Mayhem
Chapter 1. The Dark Prince.
When he turned nineteen, he died.
The physical body disappeared, but the consciousness continued to exist. He did not know how much time had passed. For him, this state was something between sleep and wakefulness. He did not understand whether he was sleeping or if all this was happening in reality.
And then… he was reborn.
He opened his eyes in the body of an infant, understanding neither the world around him nor the very fact of his existence. The first years he was no different from an ordinary child, until one day, at the age of three, his memory and the consciousness of an adult suddenly returned to him.
He already knew how to read. His body could not yet write, but in a couple of weeks he mastered that as well.
His new body was completely different: wavy black hair, dark brown eyes. In his previous life, he had been an excellent student, always getting the highest grades on exams, becoming the winner of regional olympiads. Thanks to the old baggage of knowledge, his parents in the new life considered him a genius by the age of five.
But now everything was different.
In his previous life, he had lived only for studying and never had time to do what he really wanted. In this life, for the first time, he had free time. Most days he simply sat and thought. Week after week, his thinking changed. With each day, he became further and further from his former self. And how could it be otherwise, since even his name had changed – Toren Hager.
He was born in the capital of the state, in a huge, noisy city, unlike the quiet provincial town where his first life had passed. And this also influenced his worldview.
Another two years passed.
When he turned seven, he went to school. Already from the first grade, teachers called him a genius and treated him specially. But, unlike his previous life, now he had completely different interests and goals.
Thus ended the first year of junior school.
(From Toren's perspective)
Right at the beginning of the second year of study, our class was sent on a school trip.
After four hours on the train, we finally arrived at the destination. It was an ancient temple, where every year all second-graders of the country come. It is here that children are tested for the presence of magical abilities. By the age of eight, any magical power is finally formed, which means this is the ideal age.
In my previous life, I had already been here. Unfortunately or fortunately, I had no magic then.
In this life, most likely, nothing had changed. Despite dozens of attempts to awaken power by different methods, I had achieved no result. But considering the very fact of my reincarnation and that the memory was preserved… I could not assert anything for sure.
We entered the temple.
In its center stood a black monolith of rectangular shape. It was about three meters high, a little more than a meter wide, and so dark that it seemed capable of swallowing anyone who approached too close.
Nearby were dozens of people in black suits and dark glasses. These were guardians, observers, scientists.
Each of us in turn touched the monolith. If a child has magic, the surface of the monolith began to emit a light white glow.
—Toren Hager. Your turn.
My moment had come.
I approached confidently and pressed my palm to the cold surface. Several seconds, and… nothing.
Absolutely nothing.
Perhaps this is for the best.
To the right of the monolith stood a stone pedestal with a mirror that could not be broken. Strange patterns were carved on the stone. Scientists had been trying to decipher them for years, but without success. The composition of both the stone and the mirror was extraterrestrial. According to the official version, they were created from a meteorite aged from two to three thousand years. This is one of the greatest historical treasures of the state.
Usually, the place is full of tourists, but the entire September the temple is closed so that every eight-year-old child in the country can undergo the test.
My classmate and I stood opposite the mirror.
—Toren, did you know? People who possess magic can see various inexplicable things in this mirror, — he said.
—Yeah. But you and I see nothing. That means we don't have even a drop of magic, — I replied calmly.
—Yeah… sad, — he sighed and left.
But I lied.
I saw. And too clearly.
In the reflection, there was no me.
In my place stood a woman, she was pale, fully clothed in white. She was inside some incomprehensible stone room and looked like a corpse, but she was smiling. Widely, creepily, displaying long sharp teeth.
A shiver ran through me. I could not move. In two lives, I had never experienced such primal fear. And that was not all.
She was extending a sword to me.
Completely black, as dark as the monolith.
I blinked. And the vision disappeared.
The mirror again reflected only me.
I blinked several more times, but nothing changed.
Trying not to show extra emotions, I went outside.
—Toren, why are you crying? — my classmate called to me.
—I… it's sad that I have no magic, — I replied. I did not lie, but I did not tell the truth either.
—You're a genius even without magic, — he tried to cheer me up.
—Thanks, — I squeezed out and sat on a bench aside. There I waited until everything ended.
Thoughts flashed one after another in my head. I tried to suppress them. I need to calm down. And then think.
Closing my eyes, I plunged into my own thoughts. It was already starting to get dark. The train had about two more hours to go, so I had more than enough time for reflection.
But suddenly I felt something strange with my whole body.
It was vibrations, dull, low, penetrating to the very bones. A shiver ran down my spine. I opened my eyes and looked around. No one around seemed to feel anything.
It immediately became clear to me — something was wrong.
At the same moment, the front door of our carriage swung open. From it, like a snake, something resembling thick dark liquid slithered in. The carriage froze. Before I could blink, in one instant this mass took on a human form.
The figure stood straight. The skin was completely black, matte, as if absorbing light. The face was smooth, devoid of any features. There were no eyes, no mouth, no nose on it. The creature was dressed in a classic suit with a white shirt and tie, as if copied from an ordinary person.
However, the similarity was deceptive.
The height exceeded two meters, and the too long and thin limbs gave the body unnatural proportions.
Following the first, two more entered the carriage. They took exactly the same form and lined up nearby, motionless and silent.
Right in front of them sat our math teacher.
The monster turned its head toward her. With its thin but long arms, it slowly stroked her head. Then, sharply grabbed her by the hair and lifted her, as if demonstrating to all of us.
Someone screamed.
In just a couple of seconds, it clenched its fingers. The teacher's head turned into a bloody mess, and splatters of blood flew all over the carriage.
At the same moment, on its smooth, dark face appeared one huge eye, and a mouth stretched in an unnatural smile, baring long sharp teeth.
Right before our eyes, it began to eat her.
In a little more than ten seconds, nothing remained of the body. The floor was flooded with blood.
I was sitting right behind her.
All three monsters turned to me at the same time.
Fear paralyzed me. I could not move. One of them stepped closer and extended its hand, aiming straight at my head.
Instinctively, I raised my hand, trying to protect myself.
At that moment, complete despair overwhelmed me.
And then dark smoke began to emanate from my palm.
It instantly enveloped the monster's body, hiding it entirely. A second later, the smoke contracted, as if drawn into itself — and disappeared along with the creature, as if it had shrunk to invisible sizes.
Everything happened in a couple of seconds.
The remaining two immediately retreated back. They were about to flee, but at the same moment, the body of one of them was pierced by a blindingly bright beam that struck from the rear of the carriage.
I sharply turned around.
There stood my father.
—Toren, are you alive? — he asked.
—Yeah… alive, — I answered uncertainly.
While we exchanged these words, the last monster had already escaped.
—Everyone stay in place! — my father ordered loudly and rushed after it.
(From the narrator's perspective)
Marco – that was the name of Toren's father – climbed onto the train's roof. There the last remaining monster awaited him.
—That boy is too dangerous, — it said.
—You shouldn't worry about that, — Marco replied coldly.
He opened his palm and extended his hand forward. From it burst a bright beam of light that in one instant incinerated the creature trying to hide.
After that, Marco returned to the carriage.
—There are no more monsters, — he said loudly.
The response was silence. People looked lost and devastated.
Without making a single movement with his hands, Marco raised an air vortex around himself. In a few seconds, it swept away all the blood, leaving no trace, after which Marco sat next to his son.
For a couple of minutes, the adults began to comfort the children.
For the first ten seconds, Toren did not know what to do.
And then he hugged his father tightly.
But the conversation turned out to be not at all what one might expect. Toren immediately got to the point.
—Do you know what just happened? — he asked.
—These monsters are called the Empty, — Marco replied.
—I'm not talking about that, — Toren interrupted him. —I killed one of them, right?
Marco looked at his son.
—Yes. You killed one of them. Well done.
—So… I have magic?
—It turns out that way. But we'll talk about that at home. I need to check the other carriages, — Marco said and stood up.
He left and did not return to this carriage.
And Toren remained in his seat with a head full of questions.
Why did the monsters appear right now?
How did he manage to kill one of them?
And most importantly – how and from where did Marco appear here at the right moment?
(From Toren's perspective)
The next few hours on this train became some of the most unpleasant in my entire life. Everyone was lost. No one really understood what to do or how to behave.
Upon arrival, we were immediately met by the military and journalists. The military took the teachers aside, and the students were put on a bus and taken to the police building. There each of us was interrogated for about half an hour. Apparently, everyone who saw how I destroyed one of the monsters was told not to tell anyone about it. I was told not to worry. Though I still don't understand how one can not worry in such a situation.
Only by lunchtime the next day were we taken home.
I returned home. My mom met me right away; she didn't go to work today. She hugged me tightly, washed me, fed me, and put me to bed.
In my previous life, I was an orphan and lived in an orphanage. Maybe this is some kind of compensation for not the most successful previous life? In this one, I really got lucky with the family. I have an older brother and sister who always support me.
True, there is one thing that irritates me. No matter how smart I consider myself, in terms of knowledge and even thinking, they still noticeably surpass me. However, there is the other side of this. I got a good body and, apparently, much greater potential.
Despite the endless stream of thoughts, I was too tired and quickly fell asleep.
The next day I woke up around eight in the morning, washed up, and went down to the kitchen. Dad was there; he was preparing breakfast.
—You slept for a long time, — he said.
—Yeah. But the night was so-so, — I replied. —I had nothing but nightmares.
—And you expected unicorns and flying ponies? — he smirked.
—That's true too. After such a day, it would be strange to expect something else, — I agreed.
—Sit down, breakfast is ready.
I sat at the table and started complaining to my father.
—I'm starting to hate the police. I understand, this doesn't happen every day, but interrogating second-graders all night is heartless.
He put a plate with eggs and bacon in front of me.
—And again, what did you expect? — he said calmly. —They don't enjoy it either. They were just following orders. Their wives and children were waiting for them at home. They didn't sleep all night either.
—But that's their job, — I replied, continuing to eat. —Unlike me, they at least get paid for it.
—That's exactly why they are obliged to obey orders from above, — he said.
I sighed discontentedly.
—Okay, this time you won.
—You're still too small to argue with me, — he smirked. —Let's play on the computer after breakfast.
—Let's, — I replied, already in a satisfied voice.
We connected two joysticks to the computer and sat down to play soccer.
—You didn't ask anything about school, — dad said. —You weren't planning to go there today?
—Well, I woke up late, it's already too late, — I replied. —And you didn't say anything about school yourself.
—Your class was given a week off, — he said. —Look at the monitor, I scored. One-zero.
—Well, thanks at least for the break, — I muttered. —But right now that's not the main thing.
He looked at me.
—And what is the main thing then?
—How did you end up on that train? — I asked directly. —By the way, look at the screen. I scored too. One-one.
—I work in the Ministry of Magic, — he replied calmly. —I was allowed to be on that train because my son was there.
—Then why didn't I see you at all that day? — I asked.
—It was a rare chance to take a little break from work, — he said. —I decided not to draw attention to myself and just spend time calmly. I have the right to that, don't I?
—Formally — no, — I replied. —But overall, I can understand you.
He smirked.
—Sometimes it seems to me that you're too smart for your age. Two-one, I'm ahead again.
—Well, I'm your son, — I replied. —And actually, it's already two-two.
—When did you manage to score? — he muttered discontentedly.
That's how we spent the next two hours.
Everything continued calmly.
A week later, I started going to school again, as if nothing had happened. Neither classmates nor teachers, surprisingly, said a word about me. As if there was an unspoken agreement between us: not to remember that day.
Every day for a month, psychologists came to school. After lessons, they called us one by one into separate rooms. Asked the same questions, said the same phrases, watched the reaction carefully. Over time, their visits became part of the routine.
And then they disappeared too.
A month later, everything finally quieted down.
It was the most ordinary day. Gray sky, warm October air, noise of cars. I was returning home after school, thinking about something completely unimportant.
Suddenly, right in front of me, a black van with tinted windows stopped.
The door swung open.
Three people in masks ran out from inside.
I didn't even have time to step back. Someone grabbed me by the shoulders, someone pinned me to the ground. A damp cloth was pressed to my face. The smell was sharp, sweetish...
(From the narrator's perspective)
On October 15, 1719 of the Era of Awakening, three armed terrorists broke into the school where Toren Hager studied.
They were detained.
That day, fourteen innocent schoolchildren died. Seven of them were Toren's classmates.
On November 12, an unknown killer stabbed a family of five people. It was the family of one of the students from the same school. He received a serious injury during the attack on the school but survived.
On December 23, a drunk driver hit a schoolboy returning home after lessons. He was also on that train. In the same carriage as Toren.
On January 7, 1720 of the Era of Awakening, one of Toren's classmates committed suicide by jumping from the tenth floor.
By that time, Toren Hager had already been expelled from school for several months.