*Chapter 1: The Beginning*
*Page 1:*
The building towered above, a monument to power and progress. Yet, within its walls, a dark secret lurked. The "Academy of Talents" was a place where children with extraordinary abilities were raised to shape the future of the world.
Shin was one of those children. He was an infant, only a month old, when his mother left him here. The scientists and magicians of the Academy took him in, intent on studying and nurturing his abilities.
But Shin developed no magic. No mana, no abilities, nothing. He was a child who didn't fit the Academy's mold.
Years passed, and Shin was neglected and mistreated. He was a nobody, a nothing. The Academy saw no point in nurturing or loving him.
Shin grew up, a quiet, invisible child. He learned to adapt, to survive.
When Shin was 4.8 years old, something happened that would change his life forever.
The door to the room he lived in opened, and two men in white coats entered. They grabbed Shin and pulled him to his feet. "It's time to end the experiment," one of them said emotionlessly.
Shin was dragged to a room that looked like a slaughterhouse. In the center of the room stood a pedestal, surrounded by laser cannons. The men threw Shin onto the pedestal and tied him down.
"No magic, no mana," one of the men said. "You're useless. It's time to get rid of you."
The laser cannons began to hum, and Shin closed his eyes. He waited for the end.
But then, something unexpected happened.
Orange particles appeared out of nowhere, not from mana, but from Shin himself. The particles enveloped him, and when the laser cannons fired, the shots were absorbed by the particles.
Shin opened his eyes, and a cry of panic echoed through the room. He tore free and ran with all his might, the orange particles still surrounding him.
The Academy would never get him again.