A NEW BEGINNING
A boy lies on a tattered mat, trembling in his sleep—probably the same nightmare again. The room looks unattended, furniture broken, as if someone intentionally did all this. Toward the side of the room is a window, and near it is a picture of a family of five on a picnic. The roof is leaking from last night's storm, and a drop falls on the boy's forehead, causing him to scream in terror. He sits up straight; the pain begins—the child of despair.
The boy moves towards a mirror chipped from the corners, light entering the room through the cracked glass. A boy who has lost everything—his family, his heart, his will—is seen through his dead gold eyes. His face is covered by his black hair, splashes of water on his face to wake from this nightmare called life. Airen brushes his hair with his fingers; his eyes look like gold. Airen got out of his shower and opens his wardrobe, the only thing that looks new and stands out from the rest. In it, there are two suitcases packed and ready for a move, a jumpsuit hanging in the wardrobe.
He wears it when he crosses the signboard for 8th Avenue. He sees a crowd and hears a scream, interest being piqued. He goes there and sees three students of Selcer Academia wearing white coats with the school's logo, bullying another student in black. The leader of the bullies, a young girl with brown hair and green eyes, her hand engulfed in flames—her ability, most likely. The boy on the road has a burn mark on his clothes; his eyes reflect fear and anger. The girl goes in to finish her mark; Airen stops her by shoving her hand against his chest. The area around it burns and blows away; Airen's heart is no more. His eyes widen with pain, a hole in the chest, and Airen goes down flat on the ground. All are surprised and bring out their cameras to snap a pic.
The girls get hold of their leader and run away. Airen says, "Should have let it be, dipshit." The flashes of the camera trigger a past suppressed trauma. "You all are fucking annoying." Airen stands up again; the veins, muscles, and tissues heal and regenerate. The bones and skin grow to cover it all up; the only hole left is on the jumpsuit, as well as the burn marks. Airen gives a helping hand to the boy in shock, who gets up, frightened and amazed, just like the people around them. Airen sees all this and says, "See you later," and runs away. While going back, he recalls this moment and says to himself, "This is going to be hell."
When he reaches home, it is a huge mansion with a beautiful face, but it looks like no one lived there for years. Airen goes in and sees the whole house for one last time, as he is moving to a school that only allows students to live in their dormitory if they want to attend. Airen dreamt of going to this academy when he learned his parents went there—an academia established to train Arcans, warriors to fight against the monsters of the gate. Airen remembers his parents telling him of their past teenage lives in that academy. Airen had already packed his luggage; the car was going to arrive soon from Selcer Academia. Airen was a little excited for his welcoming ceremony.
Airen wore the uniform the institute sent him while wearing a black coat. Airen thought to himself, Why was his coat a different color than the bullies he saw before?. The horn of the car wakes him from this thought. Airen picks up his luggage and leaves his house of his 17 years of life—the Altrof Mansion.