"That gang of thieves and criminals—filled with people who have never taken a single bath in their lives—has a leader at the Surface realm. That's why they've become so arrogant! They dare to come here to our village to rob? They don't know that we have a connection with the city guards!"
Her father explained it with a smile. He himself had awakened once, but very late in life. Because of that, he could barely use magic. At most, he could light a faint glow in the darkness. Back when it first happened, he had been so excited that he went to the city to learn basic spells from the common category.
But compared to those who had truly stepped onto the extraordinary path—like the Wolf Gang's leader—he couldn't compare. People like him weren't called magicians by the world. That name belonged only to those who had really stepped into the ranks of magic.
When Mei Yan heard the word magic, her fingers tightened nervously. She looked at her parents, then stood up.
"Father, Mother—come here. I have a surprise for you."
Her lips curled into a mysterious smile as she hurried back inside the house.
Her mother, still holding the kitchen knife she had used to chop food, frowned in confusion.
"What is it, child?"
Her father gave her retreating back a puzzled look. He turned briefly to the outside. The thugs were long gone, and the villagers who had chased them off were returning, greeting him as they made their way back to their homes.
Inside the house.
Mei Yan waited by the door, her heart pounding. As soon as her parents stepped inside, she called out brightly:
"Here!"
Then—*bloom!*
Her palms opened, and from them shone a gentle, radiant light, bright enough to spill through the window and reach the night.
The glow spread through the room, wrapping the space in warmth and peace.
"W-what?! Mei Yan… what is this?!"
Her father and mother's eyes widened in disbelief. They watched as their daughter's hands glowed with light brighter than any candle.
"Have you… have you awakened your magic?!"
Her mother gasped, her voice trembling. She rushed to the window and quickly drew the curtains, then turned back, her breath caught in her chest, unable to look away.
"My little baby…"
Her father set the axe down with shaking hands. Slowly, he walked forward, his eyes fixed on the glow.
A single tear slid down his rough cheek. His pupils widened, and within them the light reflected like the morning sun. In that glow, he thought he saw his daughter's future—bright, dazzling, full of promise.
He couldn't make mistakes, nor were his eyes deceiving him!
This!…
This was magic!
Something that decided the life of too many people! That decided his life! And everyone he cared about—from the past to the present and towards the future—magic decided everything!
And now he saw the same magic in his daughter!
His knees nearly gave way. His whole body trembled. For a man who had lived his whole life bound by weakness, humiliated by the strong, resigned to poverty… this was more than light.
It was salvation.
It was everything he had ever wished for.
He stretched out his hand, and a faint glow flickered from his palm—weak, dim, nothing compared to hers.
"Heh… hahaha… ha!" His voice cracked between sobs and laughter. "Yes! Yes! Father! Grandpa! Do you see this?! My daughter—Mei Yan—she has awakened! She has the power to change her fate! To live a better life than us! Hahaha!"
He smiled warmly and wildly with tears streaming down his face. He then stretched out his arms and hugged his daughter in his warm embrace.
The light still shone, making their silhouettes seem to glow in the warm-colored room while Mei Yan's mother wiped the tears from her eyes and joined the hug.
As adults, it was embarrassing to cry, especially in front of their child.
But it didn't matter if they felt shame.
What was their wish in life?
There were too many to count, but one thing was certain:
Giving their daughter a good life was one of them—a top priority at that!
Their daughter was just 14 years old and she had already awakened! What did this mean?!
It meant the door to a new life had opened before her. A life without the chains of poverty. A life where she could escape the suffering they had endured.
They knew she would one day leave them—go to the city to study, to train, to walk a path far away. They might not be there to see her best days. They might not share in her future.
But!
It didn't matter!
As long as she didn't experience the bitterness of life as a poor household like theirs!
Who could understand the hardships? Who could understand the pain?
Only those who had lived it would understand!
And because of it, they had been working hard just so that their daughter wouldn't experience it.
When had they ever known that their dreams would suddenly come true, making them wonder if this was all a dream?
Her father held her even tighter, his voice breaking again.
"My little girl… no matter how far you go… this will always be your home."
The three of them clung together in the glow, their shadows merging into one.
And not far away, unseen, Elarae leaned quietly against the wall.
Her plain clothes melted into the dimness, but her eyes—calm, deep, unblinking—reflected the light before her.
The family, wrapped in their miracle, never noticed her.
But in the silence of the warm, glowing room, Elarae's eyes radiated with a light of their own.
"Why is this light...So warm?...