"Yolda, be real for a second here!" Sebastian audibly clangs his mug of beer against the table. "The Rulers have disappeared! Eviansis has gone to shit after it merged with the other 6 kingdoms!"

Lady Yolda drinks her non-alcoholic juice calmly. "You've had too much to drink, Sebas. Nothing is going to happen, I'm sure of it."

He scoffs, his cheeks beginning to redden from the amount of booze he had. "I know you're clairvoyant Yolda, but you can't just tell me a Messiah is going to fall from the sky and solve every issue."

She smiles at his panicked tone. "He'll replace the 7 Rulers, being a new symbol of hope and order," she doubles down, never doubting her firm beliefs.

Sebastian shakes his head in dismay. "In my long elven life of 111 years, I've heard of warriors and heros that were prophesied to be the 'New Messiah'. We were told they would change history, but there was never any need for them, nor did they succeed!" He slanders. "The Rulers were our glorious kings and queens! I can't live like this, knowing they've left for an unstated reason!! It's sure to bring a great disaster!"

Everyone in the tavern could hear his drunken complaints, but they didn't pay much attention to it, since the infamous Lady Yolda sat next to him. "Sebas, trust the prophecy. It'll all fall into place. The Messiah was born a few months ago, meaning no great disaster will come anytime soon."

"Disaster has already struck, Yolda. This new... empire was left to be ruled by the Hands of the Rulers. The subordinates have become our new leaders. It's unheard of!!" Sebastian continues, his beer spilling from his exaggerated gestures.

"Do you not believe in the Hands? Do you think they are too weak?" Yolda asks, loud enough to draw the attention of nearby people sitting at their own table.

"N-no," Sebastian says in a whisper, afraid to insult the mighty Hands that rule over the lands. "I just... you know what I mean. I'm afraid."

"You have no reason to be. The 7 Hands are capable enough, and our Messiah is on the path of growing up."

-

I heard my mother's heels clack against the fine-polished stone floor of the Royal Palace, her hips swaying as she elegantly walked towards my room. Knock knock. "Overworld calls for prince Adam, is he there?"

I rush into my mother's arms, hugging her tightly. "Mom! I'm just finishing my history lesson."

She rustles my hair, smiling gently. "Which part are you on? The Old World, or the New World?"

"The New World! I'm currently at the 7 Great Kingdoms!" I exclaim, excited to boast my knowledge to her.

She holds my arm, walking through the palace with me. Kleopatra—the queen of Eclipsia—is my adoptive mother, who took me in her care as soon as I was born. My biological mother died when she gave birth to me, and my father went to the local shop for milk I guess—since he never came back.

I was grateful for my mother taking care of me, accepting her as my real one. I've made a strong connection with her, looking at her like a god. She was so wise and smart, something I aspired to be.

"Adam, sweetie, don't you have magic lessons?" She asks, her golden jewelry dangling along with her shoulder-long dark hair.

I grab my head, realizing that my mentor has been waiting for me for over 20 minutes. "I've gotta go!" I yell, rushing down to the palace garden.

Waiting for me on the short cut grass was my mentor, looking at his watch. "There you are, your Highness. I've been waiting."

"I'm sorry, I got deep into my history lesson. We're doing the ice thingy, right?" I ask, huffing from my sprint.

He swirls his mustache between his thumb and index finger. "Ice encasement, yes."

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I begin my lesson, feeling this world's energy—mana—flow through my body and crystalize itself into ice magic. "Is this good? I ask my mentor.

He gives a nod of approval. "It's amazing, as usual. I'm reminded every day why the queen chose you as her heir to the throne. Your understanding of magic, and your impressive manapool are beyond anything I've seen in a kid. Can't believe you're only 7 years old, being so strong and proficient in magic."

I blush at my mentor's praise, but he wasn't wrong. I was not only talented in magic, but also martial arts and swordsmanship. The deep understanding of magic was so inherent to me, like I've experienced it somewhere before, in an old life. I haven't had any other lives except this short one, but I've always felt like an old soul.

He pokes me with his staff, testing the sturdiness of my spell. "I was born here in Eclipsia, but I've visited Eviansis a few times with Her Majesty. In both kingdoms, I've never seen anyone as talented as you. I swore on my life, to never let that talent go to waste."

I shiver from being surrounded by an armor of ice for a while now. "I know Eviansis is much larger than our own kingdom. What's it like, the 'biggest kingdom in the world'?" I ask, curious and a bit envious of its title.

"I like Eclipsia much better. Her Majesty has always led our kingdom, for centuries now. The Rulers were very competent, but now that they've left everything in the hands of their Hands... I'm not so sure."

"So we're better!" I exclaim, letting the ice melt into water, then return to ambient mana.

My mentor chuckles, going over to the next exercise. "Her Majesty has actual experience leading a kingdom, so yes."

Although my mother looks to be in her early 30s, she's lived for centuries, aided by her immense and powerful magic. She's a human, like me, but doesn't share any similarities. She has a tanned skin tone, dark hair opposed to my golden brown, and dark brown eyes that remind you of the night sky. She always told me how pretty my emerald eyes were, but I never got lost in them while staring into a mirror, as opposed to my mother's.

My magic lesson was almost finished, so I decided to ask my mentor more about Eviansis. "I've heard there are many races there! I've only seen dwarves and humans here. Is life really that different there??"

My mentor looks upward, recalling his experience of Eviansis. "There are the races you mentioned, also dragonborns, gods—which aren't all that special—demigods, and a few families of vampires. Occasionally, there are demons and angels, but they are very rare."

"Why is that?" I ask.

My mentor takes my hand, leading me towards my mother. "You should ask Her Majesty that, she'll be more than glad to answer."

Kleopatra was watching the end of my lesson, congratulating me on my progress. "You're really good at that, sweetie."

"Mom, why aren't there a lot of demons and angels in the Overworld?" I ask.

She looked puzzled at the sudden question. "It's because they have their own home. Demons live in the 9 Circles of Hell, and angels in the 3 levels of Heaven."

"What are those like?" I ask, curious about the different dimensions beyond our mortal Overworld.

She smiles, walking along the towering hallways of the magnificent stone palace. "Stick to Overworld's history for now."

I was 7 years old, meaning I would start schooling in Eclipsia with other kids my age. I professed my wish to have a regular life at school, in a normal, non-royal facility. My mother agreed, since no one could kidnap me and ask for ransom, as I was stronger than most adults in the kingdom. My magic already surpassed those who've trained for decades, my innate manapool bigger than most soldiers have in Eclipsia.

The only thing I had to watch out for was my magic. I couldn't use it in school, since my mentors told me I was too strong to play with it. My mother trusted me, since I was mature enough to know what the repercussions could be.

-

Tomorrow quickly came, and I was dropped off at my school by a regular vehicle. Inhaling a lungful of air, I readied myself for the first day of school. Hoping that I could meet new friends, I entered it, holding my bag straps while observing the other kids. The hallways were much different from my palace, small and painted in unrefined pastel colors. [What a mess] I thought to myself, but I was still excited about this. It was a new experience, a new page of life for my growth.

I prepared to enter my classroom, seeing every kid look at me like I'm some kind of deity. Not just the kids, but the teachers as well. They still weren't aware of my upbringing, so why the unsubtle gaze? I didn't appear publicly like my mother, so no one should recognize me. My appearance was kept a secret from the public to ensure my childhood stayed relatively normal.

[Oh man, do I stand out that much?] I ask myself internally, seeing the few girls close to my classroom stare at me.

"Wow, he's so handsome, isn't he?" One of them whispers to the other.

"Shush, he'll hear you," the second one whispers back.

I walked past them, raising my arm to greet the two girls. A formal greeting with my thumb and middle finger touching. They looked at me weirdly, but brushed it off.

"In which class are you?" one of them asks.

I tilt my head, looking at her school uniform. I might be overdressed for this... "Class C, what about you?"

The second girl smiles widely. "Oh, we're in the same class!"

I introduced myself to the girls, and their jaws dropped. Sweat built up on their forehead as they lost words.

"Y-you're Adam Agnes? Like the prince!?"

"Uh, yeah…”