In the middle of the schoolyard, my friends and I surrounded that useless boy without mana.We laughed as we kicked him, each blow echoing like a cruel confirmation of how weak he was.
— Hahaha! And now? Where are your little plastic toys to protect you, huh? — one of my friends mocked, kicking the boy's backpack far away.
He rushed after it, but I grabbed it first. I opened it with disdain and pulled out a metallic object.
— Hm… what's this? A mechanical arm? — I laughed, letting mana flow into my hand. The arm exploded into sparks before everyone, shattering into pieces on the ground. — This is nothing but trash. Just like you. Do you really think these scraps will let you defeat someone with real mana?
— That's it, Hen! Show him! — my friends shouted, thrilled by my cruelty.
I was a prodigy. Everyone knew it. Still so young, and I could already control mana like an adult. That failure… he was behind even five-year-old kids.
— One day… one day you'll see… — he muttered, fists clenched, eyes burning with rage.
I spat on the ground. With a water spell, I drenched his face and his backpack too. Then I kicked him in the stomach, grabbed him by the hair, and forced him to look at me.
— You disgust me. You and all those progressives who believe in mixing magic with technology… Wake up, worm! Go throw yourself off a building already, because with that pathetic mana, you have no future. Come on, guys… arcade?
— Only if you're paying, Hen! — one of them teased.
I rolled my eyes, letting a bit of my aura leak out. — ME?
— I-I'm kidding, I'm kidding! I'll pay! — he laughed nervously.
We left the failure lying on the ground.
A week later, as we prepared for another "training session" with our toy, he wasn't at the usual spot.
— He dares to be late? — I growled. — Who does he think he is?
— Maybe he… killed himself? — one of my friends joked, laughing.
— I sure hope so. But if not, I'll be the one to kill him!
That's when we heard a voice.
— Hey!
We turned. There he was. The same boy. But something… something in his eyes was different.
— YOU dare show up late? — I shouted.
— Why would I show up on time? — he answered, with a strange smile.
— You asked for this!
I hurled a fireball straight at his chest. The explosion echoed through the courtyard… but when the smoke cleared, he was still standing. Unharmed.
— Wha… what?
He started laughing, loud and hysterical.
— HAHAHAHAHAHA! Finally! I did it… I DID IT!
With a single motion, he launched a small fireball at one of my friends. It looked weak… but the impact sent him flying into the wall, knocked out cold. The other two, pale with fear, ran away.
— Hey! Where do you think you're going?! — I shouted.
— That's your problem, Hen! You're the one who always picked on him! — they yelled, disappearing down the hall.
— That's right… — said the boy, his voice trembling with fury. — I'LL RETURN ALL THE HUMILIATION OF THESE YEARS! Even if I have to crush you right here, right now!
I cast water, fire, wind… none of it worked. Until he opened his coat.
Underneath, a metallic armor shone. And when he injected mana into it, the impossible happened: he began to float.
— What…?!
— Witness! — he shouted. — TECHNOLOGY WITH MAGIC!
He dashed forward at a speed only veteran mages could keep up with. A storm of punches rained down on me, each impact tearing away my breath, breaking my arrogance. I couldn't react. I fell to my knees, sobbing.
— I… I surrender… I'm sorry… I was wrong… — I begged, tears streaming down my face.
But he only looked at me with contempt.
— You really think I'd forgive you?
The blows continued. Until, at last, I lost consciousness. The last thing I felt was the cold metal as he stripped me, leaving me only in my underwear.
When I awoke, I was tied to a crude cross in front of the school. The entire crowd laughed at me, pointing, mocking.I, Hen… the prodigy of mana… had become the greatest joke of all.
The next day, when I entered the school gate, I noticed it immediately.Everyone… everyone was laughing at me.
The sound of their laughter pierced my chest like invisible blades.Even those I once considered friends… turned their faces away, or worse, laughed too.Alone. I, Hen, the mana prodigy, reduced to nothing but a joke.
During break, I went behind the school to smoke, as I always did to forget. But they were there. My ex-friends.
— YOU! — I snarled, fists clenched. — You dared to abandon me?!
— Shut up, Hello Kitty underwear! — one of them yelled, and the others burst into laughter. — Hey, that was a good one!
My blood boiled. — You asked for this!
I fired a fireball at them.But… unlike what I expected, they countered with water. The explosion of steam blinded me for an instant, and when I noticed, the other two already had spells ready. The blasts hurled me against the wall.
They came at me, kicking, laughing as they did.
— And now? Where's the almighty Hen?! — they mocked. — HAHAHAHAHAHA!
After the beating, they even stole what little I had left.Bruised and humiliated, I climbed up to the school's rooftop.There I stood, staring at the city view, the cold wind brushing my face.I thought… if I jumped from here, maybe everything would end. Maybe the pain would vanish.
— Nice view, isn't it? — I heard a voice behind me.
I turned. It was him. The boy I had tormented for years.The one I had called trash.
— YOU! — I shouted, my throat raw. — THIS IS YOUR FAULT!
He stepped forward, eyes blazing with rage.— Me? I was just living my life… You're the one who chose me as your punching bag. You're the one who mocked me, humiliated me, trampled me like I was nothing! Today, a bad day for you? How many bad days do you think I lived because of you? How many times do you think I stood in this exact spot… thinking about ending my life?
His words pierced deeper than any magic.I swallowed hard. My legs trembled.
— You're… right — I muttered, my voice breaking. — I deserve this. I ruined your whole life… and I don't even know how you endured all those years. I barely survived a single day.
I looked at him, tears streaming down my face.— I'm sorry…
And before I could hesitate, I closed my eyes and jumped.The wind cut against my skin… and I waited for the final darkness.
But the impact never came.
When I opened my eyes, I was floating.A metallic glow shone before me. The boy, clad in his magical armor, was holding me in his arms.
— You think after just ONE day you have the right to die? — his voice echoed, firm like a sentence. — No. You will live. You will suffer, every single day, just as I suffered for fourteen years in hell.
I clenched my teeth. My heart pounded violently.He wouldn't let me die. No… he would force me to live.
To live… carrying the weight of everything I had done.