1. The Beginning

Nine years ago.

The rain poured heavily, drenching the body of a young boy. His eyes stared sharply at the woman's body. A knife was firmly lodged in her chest. His hands held her tightly, shaking her with all his little strength. He then felt himself being hugged by someone. Warm, but not compared to the coldness of that moment.

"Mother, mother, mother, mother…." The words repeated endlessly on his lips.

Kbroom!

A flash of lightning illuminated both their faces. A woman whose face was fair but somewhat pale, with auburn hair, hazel eyes, red lips, but slightly bluish, indicating the cold.

"Souael, be patient, my dear." Those words, though gentle, carried a strength that could stop Souael's lips from moving. Souael turned his face to the right, his eyes glancing towards the woman.

"Rebecca, mother is gone." Souael whimpered, his voice choked.

Rebecca, who had been hugging Souael's body, moved back slightly and then held the end of Souael's shoulder. She pulled Souael's body to turn his face towards her.

"Sleep."

After hearing those words, Souael's eyelids felt heavy. Then his body fell forward into Rebecca's lap.

While hugging Souael, Rebecca recalled the situation that had happened earlier.

Before the accident,

Walking in front of Rebecca was a woman dressed in golden white attire, her hair left flowing behind, her face gentle, showing her loving nature. The woman held the hand of the young boy. She observed with almost the same fascination as one would have for Nightshower flowers, which only bloom in the rain and at night. They were in the royal garden of the Mikaila family. There were several magically powered lamp posts, absorbing sunlight during the day to illuminate the night. Each lamp post was a few meters apart from each other, except in the Nightshower flower area. Despite the heavy rain, Rebecca was sheltered by a umbrella spell. The umbrella spell covered five feet from all sides of the woman.

That was Lady Hyxnne, the daughter-in-law of the royal Irj family. The wife of Lord Royll.

"Mother, why do you like these flowers?" asked Souael with his cute voice.

"These flowers, when they bloom after drinking plenty of water at night, they emit a beautiful glow and a very fragrant smell." The woman smiled, revealing her dimples and white teeth.

In the sky, as lightning struck, thunder roared loudly, and the wind blew stronger. Among the flashes of lightning, Rebecca saw a knife speeding towards her mistress.

"Madam!"

Rebecca extended her right hand, facing her palm forward. She then used the aegis spell to protect her mistress.

The clash between the knife and the aegis spell produced a sound.

Zing!

The sound was momentary, but in that moment, the knife had already penetrated the aegis spell. It continued straight ahead without any slowdown. The collision between the knife and the royal aegis spell produced a white light that lasted less than a second.

Realizing this, the woman also used the royal aegis spell, but the knife pierced through Rebecca's aegis spell and collided with the royal aegis spell.

Even the royal aegis spell could not withstand the power of the knife.

The difference between the aegis and royal aegis spells lies in the complexity of the royal aegis spell compared to the aegis spell. Therefore, the royal aegis spell requires three times the time of the aegis spell.

Quickly, Rebecca stepped forward, drawing her sword to parry the attack.

Klash!

After parrying the attack, someone wearing a black cloak that covered their entire body appeared. The figure seemed male. His face was covered with a black cloth with odd white writings.

The figure ran swiftly towards Hyxnne. Rebecca quickly used the haste spell to collide with the figure. The haste spell created air pressure bubbles around Rebecca, then the bubbles burst, splashing water around.

Rebecca's sword moved horizontally from the right to decapitate the figure, but it seemed ready to parry Rebecca's attack.

The figure used instant short teleportation magic to teleport behind Rebecca. Rebecca skillfully changed the direction of her sword from horizontal to stabbing towards the ground. Then, Rebecca jumped from her haste position while holding the hilt end of her sword stuck in the ground. She twisted her body so that she was upright with the sword to deliver a kick towards the figure. The kick successfully hit the figure's neck, causing it to stumble backward. Using this momentum, Rebecca leaped to the side of the figure and raised her sword to stab the figure.

Suddenly, a strong wind pushed Rebecca forward, causing her to stumble to lady Hyxnne's side. During Rebecca's fight with the figure, lady Hyxnne activated an emergency device that would signal the emergency system there. The emergency device was in the form of a necklace.

Rebecca twisted her body against the wind to reduce its force. She stabbed the ground before touching down with her feet. In that moment, a second figure appeared, moving faster than the first. In the blink of an eye, the second figure stabbed Hyxnne's chest and then ran off. Hyxnne's body was pushed backward and fell.

Rebecca, realizing this, used the haste spell on her legs, but the second figure was already getting farther away. Quickly, Rebecca threw her sword, enhanced with a second-level haste spell, at the second figure, but the first figure appeared to block the sword projectile. The sword plunged into the first figure's chest. An unexpected event occurred. It exploded. However, they were not hit by the blast as they were far enough away, and the explosion was not large.

Heavy rain poured down, adorned with the beauty of Nightshower flowers. Rebecca slowly walked towards the figure lying on the ground. Lady Hyxnne was smiling, looking at Souael, and uttering her last words.

"Souael..."

Library,

Present,

"In this world, there exist four types of magical energies that can change or control the surroundings. These energies are manna, lunasi, luminos, and ilm. Generally, all living beings have manna..."

"Master Souael!" Souael heard the shout from his personal maid, Rebecca.

Souael was standing in the corner of the national library, listening to a man in his forties teaching some children about the types of energy, but his attention was interrupted by Rebecca's shout.

Souael turned his head to see Rebecca smiling cheerfully at him. Rebecca was carrying a cheese bread, which Rebecca liked, from the market area before stopping by the adjacent library. Rebecca was wearing a maid's dress, a long dress from shoulder to toe. The expensive and embroidered dress worn by the maid symbolized her mistress's status.

"Young Master Souael, why don't you come inside the library?" Rebecca asked with a smile.

"I was about to enter, but I heard that man teaching some children, so I just listened," Souael replied.

Immediately, Rebecca pulled Souael's hand into the library. The library was spacious and had various types of books. While wandering in the library, Souael's eyes caught sight of a strange child smiling at him. He felt compelled to chase after the child. He pursued the figure, leaving Rebecca behind. The child led him in various directions. No matter how fast he chased, he couldn't catch the child. It was as if there was a definite distance between them.

The child suddenly stopped in front of him, then turned around to face Souael.

"Souael, look at me and come here. I am truly an angel." The voice sounded raspy but also had a soft female voice within it.

Souael's expression changed, showing great surprise and astonishment. He walked towards the child, reaching out to take the child's hand. His body felt heavier and colder, and he eventually collapsed to the floor.

He passed out.