September.
I had heard that word so many times that I could recognize it, even if I didn't fully understand what it meant. They said I was almost two years old, that there was one month left until October and my birthday. But among all those things I still didn't understand, there was one phrase they repeated more than any other:
In two weeks it would be Selene's exam.
I didn't know what that exam was about, but every time they mentioned it, Selene shone as if a tiny sun were trembling inside her. And the house… the house filled with movement, with footsteps, with voices, as if everyone were preparing for something very important.
That day started differently.
Liora came into our room with an energy that seemed to light up the walls.
"Selene, come here, my girl. Today we're going to the main residence. You have to look beautiful."
My sister came running down the hallway, almost tripping over her own excitement. A reddish spark slipped from her fingertips, dancing for a moment before fading away.
"I'm coming, mommy!" she shouted, throwing herself into her arms.
Liora picked her up and started brushing her hair with almost ceremonial care. Then she opened a box and took out a soft dress, woven with threads that only shimmered when the light hit them in just the right way. Selene stared at it in awe.
"You look like a star," Johana said from the doorway, her voice soft with pride.
While Selene spun around to see how the skirt moved, Liora turned toward me.
"Now you, little one. We can't leave you behind."
I was sitting on the bed, still, watching them. Always watching.
Liora lifted me gently and began to dress me. She put a light shirt on me, soft little pants, and a small vest that matched the color of my eyes. I didn't move much. I just followed every detail with my eyes.
"It's incredible how calm you are…" Liora murmured, adjusting my clothes. "You're very special, you know that?"
Johana, who was folding some blankets, let out a soft laugh.
"That boy understands more than he lets on."
She was right. Or at least that's how it felt.
Sometimes I didn't understand all the words, but I understood the tones.
The affection.
The warmth.
And that was enough.
Once we were ready, we stepped into the hallway. Selene bounced with every step, as if her excitement didn't fit inside her small body.
"Is something important going to happen today?" she asked, almost out of breath.
"Today we're going to see where your exam will be," Liora explained. "Where you'll take your tests."
"All in one day?" Selene asked, her voice high and curious.
"Yes, my love," Johana said. "It's an exam divided into parts, but everything is done on the same day."
Selene's mouth fell open, impressed.
I… didn't know how big an exam was supposed to be.
But if she talked about it with that sparkle in her eyes… it had to be important.
---
The walk to the main residence of House Arias felt long, even though I only caught fragments: the sky framed by windows, light spilling into corridors, distant voices. We lived in a private wing, far from all the important bustle, so this was the longest journey I had taken since I was born in this world.
When we arrived, I understood why they called it the "main residence."
It wasn't a castle, nor a fortress covered in banners.
It was a modern building, large and elegant, like an important center in a major city.
Smooth, pale walls.
Wide windows.
Perfectly kept gardens.
Guards in dark uniforms checked permits in magically sealed folders, but nothing too flashy—just small glimmers along the edges of the paper. Others held devices that vibrated softly when they detected mana, though I had no idea what those sounds meant.
There was order, movement, importance.
And I, silent, watched everything.
Selene squeezed my hand.
"Nii, look! That's the family symbol!"
She was pointing at a metallic condor engraved above the main entrance. A stylized condor, framed by a ring of light.
I didn't know what it meant… but it was pretty.
Manuel guided us inside.
"There they are," he suddenly said, his voice carrying restrained emotion. "My parents."
My heart lurched.
Grandparents.
A word that, in my other life, was always surrounded by emptiness.
I never met my maternal grandparents.
And my paternal grandparents… were around for a while, but left too soon. I remembered them fondly: they were the people who accepted me without hesitation, even when age already weighed heavily on them.
And now… in this world… I was going to meet them again.
Or something I feared more: meet a different version of them.
The thought hurt, like my soul had made a sound no one else could hear.
Pedro Arias was a tall man, with a steady gaze, straight back, and an imposing presence. He didn't need to speak for the air around him to change. There was something in him… a strength that didn't exist in my previous world.
Silvia de Moreno, on the other hand, had a smile that seemed to brighten the room. Her eyes shone with maternal warmth, like her light could wrap around everything without effort.
They were my grandparents.
And they weren't.
The same, and different at the same time.
Will they be like the ones I knew?
Will they hug me the same way?
Or will they be completely different?
I felt sadness.
And hope.
Because somehow…
I would see them again.
Selene ran toward them, laughing.
Silvia lifted her with ease.
"My beautiful girl!" she exclaimed.
Then Pedro Arias looked at me.
When our eyes met, the world grew smaller, softer. They weren't the eyes I remembered from my previous life.
But they weren't strangers either.
There was an echo there.
A warmth buried under layers of mana and time.
He approached and picked me up with care, as if he were holding something too fragile.
His warm aura wrapped around me like an embrace I had quietly missed all my previous life.
"So you're Jhosep," he said in a deep voice.
"Yes… you are definitely my grandson. That gaze… without a doubt worthy of an Arias."
My chest trembled.
In my other life, I never heard those words.
Silvia stroked my cheek gently.
"So calm…" she whispered. "Just like Manuel when he was little."
I didn't cry.
But a warm weight settled behind my eyes.
They were the same, but not quite.
They were here… and at the same time, not.
But this time… maybe I could grow up beside them.
---
Later, they took us to a courtyard prepared for pre-exam practice.
The instructor, a kind middle-aged man, kneeled in front of Selene.
"Alright, little one. Show me your mana control."
Selene lifted her chin, determined.
Liora knelt beside her.
"Listen, love. First… breathe."
Selene inhaled deeply.
"Now imagine a little ball of light between your hands. Tiny… round."
My sister closed her eyes.
Liora smiled.
"Very good. Now guide your mana from your center…
feel how it travels through your channels…
all the way to your hands."
A reddish light began to shine under Selene's skin.
A warm, pulsing glow.
"That's it…" Liora whispered.
"Now give it shape.
Finish the sphere with your mana.
Don't force it. Let it flow."
And then… it appeared.
A small red sphere, trembling, beautiful.
"I did it!" Selene shouted.
"Very good, darling!" Liora said, proud.
Selene turned toward me.
"Nii, look!"
But just as she was about to show me the sphere—
puff.
It vanished in a soft flash of light.
"Nooo!" she complained, puffing out her cheeks.
Liora laughed and hugged her.
"You lost it because you got too excited, love. But you did very well."
"For her age, it's excellent," the instructor added.
I watched Selene.
She met my eyes… and smiled.
---
While Selene kept practicing, I listened to the adults talk.
"The physical test will be quick," the instructor was saying. "Balance, reflexes, coordination."
"And then the mana reading," Manuel added.
"Yes," the instructor replied. "Affinity, density, flow. Everything is evaluated on the same day, divided into parts."
"Fire, water, wind, earth…" Johana listed.
"And the paths," Liora completed. "Magic, Aura or, in rare cases, hybrid."
I didn't understand those words.
But I could feel they were important.
Light.
Path.
Affinity.
Something inside me stored them away.
---
When the sun began to set, painting the courtyard in warm gold, Selene ran to me and grabbed my hand.
"When I finish my exam, we'll play a lot, nii."
I looked at her.
Her hand was warm.
Her smile clear.
Her light alive.
I didn't know what September was.
I didn't know what it meant to have a birthday.
I didn't know what that exam was about.
But she was happy.
And that, for me…
was enough.
---
That night, as we went back to our family wing, the air felt different.
Heavier.
Fuller.
At the entrance of the main residence, vehicles and representatives were already beginning to arrive:
The Falkenray, with their elegant bearing.
The Vides, with their mix of seriousness and warmth.
And other members of allied families, greeting the Arias with formal courtesy.
They had all come for Selene's exam.
They all expected something from that day.
Tomorrow would be my sister's big day.
The day when the light—her light—would reveal who she was.
I rested my head against my father's chest while Selene kept waving at the new arrivals.
Tomorrow… many things would change.
But for now…
all I could do was watch.
And wait.