Peck's life before he met Sen.

Batoru had many orphanages. Parents often left their children there for various reasons. In some cases, information was available about each child's relatives, but Peck belonged to a group about which nothing was known.

Peck simply appeared out of nowhere inside the orphanage. Someone entered without alerting anyone and left him there. With so many magicians in Batoru it would not be unusual to think that a magician could leave Peck there without a trace. What was intriguing was the reaction of the orphanage caretakers to Peck. From the moment they saw him they decided to reject him and refer him to another orphanage.

No matter how many attempts there were to delegate the responsibility of caring for Peck, he always returned to the same place.

The highest authority in the orphanage was an elderly woman, and she decided to get rid of Peck herself. The day she tried to do so, she left in the early morning and returned in the evening, still holding Peck in her arms. The old woman returned with pale skin and shadows under her eyes, trembling with dread. Whatever happened that day she never revealed.

That same day, the old woman in charge of the orphanage committed suicide.

The successors chose to take care of Peck when they determined that it was impossible to get rid of him.

Resentment towards the child made no sense. They themselves did not understand it when they talked about it; there was only the need to despise him. This irrational anger overcame reason. In any case, if they did not make an effort to take care of him, he would die sooner or later: they chose to follow that plan.

But no, they were wrong. Peck grew at a normal rate and in good health, he never got sick. Even if he didn't eat for days, Peck somehow regained his energy. Over the course of time they lost several children, but never Peck.

However, how Peck felt was different.

***

He could tell: they didn't accept him, and no matter how much he thought about it, he couldn't understand it. When he was away from the other children they played happily and seemed happy. Whenever Peck came near them everything changed and they acted hostile towards him.

I haven't done anything to them, why are they like that with me?

He could never find an answer.

Another of his misfortunes had to do with the classes.

The children at the orphanage received special education. Peck had trouble learning to read and write, but worse, he couldn't perform magic. There was no effort to try to find out why this was happening, they just left it at that. Peck sensed the huge difference between him and the rest of his classmates.

Because of his great failure with magic, Peck believed himself incapable of anything and began to fail at anything he tried.

***

One day, Peck was curious about his age. Usually each child's birthday at the orphanage was assigned according to the day they arrived if they didn't know the information, but Peck didn't have a specific date.

Until a certain point, Peck didn't even know his age.

Peck's emptiness grew when he witnessed a birthday party. Not feeling comfortable at the orphanage, he spent most of his time away from there. In the distance, he saw the birthday of a white-haired girl who seemed to be very important.

Around the girl there was a great and warm atmosphere. She was loved and showered with compliments, but Peck didn't know what compliments were until then.

Later, after that party, Peck met a fortune teller who was in disguise. To give him a demonstration, he gave the exact amount of time Peck had lived:

Ten years, two months and fourteen days.

Peck beamed with joy at such a discovery, he felt grateful for that fortune teller. He went to find the rest of his classmates at the orphanage to meet him, perhaps introducing them to someone fun would help improve their relationship.

Still, when they arrived, the fortune teller was gone.

Peck was branded a liar.

***

One of the great events of Batoru was the invasion of monsters.

Suddenly hairy lizard-like creatures that had eyes all along their bodies attacked. They were as big as the houses of Batoru. As he tried to fight them, they became stronger.

And the current leader of Batoru, who was already suffering from his illness, could do nothing but hold them off. It was then that his apprentice appeared to expel the creatures. She was just a girl who attacked with beams of light, but she saved everyone.

That was the moment when everyone met Sen.

Peck, hiding behind some rubble, watched as everyone celebrated Sen and her feat. However, he no longer remembers this event, nor does he remember that this was when he actually met Sen.

He thought he should go and talk to her, but he heard a man's voice behind him.

“If you were like her, everyone would be on your side”.

Peck turned around, but no one was there.

Be...like her? What does that mean?

Peck thought about that for several days.

He never determined where that voice came from, but what was important were those words.

Those thoughts stayed with Peck, somehow, the other children developed the same idea and wished they were strong like that girl.

For no reason, that was reflected in them testing their magic on Peck in different ways.

Seeing cut and burn marks all over his body became a daily occurrence, but he received no medical treatment. Peck was recovering on his own, strangely that did not weaken his health, but he had already exceeded his limit.

Peck escaped from the orphanage two months after the monster attack.

***

Being on his own, Peck survived by doing whatever it took. No matter what it took, no matter how much he had to stoop or suffer, Peck would do it to stay alive another day.

He was a wizard who couldn't do magic.

An insignificant existence.

Why I am still alive?

There was no sense in that. All logic indicated that he should be dead.

Why can't I die?

A person who had nothing but horrible memories.

Peck was in tattered clothes looking haggard. He stood in the rain with no protection whatsoever, in a dreary alley filled with garbage. He was suffering from cold and hunger.

I’m… hungry…

At a certain point, Peck began eating everything that seemed edible. Still, he didn't get sick, but he felt weak.

In that situation, he could only ask himself:

Where are mom and dad? did they hate me too?

Eventually, that seemed the most logical choice.

Peck's parents did not love him.

Two people passed in front of Peck, one of them dropped a purse that when it hit the ground let go a knife. They left without picking it up.

Peck watched for a moment and walked over to the puddle of water where the knife fell. He picked up the knife and pointed it at his neck.

“What are you doing?”

A voice called out to him.

He looked to the sides, but no one was there.

He heard a pane of glass shatter.

Peck looked down, pushed the bag away and in the puddle of water saw his own reflection. In his reflex, he saw himself angry.

“All ofi t will be in vain if you do so.”.

The voice from before came from his reflex. Peck felt confused, but he was so tired that he didn't think much about it. Although he couldn't feel his face angry, he could see that at least his reflection was. Peck was sure he hadn't spoken, but he could see his 'other self' moving his mouth.

Peck didn't have the strength to answer him.

“It is not your life that you must end. The enemy you must eliminate is still out there”.

But Peck did not know who the enemy was, and even if he did, he did not have the power to subdue him.

“I know what's going on in your head. I know what you want to do. If you can't do it yourself, let me do it”.

Peck's eyes, which were on the verge of closing, widened in fear.

“Can you do it?”

Peck finally replied.

“…Just sleep, when you wake up you're going to feel better. I promise.”

That night Peck slept peacefully. When he awoke he felt no distress, no pain, no hunger. He was in perfect condition, except for his clothes and hygiene.

From one moment to the next, reality changed for him because he forgot much of what he had experienced.

He checked the place where the puddle was, there was only a piece of paper with a map that had a location marked on it. If he followed the map he would find Leben.

Peck then remembered what he heard some time ago:

If you were like her, everyone would be on your side.

The next thing Peck would remember is that from then on he would try to defeat Leben.

What Peck doesn't remember is that he didn't leave immediately. He visited each and every one of his supposed enemies, everyone who hurt him suffered severe punishment. Many witnesses saw Peck in the act, but no one could stop him. The boy who could not use magic suddenly became an extremely dangerous wizard.

Peck would lose all memory of his evil deeds. Every memory that tormented him was sealed away. Only a few things remained: his desperate need for acceptance and that he would be hated if he failed, that if he failed he would suffer terrible consequences. Whenever he thought of returning to Batoru he vaguely remembered that pain to prevent it.

Peck had no ally in this world.

Peck's memory functioned abnormally. He remembered what he considered necessary to become stronger, but sometimes, even if he did not remember exactly, the sensations of having lived through a terrible experience lingered: this was reflected in spasms and tremors.

Peck even forgot his own nightmares.

Even the conversation in the puddle could not be remembered.

***

In actuality, Peck was not able to answer Sen's questions and only rambled on. That is why Sen, realizing this, touched his fingers to Peck's temple to use a spell that would allow her to see Peck's memories.

By executing that spell Sen could also make Peck remember everything, but that would have a serious consequence.

Now that she found out what Peck's life was like she would have to decide what would be the best method to help him.

And so, Sen made her choice.

---

Next chapter arrives on Thursday!