Just a few Pokemon fan fiction ideas. Might come up with more later if I can think of any else. 
Enjoy!

Chapter Seven (1)
By the morning of the next day, the creation festival celebration day, I was still not tired. Strangely, I didn't even feel close to the slightest bit sleepy. Quite the opposite; I was full of energy that was buzzing around my body. My body felt like a pressurized kettle ready to burst as if it needed an outlet to release the pent-up energy. I wondered why I felt this way. I guessed that it was some consequence of what had happened to me when I had nearly died at the hands of the outsiders. 
At some point I would need to get to the bottom of what had happened to me. I had a few ideas about adapting a medical scan to examine my body, but that was for the future when I had more knowledge. Now I was focused on getting more information about fabricator design to achieve better fabricator items.
I had used the same bedsheet tent to study all night with the portable console. When Claissa had seen that I was again planning to stay up all night, she shook her head in disgust. She had got into her bed and unsurprisingly fallen straight asleep.
My tyrannical eldest sister Taiana had certainly run all of her younger siblings into the ground preparing for the big day. By all rights, like Claissa, I should have been exhausted, but instead I was looking forward to getting a good long night of development work done.
During the dark night studying under the blanket tent, the time I had to work with my portable console felt like an eternity, which was wonderful in my mind as I managed to get a lot done. The only problem was that it was lonely work for subjectively endless hours without the least bit of personal interaction.
After the talk with my father about not being able to act on my increasing knowledge, I had made plans to leave the enclave. I felt that this was the only way I could reach my potential rather than being shut up there watching time go by. I thought that mainly I had to leave so that I could fulfill my desire to go in search of more information from fabrication libraries in other enclaves.
With my new abilities, I was confident in staying safe. My time dilation skills made me ever so confident that I could avoid any problems in the world outside my home enclave. If I encountered anything, all I had to do was move away rather quickly. It would seem to my attackers as if I'd just disappeared.
Or, alternatively, I could be a danger to anybody, I thought. How could anybody react to my speed if I attacked? It's quite scary to think about what I could do.
So, part of the night had been making plans for my sojourn into the wider world. In my view the process of leaving would also be relatively easy, but I had planned to take advantage of the celebration of creation day to get clear of the enclave's zone of surveillance.
I had already written a letter to my family to explain my actions, couched in such language that only my father would understand the reason for me leaving. In the letter I had expressed my hope that I would be back soon and for them not to worry. Unhappily, I knew that it was a vain hope that they wouldn't, but I didn't want to reveal my secret abilities that I knew would keep me safe. For me it was unacceptable that the alternative of leaving was being stuck forever not being able to develop my ideas. 
The world came back to real time as I heard a knock on our bedroom door. My ma came in holding two dresses on hangers. Claissa stirred in her bed and slowly opened her eyes. I had already placed my portable console under my bedcovers and was smiling at my mother. 
"Good to see you girls are up and ready for the day," said my mother slightly sardonically, but then she smiled at me. "I can't really believe that my youngest is becoming an adult today!"
I smiled at my mother, feeling guilty that I was going to take off into the wider world of the labyrinth. I covered my feelings by getting up and running over to give my mother a big hug.
She will understand eventually, I thought, hugging her extra softly as I was still having trouble not hurting people with physical contact.
She patted my head and said, "Why thank you, Saria. It's nice to see your appreciation. Here, put on this dress and then let's do your hair in a ponytail for one last time."
I nodded as I was rather keen to see how I looked in the dress. My ma and Taiana had finished the dress just the previous night. I guessed that I could forgive Taiana for being such a bossy tyrant the day before as she did mean well. 
It's not her fault she was born first and thinks she knows better than the rest of us combined.
The usual ablutions took a short amount of time as Claissa let me go first. This was a special day in more ways than one. Soon I was standing in front of a mirror looking at my dress and admiring the good job my mother and sister had done. It was my favorite light blue with a darker trim. For this formal occasion the skirt was full-length and hid my boots that had a lot of wear and tear. Compared to the normal fabricator tunics that I wore, this was tighter fitting.
It certainly shows my figure very well, I thought with a smile. I wonder if Cray will like me in it. Damn, I have to say goodbye to him somehow as well today.
"Do you like it?" asked my mother behind me, sounding slightly nervous in anticipation of my answer.
"It's wonderful. Thank you ever so much, Ma," I said with a glowing smile on my face as I turned to hug my slightly tearful mother.
My mother seemed to choke up for a second, and indicated for both of us to go downstairs. When I entered the kitchen everybody else was waiting to head off to the all-day festival. The only member of my family not there was my older brother, Alecx. He was on a trading mission for the enclave and would not be back for at least a few weeks. 
All my family was in their formal clothing and smartest suits for the celebrations. My father was looking quite noble with his black suit and tied scarf covering the top of his white shirt. Mazen was dressed similarly but had a more colorful scarf. The only woman not in a dress was my oldest sister Taiana, as she wore her formal armor and uniform as she was part of one of the war band parties. It was no wonder that she was already a leader of a war party as she was certainly bossy enough. She also had a collection of weapons at her waist that looked as if she meant business. 
Well, I guess that the war members' parties always have to be prepared. 
"Are you excited, Saria?" asked my father with a slight redness in his eyes.
"Yes, Father," I said with true excitement, as this was the day I had been looking forward to for a long time. I was also excited to be heading off into the world but I certainly didn't tell my family this piece of news.

The Unknown Labyrinth

The Nanotechnology Mind Saga (Civilization Hackers)

This is exciting ‘coming of age’ tale of a young woman in a strange unknown labyrinth that is hers home. For her to pursue her ambitions, in life, she finds out she will need to leave the safety of her family. The dramatic world around her starts to become reveled as she is involved in the scheme of others trying to use her for their own ends. She finds out that she has to start to rely on her bewildered abilities that are coming to life.

Author's website
https://www.amazon.com/-/e/B07LGBBBYD

Following is an extract from the book
As the razor-sharp knife I held passed through his scruffy clothing, I felt a slight resistance as it cut into some kind of armor. I guessed he thought that his armor could take my blow, but the expression on his face changed from one of glee to horror as the serrated blade cut open his skin. Twisting the knife, I ripped through his intestines, trying to damage them as much as I could. I quickly pulled my knife back as I danced around to face the next attacker, a woman of about my size. She had a club raised to bludgeon my head.
I sidestepped in an easy move and ducked, seeing the club sail over my head. To the side of me the first man was falling as he grabbed his guts with blood spraying everywhere. When he fell down, two more equally unkempt people stepped forward.
Before they could reach me, I thrust my other knife in an upper cut into the face of the woman with the club. I registered a flash of horror in her eyes as the edge of the knife cut a diagonal line across her face. I sighed as I knew that the damage would be superficial and not fatal, but thankfully she fell back from attacking me.
From my right-hand side, I felt a sharp pain as something pierced my solar plexus and a man holding a club with a tangle of nails pulled back with my blood covering the nails. I didn’t have any more time to think about what was happening to me, as I felt another blow from another attacker. This time the blow was dead-center in my chest where the pouch hung.
My mind turned blank as my thoughts were centered only on the massive amount of pain I was experiencing. This caused me to crumple to the ground, gasping for breath. With deep breaths I pulled in as much air as possible, but it was like breathing in a hot, humid greenhouse.
Once on the ground, by some survival reflex I curled up into a small ball. I was gasping as my heart felt as if pure agony was emanating from it. My hand felt the sticky blood flowing out of the wound. Strangely enough, I vaguely wondered why my hands were now burning as if I had placed them in a fire.
Then from all around me, I started to feel the kicks as the brutal, thuggish pack were determined to finish me off. I could hear the joyful cheers as people shouted out about what they wanted from my possessions as they kicked me.
Suddenly, the burning that had first started in my hands seemed to ignite into an explosion of energy. I felt my chest flash with burning pain. Now instead of the pain of the pummeling from the pack’s rough boots, the more intense pain was the rapid burning that was spreading from my heart to the rest of my body. I felt as if the veins of my body were on fire with burning, acidic lava flowing through them.
The burning heat extended outward as the rest of my body burned with intolerable pain. It was as if the flow of pain was radially extending from my heart being pumped around the rest of my body. While I was in a state of panic, my dominating thought was of the pain that was burning through my entire body. The only thought of relief was that I hoped I’d fall into the darkness of death or unconsciousness. I just expected my mind to shut down with the incredible pain. Then, suddenly, it felt as if the world slowed down.

The day started off with Corvig showing Donis the "classroom" that they'll be staying in. Calling it a classroom was a bit of a stretch. It was closer to a modified office with a single desk and chair for Donis. The rest of the office was filled with neatly stacked books, papers and what looked like metallic trinkets.

It was a spacious enough room, with a sun facing window outfitted with blackout curtains. The floor was made of a teal soft looking carpet, and the walls were once again littered with bookcases. 'It seems the people of this world love their bookcases,' mused Donis.

"First things first Donis, even though you are gifted, you have no prior knowledge, nor do you have any experience in studying. So we shall start off with the absolute basics for you. Here," said Corvig as he passed Donis a book titled "Mana Manipulation – Classroom Basics". 

It was a medium sized violet book with a leather-bound cover. Donis eyed it curiously wondering what ideas or gifts of wisdom it would hold. He knew he couldn't expect much from it, seeing how it was the classroom basics, which is aimed at 10 year old kids since that's when kids normally learned magic. Still, it was better than not having anything at all.

"I want you to read it all. There will be words you do not understand here so you are required to ask me for their definitions, or uses. I will guide you through this book, and so each time you finish a chapter, I'll test you on it's contents and provide further, and deeper, explanations that should help you going into the next chapter. A lot of this though will be self study, because I have my own research to get to," said Corvig taking a seat behind his desk, opening one of the drawers.

Donis nodded, opened the book and began reading with a drunken fervour. It helped that he knew how to read better than even his older sisters. One of the positives of actually being an adult mentally.


-[Basic Mana Emission 1/100]-[0% EXP] [The ability to use your will to influence mana from within] Ability Gained-

'Oh a new ability based on what I've read? So not only does it show that I've understood the concept enough, but the exact name of the skill being taught. Interesting,' thought Donis studiously.

The book described the basics of mana manipulation. How to sense it within, how to move it, how to control it, how to sense it around you, how to bring it in, how to change it and how to finally emit it from oneself. These uses seemed arbitrary at the beginning, but once combined with some practice and dedication you could use this level of magic to achieve very basic effects.

Donis read the book in silence for hours, with Corvig stealing glances at him while making a mental note of how devoted Donis seemed to studying. A surprise to be sure, but a welcome one.

Donis saw that if he used his will to shape the mana, or guide it in a certain way, he would be able to move very light objects, or even change the colour of his mana emission. He looked at his hand startled when he changed his mana emission to red from his normal gold. 

'It's actually this easy to manipulate it? I thought this would take me years like it always does in those novels' chuckled Donis excitedly. He began using his incredibly limited mana pool to affect the objects around him. He first cycled his mana emission through the colours of the rainbow, then he noted that it took him 3 mana to fully cycle the colours. 

-[Mana: 62/65]-

'Hmm, that feels sort of expensive, but I guess it might be cheap since I already have 65 mana without even leveling up yet. I'll ask Corvig about this when I run out of mana to practice with,' thought Donis.

Using his will, he ended up levitating a pencil using his mana emission condensing under it, then noted it drained 2 mana per second (2MP/s).  Then did it again while changing colours and noticed it drained 5MP/s. 

- Ding!

[Basic Mana Control 2/100] - [2% EXP]-

'Oh hell yeah, finally, a level up in that elusive skill. It's such an addictive feeling, I can genuinely feel a minute change in my ability to control it... I suppose that's why it's called that.. anyway. Hmm, changing the intrinsic state of the emission seems to up the cost considerably. I wonder if this affects users who use spells that combine multiple elements. Fuck, every time I explore magic, I'm just filled with more questions,' grumbled Donis.

Corvig had long stopped his own research to watch this 5 year old use magic as if he were studying it for years. The kid picked up the book and after a few hours grasped the entire content of it, being able to not only use the mana within him, but even Mana Emission to influence the objects around him. 'He's also a fucking genius too. The worlds not really fair now is it,' mentally sighed Corvig, slowly getting up.

"Kid be careful, don't over-exert yourself, mana sickness is a real pain to deal with as an adult, let alone as a kid. Come, lets take a break, we'll get some food and talk to me about what you learned," said Corvig ushering Donis towards the door. As soon as Corvig said food, Donis realised that he's actually starving.

"Yes sir, I'm starving! My tummy hurts I'm so hungry!" said Donis, acting his age once again. 

"Sure sure, come along don't lag behind too much," Corvig said as he led them out of the office.

The rest of the day Donis spent practising [Basic Mana Control] and [Basic Mana Emission]. Corvig eventually got used to the idea of teaching a genius and went back to his own research, scarcely peeking at his student. In the absence of prying eyes, Donis's abilities went up a whole level already.

-[Basic Mana Control 3/100] - [7% EXP]
[Basic Mana Emission 2/100]-[55% EXP]-

Satisfied at the results of the first day, went up to Corvig. "Sir, I have a question," Donis asked trying to sound awkward.

"Sure, what's bothering you Donis?" said Corvig, looking up from his research.

"Why does my mana run out so quickly? I have 65 mana but it doesn't last long at all! It's unfair I want to keep changing the colours, they're so pretty!" asked Donis half pissed, half curious.

"... You have 65 mana? Why do you have so much. Kids normally at 10 years old have 30. Ugh.. Okay so, the very basics of Mana Emission are highly inefficient because not only are you using mana which is not attuned to any element, you're also using the equivalent of a river to lift a pencil. The amount you output is far too great for the size of the object you're lifting. For the colour change, it's a bit unavoidable to lose some efficiency because you're changing the colour of the emission outside of your body and not from within where it originates," said Corvig with a more and more exasperated voice. Teaching this boy will not be as tame as he previously assumed.

"Does that all make sense Donis? If there's anything you don't understand please tell me now, I don't want you ruining your learning speed with a poor foundation," said Corvig, fully resigning to being pestered by endless questions.

"It all makes sense sir, thank you!" beamed back Donis.

 'I have that much more mana than kids my age? Is that to do with the title I have, or is it because of my intelligence stat influencing my mana growth? Is there mana growth? Fuck, I have to stop asking questions or I'll give myself a headache,' grumbled Donis, yet he was still sporting a smile, the idea of having an advantage made his greedy heart happy.


The evening eventually came. The amber hues dyed the sky and a sleepy atmosphere took over the office. The carriage picked up Donis, who obviously practised the hell out of those abilities on the entire trip back. 

He'd run out of mana constantly but found out he regened about 15 mana per minute (15MP/m). This allowed him to further progress his abilities. This time only [Basic Mana Control] hit the wonderful level up.

His family swarmed him the moment he left the carriage, unable to hold back their questionnaires to the confines of the kitchen. Donis swam in the love before being asked to be put down. They all entered the house, ate some dinner and eventually retired to bed.

'So every day is going to be like this. I cannot wait. I can finally get questions answered on how this all works! I can finally get a proper education and maybe even get ahead of everyone else for when I officially join the Academy. I wonder if they'll let me join soon, or will they keep the age restriction to avoid something like bullying..." thought Donis incessantly. Eventually, his mind drifted off to sleep, and his first official day of learning magic ended.

-Accepted, Welcome Donis. This is the [Mana Star System].-


This book is about our protagonist, Donis Laurent, exploring the magic world of Erazar. Knowing nothing of this world, he'll have to face whatever this second try at life has to throw at him. 

A world where everyone has a system, knows of magic, and is ruled by the strong. His ability to thrive in this world will only be limited by his drive, and not his aptitude. Born with the rarest blessing, seen only once before in the last few hundred years, Donis will have to face the greed of all the old monsters of Erazar.

Hi, this is Nospacess, and it's my first novel. The uploads will be slightly erratic at first as I'm still trying to figure out a writing schedule, but I hope to release a chapter a day, and if things permit, two chapters a day. Each chapter will be 1.5k-2.5k words at least. I would love any and all criticism, and want to make the story grow with the reader. So if you have anything you want to point out, add, or question, I'll read every comment.

Hi everyone. The last part of this book is literally the explanation of everything that happened within those 81 chapters. This chapter isn't really a chapter but you can call it that. It will include
1) My own character analysis
2)The alternate endings
3)why I prefer building and recreating chances of love
4) What is possible to not like about this book.
5) last message
Character Analysis 
Meilin: It's also important to know volume four was a mistake. I forgot to delete in before I published chapter 77. I couldn't do anything about because it was a premium chapter. That's just a side note. Now Meilin, she obviously wasn't that much of a weak character but if you might've paid attention I revealed why. 
Meilin was born into a home that was already in crisis. With everything that was going on in her life at a young age, she was scared of what life would look like as an adult and her fears became a reality. As an adult, she passed through difficult circumstances that made her hate herself many more times. From the mistakes she made to the failure of realising herself, she was bound to feel inferior especially to the opposite sex. 
Because... for some reason, all the men she'd stumbled across were living a good life. Her father was actually a rich dude, but he neglected herself and her mother. A stereotype and a wrong way of thinking but that's how she saw the world. 
The playground and the elevator were almost two decades apart. What linked unlike poles together. Haru and Meilin were obviously two different personalities merging. Haru didn't have a specific one but Meilin was only liable to change towards the end of the book when she'd realised haru killed Guiren. 
Actually I did curse Meilin. Her mother's love story was somewhat similar with Her own love affair with Bao. Marry a man and he ends up not treating you right because he's never satisfied with what he has.
The Hana curse was obviously for Meilin to experience the same thing her mother went through before she died. The hana curse also affected Meilin when her daughter's turned against her, the same way Meilin turned against her mother and went ahead to live with bao. Her mother was depressed till the day she died, and Meilin was depressed after hearing her daughter say she wished she'd die. That led Meilin to run out of her house in the thick snow that cold day after chances of a blizzard was announced.
Does it all Make sense now? You can see how that relates.
Meilin's thirst for love literally pulled herself and Guiren together. Principal Li wei was just chapter fill in, I wasn't too into their romance. And I'll let you in on a secret, I wanted Meilin to have another baby, but I wasn't too sure of who'd be the proper biological father so I decided to dump those ideas.
Haru: Heartthrob and our unsteady antagonist. Haru was a really bright boy with all the possible good emotions and positive vibes. He was never really sure about what the future had for him because of the way he painted the world. At his young age, he imagined he'd be a successful business man, have a car and a wife. That was all he imagined. His imaginations were normally about space and superheroes. He wasn't even that moved by the world 'love' even when he met Meilin at the train station it was a normal 'friend request'
And when he met Meilin at the train station, he believed more in the power of optimism. But once Haru reached his teenage years, especially when he was sixteen...he changed completely. For almost all his life he didn't know his parents were dead and the people he was living with were just relatives. His cousins didn't even like him because of the attention he got from his aunt who he always thought was his mother. He was living a lie and was puppeteered to think he had a perfect life.
The yang family was wide and nothing but power struggle. People could kill just to inherit the leadership of the enterprise. It was obvious that his aunt and uncle had their motives but he never bothered to ask. It would make him feel bad more than he already was.
It made him doubt the whole love thing. It made him think that it was nothing but a chance of benefits. His relatives claimed to love him but it was clear it was just because of his networth and all his father left behind. But None of that made him happy. He wanted someone that could understand him.
Even when he met Ai jin he knew at once that she wasn't the type that'd listen to his insides but would remain totally with his external features. 
When he met Meilin again he had a feeling that they knew eachother but not too much. He didn't have anything to back up his claim but he was still sure..
His greatest fear was having everything he craved for being taken away. Just like how he lost it after he found out who Guiren was. His selfishness got the best of him and he ended up killing his 'opponent'
Haru had always been emotionally weak, the next thing that comes to his mind what what he'd follow. An example was when Ai jin fell down the stairs and the only logical explanation was Meilin. He was quick to point fingers because his emotions were like a consuming fire. Same emotions made him cheat on Meilin after he got rejected time after time.
But no matter all he did, his love would still rekindle.
Ai jin: A princess, and Beijing's number one idol. She's unique, pretty and talented but her number one flaw Is her hunger for drama. Well Ai jin is one of my favorite characters, and I wished I actually did more for her 😔 
Before her fame, she was the nice soft girl Haru used to know before he broke her heart. Everything she worked hard for was to show Haru how much she'd achieved without him. 
What hurt her was the fact that he could only say congrats and it seemed like it was no big deal. She was on billboards and magazines and what even pissed her more was her discovery of Ai Jin. She felt downgraded by a mere elevator girl that somehow managed to be his 'personal assistant' 
It was all funny that Haru could find someone like her attractive more than an A lister model. Ai jin unlocked her jealousy trait and swore to kill Meilin if things would get that severe. 
She wasn't fighting because she loved haru, she was fighting because Meilin wasn't even in their league. She wanted to push her away because she believed they couldn't even breathe the same air. They were rich and she was poor, haru wasn't supposed to surrender himself to her so weakly. Ai jin assumed that she just came for money and only that.
Bao: The character everyone hated. The perfectly nuetral character. Was he really that bad? He started off as a boy at the oustkirts. Lost his caring mother and his dad went ahead to marry another woman that cared little about him. Bao actually did love Meilin, he got arrested because of the dreams he had. He wanted happiness, that's all for himself and Meilin. Everything went wrong when he realized he couldn't give Meilin what he thought he could because of his criminal records.
He resorted to violence because it somehow relieved him of the stress. He needed someone else to blame so he decided to punish Meilin for the mistake that he made. He wished he never met her. He was sure his life would've been different.
I did want Bao to have a little bit of his human emotions so I decided to not let him kill Meilin's babies. He still somehow cared about her but everything he did was for his own benefit. 
His relationship for Ai jin was for money at first and he didn't think he'd fall for her. When he did, it felt like he was being mind controled. He was ready to take all risks as long as it was for her. But in the end, he died. At this point I think I have to type less now.
I was going to talk about Guiren but I can't because it will make it too long. You know what, I still will.
Nah
The alternate endings— 
Meilin died when she got hit by the truck that ran into her but I didn't think you guys would like that.
Ending 2 
Guiren marries Meilin and Haru goes to jail where he actually belongs.
Ending 3 
Meilin lives happily ever after with Haru.
I didn't plan to kill Guiren but I had to.
If you weren't satisfied with the above endings. What else did you want? 
People must have noticed how much I like building my sandcastles and smashing them. That's probably because I wanted to make the story longer and I just enjoy ruining my character's happiness. I can't let them fall in love at first sight and expect a happily ever after.
Now to address the matter of not liking this book— 
It's something that's inevitable I know but sometimes I prefer not to hear it. I don't have more than 24 hrs but I try my best to always keep the book in mind and update as much as possible. I only take days interval whenever I feel like no one would care. I make a lot of mistakes but I promise to fix all that before March. It won't be easy but I'll try my best.
Final note
Just know I'm planning to start  another book anytime soon. Not sure yet but I have a lot of incomplete projects that I don't know if I can
finish. Well that's all for that. Thank you for your time.
Now you can review this book
Discord link is already somewhere in the book. Have a nice day. 


Meilin Yee Luan, a woman in her early twenties. She's sure she made the worst decision of her life. She married an irresponsible man and has to deal with the burden of living with him.

Bao Luan, her husband. He's an arrogant drunk. He doesn't care about the fact that his wife Is working multiple 9-5 jobs just to make sure they live a comfortable life. 

She gets little time to herself and has to deal with his poor sexual desires and his rudeness. He drinks all day, he yells, he sits around doing nothing and he hits her without thinking twice. 

She wished she never met him in highschool, she wished she had listened to her friends back then when she was still a naïve teen. She wished she didn't accept that ring. She wished she ignored his good looks and went further to know who he really was. 

Her present condition almost leads her to the brink of suicide, but the little image of her mother each time she tries to take her life pops up in her head and she puts the knife away.

Her situation didn't change. Day by day it worsened, the financial burdens increased when her husband left home for a long time and she has to deal with his debts all alone with no help. 

Her family cut ties with her and she was left alone to live with her husband. She wishes to apologize to them but as long as she's still his wife she can't go back.


Her depression increased when she lost her jobs and she was struggling to get a better one but the good spots were all taken.

She's forced to work as an elevator girl in a famous company and earns a medium salary. Her life was in for a change the day she was trapped in the elevator with a stranger. The CEO himself.

Note image used as the cover is not mine. It's only used until someone volunteers to make me one suitable for my book. Credit goes to the original artist. Thank you

important notice: I do not offer my readers 100% accuracy. I do not offer a 100% perfect book. If you're the sensitive type that has nothing else to do but insult books, you've come to the wrong place. But if you're a somewhat considerate person, you can read. Just don't be disrespectful to me. I have feelings. I'm not a bot writer, what I do offer you is a work written by a 100% human with flaws.

Ever since his rebirth, Ron had been meditating and learning to control his magic and by the age of two, he was able to successfully cast a spell. Although the strength and level of spell was very low, it was a spell nonetheless. Besides learning to control magic on his own, he had also managed to learn different languages and some common spells from observing his family. Although the Weasley Family was poor, they were still one of the oldest Wizarding families of the world. They had ancient Tomes and Grimoires full of ancient spells, techniques and other knowledge. But they all either required one to be extremely rich or have specific wizarding talents that hadn't been seen for thousands of years. Except Ron didn't have one but many of these talents, his practice of meditating everyday had resulted in a unexpected surprise, he had become a natural Occlumens!

Although his level of Occlumency had only reached the first level of clearing one's mind — making it "blank and empty", it was still one of the  greatest achievement an adult wizard much less a Two year old child could hope for. Besides Occlumency, his magic control exercises which at the current time was basically just use magic until exhaustion had resulted in an increase in his magic power and his body adapting to the high usage of magic every day. From an outsider's perspective Ron was skimming through the books, looking at the different pictures like a normal Two year old. But he was currently imprinting those books deep into his mind! Ron was currently deeply engrossed in a book when he felt two people approaching him from different sides and he leapt back instantly.

`Bam!'

In the place Ron was currently stood were two identical boys laying on the floor holding their heads. ``What the hell were you guys doing?! you could have hurt yourself!'' looking at their younger brother that was showing both concern and anger in his eyes, the twins just showed their signature smile and Fred just said, ``it's not a big deal little brother, we are fine. Look not hurt at all''. George continued with, ``yeah, we were just trying to scare you but didn't know you were a Seer.'' Looking at their smiling faces Ron's annoyance went away and he hurriedly changed the topic, ``So, why are you guys here and where's everyone else?'' although the twins could see their little brother's trick, they went along with the ruse and George replied with, `` Mum's at the counter paying for the books.'' Fred continued where his twin left off, ``we were sent to collect the prince and bring him back to his people.''

Any leftover annoyance at the twin's attempt to scare him was gone and Ron put the book in his hand away and went back with his brothers. In the sort period of around thirty minutes, Ron had managed to memorise around twenty books with titles like Fundamentals of Potion Making, Runes 101, Common Magical Plants, A book of Thousand Spells, etc. the last book was particularly hard to memorise as it not only had descriptions of the spells but also the pronunciations, the hand motions, the warning and other things as well. There were some very interesting spells in there that Ron was very excited to try out. Although there were books of much higher grade back home and contained extremely profound knowledge, he lacked the basics in any and all topics to be able to use the books at home. 

``That would be 30 Galleons Madam Weasley.'' Ron was shocked at the price of his brother's books. Not because it was expensive but because it was cheap, extremely cheap He had read somewhere in his previous life that the average cost of each years materials for Hogwarts was around 100 Galleons and 50 Galleons of that was just for books! While Molly was paying the shopkeeper, Ron's mind was full of thoughts like, `I can't believe anyone would actually chose to buy books from anywhere else but here. What's wrong with the wizard kind's brains?!' although Ron's thinking process was correct, he had forgotten than it wasn't just the wizards and witches that did this, it was the muggles who behaved this way as well. They all want to have the latest and the brand new. Although the shop's sign was simple and rustic, the Second Hand Bookstore had a much wider variety of books as alongside Hogwarts Books, people also sold their own books as well. In the original timeline, Harry would find a Potions book in Hogwarts that had notes and marks in it that helped him become a `genius' in potion making. It was the same concept but people always want to keep their `image'.

The rest of the trip only took around twenty minutes, they only had to get a Wand as Bill was going to `inherit' most of his equipment from his parents. Once again the thought of his family's financial situation brought down Ron's mood but not for long. He had already had some ideas prior to his visit to Diagon Alley but to put those ideas into practice, he still needed some fundamental knowledge and he had gained some of that knowledge today. `Three Years! no, two years max! I will make the Weasley name resound in the Wizarding world.' While the thought was grand and majestic, the person who had it was currently holding his mother's hand so that he wouldn't be lost in the crowd. ``Alright everyone, take a sip of the potion. You two! I don't care if you enjoy the feeling of nausea, take the potion.'' 

Molly was currently standing in front of a fireplace getting ready to use the Floo but as there were children with her, they had to take a special potion so that they didn't end up emptying their stomachs mid-travel or worse. As soon as the family got home, the twins took the bags from their mother and took out their most prized possession that they had gotten by annoying their mother to the utmost limit, `Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans'. ``Mum, what have you done?!'' everyone gulped at the sight of the twins holding the sweets and smiling like crazy.

Having been bullied almost his whole life, Ray's only solace had been his Mother and books. but one day, the bullies took things too far and he died. On his deathbed he had two wishes, for his Mother to be happy and for him to have the strength to be happy in his next life. somehow, both his wishes came true.

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At first sight, the Old Madam seems very distant, but being a very skillful person, I can tell that there are reasons as to why she is so uptight. This Wu family must have a lot of history. But being so, I have already lived in this mansion for a week now and I still haven't met my "husband" yet. However, I have no hatred towards this other than the fact that I actually like this. When we first came, the Old Madam gave each of us concubines our betrothal gifts. If I had to calculate the money to modern standards, it would be at least or about 10 thousand US dollars. Not only did she give money, we were given 2 stalks of silk to be made into clothing and some jewelry pieces.

When I was guided to my room, I told them that although I do not wish to be rude, I like it when there is a lot of peace and quietness, so for the new people that was suppose to serve under me, I shooed them away. This was my way to make things easier. The more spies that Old Madam had on my back, the less chance I have of being able to escape and find a chance to return to my time. 

Since I had nothing to do, I told Hao'er to find me some needles and scissors. I was going to make clothing out of the silk that had been provided to me. I'm not someone who doesn't like to share and although I know that these gifts belong exclusively to me, Hao'er is still young, only 16 years old and the fact that she is already a servant, is not really a peaceful though in my mind. The only upside is that she is a person who can catch on very fast. For 1 line of silk, I made my clothes out of and the other one went to Hao'er.

"Hao'er, accept this as my gift to you for being my maid. I don't know if I can say I can be the most fairest and nicest, but I can say that since you have come under my wing, I will definitely take care of you."

"Mistress Xiu! Please! That is not needed at all! I am your maid. I will listen to your every order that you ask of me. There is no need to do this at all. Please take it back."

"Hao'er if you say that, it will make me feel guilty. You are still very young, but you have a mature mind. I like that you are my maid, that is why I made this for you. I am not someone who can guarantee your safety, nor am I someone that accepts people easily. Hao'er, this my gift ahead of time the troubles to come in the future is all."

"Milady, I'm not sure…"

"Hao'er, just take it."

"Since Milady has said it, then I should take it. This servant give many thanks to Mistress Xiu!"

"Hao'er, when we are by ourselves you don't have to call me by that name."

Hao'er had on a face of confusion. I have always abided by the rules. Calling by the correct honorific is needed as a maid. 

"Haha… Hao'er just call me Xiao Ling or Ling Ling if you want. Anything relatable to Zhao Ling. It's my real name. I don't like the honorific terms and nor am I someone comfortable of having been called something not by my name. Think of me as a friend, not as a master. Okay?"

"Alright!"

Taking a moment to look at the dress that just had been made. Hao'er was very happy. It was the first time she had such a fancy, yet simple dress. You could see the stitches of lining that went onto the dress. It look even better than the ones that the royal family had. Hao'er wondered how come the lady never made it big with such beauty and talent.

"Okay. Good! Hao'er, I have a question."

"Please ask Sis Ling."

"How did I come to the Bai family? Where was I founded?"

"The Bai family found you at a village. They have some relatives there and after venturing for some time in a forest, they found your body. Master Bai said that your face resembles the Bai blood a lot, so he would adopt you saying that you could be given many things that you would never have. You agreed and came to our estate. However during the travel, the Wu family had decided to select 4 wives for Prince Wu. Madam Bai was ecstatic and decided to give this to her daughter, but when she found out that it was only a concubine, she was angered at this fact. She didn't want to go back on her words and having news that Master Bai just adopted a new daughter. She well… and here we are…"

"Thank you for your honesty Hao'er!"

"Not at all, I have to thank Big Sister! Especially for this new dress! It is very pretty! Big Sis, you are very talented. Although we maids are very accustomed and has been taught to make formal attire before, your abilities goes to new levels!"

"Haha, I see. If you ever want to learn one day, just tell me. I'll teach you."

"Really!"

Ling nods her head at the little girl. This girl gives me the comfort I've never been able to seek. Something warm like family. It really is a pity that I came from a different time. If she was born in the same time as I and had met each other, it would have been very great. She feels like the sister I never had.

"Hao'er, it's time to rest, go to sleep."

"Alright. Call me if you need me."

"Okay."

"Big Sister! Big Sister! Let's play!"

Hm? Who is it? This is not Hao'er's voice. Once again the voice repeated. 

"Big Sister, I'm right in front of you", the unknown voice says sadly in an abandoned voice.

Ling looks in front of her to see nothing. Then, she looks to her sides. Nothing. Then, she looked down and finally saw the child. Ling is 5'10" in height. It is quite tall for a female from her her country, but this was the main reason why she had so many company scouts come to her every day asking for her help in advertisement and stuff. The little boy was about half her height. He was very cute with his long purple hair and phoenix like eyes that are in the shade of lilac. Even his outfit is similar to his appearance, with the exception that it had some red silk thread to make patterns that resemble fire that a phoenix would spew.

"Who are you? Why are you here? I don't remember seeing a child here that look like you. Are you hungry or something? Do want anything?"

"Let's play!"

"We can't though. It's very late already and children need to have their sleep."

"I'm not a child though. I am over a thousand years old. I just look young is all. I am older than your grandma!"

"Alright, alright. Still, we can't play or else we'll make too much commotion and cause everybody else to awake. Why don't we do this instead?"

Well, it seems he is finally thinking of something else other than playing. I would love to play with him, too, after all, look at his cute face! But the rules in this estate is as tight as an ostrich, which is why I dare not to cause a lot of commotion. Oh dear, just the thought of having a scandal like "Mistress Has Child Behind Husband's Back!". Ugh… I would probably die without even having the chance to explain myself.

"Why don't we do self-introductions and talk about our lives, alright?"

"Okay. I am called Zixie. No last names. I am the phoenix that brought you here. They told me that your red string is not in your world, but another's world. They told me my job is to protect and stay with you until you are finally successful. Once you get married to the big brother and live peacefully, my job is done and I can finally get my former self back."

"So, you were the one that brought me here?"

"Um-hm", he nods triumphantly.

"Then, I suppose you already know many things about me. Am I right?"

"Correct. From the date of your birth to your secrets."

"Then, in which world did you take me to? I don't remember in history there being a prominent family with the Wu name. Of course, I know of Wu Zetian, but these people are not related to her. I can tell."

"You got transmigrated to a book. Why don't you take a guess at which book", Zixie joyfully asks Zhao Ling with a mischievous smile.

"LIH. I'm taking a guess for this one. So I am guessing I am in the world called 'The Lou'."

"Your so smart!"

Was that suppose to be a compliment?

"So why is my red string of fate over here instead of my world where I was born in?"

"Well, one of the gods messed up and had to fix it, so there's your story."

"Is there a way I can return to my world?"

"Come to me on the same day you came here. There are also other times when you could have died in this world and be transported back to your world."

"Okay. I'm tired. I need my rest. I can't talk forever. If you want to stay awake the entire night, go ahead, I won't stop you."

When I first saw him, I thought he was a normal child, but he was different. Very different. I can just tell that it is an adult spirit stuck inside of a young boy. It doesn't make a difference whether I treat him seriously or not because he is an adult boy. Never mind, let's go to sleep. We can think tomorrow.

Zhao Ling always wanted nothing more than to live a peaceful life independently. However, on a fateful day, she somehow gets transmigrated to the the past. Not any normal ancient civilization though. One that uses spiritual powers. Zhao Ling wants to do everything she can to just go back to her time, but yet, she can't.

Somehow, she came to regain memories and started to pursue through all kinds of troubles to finally someday have everything go back to normal. Wei Qiang, her husband has lost his memories, but he stays stuck to her no matter what. Many kinds of troubles come and Xia Lin solves them with triumph.

--------------------------------------------------
Preview on the story...

On a fine day, Xia Lin's ex-boyfriend comes to greet her. Xia Lin had been with Xiao Qiang for the day showing him the modern world. 

"Hey! Ling Ling nice to see you again. Want to-ahh my eyes!"

Xiao Qiang pulled her into a deep kiss in front of her ex with a triumphant smirk that seems to say, "Hmph! I win."
--------------------------------------------------
At a party, in the restroom, Xiao Qian pulled her into a kiss.

"Xiao Qian, we are at a party."

He pulls out his sad and cute puppy eyes, "But all the men were staring at you."

"Sigh... What am I going to do with you. Your too unfair Xiao Qian."
--------------------------------------------------
After Xia Lin came back from work, she found that Little Tan was missing.

"Honey, where is Little Tan?"

"I sent him to spend time with Father Liu."

"Wh-mph!"

Xiao Qian pushed her down to the bed and started to kiss her. "I need time with you too."

The night before our day out, I had a dream about the life I left behind. The recollection that came upon me were all of hurt and pain and I woke up, breathing and drowning in tears. I now knew why souls were supposed to forget their previous lifetimes. Not only did it offer a clean slate, it also offered peace.
There was peace in oblivion and I wasn't able to take it.
I had been selfish in that life. My biggest regret, perhaps, was making my mother suffer. I did not let her find happiness—a new man to love. I was so keen on trying to get my father back, even after he left us for another woman and made it clear he had no intentions of going back. I was also afraid that, like him, he would forget all about me once she had a new family. She understood my fears and swore to me she would never leave me behind.
It was in my naïve optimisms that I hoped everything would go back to the way they once were if I try to bring them back together. Alas, there were broken things that could not be mended with how fine the pieces had shattered.
I could only hope she found someone after she lost me.
"Mom?" I cried through the darkness as I rose from the dream, face soaked with tears. I reached out, but only felt the cold and red sandalwood floors. Veneryan beds stood extremely low that they forgo the feet altogether—just a plated pedestal lined with a thin sheet of feathered cushion to help ward off a backache. It took some time for me to get used to it, but it wasn't all that uncomfortable.
It would take a bit more while to come to terms with everything—or maybe I never would be able to get over it. Was I contented with this life? I was left with many questions upon my reincarnation and I had been taken from my birth family a few hours upon gaining consciousness. I wasn't satisfied with my cluelessness. But no matter how many books I read, no matter how many stories I hear, it would not tell me what I wanted and needed to know.
Kicking off the covers, a sudden chill washed down upon me. The silk curtains billowed from the night breeze by the windows I remembered Hellenia sealing tight. Fear rose to my throat, my eyes following the trail of shadows to my room's corner. There, I saw amber eyes, gazing piercingly at me.
"Amber?" I asked softly, incredulous. I nearly shot up from the bed but I stopped short when I realized something.
I saw his lips moving and I could feel his presence in the room, even if it wasn't so tangible. It felt like he wasn't in this world at all, as though I was looking at him through a veil that I couldn't pierce. But he was there.
And in wisps, he disappeared, fading under the streaming moonlight, the glowing amber eyes leaving vivid flashes in my memory.
Rattled, I pushed myself against the paneled walls. Sleep had left me completely. In its place was restlessness, the unsettling silence gnawing at my ears. The night wasn't anywhere near its death but my soft bed and warm duvet wasn't tempting at all. Even if I managed to return to sleep, the nightmares would come.
I curled up and nestled my chin between both knees. New life used to mean new chances and opportunities. However, being attached to the previous one carried ominous things. It was a grave reminder to me that the past, if not completely forgotten, would drag you back. I was beginning to feel the shadows of its weight.
In the torturous silence, I remembered the books I had stacked beside the bed. For once, I felt there was something I could cling to. I crept to the low, moonlit table by my open windows, making a grab for my blankets to bar away the coldness of the night. I swathed it around myself like a protective cocoon. My room had no chairs. Everything was all cushion and squatting. It would get a bit tiring at times as the blood could not move properly to my legs, but, like everything, it all just took to some getting used to.
When I finally found a comfortable position, I hatched open the book to the first page and sank into a reading daze. The words sang, louder than the screaming shadows that slithered to the front of my attention. The colors gave life to my somber night.
Like a siren, the words lulled me into a hypnotic state. Time breezed until dusk, a beautiful crowning glory, haloed the clouds, casting orange rays on my vibrant pages. I looked up to take in the beauty of the misty skies before sinking back to the book I was reading. It was beautiful, but not beautiful enough to trump the world of this book's making.
Birds chirped in my ears a little later until the incandescent light wormed its way into my room in a soulful burst. A while after, my doors opened.
Hellenia called out my name lovingly, "Evyionne."
I looked up as she stopped short, her eyes darting from my vacant bed to the table before where I sat.
"Evyionne," she said. "What happened?"
I shook my head. "I had nightmares," I told her.
"Again?"
Hellenia was carrying a tray of milk like she did every morning to help me wake up. Hearing my answer, she resumed her pace and knelt beside me gracefully, setting the tray on the table. I moved my book away to make some room for her.
"Are you alright?"
I nodded.
"Why didn't you call for me?" she asked, putting a hand on my shoulder.
"I didn't want to wake you."
She sighed. "Maybe today isn't a good day."
I put a hand on the crack of the page, turning to my adoptive mother. "No, please, can we go?" I asked.
"You hadn't slept, Evyionne."
"I'll sleep later some more during the service hours," I promised.
She hesitated.
"Please, mama?" I pleaded, letting my lids pop a bit wider as I gave her a pout, hoping my childish charms would work on the woman.
She sighed again, fingers restlessly twisting by her long skirts. "Alright. But please, Evyionne, call out to me when you're like this. I can't have you staying up all night. Why don't you ever call for me?" she asked, leaning down a bit to pinch my cheeks.
"I didn't think I had to," I whispered.
"This girl," she muttered, pulling me in for an embrace. "Are you really a child? How old are you, my little one?"
"Six?" I replied.
"Really? You feel like an old woman to me." She caressed my head whilst smiling down ruefully. "Next time, call for me or any of the mistresses, understood? I shouldn't have let you sleep in another room at all."
"No, I want my own room," I said, jutting out my lower lip. God knows how much I had been dreading sleeping with another person in the same room. I knew it wasn't very child-like of me to want to be away from motherly company, but I had long since gotten over feeling dependent when I was four. Of course, I still needed help in certain areas, but those years were way beyond me.
"Alright, my little adult. Come on up and I'll dress you up. Can't miss today's day out, can we?"
I jumped in excitement. I was looking forward to our trip outside the House of Oblivion as it was no exaggeration to say I had never left its grounds. The farthest I had gone was the courtyard and, in as much as I wanted to sneak out, my frail self would surely be only met with danger.
I did not want to admit it, but I was quite a coward myself in this regard. I was a curious person, but I had never been the adventurous kind. Even in my past life, I never wanted to experience everything directly; I only wanted to observe from a distance. Perhaps this detachment was one of the reasons why I did not have many friends. Friday nights were spent in the bedroom watching Friends and Family Feud, popping junk into my mouth and blowing up my stomach instead of flattening it.
I sat in the corner, lost in thought, as Hellenia brought out a dress and flagged it before me. "What do you think of this?" she asked, brushing down the beautiful amaranthine fabric. It was the exact color of my eyes, an elegant, brooding red-purple that seemed to vibrate with a unique kind of energy and life. It was beautiful. The thoughtfulness behind it was even more touching.
I looked at it with a slacked jaw. "It's pretty," I told her, awed.
"Good. This is your first outdoor dress."
"It's mine?" I asked in awe.
"Who else can wear this thing, you silly girl?" she said with a chuckle. "Your Mistress Kora?"
I laughed. "He'd have trouble fitting in there."
"Ugh." She waved a hand with a mocking roll of her eyes. "Wouldn't want to imagine it, would we now?" She chuckled and stepped forward to help me with putting it on. "Your Mistress Neilly sewed it for you. So, you've got to go to her and thank her for it later, okay?"
I nodded eagerly.
After pulling me into the beautiful dress, Hellenia twisted my auburn locks into a crown braid around my head before dabbing a bit of perfume on both my wrists and at the locks of my jaw. Did I think it was overboard? No. It was my special day, how could anything be overboard? Hellenia seemed to think the same. She was going extra lengths to make sure this day felt special.
Sweet honeysuckle and citrusy hints filled the air. I sniffed, reminded of my previous life's mother and her passion for scents. She created the most wonderful perfumes.
Before I had the chance to delve back into my previous life's memories once more, Hellenia pulled me to the dining room for breakfast, my small hands in hers. We sauntered through the long, carpeted halls with me singing the Veneryan lullaby she had taught me. It wasn't long before she joined me and we started filling the House with the song.
It didn't take us very long to reach the dining room. I greeted the mistresses a good morning with kisses on the cheek. They seemed delighted to see me in the dress, with Mistress Neilly ramping up compliments for her handicraft. Mistress Lamia, our snowqueen, was as stone-cold as usual. However, I saw the faintest warmth in her eyes.
"Look at our beautiful princess!"
"Ooh, is that the dress Neilly made for you?"
"Pretty little thing!"
I nodded with a bright grin of my own, twirling in my matching amaranthine blouse and skirt. I then climbed onto my seat and, without waiting, started ravaging my breakfast.
"Look at her go," Kora whistled.
"Evyionne," Hellenia began with a laugh. "You cannot eat in such a hurry. Let me help you."
I refused. "No. I can do it by myself."
"If you choke yourself, how can we leave? Besides, a lady should not act that way."
"I'm not a lady yet," I mumbled through a stuffed mouth. "But I am definitely hungry."
They all laughed.
"How long until we leave?" I asked, swallowing.
"We haven't even begun eating yet," Hellenia said.
"But I'm already done."
"No, you're not."
Fruits were pushed onto my plate. Seeing as I had to obey or risk not having our plans fulfilled, I wolfed through a slice of melon, a handful of berries, and half a banana. I had finished rather quickly but my adoptive mother still wasn't done with her main course. My stomach was already filled to the brim and I had a huge food baby.
I sat for a while, hoping my stomach would digest it fast. After about five minutes of rest, I impatiently climbed to my mother's lap, enjoying the comforts of her embrace and reliable hands as she sliced through her sunny side up.
"Aren't you done yet?" I muttered restlessly, watching her from below her chin as she chewed. I bent back, pushing the top of my head against her stomach, my feet dangling to the floor.
"Evyionne," my adoptive mother warningly intoned. "You don't do this in front of the table, love. And you just ate. What if you get a tummy ache?"
"I love you though," I told her sincerely, flashing my biggest of smiles. Would this hurry up? Unlikely. Still, it didn't hurt to put out a little charm.
"Oh." She laughed, picking me up to seat me properly on her lap. Her nose drew close to my ears where it brushed against my hair. Her lips grazed my forehead as she ran her long fingers down my stomach to straighten my clothes. "Look at you. I love you as well. Beautiful daughter, my little goddess. My perfect child, oh how I love you so. Don't ever change."
"Don't worry," I told her. "I won't. I'll always love you."
"Yes, yes." My mother smelled my hair and laid a kiss on my braided locks.
"What about us?" Mistress Marian pouted. "You don't love us mistresses?"
"I'll tell you after everyone finishes eating," I stated firmly, crossing my arms and sticking out my tongue at them.
"But that's not fair," she said.
They all laughed.
"This cunning little girl!"
"We raised such a devil!"
"Come on, Hellenia! Hurry on up! We need to know if Evyionne loves us too!" they joked.
"Alright, alright. How fast am I going?"
My adoptive mother hastened her pace eating to the point that she had stuffed her mouth like I had done. The mistresses smiled warmly. Soon, however, they needed to hand over the jug of water to pour Hellenia a cup. She had started choking on her food midway and needed some fluid to help push it down. After that, she had a loud sigh before turning to me with a smile.
Finally, her plate was clean.
"So what now, darling?"
"You did well," I said. "I love all the mistresses!" I unabashedly exclaimed. I then turned to Hellenia impatiently "Can we go now?"
"What?" Veronika intoned. "That's it?"
I pulled on my adoptive mother's fingers. "Please, please, please."
"Alright, alright." She stood, brushing down her dress. "Say goodbye to the mistresses."
"Goodbye!" I exclaimed, waving my hand frantically and pulling Hellenia straight out of the door.
"Be careful, you two."
"Bring us some treats when you come back."
"Enjoy your day. Make sure you're safe!"

Once there were seven dragons of the moon and a serpent of the sun who fought a battle to the death for a world rich with life and energy.

In the present day, their blessings grant a select few of that world's people the power to harness the natural elements. Evyionne, having reincarnated into this new world, gains not only the rarest affinity for death but also all the memories of the life she'd lived before.

When Sheng Xiao saw her reaction, he added, "You're being optimistic."
Mu Qiqi promptly glared at him.
"It's almost five months since you've moved here to this mansion, a time where you've changed dramatically. Could you have no intention to show those who abandoned you a good look at you now?" Sheng Xiao then asked, folding his arms.
Staring at him hopefully, Mu Qiqi said, "Of course I do."
"Then isn't that just fine? Your sister would definitely be trying every trick in the book on that day so that she would get every attention and humiliate you, so let them see with their own eyes right then how happy and blossoming Mu Qiqi had been after leaving the Mu family.
"That is my intention in agreeing to the Mu family's request, aside from them trying anything funny.
"You are my little princess—and of the Sheng family. Why should you fall short in comparison?"
For some reason, Mu Qiqi thought that she could overcome all trials and tribulations with such aspiring words from Sheng Xiao.
The truth was that she wanted to see the faces of her family when they saw how much she changed.
"Jing Yun would be coming tomorrow. He'll help you prepare for the party… and I had already told him to keep an eye on the Mu family over the next few days. Whatever they are about to buy, we will take it from them—I want anything they would give Mu Tangxue, so that it can be yours instead."
Sheng Xiao's words left Mu Qiqi's heart in an ocean of warmth.
It was only him who would do something like steal for her in this world.
The corner of her eyes reddened as she looked at him. "Suddenly, I'm hopeful…"
"Go to bed," Sheng Xiao gave her a nudge on her head. "There's still school tomorrow."
"What about you?"
"What do you care?"
Mu Qiqi reluctantly returned inside the little mansion even as she looked into Sheng Xiao's meaningful gaze.
It was clearly very cold outside, and yet…
"Xiaoxiao…"
"What is it?"
"It's still my eighteenth birthday. Even if I really want the Mu family to see how much I've changed, I would rather be with you. I know you are busy everyday of course, but I really want to see you."
"I can't celebrate your birthday with you at the Mu family."
"That's alright… it's Christmas on the day after, would I see you then?"
"There's an event at the company," Sheng Xiao simply replied.
After all, would a family trading in diamonds miss such an important day like Christmas?
"Okay. Well, I'm off to bed." Mu Qiqi was very disappointed, but she quickly turned and closed the door so that Sheng Xiao could not see her sad face.
Was she being too optimistic?
Why was she daydreaming in such fashion?
Sheng Xiao was already being too nice to her. She shouldn't feel such discontent.
Meanwhile, Sheng Xiao watched as Mu Qiqi quickly left.
He had actually seen through her expectant look, since for girls, all important days from birthday to Christmas were good chances where they could get close to the people they like.
Nonetheless, he said nothing, but he called Jing Yun on the way back, "Keep an eye on things in the Mu family over the next few days, and help me grab a few things."
***
Mu Tangxue had definitely wanted to show off her vibrant side on the night she became an adult, seizing gazes of envy from everyone and especially humiliate Mu Qiqi.
After all, Mu Qiqi would always stir trouble and get beaten up on their birthday since they had been children.
She would receive gifts from friends and family, while Mu Qiqi would only receive complaints about her education.
This time, things would not end well for Mu Qiqi too. Because she was not even a part of the Mu Family now, and their parents would pay her even less heed.
As such, she needed a battle dress.
Mu Tangxue hence asked Mama Mu to go shopping with her for a gown.
The salesgirl in one of the luxurious shops they visited was certainly pleased, because Mu Tangxue had set her eyes upon one of their high-class in-season dresses: a pure-white lace dress.
"You like that?" Mama Mu thought that it looked beautiful on Mu Tangxue, and quickly decided to buy it for her daughter.
Mu Tangxue nodded—it was the dress she was most pleased about yet.
However, just as Mama Mu held up her purse and was about to head for the payment counter, the shop manager had quickly approached her and apologized. "I'm sorry, madam, but the dress your daughter tried on had actually been bought early on. We forgot to take it off —it's a mistake on our end."
"There's no other?"
"I'm sorry, it's the only one anywhere. All our products are one and only." The manager explained. "Perhaps there is another dress that you might be interested in?"
"It's fine." Mama Mu turned and told Mu Tangxue what the manager just said. "You don't have to get angry, darling. We can just return home and get a designer to tailor something for you."
"I'm not angry, Mommy. I could just wear something I already have, since I still have many other clothes."
"Surely not—it's when you come of age."
Although Mu Tangxue really liked the dress, it meant nothing since it was someone else's and there was no other one like it.
Still, mother and daughter simply did not expect that the 'owner' was barely a step ahead of them—and by purchasing the dress at double price, even the manager was very willing to find an excuse for having sold the dress.
***
At night, Mu Qiqi returned home to find a white box on the desk in her room, kept tied beneath a bow-knot ribbon.
Mu Qiqi opened it to find a white dress inside.
Su Zipei also entered her room right then, and smiled when she found her taking out the dress out. "I heard that Jing Yun snatched it from my sister since it was something that she planned to buy for Mu Tangxue—she is definitely going to be very angry when she sees you wearing that for the party."
"You don't have to try it on either since Mu Tangxue has basically tried it for you… you twins are not so different in size. In fact, your frame is a little smaller."
"Xiaoxiao was not lying," Mu Qiqi muttered quietly. "He is actually stealing right under Mu Tangxue's nose…"
"What?"
"Nothing. I was just saying that the dress is very beautiful," Mu Qiqi replied. "Relax, Aunt Zipei. Let's enjoy the look on Mu Tangxue's face on that day!"
"Yes, Young Master Sheng cares so much that he actually did that for you… don't disappoint him, and hold your head high when you set foot inside their house!"
"I know." Mu Qiqi nodded somberly. "Actually, I think I'm starting to love the feeling of making trouble for Mu Tangxue…
"What should I do if I really became bad, Aunt Zipei?"


Born as twins, but Mu Qiqi was left suffering every torment and became the greatest scapegoat in history only because she was not a better actress than her sister!
That was when she had a nasty thought on how she would escape her family: she would marry the archnemesis of her own parents. She just never imagined that it would come true! 
However, she soon grew addicted to being the enemy’s wife: after the hardship of being  the daughter of her parents, for her naughty husband was giving her strength and aided her revenge.
Life does not get any better!
***
“Doesn’t payback feel awesome?”
“It does!”
“Well, I can make you feel even better!"


How important was Jing Jiu's decision?
On a large scale, it dictated the future of the entire Chaotian.
For himself, it determined the outcome of his Cultivation after a thousand years.
Of course, the latter was more significant as far as Jing Jiu was concerned.
It took a night for him to make the decision; so it didn't seem to be a serious decision, and it could even be said to be a careless one.
"In fact, I'm not really concerned that much about what you people intend to achieve; but do you know why I came forward and opposed my Big Brother when he intended to carry out his plan?"
Jing Jiu grabbed another piece of spring sunlight and looked at it in front of his eyes, like he did to the hotpot back then.
"People don't march together if their paths are different; we could choose to walk on our own separate paths. However, this matter is rather singular, and it's because your path has affected my path.
According to the saying "The water in the wells doesn't interfere with the water in the rivers"; all I wanted to do was dig a well quietly, but the waves you people have caused in the river are too high, which have roiled my well."
He hadn't told his Big Brother about this. And he had merely mentioned it as a foreword on Tianguang Peak the day before. This was a formal explanation then.
After having eaten the hotpot, he led Yuan Qijing and Liu Ci confronting his Big Brother.
Though it had something to do with the tragedy at the Fruit Formation Temple, the true source for the confrontation was that they had different paths.
"If it were years ago, I could understand your choice since you still had to live and cultivate in the human world; but you're near the end of the path toward heaven now and you can simply choose to leave the world. Why do you still care about this place?"
The Immortal Bai gazed at the spot between his fingers and the piece of spring sunlight that was changing shapes in the wind.
"Like you said earlier, it's wrong to simply leave this world."
Jing Jiu went on, "And in fact, one can't settle all the karma by leaving."
Bai Ren succeeded in ascension over a thousand years ago and witnessed the darkness and danger of that world. She felt an intense uneasiness and didn't go very far; instead, she opted to guard outside Chaotian.
He broke through the sky and came to the outside world that year; but he had to use the All in One Sword to be reincarnated after being sneak-attacked by her.
The sneak-attack was actually not the main problem for his return to the human world. It was the unfinished karma that was the topmost reason for his return.
It was because of the problematic Formation of Dispersed Smoke and Cloud and of his own fault.
The Immortal Jing Yang was the sharpest and most nonchalant Dao Heart in the world in his former life.
He was like a fairy sword that had been washed by water for ten-thousand years; and yet, he still couldn't cut off the karma.
As a result, he went to that small village after his reincarnation and found Liu Shisui; later, he went back to Green Mountain and led Zhao Layue climbing up Shenmo Peak.
After he heard the zither music at the Plum Garden in Zhaoge City, he went to the West Ocean and met Lian Sanyue again.
However, the karma didn't finish because of these events; instead, they grew deeper and deeper until they reached his core, making them impossible for him to separate from.
The karma had to be ended.
The Immortal Bai understood what he meant, asking, "Can thinking of this karma help you alleviate the fear of death temporarily?"
"I'm not sure about that," said Jing Jiu. "But I didn't think about it when I made the decision."
The Immortal Bai asked again, "What about now? Have you perceived the darkness?"
The darkness was the shadow of death.
After some thought, Jing Jiu replied, "Maybe a little."
The reason he perceived the shadow of death at the moment was because he was unsure if he could defeat his opponent.
"Then, let's determine whose path is the correct one," said the Immortal Bai calmly.
The judgment of the paths was quite simple and straightforward.
Whoever was the last one remaining followed the correct path.
This was the only meaning of the path toward heaven.
For instance, how should the humans proceed in the future? And how should this world exist? These questions wouldn't be answered until the ultimate outcomes were seen a great many years later. By that time the ideas of the Immortal Taiping and the Immortal Bai would be judged fairly.
The monks of the Fruit Formation Temple had all left. Their chanting could be heard in the field outside the courtyard walls and among the cliffs, adding some solemn atmosphere after it came to the pagoda forest with the wind.
"The fairy energy in the main fairy book was too plenty with much too high a state; as such, I had to sleep many years amid the recitations of scripts to temper it."
Jing Jiu didn't intend to remind her; what he did was simply state the fact.
The Immortal Bai had a main fairy book and an accessory fairy book in her hands. If she was to use the accessory one like she had done earlier, she would be no match for Jing Jiu.
Of course, she must have many other formidable magic treasures and methods; likewise, Jing Jiu still had the Seal of the Underworld Emperor and other methods.
Yet, those treasures and methods were not as formidable as the fairy book and the All in One Sword.
As such, they were unfit to be used in today's fight.
"This is the Fairy Book of our Bai family. Though I can't temper it, I know more than one way to use it."
Having said that, the Immortal Bai suddenly released a great many light rays from her hand.
The light rays stemmed from the blazing fairy book.
This accessory fairy book helped her travel freely between the human world and the Underworld by means of the Escape Method of Heaven and Earth and dodge Jing Jiu's pursuit.
Unexpectedly, she set the fairy book on fire before the fight started.
The fact that she could set the fairy book ablaze was shocking enough.
It proved her claim that the Bai family had many previous experiences and knew how to use the fairy book in a fight.
The fairy book had been burned to oblivion in a very short time. The extremely hot light rays leaked out between her fingers and then returned after they encountered the spring wind.
One could hardly imagine such a wonderful and amazing scene…but it was actually happening in reality.
The bright light rays vanished completely after passing through her white dress and entering her body.
Her body didn't appear to be different from before, but her eyes grew much brighter if one looked at them more closely. Her skin had a thin golden glow, glistening under the sunlight like gold or jade. Her whole person seemed to have turned into a piece of magic treasure.
Jing Jiu was fully aware that it was not that the fairy energy had modified her body in a short time but that the fairy energy became enormously tiny particles, attaching to every pore of her skin and every spot in her inner organs.
In a sense, the Immortal Bai had currently built a golden body, like what Cao Yuan had done, which was almost as strong as his sword body.
The current Immortal Bai had a body that was almost indestructible, which couldn't be harmed slightly by the magic treasures and the swordsmen in the Heavenly Arrival State.
She had no need to worry that her body might be pierced through by the sword light like she had experienced by the East Ocean, where she had nearly died.
Her defense became exceedingly strong, but what kind of attack would she employ in order to kill Jing
Jiu, whose defense was even stronger than hers?
Did she really know how to use the main fairy book?
The sun rose to the middle of the sky; it was the hottest time of the day, with blindingly bright sunshine.
All of a sudden, countless rays of sunlight headed toward the pagoda forest after they were summoned by a seemingly formless force.
This scene had appeared on Longevity Mountain; and yet, the rays of light were thicker this time, looking like a static lightning, which effortlessly broke down the Great Formation of the mountain gate.
The condensed rays of sunlight illuminated the dark and gloomy pagoda forest as well as the face of the Immortal Bai.
Her face looked extremely clear when being shone on by the bright sunlight. She didn't look as desolate as before, now that a few wrinkles appeared on the corners of her eyes and the black strands of hair on her temples were visibly turning white.
Was this the cost she had to pay for using the main fairy book?
The Immortal Bai glided to the sky filled with the sunlight and looked down at Jing Jiu, her eyes devoid of any emotion.
Countless rays of sunlight shone on the pagoda forest soundlessly without disbanding, as if they were a fence encasing Jing Jiu in the center.
Many small holes appeared on the surface of the green stone slabs, which were caused by the force of the sunlight.
The light fence kept contracting as it bore down on Jing Jiu with a great deal of pressure.
A large amount of green smoke came up in the pagoda forest; the wild grass in the cracks between the stone slabs had turned to powder flying in the wind.
Sizzle!!! Sizzle!!!
Some rays of sunlight had eventually reached Jing Jiu's cloth, setting it on fire.
Soon after, a ray of sunlight reached his wrist, cutting a tiny slit on it.
No blood seeped out from the cut. The wound looked like crystal or glass.
Jing Jiu didn't try to escape.
It was because the sword light, regardless how fast it could travel, would be no faster than the speed of the sunlight.
Escaping was useless in the formation that was composed by the sunlight.
He had begun to calculate before the Immortal Bai employed the fairy book.
In other words, he had begun to calculate the moment he saw the sunlight after he was sneak-attacked on Longevity Mountain.
The conclusion he obtained from his calculation was that he would be able to fight against the Immortal Bai if she had merely employed the accessory fairy book.
If she had summoned too much sunlight, he would be unable to escape and have no way to defeat her.
Even if he had plenty of sword source, it was impossible for his sword source to outlast the endless sunlight.
It was evident that the white fireball hovering quietly in the dark and cold world wouldn't extinguish after tens of thousands of years.
The only way to fix this problem was to cut off the passage through which the fairy book summoned the sunlight.
After he sneak-attacked the Immortal Bai by the Heavenly Well at the East Ocean, Jing Jiu had come up with this conclusion. As such, the sword light drew a few words in the sky.
Since the sword light traveled extremely fast, the words disappeared in the sky just as quickly as they had appeared. Only a few people in Chaotian, like the one on Green Mountain, could see them.
…
…
The sunlight filling the air had suddenly vanished.
A black mountain suddenly appeared in the sky, blocking the sunlight.
The sunlight that shone on his body made his black hair look silvery.
The light rays in the pagoda forest of the Fruit Formation Temple were still spreading out, but they were not supplemented with more light.
The Immoral Bai furrowed her eyebrows slightly, the wrinkles on the corners of her eyes growing deeper.
She was a bit startled; but she grabbed a handful of sunlight in the pagoda forest without hesitation and swept at Jing Jiu.
The light cone made of hundreds of rays landed squarely on Jing Jiu.
Crack!!!
Innumerable breaking sounds rang out one after the other, as the large trees at the Fruit Formation Temple and the courtyard walls collapsed. A human-shaped gap appeared on a bell in a grand hall.
…
…
The ocean waves kept slapping against the rocks by the seashore; the action had been going on for a great many years. It was unclear how long it would take for the waves to break the rocks into pieces.
Boom!!!
The rocks broke apart abruptly before they fell into the ocean waves, resembling the raindrops on the surface of the sea.
Jing Jiu flew out from the sea, his body covered in blood.
The blood stains hadn't been diluted by the seawater; instead, they were painted over by a layer of golden color.
It turned out that the Immortal Bai had knocked him to an island one hundred miles away with one strike.
He waved his hand a few times toward the mainland.
A few enormously desolate sword lights left his fingers and came back to the Fruit Formation Temple in the blink of an eye after covering one hundred miles over the surface of the ocean.
Pah!!! Pah!!! Pah!!!
The dress the Immortal Bai wore had many invisible dents.
Some blood seeped out.


I am the sword.
Killing a man amidst a thousand miles, no one dares take ten steps.
Killing a man amidst a thousand miles, no one can take ten steps.
Killing a man amidst a thousand miles, ten steps? Not possible!
I am the sword, the sword is me,
On the path towards heaven, each shall wield their own.

September 1977.
New Hope Orphanage, London.
 
"House-elves? Any free House-elves out there?"
 
Alex called out while sitting in an empty library early in the morning. He'd been sitting there ever since he got up from bed two hours ago, trying out all the tricks, ideas, and even the plot armor usually associated with the reincarnated protagonists of novels that he'd read about in his last life.
 
"Come here to me~. Get a master for yourself~."
 
He singsonged. He had tried a lot of them in the past two hours. So desperate he was in his attempt to acquire something, anything to help him with the current crisis that he'd even tried ideas from novels and fan-fictions that had nothing to do with the world of wizards he'd found himself in. After all, it wouldn't hurt to try.
 
"I promise I'll never give you clothes or pay you unless you want me to~."
 
He had tried calling out to some system, even a Grandpa or someone else would have been fine, hoping for something to respond and got nothing out of it. He'd tried searching for some memories, not of his own, hoping that he'd somehow devoured the soul of some injured grand sorcerer or whatever strong entity while reincarnating in this world. He'd searched every nook and cranny of the library hoping to find some secret or profound sounding, weathered-looking ancient tome or a grimoire, consisting of some arcane arts long forgotten. He'd even gone to the kitchen, found a knife, and lightly pricked his finger to check the color of his blood.
 
'That had hurt a bit'

He thought, hopefully waiting for some house-elf to pop-up at any moment. He knew he was acting a bit desperate, even a bit moronic…
 
 'NO, make that a lot.'
 
 But, in his defense, the situation called for it. There was a chance, however minuscule, that some bored death eater could attack the orphanage, or even assault Sarah while she was in London. He couldn't leave anything to chance; he'd learned that lesson by experience. After all, weren't his chances of dying in a pandemic almost, statistically speaking, negligible? He'd still died though.
 
And it wasn't as if he was wrong in trying out to find some sort of cheat; after all, every reincarnated individual in those stories he'd read, did have something or someone, even luck, to depend on in case things got rough. With him being reincarnated in a world he previously thought of as a work of fiction, the thought that he too might have obtained some sort of cheat shouldn't be too farfetched.
 
Right?
 
He understood the fact that he shouldn't place much hope in finding some easy way to power, and the fact that he wasn't some protagonist of a novel, a figment of someone's imagination; he was, depending on perspective, just a lucky, or rather an unlucky soul that somehow transferred to another reality. And the one thing he could, without hesitation, claim about any reality is that it is often disappointing.
 
The fact that everything he'd tried until then gave no results, ascertained that claim.
 
"If there is any free house-elf, please come here."
 
 He called for the last time. When he got no response after waiting for a while, he sighed in disappointment. This method was possibly the most likely candidate to succeed. Perhaps it was better for him to prepare for alternate solutions after all. 
 
 He raised a book kept on the cloth-covered, wooden table in front of him, and scratched out another possible cheat from the list placed underneath that he'd made when he had first entered the library early in the morning. He noticed that almost all the usual tropes, often associated with reincarnated individuals, had already been crossed out. All the ones left were either too moronic to even try or simply impossible to perform.
 
 He couldn't just push himself 'over the limit' or force himself into life or death scenarios in order to 'ignite his hidden potential' without at least confirming that magic would passively heal his wounds and leave no damage behind. That would be plain stupidity. He was desperate alright, but not to the point of stupidity. He was planning to ensure his family's safety in the worst-case scenario, which may not even happen. If he were to die in attempting some sort of stupid, unverified method instead of some fight against death eaters, he would be so ashamed to even show his face that even the resurrection stone might fail in finding his soul.
 
 Don't even get started on finding some 'mysterious ruins' to get some hidden ability or becoming the heir to Merlin himself. As a five-year-old kid, he couldn't go further than two blocks without at least ten adults questioning the absence of an adult escort, and another one or two offering him candies while trying to bring him back to 'home'. He could do without such nuisance, thank you.
 
 Even his neighborhood was as normal as they come. Well, normal-normal of course, not the future Dursleys' kind. Here, the gossip of the week would be about how some Mr. XYZ, living two blocks away, sprained his ankle while running away from a dog.
 
 "It seems I've to do it the hard way…"
 
He told himself as he once again covered the list he'd made with the open book kept on the table. He couldn't let someone else read the list; he was fine being called quirky, not insane. Truth hurts sometimes.
 
Feeling a phantom strain in his back due to sitting in the same posture for quite some time, as he tried everything he could think of, and found nothing to show, he interlocked his fingers, stretched his arms upwards as much as possible, with his palms facing towards the ceiling, and groaned. Feeling a dull pain in one of the fingers made him remember the wound he'd made about an hour ago. He pulled back his arms and observed the wound on his left-hand forefinger.
 
"Huh…"
 
He was surprised to find that the wound looked like it'd been made a day or two ago already. By his estimation, it could even heal completely by dusk. His desperation had unexpectedly given him confirmation of passive healing abilities provided by magic. Even if it wasn't an instant recovery, it provided him with opportunities that were almost unthinkable for those without magic to obtain.
 
 
Lost in his pleasant discovery, he didn't notice the opening of the library's door, nor did he notice when someone walked to his side.
 
"Alex?"
 
Surprised by the sudden voice calling his name, he let out a squeak. Looking up, he found himself looking into the familiar warm brown eyes of Sarah that were currently showing concern, relief, happiness, and a plethora of other emotions on seeing him awake. Still slightly lost in his thoughts, he just stared.
 
 "When did you wake up? How are feeling now? Why are you sitting here instead of staying in your bed?"
 
She asked rapidly, causing him to break out of his stupor.
 
"I'm feeling fine, Sarah. I just woke up really early and came to the library as no one else was awake."
 
Alex replied with a smile that he thought was bright.
 
In response, Sarah just scrutinized him from top to bottom, as if she could detect anything wrong with him through just a look. She glanced at the book kept on the table in front of him before abruptly hugging him, putting his head near her abdomen, with her arms wrapped around it.
 
Even though Alex was surprised by the sudden gesture, he hugged her back. They kept hugging even as she began stroking his head affectionately. 
 
"Are you really feeling fine?"
 
She asked again, still combing through his hair.
 
 "Mmm…"
 
 He just gently nodded, basking in the familial warmth she almost radiated. 
 
 They remained in the same position for several minutes as he drew comfort as well as determination from the hug. After a few moments, the hands stroking his head were gently placed on his shoulders, as Sarah drew back from the hug, causing him to look up. She stared into his eyes and asked a question he wasn't prepared for.
 
 "What happened to you in London yesterday?"
 
 "Nothing. I was just really really tired"
 
 Caught by surprise, he answered quickly. Perhaps a little too quickly if the slight narrowing of her eyes were any indication.
 
 'Oops…'
 
 She just kept on looking into his eyes, hoping to somehow force out a real answer from him, even as he stared back, trying to look as innocent as he could. When she didn't get the answer she was hoping for, she just sighed wearily even as she sat beside him on the bench.
 
 "You do know that you can tell me anything, right?"
 
 Without even expecting a response, she continued just as gently as she began.
 
 "When you suddenly fainted yesterday, it worried me, Alex. You looked like you'd seen something like a ghost. I'd never seen you afraid before yesterday, you know that? I've seen you getting happy, excited, sad, irritated, and I've even seen your face when you're planning something naughty, but never afraid. I was even a little proud about it, you know? After all, which mother wouldn't be proud of having such a brave son?"
 
 Hearing Sarah calling him as her son for the first time made Alex's eyes tear-up a bit. Even though he thought of her as an elder sister, he couldn't tell her that. All that mattered to him was that she too thought of him as a family. Sarah, on the other hand, seemed like she didn't notice and continued talking.
 
 "The thought of something frightening you to the point of fainting, scared me even as it angered me. No one gets to scare my son and walk away with it. But I couldn't even find something to vent my anger on, something that could have scared you."
 
She paused for a short while, took a calming breath, and continued speaking.
 
"I know you're hiding something from me, Alex. I won't ever force you to tell me anything you don't want to. I know that you're mature, more mature than even someone twice your age, but believe me when I say that it isn't wrong for you to depend on someone, especially me. You can depend on me for anything. You don't have to say anything now, Alex. Tell me when you are ready."
 
She raised her hand, stopping Alex from saying anything when it seemed like he was about to say something. Then, she said with a teasing grin.
 
"Hopefully, one day, when you're older, we will be having a pleasant discussion about your crushes in school."
 
Without paying any mind to Alex, who was shocked silly about the sudden change in the topic and the tone of the conversation, Sarah quickly stood up and made her way towards the door to the library.
 
"Now hurry up and get ready. It will be time for breakfast soon."
 
She said while exiting the library, leaving a still stilled Alex behind.
 
 
------------------------------------------------------x-------------------------------------------------------
 
Something was wrong.
 

It wasn't just her intuition or her mind making things up, out of concern for him, Sarah was sure of it. She had just exited the library and was making her way to the kitchen as she thought back to the conversation she had with Alex a few moments ago. She was convinced that he was hiding something from her and she'd made certain that he knew too. 
 

It appeared to her that he was concerned about something and was trying to hide it by pretending to read a book in the library. Oh, she knew he was pretending, he seemed too lost in his thoughts to even put up a decent act. It worried her even more to see him unaware that the book he was pretending to read contained nursery rhymes, something that he'd quit reading almost two years ago. He was too meticulous of a child to make that silly mistake.
 
 

Even if she overlooked that detail and write it off as him being nostalgic and wanting to read those books again, other reasons told her about his worries.
 

He could've fooled anyone with the lively mask he put on a while ago, anyone but her. After all, it was she who had raised him from the time when he couldn't even talk. She knew him too well for him to lie to her; he had this weird habit of staring intensely, without ever blinking, right into the eyes of the person he was lying to. She assumed it was meant to show his sincerity; unknown to him however, it let out his lies instead.
 
 
So she knew that whatever that scared him, the identity of which still eluded her, was in London. But she, for the love of God, couldn't even think of something that could scare him to the point of fainting. She'd lived in London, or near it, for all her life and even then she didn't know the existence of anything that could scare her son. 
 
It pained her heart to see him so tense, so lost in thought, sitting alone in the library. It almost looked like someone had placed a heavy responsibility on his shoulders, a burden that was only meant for him to carry. She wanted to help him, to get him back to his usual cheerful self, but first, she had to know the reason before she could offer any help.
 
A reason he wasn't willing to share.
 
She couldn't do anything to get him to confide his worries in her. He was almost as stubborn as a mule when he wanted to do something and she knew that no amount of cajoling or even force could draw out the real reason for his fear.
 
All she could do was to support him, and she did just that, hoping that one day, he would on his own, reveal the reason for his worry and return to his bright, cheery, and somewhat goofy self he was before that accursed trip to London.
 
She only prayed that it wouldn't take too long.
 
-----------------------------------------------------x--------------------------------------------------------
 
Meanwhile, still sitting in the library, Alex stared at the door, through which Sarah just left, taking in all the words she said to him, reveling in the familiar warm feeling he felt upon hearing them.

He knew that they were family; he knew that since a year ago. Still, nothing trumped the feeling of hearing the confirmation with his own ears instead of merely knowing it. He'd often heard people say that 'Words have Power'; perhaps in the magical world that phrase rang even truer because he'd never thought that just a few words from Sarah could make him feel so empowered, so loved. 

He stood up, feeling more optimistic than a minute ago, more determined to work harder, ready to become ruthless if the situation demanded, and confidently strode towards his room to get ready for quick breakfast, leaving an empty library behind.

After all, he had a plan to enact.

'For Family…'





He quickly came back running, barging through the library door, to take back the list he'd forgotten about with him this time.

He still didn't want to be considered insane.

“Too late to regret.” 

I never did understand what it meant. After all, life is too long; you can make up for your mistakes any time in the future. Why rush? And I was proven wrong. It was on my deathbed, at the age of twenty, that I realized that life can be really short too. As a result, I died with regrets.

Never did I expect to open my eyes again…

Live again…

SI-OC, Strong OC.

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