Kijo

I don’t know who I am.

My first memory is that of pain.

Knives digging into my flesh, tearing holes in my body. Careful carving, making sure to get the shape right. My blood flowed to the floor in steady streams.

Then, something was rammed into the wounds, full of a strange power. It flowed into me, leaving veins dyed black as it passed down my bloodstream. It set it afire, my wounds healing to incorporate the things that occupied where my flesh used to be.

I screamed out, my voice hoarse and pained.

Every time I spasmed from the pain, another part of my body would be pinned to the wall behind it, most likely with some form of a large nail.

The ground beneath me was dyed red. The men that tormented me silently worked, their eyes glistening each time they managed to fit another piece of that something into my body.

Eventually, the pain faded, and I was left with a numbness. I counted each wound I received, each time something was inserted into my flesh.

A hatred burned within my heart.

A thought burned within my mind.

The power burned within my veins.

My mana burned through my skin.

And I calmed down, waiting to harness the fires.

56 pieces carved out of me. 56 things inserted into my flesh, sending more of that power through me.

Without a shirt on, my arms and torso were covered in my veins, stained black. My heart looked like a vortex, sucking in whatever it could devour.

And now, the last wound. I lay on the table that once held the instruments they used to carve, my arms held down by the two men who eagerly looked at me as if I was something that would grant their wishes.

The third man carefully laid a large stone on my legs, effectively pinning them down while causing me pain.

But my mind had gone numb, so I felt no need to scream.

He carefully filled something with a liquid looked similar to lava, without any of the black cooling parts.

As it filled it, I realized what it was. It was a masterfully made bowl of obsidian, about the size of my thumbprint.

I was confused, to say the least.

The liquid came to a slow stop, and the bowl was filled.

He looked down to me, moving the bowl in his hand so that it was on his palm.

He gripped the pitcher that held the rest of the lava in his other hand and smiled down upon me.

Then he slammed his palm upon my left eye, destroying it as it was replaced with the bowl.

I screamed, resisting against the two men and the stone block to flail about.

The man above me grabbed my jaw and held it where it was, before pouring the rest of the pitcher into my mouth.

I felt the liquid course down my throat, burning me.

The bonfire inside me came alive.

I’ll let you feel what I’ve felt.

I’ll let you taste what you’ve really done to me.

You’re the one who turned me into this monster, after all.

The last drop of liquid landed on my tongue, and I began to smile.

The power raged inside of me, waiting to be released. My mana lashed about like a whip, fuelled by my thoughts.

“Now then, Listen to my orders.” The man in front of me said, taking the block off my legs, while the two let go of my arms.

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For a moment, the storm inside of me calmed.

But only for a moment.

I don’t remember anything after that.

Blood covered the floors, three bodies on the ground, unmoving. Each of them was covered with many cuts, all across their corpses.

The skeleton, wrapped in a black mist, standing in the doorway, only spoke one word.

“Kijo…”

I smiled at it.

“Hello there. Do you think you could possibly explain why I’m here?”

The skeleton was a she. Achelois was her name, and she was the last of the Thirteen Heroes from a few tens of thousands of years ago.

She told me how she saw what happened.

A monster, obsidian embedded into his flesh, standing victorious over three men, each with wounds that made it obvious that they were tortured before they eventually died.

His left eye glowed with an ominous light, seeming to stare deep through her.

Then, he opened his mouth, barely visible in the darkness of the room.

“Hello there. Do you think you could possibly explain why I’m here?” He asked.

A monster. This power… I know it. It’s the power of a Vepha. It’s even stronger than the Vepha queen that was killed.

She went on guard, marking my existence dangerous in her mind.

I waited for an answer but received none.

Looking down upon my body, I looked much older than a newborn.

“I seem to have a bit of lost memory. Do you know where my parents are?”

Achelois stood, on edge, before seeming to relax. The skeleton wasn’t really showing any expressions, but it was easy to tell through her other body language.

“Your parents are dead. I managed to come by at the right time and hear their last words, the location of this place. I tried to save you, but I suppose I was too late…”

Her voice was muffled, trailing off as she surveyed my body’s shape.

I was misshapen, those crystals they shoved into my flesh pointing outwards, coating me like armor.

I stepped towards her and watched her take a stance.

“Stop. You’re filled with Vepha mana. It’s probably influencing your thoughts. If you come too close, you’ll probably lose yourself to it.”

I reached within myself and prodded about for the mana she was talking about. It was the power that came from my… shards.

It wrapped around me, and I did feel it toiling about in my mind. But instead of making me want to kill, it suppressed those desires that ran rampant in my mind. It was doing the opposite of what Achelois said.

A good monster’s mana?

Whatever the case, it’s fine. I’m sane. I’ll make sure nobody gets hurt without them needing to.

I’ll be the type of hero that befits a reincarnator. Summon me or no, I’ll save this world as the hero that it needs.

I struck a noble pose as my thoughts drove me to.

I sighed, putting my head in my hands as I brought my body back to attention. Then, I went against Achelois’s advice and stepped forward towards her.

“I’m fine. No need to fear me. I’m in control. Sane. Whatever you wanna call it. Released a bit of pent up emotion on those guys over there, but it’s fine now, isn’t it?”

I got to know the skeleton. She was the last of the Thirteen heroes, and she remained in this cave, just outside the main city down here.

Apparently, I’d been missing for two years, and Achelois had a lot of trouble getting to me. I don’t quite understand how she’d managed to believe that I’d still be alive after two years with those three, who like to cut open children’s bodies and fill the holes in with substances that were from the very monsters that killed nearly any other life form it saw, but she did.

And, even more surprisingly, I was. Not only that, but I’d managed to free myself just as she found me.

No matter how much I pried, though, she wouldn’t tell me anything more about my situation, how I managed to be alive, or anything of the sort. She constantly avoided it by saying that she didn’t know, but her turn of the head whenever I asked made sure that I kept doubts.

Another thing, she never let me go to the city with her.

She said that it would scare the people there since I’m basically a monster by now.

So, every once and awhile when she went into the city to get groceries or information, like quests or such for money, I explored.

The sky was tinted red, a mist hanging far above. Most of the plants here were reddened instead of green, something other than chlorophyll keeping them alive.

One time, on one of my excursions, I met up with a strange man.

By then, I was already four years old, two years having passed in the blink of an eye.

“Oh, who are you… What are you?”

He seemed to have no guard, but I could see small distortions in the air around him, a sign of his mana moving through the air, unseen.

“Just a traveler?”

“Why is that a question?”

“Because I’d like you to tell me if I’m a traveler, duh.”

“Then, I’d guess you aren’t.”

“Why would that be?”

“Well… Perhaps the fact that you’ve got a Vepha’s mana coursing through you.”

“Ah, fair point. I forget about that a lot, recently. Perhaps I’m becoming accustomed to being sane?”

His mana became visible, whirling about him like a flurry of blades.

“I must say, it’s not good for Vepha to wander the paths that Adventurers take.”

“For they shall be killed? Or is the adventurers you fear for? The latter, I shall not act upon. The former, however… I will protect myself if need be.” I growled at the man, letting a bit of my mana escape me, to calm my mind even more.

He must’ve not taken offense, though, as he made no moves to attack.

In fact, he let down his guard.

“You… you’re not being controlled by the Vepha mana, are you?”

“And if I told you that it’s the thing holding me back from killing you, how would you respond?”

“Mana from the most vicious creatures on this planet, holding you back? I’d laugh if I’d not heard it from somebody else.”

He withdrew his mana, drawing it back inside himself.

“Nice to meet you, Kijo. I’d like to bring you into my school.”

My thoughts stopped, and I blasted all of my mana away from me. I was completely calm.

“Now then, explain.” I looked up to him.

He was the headmaster of the Race-Equal Magics School, Aka: Rems.

Taking me into the school would be an experiment, and a favor to Achelois, who he owed more than just a few favors too.

So, to paraphrase it, I would be able to become a student at this school, Achelois would be able to become my teacher, and I’d be granted a single wish.

My wish?

At that moment, a voice boomed across the world.

“To all children who are signing up for school next year, the admittance fee will be withheld. If you’ve already paid, you shall get a full refund.”

“Now then, is that good enough?” The man asked me.

“Yes, it is. See you at school in a few months.”

End