Chương 2: Rebirth in Chains
Chapter: 1
I took a breath as I stared up at the moon, its light reflecting off my brown eyes, casting a silver sheen over my wild black hair and dark skin. I sighed, shaking my head in disbelief. It had been four years since I was reborn in this world, four years since I found myself in this strange past. To think that just four years ago, I was an ordinary software engineer. Now, I stood on the edge of a slave plantation, far removed from the life I once knew.
Turning my attention from the moon, I gazed over the sprawling plantation, dotted with buildings: the Master's house, towering over the land with its polished wood and stone; the maid and butlers' quarters, modest but well-maintained; the storage building, where crops and supplies were held; and last, the crumbling slave quarters, where hundreds of us were forced to live.
"To think I'd be reborn in the past," I muttered under my breath.
Judging by the architecture and the nature of the land, it seemed like I had been reincarnated in 14th or 15th-century Jamaica, at the height of the slave trade. My skin was a constant reminder of my place here, a slave just like the others. But was I angry? Not exactly. I had been Jamaican in my previous life. But the circumstances... the cruelty of this place, it ate away at me.
Glancing around to make sure no guards were near, I began my quiet trek back to the slave quarters. The night was still, and the faint sound of the wind whistled through the sugarcane fields. Silently slipping through the creaky door, I entered the dark, suffocating quarters. The only light came from the moon filtering through cracks in the wood. Over a hundred men, women, and children lay sleeping in this miserable place, piled together like livestock.
I sighed, weaving through the bodies to find the patch of hay that served as my bed. Lying down, I stared up at the wooden beams of the roof, frowning.
"If only there was a way to change this," I whispered to the darkness, wishing for something... anything.
The next morning, I was jolted awake by a soft voice calling my name. I blinked against the sunlight filtering into the room, feeling a gentle shake against my shoulder.
"Kael, wake up," came the voice of my mother in this world.
Rubbing the sleep from my eyes, I glanced up at her. Her long black hair framed her face, her deep brown eyes filled with the quiet strength she always carried. She wore a simple white cloth fashioned into a dress, weathered by years of hard work.
"Kael, it's morning. You should get up before the white man comes in here," she said in her native tongue.
I nodded, still groggy, and muttered a soft, "Thank you, Mother," before getting up. She left the quarters, and I quickly wiped myself down with the little water we had. Stepping outside, the blazing sun greeted me, oppressive as always. I made my way to where the other children were gathered, joining the rest of the slave children in their daily task: carrying sugarcane, cotton, and other crops from the field to the storage building.
It was grueling work, but there was no choice. We were too young to work in the fields all day, but that didn't make our jobs any easier. We hauled heavy bundles of sugarcane back and forth, under the watchful eyes of the overseers. No breaks, no mercy.
After hours of hard labor, I made my final trip back from the storage building, passing by the Master's house. I heard a sudden shout that caught my attention. Curiosity got the better of me. Glancing around to make sure no one was watching, I crept close to one of the windows and listened.
"How could you mess that up?!" a voice shouted. It was Edward, the plantation master, his voice filled with anger.
"I-I'm sorry, Father, it's difficult," replied a younger male voice.
The boy must have been one of Edward's sons. But what could he have done to make his father this angry?
"Why can't you unlock your mana like your younger brother did?" Edward roared.
I froze. Mana? Did I hear that right? My heart pounded in my chest. Was I imagining things?
"I-I'm sorry, Father," the boy whimpered.
"You better be. If you don't unlock your mana in a year, you can forget about inheriting the plantation."
Mana. That word repeated over and over in my head as I rushed back to the slave quarters, a whirlwind of thoughts racing through my mind. Mana existed here? How? This was supposed to be the past. The more I thought about it, the more questions formed. Could I unlock mana? And if so, how?
By the time I reached the quarters, my mind was spinning. I couldn't stop thinking about what I'd heard. After calming myself down, I joined my mother, who handed me a bowl of soup and a small piece of bread.
"Eat, Kael," she said, a tired but gentle smile on her face.
I nodded and took the food, sitting down on my pile of hay as I ate. My thoughts kept drifting back to mana. If it existed here, then magic must too. But how? The only explanation that made sense was that I wasn't in the past, but in some kind of alternate timeline. History seemed to align with what I knew, but the existence of mana changed everything.
I sighed, rubbing my forehead. "Kael, are you alright?" my mother asked.
"Yes, just tired," I replied.
"Then get some rest. I'll take care of the dishes," she said, taking my empty bowl and giving me a comforting smile.
I thanked her and lay down, closing my eyes. But sleep wouldn't come easily. Hours passed before I finally drifted off, only to wake up again in the middle of the night. Quietly slipping out of the quarters, I made my way to my secret spot, avoiding the guards as I went. The excitement buzzing inside me was too much to ignore.
Once I reached the spot, a secluded area behind a large tree, I sat down and crossed my legs. "Alright, let's see if I can unlock my mana," I muttered to myself.
I closed my eyes, breathing deeply, and began to focus inward, searching for the elusive energy within me. Minutes passed, and I began to doubt myself—until I felt something. A faint thread of energy, buried deep within me. I reached out to it, grabbing hold of the thread.
A strange sensation washed over me—like I was drowning, yet every sense in my body was heightened. My heart raced as I held on, refusing to let go. I pulled and pulled, and the sensation grew stronger until, suddenly, my eyes snapped open. Sweat dripped down my face, my breath coming in heavy gasps. I was exhausted, but something had changed.
A faint, whitish-blue aura surrounded me, flickering like a flame. I stared at it in awe, my heart swelling with pride and disbelief. This was it. This was mana.
"I did it," I whispered, my grin widening as laughter bubbled out of me. "Mana... it's real."
And I had unlocked it.
Chapter 1: End
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