'Hm...? Ah, I'm awake...Let's see. Day 1081...Let's do this...'

Woke up, trained, passed out, woke up, and then trained again.

That was basically what my life has been like these days.

And I realized one thing while I'm at it.

I was a person who spent his whole life talking to himself...So far, my second life didn't differ much from my first one.

The only difference now and then was that instead of grey, the world was pitch black.

At the heart of it, I was just living the same life, albeit now it was way dramatic in every sense.

It didn't mean much, but strangely enough, it helped me a bit. But it also served as a reminder of the sad and meaningless life I had chosen to lead before.

Anyway, enough with the soy moments. Let's move on.

After painstakingly grinding myself to the bone for each moment that I was awake, I could now increase the size of my magic from 0.5 to 1 millimeter.

It was a long and arduous road, but rewarding when I looked back nevertheless.

There were so many times when I considered trying new things with the word magic, but other than satiating my boredom; I never pursued them deeper.

Like that, my days continued to pass by.

And the moment when I stopped counting the days has finally come and gone along the passage of time that had become ever so blurry.

I knew for sure that my mind was near its limit. I could hardly tell whether I was awake or sleeping anymore.

It all felt so surreal.

But...fortunately, there was one thing that I couldn't ever forget.

The mission. My mission, and my anchor in this world. Engraved to my very soul.

With that as my lighthouse, my mind moved. Tethering unstably like a broken doll, hoping to finally reach whatever it was that lay after the neverending dark tunnel.

'Increase my magic for 2 millimeters...Increase my magic...'

'My dream...I will...save the world...'

'I will...'

And it happened. Something appeared in front of me.

Something I have forgotten and tucked deep in the corners of my mind.

'Light...' There was light.

I could see the light.

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'Light!! Let there be Light!!' I screamed my guts out.

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A mild buzz rang in my mind, but since it would not kill me, I quickly brushed it aside.

It was funny how my battered and weary mind seemed to find its lost sharpness in the blink of a moment.

'Haha...Hahahaha!! Wait. It's too dim. What is this? Is something wrong with...Oh, my eyes are closed.'

And when I opened them, a brand new world welcomed me at long last.

Bright and spotless ceiling. A tall and colorful bed that was way too extravagant for my taste.

Also, the worried look of a beautiful woman wearing a bonafide maid outfit. Maybe she was a bit under the weather since she was covering her face while shaking her head left and right. Her blond hair reached her shoulder gracefully, braided on each side.

She has these crystal-like grey eyes which make a curious contrast but also fit in some way with her gentle visage. It took a moment before the woman finally gained her bearings back.

And then her already pale face trembled like no tomorrow the moment our eyes met.

She must've been scared out of her wits because before I was able to convey anything with my eyes, she bolted out of the room faster than the sailing wind itself.

I didn't know what just happened, but I was not planning on dwelling far into it. I have a more pressing thing to do.

That was...Scanning the entire room.

After quickly capturing everything I could within my vision. I was sure of one thing.

The owner of this place was loaded.

The bed, and then the maid kinda give it in, but the rest of the room really nailed the fact down.

'Seriously, do they pick all these gems from trees or something? The ceiling, walls, the chairs...everything is either embedded with a gem or plated with gold.'

Done shocked by the sheer wealth one room had to offer; a peculiar spot on the opposite end, far from the bed, roused my interest.

Besides all the things that were sparkling or twinkling, a big yet simple painting was hanging on the wall.

I couldn't see well due to the distance, so I fixed that.

How?

'I want my eyes to see farther, to that painting.'

Magic was the answer.

And to my luck, there was no buzz.

It was a portrait of a family of four. A man, still in his prime, was standing, and a woman was holding a baby with a smile on her face, sitting beside the man and a little girl who resembled her.

The father had a serious and charismatic look fashioning his face. His brown hair was waxed neatly to clearly show his sharp chiseled face that even his neatly trimmed beard couldn't hope to hide. And resting above all that, was the powerful and rigid blue eyes which spoke nothing but power and authority.

The mother, on the other hand, had thick wavy jet-black hair. It made a good contrast with her supple and fair skin. Her eyes followed the same color as her hair, yet the light that was reflected on them made me truly wonder, whether she was just that beautiful or the painter was just that good.

And the last one, the little girl. A bright smile. Short hair down to her neck. She had wavy dark brown hair, sharp blue eyes resembling the standing man, and a face that was almost an exact copy of her mother. She clearly took all of her parent's good features without leaving anything behind.

What about the baby?

Well, it was a baby...

Then again, It was not like I couldn't spot anything wrong there. I guess I could say that it was a bit weird.

I was never good with one, nor was I interested in a baby, so I was far from being a baby expert. Even then, I knew weird when I saw one.

At first glance, there seemed like nothing wrong with the baby. But when I looked closely and carefully, the complexion of the baby was a shade paler. Moreover, there were no signs of those fat cheeks babies usually have.

And the deciding factor to top all the bizarre descriptions?

The hair and the eyes...

The hair was painted white as the coldest winter, while the eyes were deep purple like the mysterious bed of stars that was covered by a layer of grey. None of them resembled the parents...

'Yeap...That's me lookin' good there.'

I instantly knew the minute I saw the baby in the painting.

Was I sure it was me? Let's find out, I guess.

And we could fish the answer out with the help of these three figures that just barged into the room.

'Ah...they look way, way better than in the painting.'