A Year before I knew

Nagoro Akiyoshi, second year in high school, lives in Japan, Tokyo, that is me. 17th May 2024, that is the day I learned that I was a part of a fictional story, a mere character among many others. The fact that I knew this was the only thing that made me different from other fictional beings.  

For 500 billion years I have been to different dimensions, different worlds, different realities, and different timelines, all of which are just a figment of the Author's imagination.  

The year is now 2023, and I have returned to Earth. This was indeed before the year I came to know the truth of my existence, meaning I had travelled back in time.  

I stood hovering in the air, looking below at the city of busy people bustling around and about the place. They all looked like ants, ones that I could squish easily. 

From the early age of four, I had been all alone. I was told that my parents died in a plane crash while on their way on an especially important business trip. All I had was one little sister, 2 years younger than me. Her name was Nagoro Setsuna, she attended the same high school as me. But, unlike me, she was what you called a genius. When she was four, she was accepted into a very prestigious university, free of charge. In the real world, the one where the Author lives, she could be compared to the individual you all know as Albert Einstein.  

As for me, I was truly hopeless. My grades were average at best, my intellect could have been said to be a little above average. I was tall for a 17-year-old, had brown hair, a pale face with good features, and bright yellow eyes, which was a result of mana being infused in me. The only thing above average about an average guy like me was that I looked like a model. I could be said to be out of the world handsome, some even believing that I could compete for one of the most handsome people in the world. 

In this world that the author created, magic existed. Magic is just a concept in your world, but in ours, it existed. Those who could use magic were given different names, based on how they used this power. They are collectively called magicians. When mana infuses with one's body, it gives one the power to affect reality with their imagination. 

Well as for me I am a magician, but I was a hopeless one, the weakest among the weak.  

For that, I was bullied, looked down upon, and seen as a failure. My face attracted many girls, I was a chick magnet. This made other guys quite jealous of me, and jealousy is a scary emotion. All manners of guys ruined my life thanks to their jealousy. I even considered suicide once, but only stopped for the sake of my sister. Though, she was more than capable of leading a life of great fortune. The problem was our foster parents, though the real reason might have been the author. 

After our parents died in the accident, we were adopted by our uncle and aunt. My uncle was a great magician, he was the leader of the greatest guild in the nation. He adopted me hoping that my powers could be an asset to him, but things did not go his way. For that reason, I was looked down upon by the whole family. My uncle and aunt had a son and a daughter. The son could have been said to be handsome but compared to me he looked average at best. 

Jealousy is hard to deal with emotion, as the son made my life a living hell. We both went to the same high school, which was run by my uncle's guild, a school for nurturing magicians. My lack of power became a target for him to constantly hit on. Soon even other guys jealous of my looks joined in. No stopped him, no could stop him. Being the guild leader's son made him a man to be served. So, the bullying only kept on getting worse. 

As for the daughter, she was a natural beauty that even I acknowledged. But more than all, she did not treat me differently. She was not affected by my looks, or my powerlessness, she was a cool beauty, and I had a little crush on her. 

My aunty was the president of a company that specialized in selling magic items. Magic items are items that have been infused with mana, giving them special powers and properties. She was often helped by her son who was a prodigy of an entrepreneur, while her daughter had amazing talent in magic, and joined uncle's guild.  

My sister who was a genius also joined my auntie's company as a lead researcher for magic items. 

As for me, I was seen as a freeloader by my aunty and uncle and aunty and incurred the wrath of their son's jealousy. The only two people who treated me like a decent human being were my sister and their daughter. 

I cannot even be mad at them, since all this was the author's plot, all for my character development.  

I just stayed hovering mid-air, looking down at the street. 

Suddenly without any warning, two girls came charging at me from opposite directions. Just as she was about to hit me, I disappeared into thin air, reappearing behind the other girl. 

Shocked by my sudden presence, the girl flew backward, stopping next to the other girl who made the first attempt to attack me. 

I glared at the girls with a blank expression, everyone in the streets stopped walking and stared at us, their faces obviously telling me they were surprised. 

"Who are you two, and why did you attack me from nowhere," I finally broke the silence between us. 

The girl who attacked me first had silky blond hair, pale white skin, and bright amber eyes. 

The other girl, who was talking to someone through an ear comm, had dark black hair, deep blue eyes, and tanned skin tone. 

They both wore the same uniform type of clothing, which was blue in color, along with an emblem on their left breast. 

I do not know which organization the emblem belonged to, but I had guessed what type of organization it was. 

The emblem had a unicorn drawn in complete white, with the unicorn lifting its front two legs. The unicorn drawn in complete white had a spiral in light black drawn on its neck.  

It was a rainy day in 2012, the sky was covered with pitch-black clouds, it was as if it was night. I sat near the window, trying not to hear the rambling of everyone in the class. 

The sky lit up in a bright white flash of light, followed by roaring thunder, every few minutes.  

I loved this type of weather, it calmed down my heart and made me feel warm on the inside. 

I was about to fall asleep when a light too bright to be lightning and a boom too loud to be thunder jolted my half-asleep self. 

I looked out the window, along with every other student in the class.  

The sky was covered with a purple-blueish light as far as I could see. 

This was the day when the 'Portal' opened. Leaking from this portal was what we later referred to as mana, from various myths and fictional stories. 

The portal stayed open for months, releasing mana into our world. 

The mana that leaked out fused with the cells of humans, changing their genetics, and allowing them to produce energy, along with the special ability to affect reality with their imaginations.  

But magicians were not the only thing born from this energy, the mana that leaked into our world also affected animals, giving birth to monsters and magical beasts. 

Dungeons, places that were overloaded with mana. These places became conscious and alive, their consciousness was the result of the dungeon core being formed. 

In the beginning, the magicians were looked upon as heroes that fought these monsters and destroyed dungeon cores. But as time went on, most dungeons were destroyed, and monsters were near extinction. 

As a result, magicians, who were looked upon as heroes, were now treated as beings who were feared for their godly powers. Some magicians were powerful enough to destroy countries with just a thought, or even more powerful.  

With this being the case, humans had more than enough reason to fear the magicians. 

Then afterward a new form of technology, 'Runes,' devices which were able to artificially create magicians. Followed by organizations that put these runes to use.  

The anti-magic organizations that were born to control these magicians went far as to take even their human rights, conducting experiments and suppressing them through violent means. 

Normally a magician is stronger than an anti-mage, those who wield runes and use them against magicians. But the numbers are a different matter. The mana only affected 1 in 10 000 people, turning them into magicians. While anti-mages just need a good mental capacity to be able to wield magic. 

The difference in number between something that was made supernaturally, and something that was made through artificial means is like day and night. 

These two girls in front of me were a part of an anti-magic organization.  

"Using magic without special permission from the government is illegal. For breaking the laws, we the Cursed Phoenix organization will be taking you into custody," a voice came from above me. 

When I looked up to find the source of the voice. The girl had a strong-willed expression as if she were checking me out. She was wearing the same blue uniform type of clothing as the other two girls. Her brown hair was tied up in a ponytail tail flailed about in the wind, her tan skin which complimented her brown hair, and her deep hazed eyes, which stared at me. 

"For using magic without the government's authorization, we will be taking you into custody, do not resist." 

What a pain, I guess I could thank the author for this situation as well.