I had a dream that I was falling. My loved ones tried to save me, but they hesitated, so I kept falling. I fell for a while until I saw something. I grabbed onto it, hoping it would be my salvation, but instead, it swallowed me whole.
I jolted awake, my heart still pounding from the dream I just had. It had been a while since the last time I had a dream like that. I used to have them when I was alive in the other world or an infant in this life.
I pulled my hair back in a loose ponytail and looked out at the dark sky. It was just before sunrise. I slipped on black trousers and a black shirt that covered my neck. I felt like an assassin, but with my small stature, I looked unthreatening. Grabbing the black eye mask, I walked out of the room into the kitchen.
My mother was still sitting in the same seat. It looked as if she had been there all night. I closed the books that her arms were spiraled out on, marking the pages and setting them aside. She looked exhausted. I grabbed a pen and wrote a note stating that I was going to the clearing. Folding the letter, I placed it on top of the book's stack and quietly walked out the door.
I stood outside, gazing at the stars, the silence surrounding me. I had to take a moment to sit down and look around. I had never really been alone with my thoughts outside. These few moments, I truly felt alive. I tied the mask around my eyes and slowly trod down the path. Our house was in the middle of the village, which is why I always had to leave early, to prevent anyone from seeing me. No, it would probably be more of a town, was not big, but it was, in fact, a large settlement, but it was still small enough for everyone to know each other. Well, excluding me.
I couldn't help but take a detour to wander around the town. If my father was here, he would have never let me go out. It seemed very peicefull. A small school building for children my age and up stood behind an old church, with rows of small privately owned shops and restaurants lined the dirt road. The houses were mainly behind those buildings in an orderly fashion.
I headed back no the trail on my way to the clearing. I had been down this path for about a week now, so I knew my way fairly well.
After about an hour of walking around, the sun was already beginning to rise. I stood in the middle of the clearing, looking around at the trees, waiting for Dalia to peek out.
"What's with the mask?" I felt a hand tug my sleeve.
I whipped around. How was Dalia so easily able to sneak up on me?
"Oh, my eyes are sensitive, so I decided to wear this." I fidgeted, slightly tugging at my mask.
"Well, your lies seem to be getting worse every day." She scoffed. "But, I guess we dont really need to see your eyes."
"What do you mean by that? What are you going to be doing?" I sighed and sat down next to her feet.
"Well, even though your five, I can feel your spiritual power." She sat down next to me, staring at my hands.
"How can you do that? I thought you were the same age as me?" I looked at her suspiciously.
She was surprisingly knowledgeable. She reminded me a bit of myself.
"I'm a beastman! I'm surprised you couldn't tell by my appearance!" She laughed."At first, because of your weird eyes, I thought you were one too!" She pointed at my eye cover
"That doesn't explain how you can feel mana. I'm not even an awakened mage yet." I looked at her with a confused look in my eyes.
"I'm a special type of beastmen. You could say that my race of beastman is rare, almost extinct." She laughed and nervously looked down at her hands.
"What race are you? Not to prod into your private life." I looked over at her, puzzled. In the book I read about the different races of beastmen, it never mentioned any type that could sense mana, especially in children.
"It's okay. I'm actually a Pheonix, but I can't make any cool transformations. The only Pheonix's who become mages can transform into their beast form, unlike all the other races of beastmen. This is why Pheonix's are so rare," she explained.
"Your mana signal is already so strong, even stronger than some awakened mages, which is strange because your only as old as me!" She looked excited and looked at me, face to face.
"I've always wanted to try this!" Her voice slightly rose as she raised her hand, her skin somewhat glowing.
She pressed her hand against my chest and closed her eyes, muttering something. Dalia pulled her hand away, staring at me intently.
"Huh.. it didn't work. I'm probably too young anyway." She sighed and flopped down.
I was still a bit flustered. What was Dalia trying to do?
"Wh- what were you trying to do?" I shifted back a little.
"I was trying to awaken you. Sometimes Pheonix's can help awaken mages. I thought it would be easy for you because your mana level is already so high, but I guess you cant until you're of age. Anyway, do you want to train for a little bit?" She cocked her head and stood up.
"Alright. Want to show me a few things that you can do?" I asked.
"Sure! might as well!" Dalia smiled.
We went at it for a while, giving each other tips and even improving our skills. Being only 5, like me, Dalia was surprisingly very skilled at martial arts. My father was mainly training me in sword skills, so it felt nice to switch it around.
"See you at the same time tomorrow?" Dalia brushed off her pants and stood up.
"I'm going to be training tomorrow with my father. How about this time next week?" I asked.
I didn't want my father to know about me meeting people. There was no doubt I would never be able to go out by myself again.
"Ah... okay, that's fine!"
Dalia sounded a little bit disappointed, but it was apparent that she understood.
It was already the afternoon. The town was probably already bustling, so I decided to cut through the forest. I never really went past the clearing, and I really wanted to take the time to look around while I could. There was a small clear stream that cut through the middle of a small ditch. I sat down and looked up at the canopy of trees over my head.
I suddenly felt a jolt of pain in my chest. I clutched my shirt and curled my legs inward. The pain began growing even more intense. I gasped for breath, which only amplified my suffering. What was going on? I could feel my muscles tearing as my body twisted in agony. Why now? Why so, suddenly?
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