Prologue

As was usual for a Sunday night, Abigail Reiner was standing in front of the sink, washing the dishes from that evening’s dinner of beef lasagna. She could hear the sound of the television in the background and knew without even having to listen that her husband, Scott, was watching the playoffs game of his favorite baseball team. Her son was almost certainly sitting on his lap, enjoying the game despite not understanding the rules. Now that he was seven years old, Scott had been taking him out to the park to throw the ball around and Eric seemed to really enjoy that time spent with his father. She could tell that her husband really wanted to put him on a team, but Abi wasn’t so sure their son would enjoy it. After all, she could tell that it wasn’t the game he enjoyed as much as just spending time with his father.

When she glanced over her shoulder and peeked through the doorway into the living room, she could see Eric watching the game with a big smile on his face, though she caught him peeking up at his dad every once and a while, as if checking to make sure he was happy, too.

Such a sweet little boy, Abi thought with pride. No matter what happens from here, I’ll never regret bringing him into this world.

She knew her time in that world, with her family, was drawing short. No matter how much she wished her cozy life in that small coastal town could last forever, she knew in her heart that she could never truly escape her past. She wasn’t of this world and there was nothing she could do to change that. She knew from Ryokumo’s messages that Ijiria was still looking for her—and that two of her oldest and closest friends were heading that search. It was information that hadn’t surprised her, but she wished that Nigreos and Album could have just accepted her disappearance and moved on. Unlike Ryokumo and Ilirianna, she knew that Nigreos and Album would never allow her to stay in Omaruo no matter how hard she tried to convince them. The two were far too loyal to Ijiria and its laws. They would make no exceptions, even to her.

Abi sighed and carefully set the plate she was cleaning into the dishwasher before reaching for the final one. Despite knowing she could have cleaned the dishes ten times faster had she used magic, she always found herself feeling happier using the technology of Omaruo and her own hands to do the work. It made her feel like she was no different than the denizens of that magicless realm.

If only I could have been born here, she thought. Not that I’d ever want to forget my friends back in Ijiria, but…I never truly belonged in that place. This is where I’m supposed to be. I’m here…with my husband and my son. They’re my life…and I’d do anything to protect them. Anything…

“Ah!”

She exhaled sharply, her eyes going wide and the plate slipping from her grasp before crashing into the hardwood floor.

“Honey?” Scott called from the other room. “What was that? Are you alright?”

Abi quickly recollected herself and kneeled down beside the shattered remains of the plate. “Yeah, I’m fine,” she hurriedly replied. “My hands were just a bit too soapy and I dropped one of the plates. But don’t worry about it. I’ll clean it up.”

“W-well, okay,” he said. “But if you do need anything, then I'll help.”

She smiled at his concern. “Thanks, Scott, but I’m alright.”

She then quickly turned back to the pieces of the plate and hovered her hand above them before muttering a soft, “levantar”. Slowly, each shard rose from the ground and she used the mana at her fingertips to move them all toward the trash can on the opposite end of the room. With a quick flick of her other wrist, the can’s top snapped open and she dropped the pieces inside. Then, with the mess cleaned up, Abi jumped to her feet and took a few breaths to steady her heartbeat.

There’s no mistaking what I felt. I’ve been fearing that sensation since the day I got here. An Ijirian just entered this realm and… I know it’s not Ryokumo or Liri this time. They told me they wouldn’t be able to come back for a while so…

Gritting her teeth and coming to a quick decision, she turned and headed toward the living room. Her time was more limited than she had believed. She had been debating on whether to do this for the past few months, but now, she knew she had no choice. She just had to trust in her son and hope that her gamble would pay off sometime in the future.

Abi poked her head into the sitting room and smiled. “Eric, sweetie. Can Mommy talk to you for just a minute?”

Both Eric and Scott glanced up at her, though while her son looked cheerful as always, she could see the concern in her husband’s eyes.

“Okay!” Eric said happily as he jumped from his father’s lap and walked up to her.

She patted him on the back and whispered, “Go wait in Mommy and Daddy’s room for a moment. I’ll be right there.”

He smiled once more then hurried off down the hall and toward the house’s master bedroom. Once he was gone, Abi glanced back at her husband and could see the fear in his eyes. Despite her attempts to conceal her own nervousness, evidently he could see right through her. He had always been good at reading her no matter how hard she tried to hide what she was actually feeling.

“Somebody’s here,” she whispered. “An Ijirian just hopped realms.”

Scott swallowed, his body shaking. “And you’re certain it's not Caeli again?”

She nodded firmly. “Almost certain. It’s not easy to jump realms behind the back of the king…even with Ilirianna’s realm dagger.” Abi clenched her fists. “Unless something terrible happened on their end, he wouldn’t have risked it. No…this is somebody else.”

“B-but…” he stuttered, jumping to his feet. “We can’t be sure they’re here for you, right? What if…they’ve come to Wilham for something else!”

“No,” she said softly. “I don’t think that’s it either. There’s very few reasons for an Ijirian to come to Omaruo. If one is here…then it’s almost definitely for me.”

She could see the mix of emotions in her husband’s eyes. He was terrified, angry, sad, and desperate all at once. She had warned him of something like this back in the early days of their relationship, but knowing about the possibility of something and actually seeing it happen were two very different things. Wanting to comfort the man who had always been there for her, she walked forward and wrapped her arms around him. She felt him tense up for a moment, but then he tenderly embraced her back, holding her in his arms.

“I’ll come back,” she promised. “I’ll find some way to come back to you guys. I promise, Scott. This goodbye won’t be forever.”

She could hear him choking back tears when he responded. “But…should I go to my workshop? I know it wasn’t finished yet, but if they’re here already—!”

“No, Scott,” she interrupted gently. “Thank you, but if you fight back, it’ll be harder for me to protect you. I don’t want you getting erased and I especially don’t want Eric caught up in this all. If what Ryokumo told me is true, chances are high that it’ll either be Nigreos or Album that just arrived. While they won’t let me stay, I think I can at least convince them to leave you alone, but not if we fight back. Okay? Do you understand? I’ll come back, I promise.”

Scott clenched his teeth and she could see that his eyes had grown wet. “I…Yeah…okay. Come back to us, Abi. Please…”

The woman smiled, then released the hug and took a better look at her husband’s handsome features. His blue eyes were calming to her, and even after nine years of being together, he still looked just as energetic and youthful as he was when they first met. She reached up and ran her fingers through his combed brown hair and as she did, he managed to smile.

“You know, Eric really is starting to look like you,” she said, hoping to change the subject to something happier. “Take care of him, okay? He’ll need you while I’m away.”

“Yeah,” he uttered. “Yeah, I’ll…watch over him. I’ll do my best.”

She lowered her hand from his hair and placed it against his cheek. “Good. I’ll be counting on you, Scott. And when I get back, I’ll make up for all the time I’m gone.”

He placed his own hand over hers and nodded. “Okay. When you get back…yeah, make it up to us, alright? And you better not be gone for too long. He’s going to need his mother.”

Abi chuckled at his joke and kissed him on his cheek. “I know. I’ll do my best.”

With that, Abi wrapped her arms around him once more, then turned and headed back into the hall. She would say a proper goodbye to him after she’d spoken with her son. After all, she needed to have this conversation with him before she left. When she walked into the master bedroom, she found Eric sitting patiently on her bed, reading through a small leather bound book that she always kept on her nightstand.

He really has always been so fascinated by my spellbook, she mused. Maybe I shouldn’t have told him as many stories as I did. If he never manifests magic, he’ll probably be really disappointed. However, at that thought, her smile slowly faded. Though…it would probably be better for him if he’s never able to use magic. I wouldn’t want the Ijirians to come after him.

“Eric,” she called out.

The little boy immediately looked up from the book and smiled. Yet, she found him to be just as perceptive as his father. He must have noticed the worry in her eyes because his smile was quickly replaced by concern of his own.

“Mommy?” he asked. “Are you okay?”

She forced a cheerful look back onto her face as she approached the bed. She then took a seat beside him and pulled the boy’s small form close to her. “Listen, Eric,” she began. “I’m…going to be going away for a while and I don’t know when I’ll be back.”

He tilted his head in confusion. “Going away? Going where?”

“Somewhere far,” Abi replied softly. “But I wanted you to know that I’ll be thinking about you the entire time I’m away. No matter what, I’ll always love you and when I come home, I promise that I’ll never leave again. I’ll stay right by your side forever and ever. You just have to be patient for me, just this once. Can you do that?”

He listened silently and, when she asked her question, the boy looked up at her and nodded. “Yeah. I can wait. But…what about Daddy? He’s going to miss you a lot, too.”

She laughed at how concerned he always was for others, finding joy in the knowledge that her son had a good heart. “He’s going to be patient, too,” she replied. “And when I come back, the three of us will make up for all the lost time. So, while I’m gone, I want you to think about all the fun things you want to do and, if it’s in my power, I’ll do them with you.”

“Fun things…?” Eric stopped and thought about it for a moment before his eyes seemed to light up with excitement. He then held up the leather book in his hands. “Then when you get back, teach me magic, Mommy!”

She hesitated for a moment, not knowing if it was even possible for the boy to use magic. However, seeing the ecstatic look on his face and knowing that her departure would almost certainly hurt him, she couldn’t help but nod.

“Okay,” she said, “when I get back, I’ll teach you magic. Then you can be a mage like me.”

“Yay!” he cheered. “I'm gonna use magic!”

Then, as a thought occurred to her, Abi reached out and placed her hand on his head. “And you know what? If you want to learn magic then you’re going to have to study. So, I’m going to leave my spellbook in your care and I want you to learn all the incantations. In fact, why don’t you even pick your affinity?”

Eric frowned. “Affinity? What's that?”

“Well, that’s the type of magic that you’re going to focus on,” she explained. “It’s the one you’re going to connect your mana the closest with. Just to name a few, there’s wind, fire, nature, water, rock…and…” She trailed off, deciding to omit the other three considering how dangerous it was to learn them. She would prefer it if Eric focused on something safer to learn. “And those are the main ones.”

The boy considered her explanation for a moment then stared up at her curiously. “What were you, Mommy?”

“Me?” She smiled warmly. “Well, I chose to focus on nature, but I think that would be boring to someone as energetic as you. For you, I think…” As she considered what Eric would like, the image of one of her old friends popped into her head—a friend that had a very similar energy to Eric back when they were young. “...I think you would enjoy learning wind magic the most.”

“Ooh! What does wind magic do?” he asked excitedly.

“Well, it lets you go faster than even a car and you can hide yourself from others and…” She paused for effect. “You could even fly if you were strong enough!”

“Oh, yeah! I want to fly! I want to learn wind magic!” he cheered.

She rubbed his head once more. “Alright then. When I come home, I’ll teach you wind magic, okay?”

“Okay!”

Seeing how excited he was, she felt a strong sense of guilt knowing that she was going to have to leave him at such a young age. However, it only gave her a greater motivation to do whatever she could to return to Omaruo as soon as possible.

“Now, one more thing,” she began, getting to her feet and approaching her closet.

She knew how risky it was to give the boy what she was about to, but she also knew that she had to leave it with him. The charms surrounding it prevented anybody without magic blood from touching it so she couldn't give it to her husband. And of course, she couldn’t take it to Ijiria with her. Her only choice was to entrust it to Eric.

When she pulled the closet open, she kneeled down and pushed aside a cardboard box containing some of Scott’s old baseball gear. Once it was out of the way, she reached back and peeled the carpet back to reveal a small hatch about two feet long hidden in the hardwood. She pressed her hand against it and uttered, “Pateno”. The incantation unlocked the hatch so that she could pull it open and, laying inside she found the item she was looking for: a small syringe wrapped in cloth. When she took it in her hands, she felt the enormous amounts of mana flowing within and for a moment, it overwhelmed even her. She readjusted her mana levels for a moment then pulled back the cloth. Swirling within the liquet canister, she could see masses of white and black mana, crashing into each other as if fighting for dominance in the enclosed space.

“Mommy? What's that?”

She looked to her right to find Eric crouched next to her, staring at the syringe with wide eyes. He seemed to be simply curious since he’d never seen anything like it, but she could also see some caution in his eyes. Even somebody as young as him knew that what she currently held in her hand wasn’t something to be messed with.

“This,” she started softly, “is something very important to me. It was given to me for safekeeping a long time ago but, unfortunately, I can't take it with me when I leave.”

Eric frowned. “So what are you gonna do with it? Are you gonna give it to Daddy?”

She shook her head. “No…actually…”

Abi turned and took Eric’s hand in her free one, then carefully set the syringe into his open palm. She held her breath, fearing that even he might not be able to hold it given his half-blood, but she quickly found she had nothing to worry about. The boy winced for a moment, but then closed his grip and stared down at the item.

“I’m going to give it to you,” she explained. “This syringe is very important to me and I don’t want anybody knowing that it’s here. So, I’m going to put it back in this hatch and I want you to know where it is. Don’t tell anybody that it’s here—not even your closest friends. Do you understand?”

He considered her question then nodded. “Yeah. I just need to keep it secret?”

“Yes, exactly.”

She turned back and took the syringe from him, then wrapped it back up and returned it to its hiding place. Once the carpet and box were back where they belonged, she turned back to him.

“Now, this hatch doesn’t have a key,” she told him. “In order to open it, you simply need to utter the word, ‘Pateno’. Can you say that for me?”

He nodded. “P-pateno.”

“Good job,” Abi said. “Now if that doesn’t work, you can break it out, but try to avoid that if you can. Now, like I said, I don’t want anybody knowing about it and I would also rather you don’t touch it either. There’s just one exception: if there’s ever an emergency where you believe your own life or the lives of those that you care about are at risk, take the syringe and place the needle into your arm. Then, inject it into you.”

He frowned, clearly hesitant at the thought. “Like a shot? But that hurts, doesn’t it?”

“It does,” she replied. “But hopefully, you’ll never have to use it. I need to emphasize this more than anything, Eric. The power in that syringe is dangerous, both to you and to those around you. It is only to be touched when there’s nothing else you can possibly do—the last chance of last chances. It could potentially even kill anybody who gets too close to it. That’s why…it needs to be protected. That’s why it shouldn’t be used. Do you understand?”

His eyes were wide and she could tell that she scared him, but whether she liked it or not, that was probably a good thing. She really didn’t want him to ever use it and she was only telling him this because if it was ever at risk, he would be the only one that could protect it.

Finally, Eric managed a weak nod and forced a smile. “Okay. Only in emergencies. I promise I won’t touch it unless I need to.”

“Good boy,” she whispered. “In that case…”

Another wave of warning shot through her body and she quickly got to her feet. The Ijirian presence was even closer now. In fact, she could sense it just beyond her front door.

They’re here, she thought with apprehension. Damn… I was hoping I could meet them before they reached the house. In fact, if they knew where to look then…

“Mommy?”

When she looked down, Eric’s concern had returned and she could see tears forming in his eyes. He must have realized that when she said she was leaving, she meant now. Abi kneeled down and pulled him into a tight hug, placing her hand on the back of his head.

“I love you,” she told him. “I love you more than you could ever know. My little boy… My Eric…”

“I love you, too, Mommy,” he replied meekly.

“Be good for your father,” she said. “And I’ll be home someday.”

Giving him a loving kiss on the forehead, Abi rose to her feet once again and turned toward the door. She then took a deep breath and walked out into the hallway. She could hear her husband talking with somebody and she could hear the fury in his voice. She brought her mana to her fingertips just in case she had to defend herself and rounded the corner to approach the front door. However, when she did so and got a full view of the man standing there, she knew there would be no need for violence, as she had expected.

There, standing in front of her husband, was a man in a black suit. His skin was the same pitch black color and his eyes were pure white, lacking any irises. His face was clean shaven and his hair was dark and maintained. He looked so much older and had clearly already undergone the ritual, but she recognized him nonetheless.

“Nigreos,” she called out. “It’s been a long time.”

At the sound of her voice, Nigreos Noctis looked over Scott’s shoulder and for a moment, the two of them stared into each other’s eyes. Even without his irises, she could still see the emotion swelling inside him. It had been nearly seven years since she last saw her old friend and, despite their differences, she had cared for him.

“Abi,” he uttered. “What is this? Why are you here…in this realm? With this…?”

He stopped mid sentence as his gaze drifted past her and down the hall. When Abi turned to look, she saw Eric staring at him, clearly afraid.

“This is my family,” she replied. “This is my husband, Scott, and my son, Eric.”

Nigreos’s eyes were wide in shock. Whatever he had expected to find upon coming to fetch her, this seemed to have not been in consideration. Perhaps he thought she’d just run away because she couldn’t take the pressure of Ijiria.

The man stood straighter and smoothed his suit out, then regarded Scott with a probing stare. “Nigreos Noctis,” he introduced. “Nice…to meet you, Mr…?”

“Scott Reiner,” her husband replied sharply. “What do you want, Mr. Noctis?”

Nigreos ignored the man and looked directly at Abi. “You know the laws, Abi. You can’t be here. The King has ordered you to return to the capitol at once. And…I’m sure you are aware of what happens to magicless people who learn of magic?”

Abi felt a shiver go down her spine but she simply faced Nigreos with a smile. “I am. But I’m sure you can keep this to yourself…as a favor to your old friend. Isn’t that right, Nigreos? Are you alone? Or did Album accompany you?”

He clenched his teeth and shook his head. “No. I thought it would be better for everybody if I dealt with this alone. I’m…sure you agree. But I suppose we can talk about it on the way. Come. We’re leaving.”

She could see Scott ready to protest but, thankfully, he kept silent. She had discussed what to do should this ever happen numerous times. He knew that there was nothing he could do to stop it, and that was especially true in the presence of a man as powerful as Nigreos Noctis. They both knew that she would be leaving that moment, without even a second to collect her belongings. Abi sighed, then turned and looked at her husband. The man simply nodded to her and she knew that he wouldn’t stand in her way. She glanced back at Eric, who had retreated further back into the hall, but was still standing in a spot where she could at least see him.

She then looked into his eyes, knowing she wouldn’t see him for quite some time, and mouthed, “I love you, Eric”.

***

Ever since that day, the image of his mother’s receding back as she walked from their home beside that man in black stayed with him in his dreams. He couldn’t push it from his mind and no matter how much he wished for it, she still wouldn’t return. She had promised him that she would come back and so, he believed her with all of his heart. She would never lie to him—he was certain of that. And so, he did exactly as he was told. He read that spellbook so many times that he felt he could recite almost any spell from heart and know what it was supposed to do. He made sure to emphasize wind magic like she had recommended. And, of course, he made sure that the syringe she showed him was never removed. He had attempted to open it a few times with the incantation he was given but it never worked. At least, he did know that it was never tampered with. The only exception had been when he and his father moved. With the incantation not working, he was forced to pry it open with force so he could transport the syringe to their new house. All the while, he waited for his mom to return.

First, weeks passed. Then months. Then years.

Before he knew it, he was in high school and his mom still hadn’t come home. But his faith in her still didn’t waver. She would return when she was ready to do so and when she did, they would start their training. Even when his relationship with his father fell to pieces, he still believed that she would return and fix it all. He continued to wait and wait.

But he never forgot that moment when she left.

And he knew that he would never be able to forget the image of that man in black who took her away from him.