Manipulating wind like this is hard work and very demanding. He does the same with the two bolts on the door. He points his other hand at the key, using gravity magic to rotate it, placing distinct points of gravity on the key, making it rotate. And he does the same with the doorknob, and the door opens. Fl¨¹gel slowly passes through the door and locks it when he leaves.


    Exhausted from using gravity magic and manipulatingthe wind like that, Fl¨¹gel leans against the wall. He takes a deep breath and wipes his sweaty forehead.


    Finally... I''m outside.

 Chapter 5: The Encounter with the Unknown

    Fl¨¹gel, now outside the house, looked around. He felt a slight discomfort. In his past life, he rarely left home, and when he did, the fear of people and what they might do to him was constant. Maybe it was because of those disturbing videos he had watched. Apathetic due to depression, he started consuming that kind of content without feeling anything¡ªor at least, that¡¯s what he thought. Deep down, it disturbed him more than he admitted. It was one of the few bad habits he managed to abandon, but the images remained alive in his mind, difficult to erase.


    He swallowed dryly as he scanned the precarious houses around him. The full moon shone brightly, illuminating the empty streets¡ªa perfect night for an adventure.


    Alright¡­ What can I do out here to make money?


    Fl¨¹gel looked left and right. No path seemed promising. He could try stealing something using his gravity magic, but that wasn¡¯t his way. Despite his apathy and indifference to many things, he held firmly to his ideals, even if they seemed frivolous or stupid to others.


    However, when it came to his family or the few people he loved, he knew he couldn''t cling to those principles. It wasn¡¯t a matter of feeling something intense for them¡ªit was a matter of logic. He was human, and humans were supposed to care for their families.


    That¡¯s why, when the time came, he wouldn¡¯t hesitate to harm another if it guaranteed the happiness of those around him. Ethical or not, right or wrong, he had decided this long ago. Even before reincarnation, he knew: if a button appeared before him, and pressing it guaranteed his mother¡¯s and brother¡¯s happiness, even if half the world disappeared, he wouldn¡¯t hesitate to press it.


    Damn it, even after dying and reincarnating, I still have this damn social phobia?!


    Fl¨¹gel felt his breathing grow heavier, along with his head. Nytheris quickly moved to Fl¨¹gel¡¯s chest. He felt Nytheris¡¯s strong presence, and despite the horrible sensations of social phobia¡ªnow worsened by being in a completely unfamiliar place¡ªhe felt a little better thanks to Nytheris¡¯s comforting presence.


    "I¡­ And you¡­" said Nytheris in Fl¨¹gel¡¯s head, his speech a bit strange. Fl¨¹gel thought it was because he wasn¡¯t fully developed yet and that it would be corrected as he grew with Fl¨¹gel¡¯s mana.


    Thank you, Nytheris.


    Fl¨¹gel responded gratefully in his mind. He took a deep breath and chose the right path. He knew he needed to be careful. If a bandit appeared, despite being able to use offensive wind magic and probably other types of attack spells, he had the body of a one-year-old child, and moving wasn¡¯t easy at all.


    Fl¨¹gel walked close to the walls of the precarious houses, almost reaching the corner where the path turned right. In one of the alleys, he saw a girl and a boy wrapped in a blanket, sleeping while hugging each other. The girl seemed to be between 15 and 17 years old, and the boy was a little older than Fl¨¹gel.


    Fl¨¹gel couldn¡¯t help but feel bad. Despite being quite apathetic, part of it was just him not wanting to feel anything to avoid getting hurt again, like in his childhood. He isolated his feelings of compassion. He had always known that life was hard and the world was cruel and rotten, where the weak and sentimental couldn¡¯t survive. Of course, childhood depression had greatly contributed to his apathy.


    But he was still human, and because of that, he couldn¡¯t remain completely unaffected after seeing that. He forced himself to move on.


    Damn it, I left home to make money or find something useful for my family, but what am I going to do?! How can I earn money as a one-year-old baby? Especially in the middle of the night.


    Fl¨¹gel sighed. Apparently, he was more foolish than he thought. He had been feeling like a genius for figuring out how to sneak out of the house silently and even how to use magic.


    He decided to at least keep walking around, familiarizing himself with the alleys and other precarious houses. He frequently saw people sleeping in the alleys.


    Damn it, staying here won¡¯t help me at all...


    With this thought in mind, Fl¨¹gel suddenly looked at the moonlit wall.


    I could try flying over the wall... But I''m afraid of heights, and I don''t think I can do it... No, I don''t need to fly, just get over it without dying from the fall on the other side, right...? I''ll do it.Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work!


    Fl¨¹gel started moving toward the wall, carefully passing through the alleys. He always avoided those with people sleeping, afraid of waking them and having them try something against him.


    The closer he got to the wall, the more he realized how difficult it would be to climb it. And he noticed something he hadn¡¯t even thought about before, despite having seen it: watchtowers. There were watchtowers on top of the wall.


    Damn it, of course there would be watchtowers. Someone could try to invade the kingdom over the wall. Why didn''t I think about these watchtowers before? But... Maybe whoever is up there isn¡¯t doing a great job. Well, I¡¯ll try anyway. I''m small, maybe I''ll go unnoticed... I have an even better idea. Nytheris.


    "Yes?" Nytheris responded in his head.


    Could you go up there and check if there¡¯s someone for me?


    "I¡­ don''t fly..."


    Oh, right, so I¡¯ll have to climb anyway...


    Fl¨¹gel sighed inwardly. He felt Nytheris become sad at the sigh.


    I''m not disappointed, Nytheris. I''m just a bit tense, not sure if I''ll make it up there.


    Nytheris didn¡¯t respond, but Fl¨¹gel felt him cheer up, knowing the sigh wasn¡¯t directed at him, just frustration.


    Fl¨¹gel looked at the imposing wall. It had to be between 10 and 13 meters high. To Fl¨¹gel, that was a lot, especially since his gravity and wind magic weren¡¯t very strong yet.


    The faster I finish something bad, the faster I''m free from it.


    Fl¨¹gel swallowed a lump of saliva along with his fear and hesitation. He took a deep breath and used gravity magic on himself for the first time. He knew his gravity magic wasn¡¯t strong enough to lift him all the way up, so he just tried to lighten his body.


    Alright¡­ I feel much lighter. I¡¯ll try just giving myself a strong enough push to launch over¡­ Or maybe a steady jet? Nah, a push it is.


    Fl¨¹gel took a deep breath, looked up, and gathered mana in his hands, aiming for a strong wind burst under his small right hand. When he felt the wind form, he jumped¡ªhigher than expected for his age, thanks to gravity magic. Then, the wind exploded beneath him. He forced himself not to scream in surprise. He passed over the wall but kept rising instead of moving forward, as he needed to get over it.


    He quickly adjusted in the air, using small wind bursts to turn. Looking toward the watchtower, he saw the guard sleeping, though he wasn¡¯t sure since he couldn¡¯t stop on the wall. Then, he cleared the wall, seeing the forest it concealed.


    He deactivated his gravity magic, falling rapidly for a few meters, then reactivated it, weaker this time, and started descending slowly.


    Man, that was a horrible experience. I never want to fly like that again... This body is garbage, it doesn¡¯t let me do what I want.


    Fl¨¹gel landed softly on his back, so he wasn¡¯t hurt. He stood up, sweaty from exhaustion, and used a small wind vortex in his hand to cool off. He struggled through the forest, his small body making the situation much worse. But he pressed on, venturing deeper into the woods.


    This forest doesn¡¯t feel friendly...


    "Fl¨¹gel¡­ Let''s go. Danger."  Nytheris said in Fl¨¹gel''s head. He felt Nytheris¡¯ distrust of the forest and his fear.


    Fl¨¹gel swallowed dry, afraid of encountering whatever was terrifying Nytheris. It was very dark, thanks to the trees blocking the moonlight. Fl¨¹gel decided to go back the way he came, but when he looked back, he saw nothing and wasn''t sure if he had really come from there. He decided to move in the direction of his back. He might not be certain, but he knew he hadn''t turned much, so eventually, he would find his way back.


    He tripped and fell to the ground. He wasn¡¯t hurt, but now he was dirty¡ªthough he had already been dirty for a while, as he was barefoot.


    Damn it, what did I trip over?


    Fl¨¹gel cursed in frustration and tried to visualize a flame. For the first time, he would attempt to use fire magic. At home, he couldn¡¯t try, as he might set the house on fire. After just a few seconds, he managed to use fire magic, creating a fireball the size of a teenager''s fist.


    He stood up, looking at what he had tripped over, and was even more surprised by what appeared before him. A dead body.


    It seemed to be a man in his twenties. He wore a black bandana covering his mouth and nose, a brown vest over a white shirt, black pants, and dark boots. In his limp right hand, he held a dagger with a black hilt and a blade stained with dried blood. His throat was missing a piece. Claw marks covered his chest. Blood had flowed from his throat down his chest and arms, just as the blood from his chest had streamed down his abdomen to his pants. His eyes were open, frozen in fear. His messy, black, dirty hair fell over his forehead.


    Fl¨¹gel swallowed dry, instinctively looking around to check if whatever had killed the man was still nearby. Seeing that he was "safe", he turned his attention back to the dead body but dimmed the fireball in his hand, afraid of being seen in the dark forest.


    Damn it, if I get caught by whatever killed this guy¡­ I¡¯ll probably die. I¡¯m only a year old, and I don¡¯t know many spells, nor do I even know how much I can use them.


    It''s way worse to see in person than just in videos¡­


    Fl¨¹gel approached the corpse. He looked at its waist. A book was strapped to its belt, held by leather. A small pouch was also attached to it. Fl¨¹gel quickly crouched and grabbed both the pouch and the book. He couldn¡¯t read the book¡¯s title, but he decided to take it anyway. He opened the small pouch and saw a few bronze coins and two silver ones.


    A glimmer appeared in Fl¨¹gel¡¯s eyes. As someone who was poor, money was incredibly valuable to him. He quickly tucked the pouch into the tiny pocket of his tattered pants, but seeing that it was going to fall out, he grabbed it again and held it firmly in his hand. His right hand held the fireball, making it difficult to keep it away, as he had discovered that his mana channels were in his hands.


    Fl¨¹gel decided to shrink the fireball even further and, for the first time, tried to launch a spell away. He looked ahead, in the direction he was going, and attempted to shoot the fireball, trying to control its speed. He had seen this in a novel from his past life.


    The fireball floated through the air slowly, illuminating the path until it hit a tree and disappeared. Fl¨¹gel quickly memorized the path. He grabbed the book and ran in a straight line. When he felt something ahead of him, he knew it was the tree where his fireball had hit. He saw, far beyond the tree, the wall. He just ran, not caring about the path.


    A chill ran down his spine. Instinctively, he looked back and saw a silhouette in the darkness, darker than the shadows themselves, with something resembling a wolf sitting beside it.


    That sight made Fl¨¹gel swallow dry, and he quickly reached the base of the wall. Maybe it was because of the desperation, but he immediately noticed something he could have done earlier. He put the small pouch in his mouth, holding it with his teeth. He tucked the book under his left armpit, using his left hand to remove gravity from his body and his right hand to create wind bursts to lift and redirect himself. He did this much more subtly and fluidly than the first time.


    When he reached the ground, he quickly started running, holding the book in his right hand and the money pouch in his left. When he reached the front of his house, Fl¨¹gel sat down to rest.


    Damn it, I almost died back there¡­ But at least I got some money. This will definitely help Aragi and Sophia¡­ Now¡­ Where am I going to hide this money?


    Fl¨¹gel looked up at the sky. The moon shone brightly, lower than before. Only a few hours remained until dawn.

 Chapter 6: Effort well rewarded

    Fl¨¹gel takes a deep breath, covered in sweat, dirt, and grass. He looks to the right and left, seeing no one as far as his vision reaches. He tries to use water magic and, upon successfully creating a water ball, smiles. Happy both for being able to use water magic and for being able to wash himself.


    He cleans his own feet, with great difficulty, since he doesn¡¯t have good balance as a baby. He does the same thing he did to leave the house: he envelops the door lock in a vacuum wind ball and concentrates on visualizing the key on the other side turning. Through the keyhole, he uses gravity magic. When he manages to turn the key, he quickly releases it and uses gravity magic on the doorknob.


    When the door opens, he realizes he made a mistake by forgetting to create vacuum balls for the door bolts as well. The door creaks as it opens.


    Nheeeck


    Fl¨¹gel grabs the book and the small pouch of money. His limbs feel heavy, likely due to the excessive strain on his one-year-old body and the lack of mana. Afraid of fainting from mana depletion, he sits by the still-open door, using the same breathing technique he used when channeling mana to Nytheris, but now aiming to absorb mana.


    "Want some mana?"  Nytheris says in his head.


    Just a little, Nytheris, if you can.


    Fl¨¹gel feels warmth spread throughout his body, which now feels lighter and less tired, though he is still quite exhausted and sore.


    Thank you, Nytheris.


    Fl¨¹gel stands up and begins the same process to close the door, but with more speed, as he has gained some proficiency in manipulating both wind and gravity.


    He walks under the light from the kitchen window. Thanks to the house being extremely small, they don¡¯t have a living room.


    Sitting under the moonlight streaming through the window, Fl¨¹gel opens the pouch with the coins. He counts: there are three silver orlunas coins and five bronze coins.


    As a lover of money, Fl¨¹gel smiles and decides to try hiding the coins somewhere Sophia and Aragi might have stored and forgotten, or at least thought they had stored there.


    Fl¨¹gel knew where that place was: inside the last drawer of the dresser in their room. In his one year of life, he had never seen them open that drawer.


    But where will I hide the book?


    Curious, Fl¨¹gel opens the book. It isn¡¯t very thick, probably the same size as a history book from his past life. The book had the smell of an old book, with yellowed and dirty pages. Fl¨¹gel couldn¡¯t read either the author¡¯s name or the title of the book.


    He opens it to the first pages, noticing the difficult and unfamiliar handwriting. As he flips through the pages, he notices a small magical circle, which makes him grin widely.


    A magic book...


    He flips through more pages and continues to see various magical circles with complex designs. After two minutes, he stops looking at the book.


    I¡¯d better hide it quickly, in case Aragi or Sophia wake up. But where will I hide it?


    Fl¨¹gel ponders, thinking about where he can hide the book, given the house¡¯s small size. He looks up and sees a wooden beam, not just one, but several, supporting the roof.


    That will be a great spot...


    Fl¨¹gel says with a smile, feeling confident after using so much gravity magic.


    He places the book on the ground, takes a deep breath, and, using both hands with gravity magic, lifts the book up to the beams. He tries to rotate the book in the air, placing it neatly on the beam. He walks back and forth, checking if he needs to adjust the book or if it¡¯s hidden.


    Seeing that the book is concealed, he smiles. He picks up the pouch of money and walks to the bedroom, slowly and trying not to make noise. Upon reaching the bedroom, Fl¨¹gel opens the last drawer of the dresser. It was hard to open, so he used gravity magic to help pull it out. He placed the pouch of coins there, under an old cloth. Inside the drawer, there were papers that seemed to be documents, as well as ink and a quill.The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.


    Fl¨¹gel doesn¡¯t stop to inspect the drawer and its contents. He simply closes it carefully to avoid making noise and then leaves the room. He heads back to the kitchen, turning right after leaving the bedroom, and finds the door to the small bathroom.


    Next to the room where Aragi, Sophia, and Fl¨¹gel sleep is the room where Mael and Elijah sleep on the same bed.


    Fl¨¹gel passes by their room. None of the rooms have doors, so he sees the two boys sleeping on the floor on a clearly poor-quality, old mattress.


    Fl¨¹gel enters the bathroom, closes the door gently, doesn¡¯t lock it, just leaves it slightly ajar. He quickly removes his shirt and pants, places his hand over his head, and starts releasing water using magic. He tries to mix the water with a bit of fire, creating warm water. He cleans himself with the warm water and washes his clothes as well. The high window in the bathroom helps illuminate the room thanks to the moonlight streaming in.


    He uses warm wind to dry himself and his clothes, though it takes over an hour.


    Fl¨¹gel is almost fainting from exhaustion, so he quickly puts on his clothes and leaves the bathroom. He walks to Aragi and Sophia¡¯s room, lies down on the floor, and quickly falls asleep from exhaustion.


    When Fl¨¹gel wakes up, he is back in his crib, likely placed there by Aragi or Sophia. It¡¯s already afternoon.


    He sits up in his crib, yawning, still tired.


    Good morning, Nytheris...


    "Morning, Fl¨¹gel."


    Fl¨¹gel makes Nytheris appear in the palm of his right hand and notices that Nytheris seems to be two centimeters shorter than before giving him mana.


    Alright, time to put the plan into action.


    Fl¨¹gel says, letting Nytheris return to his hand. He climbs over the wooden bars of the crib and gets out. He opens the drawer where he hid the money, grabs the pouch, and runs to the kitchen, where his mother is once again making soup, with only three pieces of meat and a white vegetable.


    "Mama! Here!" Fl¨¹gel says, holding up the pouch of coins. Sophia sniffs and wipes her face twice before turning to look at Fl¨¹gel, as if wiping away tears. She looks at the pouch in Fl¨¹gel¡¯s hand and frowns, walking over to him and picking him up along with the pouch.


    Her eyes are red, she had been crying...


    "What¡¯s this, son?" Sophia takes the pouch from Fl¨¹gel¡¯s hand and places it on the table. She opens it with one hand and sees the coins inside.  "Fl¨¹gel, where did you find this?"


    "Drawer room!"  Fl¨¹gel says with a big smile, acting like a child would.


    A spark of happiness flashes across Sophia¡¯s face, a relieved and joyful smile. She strokes Fl¨¹gel¡¯s hair with a smile. "Good boy, you did very well, Fl¨¹gel!" She kisses his cheek with a long kiss.


    Something tightens in Fl¨¹gel¡¯s chest, and it¡¯s not Nytheris. Fl¨¹gel feels he did a great job. All the exhaustion and fear he felt entering the forest and finding the corpse were well rewarded with praise saying she was proud of him. And he knows she has no idea he looted a dead man¡¯s body to find that money, but that doesn¡¯t matter to him. Not when he made Sophia, who sees him as her son, proud of him¡ªsomething he couldn¡¯t make his mother from his past life feel.


    Sophia puts Fl¨¹gel down, ruffling his hair one last time, before taking three of the five bronze coins from the pouch. She walks over to the fire, where they cook, a fire inside a chimney and a large pot, as she¡¯s making soup. She quickly extinguishes the fire, scattering the logs.


    "I¡¯ll be back soon, Fl¨¹gel." Sophia says, leaving the house.


    Nheeeck


    The sound of the door is audible.


    Fl¨¹gel just waves his hand, saying goodbye. When she leaves, he walks to the room where Elijah and Mael stay. There, he finds no one.


    They¡¯re probably playing outside... I could grab the book to try to learn more about it, but it¡¯s risky. I don¡¯t know how long Sophia will take to return or when Mael and Elijah will come back.


    Fl¨¹gel climbs onto the chair he dragged to the window and watches the street. His eyes dart back and forth to the wall in the distance, afraid of whatever that thing is, invading the kingdom and causing destruction. It left a bad taste in his mouth. He knew he would die immediately if he confronted that thing.


    He sees Elijah and Mael playing across the dirt road, both with sticks, and two other boys playing with them.


    Fl¨¹gel is still tired from his midnight adventure and ends up falling asleep on the chair without realizing it. He wakes up to the sound of the door opening, and Mael and Elijah enter along with Sophia.


    Fl¨¹gel looks back, seeing Sophia carrying something in her right hand. It¡¯s a wicker basket with what appears to be three different types of vegetables inside: a round, yellowish one, an oval green one, and one shaped like an eggplant but red.


    Fl¨¹gel remains seated and decides to go back to sleep, as his body needs much more time to fully rest, since a one-year-old baby isn¡¯t supposed to exert himself as much as he did leaving the house.


    As he rests his head on the back of the chair, he falls asleep again, his consciousness consumed by darkness.


    After what feels like only a second, he finds himself being woken up in his crib, with Sophia stroking his cheek and calling him.


    "Wake up, Fl¨¹gel. Let¡¯s eat, my baby."  Sophia says with a smile on her face, happy to have been able to buy some extra vegetables for the soup, as her children need vitamins, and not just her children, but she and Aragi as well.


    Sophia picks up Fl¨¹gel, carrying him to the kitchen. Leaving the bedroom and entering the kitchen, the smell of soup with vegetables is strong, and it also seems to have a seasoning other than salt. Sophia places Fl¨¹gel in the chair. Mael and Elijah are already seated at the table as well.


    This time, Aragi has returned home. He is smiling, probably because he managed to earn some money working for someone as a salesman, as he is very good at talking when it comes to selling.


    "What a good smell." Aragi comments as soon as he enters the house. He takes off his shoes and socks, walking over to the fire, looking at the large pot with three different vegetables and even a larger piece of meat than what was planned for today.


    "How did you buy this, Sophia?" Aragi says, surprised, as he watches Sophia place a bowl of soup.


    "Fl¨¹gel found a pouch of money in the bedroom drawer, probably in that last one we never check... We must have stored it there and forgotten."  She says with a smile, handing the bowl of soup to Aragi. Aragi smiles, seeing the happiness and smile on his wife¡¯s face.


    Aragi places the bowl on the table, ruffles Fl¨¹gel¡¯s hair with a smile on his face. He sits down and waits for Sophia to serve the soup to everyone, still with two pieces of meat for each of them, one small and the other medium-sized.


    For Fl¨¹gel, the meat is shredded, as he is a baby and can¡¯t eat a piece normally. He discovers that the green vegetable is the color of a pumpkin inside. It is soft, like a cooked pumpkin. The yellow and red ones are yellow and red.


    The red one gives off a slight spicy smell, but it isn¡¯t spicy. The yellow one has a more bitter taste, and the one that resembles a pumpkin is milder. The red one is almost tasteless, almost like eating chayote. The seasoning made everything tastier, but Fl¨¹gel isn¡¯t sure what it is. The white vegetable is almost sweet, like a sweet potato.


    Fl¨¹gel eats as quickly as he can, but he can¡¯t eat too fast because it¡¯s hot. He is starving after burning so many calories using magic at midnight and running from whatever that monster was.


    "How much is in the pouch of coins Fl¨¹gel found?" Aragi asks Sophia.


    "There were three silver coins and five bronze ones. I took three bronze coins to buy these vegetables and more meat."


    "Three silver coins?" Aragi says with instant relief washing over his face. He sighs and leans back in his chair, resting his neck on it and looking at the ceiling, murmuring something like ¡°thank you.¡±

 Chapter 7: silent dawn part 1

    It has now been two years since that time Fl¨¹gel went out alone. Now, at three years old, Sophia and Aragi allow Fl¨¹gel to go out and play with Mael and Elijah on the street. This was what Fl¨¹gel wanted. Now, he could put his plan into action¡ªto find the book on the street.


    At three years old, Fl¨¹gel is 85 centimeters tall. Perhaps due to a lack of vitamins in his diet, he hasn¡¯t grown much. However, he doesn¡¯t know how tall a three-year-old should be, so he isn¡¯t too worried about it.


    Fl¨¹gel has continued his constant magic training and has even managed to use a bit of electricity magic. But he has mainly focused his training on gravity and wind magic. He can levitate himself for an entire hour before passing out, which he considers great progress.


    He still hasn¡¯t tried healing magic, afraid that he might fail to heal himself and end up with an infected wound. So, his arsenal remains: gravity magic, wind magic, fire magic, water magic, electricity magic, and earth magic.


    When I start using a sword, I¡¯ll be able to make my strikes heavier. Gravity magic will be one of the ones I use the most. I¡¯ll be able to balance better, fly, and even destabilize my opponents.


    Darn, I miss being able to listen to music...


    Fl¨¹gel sighs inwardly, missing the chance to listen to his favorite "rock" bands. He loved listening to his favorite bands in his past life. It helped him a lot with his problems.


    Fl¨¹gel trained every day. Apparently, his mana has grown significantly since the first time he passed out from mana exhaustion. And when he doesn¡¯t train until he passes out, he gives a lot of his mana to Nytheris, which also leaves him mana-deprived and causes him to faint.


    And so, his mana has grown a lot. He doesn¡¯t know if it¡¯s because of his training or because he¡¯s growing.


    Night has fallen, and with it, Aragi and Sophia have gone to sleep. They¡¯ve put Fl¨¹gel, Elijah, and Mael to bed as well. Fl¨¹gel decided to actually sleep tonight, as today was the day he would go out alone again, to hide the book somewhere and pretend to find it on the street while playing.


    He asked Nytheris to wake him up in the middle of the night and also asked her not to take his mana tonight.


    "Fl¨¹gel."  Nytheris¡¯s voice echoed in Fl¨¹gel¡¯s head.


    Fl¨¹gel wakes up to Nytheris¡¯s voice in his head. He quickly remembers why Nytheris woke him up.


    Fl¨¹gel now sleeps in the shared room with Elijah and Mael. He has his own mattress, which is just a crib with some extra cloth, and he sleeps on the floor. The bed where Aragi and Sophia sleep is too small for him to share with them, and the same goes for the single bed that Mael and Elijah share.Stolen story; please report.


    Mael is now 8 years old, and Elijah is 6. Fl¨¹gel is close to turning 4; there are two months left until his 4th birthday. It¡¯s practically the same for Elijah, as his birthday is one day before Fl¨¹gel¡¯s. And Mael¡¯s birthday is three months before theirs.


    Sophia is now 27 years old, and Aragi is 25. Sophia¡¯s birthday is in the third month of the year, and Aragi¡¯s birthday is in the same month as Mael¡¯s.


    Fl¨¹gel gets up, yawning slightly. He doesn¡¯t feel tired, as he didn¡¯t do his daily magic training today. He saved as much mana as he could. He¡¯s afraid of encountering something as terrifying as the creature he met in the forest near the kingdom, even though he¡¯s not going there today. But as a precaution, he decided to conserve his energy before venturing out in the middle of the night again.


    He gets up and walks through the dark house. He¡¯s already used to walking around the house in the dark.


    Arriving in the kitchen, with the only light source being the moonlight coming through the window, Fl¨¹gel looks up at the roof. Among the wooden beams, the magic book is there. Fl¨¹gel has grown accustomed to walking in the dark in this house, mainly because of the magic book. At least twice a week, he comes here in the middle of the night and tries to read it, even though he doesn¡¯t know the alphabet of this world. It¡¯s better for him to familiarize himself with the letters early on.


    Mael and Elijah already know how to read, thanks to Aragi and Sophia, who are literate. They taught Mael and Elijah to read. The learning started when each of them turned four, and Aragi told Fl¨¹gel that he would start teaching him to read and write when he turns four, and that at five, he would begin teaching him arithmetic.


    Usually, Sophia is the one who teaches the boys to read, write, and do math, as Aragi is always out on the streets trying to find work and earn money. But when he can, he also helps Sophia teach Mael and Elijah.


    Fl¨¹gel uses gravity magic to easily retrieve the book from the wooden beams holding up the roof. He has greatly improved his proficiency in magic over these two years, especially in gravity magic.


    He doesn¡¯t even try to read it; he¡¯s already looked through the entire book. Fl¨¹gel walks to the door. He feels his stomach growl; he¡¯s hungry. His family isn¡¯t in good shape; everyone in the house is malnourished, and Aragi has even started to look more skeletal. It¡¯s because he sometimes skips meals to give more to Sophia and the children. Sophia tries to do the same, but Aragi insists that she eats.


    Of course, she also insists on trying to get Aragi to eat more, but he always refuses, saying he¡¯s not hungry, with a smile on his face.


    This makes Sophia sad, but she accepts it. She knows how much Aragi blames himself for their situation, even though she doesn¡¯t blame him at all.


    Fl¨¹gel walks to the door. He uses the same vacuum bubble to prevent sound from propagating as he opens it. He does this quickly, using both hands while the book is on the ground at his feet.


    As soon as he uses gravity magic to rotate the key and the doorknob, he deactivates the vacuum bubbles on the lock and doorknob, leaving them only on the door bolts. He picks up the book and pulls the door slightly, slipping through it. He repeats the process to close the door, but this time, he takes the key out of the lock and carries it with him. And of course, he also locked the door.


    Fl¨¹gel looks to the right and left, checking to see if anyone is around. Seeing no one, he looks up at the sky. The dark night, with the moon not shining much tonight due to the clouds covering it.


    Tonight is a dark night, huh?


    Fl¨¹gel takes a deep breath, not because he doesn¡¯t know where to go, but because he¡¯s nervous. Even though he¡¯s not going to the forest, remembering the danger he faced there sends shivers down his spine.


    He already knew where he would hide the magic book so that he could "find" it while playing in the afternoon. While playing, he had been searching for a good spot to do this.


    Fl¨¹gel turns right. He usually plays with the other boys and his brothers to the right; his house is on a corner.


    He turns onto the street to his right, where there¡¯s a grocery store, and further ahead, street vendors.


    He looks to the left, at the house on the other corner. That¡¯s where Klaus, Anya, and Mary live. Fl¨¹gel knows their names because he usually plays with them. They¡¯re also friends with Elijah and Mael.


    Fl¨¹gel walks to their house. Although they also live in the outskirts, they have a better income than Fl¨¹gel¡¯s family. Because they live near the grocery store and on the corner, their house has a higher rent than most houses in the outskirts. That¡¯s why they also have a porch.


    Even though Fl¨¹gel and his family also live on the corner and near the grocery store, they only live in this more expensive place because it¡¯s the only house available in the outskirts. And living on the street wasn¡¯t an option with a baby and two small children.


    A house in a place far from grocery stores or vendors, and not on a corner, since you¡¯ll have more space, usually costs around 35 bronze coins, but this depends on the condition of the house and the owner.


    However, a house on a corner and near a grocery store usually costs around 60 bronze coins, even in the outskirts.