When we decided to follow Akira, she told us calmly as we walked along the forest path:
Akira:"I will teach you how to use magic… but first, you must prepare your bodies."
At the time, those words didn't mean much to us.
We understood their meaning soon enough.
The training… was brutal.
Every morning before the sun fully rose, Akira would wake us up.
No excuses.No delays.
We ran until our legs felt like they would break.We carried heavy logs that were bigger than our own bodies.We climbed steep hills with buckets of water, slipping, falling, standing again.
Sometimes she made us stand completely still for hours.
Not moving.Not speaking.Just enduring.
Lucas:"…Is this magic training or torture…?"
He would complain while lying flat on the ground, completely exhausted.
I agreed with him.My whole body screamed in pain every single day.
But Akira never looked angry.Never impatient.
She only said one thing.
Akira:"A weak body cannot support magic. If you collapse from exhaustion, your magic will collapse with you."
So she kept pushing us.
Again.And again.And again.
She trained us like someone preparing us for a war we didn't yet understand.
But it wasn't only suffering.
Between the harsh training, we saw things we had never imagined before.
This world… was unbelievably beautiful.
Trees so tall their tops disappeared into the clouds.Rivers that glowed faintly blue under the moonlight.Creatures that watched us from a distance — not hostile, not friendly — just… existing.
Sometimes glowing insects would gather around us at night like drifting stars.
This world was completely different from the one we remembered.
And somehow…
Despite everything…
We were happy.
We spent several months traveling with Akira.
She took care of us like a real mother would.
She cooked for us.She treated our wounds.When we were too tired to walk, she would silently carry our bags.
Sometimes I caught her watching us with a gentle smile.
As if we were something precious she had almost lost.
To us, she was no longer just "our aunt."
She became family.
But everything changed…
In a single day.
Zeus:"Akira, we're going out for a bit."
Lucas:"Just a short walk! We won't go far!"
Akira looked at us silently.
For a moment, something unreadable passed through her eyes.
Then she sighed.
Akira:"…Alright. But be careful."
We nodded quickly and ran off without thinking much about it.
We didn't have a goal.
We just wanted freedom.
We ran.We laughed.We tested how strong we had become.
We felt powerful.
We felt like nothing could hurt us anymore.
And that was our mistake.
We didn't even notice when the surroundings began to change.
The ground became darker.The air grew heavy.The forest became… too quiet.
Then—
A sound.
Rustling.
Low growling.
We turned.
And froze.
Goblins.
Dozens of them.
No…
Hundreds.
Their yellow eyes stared at us from every direction.
Lucas:"Run!!"
I tried.
I really did.
But my legs wouldn't move.
It was like my body no longer belonged to me.
Zeus (whispering):"Move… move… MOVE!"
Nothing.
Fear completely swallowed me.
I couldn't breathe.I couldn't think.
Lucas screamed with everything he had:
Lucas:"AKIRAAA!! HELP US!!"
A violent wind suddenly tore through the forest.
A shadow flashed between the trees.
Akira appeared.
She was running toward us at full speed.
But even she understood.
She wouldn't reach us in time.
The goblins were already attacking.
She didn't hesitate.
Not even for a second.
Akira stepped in front of us.
Shielding us.
Her body became our wall.
Claws struck.Blades fell.Blood splashed across the ground.
Akira (softly):"…Run."
We couldn't.
We couldn't do anything.
Our minds had gone blank.
With her final strength, Akira whispered something.
A spell.
Light spread across the ground.
Two horses materialized out of thin air.
She lifted us onto them with shaking hands.
Her last words were barely audible.
Akira:"…Live."
The horses ran.
Faster than anything we had ever seen.
We looked back.
And saw…
The goblins surrounding her.
Her figure disappearing beneath them.
The image burned into my mind.
I couldn't stop crying.
Zeus:"It's my fault… We shouldn't have left… we shouldn't have gone…"
Lucas was trembling beside me.
Lucas:"Why does this keep happening to us…? Why do we lose everyone…?"
We didn't know where we were going.
We didn't know how we would survive.
But we knew one thing.
This was our mistake.
That night, neither of us spoke.
For the first time…
I understood how cruel survival could be.
When morning came, the horse that carried us stopped.
It looked back at us.
Almost… knowingly.
Then it dropped something onto the ground.
A book.
Old.Covered in strange markings.
Before we could react—
The horse vanished.
Just like that.
Lucas and I stared at the book in silence.
Lucas (quietly):"…Did it leave this for us?"
I didn't answer.
I slowly picked it up.
It felt… warm.
As if someone had been holding it just moments ago.
This wasn't coincidence.
This was something else.
Something waiting for us.
Without another word…
We opened the book.