Tyler

I sit down with a sigh. I can't show magic till at least five years of age, and even then, it isn't positive.

Maybe I could retry the way I presented myself? No, that wouldn't work. My father would just kill me when my mother isn't looking.

I rattle my brain for a new solution. After god knows how many retries, I still haven't figured out what to do. Not once have I made it past eight years old due to my own stupidity.

Usually, I wouldn't go older than five before trying something, at most seven now. That eight-year run really wasted my time. Over the years, I have developed my mana pool and magic power as much as possible. But with my mother being a court mage, her perception picks up on anything complex.

Then there is the issue of my species. Because I am now one hundred percent sure I am not human. A human can't travel through a shadow world, and humans can't see souls.

Ohh yeah, I can see souls. Those are very interesting. After I began studying them, I found a mark on mine. It was from the mad mage and was how he knew I came to this world. But my soul is unique, even after that. I am going to assume it has to do with my race. But I am not sure about that answer. I have toyed with my own soul to the point of it being almost destroyed. When that happens, I instantly get a restart.

My mana pool is also artificial. Souls are supposed to have one when you are born on a mana-enriched planet. But since I wasn't, the mad mage decided to give me a growing one. Oh yeah, mana pools aren't supposed to get bigger.

Mine still is. Now it is around twenty times the size of my mother's, and she is a gifted mage. But I need more mana for my way of using mana. Using mana in its basic form without spells takes a lot more mana, but it is much more powerful and versatile.

I don't think anyone can be beaten in magic or physical strength. Unless they have unlimited lives and the same anatomy knowledge. I used the idea behind circulating mana in my body and instead used it to increase my strength by a ridiculous degree.

The hormones of my growing body are irritating no matter how many times I go through it. I can't help but shiver when I think about puberty. That will be a very annoying few years.

"Tye, I need some help in the kitchen." My mother yells to me from across the house.

I crawl out of my bed and stretch. This loop has been different. Maybe it is because I subtly let out some mana, and my mother caught on. She has been looking at me weirdly for the last few months.

After my muscles stretch and I hear my back pop do I leave my room. Using magic strengthening almost constantly is a challenge on my little body.

I enter the kitchen and see my mother reading a letter. "What is that?" I ask her. My body is six, so I can talk, albeit not to the point of being fluent.

She looks up and smiles at me. "This is an acceptance letter to our capital's magic school." I freeze and look back at her. "It is for you. I noticed a little bit ago that you have mana and submitted you for school."

I frown and look at the knives. "There is nothing to be sad about, baby. You get to go to the best magic school in the kingdom, and you get the weekends to come back." She says while still sounding happy.

Before I can answer, my father opens the front door and spirits me too. "I knew you had it in you, son." He says while lifting me up.

While I don't like the circumstances, having a loving family is something I never thought I would have again. I just want to try and make them happy. "When do I go?" I ask while trying not to get nauseous from my dad's spinning.

He sets me down before hugging his wife. "We need to get everyone together for this." He says with a smile, but his eyes are filled with hate. Did something happen between my family and others? It would explain why we are outside of the city.

"I will send for Oliva and Rolth. I think they have a child for Tye to talk to." Mother says before leaving the room.

After she leaves, my father turns towards me before grabbing a knife. He lunges at me. I act on instinct and stop time. I have five seconds to move, and I can't hurt him here.

Something must be wrong with him. I look at his mana signature to find that a dark crimson is floating inside his brain. If I remember correctly, that should be mind magic; it is a unique use of necromancy that makes someone do your bidding. It is like taking over a live corpse instead of a dead one.

Now, who would do that to my dad? He only reacted when mom left, which means that he was hit with something pretty powerful. Someone from the royal guard who doesn't like my family? No, guards are honorable people. A shady noble who has a grudge? Most likely that option.

As the five seconds end, I position myself behind my father's head and get a counterspell ready. He lunges forward, and I hit him with a bright white orb.

He falls to the ground and has a mini seizure before going still. "I should have tested that first," I mumble while putting everything back the way it should be.

"Mooooooom!" I scream while pretending to check dad. I hear loud footsteps before she enters the room and sees dad. After seeing her husband crumpled over on the ground, her breathing quickens, and she sends a messenger spell out.

"Tye, watch out. Mommy has to use some magic." She says in a calm voice before a giant white aura comes from her.

Father is just knocked out and will have a concussion but is otherwise fine. I care more about this aura. Once my ten-second cool-down is over, I slip into the time zone and study what she is doing.

Her mana is flowing out like normal. But, instead of forming a spell, she floods the mana with a specific affinity. I hadn't thought about that yet, and I use every type of magic.

I let time continue as a glowing blue ring forms in our kitchen. Out of it steps a tall woman who is in full plate armor. "Oh, thank the gods you made it in time, Olivia." My mother says while using her aura.

"What happened, Cel?" Olivia asks while holding the portal open.

I groan internally. That portal spell is highly inefficient. It just disperses atoms and then sends them at sub-light speeds to the receiving end. Hang on. That isn't a portal but a speed boost. A portal folds space and does so at a fraction of the cost.

Wow, this world is not that far in magic. You would think that after a few thousand years, they would have developed more.

"But I have over one hundred years of experience. No wonder I know more. Plus, I have my knowledge of science." I mumble to myself while the two women carry my father through the portal.

Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.

"Stop mumbling to yourself, Tye. Go and grab your stuff. We are moving back into our old house." After she gives her command, the portal closes behind them.

I frown, so I will have to deal with people. "FUCK!" I yell in English. I have learned that if I speak in English that I will just be ignored. It is useful when I am mumbling.

I teleport myself back into my room and gather everything into a crate. I then teleport into my parent's room and grab one of my father's extra swords. I use fire magic to burn the word space as small as possible on the side of my middle finger. I grit my teeth in pain as my flesh burns. The smell upsets my stomach, and I feel bile rising.

"That was not fun," I mumble before imbuing the tiny word with space mana. The word glows before sinking into my finger. Only a red burn remains there as evidence that something happened.

With a groan, I pick up the steel shortsword and put it in my fingers pocket dimension. "Why didn't I do this before?" I ask myself while going back to my room. I learned to use my own body for enchantments, and I spent a few five-year lives practicing. I write in English and imbue the mana into the words. While not the most complicated enchantments, they work.

I hear footsteps from the living room. "Tye, it's time to go." I pick up my grate of items and go to the living room. My mother is standing with Oliva as they whisper to one another.

"Ahh, there he is. Tye, this is my best friend, Olivia." My mother gestures to the lumbering giant. Well, she isn't a giant but is at least seven feet tall. I hide behind my mother and wave at Oliva. She gives me a smile before going through the portal.

My mother crouches down in front of me and grabs both my hands. "We are going to live in the capital from now on. I have a couple of people who would like to meet you when we get there. Is that ok?" Her gentle voice is soothing.

I nod again before she pulls me through the portal. Going through it feels like having the experience of a roller coaster in less than a second. I fall to my knees on the other side and try to find my bearings.

Olivia snorts before walking out of the room. My mother squeezes my hand before following her, "Tye, this is your new room. So get settled in." I watch my mother follow her before looking around. The room is a lot like my old one, minimal with only a desk, bed, and wardrobe. However, there is at least twice the amount of space.

I look out of one of the windows onto a busy street. People of all lifestyles walk up and down it. I ignore the people and look at the buildings. My house is two stories tall and has a privacy fence around it and a small lawn. All of the buildings are made of wood and stone, with hints of metal thrown in.

I spend my time watching the people on the street. We appear to be in the high-class districts, with most people having clean clothes and not being covered in filth. Every once in a while, beggars walk up and down the street asking for money.

"So there are class divisions, but thankfully no slavery that I have noticed. There is plumbing, and the streets are clean, so they know something about sanitation." My opinion of the place is decent. Well, as adequate as it can be for a medieval time city.

I move away from the window and let a small amount of my mana into the air. It took me a few decades before I learned the amount of mana that can be noticed. With it, I place down protection runes and anti-spy runes. If the runes work, then nobody short of a mage at my mother's level can get in, and nobody can spy on me unless they are a god.

Someone knocks on my door before opening it. My mother enters, and a small figure follows. "This is Freya, Oliva's daughter. I was hoping the two of you could get along." My mother says before pushing the girl forward.

I get a good look at her, and she seems to be ok. Black hair goes past her shoulders in a one-sided braid. Her violet eyes shining stand out on her pale face, a small birthmark under her left eye. She is wearing a black dress with purple trim.

It looks good on her. But she is a six-year-old girl, and I am a 17-year-old. Well, the oldest I have been so far. But I don't like children, even after years of isolation that is a big no no.

My mother looks between us with a smile before leaving the room. Once the door closes, I channel mana into my eyes and stare at her. Her mana pool is more than my mother's but still a fraction of my size. I stop time and get behind her.

As time resumes, a dagger of ice emerges from my palm, the blade flickering with lightning.

Freya spins around and puts up a mana barrier. Her attempt is good, but it isn't better than my combined ice, lightning, and space magic. My blade pierces through the veil and lands on her shoulder. The electricity knocks her out, and I quickly make a cushion of air for her to land on.

I use earth magic to make metal cuffs and enchant them to only respond to my mana before putting them on her. After I set Freya on a chair and restrain her, do I tap her temple and send a jolt to her brain.

Her violet eyes snap open as they dart across the room. She struggles against her bindings before looking at me. "Why did you attack me?" She asks. Her cute voice resonating in my ears. I tap the dagger on my thigh while thinking over my answers. It has been awhile since I had to talk to someone and not pretend to be dumb.

"You started to channel mana. And it is easy to tell you aren't a normal child. Then you instantly cast a barrier, which I have only seen my mother do with a tool." I stop tapping the dagger on my thigh and point it at her, "So, who are you?"

She raises an eyebrow at my question. "My name is Freya Steel, as your mother said. But before that, I was princess Larrisa Cold-blade. Third in line for the crown.” She adopts a noble look.

I start to laugh and am crying by the time I stop. Freya glares at me as her mana channeling speeds up. I go back to my deadpan face. "I don't know who that is? And please don't try to use too much mana. I don't want my mother to catch on."

My words seem to make sense as she stops using mana and sighs. "You are right. They can't know about us yet." She pops her neck before looking at her shoulder. "That is still numb. Anyway, do you know anything about this world's history?"

I shake my head, and she sighs, "That would explain why you don't know my old name. I will give you a quick rundown. So a few hundred years ago, there was one central kingdom against hundreds of city-states. The kingdom's name was Altas, but that doesn't matter anymore. My family were the rulers of the kingdom. I was third in line to the throne. Instead of being taught about royalty like the others, I was given a different training. I had an innate talent for magic and strategy. So I was raised as a living weapon."

She sighs, and I see a tear in the corner of her eye. "My sob story doesn't matter right now. So, Altas was against these city-states and was losing. As a last resort plan, my family offered me to the goddess of life in exchange for peace. Of course, the goddess didn't like that deal and took my soul and destroyed the kingdom. That is when the modern nations started to be formed. Then some time passed, and here we are."

So gods are real. I don't really care about the history of this world. My entire goal is to leave, so the details don't matter. "So why are you here?" I ask. If I was a god and had someone's soul, I wouldn't just reincarnate them a few hundred years after they died.

"I was brought here to become the goddess’s replacement. She told me that I would meet someone who could help me on my journey."

I sigh and facepalm. If that goddess meant me. I will personally make sure she dies. Freya stops fidgeting and looks at me with her head tilted ever so slightly. She looks cute. "So, who are you?"

Shaking my head, I snap my fingers, and the metal cuffs dissipate, "I am just a kid with a little more information than normal." I open the door and point at her and then the hall.

"You can leave," I say, my foot tapping against the wooden boards.

She gets up and stretches, the black dress hugging her body. She will be beautiful when she is older. She sees me looking at her and smirks. Her smirk quickly turns to a blush. "Let's go to, go to our parents."

Freya turns around and practically runs down the hallway. "Why does nothing ever go right? First, there was being taken to this world, now a reincarnated princess. What next, assassins."

I continue to curse the world in English while I head towards my mother. I enter the room and stop talking, but the others are looking at me with questioning gazes.

"Tye, did you have fun talking to Freya ?" My mother says while looking between us. From her point of view, it must have looked troubling. Having seen Freya sprinting into the room and me following while saying something in a different language.

I nod my head and adopt a childish grin. "She is funny," I say before laughing. Inwardly I am trying to figure out if death would be a better option.

Freya steps away from her mother and hugs me. "Can he come with me?" She asks while pressing herself against me. Her fingers digging themselves into my ribs as she gets closer.

The pain isn't that bad, so I squirm away from her and get behind my mother. Yep, death is the best option.

Our mothers laugh at our antics. I smirk before splitting a hydrogen atom. In the next instant, I am dead.

********************

I hear the screaming again and sigh. I get to go through another six years of this hell.

Doing things the exact same way as a previous life is hard. Every little thing needs to be the same or at least similar. But my hard work paid off. My father was mind-controlled, and Oliva came to get us.

When I step through the portal, I do that same thing I did last run. Enchantments infuse in my aura fill the entire room. My mother opens the door and pushes Freya in before leaving.

After a few seconds of us staring at one another, Freya collapses onto the ground. "Ahhhhhhh!" She cries on the floor. I put a sound barrier around us to stop the noise.

I channel mana into my eyes and look over her. Her magic pool is expanding, and her brain is flooded with foreign mana. I push aside Freya’s mana and grab the foreign mana. As I touch the mana, it shrinks and then is gone.

Sighing, I help Freya put her mana back in order. After a few more minutes of her crying, she gets up with a tear-stained face. The red lines stand out even on her blushing cheeks.

She looks at me in horror before sliding down the wall and curling into a ball. "How many times?" She asks me.

I shrug my shoulders, "How many times what?"

"How many times have we met?"

"Does she know? She can't know. No matter what I do, nobody remembers." She clears her thoughts and rouses me from my thinking. "Sorry, but we haven't met before."

She snorts. "You just said that nobody remembers." Did I?

I groan, "I said that out loud, didn't I?"

She smiles and nods, "It was in English, so nobody else would understand. Before I was my last self, I was from Earth. I don’t understand the timeline of when we both came to this world though.”

I rub my chin, "You should understand the multiverse theory. So this should be simple. I was tortured and experimented on by a mad scientist before dying. I reincarnated into this body and tried to use mana. Let's just say that ended poorly. After I died, I was taken back to the moment of my birth. My theory is that either I am witnessing different parallel universes. Or I could be time traveling."

She raises her hand, "So when you die, you get reset? So how many times have you reset?"

I frown, "After the first ten, I stopped counting. Even with my mana-infused brain, it is hard to remember everything."

"I remember meeting you just like this. You had knocked me out and tied me to a chair before ending everything in a giant explosion. Did that actually happen?" She asks while tugging at her dress.

"That was the last run, so she can remember the latest run. Or is it when she meets me she remembers that life?" I start mumbling before turning back to her. I know an easy way to find out.

I let my aura out. Instead of being fair and just like my mother's, my aura is pitch black and sucks in the surrounding light. I summon a sword made of shadows and lightning and point it at Freya’s throat. "How do you remember?"