"Mother, what is it? It's so early in the morning. Did something happen? Please tell me it's not about the storm I caused yesterday," Akira asked sleepily. His mother had woken him up at the crack of dawn and essentially commanded him to follow her.
Then, a thought hit him. "Wait… is this about the storm I caused yesterday? Did it… cause more damage than I thought? Am I going to be punished?"
"Don't worry. The storm didn't cause any major damage, and no one was hurt. I stopped it immediately, anyway," She sighed softly. "However, it did cause a lot of panic. It even made it to national news. Meteorologists are still scratching their heads over it, blaming it on 'global warming.' And, some idiots even started running their mouths about the world ending in 2012, and this was just the prelude or something like that."
"…Seriously?" Akira blinked. The 2012 apocalypse theory? He remembered hearing about it before in his old world, about how the Mayan calendar made people misunderstand, thinking the world would end, but it was just a misconception.
But now he almost wanted to make it real just to see people's reactions. "It would be really funny if I made it real, I could just pull off some massive disaster with large-scale magic on that exact date… watching everyone's reaction would be really interesting when their dumb theory did come true…"
But then he pictured his mother glaring at him, and the thought died immediately. "Yeah, no. Not worth getting killed for".
"Anyway," Yuki continued, brushing her hair back with that usual grace of hers, "it caused quite a stir. It took a lot of effort to cover everything up and calm people down."
"So what are we going to do now anyway? It's the middle of the night," Akira asked again, still sleepy.
"It's not the middle of the night, but early morning, Sigh… Akira, you've been training in magic since you were a baby and have already mastered countless spells. So, your father and I have decided it's time to take your training to the next step," Yuki said, her voice carrying an unusual seriousness as they made their way toward the basement.
"Next step in training? Are you going to teach me large-scale magic? Or is it finally time for real combat training?" Akira asked eagerly, his drowsiness instantly disappearing.
"Yes, I'm finally going to teach you how to fight," Yuki said with a sigh.
"At long last, the day has finally come!" Akira exclaimed, his face lighting up with excitement. He had been waiting for this moment for a long time.
Ever since he was young, his parents had taught him various types of magic, but they had never trained him in actual combat. Akira had always wanted to learn how to fight because it was one of the things he lacked any skills in. In both of his lives, he had never experienced any real combat or tested his talent for it. Yet, every time he asked, his parents had refused, saying he needed to be older and more proficient in magic first.
Now that the day had finally arrived, Akira could barely contain his excitement.
"Akira, combat training is not as fun as you think. Don't expect me to teach you like in those anime you always talk about. In our family, combat training is serious, and you will suffer a lot of pain, you might even die if you are not careful enough, so prepare yourself," Yuki warned with a grave expression. The seriousness on her face was so intense that it was almost scary.
"Don't worry, Mother. Pain's an old friend, it won't stop me," Akira said confidently, puffing out his chest. He had immense confidence in his pain tolerance. After all, in his previous life, they'd run him through so many experiments, he was no longer really worried about it.
"Sigh. Well, I hope you're right," Yuki sighed, as if giving up on explaining further.
They continued walking toward the basement. Akira's house was an imposing black Victorian-style mansion that stood two stories tall. From the outside, it looked like something out of a vampire novel, with black stone walls, tall windows, and gargoyles perched along the eaves. According to his mother, the gargoyles could come alive and fight in case of an attack, though they had never been used before.
In stark contrast to the gothic exterior, the inside of the mansion was surprisingly modern, featuring sleek designs and advanced magic technology. Akira was sure that anyone visiting their house would be shocked by the sheer contrast between the interior and exterior.
The real marvel, however, lay in the basement. The basement was even larger than the mansion itself, thanks to space magic. It contained multiple specialized rooms: a magic laboratory, a massive library, an experimental chamber for testing spells, a storage room for magical items, and even a small garden where rare magical plants were cultivated. The basement was practically a small world unto itself.
But their current destination was the training arena. The arena was enormous, resembling a colosseum with a seating area that could accommodate spectators for some unknown reason. Akira often practiced his magic here because the space had self-repairing enchantments. No matter how destructive his spells were, the arena would restore itself automatically.
However, the most mysterious part of the basement was The Door. In the far corner loomed a massive double door, nearly five meters tall, forged from glossy, pitch-black crystal known as Nocturnite. At its center was etched the emblem of the Starlight family, a sword planted before a tree woven from stars, all encircled by a faintly glowing ring.
"Mother, when are you going to tell me what's sealed in there?" Akira asked, pointing at the door.
"I'll tell you when you're older. Now is not the time. And don't even think about trying to get in. Well, you can't open the locks even if you wanted to anyway," Yuki replied sternly.
Akira pouted but dropped the topic. His parents had never explained what was sealed behind the door, but he had his theories: maybe it was a powerful monster, an ancient artifact, or even a legendary weapon. As he daydreamed about the possibilities, they reached the center of the arena.
"Stand over there, Akira," Yuki instructed, pointing to an open spot. "I will be your opponent this time. You can make the first move. Use whatever magic you want, and don't hold back. I'm stronger than you think, so give it everything you've got." She said as she walked over to the far side of the arena.
Akira nodded and walked a few steps away to face his mother. He knew how powerful she was, so he wouldn't underestimate her. His first attack needed to be strong and fast. And the fastest thing was light.
"Alright, Mother! Here I come! Flash Cannon!", Akira raised his hand as he activated the fastest spell in his arsenal.
A magic circle instantly formed in front of him. Energy gathered into a concentrated beam of light, which shot toward his mother at the speed of light.
Without flinching, Yuki raised her hand. A mirror materialized in front of her at a 45-degree angle, effortlessly deflecting the beam to the side. In an instant, two more mirrors appeared, one deflecting the beam into the third mirror, which redirected it straight back at Akira's head.
The entire sequence happened so quickly that Akira didn't even have time to react.
"Wha..?!"
Before he realized it, the beam struck him square in the face. The last thing he felt was the burning sensation of the attack hitting him.
And then everything went black.