'...Magic...'

I felt my heart speed up as my eyes met Sasha's for at least the third time tonight. Her eyes returned to their original color of brown as the lights faded from them. The bright flame that shot out from her finger had already disappeared as well once it made contact with the leather strap that had tied the sword around my waist allowing the room to return to its original state of darkness. I rubbed my left hand which was still a bit sensitive from the heat earlier before speaking to the woman who watched every single tiny gesture I made with incredible scrutiny.

"Let me start by saying.. ouch. I was just reaching for my bag... I thought you said you weren't gonna harm me?" I said while grabbing my backpack and setting it on the floor in front of me. I did so that I wouldn't lose the pendant or the book that was inside of the backpack because I wouldn't be able to forgive myself if I somehow lost the only things my cousins had left from our family and our home.

Sasha watched my movements closely as she spoke back to me.

"My apologies then, but it is like you said earlier. I can not risk my life just because a handsome face asked me to. Surely you can understand." Her smile widen as she repeated my words to me. I chuckled at her words as I nodded in agreeance, causing Sasha's smile to deepen as she began to speak again.

"Once again though you are the most interesting item on the agenda. You show fear meaning you are not some divine or demonic being, but you clearly have knowledge that rivals one. You have the demeanor of an adult but your age is clearly not even half of mine. Although everyone in your group has an accent, you are the only one who uses words or phrases I have never heard before. Even now, after being disarmed by my magic, you were only shocked by the display. No disgust. No malice. Just a bit of fear and a bunch of shocks. So my question for you is... What are you?" She asked while never breaking eye contact with me.

I had an answer to her question but I wasn't sure if she could tell if I would be lying or not. I mean she did just shoot a fucking flame out of her finger so who knows what other tricks she has lain in wait for me. I also couldn't just tell her that my soul and a fuck ton of knowledge had jumped over from Earth into this body doing god knows what with the soul that was here previously because I could hardly believe that myself, and I am the person experiencing all of it.

After thinking about it for a few seconds, I decided that I was probably overthinking things and that I could just answer her questions as they came. I was the 'normal' one here after all if we are comparing things after all.

"I'm just a regular human, no magic or special abilities that I know of, but I don't think you can say the same for yourself though. That much is clear." I said while pointing at the sword that lay at my feet. I then walked forward and sat down on my bed since the adrenaline of the scare had worn off allowing my exhaustion to take hold once more.

Sasha saw this and sat down on the other end of the bed leaving almost a full body length of space between us. She shook her head at my word before speaking.

"Your cousins Kai and Luca are normal people. Those girls Ash and Bell are the more creative individuals in your group, and that girl Zoe... Well, she would make a wonderful spymaster someday. You should let me train her once you get things up and running, but I digress... On the other hand, you remind me of those heirs from the central zone, except you do not turn your nose up at the common folk. Just the world as a whole." She chuckled as she repeated my words from earlier in the afternoon back to me before continuing.

"You might be a regular human, but you are far from normal just like myself. With all of that in mind, I have another question for you... That society that you spoke of earlier... Will other non-normal people like you and me be allowed to live their lives as normal people? Or will you treat them as those who came before you, like monsters that need to be exterminated?" Her question was simple enough but it was also loaded with the weight of who knows how many years of persecution and bigotry. I believe her words though because why else would a person capable of using such abilities be relegated to a town on the edge of nowhere?

The answer I had prepared mentally was simple as well but I decided against going with it because I was sure that many others before me had said the same thing before turning around and betraying the very people they had just given their word to. Instead, I decided to just answer her question as truthfully as I possibly could.

"*sigh* I will answer your honestly, but just remember that this applies to everybody and not just those like you... Let me start by saying, No, I will not blindly kill anyone just because of what they look like or because of what they are capable of. But that does not mean that I will find ways to get rid of any individuals who threaten me, my family, or the plans that I have for the future. Those people, no matter who they are, will be labeled as threats and they will be handled accordingly and with extreme prejudice." I answered but I wasn't finished so I continued speaking.

“However, judging by your tone and question in general, those capable of preforming feats similar to what you just did are few and far between. Therefore, if I can gain your trust and goodwill then I will have an indispensable ally, of which I have none currently... Now you answer something for me, Sasha... Are you a threat, or will you become my first ally?" I asked while looking at the woman in question in her eyes.

I was searching for any signs of anger or those lights that appeared in them earlier before she did the little magic-thingy earlier. Sasha shifted her eyes away from mine for the first time since she entered the room while even moving her body a few inches away from the already gapping space between us.

Sasha then spoke while staring into space.

"I... I am no threat. But I am not naive enough to think that you would consider me an ally without any trust established and vice versa, so I can not say that I am an ally either. I appreciate that you did not just tell me what I wanted to hear by saying no though. *sigh*" The woman sighed audibly before dropping her head to look at her hands. I couldn't make out many details as there was not much light in the room still but it didn't matter much because she soon began speaking again while continuing to look at her hands.

"You know... Today was my fortieth birthday, and my only wish was to be able to spend the rest of my life in peace in my own lands as opposed to the last thirty years of it that I have spent as a refugee. I even prayed to the Mother instead of my ancestors for the first time in my life in hopes of this small wish being granted... I-- I can not help but wonder if she brought you here as an answer to my prayers." She shifted her eyes back to mine. I didn't react outwardly but on the inside, I was shaking my head vehemently as I felt her logic was a bit wrong given that I had 'arrived' almost four days before I even met the woman, however, I decided to withhold my thoughts as they probably wouldn't help me much in this situation.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

Instead, I pretended not to hear her last couple of statements while reaching off the side of the bed toward the sword which was still on the floor in its sheath with one hand, while reaching for my backpack which was also on the floor beside the bed with the other. I then explained my actions to the woman as I didn't want her to overreact to my sudden movements.

"Don't shoot another fireball at me, I'm just grabbing the sword and another item from the floor. We can use them to build some of that trust you spoke of earlier. I will explain in a second." I said while placing the sword between us before opening my backpack and taking out the small metal amulet and the book that my grandmother gave me before she succumbed to her injuries.

I then placed the amulet to the right of the sword and set the book to the left of it before looking around the dark room for some type of light source.

Sasha noticed my movements and asked me what I was searching for to which I answered succinctly.

"I am searching for a candle or something to brighten up the room so that you can see what I'm about to show you." I looked back at the woman while I was talking but I noticed she seemed to be smirking at me, which caused me to raise my brow in question. She clearly saw my reaction a chuckled a bit before speaking.

"That is very thoughtful of you, but I can see everything just fine even within this environment. I call it--" I cut her off with an answer of my own.

"Night Vision. If you don't call it night vision then you should call it that from now on. Because I certainly will." I said while probably giving off the most cat that ate canary smile my twenty-two-year-old consciousness could muster inside this sixteen-year-old body. I felt my mouth twitch before I could control it again allowing it to return to its original position of indifference. The damage had already been done though as Sasha clearly saw my dramatic changes in expression as she reeled backward away from me with a look of concern before she continued speaking.

"... Okay, I guess I will call it 'Night Vision' from now on... I will light the candle over by the door on the wall. Give me a second." She said before pointing her finger towards the wall near the door I came through earlier when entering the room. I saw those lights gather in her eyes once again for a few seconds until she turned her head toward where she was pointing her finger currently. I then watched as another one of those reddish-white lines shot out from her fingertip at a neck-breaking speed before swiping over what I assumed was the candle she mentioned previously.

The wick of the candle sparked a bit before a flame started to burn from it. The line then faded into nothingness leaving the now burning candle on the wall which lit up the dark room enough for me to see properly.

I scan the room quickly to make out all the details I missed earlier but was slightly let down by what I saw. There was a wooden nightstand beside the bed with nothing on it as well as what I thought was a dresser but was actually just a waist-high chest that was flat on all sides. The only other thing of note inside the room was the rug that was spread across the floor between the door and the bed, but that was it. I can understand why Leon wanted to switch rooms once seeing the state of this one. However, besides the lack of modern appliances this room was still sizeable when compared to modern bedrooms, well at least this was the case for the ones I had been in.

I looked back at Sasha who had a smug look on her face as she watched my reaction to her abilities. I couldn't even hide my shock after seeing the display for a second time which explained her reaction, but being that I was more fascinated by the said display, I ignored her looks entirely while diving deep into my own thoughts before focusing on Sasha.

"Before we get to that though, answer something else for me if you don't mind... Why? Why would someone capable of feats such as the one you have shown me, work as a physician for some fallen noble in a rundown town next to the middle of nowhere? Earlier you mentioned persecution, which means people like you were and probably are being hunted down as we speak. You disarmed me easily enough... Why aren't people like you fighting back against those who wish to do you harm?" I asked her with a questioning gaze in my eyes.

My question wiped the smug look off her face as my words sunk in completely. Multiple emotions flashed through her eyes as she seemingly went through the various memories of her life. I could make out a few of those emotions that flew by such as utter sadness or raging hate but most of the others were missed. By the end though, she wore an expression that mirrored that of a withering tree, barely hanging onto life simply because it's the only thing it knows to do. She then began speaking while staring through me into nothingness.

"I... We... We tried fighting back... We tried to create a haven for people like me but... but they... *sigh*..." She dropped her head towards her lap before shaking it softly and then continuing.

"When I was a child, there were stories of this organization called the Accord... The sole goal of this organization, as far as I can tell, is the eradication of mages, regardless of the age and standing of the individual. If I had not experienced their methods for myself once my abilities awoke then I would probably never know they existed beyond the stories one will hear at the shady taverns one will visit every once in a while." Sasha said as she wrung her hands.

I nodded along to her words before speaking.

"When your abilities awoke?? So you weren't born with the ability to use magic? Does that mean someone like me can--" Before I could finish my final question though, Sasha cut me off with a slow shaking of her head from left to right. She then spoke.

"No, I was not born knowing how to use magic but the ability was always dormant within me. You see I come from what is.. well, was a group of mages. Of this group, my generation of mages was one of the most attuned to mana in the history of our group, and with me being the most talented mage in this generation I was able to learn a few things that probably helped me survive what came after... after they found us..."

"To this day I still do not understand how it happened. We blended in with the common folk because we never used our magic in view of others and rarely ever used it outside our compound itself. We even kept jobs in the town nearby to make our ploys seem more realistic but none of it seemed to make a difference once they caught wind of us. Even though only around a third of our group of eighty people were mages the Accord still had the whole lot of us rounded up like cattle before forcing us into a forest close to our compound. They then.. they..." Sasha could barely hold back her tears as she relived the memories she had of the experience. I saw all of this and spoke up.

"You don't have to describe what happened next as I can guess what they did since what you said about the Accord's goal of the eradication of mages... Instead, explain to me how you escaped the whole ordeal and what happened from there." I said while drawing a big red circle around the words 'The Accord' within my mind.

If those three noble families were to be considered a threat to me currently, then this organization was something more in line with a world-ending crisis like an asteroid.

But like an asteroid given that I have the right technology prepared. I can change the trajectory of the organization leaving it floating hopelessly on a path of eternal darkness.