POV: Yuuna Mizushino (first half), Kai Mizushino (second half)
Date: September 6, 2214 (17 Years Before the Fall)
Place: Forest of Withered Stars, Mizushino Cottage / Village School Grounds
The kettle whistled sharply in the silence of the cottage.
Yuuna Mizushino set down the knife she had been using to slice vegetables and hurried to the stove. Her hands worked on instinct as she poured the boiling water into the pot, letting it steep into a soft herbal tea—Kai's favorite. Chamomile with a hint of honeyleaf. He always liked it after a long day.
But her hands lingered too long on the teapot.
She sighed.
The small kitchen felt too quiet, even with the soft bubbling of the stew and the low hum of the wind brushing the windows. Outside, the Forest of Withered Stars swayed in its ancient rhythm. But Yuuna's thoughts weren't on the trees or the tea. They were on her son.
Kai.
Her sweet, brave boy who was far too young to carry the weight of the world on his shoulders.
She turned and looked at the small shelf by the corner, where crayon drawings were pinned between faded parchment. A drawing of a star. A drawing of their cottage. A drawing of her and Kai, hand in hand, under a sky filled with scribbled constellations.
Yuuna reached out, brushing her fingers against the faded paper.
He was trying so hard. Too hard.
She had heard the whispers when she went to the market.
"That Mizushino boy... no mana." "Did you hear? He failed the magic exam." "Poor thing. What's he even doing in that academy?"
Some said it with pity. Others, with cruelty. But all of it stung.
Yuuna tried to smile when Kai came home, his clothes stained with dirt, his hands scraped from training. She listened to him talk about Touya and Akito, about Saki's weird fireball that turned into a puff of smoke. He laughed when he told the stories. She laughed with him.
But later, when he was asleep, she would find his shirt soaked with dried blood or tears.
And she would sit by his bedside, brushing his hair gently and whispering, "I'm proud of you. I'm always proud of you."
Now, she stood by the window, tea in hand, eyes scanning the distant tree line.
He was out again, training. Pushing himself past exhaustion. No mana, no spark of light, but a fire in his heart brighter than anything she'd ever seen.
Yuuna held the cup tighter.
She wished she could protect him. From the bullies. From the cruelty. From the pain of not being enough in a world that worshipped magic.
But she couldn't.
All she could do was be here. Waiting. Watching. Praying.
POV: Kai Mizushino
The clang of wooden swords echoed through the clearing.
Kai grunted, barely parrying the strike from Touya, whose blade moved fast and clean.
"You're still too slow on your left side," Touya said, stepping back. His brows furrowed, but his tone wasn't cruel. Just honest. "You drop your guard every time you reposition."
Kai exhaled, sweat dripping from his forehead. "Right. Again."
Akito grinned from the sidelines, balancing on a fallen log as he munched on a rice cracker. "You're both so serious. Should I throw some dramatic music into the mix?"
"Unless you're going to sing it, no thanks," Kai muttered, adjusting his grip.
"Hey! I have a great voice. Right, Saki?"
A short distance away, Saki Yamada was kneeling by a small pond, her hands glowing faintly as she whispered incantations under her breath. A soft pulse of magic sparked above her palms, then fizzled out.
She scowled. "Trying to concentrate, Akito."
Kai smiled a little, then squared off again. The forest clearing had become their unofficial training ground. The teachers didn't care what he did outside of class—most thought he was wasting his time. But he wasn't.
Every day, he came here.
Every day, he trained.
Sword swings. Footwork. Defense drills. With Touya's discipline, Akito's unpredictable style, and his own relentless will, Kai was starting to move smoother. Strike faster. Think sharper.
His body ached, but his mind felt alive.
Touya struck again, and Kai parried left, then rolled to the side.
"Better," Touya said, lowering his weapon. "Your movements are tighter. More control."
Kai nodded. He could barely feel his arms. But he didn't stop. Not yet.
He looked at Saki, who had just managed to float a pebble three inches off the ground before it exploded in a puff of light.
She blinked, covered in smoke, then grinned. "I made it float longer this time!"
"And it only blew up a little," Akito cheered. "Progress!"
Kai chuckled, then turned to the tree stump and picked up a small wooden block with runes. It was part of a training device the professor had lent them. A magic detection talisman. When mana flowed into it, it lit up blue.
Touya placed his hand on it. It glowed brightly.
Saki's touch made it shimmer.
Kai placed his hand on it.
Nothing.
Silence.
Just like always.
Akito's voice broke the quiet. "You know… it doesn't matter."
Kai looked up.
"You'll still beat us one day," Akito said, his tone serious for once. "Because you're the only one who doesn't give up."
Kai didn't speak. He didn't know what to say.
Instead, he stood up and raised his wooden sword.
"Again," he said to Touya.
Touya nodded, raising his own.
In the background, Saki smiled and went back to her magic, her voice soft with another incantation. Akito sat down and began sketching something in the dirt with a stick—probably a silly battle plan.
And Kai…
Kai trained until the sky turned orange.
Until the fire in his limbs screamed louder than the silence of that useless talisman.
Until the stars blinked open in the sky.
Because he had no magic.
But he had something else.
Resolve.
To be continued.
[End of Chapter 12: A Mother's Worry and a Boy's Resolve]