Two years ago, when I was only eight years old, my life changed forever.
It was an ordinary morning. The warm sunlight shone through the windows, and the smell of freshly baked bread filled our small home. My mother hummed softly while preparing breakfast, and my father smiled as he helped her. Everything felt peaceful.
I never imagined it would be the last morning we would spend together.
I was playing outside with a small wooden toy when a loud crash echoed from inside the house. It was so sudden that I froze for a moment before dropping my toy and running toward the door.
"Mother? Father?" I called.
No one answered.
As I stepped inside, my heart stopped.
My parents were lying on the floor, completely still. Their hands were reaching for each other, but they would never hold each other's hands again.
I rushed to them and knelt beside them, shaking their shoulders with trembling hands.
"Please... wake up."
There was no response.
I called their names over and over, hoping they would open their eyes.
They never did.
I screamed for help until my throat hurt, but by the time the neighbors arrived, it was already too late.
The people responsible had disappeared without leaving a single clue.
That day, I learned how quickly everything could be taken away.
I was only a child, yet I had already lost the people I loved most.
For days, I couldn't eat or sleep. Every time I closed my eyes, I remembered their smiles and their gentle voices. I wished I could hear them one more time, even if it was only for a second.
But wishes could never bring back the dead.
From that day forward, I carried the pain with me.
One Year Later
When I turned nine, something inside me began to change.
It happened during one of my evening sword training sessions in the garden.
I wasn't trying to do anything special. I was only copying the movements I had seen the kingdom's knights perform.
As I swung my wooden sword, the air around me suddenly trembled.
I stopped.
There was no wind.
The trees were still.
Yet I could feel something surrounding me.
A strange warmth spread from my fingertips through my arms and across my entire body. My heartbeat became faster with every breath.
I raised my sword again.
The moment I swung it, a powerful gust of wind burst around me.
Leaves flew into the air as black ash-like shadows danced within the wind. The force snapped a nearby tree branch before everything suddenly became quiet again.
My knees gave out.
I collapsed onto the grass, struggling to breathe.
My entire body felt heavy, as if every bit of strength had been drained from me.
Even so...
I couldn't deny what had happened.
It was magic.
"...Magic?"
I stared at my shaking hands.
I didn't know where this power came from or why it had chosen me.
But deep inside, I felt that it had always been there, waiting to awaken.
At that moment, I made a silent promise.
If this power could protect the people I loved...
Then I would learn to control it.
No matter how long it took.
That night, I lay awake in bed.
The strange energy still flowed through my body like a quiet heartbeat.
It wanted to be used.
It called to me.
But I refused.
I wasn't ready.
No one could know about this power.
Not yet.
The Price of Power
Over the following months, I trained in secret.
Every day, my magic became stronger.
Every day, it became harder to control.
Using even the smallest spell drained nearly all of my mana. My muscles became weak, and my vision blurred until I could barely remain standing.
Sometimes I collapsed before I could even return home.
The magic felt alive.
It moved on its own, refusing to obey my commands.
One afternoon, I practiced fire magic deep inside the forest where no one would see me.
I created only a tiny flame.
At least...
That was my intention.
Without warning, the fire exploded into a sea of flames.
The trees caught fire one after another, and the heat surrounded me from every direction.
I ran as fast as I could, barely escaping before the flames swallowed the entire clearing.
When I finally stopped, I fell against a tree, breathing heavily.
My hands were burned.
My ribs ached from the fall.
"...I almost died."
Fear filled my heart.
Not because of my enemies.
But because of my own magic.
Every time I used it, I felt as though it took a piece of me away.
Even so...
I couldn't stop.
Whenever I remembered my parents, the pain inside my chest became stronger than my fear.
I wanted answers.
I wanted justice.
And if this power was the only thing that could help me find the people who destroyed my family...
Then I would keep fighting.
No matter the cost.
The Flowell Family
Not long afterward, I was adopted by the Duke and Duchess of Flowell.
They welcomed me into their home without asking for anything in return.
They gave me warm meals, clean clothes, and a place where I no longer had to worry about surviving each day.
But my heart remained closed.
I kept my distance from everyone.
Whenever the servants knocked on my bedroom door, I stayed silent and pretended to be asleep.
I didn't want to grow close to anyone again.
I was afraid.
Afraid that if I loved another family...
They would disappear too.
As time passed, things slowly began to change.
Duke Aizen often found me practicing swordsmanship in the garden.
He rarely interrupted.
He simply stood nearby and watched.
One afternoon, after I finished training, he finally spoke.
"You've improved."
I looked at him in surprise.
No one had ever praised me before.
"You have talent," he continued. "But talent alone isn't enough. If you're willing, I'll teach you how to become even stronger."
I wanted to refuse.
I didn't need anyone.
At least...
That's what I kept telling myself.
But somehow, I found myself accepting his lessons.
Day by day, he patiently taught me swordsmanship.
He never forced me to smile.
He never asked about my past.
He simply stayed by my side.
Duchess Cassia was just as kind.
She often invited me to join her for tea or read books together in the library.
She never treated me like an outsider.
Instead, she treated me as though I had always belonged there.
One evening, she noticed me staring at a family portrait hanging above the fireplace.
She smiled gently before sitting beside me.
"You know," she said softly, "you're part of this family now."
For a moment, I didn't know what to say.
A part of me wanted to believe her.
Another part was terrified.
Because everyone I loved...
Eventually disappeared.
Still...
For the first time in years, I allowed myself to hope.
The Day Everything Changed
Four years passed.
The Flowells became the family I thought I had lost forever.
Duke Aizen taught me strength.
Duchess Cassia taught me kindness.
Slowly, the empty space inside my heart began to heal.
Then...
Everything was taken away again.
That afternoon, I was reading alone in the study when someone knocked frantically on the door.
The head maid rushed inside.
Her face was pale, and tears filled her eyes.
"Lady Selentia..."
She struggled to speak.
"There has been an accident."
My heart skipped a beat.
"The Duke and Duchess..."
She lowered her head.
"...They didn't survive."
The book slipped from my hands and hit the floor.
"No..."
It couldn't be true.
I ran through the halls as fast as I could.
The servants stood in silence, their eyes red from crying.
Outside, the carriage had already been brought back to the estate.
It was completely destroyed.
There was nothing anyone could do.
I stood there, unable to move.
Once again...
The people I loved had been taken from me.
I fell to my knees as tears streamed down my face.
Why...
Why did everyone I cared about always disappear?
I had finally found another family.
And once again...
I was left completely alone.