Chapter One

It was dark.

Everything was.

A reflectionless, pitch black darkness surrounded me and my entire being.

I felt trapped- like a prisoner of this abyss. The postulation of time and space seemed null here. No indication of the passing time or structuralism that could explain where I was. My body... it felt foreign. It was my own, yet it felt distant. Cold and warm at the same time.

The cold was like a raging blizzard- like my own body was rejecting me. Deeming me insignificant. Yet the subtle warmth that seemed like a lighthouse on a stormy night was enough to blow away the awful pain that came from the blatant rejection from my own body.

My mind... my memories, they were all hazy. Incomprehensible. I could remember a woman's smile; bright and lively, her lips curved in a smile that made my heart turn and twist. The next moment those same lips were screaming at me, my name... Is that my mother?

The void was suddenly filled with a bright light. My eyes... MY EYES! I can see. Was I not seeing it before? Was that dark there because I was blind before?

My vision slowly returned to me, the static white getting replaced by a dark, shallow place. Groaning, I stood up. My hands pressed against the muddy ground. My own weight felt foreign to me. I stumbled, the poor coordination of my feet making it hard for me to even stand.

My core ached suddenly... a voice infiltrating my mind. It sounded familiar. Way too much.

A name came to mind.... Sylv... Sylvia!

Where is she?

I looked around frantically, trying to spot her. A tsunami of memories invaded my mind all of a sudden. The previously hazy memories- the static mist over them slowly started to dissipate as more and more memories came back to me.

A choked sob escaped my mouth as I remembered her last moments. When she sacrificed herself for me. A wave of guilt washed over me, drowning me.

Shaking my head, I tried to get rid of those thoughts and focused on the predicament at hand. The message Sylvia had left for me... although I couldn't hear it completely, I still remember a few words.

-of the stone

Stage past white-

-- king Grey.

Although I don't know how she knew about my title from my past life, I can just hope that time will reveal everything. I stood up slowly, carefully, measuring my every move. Once I stood up, I focused on my surroundings. My eyes opened wide, breaking my focus. I could feel it- everything.

The slight taps of water in the distance as rain cascaded down from the sky. The wails of a woman being robbed in an alley. The grunts of men and wome-, never mind that. My perception and senses had skyrocketed.

My pocket felt heavy. Reaching down for it my hand touched a rock-hard object. My fingers gripped it gently as I took it out. It was a shiny stone with something that looked like a feather wrapped around it.

"This must be the stone", I muttered under my breath as I slightly caressed the stone with my thumb. After a while I put the stone back in my pocket and decided on leaving this... place. But before that I needed to confirm my limitations. Looking inside myself and focusing on my core I could feel the little ball of energy beaming in a light shade of orange, thrumming with a violent amount of mana. It was a strange phenomenon. I should've been in dark red. The situation was baffling- absurd to a point. The amount of mana the orange orb inside me carried was abnormal. The extremely thin purple sheet around my core was even weird as it automatically pulled mana inside, faster than mana rotation.

Pressing the bottom region of my palms against my eyes I started recalling the events that happened. However, the veil that laid on my memories was still there. I couldn't remember anything beyond the point when I first met Sylvia. I can recall the knowledge of my past world and a few glimpses of what happened after I came into this world.

Removing the hands from eyes I looked at myself. My hands were pale... freakishly so. It was like I had lost all of my life blood. A wave of panic washed over my heart. I ran quickly, outside the shelter that I was in. Reaching for the handles of the half-rotten door of the shelter I opened it. I was met with a blast of wind at my face followed by the icy cold water.

The sound of thunder invaded my mind. The alley faded in and out in the dark as lightning struck across the sky, followed by another thundering boom. I walked slowly outside. Raising my head up I saw the lightning form a partition in the sky. Like it was splitting it into half. The light of the lightning was the only source of light in the otherwise dark alley in the evening time.

I walked towards the back of a particular house. Multiple boxes were stacked over each other, a foul smell permeating through it. I walked closer to the glass of a window. It was covered with a curtain from the other side making it easier for me to look at myself. My eyes widened as I looked at myself. I looked back scared that someone else was there. But the fact that there was no-one there made it even more dreary.

My looks had changed completely. My hair had grown enough to cover my eyes and were now pure white in colour. It fell down on my eyes like a waterfall obscuring the two little burning, miniature suns that were my eyes. A slit ran through it making it look even more intimidating. I flinched back slightly, taken aback by my own soul-piercing gaze. All of this was too much for me now. Too much to process.

I didn't know much about where I was. Nor did I have any idea how to go back to the place I was supposed to go... IF I had a place to go back. I felt stranded, deserted. Like an abandoned child left on his own to fight its way through the world and the cruelties that came along with it.

Memories of my past life infiltrated my mind. That's when I came to a realisation. It was always like this. It was my FATE to be alone. In my previous life I was raised alone, abandoned. And the same happened in this life. The only person I remember in this world died because of me... again.

A metallic taste filled my mouth as I realised that I have been biting the inner side of my cheek for too long. I relaxed my whole body, shaking the unnecessary thoughts away from my mind. If I wanted to survive, I had to get through everything- regardless of the method. Regardless of who I become.

---------------------------------------

Sliding my back against one of the walls I peeked at a particular shop. By now I was sure that this place... wasn't dicathen. The way people dressed, the way people talked, the way everyone- without a single exception swear by using the name "Vritra", I was pretty sure that I had ended up in a different continent or maybe in another world altogether.

So to survive in this place I needed to adapt. Rummage some supplies that could help me sustain myself. Although I didn't feel the need to sleep or eat since I came here, I still needed it. Once I looked in every direction I found myself in the situation I had decided already.

Mana augmented my legs as I made a quick dash towards it. As I neared the shop I grabbed the hat and a small trench coat from it. The owner looked back but before he could even shout at me I made another mana augmented dash towards the back alley.

I ran and ran and ran. Ran without looking back. A wave of nostalgia hit me as I remembered the similar situations in my past life where we used to steal money and then run away. Suddenly two men appeared from the fork.

My feet came to a screeching halt as I spotted them emerge from the corner. Two men wearing long coats appeared as they cornered me. Loud splashes echoed as another man came running from behind me. His breath was erratic, seemingly worn out from running after me. I looked at him but sensed no mana from him. However the other two were mages. Strong ones at that.

"I swear by Vritra, this little runt knows how to run", One of them said as he walked towards me. His gait was unperturbed, confident in his skill and magic. He reached close to me as he looked down, "Oh such a pretty kid. Must be of a named blood. Oi, Mark, what do you say we do?", he asked the magicless man.

"Take away the goods and then..." he paused as he looked the other way, "do whatever you want afterwards", he said and a satisfied grin appeared over the mage's face. "Oh I will definitely have my fun with this girl", he said lickling his lips.

I felt a vein pop at my forehead, "Girl, you say" I said, making my voice heavy. He looked at me with surprise but soon recovered. However the smirl didn't left his face,

"Boy will work too", he said as I felt his hand coat in mana and travel towards me, orange flames igniting on his hand. His movement was sluggish however something felt extremely off about him. The mana definitely came from his core however it wasn't shaped by him. Rather the spell was like he had some kind of mould and he just had to fill mana in it. The tiny blob of fire attacked me from behind, while his hand tried to grip me from the front.

I used mana to augment my legs and knees. With a quick dash I slid underneath between his legs and then pressed the ground. My speed doubled as I reached for the second mage behind him who was standing while leaning lazily against his sword.

"Huh", was all he could say as I used a quarter of my core's mana to punch him in his face. His skull crushed from the side with a huge crack and went flying, crashing into nearby stacked boxes. His face was unrecognisable, not a single semblance to his previous features.

The magicless man took a step back as I looked at him. "How silly of me. Boy looks 7 to 8 years old. He must've had 3-4 runes. Looks like you can bite pup... let's see how long you can keep this up with", he said as the sound of sword leaving its scabbard reverberated in the deserted alley.

Ever since I woke up here I have been improving every second. Like every second I was gaining something new. Getting stronger. Unlocking new mysteries. An average mage can get his elemental affinity after light red. It took me some time but now I know about myself.

The man's sword coated in flames in an instant... somehow the instantaneous spells seemed off. It seemed like it was pre-planned but just needed to be fueled by mana.

I let out a deep breath, reaching out for the warmth that came from the presence... or rather the small part of consciousness of the only one I remember in this world- Sylvia.

My light orange core started to shine even brightly, the golden runes that branched from the centre of the core formed an intricate design. Like the roots of an ancient tree it formed a complex nexus as I felt the surge of otherworldly information and power flush through me.

My hand extended, the ambient mana trembling. Somehow I could feel it, the feeling of withering away, becoming one with mana itself. Fire mana gathered around the tip of my index finger. The flames condensed into a ball formed swirls around it. Wind mana formed a sheen around it, supplying more and more oxygen to it. The flame changed colours in a near instant as it became blue in colour.

His sword came down in an arc however the sword melted on making contact with my flames, my blue fire eating away at his weaker flames. He winced back in pain and soon started screaming as my flames ate away at his arm.

Conjuring water mana I formed a small blob, enough to submerge his face in it. He flopped like a fish out of water everywhere, lack of oxygen slowly killing him. After a few minutes his movement died out, his soul finally leaving his body.

I turned towards the man who seemingly was their boss, "I just wanted these clothes. Why did you have to make a four-year-old go through so much?", I asked innocently, wiping the blood from my face with the shirt of the second mage. I walked towards his slowly,

"Y-You can have it. I don't want it anymore", he said, whimpering.

"Well of course I can have it now. Do you think you can take it back?", I said, letting my bloodlust run rampant.

"Wh- What do you want? I can give you any-"

"I want answers... and a little money if possible", I said sheepishly.

He rummaged through his pockets and threw two sacks of gold coins at me. Picking it up I placed it inside my pockets,

"I will try to answer", he said. He was pale, both from fear and cold of the rain. The arctic winds blew once again and thunder rumbled after a jolt of sky-splitting lightning.

"Where are we?", I asked, looking him dead in the eye.

"T-this is Scythe Dragoth's dominion, Vechor", he replied, looking at me warily.

After that I asked him about the magic systems and this continent. Apparently I had ended up on a different continent. Instead of forming a core, people here have a core already placed and are then bestowed runes in ceremonies. My hypothesis was proven correct. Each rune has a spell's mould in it. All the mage has to do is imbue mana in it.

The cast time and effectiveness depends upon the type of rune. Crest being the weakest and Regalia being the strongest. I wanted to ask him some more questions but I was running out of time. I could feel some more people with strong mana signatures moving in my direction.

"Your time is up", I said as I stood up and walked towards him.

"You said y- you"

"I never said anything about leaving you. I said I just wanted answers", I said as I smiled innocently.

"P-please have m-mercy", he whimpered as he sneezed.

"Mercy? "I put both of my hands over his either cheek, "What is that?" I said as I twisted his neck backwards, the crunch barely audible as another thunder boomed.

Standing up I walked towards the mages and stol- ehmm, borrowed every useful thing I could including a ring that had a rune over it. I didn't know what it was, but I picked it up regardless. Before anyone I could arrive, I ran away from there.

As I was running away my gaze trailed off to a nearby poster that was plastered over a wall. It was drenched and most of its contents had faded away. However, the header was visible. I walked closer as I tried to understand it.

It said "VICTAROID".