Farewells

Amir was stealthily making his way through the village toward the bank, having devised a plan to sabotage the village in the most impactful way. Most villages with sufficient resources had a bank where they consolidated their wealth, Amir saw this as a prime target. His strategy was rooted in the fact that, in the past, magic beast attacks had devastated villages, leaving homes defenseless. This often led to widespread looting and chaos, with many villagers left broke as a result.

The bank quickly became an important part of how the empire ran as most banks were well protected and robbing a bank would be a crime and you would be hunted by academy officials and that's the last thing anyone would want.

The academy officials didn't matter to him as he had a plan to avoid getting caught. He soon arrived at the bank. The bank was entirely constructed of wood and presented a unique and inviting appearance, featuring a rustic façade with large wooden beams and planks. It had a sloped roof, adorned with wooden shingles.

'So they still have two guards protecting the place.' he thought a bit annoyed

Outside of the bank, Amir could see two guards in their usual brown jackets and pants. He hid himself out of site so that no one could see him. He was hoping to draw away all the guards to Ronald's house, but it was only wishful thinking. 

'Guess it wouldn't be that easy huh.'

Amir then left the area and went to one of the houses not too far from the bank. Breaking the window he jumped in. 

'If it wasn't for the harvest festival this would have been more complicated.' he thought as he pulled out a large brown sack 

He opened the sack and pulled out a brown barrel. Amir had found more things in the house and one such item was a spatial bag. This was an item a mage created by weaving the thread in a spell formation so that it could carry large and heavy loads in a small item.

'I knew this would come in handy.'

Amir started to shake the alcohol out of the barrel emptying it all over the wooden floor. He then took out two pieces of stone and started to get to work.

***

Standing outside the bank were two tall white burly men one with brown, black hair and a scar on his face and the other with black curly hair.

"The fire seems to be a big one, this just ruined the whole festival." The guard with curly head said with a look of disappointment.

"Man tell me about it, this sucks I wanted to go and eat some food and get me woman tonight." The man with the scar retorted

The curly-haired guard sighed, turning his gaze toward the column of smoke rising in the distance.

"Who do you think started the fire? Someone had to set it, right? I mean, it's not like a fire can just start without magic."

His companion, a man with a prominent scar, shot him a look of exasperation and sighed heavily.

"Of course, you can start a fire without magic, you idiot. It's just that no one bothers to do it," he replied, his tone dripping with annoyance.

"Come on, man! No one would bother when you can just use magic," the curly-haired guard insisted, his voice tinged with disbelief.

To him, the idea of starting a fire without magic was absurd, almost alien. Everyone relied on magic for everything, and the thought of someone doing something so basic without it seemed ridiculous.

"Whatever. I'm not saying someone did that," the scarred man muttered, rolling his eyes. "This was probably just a magic beast that wandered into the village."

He knew that if a magic beast capable of burning Asher wood was in the village, they could be in for some trouble. If it was just one, they could handle it easily enough. But if it turned out to be a pack, they might have to cancel the entire festival.

Suddenly he saw a house not too far away smoldering.

"Hey Ray, I think you're right about the magic beast. Because that house is on fire." The curly hair man said pointing to the house

Turning in his direction Ray saw the burning house and could only lament their bad luck.

"Dammit all! I'll go check it out if you stay here. If it's a pack I'll send a warning signal, you go call the rest of the guards." "We need to kill it before it burns the whole village down."

Ray start running off to go check out the fire And the curly-haired man also left to go get the guards to come and help. 

Soon after a boy in a black jacket came walking to the bank brushing off soot from his jacket.

"Okay, that went better than expected." He said with a slight surprise

He was almost out of alcohol and didn't know if he would have had enough to start the fire. Thankful that it all worked out he was happy. Not wasting any time, he entered the bank. Inside, the exposed wooden beams and walls, create a warm atmosphere. The flooring consisted of polished wooden planks, while the furniture — desks, chairs, and waiting areas made the place look very professional even though everything was made out of wood.

Rushing past everything Amir immediately rushed to where the vault was. Coming upon the vault he noticed that it was made out of Asher wood as well. He laughed at their overconfidence.

"I knew you all would do this but the fact that you guys didn't buy anything to protect the vault was stupid," Amir said with a laugh

Pulling a sword in a black scabbard he unsheathed it as he gripped it tightly. With two hands on the sword, he slashed down with all his strength. The sword sliced through the vault reluctantly.

Amir's arms drooped with the sword after slashing the door and breathed heavily. He Didn't expect the vault to be so thick.

"Damn, that was stronger than I thought it'd be." He said with a haggard breath

Taking a few seconds to catch his breath he hunched over before getting up to go into the vault. Stepping into the vault room his eyes shined a low golden glow. He saw many shelves lining the walls vault with many small bags inside.

Taking out his spatial bag he started flapping it In the air.

"That's what I'm talking about let's go shopping baby!" He said with a wide smile

Amir thoroughly went through all the draws took all the spatial bags and dropped them him in his bag. The people in the village weren't rich but all together there was bound to be a large sum.

"Hey, stop!" A voice said

Amir froze, his heart skipping a beat as his face paled.

'Shit,' he thought, spinning around to see the scar-faced guard from earlier.

"Hey, kid, you shouldn't be running around the village right now. There's a magic beast on the loose, and we can't have civilians getting caught up in it."

"Sorry, sir," Amir replied, his voice laced with feigned innocence. "I was just heading to my mom's house to stay safe from all the chaos."

The guard squinted at him, trying to place where he'd seen the boy before. After a moment, he shook his head and waved him off. He had bigger problems to deal with—like finding that magic beast.

"Alright, hurry up and get going before your mom starts worrying."

Amir didn't waste a second. He took off, quickly putting distance between himself and the guard. As the guard watched the boy run off, a nagging feeling gnawed at him—something about the kid being there felt off, but he shoved the thought aside. There were more pressing matters at hand.

Reaching the far side of the village, Amir finally allowed himself to breathe. His expression hardened, and his eyes burned with anger.

"The people in this village deserve everything that's coming to them," he muttered bitterly.

Robbing the bank would crush the village financially, leaving its residents destitute. Amir didn't care about any of the villagers; to him, they were all trash. They had laughed at him, ridiculed him after he was deemed a cripple during the elemental test four years ago. Making them suffer was well worth it.

Now, all that remained was to frame someone else so that when they finally figured out what had happened, they wouldn't be able to pin it on him. His face twisted into a dark, sinister expression as he plotted his next move.

***

Ronald had spent his life working his way up and making connections and after a long time, he became the village chief and even the servant of a baron. He had finally made it to a point where one of his kids would become a student at an academy. He was inching closer to his dream of being a noble.

"Why is this happening to me? why is my house burning down!"

Ronald slumped on the floor, a look of utter defeat on his face. Everything he had worked for was going up in flames—every document, every book, every spell technique he had painstakingly acquired. But what pained him most was the loss of the magic core he had fought so hard to obtain. The mere thought of it made his heart ache.

"The place reeks of alcohol. I think someone used it to set the house on fire. I doubt a magic beast did this," a deep voice said.

Ronald looked up at the man, his anger flaring. "Then if someone did this, find them, you idiot! What do you think I'm paying you for?"

The man shook his head, looking down at Ronald with a mix of disdain and resignation. It grated on him to be yelled at by this fat fool, but the pay was better than mercenary work.

"Everyone, go home and stay inside. The village is on lockdown for the next day. If you try to leave, you'll be stopped by force," he barked loudly.

He had already sent guards to watch the entrance, and he was prepared to search house by house if necessary. There was only one safe way out of the village, and anyone foolish enough to try fighting the magic beasts in the forest would be dead by sunrise.

"Elijah, Jordan, don't worry—we'll find who did this, and they'll pay," he said, trying to reassure the group.

Elijah, Jordan, and Sophia stood watching their home burn, each with a different expression. Jordan looked a little sad, while Sophia sobbed uncontrollably. Elijah, however, stared at the flames with cold indifference. Their minds were a whirl of thoughts and emotions as they watched everything, they had known turn to ash.

***

As he stood in that room, memories of the past came rushing back.

"Mama, will I be strong in the future?"

A woman with black hair and eyes approached him, her face soft and kind. A gold ring hung from the necklace around her neck. She kissed his forehead. "My son, you will be a star that shines brighter than any other. You are my little sunshine."

"A star?"

"Yes, a star, like the bright sparkles you see in the night sky."

The boy's eyes lit up. "I want to be a star, Mama, and shine bright in the sky for you and the world to see."

"You will, my son. You're destined for great things," she said

***

"I'm sorry, miss, but he has no mana in his body. He's a cripple."

A boy stood over a magic ball in the village square as his whole world was shattered.

***

"How could I give birth to such a useless creature?" 

"I... I could never give birth to a cripple. This must be a mistake." Grabbing her face with a crazed look

***

"You just haven't awakened your mana because I didn't beat you enough!"

"What are you doing? Get back here when I'm talking to you!"

***

"Get the hell out of my house. you freak."

"Something like you could never be my son!" she said shouting

The sound of the door being pulled snapped him out of his thoughts.

"Who the hell destroyed my house?!" the voice of a woman said

"Baby, step behind me. I'll check it out."

A man with a big frame and muscular build stepped through the doorway, scanning the room.

"Is that a kid?"

In front of him stood a little boy with black hair and eyes, his body thin and malnourished.

"That smell... is it coming from him? Disgusting!"

His face twisted in disgust as he moved to throw the boy out. The boy stood silently in the room, his face pale and his body drenched in sweat. "Listen, kid, I don't know which garbage bin you crawled out of, but you'd better get outta here before I beat your ass."

He grabbed the boy, but to his surprise, he couldn't move him.

"What the... why won't he...?"

Before he could finish, a blow to his face knocked him unconscious.

"You're annoying. Stop talking," he said, his eyes emitting a faint golden glow.

stepping forward he looked up to see a woman with black hair and eyes. "It's time for our family reunion."

A cold silence filled the air as a woman with black hair stood before him. His expression darkened.

"No words for your son? I've finally become a star. Don't you want to see me shine?" he said with a smile

"A... Amir?" she muttered softly

"You know my name? That's good. You remember the sound you abandoned name."

She stared at me, terrified, as she saw Brad, her new boyfriend, knocked out cold. The shock was palpable—Brad, a guard, was supposed to be strong. How had this happened?

Quick to assess the danger, she realized she was in something was very wrong the boy was supposed to be a useless cripple so how could he have possibly knocked out Brad. "Wait... why don't we talk about this? You're my son, after all..."

Boom! The sound of the impact reverberated through the room as Karen was thrown into the wall, coughing up blood.

"Don't you dare call me your son!" He said as his face twisted with anger

"Who do you think you are to call me your son?"

"Wa... wait..." She said struggling to speak 

"Shut up!" His rage boiled over as he grabbed her by the throat, squeezing tightly. "I've waited for this day for years, dreaming of the moment I'd have the chance to show you how strong I'd become."

"Aren't you proud Mom your useless son had finally become worth something. I a star now right Mom?" he said as his voice grew more unstable

"I... can't... breathe..." she said weakly

"I said stop talking!" He squeezed her throat tighter. 

He tightened his grip; his eyes began to glow brighter.

"P... please... n..o"

As the light faded from her eyes, I felt a strange sensation. This is what I wanted—to end her life for everything she had done. He had originally come to use her as his scapegoat, but he could always find another.

"She must die," he reassured himself

But just as she was about to die, his body suddenly stopped moving. His hands went limp, and he froze still to the floor. Karen slid down the wall as he collapsed to the floor.

"Why can't I move?!" 

He was bewildered and enraged.

"Well, that's simple. I disabled all the muscles in your body." A voice suddenly said

"What?! How did you do that?" he asked back

"Oh, you're not the least bit surprised that I'm here. How interesting," she said with a slight Suprise

Seeing the figure at the door, a mix of emotions hit me—anger, fear, and even a hint of gratitude.

Ever since she put that strange energy in his body, He'd been on guard, just in case she was watching me. I thought she had lost interest when I saw no sign of her, but now it all made sense. She had been watching me the whole time. He was too reckless.

Valerie shook her head as she looked at me. "I had a feeling something like this would happen, but if he kills this woman, the academy will come after him, and there's nothing I can do at that point."

She walked over to me and knelt, staring directly into my eyes. "If you kill this woman, you'll never be the star you want to be. You might think you're tough enough to escape the law, but if you do, you'll be dead before you reach the next city."

Her words shocked him to his core. She said he couldn't be a star.

"How do you know about that?"

Without a hint of emotion, she continued, "If I already know your dreams and hopes, what else do you think I know? I don't know if it's that bloodline you've got that's been messing with your head, but I'll say this only once, so listen closely."

Despite his helplessness, he focused intently. He had no choice—He was completely at her mercy.

"You think you're strong, kid, but you have no idea what strength is. What makes you think you're the only star, or that others don't aim for the stars as well? This world is filled with dangers and wonders, but you're being held back by the anger and revenge in your heart. You need to let it go, or you'll end up dead. This isn't some fairy tale where the hero becomes invincible. The waters of this world run deep."

"Now tell me, will you stay here and exact your revenge, or will you choose a different path? The choice is yours."

As she spoke those words, he felt control return to his body.

Standing up, he checked myself for any injuries. Feeling normal again, I turned to face the woman standing before me, then glanced at his unconscious mother, her nose bleeding.

"Miss, I'll be honest—I want to kill her, and I'm sure it would feel amazing." His hands balled into fists, and blood started to drip from them. "But I don't want to lose myself in this feeling. I don't want to become evil."

Valerie gave a slight smile as she looked at me. "Guess he hasn't completely lost himself. There's still hope for him."

"That's a good answer, kid. Now, sleep."

As she said those words, my mind became fuzzy, and I started to collapse to the floor again.

"Not this again," He muttered.

Before the boy could collapse, Valerie appeared at his side, catching him effortlessly. Her gaze shifted to the unconscious woman across the room, her expression darkening.

"How could a child come from someone so vile? People like her shouldn't be allowed near anything innocent," she muttered.

With Amir slung over her shoulder, she strode over to the woman. "Quit pretending, or I'll finish you off myself."

Karen's eyes snapped open in terror. "Please, don't kill me! I'll do anything you want. If it's the boy you want, you can have him." she pleaded

"Have him? Like he's your possession? How revolting."

Valerie's voice dripped with disdain. "I didn't save you because I'm some kind of hero. That boy was ready to kill you, and I stopped him, not for your sake, but for mine. You see, I'm not as merciful as he is. Killing you would be too easy."

Karen's fear turned to pure terror as she realized the danger she was in. Her body refused to move, her voice caught in her throat as Valerie's hand hovered above her head. The last thing she felt was a cold, paralyzing fear before she lost consciousness.

A moment later, her shadow flickered, and a man in a butler's suit appeared beside her.

"My lady, are you certain this boy is worth all the trouble?" he asked, his tone filled with concern.

Valerie shook her head as she turned to him. "No one's ever worth this much trouble. But he's not a lost cause, and humanity could use another bloodline right now."

The man understood the value of another bloodline, but he remained skeptical. This boy seemed too unstable, too unpredictable for the weight being placed on him.

"And what do you plan to do with him?" he inquired, a hint of skepticism in his voice.

Valerie smiled. "Why, I'm going to teach him, of course. What else are teachers for?"