"My name is Yagami Tsukihara. I've always wished... that the world I live in had magic."
But in reality, I was just an ordinary dreamer. This world... was too real, too boring.
"Magic doesn't exist," I whispered softly, just before that dream shattered completely.
I woke up.
Sunlight pierced my eyes, flooding through a window that failed to block its brilliance.
The same morning. The same world.
No spells. No miracles.
I got out of bed, my body still tired, my mind drifting. My feet took me toward the dining table, where...
"Ah, you're already up, big bro." My little sister greeted me with a warm smile, handing me a plate of toast and eggs.
I stared at her for a moment. My expression remained flat, but deep in my chest... something warm stirred.
"...So you woke up before me, huh."
Her name is Hiyori Tsukihara, my one and only little sister. It's just the two of us now... ever since our parents passed away.
Even so, she always smiles. As if trying to patch the emptiness we feel every single day.
After breakfast, I stood up and headed for the bathroom.
"Don't take too long in the shower, okay!" she shouted from the kitchen while washing the dishes.
I simply nodded in reply, the bathroom door slowly closing behind me.
Cold water splashed against my face, jolting me awake from my lingering daze. The mirror reflected me, a normal teenager... in this dull, lifeless world.
A few minutes later, I stepped out in my school uniform. Bag on my back. Expression still blank.
I walked down the same road, the same morning air, and the same faces repeating the same script of their lives.
"Morning, Yagami!" someone called out.
I glanced briefly.
"...Morning." I replied softly, without expression, without emotion.
Because in the end, it was all just formality. I was nothing but a background character on the stage of this boring world.
But that morning...
My steps halted.
I heard a scream.
The voice of a girl, full of panic and fear.
I immediately turned. In a narrow alleyway, several men with disgusting, lustful eyes were approaching a girl. Their gazes were vile, their intent more rotten than the city's trash.
Without thinking, I stepped forward.
"Hey, you bastards!!" I shouted, my voice cold and sharp.
They turned, irritated.
"Hah!? Who the hell are you, brat!? Trying to play the hero?"
My hand grabbed a small stone from the road, and without hesitation, I hurled it at one of their heads.
"Me...? Just a background character passing by."
Two of them came at me. I responded with kicks and punches, the best I could manage. A small brawl I knew wouldn't last long.
Two went down.
But one... the one who had fallen... silently got up behind me.
Sshhk…
A small knife stabbed into my back.
"Gh...!" Hot. Pain. My breath hitched. The world blurred.
I spun around and kicked him with all my strength. He staggered and ran like a filthy rat.
But I...
Dropped to my knees. Blood poured. My breath grew heavy. My vision dimmed.
The girl I saved ran toward me.
"You... you stay here... I'll get help!" Her face was pale, her hands trembling.
But I knew... my body was starting to go numb. The world... was fading away.
So this is it... I wasn't meant to be saved.
Then...
My body felt like it was being dragged, burned from the inside out. The sensation... defied all logic.
"AARRGGHH!! IT HURTS!!" My scream echoed through the void.
"I JUST WANTED TO LIVE... JUST ONCE!!"
My breath was ragged. My consciousness slipping. But my heart still clung to one thing...
"I WANT A WORLD WITH MAGIC!!"
Then... everything vanished.
Darkness. Silence. Stillness.
And when I opened my eyes...
My world had changed.
A small body. Narrow vision. The wailing of a baby... coming from my own mouth.
"I... I'm a baby...?"
I moved my tiny hands. And at that very moment... I felt a warm flow enveloping me.
Magic.
"This... this is mana. I can feel it... This is light magic."
A large man stood beside me. Bald, with a deep voice.
"That's... my father?"
Beside him, a beautiful woman with white hair cried tears of joy. She held my hand tightly, her eyes overflowing with love.
"That's... mother? Her hair looks just like mine."
Not long after, a little girl with snow-white hair came running in. Her eyes sparkled with joy as she looked at me.
"Little brother!!" she shouted excitedly.
I stayed silent. But deep inside... something ignited.
Finally... this world has magic.
And now...
My name is Kazuki Altherion.
A shadow reborn, to shake this world... from behind the scenes.