She walked over to the crib, picked me up, and put me in a sort of backpack. Un walked out of the room, and I had a decent view of the orphanage. From what I could tell, there was a central pavilion the rest of the building went around. The orphanage was about three stories, with about four to five rooms per side. Maybe not true in the front but I can’t see there from this path. The building had seen better days and needed minor repairs here and there. It was gray stone with dark wood trim throughout.

We reached a kitchen, where several staff were filing in. The instant they all saw Unn, any smile or joy vanished from their faces. Her looking upset must be rare. Unn sat down, setting me in her lap as she waited for the staff of the day to arrive. They all wordlessly sat down, waiting for Unn to speak.

“Aut is dead. I will arrange for his funeral, and for someone to replace him. I will take charge of watching Ash in the meantime.” Unn informed the staff. The mood was instantly crushed.

“What happened?” Woona asked.

“I’m not sure.” Unn lied. Why is she lying?

“Why do you need to watch Ash?” A different one probed.

“Ash has <Death Magic>. He needs to be watched until he’s old enough to understand how dangerous it is.” Unn answered.

“Is it smart to keep him around?” one of them checked.

“We aren’t turning away a child because they have a difficult <Affinity>.” Unn snapped.

“What about when he’s older?” the second one asked.

“We’ll cross that bridge when we get there. A lot will depend on how Ash is when he’s older.” Unn stated. Or if my parents return. I doubt it, but you never know.

They discussed some of the logistics of running the orphanage, as well as Aut’s funeral. I felt like I’d been stabbed as they discussed the funeral. I’m sorry Aut. Unn dodged a few questions. She’s keeping the deal off the record. Everything seemed decided as Unn put me back in the backpack and walked back to her office. As she walked, I noticed a few other kids. I wonder what they’re like. We reached her office, where Unn set me in a crib. She plopped into her seat, grabbing her head as she let out a deep sigh.

“Why couldn’t they have left you with Acill? He’s right above in Gyzga.” Unn grumbled. She shuddered a bit, taking a few composing breaths.

“Why is his wife such a bitch? The first place that bastard would check too is with Acill. Why are you being more considerate to him than me?” Unn whined.

“Because he’s such a close friend; you are trying not to drag him into this mess. I’m not so innocent.” Unn sighed. I didn’t ask for this. I’m sorry.

“What am I going to do with you? Aut was teaching you <Iron Skin>. Should I resume? Or teach you <Spells>? I can deal with your <Magic>.” Unn mused.

Unn walked over, taking off the bangle. I could feel my <Mana> flow around me again. Unn sighed, sitting back down at her desk. What should I do? I need to be able to defend myself. What if they try again? Being a baby is a massive hurdle. I tried summoning the knife again. Unn walked over, seeing what I was doing. After a few moments, I had a fully formed kitchen knife in my hand.

“Interesting. <Reinforcement> and <Manifestation> are similar, but how is a baby performing <Manifestation>? That shouldn’t be possible.” Unn muttered. She tapped the edge of the knife, before looking surprised at the light scratch on her finger. Why is it surprising? Aut has been showing me quite a bit.

“I thought Aut was exaggerating what you could do. No wonder he freaked out.” Unn stated. What about <Manifestation> is odd for a baby?

“I’ll need to think about it. You seem to have talent for <Physical Magic>.” Unn told herself.

She sat back down at her desk, taking some deep breaths. I’m sorry. She began working on some more paperwork. I kept up <Iron Skin>, practicing what Aut showed me. Who is Acill? Why does Unn think my parents would leave me with him? Aut would be alive. I felt these odd pangs in my chest. My throat felt weirdly tight.

Unn was quiet for a while. My stomach growled after about two hours. I made some noises, which got her attention. She walked over with her stern glare. I made a few more noises until she realized I was hungry. It’s the best I can do. I grimaced through the sludge. This taste terrible. Not soon after, I needed a diaper change. Unn put me back into the crib and returned to her desk.

My <Mana> recovered a bit. I continued practicing what Aut showed me. I need to practice this every chance I get. Thank you for showing me this Aut; you saved me. I used <Iron Skin> on one hand and took the knife in the other. This is probably a bad idea, but practice is what I need most. I still stabbed myself with the knife to see if my <Iron Skin> held up. It let out a loud clang sound as they collided. I barely felt that. Unn materialized next to me with a face quite less than amused.

“Did this baby just test its own <Iron Skin>?” Unn muttered to herself.

“I need to practice. It’s what Aut would’ve wanted.” I whimpered.

“You really do seem to respond like you understand and talk back.” Unn observed, shaking her head a bit.

“I do though.” I informed her. Only baby noises came out though.

“What an odd baby. Don’t do that again.” Unn lectured before returning to her desk.

But. What else do I do? No amount of begging was going to bring Aut back. No matter how much I want him back. I kept up my <Iron Skin>. Why? Why did Aut pay the price? This hollow void ate at my soul as I thought about Aut. My <Iron Skin> wavered a bit. Unn was going in and out a lot. Probably arranging for the funeral.

I practiced what Aut showed me until my <Mana> was exhausted. The headache that came with using all my <Mana> up was agonizing. Unn checked on me after several hours, seeing me shifting in the crib. She put a hand on me, and her face turned to pure confusion.

“Why aren’t you crying? You’ve used your <Mana> all up.” Unn stated.

She picked me up and began feeding me some sludge. I powered through it, enjoying my <Mana> recovering a bit. Will I even get to go to the funeral? I doubt it. I won’t even get to say goodbye. My heart felt so heavy; I wanted to scream. What good would it do? I did a few mini flails to vent this feeling. It did little to improve how I was actually feeling. Unn came over to investigate the noise I was making.

“I guess training with Aut everyday probably means he’s been exhausting all your energy.” Unn sighed.

“That’s not it!” I cried at her. She just shook her head in annoyance.

“Here, this should tire you out.” Unn stated, handing me a little ball.

I instantly felt the ball try and rip every drop of <Mana> out of me. What is this? I tried moving it away from me, but the ball seemed to crave going near me. It went to swat it with one of my infant arms. It felt like I was trying to move the world when I pushed against the ball. Why? I tried voicing my discomfort. With Unn, it seemed to fall on deaf ears. She watched me struggle with the ball for what felt like an eternity before taking it away. Bitch. My baby body did not have the strength to vocalize that thought as I passed out.