What Am I?

"W-What!? What should I do?" was only thing Jaremi could think of to ask.

"Just stay low, no need to panic I am here to protect you for next four days" said voice.

"But who wants to kill me"

"For now all you need to know, is that you should keep your powers to yourself and not reveal them to anyone like you did to that poor mother of yours"

"I-I was just trying to figure out what was happening. I wanted to make sure that I wasn't going crazy" was the only excuse he could come up with and it was true so he had no reason to lie.

"I don't care. Just stay low. I can't forbid you from practicing with your powers, I even encourage you to do so, just don't be reckless and don't act impulsive anymore."

Even though her words were direct and harsh Jaremi felt like she really cared about him and this was the reason she was so strict with him. In his opinion this was strange, why would some stranger care about him to the point to be protecting him?

"Why are you going to protect me? And why for exactly four days?" Jaremi wanted to know who she was, but there were more important things he simply needed to know first.

"Because you are recently awakened and still a minor by law, and I serve the court. Until your "Seven Trails of Death" are done, you are protected by me. After that, you will be under the direct protection of the court and will be summoned to go to the academy."

"Academy? Like "Hogwarts"? Am I going to be the next "boy who lived"?" Sarcastically asked Jaremi.

"Keep acting this way and asking stupid questions, and you will be known as the "boy who died by his protector's hand." Despite her calm and soothing voice, she still managed to send chills down Jaremi's spine.

The way she was talking about killing him so calmly and without hesitation was terrifying, but what added pure terror to Jaremi's heart was the way she chuckled at the end of the sentence.

"Okay, I admit I deserved that. But what are these "seven trails" you mentioned? And who do I need to be protected from?"

"I will tell you everything about both of these matters tomorrow; for now, just go to sleep. You need to rest since tomorrow is the fourth day of your awakening process, and trust me, it will be the worst one." The sadness in the voice made Jaremi question what was going to happen to him tomorrow.

Since there were not many things he could do, he decided to just go with it and do what the woman told him. He got in bed and started to fall asleep.

In the morning, the first thing Jaremi did was check if his shapeshifting was still with him or not.

As he expected, the ability to change his appearance was still with him, but he knew it would not be for long since it was almost eight a.m., which meant that it was time for his daily blackout. Jaremi was prepared for this, so he didn't even bother to get out of bed to not make his parents panic again in case they walked in on him lying on the floor.

Familiar pain in his head and pulsation appeared at the exact same moment; it was eight a.m. Even though the pain was less intense, it still made him want to pass out as soon as possible so he would not have to endure this excruciating pain for a second longer than it needed to be.

His wishes were fulfilled, and he passed out. When he woke up as expected, it was ten a.m., so he could say that his theory about the time it took for him to recover after losing consciousness was correct.

As one would expect, the first thing he did was check his new ability. But something was odd. He couldn't feel any changes after using his breathing technique. But still, something felt different. Even though there were no changes he could see, the only reason for this was as simple as 2+2. It was because his ability was already active, and there was no need for him to activate it.

Once he looked at himself in a mirror, he saw it. He had horns growing from his head, and his skin turned his ears had doubled and had two of them on each side. He wanted to scream, but before he did that, he heard a familiar voice.

"Don't scream. Come out of your window and follow my voice." Said woman.

"But my parents? What about them?" Jaremi was hesitant about following her.

"If you want to give them a heart attack, you can stay; otherwise, come to me. There is a note on the table, so they won't be nervous about your whereabouts." Said the voice.

Since Jaremi figured that he had no other choice but to follow her instructions, he did as told. When he went out, he noticed that there were no people around. One of the reasons he didn't want to go out on the street was that there were people outside, but once he stepped out, he saw none.

Actually, there was one human-like shape three houses away from him. He couldn't explain how, but he knew that this was the woman who was talking to him using telepathy, so he started walking towards her.

Once he got close, he was able to clearly see her. The woman was as far from his expectations as she could be. When she said that she was his protector, he thought of someone tall, large, with muscles, and maybe a tough face, when in reality he was met by someone who could win Miss Universe for the next thirty years with ease.

This woman was short, about 155–160 meters tall, with long blonde hair that reached to her waist, unnatural yet most magnificent grey eyes, and an overall face that could start wars. One could say that this woman was Helen of Troy herself.

Jaremi was flabbergasted by her appearance. He thought that once he met her, he would start questioning her about everything and would gain all the answers he needed, but the whole world had to disagree.

He stood there paralyzed, like a deer in headlights. There was an attempt to move from his side, but he couldn't. The beauty of the woman standing in front of him was only matched, if not exceeded, by that of the Greek goddesses.

After he finished admiring her beauty, he looked around and was stunned once more. Instead of the street he was on, all he could see surrounding him were two couches and a little table between them.

"Go ahead, keep standing there like a statue; I don't mind at all; after all, it's your life we are talking about." Her words were filled with sarcasm.

"S-sorry, um… mam?" Jaremi was unsure about how to address her.

"Mam"? It looks like you can treat people with respect after all. My name is Lanna. I would say that it is nice to meet you, but I would hate to start our first in-person interaction with a lie." Her truthful way of communicating made Jaremi respect her.

"Hello, Miss Lanna, I'm Jaremi." was the only thing he could come up with.

"Forget about formalities." Just call me Lanna. I hate people who spend time paying attention to such an unimportant thing. We have much to talk about, assuming you want to know any of these things, so sit down and let's start our conversation."

Once Jaremi heard her words, they triggered all the right parts of his brain. His face turned d her words, they triggered all the right parts of his brain. His face turned serious, and his past childishness was momentarily gone. It surprised Lanna, but in a good way.

"Since I see that you want to know what I have to say, I will not make you wait any longer than you already did." This word made Jaremi cheer inwardly, but he still managed to keep his face straight since it was too important to him.

"Let's start with some good news. You are not going to die, nor are you going to keep waking up every day and collapsing with unbearable pain for the rest of your life. Only three more days. That's what we call the "Seven Trails of Death". Just so you know, it actually means that. You die on each of the seven days after your 18th birthday. Consider it an awakening of your innate power, to which you had no access previously. This is not something to be afraid of. Every mage goes through this."

"Death? Mage?" Jaremi didn't know how to react to her words. If he wasn't already sitting, he would have fallen to the ground since he felt all the power leave his legs.

"As I was saying before you interrupted me, yes, mage. You are a mage, and before you ask, no, we don't ride brooms, nor do we have green skin and black pointy hats. All of this is a simple stereotype that humans have developed." It seemed like she was telling this story for at least the hundredth time, considering how she knew what he was going to ask her. "Also, no, we do not worship Satan—well, most of us, but that's a story for another time. What we have in common with mages from human stories is that we are hidden from the world because we are being hunted by people for simply existing as we are. Some are jealous of our powers; some think that we are demons that came to earth to destroy it; therefore, we must be killed; and some hunt us simply for fun."

All he heard for now was only making him think that all this was just getting worse with every second he spent with Lanna, but since he had no way out of the place Lanna got him in, all he could do was keep listening to her.

"Usually mages are born into families where at least one of the parents is a mage themselves, but there are rare exceptions to this rule, and you are one of those exceptions. It's not common, but it happens, so there's nothing unusual about it." She took a deep breath before continuing to talk. "Now about seven trails: as I said before, you die every day for seven days the day you turn 18. Don't panic about it; it's not as big of a deal as it might seem at first. Basically, your body shuts down to allow magical energy to enter it so you can use it in the future for spells and incantations. And the reason you need less and less time to wake up after each death is because your body needs to adjust fewer parts of itself to this energy."

"Does that mean that I am immortal now, since I keep resurrecting each time I die?" Jaremi was still in shock after what he heard, but he needed answers, and he needed them instantly.

"Oh no, not at all; we are not gods, you know. The only reason you keep waking up is because your body is changing and receiving loads of natural magical energy that is not contaminated by any mage. After seven trials, we are as mortal as any other human being. You can consider it clinical death that just gives time to your body to adjust itself to the new possibilities you gain with each day." Her answer didn't give him the confirmation he was hoping for.

"You will learn more about all of this and much more in the academy once you are eligible for it. Now let me tell you about your current trail. This one is the worst for various reasons. First because you can't just undo it like a mirage or shapeshift." Jaremi figured that she was referring to the abilities he had on the second and third days, respectively. "It's more like telepathy in this aspect; also, you wouldn't want to touch any living creature for the next 24 hours until you lose this power because it absorbs their life force, which means that they will die within a few seconds of physical contact with you." This news terrified Jaremi, knowing that he could kill his family just by accidentally touching them.

"What should I do then? My parents will notice that I am gone." Jaremi was starting to feel worse with every passing second.

"There's no reason to worry; a simple memory corruption spell is enough to make your parents think that you are with your friends for a sleepover in one of their houses." Lanna was talking about manipulating human memory like it was something trivial for her.

"Now, going back to your current condition, Even though this trail is considered the worst for its constant active phase, there is still a silver lining. Since you are a lifehunter, you can feel the life force of other living beings, meaning you can feel who has surrounded you in the real world. This will help us capture people who want to kill you. I will take the barrier down now, and you must focus on your surroundings. It should be easy for you since you already know how to focus on powers using breathing techniques. The second you gain access to sensory abilities, try to differentiate people's life forces and locate ones that look mostly the same. They have specific tools that contain life force. It will help us to navigate through common folk and our hunters." Once Lanna said that he was supposed to get back to reality looking like some demonic spawn, he was reluctant, and Lanna saw it. "Don't worry, I will cast an illusion spell on you so people won't see the current you."

It helped Jaremi calm down and start focusing on his breath. As Lanna said, it was easy for him to start sensing life force using his lifehunter form. The life force itself looked like a white flow of particles that was chaotic yet still contained in a vessel of its own. Jaremi could not only sense life force but also visually see it. It was something Jaremi could never expect to see in this or any other lifetime. The way each life force acted, including his own, was unique yet similar to others.

When he gave Lanna a signal that he was ready, she took down her barrier and let Jaremi do his part of the job.

As Lanna promised, Jaremi physically looked like a human, but he could still feel his horns. It felt like there was something alien on his head yet still familiar, something he could call his own.

After he was done checking out Lanna's work, he focused on his surroundings.

"How can I tell who has a naturally strong life force and who has just weapons that contain it?" he asked Lanna, hoping that she would give him the answers that he needed.

"You will see that they act strange, like water and oil. Close together but never mixed with each other. The movement pattern of life force will be not one but multiple. It should help you identify them." Lanna didn't disappoint his expectations and gave direct and useful advice.

"Okay, I can see two that are behind us, two blocks away." Jaremi didn't let himself waste more time than needed and gave Lanna short and direct answers that she appreciated.

"Good job; now let me do my job. Just follow me for now, and we, well, I will take care of them." The way she said it let Jaremi understand that it was a fight till death for one of the sides.

It was the turning point for him. Now he knew that the life he had before was done the moment he collapsed for the first time on his birthday.

He hesitantly asked, "What do you need me to do?" knowing well that this was going to be his hardest decision.

Seeing his willingness to do what was necessary, Lanna felt grateful towards him.

"There's nothing you can do other than be bait for them."

"I'll do whatever it takes to get us out of this situation." "I'll do whatever it takes to get us out of this situation." Jaremi spoke with a shaking voice, but he didn't let his emotions take control of him.

Even though he wanted to run away from there and never come back again, he forced himself to ignore everything that was irrational and based only on his emotions.

It didn't go unnoticed by Lanna; after all, someone who had as much experience in battles as she did could notice such changes in someone almost instantly. It helped Jaremi rise in her eyes, not only as a person but potentially as her future battle ally.

"I like your spirit, kid; just go with the way you came here, but instead of going inside your house, keep on moving; I will tell you when to stop. Until then, just walk forward without looking back. We can't afford for them to know that we are ambushing them." Her calm manner of speech and the way she was giving him directions spoke of her experience as a skilled warrior.

Jaremi did as he was told and kept moving until he heard Lanna's voice.

"That's enough, Jaremi; I can handle them here without anyone noticing it." It was the first time she called him by his name, and Jaremi noticed it.

When Jaremi stopped, two people following him were much closer to him than when he checked their whereabouts the first time. It seemed like they were trying to shorten the distance between them.

Once they were close enough and Jaremi stopped, they started to walk even faster, but they weren't meant to catch Jaremi or get out of that situation alive.