Chapter 1 - Alive

I don't feel anything.

Around me, the seemingly infinite void surrounds me.

I've been in this state for so long, I've had every possible reaction.

After all, what is time? how can I measure it, without a point of reference that breaks down in the face of such a natural law.

I just know that I'm here, to the point where all my memories have worn out, the few I still have, are summed up in sensations and feelings, which many times dominate my conscience.

Since there's not much to do, I accepted this "inert" state, trying not to have hopes of getting out of this state, just enjoying the moment and enjoying the present.

There is no body or distractions around me, so as usual, I empty my mind and go into meditation, hoping that at least I will cease to exist.

However.

I felt pain.

Was something tingling towards what felt like my head?

Since when do I have a head?

Suddenly, something seemed to be pulsing inside me, pumping out a viscous fluid from head to toe.

The numb feeling overcame me, but from the sensations I was having, I soon realized.

I'm in a body!

Going deeper into my consciousness, I can feel, humanoid shape, apparently human, my heartbeat is slightly weak, but it's still early for judgments.

The silence that tormented me was no longer present, what took over was a light noise, I have no references from my memories to describe it, but there was certainly an atmosphere where my body inhabited.

Even though I had my eyes closed, my surroundings became more and more clear.

There was air, there were noises, there was heat, there was body and smell... of blood?

I don't know how my soul ended up in this body, but I'm getting used to it pretty quickly.

After a few tries, in about 60 seconds I was able to move a finger.

My body control was confused, but little by little I took note of how to command it.

I focused on my head, where my eyes should be, and with a little force, I forced my eyelids open.

What appeared before me was a gray wall, or a bedroom ceiling to be precise.

There was little light in what appeared to be the room, looking around, I could see a window to my right, the open window clearly displayed a view of a dark, starry and clean sky, the moonlight invaded the room, forming shadows on all sides. objects it hits.

Looking at such a view, I felt emotional, tears threatened to fall from my eyes, just the insignificant act of looking at the sky, made me feel alive.

Again looking around the room, I notice that I'm lying on a bed, there was a table and a chair next to the bed, a wardrobe in the corner of the room, other than that the room was quite ordinary, there was nothing special to mention.

Trying to move my body, I felt pain, looking at my abdomen, I could see bloody bands, it appeared to be a slight wound.

The pain was tolerable, although it was pretty easy?

Forcing myself a little I sit up and pull my legs to the edge of the bed, feeling my feet touching the cold floor gave me a refreshing sensation.

Trying to get up, I almost fall over, my sense of balance seems to be off, which forces me to use the walls for support.

Approaching the table, which contained a candle, a mirror and a book on it.

Taking the mirror with one hand, I see the reflection of a teenager who appeared to be around 12 or 13 years old, he had black hair, slightly long almost reaching his shoulders, his eyes were dark, despite the poor lighting it seemed to reflect a intelligence light.

My body was slightly thin, but there were few prominent muscles, looking at my hands, there were calluses, probably consequences of the actions of the former "I".

Sitting down in the chair, placing the book in my hands, I open it to the first page.

Daily

Drake Crimson

Hi, today is my 10th birthday

And today, it's been 10 years since my mother died.

I don't like this melancholy climate but it ends up being inevitable

My father is a noble, a military man for the Crimson family, and the strongest candidate to become the next family head.

My mother was just a servant, of unknown origin, but according to what they say she was quite beautiful and I seem to have inherited her features.

Despite having common blood in my veins, everyone in the family still had little hope that I would inherit the Crimson talents.

But reality can be cruel sometimes...

Even though I had above-average intelligence, my body constitution and mana sensitivity were only mediocre.

They had expectations of me.

But at age 8, meridian test results showed how pathetic I was.

I didn't have the talent to absorb mana into my brain, to strengthen my mastery of mana and become something like a mage.

Much less about absorbing mana through the body, forming a core that absorbs mana but emits aura, which is the specialty of the Crimson.

Since then, my father, who until now tolerated my existence, began to treat me coldly, even though I carry the surname Crimson, among the direct line, I am ridiculed.

Sometimes I'm treated like a walking punching bag or target for my siblings, which has sharpened my sense of danger quite a bit. But since they were free to beat me, I could only resist.

I know the world is for the fittest and all, but sometimes I think they could be a little more... compassionate? Nah.

The only one I can blame is myself for being weak.

I might as well drop the Crimson name and live like a normal person, but I don't want to be normal, I want to be stronger, I want my family to recognize me, I want the world to recognize my name.

But I am weak, at least a conscious weak one.

Despite everything, I don't hate this family, even with their brutal methods, it's precisely this life of survival that makes Crimson members different.

In addition, there is my grandfather, the current patriarch, perhaps because he is the strongest in the family, he allows himself to show some emotions and treats all grandchildren equally.

He makes our family dinner a lot of fun with his sense of bad jokes.

Well, I think that's it for today, I have to go to sleep, regardless of absorbing mana or not, I have to keep training.

---

Looking at the worn diary in his hand "Drake" found the boy's line of reasoning interesting,

despite all the adversities and his internal conflicts, the boy was concerned with developing his own strength.

With interest, he continued flipping through the few pages that contained some notes, among them, he obtained some information.

Crimson Family

The Crimson family was a renowned family on the Human continent, ranking among the top 10. Just based on its absolute power in the military field.

His name originated from his ancestor, who demonstrated an innate power to break his limits "almost" whenever he was in the face of death.

They've been protecting the southern side of the human continent for generations.

The Human continent bordered the Demon continent, what separated them was only a dense forest, which their colors would gradually change from green to black.

This world was composed of 4 large continents, separated by their races, Humans, Elves, Dwarves, Demons.

They were currently at an impasse, there were no major wars at the moment, all races tolerated each other. But there were always small conflicts, which did not necessarily generalize all beings of a race.

There were resentments, especially towards demons, as demons had a different constitution, being able to practice evil techniques and empower themselves through heinous acts.

But little by little, relations between the 4 continents stabilized.

--

As he mulled over the facts in his mind, Drake wore a thoughtful expression.

It's been 2 years since the 10 year anniversary. Currently being 12 years old, with no mana core, just relying on his physical abilities.

He couldn't remember what happened before he woke up, but from the notes, the boy decided to hunt a demonic beast alone, without mana.

The bandages on his belly, the dried blood, the numbness in the wound, demonstrated that he had been treated.

Getting up and looking out his window, he took in what his home looked like. Great walls separated the grassy plain from his home. Was your room in a high place, probably 4 floors?

Dense forests could be seen in the distance, on the horizon where they almost bordered, some dark trees could be seen.

The wind breeze greeted and moved all the vegetation, the moonlight illuminated the world in its maximum fullness of a full moon, the clean dark sky, calmed other people's thoughts.

From afar a large gray castle could be seen, with great walls, with four small towers in its four directions.

In one of the windows of that castle, there was a young man with dark hair, the lights of the stars seemed to reflect in his eyes, his hair moved with the breeze of the wind. Little by little, a smile formed on his face.