"Forgive us… We couldn't keep our promise to you, Nox."
The man's voice trembled…not with fear, but with sadness.
A flash of light. A scream. Then, silence.
"Noooo!!"
I wake up screaming, sweating, and unable to breathe, and my heart is pounding like it will pop out any minute.
"Again that dream, Nox?"
A sleepy voice came from the next bed — my roommate, Nade, at the orphanage, rubbing his eyes and yawning, annoyed and worried at the same time.
I grabbed my silver chain, a thunder-shaped pendant, the only thing I have left from my parents, trying to calm myself and force a small smile. "Yeah… same one"'
He sits up, his messy red hair sticking out in every direction, eyes squinting at me like I just ruined his favorite nap.
"Bro, it's been five years. Five. You've had that same dream every single night since you came here. What kind of horror movie is playing inside your brain?"
I try to smile. It comes out more like a grimace. "Guess I'm a rerun channel."
He throws a pillow at me. "More like a nightmare machine. You ever think about talking to Miss Kira about it?"
"Yeah," I mutter, rubbing my eyes. "And what would I say? 'Hey, Miss Kira, I keep dreaming about people dying whom I haven't seen in my life.' She'd think I'm cursed."
Nade snorts. "You are cursed. You've been ruining my beauty sleep since I was ten."
I laugh a little. It helps. That's Nade—he never knows how to shut up, but somehow, that keeps me sane.
That dream's really been on my mind. Who was that guy? Could he be my dad? Did this happen to me, or is it just my imagination?
Everyone at the orphanage was already awake when we went downstairs. Like always, the hall was filled with children waiting for breakfast at a wooden table while Miss Kira served breakfast.
"Morning, Nox. Morning, Nade," she says with her usual warm-but-don't-mess-with-me tone. "Eat quickly, you two. Don't be late for training again."
"Training," Nade groans. "It's Saturday."
Miss Kira raises an eyebrow. "And thunder doesn't strike on weekends, does it?"
Nade opens his mouth, thinks better of it, and shovels porridge instead.
I can't help smiling. Miss Kira was a former adventurer, so she trains us to learn magic, and she's the closest thing to family we've got.
We went outside for our training like always.
In this world, everyone's born with magic. Using it, though—that's another story.
There are six core elements: Water, Fire, Earth, Wind, Light, and Dark.
Some people are lucky enough to awaken evolved elements, hybrids born from two cores—things like Ice, Thunder, Lava, or Glass. Evolved users are rare and usually end up as adventurers.
But the power level of an adventurer depends on the number of cores they awaken in their body.
More core helps the user get more elements, and each core has 5 levels. The higher the level, the more powerful spells one can cast.
Me?
I was blessed with an evolved magic element, "Thunder".
Miss Kira says that makes me "special."
She claps her hands to get everyone's attention. "All right, you little magelings. Basic aura focusing! Remember—control matters more than strength. If you can't keep your core stable, you'll burn out before you finish the enemy."
We groan in unison. She gives the same speech every time, but she's right.
Everyone spreads out and closes their eyes, trying to focus their inner energy.
Tiny flashes of color begin to appear—soft red glows for Fire, blue shimmers for Water, green pulses for Earth, and white ripples for Wind.
Nade stands beside me, his light element glowing bright and warm, like sunlight breaking through clouds.
I take a breath and focus.
The air around me prickles, like the way it does before a storm. Sparks start to appear near my body with faint yellow threads.
Miss Kira walks between us, arms folded. "Good. Keep your breathing steady. Feel the energy flow from your chest outward, not the other way around."
When training ends, the sun's already climbing high.
Everyone's exhausted but satisfied. Miss Kira dismisses us with a nod. "Good work today. Remember—patience builds power. Impatience destroys it."
We head back inside the orphanage.
"Now that we're fifteen years old, we have to prepare to leave the orphanage and decide whether to join the guild, the academy, or the Magic Knights of the kingdom," said Nade.
I nodded.
"What are you interested in, Nox? I'm going to join a guild," said Nade.
"I'm thinking of taking the entrance exam for Moonviel Academy," I said.
"What?... Isn't it difficult to join that academy? Magicians from all over the country come here to study," said Nade
"Yes, and they are conducting their entrance exam in 2 months in Eldoria city," I said