I
The world is governed by seven types of mana: Water, Earth, Air, Fire, Spirit, Unique, and Abyss. Usually, everyone gains their own mana by the age of 12. How do we understand which person had which mana? By the color of their eyes.
For example, having water mana will turn one's eyes blue, earth mana turns eyes green, fire mana turns them red, air mana makes them gray, spirit mana turns them yellow, unique mana usually turns them white, and abyss mana turns them purple. Before gaining the mana, everyone's eyes are naturally dark brown.
I glanced at the note listing all seven types of mana. I doubted fire, water, air, or earth mana could actually send me back in time. So, I crossed out the first four mana from my note. As for abyss mana, although it holds potential for time manipulation, I don't believe I know anyone close to me with abyss mana.
Abyss mana users are forbidden, as they typically possess the most dangerous mana. There's a rule in almost every country to eliminate people with purple eyes immediately.
Moreover, this type of mana requires both parents to be abyss mana users.
Spirit mana is also rare. Isabella possesses it, but I doubted she would be the one to send me back, given that she was the reason I died in the future.
And then there's unique mana. I glanced at Gwen, who was eating breakfast with Brian. Gwen has unique mana; she has the power to stop time, can see the history of anything as she wishes with her touch, record events with her eyes, which she can show others later, and can manipulate the growth of animals or trees. So, she has the most potential to send me back in time. But how? She committed suicide 16 years ago, at the age of 24.
Gwen's eyes met mine. "We're being awfully quiet. So why are you staring at us like this?"
"Um, older brother... Are you perhaps hungry?" Brian asked nervously.
Brian... he died at the age of 10. I wonder what kind of mana he would have awakened? This is the year he would die.
"Hah... why do you guys never eat in the dining room?" I asked.
"As if they would actually let us eat there," Gwendolyn replied as she took another bite of her food.
It's been a few days since I've been back in the past. After wandering around, I've started to realize that I've actually traveled back 35 years. There are a few things I've learned since then:
1) I've traveled back to when I was 10 years old.
2) Events that I remember happening when I was 10 are happening exactly as I remember, but my interference could lead to different outcomes.
3) This is probably the work of someone with strong mana. And I need to find that person.
"How long are you gonna keep studying?" Gwen asked, "Shouldn't you take a break now and eat something?"
Brian nodded, his eyes fixed on me.
"I'm not hungry yet," I sighed, closing both my notes and the book I was studying.
That's when I noticed the red mark on Brian's waist.
I walked toward him and grabbed his waist, causing him to startle. "How did you get this?" I asked.
"Oh... this? I fell while running around playing," Brian nervously replied.
The typical lie. I nearly forgot how he would often get beaten by his mother and our siblings.
"Was it one of our siblings?" I asked as I sighed.
"Huh?! Nooooo," he replied.
If it wasn't them, then it must be his mother. Brian was known as the abandoned prince; our father married his mother forcefully after killing her lover and later forced her to give birth to Brian by threatening to kill her family members as well if she didn't do as he told her to do.
Why?
Because it seemed fun to our father at that time. After she gave birth to Brian, he didn't even glance at him. Brian fell victim to his mother's rage, who couldn't leave the house nor die, as both would lead to her family's misery.
And this foolish boy just let her do as she pleased because he craves her affection.
On the other hand, Gwen, with the same mother as me, was nicknamed the cursed child because our mother died while giving birth to her.
As the 10-year-old Lucius, I hated Gwen for this exact reason. But now, I have realized how foolish I was in my past life. Quietly, I apologized to them both for failing to be the brother I should have been.
I released Brian's waist and spoke, "My apologies if I made you uncomfortable by accident."
Brian looked down at his food, shaking his head. "If anything, I should thank you for worrying about me, big brother…"
I patted both Gwen and Brian's heads, determined to protect them as a true older sibling this time.
"We're going out after you both finish eating," I told them, and their eyes started sparkling.
"Really? Like really, really?? Do you really, really, really mean it?!" Gwen exclaimed.
"Yes, let's go."
II
Gwen's face twisted in confusion as we entered the armory.
"Um, Lucius, not trying to be rude, but why did you bring us here?" she asked.
Meanwhile, Brian was fascinated by all the weapons on display.
I smiled at her. "Well, why else? I'm going to teach you both swordsmanship."
"What?! Noooo, I mean, I'm not old enough yet. Also, why do you keep smiling since you woke up? You never smiled before. Are you dying?" Gwen protested.
Sara, Gwen's personal maid, whispered to her, "Miss! You shouldn't talk like that to the first prince!"
The only maid accompanying the two princes and the princess of this country. No guards or other maids.
Why? The guard under my charge is a lazy man who can't be found when needed, and I don't like having maids. On the other hand, Brian never got his personal maid or guard. So in the end, only four of us came on this outing.
As Brian had been quiet for some time, I looked around to find him and realized he wasn't in the store anymore. Panic took over me as I remembered that this is the year he is supposed to die.
"Brian… Sara, did you see where he went?" I asked Sara.
"Ah, wasn't Master Brian here just a second ago?" Sara replied.
"I saw him step outside just a while ago," Gwen chimed in, still being grumpy about being brought to the armory.
I hurried outside to find him, but he was nowhere to be seen.
"Master! I... I'll go and search for him. Pardon my rudeness, but can you two stay here and wait for me to bring Brian back?" Sara asked, also stepping outside.
I shook my head. "I'll go and bring him back. You are Gwen's personal maid, so stay with her."
Sara insisted, "But how can I let the young master go? I'm the adult here, and I should keep an eye on all of you!"
Realizing we were wasting time arguing, I told Sara firmly, "Sara, this is an order from the First Prince of Astoria. How about you go and fetch the knights in the castle while I search for him?"
"But—!" Sara began, but I cut her off. "No 'buts.' I'll get going then," I said, rushing off in a direction, unsure of where he could have gone.
After running for some time, I suddenly felt a weird hunch from an alley. I started walking there. It was eerily quiet, and I couldn't see anyone.
As I kept walking, I heard Brian scream, "Help!"
I rushed toward the direction of the voice and found him. Some men were kicking him while he lay on the ground, defenseless and coughing up blood. I didn't intervene immediately, knowing I shouldn't jump into a critical situation like this without thinking it through.
Cursing myself for not having awakened my mana yet, I realized dealing with them would be difficult. What should I do? Should I go back?
"Why the hell did you have to go and fight back?! If you had just obediently followed us, we wouldn't have to do this!" one of the men yelled as he kicked Brian again.
I should have at least bought a sword from the armory. I scanned the area for anything I could use to fight back. There was no chance of getting help; there was no one nearby. Plus, if I went to get help, I might lose Brian for good this time as well, and the outcome would be the same.
"Looking for something like this?" I heard a voice behind me.
I turned around to see a guy holding a sword, smirking.
I took a step back, and Brian saw me. With tears in his voice, he said, "Brother..."
"The hell, is this kid another prince?" one of the men beating Brian remarked, looking at me.
"A prince, huh? What honor do we owe for the prince to meet us?" the man in front of me chuckled.
"What ya waiting for?! Grab him! The more princes we get, the more money we get, ain't that right?" another shouted.
"Geez, you guys are too rude. Why are you being impolite to our young masters? Look at them, you are scaring them both," the man in front of me said, then smiled. "Isn't that right?" He stopped, then spoke in a low voice, "King Lucius?"
What... King? How did he...
I was about to respond when everything went black.
The last thing I remember is him staring at me as I fell to the ground.
III
I woke up feeling sore all over my body, with a sniffing sound coming to my ears. Opening my eyes, I found myself lying in a cold, dimly lit room, my hands and legs chained.
"Brother... are you okay?" Brian's voice came from the other side, accompanied by sobs.
"I'm sorry... because of me..." Brian began, but I cut him off. "I'm fine. Why are you apologizing to me? Are you the reason they decided to kidnap kids?? Did you tell them to kidnap us?" I asked. This boy was too easygoing; no wonder he always gets picked on by our siblings, even though he's the second oldest.
Brian shook his head, sobbing. As the room barely had any light, I couldn't see his face clearly.
"Then stop apologizing for unnecessary reasons. You're the second prince of Astoria! Have some pride. Only apologize when you've hurt someone yourself, not the other way around," I replied.
After that, neither of us said anything. As I surveyed the room, I noticed a cage in the corner. As I tried to look if there was anything inside it, I realized, there seemed to be a child inside…?
The room reeked of rotten blood, indicating that they had likely killed someone here before and would have no hesitation in doing so once again.
I reached into my pocket and gripped the small knife I always carried for dangerous situations like this, but sadly, it seemed there was no use for it now, as it couldn't cut the chain.
Laughter echoed from outside the room, indicating that the kidnappers were nearby. Father didn't care about anyone other than his own selfish desires, so we were probably on our own for now. Waiting for his help would be a waste of time… he was likely chasing after another woman, just as I'm thinking about it as well.
There seemed to be no other option.
"Anyone here?" I shouted, startling Brian, who looked at me confusedly.
"Anyone here?! How dare you make a Prince of Astoria suffer from thirst?" I shouted again, though it felt odd to say such things.
Brian joined in, "My brother is thirsty! Bring him water!"
"My, my, it seems like the king has changed quite a bit after losing the queen, huh?" The man who had called me king earlier spoke as he stepped into the room, holding two glasses of water with a smile on his face.