Well… I wouldn’t say I’m a pussy… Well, I kinda am. But if I’m not, I die… So…

I just decided to ignore the notification before getting some sleep.

But, that didn’t last quickly as I suddenly heard my mother cough rapidly, and she began to wheeze as if something was stuck in her chest.

I rushed over to her, wiping the blood from her mouth.

She was still sleeping, but her breathing was heavy, and she was burning up badly, so I knew I had to act quickly.

I rushed over to the corner of the cell and grabbed a small vial filled with purple liquid.

Small bubbles endlessly rose from the bottom, even till I popped open the cork and poured it into my mother’s mouth.

I sat her up, making sure she could swallow it easily.

Everything was quiet upon her taking the medicine, but she began to cough up blood once again for some reason.

But once I set my eyes on the blood, I noticed it was coagulated, and parts of it were black.

“W-what the hell,” I mutter, wiping the black blood from her chin.

I rubbed it in between my fingers and felt a jelly-like consistency.

“*cough* *cough* *cough* *cough* *cough*,”

The blood my mother continuously coughed up gradually began to turn darker and darker until all of it was pitch black.

It looked like slime and felt like jelly to the touch.

“My baby, are you here?” My mother asks.

“J-just sleep. Please,”

“It’s okay… I’ll always be with you. I don’t know when you’ll discover the present I left for you… but always remember that I’ll be with you,” My mother says with a smile, turning her head to look at me.

My face was pale, and she saw the dark bags under my eyes due to the lack of sleep.

“Y-you mean the thing I see in the air?”

“*cough* *cough*… Ah, it seems you’ve already discovered it. I hope you received a good god… So, just survive. You’re intelligent *cough* *cough*,”

My mother breathed in a heavy lump of air before continuing her sentence.

“You’re intelligent… So use that to your advantage… But you already know that don’t you… Orion,” She says with a smile.

“H-how-“

“I was the greatest sorceress to ever live. If I wasn’t able to detect a foreign soul entering my baby’s body, then I’d have to give up my title,”

“I-I’m sorry….”

“For what?”

“That I’m taking so long to help us escape,”

“It’s fine… I would’ve never been able to escape anyway. And it’s not even because I’m sick… *cough* *cough*,”

Thick black blood spurted from her mouth, but she caught it with her hand.

“It’s because if you ever remove this shackle on my ankle, it will kill me instantly… You know what, let me teach you something before I die,”

“D-don’t say that!”

“Look, you have to face reality sometimes,”

I was shocked by my mother’s sudden change in attitude as she had always been extremely kind and loving to me.

“Do you see these symbols on the shackle?”

“Yes…”

“Do you know what they are?”

“No, I always thought they were just cool patterns,”

My mother chuckled a bit before running her hand across the cold steel, feeling each indent of the small patterns.

“These are called runes. They are the basis of magic… They are like a language that you use to cast spells. You can either chant them or write them with a staff or wand in the air… *cough* *cough*… They can then formulate into skills once you’ve mastered them enough,”

“Okay, okay, just get some rest,” I urge my mother to lay her head down, which she kindly accepts.

“Goodnight, my baby. I love you,”

“I love you too and goodnight,”

“Mhm,”

“I’ll see you tomorrow, right?”

“Mhm… Goodnight… Orion”

And her head falls limp on the straw pillow.

…

(Gaurd POV)

I awoke atop my soft, warm bed and immediately shifted out from under the covers.

I look out the window and see the city, bustling with activity already despite it being 5 in the morning.

“I guess I can give them an early snack,” I mutter before changing, brushing my teeth, and greeting my superior.

“WHY ARE YOU SO LATE!” He shouts, his saliva spraying on my face.

“I’m sorry, sir,”

But, I was, in fact, thirty minutes early.

“GET ME SOME DAMN COFFEE!” He shouts, and I suppress my rage very carefully.

“Yes, sir,”

I exit the office and feel a vein strain on my neck.

“This fucking bastard… I swear to god I’ll kill you someday,” I muttered.

…

Creeeeek

I slowly opened the wooden door leading to the only dungeon in the magic tower.

But instead of being greeted by the boy, as usual, I noticed him on his knees, staring blankly at his mother, who seemed paler than before.

There were no dry tear marks on his face, so I assumed he was just waiting for her to get up.

But I also got a bad feeling from him.

Like a beast gathering its bloodlust.

“I brought a cookie for you to split,” I say, walking up to the bars and gently sliding it through as it was slim enough to fit.

He didn’t respond.

“*sigh*… Does she need more medicine? Maybe I can bring another snack?” I ask but still receive no response.

The bad feeling continued to grow, so I felt that leaving was the best choice.

But just as I reached for the handle, the boy finally spoke.

“She died,”

My heart sunk, and it felt as if my brain had dropped into my chest.

“Huh?”

“She died… My mother is dead,” The boy repeats.

“That’s not possible. That shackle should’ve kept her alive even if she had just a tiny bit of life force left,”

“Well… Obviously, it didn’t,”

“No, no, no, no! That’s not possible! Unless… Shit! Boy, tell me… Did she ever use magic on you?” I ask, a flood of emotions washing through my mind.

“What is magic?” He asked, and my pupils shrunk.

My breathing rapidly began to increase and panic set in.

I took the keys from my waist and immediately opened the cell door, rushing towards the limp body of the greatest mage in history.

The boy next to me didn’t move.

I glanced at his face and noticed his dark purple eyes… completely dead.

It looked as if he had died, so I made sure he was still alive by shaking him.

He slightly glanced at me, so I breathed a sigh of relief.

“Don’t scare me like that,” I mutter.

First, I checked her heartbeat by pressing my ear against her chest.

Nothing.

I then checked her pulse…

Nothing.

I even checked the pulse on her neck…

Nothing.

“What the hell are the guys doing!” I shout, my voice echoing against the stone walls.

The workers who provide magic to the shackle should’ve been doing their job without even doing anything.

The bracelets should’ve just been sapping tiny bits of mana…

“Wait here,” I say, storming out of the dungeon.

“CAPTAIN! I HAVE SOMETHING REPORT!” I shout, slamming the door to his office open.

“WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE, LIEUTENANT!” He shouts back, but the pent-up rage comes bursting out.

I take out the sword slung across my waist and pointed it at him.

“THE GREATEST MAGE IN HISTORY HAS JUST DIED, AND YOU AREN’T DOING ANYTHING! YOU ARE THE ONE RESPONSIBLE FOR KEEPING HER ALIVE, AND SHE IS NOW DEAD!” I shout back.

“HAH! THIS IS WHY I NEVER INFORMED YOU THAT WE RECEIVED ORDERS FROM THE HIGHER-UPS TO KILL HER! YOU WOULD’VE JUST GOTTEN IN THE WAY!” He shouts back.

My bloodlust couldn’t be contained anymore as I felt it coat my sword.

[You have activated Sword Coating]

[Your sword has been wrapped in dense mana]

“I never liked you from the beginning….” The captain mutters while picking up the greatsword from behind his office chair.

“I never liked you either,” I reply.