Lyra looked around the small house.
"Where is Rael? I haven't seen him for a while."
Darius glanced up from his work. "Dear, I was meaning to ask you something."
"What is it?" Lyra asked.
"Our son Rael is strong, but… is he feeling depressed? He hasn't said a word since he came here."
Lyra sighed. "Don't you understand? He isn't feeling anything—he doesn't understand what's happening around him."
"Ah… then we need to talk to him," Darius said. "We have to teach him everything we know about the unknown."
Lyra stopped him with a look. "Whatever we do, nothing changes. But we have to take this matter seriously."
He nodded. "Yes, I understand."
---
Rael was already on his way toward the Waterfall of Time and the Garden of Water—two wonders of the capital.
The waterfall was said to heal every poison, and the flowers of that garden were known as living miracles.
Many people came there to train in the ways of water magic.
There were three branches of that art:
1. Common Water Magic – used by ordinary mages and knights.
2. Holy Water Magic – practiced by the churches.
3. Supreme Water Magic – the highest form, spoken of only in legends.
Rael knew none of this. He didn't even understand what "magic" truly meant. To him, all of this was new, confusing, and a little frightening.
---
While he stood near the garden gate, a group of young men noticed him.
"Hey, boy," one of them called. "What's your name? You look unhealthy."
Another laughed. "What's up with your hair? It looks disgusting. What kind of magic can you use?"
"I… can't," Rael answered quietly.
"Huh? You can't use water magic?" one mocked, raising his hand. "Then see this! Water Storm!"
A surge of water swirled before Rael's eyes. He stepped back, startled. It was the first time he had ever seen magic being used.
"What kind of magic is that?" he asked, awe in his voice. "I've never seen something like it!"
The group sneered. "What are you, some sort of stray who fell off a ship?"
Rael didn't react. He wasn't looking for a fight—only trying to understand this strange world.
Still, he asked one of them politely, "Sir, could you tell me the way to the Garden of Water?"
That only made them angrier.
"You dare ignore us?" one shouted and raised his staff.
"Water Dragon Slash!"
A shimmering dragon of water surged toward Rael. He froze, unable to move. If the spell hit him, he would be finished.
But just before it struck, another blade flashed—a clean, brilliant slash that shattered the water dragon in mid-air.
The crowd gasped and dropped to their knees.
Rael blinked. "What… what are they doing? Why are they kneeling to that woman?"
Standing before him was a figure in silver and blue armor, her long hair glimmering like the surface of a lake.
"Hey, stupid boy," one of the men hissed. "Kneel to our princess!"
"Captain, no need for formalities," the woman said calmly. "He seems new and immature."
She stepped closer. "Hey, boy—what's your name?"
"Rael," he answered softly. "My name is Rael."
"Tell me, Rael," the princess said, her eyes gentle but sharp. "Why were they attacking you?"
"I don't know," Rael said honestly. "I didn't do anything. I just asked them the way to the Garden of Water."
"I see," the princess replied. "Then come with me. I'm heading there as well."
It had been three long months since Rei's disappearance from the world he once called home. The spring air was heavy with silence, filled with the quiet rustling of petals that drifted down from the blooming sakura trees. Under the soft rain of pink, Maria stood still, her eyes swollen with the weight of sleepless nights.
She whispered his name softly - Rei.
How many days had passed since she last saw him, heard his voice, or felt his warmth? Time had blurred into a season of waiting, where every moment carried the echo of his laughter and the ache of his absence.
Beside her, Luna placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. Maria's tears shimmered under the sun. It had been three months since Rei left them - three months of trying to live as if nothing had changed. But everything had.
Luna tried to comfort her, asking if she had ever told Rei how she truly felt. Maria shook her head slowly. "No," she whispered, her lips trembling. "I didn't." The wind carried her words away, but the pain behind them lingered.
"He was my meaning," Maria murmured after a while, her gaze fixed on the distance where the sky met the earth. Luna looked at her in confusion. "Meaning?" she asked softly.
Maria smiled faintly, though her eyes were filled with sorrow. "The reason behind everything I wrote, everything I felt. It wasn't about love - it was about how everything made sense when he was near. When he was here, even silence had warmth."
one born Luna noticed how different Maria had become. She was no longer the quiet, distant girl who hid behind her notebooks. There was a strength in her now of loss, but also of light. "You've changed," Luna said, almost in awe. "You're brighter than before."
Maria looked up at the falling petals and smiled softly. "He did that. Rei changed me. Some people don't stay long," she whispered, "but they stay long enough to change you forever."
Her tears dried on her cheeks as she stood, brushing off the dirt from her skirt. The air carried the scent of sakura and nostalgia. The petals danced like snow, and for the first time, Maria realized how beautiful the season could be and how cruel.
She walked through the quiet path leading to the graveyard, her steps slow, steady, deliberate. The place was still, touched by the whispers of the wind. Rei's grave stood beneath an old cherry tree whose branches bowed gently as if in mourning.
Maria knelt before the gravestone. Her fingers traced his name carved into the cold stone. A faint smile crossed her face as tears welled again. Rei's voice echoed in her memory - calm, patient, wise beyond his years: "Maria, the more you understand this world, the more you destroy yourself. That's why fools are happy... and the wise live in loneliness."
Now she finally understood what he meant.
"So that's why you said those words..." she whispered, smiling through her tears. "You were warning me, weren't you?"
The memories of their childhood came flooding back the day their parents separated, the nights they spent waiting for the rain to stop, and the mornings where Rei made her laugh despite everything. Even when she knew he wasn't her real brother, her heart refused to believe otherwise. He had always been family not by blood, but by soul.
She placed a small blue ribbon at the base of his grave, the one she always wore when he was alive. Her hands trembled as she remembered his final words, the promise he made before he left:
"Find me when our family hunts you.
Find me when your friends let you down.
Find me when the world feels too heavy to carry alone.
When your heart feels like it's breaking - find me.
When you're tired of being strong, when silence gets too loud, when no one seems to hear you find me.
I'll always be here, no matter what. I won't promise to fix everything...
But I'll promise you won't face it alone."
Maria's tears fell onto the ribbon as she whispered, "You said I'd never be a burden to you, Rei. But you... you were the one who carried every burden alone."
Her voice trembled as she looked toward the sky, where the sakura petals danced endlessly. "You lost all your light, and yet you still tried to find mine..."
She smiled - soft, fragile, and full of pain - as the wind carried the last of her words to the heavens.
And beneath the falling blossoms, Maria's tears glistened like morning dew, her heart heavy yet full, her love eternal yet unspoken.
The season of sakura continued to bloom - beautiful, fleeting, and forever painted with the memory of the boy who had once made the world make sense.
"So, your name is Rael..."
Her voice was calm yet carried the authority of someone used to being obeyed. "I am Maris Elowen Veynaquill, the second princess of the Water Kingdom."
Rael blinked, still confused by the sudden turn of events. "Is that the reason why... everyone knelt to you?"
Before Maris could answer, the armored knight beside her stepped forward, fury blazing in his eyes. "You fool! Don't you know our princess is the hero of our kingdom?" His voice thundered through the streets.
"Captain Lio," Maris said firmly, her tone sharp enough to silence him. "That's enough."
"But, my lady," Lio protested, bowing his head, "I can't stand by while someone dares to disrespect you—"
"I said that's enough," Maris repeated, her voice soft but absolute. Lio stepped back reluctantly, his hand still gripping the hilt of his sword.
Rael, silent all the while, turned away from their tension. His gaze wandered toward the window of the carriage, eyes tracing the shining canals and crystalline towers of the Water Kingdom's capital. The sunlight danced across the water like liquid silver, and his reflection shimmered among the waves.
He exhaled softly. "I was wondering why this city is so beautiful," he murmured.
Maris tilted her head slightly. "And did you find your answer?" she asked, curiosity lacing her tone.
Rael turned his eyes toward her, his voice gentle. "Yes... I did. It's because of you, Princess Maris. You're adorably beautiful—your smile feels as pure as water itself. That's why everything around you looks beautiful too."
Maris froze. For a moment, time seemed to stop. Her face turned red—so red it matched the ruby ornament on her gown. She covered her cheeks with both hands.
"Y-you... stupid boy," she stammered, hiding behind her fingers. "Who do you think you are saying such things so casually?" She mumbled to herself under her breath, still refusing to meet his eyes.
Rael blinked, unsure what to say next. The princess's reaction made him awkwardly scratch his head. "Princess Maris," he finally said, "if you allow it, I'd like to look around the palace... and maybe visit the city too."
Still hiding her face, Maris waved her hand dismissively. "Go... be careful," she managed to say, her voice quieter than usual.
Rael bowed slightly, then stepped down from the royal carriage. The horses neighed softly as he left. Maris watched from the window for a moment before ordering Lio to return to the palace.
As the carriage rolled away, Rael wandered alone through the cobblestone paths of Aquaheim, the Water Kingdom's capital. His steps led him to a small, peaceful graveyard near the outskirts of the city. The flowers there swayed with the wind, their petals glowing faintly under the glimmering sky. Rael stood there quietly, watching how the light danced on the water and the blossoms bent toward him—as if recognizing something within him.
Just then, a gust of wind swept through the garden. A poster came flying along the air and smacked him in the face.
"Huh?" He peeled it off and looked at it closely. The letters shimmered faintly with blue ink.
> HYDRATHIS ACADEMY – ENTRANCE EXAM
One month from now, the gates will open once more to those who wish to learn the true art of magic.
All are welcome to test their worth.
Rael's eyes widened. "Magic Academy...?" he whispered. His heart beat faster.
This was it. A chance to understand the strange powers that had chosen him—the mysteries that tied him to this world.
He clenched the poster in his hand, a faint smile forming on his lips.
"I'll go," he said softly. "I'll learn magic... and maybe then, I'll understand who I really am."
The wind carried his words into the shimmering sky, where the sunlight danced like silver across the kingdom of water.