An ocean of darkness. That's what I could see? or feel? I don't know, as I couldn't feel my physical body. But my senses told otherwise. Then suddenly in this vast nothingness, a bright purple butterfly manifested in front of me and started flying around me. I felt like a kid in its presence.

After a few rounds, it flew in a certain direction as if beckoning me to follow. I did as my instincts told and followed it. Soon something similar to an entrance or a portal appeared in that direction. I couldn't resist as I felt my entire being pulled towards it. As the light enveloped me, I felt pain. A lot of it, which made me feel like the phosphorus torture I was subjected to back then was a cake walk. It felt like my bones were torn down and joined together, my eyes burned and I felt like my body was being pricked by a thousand needles. But along with it I felt like I was getting stronger by the second.

I felt them. My limbs, my mouth and soon the distant ringing in my ears turned into audible chatters. I tried opening my eyelids which felt like they were closed shut by a tape. When I finally did open my eyes, I was horrified to see multiple huge beings with horns on their heads. But one particular individual who was closest to me caught my attention. With horns that curved upwards and backwards shaped like that of an Elk's antlers and pale skin which could be confused for a corpse, his presence was heavily imposing.

I tried to move my body to find that I was a...baby? It's not that they were huge, I was small. But before I could process anything, the person spoke.

"Welcome to our world King Grey, we will meet again after a few years." I heard before my consciousness felt like it was being moulded and darkness overtook me.

"...ooks adorable doesn't he? More than the other one."

"Yeah, sometimes this kinda makes me want to have a baby"

"We're scythes Viessa, don't forget that."

"So what? We have our desires too. Don't tell me the thought hasn't crossed your mind. What if we are? We lost our family, is it wrong to want to build one?" she retorted.

"I-it's not that I don't want to, but because of our blood our children will have a high chance to be taken in by them and..." both the voices went silent as if reminiscing something sour.

'Huh? Baby? Scythes? Viessa? What are they talking about? Who am I? How can I understand what they're saying?' Questions flooded my mind as I tried to open my eyes.

When I did I saw two women, beautiful was an understatement. One was fair with dark gem like eyes with purple hair that flowed over her shoulders like a wave of ocean, the other with an appearance of a perfectly sculpted greek statue with silvery grey skin, pure white hair in a braid with the same eyes as the other one except for the gleaming onyx horns that erupted from her head and curled sharply back, one pair exactly beneath the other.

What does greek mean? I just thought of it subconsciously? But I should talk first...

"Nuaa nya"

'What the..' Did I just coo? I felt my face heat up with embarrassment.

Both of the women turned towards the source of sound to find a red faced baby.

"Looks like the little prince is awake Melzri." the purple haired woman said, looking at me.

"Hello little one, I'm Melzri and this is Viessa. We will be taking care of you. You can call us big sis okay?"

"Uuuu" I replied, cursing my underdeveloped vocal cords.

Then another woman entered the room we were in. Her demeanour screamed royalty. With horns that curved upwards and slightly backwards with outward ripples, black gem-like eyes and pearl blonde hair,she was gorgeous.

"Took your time, Seris." said Viessa.

"You do know I'm attending to the High Sovereign's wife, don't you?" she replied.

"Anyway little Grey here is finally awake." she gestured to me.

'Oh my name is Grey? Somehow it makes me uneasy.'

"Hello Grey. I'm Seris, this orphanage's headmaster" she introduced herself.

"Looks like both of these infants can thrive on mana cores alone and don't need much 'care taking and feeding' at least until they can perform those functions on their own. Thank the Vritra!" exclaimed Viessa.

"Agreed." The other two replied in unison without hesitation.

'Mana cores? Other infants? What's a Vritra?' Well, guess I won't know the answers to these questions in my current condition.

2 Years Later

These two years went by fast and today I can finally CRAWL baby. It was frustrating to not be able to move around but due to just consuming mana from mana cores made it easier not having to deal with loss of certain bodily functions.

All the three sisters were very caring, treated me like one would their own brother. They also taught me mana manipulation and about the continent we were living in. I was born with a mana core and it seems to purify on its own while I absorb mana from the atmosphere. Something about me felt off, as if my physical age didn't match my thoughts. It was as if I was older.

Today they told me I was going on a 'play date' as they put it, with another baby. We arrived at the hall where there was another kid. He had black hair and was sitting with his back faced to us,

"Nico, your friend is here." Viessa announced.

I stiffened at the mention of that name. 'Nico? I think I know him but can't quite put a finger on it. Why does he affect me so much?'

I was brought out of my thoughts when Viessa brought a napkin to my face and wiped my tears. I didn't realise I was crying.

The boy looked back and I could see his blood red eyes study me. I saw something akin to recognition before it was replaced by curiosity and happiness.

"Come over! Let's play!" he called me over. Upon arriving I could see he had been playing with what seemed to be artifacts, no, he had dismantled them. As if studying them. I felt comfortable with him, a lot. We got along pretty well.

'I guess my time in the orphanage is going to get better'

I was falling from what seemed to be a cliff. A hand reached out to me which was made of rocks. But it was too late.

"Damn, I always wanted to be an older brother."

"Bah!" I woke up from my sleep clutching my chest. Tears flowed uncontrollably.

'What was that? It was too realistic.' I couldn't stop the trembling which shook me to my bones.

I slept again thinking it was just another nightmare.

Few months later

'You're safe now. You can go home. No one's gonna kidnap you again'

I told a black silhouette of a girl,probably 5 years old and had pointed ears.

'Hic hic,Waaa I thought they were gonna sell me. I thought I would never see my family again! Waaa I-I was so scared' She started sobbing uncontrollably.

Feeling bad for her I reached out my hand to pat her head. But as I almost touched her, her silhouette started dispersing, turned into tiny black particles and was carried away by the wind.

I tried to reach out to her but failed...

"NO, please I'll save you. Wait for me, NO! NO!" I woke up screaming.

"Grey? GREY! What's wrong? Why are you screaming?" Nico, who woke up from my screams, asked me. We had started sharing a room when we turned four. At first he was hesitant as he had thought I was a girl all this time. Can't blame him. With my sharp features and over that being a child makes it difficult to identify gender as it was.

"I-I don't know, I had this nightmare...I failed to save someone...again." I told him.

'Huh? Again?'

"It's okay Grey, you're here. And I know you'd save anyone if you have the power to do so. It's okay, calm down" Nico comforted me while hugging me.

Nico and I had gotten so close that the children and sisters told us we might as well be brothers. It just felt right. We stayed like that for some time until I calmed down and then returned to sleep.

Nico and I are seven years old now. Ever since that day, I haven't had any nightmares. I always wondered what those dreams meant. It was too real to be ignored. But since it is over, I can't help but stop thinking about it.

Other kids attended what they called a bestowal ceremony. But me and Nico did not as we could use mana without the use of crests or emblems which the other kids obtained. We were told we were an anomaly and cases such as ours are treated as high priority cases. We were taught that the mages in the other continent could use magic in a similar way to us.

Our continent was named Alacrya and was ruled by beings called asuras. But only the Basilisks were in Alacrya because they were banished from Epheotus for knowing confidential information and sharing their knowledge and magic with us humans.

The other continent was called Dicathen. They had three races. The humans, the Dwarves and the Elves. After I learned this fact, I wondered if the girl I saw in my dream was one due to the outline of the pointed ears I vividly remember. The mage to non mage ratio is lower than that of our continent but they can use magic without spell forms which makes them versatile but not perfectionists.

It is as they say 'A wielder of all is a master of none.'

We were also taught that the Asuras from Epheotus gave knowledge of magic to people of Dicathen in order to attack Alacrya when ready, to get rid of heretics as they put it.

Both my and Nico's mana manipulation has improved tremendously. I was also being trained to wield a sword by Seris, although my talents seem to outclass her. Everyone told me I was a gifted swordsman. But I knew that Seris's raw power would utterly eliminate any differences in skill. I also could feel that I was close to unlocking what they referred to as elements but something was preventing me from accessing it. Like I had a higher understanding and knowledge of the elements which prevented me from learning the lower rudimentary form of it.

Nico on the other hand was a genius in terms of Artificing. He modified the light artifact in such a way that a dial was introduced to change the intensity of light depending on the mana input. It was a regulator and the mechanism of the circuit he created seemed familiar?

All of this when he was 6 years old. It was considered a new invention since the theory behind the regulator and circuit could be used for different artifacts.

As time passed, I had this growing feeling inside me that something and someone important is missing from our lives. I couldn't dismiss it like those dreams because ever since then, these thoughts just increased.

It was a normal day. Nico was meddling with artifact parts I didn't understand anything about. After being trained by Seris I sat down with a book related to relictombs and was reading it. She was suddenly called for something.

The relictombs are a separate space created by the ancient mages or djinns as we call them. These dungeon type spaces basically are like the levels in a game but the difficulty setting is chosen to match the total power of the ascenders present in that zone. Some of the zones rarely contained Relics, which were supposed to be handed over to the sovereigns but in exchange were awarded with titles and wealth.

If these relics cannot be replicated, do they function on something other than mana? Is that why the whole race of Djinns were wiped out by the dragons because their knowledge surpassed theirs? Petty...

I heard the door to the training room open and Seris walked in with Nico in tow.

Meeting the kid named Grey was a weird experience. I didn't learn that 'she' was actually a 'he' until a later date. I mean, he looks more beautiful than most girls I've seen. Wheat blonde hair and golden eyes with pale skin to add to the charm.

An overwhelming feeling of regret, guilt and anger washed over me on seeing him for the first time. But I was also happy to befriend him. We got along very well to the point that we were called brothers.

We started sharing rooms when we were four. Sometimes he used to have nightmares, which made me worry for his well being. I felt the need to be there for him for some reason, which when I did used to alleviate the guilty feeling that I used to have.

I felt the artifacts and technology could be developed further after spending a few years dismantling and studying the components and mechanism of the same. Few months after turning 6, I created something I called a Circuit. Even though something similar existed, my model was said to be a few generations ahead. It felt good to be recognised for my talents.

Did Grey feel the same when he was praised by others? He gave off a vibe saying whatever he was learning wasn't enough. Does he have regrets about something? He's just 7 years old.

And another thing I noticed was both me and Grey were absorbing mana while moving. How was this possible? Grey hadn't noticed this but I had. Would other kids be able to learn that too if they could freely use mana at an early age like us? Without runes?

Maybe they couldn't learn due to the mana in their core never being used, so the body didn't feel the need to replenish mana. Maybe if...

My thoughts were cut off when sister Seris called out to me. Our caretakers are so good, especially Sis Viessa and Melzri who baby me. It feels weird for some reason but I'm not turning down affection, when it is so genuine. Seris spends most of her time training Grey.

She beckoned me to follow her. We soon picked up Grey who was reading a relictombs book and started heading towards an isolated area of the orphanage.

I could feel that the atmospheric mana was steadily but surely being drained as we walked towards our destination. And by the look on Grey's face, he could too. The intensity just kept on increasing as we progressed. She then started explaining the situation.

"Listen up Grey and Nico. A girl was found who has a...condition. Her body is constantly absorbing mana from any source. She is in what we call a coma. We need you both to take care of her, since you both are the only ones who have active control over mana to prevent yourself going unconscious from mana loss. We will be providing mana cores to alleviate the burden on yourselves, don't worry."

"But why can't the adults take care of her?" Grey questioned.

"Because, little Grey, the sisters need to attend to other kids don't they?" she replied.

"Oh sorry, I-I just thought, our trainin.." he trailed off.

"Don't worry, I'll still help you train." she said, patting his head.

We both giggled at the interaction. His drive for getting strong to save people often clouds his judgement by what I can see. But this situation feels, similar to say the least. And worrisome too. I wonder why.

We approached a large door near the end of the hallway. Seris entered first, followed by Grey. I was about to enter when I hit the back of Grey who had stopped in the way.

"Hey! What gives.." I stopped speaking as I saw that Grey was trembling uncontrollably. He dropped the sword he was holding.

Wondering what he saw, I made my way through and what I saw put me in a similar situation to Grey. Relief, anticipation, grief... thousands of indescribable emotions burst within me.

On a bed lay a girl around our age, sleeping. She had a beautifully sculpted face, long red eyelashes and beautiful vibrant fiery red hair. She had a peaceful expression on her face. Around her bed were several bottles of fluid from which I sensed a large amount of mana emptying into the girl.

But that was not what brought forth these emotions. No, it was this overwhelming sense of familiarity, like finding a long lost part of yourself. I didn't know why but I felt the need to protect her with my life.

"Both of you, she is the one I was talking about. Her name is Ce-"

"Cecilia" both me and Grey interrupted Seris at the same time with tears streaming down our faces.