Time crawled by under Unn’s care. As I feared, I was not able to attend the funeral; I couldn’t even voice my complaints. For the first several months, Unn would just plop the fucking ball by me to drain my and energy. After practicing relentlessly for a few months, I was finally able to deal with it much to Unn’s chagrin. Once the orb was no longer effective, she made me practice , , and other forms of until I passed out. Unn refused to teach me actual . I wasn’t sure how I felt about that as I drastically improved from her lessons, but I really wanted to know how to cast . I could passively maintain for hours now and manifest several knives at once.

Unn watched me like a hawk to make sure I didn’t slip the bangle off. Apparently, is dangerous. Once I was able to slip the bangle off with ease, she began putting these blasted around my crib whenever she wasn’t in the same room as me. Whatever they were, they suppressed my almost completely.

It was hard to tell how much time passed, as I didn’t get to see outside much. By my best guess, I was roughly three. I’d like a bed instead of this fucking crib. I stood there, trying to reach one of the . The damn thing is barely out of reach. I had a few moments before Unn would be back. There were some footsteps outside the door, and I immediately returned to just standing. Unn entered the room, giving me an odd stare.

“Good morning Ash.” Unn stated.

“Good morning Unn.” I replied.

“Did you try removing a ?” Unn asked.

“No.” I lied. Keep it simple, act like a toddler. I hope I’m close enough.

“Really?” Unn probed.

“Really.” I insisted.

“Lying is bad Ash.” Unn lectured. How did she know?

“What’s lying?” I probed.

“Not telling the truth.” Unn answered.

“What’s the truth?” I inquired. I can play this game all fucking day. Unn glared at me before letting out a long sigh.

“Is the sky yellow?” Unn asked.

“What’s the sky?” I probed.

I could almost see a vein beginning to pulse in her forehead. Unn walked over to me, lifted me out of the crib, and walked over to the window. She lifted the blind up, sending light cascading into the room. That’s a bit bright. The streets were crowded, and the buildings were cramped. It looks almost like a slum. I wanted to walk around. There were no other attempts on my life. Unn did occasionally go on day trips, and she came back smelling like lemon cleaner. Might be safe to walk around.

“Do you see that? That’s the sky.” Unn informed me, pointing at the sky.

“It’s blue!” I chimed.

“So, the sky is blue. That is true.” Unn explained.

So true is blue?” I checked.

“No. Me saying, ‘the sky is blue’ is true. Me saying, ‘the sky is yellow’ is a lie.” Unn clarified.

“But the sky is blue.” I retorted. Mwahahahaha.

“Ash, I know you know what I am saying.” Unn snapped.

“I don’t know.” I replied.

“You’ve always been oddly cognizant of what is around you.” Unn grumbled.

“Cog-ni-scent?” I sounded out.

“You know what happens around you.” Unn clarified.

“Why?” I probed.

“Why are you intentionally annoying me?” Unn checked, looking at me quite sternly.

Would a normal toddler be scared in this scenario? I never dreamed my ability to act like a toddler would be relevant. A small portion of my brain was screaming to ask about Aut and where he was buried. How much would that freak her out? For now, I needed to try and act more like a toddler. If I fucking knew how.

“!” I demanded.

“Because I don’t teach you ?” Unn snapped.

“Yes!” I answered.

“So you lied about trying to reach the ?” Unn checked. Never admit to the crime, but how is she so confident?

“I don’t know.” I told her.

“This kid is a forling natural.” Unn muttered.

“Natural?” I probed.

“I know you tried reaching for the .” Unn informed me.

“No I didn’t.” I lied.

“Why are you so insistent on lying?” Unn checked.

“What lie?” I probed.

Unn was giving me an incredibly complicated expression. She was not as annoyed as I expected. I don’t understand her. Her gaze was something I didn’t recognize. What expression is that? We stared at each other for a few seconds as Unn debated how to proceed. What is she thinking? Unn took a deep breath.

“I can’t have you lying to me Ash. Why do you feel the need to lie?” Unn asked.

“It’s stuffy.” I grumbled.

“You dislike your being suppressed?” Unn checked.

“Yes.” I answered.

“Your is dangerous.” Unn replied.

“It’s .” I retorted. Unn looked surprised.

“Do you know what death is?” Unn checked.

“End of life. No more life.” I told her.

“I can’t risk you using it on someone.” Unn informed me.

“I won’t.” I stated. On another kid. I think if my life is in danger, she won’t mind me using it.

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“Why would I trust you not to use your if you won’t even tell me that you tried removing the ?” Unn challenged.

How does Unn know? I looked above the crib, not seeing anything. Scanning the room gave no obvious answer. The only I can see are the suppression ones. There was nothing that gave it away. How did Unn know?

“Someone doesn’t know how I know?” Unn teased.

“How do you know?” I probed.

“Look at your crib.” Unn informed me.

I looked at it. There’s just plain black with a geometric white pattern. I traced my finger along the pattern a bit. It clicked. She hid in the pattern. Is it a if it’s painted like this? Unn began laughing as I studied the pattern.

“Why show me?” I checked.

“Because you are getting a bed today. Anything else?” Unn taunted. I’m not as sneaky as I thought.

“I did try and remove the .” I confessed.

“I know.” Unn confirmed.

“Can you show me ?” I requested.

“Maybe. Not what I wanted you to practice first.” Unn replied as she lifted me out of the crib.

“Practice what?” I inquired.

“You’ll see.” Unn said.

She took my hand and escorted me through the orphanage. Where are the other kids? They might have been at class or something. I was brought to the courtyard, where there was a punching bag set up. What’s this for?

“You need to learn to punch.” Unn told me.

“Why not a sword?” I asked. I’d like to be a swordsman. That would be cool.

“I think your talent lies in hand-to-hand fighting.” Unn answered.

“Why?” I probed.

“Catch these.” Unn directed.

Unn tossed a ball at me, which I caught. She threw another at me, which I caught with my other hand. So? I set the balls down not understanding her point. Unn then began tossing several at me, making me pivot to catch them with each hand. After a few minutes of that, I successfully caught them all. So?

“I noticed with the ball that someone is ambidextrous. You also have good hand-eye coordination.” Unn explained.

“Am-be. Am-be-dex-truss? Core. Core-dee.” I stammered. Act like a toddler. No toddler would know those words. That’s weird, I was left-handed in my last life. Did that transfer into this life?

“Ambidextrous means good with each hand. Coordination is how well you move.” Unn lectured.

“Okay.” I stated.

“Now, do what I do.” Unn told me.

She took a fighting stance, which I replicated. As soon as I replicated it, Unn shot to my side, fixing where my feet and arms were. She relaxed, then back into the fighting stance. I tried again. Unn corrected my stance again. We did it numerous times, with Unn correcting how I was standing each time.

“Good. Good. Now, onto punching. Align your first two knuckles with your arm. Keep your wrist straight. Try throwing a punch.” Unn instructed. I threw a quick punch.

“Chin down a little more. Rotate your hips. Keep your other arm tucked in a little more.” Unn told me.

“Like this?” I probed, doing a quick jab.

“That’s great Ash! That’s a jab. When you step in and use the hand in the back of the stance it is a cross or straight.” Unn added. I did a straight as she stated.

“Good! Now, do jab, straight, jab, and straight with your right, left, right and left fists.” Unn lectured.

She’s confident I understand. Not sure a normal toddler would. She might teach me if I do this. I did the combination like Unn directed. She made a repeat gesture. I did it again. Unn did a little clap before moving me to in front of the punching bag. I did the combination on the bad, which barely deflected from my punches. The bag felt like I was moving a mountain.

“I’m going to do some work, you keep going.” Unn informed me while summoning her paperwork. is so convenient.

I did the combination a few times. Now what if I use ? I almost did it. She didn’t tell me to though. I imagined I needed to practice the motion before trying to use . Unn would scribble a bit, look up, watch my form, correct it, and then resume her work. Her corrections slowly stopped over the two hours I was practicing. I was getting tired.

“Wow. You can focus.” Unn praised as I felt exhausted. My damn toddler body.

“What?” I asked.

“You focus quite well. Come on, time for a reward.” Unn told me as she picked me up.

I was carried to what looked like an art room. She set me down, giving me a paintbrush. What’s this for? We were sitting at a table, with several stacks of paper next to each of us. I was struggling to figure it out as Unn did a series of strokes on the first sheet of paper, making a symbol. It resembled a square, but each side was concave.

“This symbol is freeze. If you put into it, it does this.” Unn informed me.

Unn activated the symbol. What was the word again? Rune? I think it was rune. Are just several of these symbols combined? The symbol glowed, make faint mist appear in the air. Not an actual , but I’ll take it. I could feel the mist a bit which was quite cold. Not surprising. I attempted to draw the symbol myself, but my hands were a bit wobbly, so it didn’t look anywhere near as nice as Unn’s. Is it my body is tired from punching, or terrible coordination from being a child? I tried activating my crude version, only to feel the air drop maybe two degrees.

“Not bad Ash. It takes practice.” Unn comforted me.

I looked at the paper after, realizing it had crumpled away to nothing. What? Oh. I guess one time use paper does have it’s uses. No need to worry about disposal after. I began redrawing the freeze symbol over and over again. I’m terrible at this. I was slowly improving with each attempt. I’m going to practice this until I pass out. Each activation wasn’t a lot of , but I was beginning to feel it after the tenth. Unn was smiling at me as I enthusiastically replicated the symbol over and over again.

“Now, try drawing this symbol.” Unn stated.

My eyes shot to her as Unn drew a symbol that resembled a triangle in a circle. What’s that? I immediately drew the symbol and activated it. Nothing happened as the paper crumbled to nothing. What? I looked around, seeing absolutely nothing happening. Unn began chuckling at my confusion.

“Someone looks confused.” Unn laughed.

“What symbol is that?” I asked.

“.” Unn answered.

I remembered what the she used to suppress my looked like. Ah. Freeze plus . I drew the suppression before activating it. That was a decision my body instantly disapproved of. My was instantly ripped from my body, trying to fuel the Talisman> I drew. What the hell? What the fuck did I miss? Unn reached over, ripped the , and gave me a quick once over.

“You’ll be fine. You did miss part of the .” Unn lectured, drawing the proper version of it.

My body felt quite exhausted. I glanced at it, trying to spot the difference. They look the same. I looked at her version for several minutes, trying to see what the difference was. I traced the lines with my finger, realizing she did these odd curly brackets at the edges to connect them. Those are so damn small. My eyes felt like they weighed a ton.

“Come on, let’s put you down for a nap.” Unn said after I was done inspecting the .

“It’s the little squiggles.” I replied.

“Correct.” Unn confirmed, picking me up.

Unn carried me to a small room, with a tiny bed in it. I was tucked into the bed, as I struggled to remain awake. This is comfortable. It did not take long for me to fall asleep. I woke up a few hours later, feeling refreshed. I got out of bed, realizing Unn wasn’t there. She isn’t watching me? I walked around the room a little before trying the door. To my immense surprise it wasn’t locked. Is something happening?

I carefully opened the door, scanning the hall real fast. Nothing. Huh. For the first time in this life, I could wander. I walked into the hall, keeping my head moving around. Where do I go? I could feel I had to use the restroom. At least if I get caught looking for that I won’t get in trouble. I followed the path to where I thought one was. Thankfully I was right, going inside and using the restroom. Now to wash my hands. I pulled out the stool to reach the sink, seeing there was a mirror. This wasn’t here last time.

I fervently leapt up, looking at myself in the mirror. Looking back at me was a toddler. My hair was a brilliant white, resembling snow. I had porcelain like skin with kind of feminine features. I look kind of like a doll. Hopefully I will look a bit more masculine as I grow up. Undeniably, I was quite pretty. I look like my birth giver did. I clearly took after her, except for my eyes. I don’t think hers were emerald. It was hard for me to tell if I was short or tall for my age. I washed my hands, before returning the stool.

Now that I was done here, I made my way to the courtyard. I didn’t encounter anyone as I walked. I know there are other kids. Where are they? I shrugged, resuming my practice on the punching bag. I could explore a bit more, but I’m not sure how Unn would react. Jab, straight, jab, straight. My tiny frame was barely moving the bag as before. I’m going to practice my and fighting skills at least. I never knew if another attempt on my life would come. As I practiced, I felt a hand pull my shoulder.

Worthless shit! What are you doing here?! Echoed in my mind.

I instantly used , coating my body with . I dropped back into the fighting stance Unn showed me, looking at who did it. It was a kid, who was probably a few years older than me. My heart was absolutely pounding. Why am I getting like this? They were a several inches taller than me, with short sandy brown hair and plain brown eyes. Their skin was a light tan color. From what I could tell, he was human.

“Who are you?” the kid asked.

“I’m Ash.” I answered.

“You’re the kid that’s always with Unn.” The other kid stated.

“Yes.” I replied, taking a few calming breaths. Why did I react like that?

“Why?” the kid probed.

“I don’t know.” I lied.

“Why are you punching this bag?” the kid asked.

“Unn showed me those punches. I was practicing.” I informed them. At this point, the kid pushed me down. What the fuck is with him? I stood back up, wondering how I should react.

“Why do you get special treatment?” the kid pouted shoving me again. I fell over, feeling quite annoyed. I stood back up.

“Stop pushing me.” I requested.

He laughed as he went to do it again. This time, I used to stay standing. I refuse to be a victim in this life. I took the fighting stance, using on my fists. The kid looked at me confused, before trying to push me again. I released a quick jab into a cross aiming right for his face. Pop! Crack! There was a sickening crunch to my hits, as a cloud of red erupted from his face. The kid began howling in agony.

It took seconds for a staff member to arrive, seeing the two of us. His nose was absolutely gushing blood. Which staff member is this? She instantly stood between us, seeing I was completely fine. This staff member also looked human, with short black hair, hazel eyes, and rich brown skin.

“What happened?!” she demanded. This voice is familiar. Oh yea, this is Woona. So this is what she looks like.

“He shoved me. I punched him.” I answered.

The kid was howling too much to give his side. Woona took his hands, inspecting the damage. Her hand turned a faint green color as she realigned his nose. After a few moments, the blood stopped gushing and the kid looked tired. Healing . Interesting.

“Ailva, what did I tell you about picking fights?” Woona chided.

“I didn’t!” he lied. Woona glared at him, which made him divert his gaze.

“Really? Want to be in trouble for lying too?” Woona pressed.

“No.” Ailva mumbled.

“And you. Give me your hands.” Woona snapped at me.

I immediately complied, as she inspected my knuckles and hands. Woona did a few test pulses around my knuckles. She seemed confused how my hands seemed completely fine. Thanks Unn and Aut. A few moments later, Unn walked over seeing the three of us standing.

“What happened?” Unn probed, glaring at me.

“He shoved me a few times, so I punched him.” I answered.

“Is that true?” Unn asked.

“Yes.” Ailva confessed.

“What did you show Ash? His hands are completely fine.” Woona checked.

“Just how to punch. Why?” Unn answered.

“He broke several bones without so much as a scuff on his hand.” Woona replied.

“Ash, punch my hand how you punched Ailva.” Unn instructed.

I instantly used and , launching the same jab into straight I used on Ailva. Unn gave me a complicated expression. Her hand barely moved. She looked at Ailva, inspecting his face. I didn’t use my . I should be fine.

“I’ll need to keep a closer eye on Ash. Come on, continue your practice, Ash. Ailva, you have homework.” Unn snapped.

“Why does Ash get lessons?” Ailva grumbled.

“I teach all of you. He’s younger and can’t go to school yet.” Unn told Ailva, giving him a stern stare.

“Okay.” He mumbled as he sulked off to do his homework.

“Now you. Why did you use and ?” Unn checked.

“I didn’t want him standing back up.” I answered. Unn sighed.

“You shouldn’t fight each other. Defending yourself is fine, but I better never catch you starting a fight.” Unn warned me.

“I understand.” I replied.

“You better. I’m not teaching you to fight so you can bully others.” Unn added.

“Yes ma’am.” I stated.

Woona left at this point, and I resumed practicing my punching. Why did I react so strongly? He just touched my shoulder. It was bugging me. I didn’t use as I practiced. Unn kept a watchful eye on me. I thought she’d be angrier about me punching him; I guess this world might have different morals.

Unn was teaching a three-year-old how to fight. Is that because people might try and kill me again? Or is it a needed skill? Combination of both? I wanted to know more, but I had no idea how to ask without freaking Unn out. Baby steps for now, learn what she’s willing to show me as well as I can. It sucked not having more freedom. I’ll take it for now though, I need to learn how to survive here. Just slow and steady for now, I guess.